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Today Bill Hansen Catering (BHC) announces the acquisition of Catering by Lovables and the renaming of the beloved brand to Lovables Catering + Kitchen. The merger marries two South Florida catering brands, adding a new dimension to Bill Hansen Catering’s 40-year culinary journey by offering expanded culinary offerings for budget-conscious clientele. Hansen and Lovables founder Elizabeth Silverman will now collaborate together under one roof at Hansen’s 8,000-sq. ft. Commissary Kitchen in Opa Locka, FL. To celebrate this fruitful partnership, Lovables Catering + Kitchen is offering 20% Off Lovables Corporate Delivery Menu from Oct 20 through Nov 20. To view the menu and order visit lovablescatering.com. Lovables Catering + Kitchen has served South Florida for 35 years, offering wholesome meals through sustainable practices. The brand provides meals for weddings, corporate and social events at venues across the region. Silverman collaborated with Hansen throughout the years and looked to him for advice as they grew the Lovables brand. In August 2019, Hansen purchased the company for an undisclosed amount and rebranded it to Lovables Catering + Kitchen. Both brands will continue to operate as usual, servicing event venues from Palm Beach to the Florida Keys, however the culinary components at both companies will receive modern touches, including new menus for home delivery services. Bill Hansen Catering’s menus will continue to be created and curated by corporate executive and culinary mastermind chef Dewey Losasso. Both brands will utilize the commissary’s fleet of temperature-controlled vans to offer residential and corporate delivery services for catering throughout South Florida. By ML Staff. Images courtesy of Bill Hansen Catering

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Miami Design District is pleased to host a series of five events taking place throughout the neighborhood, including its fifth annual Fashion Strikes Cancer benefit, in support of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Fashion Strikes Cancer was founded and led by fashion visionary, stylist and breast cancer survivor, Angeles Almuna, to commemorate her battle with cancer and to give hope to all those who are suffering, have suffered, or have lost a loved one to cancer. This year, in celebration of the fifth anniversary of Fashion Strikes Cancer, the neighborhood is proud to host a series of five events set to take place throughout the month of October in support of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. The series of events kicked off with a stellar Sunset Yoga class which took place on October 1st in Palm Court led by Ahana Yoga founder, Dawn Feinberg, alongside Angeles where guests enjoyed a special performance by Jahzel Dotel with ticket proceeds benefiting the BCRF. In addition, the neighborhood’s iconic Buckminster Fuller’s Fly’s Eye Dome, has been and will continue to be illuminated in pink each night for the entire month. In solidarity with Breast Cancer research, the neighborhood is also turning its Styling Suite pink, showcasing pink items donated by various participating retailers throughout the Miami Design District. Moreover, on Sunday, October 18th, the Miami Design District in conjunction with Rapha Racing, hosted an MDD x Rapha “Braking Cancer” Bike Ride at 6:30AM in Jungle Plaza. All riders received a satin pink ribbon along with gift packages with 100% of the proceeds benefiting the BCRF. Coming up this week on Saturday, October 24th, Miami Design District and Rapha will join forces once again to host a Fashion Strikes Cancer 5K Run/Walk. Taking place at 6:30AM in Jungle Plaza, tickets are available for $5 each with 100% of the proceeds benefiting the BCRF. To RSVP, please visit the link HERE. Lastly, Miami Design District closes out Breast Cancer Awareness Month on Thursday, October 29th at 7PM with its 5th Annual Fashion Strikes Cancer Benefit, which will take place in Palm Court. If you wish to help support the cause in raising funds throughout the month, please visit the link HERE. By ML Staff. Images courtesy of Miami Design District

Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort plans to start 2021 in style with the opening of the new luxury hotel, Hotel Effie Sandestin. Facing setbacks due to COVID-19 that delayed the 2020 opening, Hotel Effie is now confirmed to open February 1, 2021. Located between the emerald green waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the Choctawhatchee Bay, Hotel Effie was designed to welcome all guests of Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort to an experience that exemplifies genuine southern hospitality and exceptional service wrapped in comfortable luxury. The 250-room hotel features multiple room configurations with thoughtful design and exquisite detail. Taking inspiration from the locale, the fully appointed rooms and suites will welcome guests with a complement of amenities, including an upscale spa, state-of-the-art fitness center, and the only rooftop pool on Florida’s Emerald Coast. Add 20,000 sq. ft. of meeting space, to include a 13,000 sq. ft. ballroom, plus all of the unique offerings of the hotel and resort, and Hotel Effie is the perfect setting for a dream wedding, corporate meetings, memorable events and unforgettable vacations. “Beach to bay accommodations, shopping, dining and championship golf has attracted visitors from all around the globe,” said Sara Becnel, VP of Development and General Manager of the resort. “We are thrilled to pair these resort amenities with the luxurious, yet approachable offerings at Hotel Effie.” Hotel Effie announced earlier this year an exclusive partnership with Georgia native and award-winning chef, Hugh Acheson, a highly acclaimed James Beard award winner. Acheson has conceptualized the following four exciting culinary outlets for the hotel: Ovide, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, will embrace the fresh, forward flavors and local seafood of the Gulf Coast. The menu showcases Acheson’s creativity and passion for distinctive ingredients and cooking techniques by fusing coastal cuisine with a sophisticated French influence. Ara Rooftop Pool & Lounge is both a luxurious pool experience and a stylish rooftop lounge with fine wine, hand-crafted cocktails and original menu by Chef Acheson, where guests can experience the hotel’s vibrant atmosphere and energy. Ara showcases panoramic views, private cabanas, and is the only rooftop pool on Florida's Emerald Coast—truly a unique space for guests and locals alike. The Lobby Bar (TLB) is an ideal gathering place and social hub where guests can unwind over creative libations and signature small plates. Sweetbay Coffee, a coffee marketplace curated by Acheson, offering a menu of gourmet, grab-and-go selections. “We could not be more excited to welcome Chef Acheson as part of the family. His expertise elevates the dining offerings at Hotel Effie to that unlike any other in northwest Florida and is groundbreaking for this area,” said Becnel. By ML Staff. Images courtesy of Hotel Effie.

The Lincoln Eatery, Miami Beach's first modern food hall, announces the opening of Miami’s Vice Canteen. The bar is a new mixology concept that pays homage to Miami Beach in the 1970s and 1980s, offering a price point that takes bargoers back in time. The concept pays tribute to memories of Miami Beach’s past, immersing guests into pop culture during the late 20th century with decor and memorabilia from popular television programs filmed in Miami Beach during the 70s and 80s. As bargoers relax on the tropical-inspired bar stools and lounge seating, they go on an iconic journey to the pre-MTV Spring Break version of South Beach as they sip reasonably-priced cocktails starting at $7. In the late 70s and early 80s, Magic City was referred as the “sun and fun capital of the world” and Miami’s Vice celebrates this era with photography of Ocean Drive and the area’s trademark candy-colored Art Deco architecture, posters of Tony Montana, Lincoln Road and of course, the show that inspired the bar’s name - Miami Vice. Miami’s Vice was created by Miami Beach locals and hospitality veterans at Knock Out Hospitality Group, including Maximiliano Melé, Benjamin Collins, Roberto Fernandez and Andre Chirinos. Miami’s Vice serves a curated menu of classic and contemporary libations with a touch of Miami Beach flair as well as wine, beer and specialty cocktails. “For Miami Beach locals who have lived here for generations, Lincoln Road holds a special place in our hearts,” said Maximiliano Melé, managing partner of Knock Out Hospitality Group. “Enjoying a cocktail at Miami’s Vice will bring guests back to the days where South Beach was home to artists and creatives, there was music in the streets and you could buy a drink at a reasonable price.” Menu highlights include the bar’s classic Miami Vice Cocktail ($9), a mixture of traditional strawberry daiquiri and pina colada, The Classic Mojito ($7), comprised of fresh mint, white rum, sugar cane and lime juice, El Perucho ($11), a mixture of Pisco Quebranta, fresh kiwi, white grapes, citrus syrup and lime juice, and The Java Punch ($11), a flavorful combination of green apple-infused vodka, cilantro ginger citrus syrup, chlorophyll, lime juice and fresh apple slices. The bar will also offer an interactive Highball menu, which will allow the guest to pick their own spirits and mixer. The bar also offers a selection of refreshing caipirinhas. Additionally, Miami’s Vice will serve a selection of fresh seafood at the venue’s raw bar, offering oysters ($1), Key West pink shrimp ($2) and Florida stone crabs ($4). All produce and seafood are locally sourced and based on seasonal availability along with vibrant exotic fruits and housemade infusions. The menu, which will rotate seasonally, is curated by a team of expert mixologists, who have experience at some of Miami Beach’s best bars and restaurants. A perfect addition to the after-work scene, Miami’s Vice hosts daily happy hours from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. offering special prices on bites and drinks. The combination of unlimited food options and great prices make the new concept a top choice for casual work meetings, date nights and friendly get-togethers. Miami’s Vice is open Wednesday through Sunday from 12 p.m. to 12 a.m. Starting at 6 p.m Thursday through Sunday, the bar will have live performances by an esteemed group of local DJs and musicians. For more information visit thelincolneatery.com. By ML Staff. Images courtesy of The Lincoln Eatery.

These are timeless thoughts, as narrated by the voice of renowned and multi-awarded Italian actor Pierfrancesco Favino in the 20-minutes video-documentary that precedes and introduces the Giorgio Armani Spring/Summer 2021 show, and that, through an emotional edit of images, memories and archive interviews spans decades of Armani's dazzlingly consistent style, before making way to the new collection, broadcasted for the first time on television. For the Spring/Summer 2021 collection, silhouettes, for both men and women, are essential, soft, fluid: a blend of pure lines and neutral colors —grey, beige, black, blue— that light up with occasional geometries, swarming with rhythmic patterns, following an idea of ton sur ton that is real but also metaphorical, but never prevails over the rest. What emerges is the personality of a woman and a man who are free from aesthetic constraints, careful instead to express themselves through what they wear. Whether everything is matte or shimmering, it is the sense of measure that keeps asserting itself, overcoming time. Click to view collection > By ML Staff. Images courtesy of Armani

Even though President Donald Trump is back at the White House following his hospitalization for COVID-19, people around the world are watching his health, in addition to that of a number of other politicians who have tested positive for the disease. Infectious disease specialist and physician Kartikeya Cherabuddi, who has treated COVID-19 patients, explains what medical doctors monitor and how they treat patients, from the early days after an infection and the critical days that follow. Early symptoms and when to seek medical help Common early symptoms include those of the upper respiratory tract – sore throat, runny nose, cough – as well musculoskeletal symptoms, such as as muscle aches, joint pain and fatigue, as well as vomiting and additionally the loss of smell or taste. Fever is present in only a few patients. Many patients may have very mild or no symptoms. As the illness progresses, doctors monitor the lungs for symptoms, such as shortness of breath, or other organ-related problems, such as chest pain of cardiac origin. They sometimes observe confusion, extreme fatigue and weakness in the elderly. Difficulty breathing or the sensation of being out of breath, new confusion or the inability to stay awake, chest pressure or pain are reasons for being evaluated and for possible hospitalization. Monitoring body temperature is not as helpful for evaluating whether one needs to be hospitalized but a pulse oximeter, which measures your blood oxygen level, can be quite helpful. The higher your risk for severe disease, the lower the threshold should be for being evaluated. In addition to knowing symptoms, it’s a good idea to have a COVID-19 plan for all members of your family. Here’s how to start: 1. Where and how will you seek care? 2. Who will care for your dependents, including pets? 3. If living alone, who can check on you by phone? Watching for a second wave after the first week Symptoms may worsen initially as they progress from the upper respiratory tract to the lungs. A second wave of worsening symptoms can then happen after the first week (often day 8 to 10) of illness, when the immune response goes into overdrive. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CC BY In high-risk individuals, it is important during this period after the first week to monitor the patient and to avoid a false sense of security. Worsening shortness of breath, rapid breathing, the use of additional muscles to breathe, difficulty in getting sufficient oxygen and the appearance of being unwell are some of the signs practitioners watch for. A breathing rate above 30-per-minute or a low oxygen level with a new requirement for supplemental oxygen is classified as severe COVID-19. Why the immune system response is critical During early onset of infection, a person’s immune system kicks in with a broad, nonspecific response to the virus, which is especially effective in kids. Immune system proteins called interferons appear to control the infection. The immune cells that attack seasonal coronaviruses which cause common colds do not appear to control the infection but may limit disease severity, duration or both. From days 5 to 14 after infection, a person’s adaptive immunity, which is specific and targeted to SARS-COV-2, takes over. It involves three components - antibodies, killer and helper T-cells. This response needs to be coordinated and controlled. This is often not the case in the elderly, and could explain the more severe illness that is seen in older individuals. Antibodies can eliminate, or neutralize, the virus. These immune cells and their products - cytokines, interleukins and interferons – can control infection but in severe cases go out of control. This produces a severe imbalance and causes the cytokine “storm” in adults or the multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children. Doctors carefully follow the patient’s symptoms, exam findings and clinical and laboratory parameters, such as blood tests that measure levels of specific proteins to determine if the patient’s immune system is over-reacting. Critical illness due to COVID-19 develops in 5% of all patients but occurs in 1 in 5 individuals requiring hospitalization. Trump stood on the White House balcony after receiving hospital treatment for COVID-19. AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Author provided Levels of treatment – mild to severe For people who test positive for COVID-19 but are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms, there is no proven, effective therapy. Getting a good night’s sleep and exercise and limiting anxiety are helpful. It is recommended that you maintain physical separation but stay in touch with family or friends. Taking vitamin D could provide some benefit, and has been shown in one metanalysis of studies to protect against acute respiratory infections. Those with very low vitamin D levels benefited the most. For people with mild to moderate symptoms, monitoring for any symptoms or signs of worsening in addition to pulse oximeter readings is recommended. Blood oxygen levels should be 94% or over in those with no underlying lung disease. If able, you can walk a little and repeat pulse oximetry, gradually increasing to 6 minutes of walking. For people with severe disease who are hospitalized, there are a number of therapies available: Antiviral agents. Remdesivir has been shown to decrease the duration of hospitalization. Immunosuppressive agents. Corticosteroids, such as dexamethasone have a broad effect in damping down the immune system and have been shown to reduce the number of deaths from COVID-19 if oxygen is required. Oxygen. It is administered to keep oxygen saturation above 94%. Medications to prevent blood clots. These medications are given for preventing blood clots during hospitalization. Individual risk and mobility is considered by physicians when used post-discharge. Convalescent plasma. Plasma – the liquid portion of blood – from people who have had COVID-19 contains antibodies that can lessen the severity of an infection or prevent a current patient from getting ill. It is primarily available through clinical trials, which are needed to understand it better. Monoclonal antibodies. These laboratory-manufactured antibodies, which are now going through clinical trials, could similarly lessen the severity of the disease or shorten the course of the illness. Lingering effects and ‘long haulers’ Doctors have known that viral infections, including measles, can cause long-term symptoms. Forty percent of survivors of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, which was also caused by a coronavirus, have reported having residual effects even 3.5 years later. Persistent symptoms for COVID-19 sufferers, termed “long haulers,” sometimes occur even in young adults and children with no underlying medical conditions. In a telephone survey of symptomatic adults who were never hospitalized, 1 in 3 people overall and 1 in 5 among those aged 18 to 34 had not returned to their usual health 14 to 21 days after testing. Symptoms that persist include fatigue, cough, shortness of breath, loss of taste or smell, headache and body aches. Individuals with severe illness requiring hospitalization may take up to six weeks to recover. Blood clots in the lung, brain and other areas have been reported but with a wide variable range of estimates. Sicker patients and those with more underlying risk factors have a higher incidence. These blood clots – in addition to viral and immune damage to the lungs, heart and brain – can lead to prolonged ill health, decreased mobility and mental issues. A practical and useful guide to rehabilitation self-management after COVID-19 related illness is available from the World Health Organization. Long-term mental effects are an area of tremendous concern. Doctor offices should perform follow-up phone calls, establish post-COVID-19 clinics, and make mental health resources available. Patients and family members can monitor breathing, exercise tolerance, swelling of limbs, body weight and mental activity, and be on the lookout for signs of depression. For an individual patient, the course of illness and complications both immediate and long-term are unpredictable. They need to be closely monitored for two weeks following diagnosis for the second wave of worsening and for up to six weeks for recovery if hospitalized with severe illness. By Kartikeya Cherabuddi. Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Florida. Special thanks to The Conversation for this story and images. You can support the independent network which provides news by donating today.

Bal Harbour Shops, the leading luxury shopping destination in the US,  announced Thursday the launch of their app with ACCESS Membership and Rewards Program. ACCESS is Bal Harbour Shops’ first ever membership and rewards program designed to enhance the customer experience and award our loyal members at the premiere shopping destination. With its impressive roster of curated retail and restaurants, Bal Harbour Shops’ ACCESS will feature member rewards for shopping, dining and more. Customers simply download the Bal Harbour Shops App,  join the ACCESS membership and automatically receive a Welcome Gift of a complimentary parking pass. In addition to the Welcome Gift, ACCESS Members will be entitled to their first reward after making five purchases anywhere in Bal Harbour Shops. ACCESS membership also includes monthly benefits featuring Exclusive Store Offers and Experiences, Complimentary Services, Members Only Invites, Gifts with Purchases, Birthday Gifts, and more. “In this unprecedented time, Bal Harbour Shops has pivoted to engage with our customers in an innovative, unique and meaningful way. With an appreciation for the emotional connection with our clientele from around the globe, we continue to champion a relentlessly long-term approach to luxury retail by focusing on both the near and distant future, by celebrating and delighting the customer and by expanding on over 55 years of unprecedented success, “ said Matthew Whitman Lazenby, President & CEO of Bal Harbour Shops. Those who sign up for the ACCESS program in November, have the opportunity to be chosen as one of three lucky ACCESS members and their guest who will be invited to the Ferrari Esperienza in Miami on January 28th-30th, 2021. “The vision of ACCESS is to develop the next generation luxury experience program and to celebrate each customer as they join our Bal Harbour Shops family,” stated Stephanie Sayfie Aagaard, Collaborative Innovator at Bal Harbour Shops and founder of the ACCESS program. The Bal Harbour Shops app is available for download in the App store. For more information, email access@balharbourshops.com or visit the Bal Harbour Shops website. By ML Staff. Image courtesy of Ball Harbour Shops

During the COVID-19 pandemic, arranging protests and political movements in the streets has proven challenging due to social distancing orders. Campaigns around the world such as the #ClimateStrike movement initiated by Greta Thunberg have moved online through the use of social media. The movement has now turned into #ClimateStrikeOnline, where hundreds of social media posts pour in every week. Artistic posters on Twitter and dance choreography on TikTok have helped increase appeal for the movement among young people around the world and continue it in a more light-hearted way. Students are fighting climate change, one TikTok video at a time. This movement’s sustainability and its ability to captivate audiences suggests these kinds of artistic approaches can be a great medium for activism in the digital space. Arts activism — traditionally performed offline in the pre-social media era — combines the creative and emotional capacity of the arts with the strategic planning of activists to push for meaningful change in society online. These three examples highlight how digital arts can help spark and sustain political engagement as it moves online amid the pandemic. Stirring emotions to build political participation Digital arts activism has the power to help people channel suffering, trauma or their outrage into persuasive messages. Many studies have indicated this can help increase community engagement and political participation — from human rights advocacy to campaigns against discrimination and economic inequality. Twenty-five-year-old Danielle Coke from Atlanta, for instance, is an illustrator who posts digital drawings on Instagram to advocate for important issues such as ending systemic racism. Although she has criticised people for not crediting her appropriately, her work has been cited and shared by many people and to support a number of political movements such as #BlackLivesMatter. For instance, some of the art she created discusses the cases of Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd — two African-American citizens killed by local police on separate occasions. These artworks have since been used by thousands of people to voice outrage against institutional racism in America’s law enforcement system. The iconic poster of the “ballerina and the bull” is another example. The artwork, created by Micah White through his anti-consumerist magazine Adbusters, played a significant role helping initiate the Occupy Wall Street movement. The poster contrasted the image of the Wall Street Bull statue — meant to symbolise the dynamics of capitalism — with the “zen stillness” of a ballerina. These details, along with the shrouded figures in the poster’s background helped evoke a sense of fear and shared urgency regarding the country’s state of economic inequality. This helped pushed some to participate in, or at least become aware of, the #OccupyWallStreet movement. The New York Times noted in an article that although the magazine through its poster did not come up with the frustrations felt by the movement’s protesters, it significantly shaped the movement’s aesthetic brand. Sustaining the complexity of theatrical performances The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many artistic movements to migrate into the digital space. One example is “Conexion: Art and Activism in Oaxaca”. Originally planned as a showcase at the Newcomb Art Museum in Louisiana, United States, Conexion Oaxaca is an interactive digital exhibition by Latin American Studies students. The digital exhibition highlights issues such as gender-based violence, access to education, family separation, and economic inequality. The digital Coaxaca exhibition was curated by Tulane University students and faculty staff trough a Zoom meeting. (Screenshot from Conexion Oaxaca) Due to the pandemic, the exhibition has transformed into a fully interactive website that guides viewers throughout its four navigable themes which contain magazines, quilted art and documentary films. However, it wasn’t always this easy. The practice of staging art exhibitions online was once criticised for lacking what German philosopher Walter Benjamin calls an “aura of authenticity” — a sensory experience that results from an artwork being uniquely present in time and space. However, the growth of social media has helped online exhibitions fulfil the basic principles of art; that it should be visible, versatile, suggestive and transmissible. In fact, I argue that the viewing experience is enhanced as now artworks can be played back, examined thoroughly and intensively studied, on demand, by a diverse range of audiences. Universities must teach arts activism to students An effective way way to start making digital arts activism prevalent among students and young people is by incorporating it within higher education. In most developing countries, however, art is currently still a highly specialised program in college. Activist movements, on the other hand, are often only studied only under faculties teaching the social sciences or humanities. In order to complement the scientific methodology used in most natural and social science programs, universities need to incorporate art in each of their department’s curricula as part of the intellectual tradition of higher education. King’s College London, for example, has been developing an interdisciplinary module titled “Art and Activism in the Digital Age” to be implemented across its study programs. The university also collaborates with local artist and provides grants for digital art projects that are accessible even to students outside the Faculty of Humanities. If we want higher education to have impact, students need to learn how to absorb experiences from events happening in their environment and channel them into meaningful initiatives. Digital art activism is a great way to help them do this. By Kandi Aryani Suwito Lecturer at the Department of Communication, Universitas Airlangga and PhD Candidate in Digital Humanities, King's College London . Special thanks to The Conversation. Images courtesy of Unsplash, by JonTyson.

Many organizations have prioritized workplace equality and access to high-paying, executive level jobs for minority groups in recent years. Several 2020 presidential candidates are putting forward plans to increase minority executive positions by diversifing corporate boards, punishing companies with poor diversity track records and increasing funding for minority-led business institutions. However, according to our own 2019 analysis, white men still hold the majority of executive positions such as CEOs, management directors and financial officers. As economic and communication scholars, we looked at Equal Employment Opportunity Commission employment data for executives at large and mid-sized companies. Our analysis shows that white men sit in 65.5% of these high-paying boardroom positions while representing only 38% of the U.S. workforce. The dominance of white male executives, however, is by no means evenly distributed across the country. Our report tracks representation among Hispanic executives city by city. Chart: The Conversation, CC-BY-ND Source: JD Swerzenski, University of Massachusetts Amherst Get the data C-suite inequality As of 2019, Hispanics are the largest minority group in the U.S. at 18.3%. Statistics from 2017 show that Hispanics make up 17% of the labor force. However, they occupy only 4.3% of executive positions in the U.S. Hispanic representation is roughly equal to that of black executives and somewhat lower than Asian American executives. The gap between labor force and executive representation is wider among Hispanics than any other group. Executive jobs offer salary – US$155,586 on average – benefits and job security that simply are not available in lower level positions. They also offer the power to drive initiatives, including those focused on diversity. Where do the Hispanic executives work? Pittsburgh is the only large city in the U.S. to nearly reach equity. Hispanics comprise 1.3% of the city’s executive workforce and 1.4% of its overall labor market. That low overall representation is a trend among cities with the best equity. Four out of five American cities with the most equitable representation – Pittsburgh, Detroit, St. Louis and Cincinnati - have Hispanic populations of less than 4%. These findings fall in line with our earlier research showing that minority representation in executive positions is highest in areas with the lowest minority population. The final city in the top five, Miami, stands out for its high representation of Hispanic executives at 24.6% and high percentage of Hispanics in the overall workforce at 44.1%. Miami is also an anomaly among other large cities with Hispanic work forces such as Houston – 43% overall labor force and 10.3% executive representation – and Los Angeles – 34.2% labor force and 8% executive. Driving Miami’s high representation is likely the city’s strong economic connections to Central and South America, which favors Hispanic cultural background and Spanish language capability among top executives. This is especially true with regards to the many media-based companies located in Miami, such as Telemundo, which targets consumers throughout the Spanish-speaking world. Chart: The Conversation, CC-BY-ND Source: JD Swerzenski, University of Massachusetts Amherst Trends at the bottom So how do things look at the other end of the scale? New York City has the largest Hispanic population in the U.S with 2.3 million individuals. They comprise of 22.6% of the city’s total workforce, including 28.7% of its service workers and 40% of its laborer positions. But only 4.5% of New York’s executives are Hispanic. New York matters because of the large number of Hispanics who live there and the relative power of its executive positions. In 2019, 73 of the Fortune 500 companies were headquartered in the city, among them Citibank, Verizon, MetLife and many other major firms. It’s unlikely that there is one key factor behind the lack of Hispanic representation in these jobs. One possibility is an entrenched corporate culture in New York dominated by white male executives. Further, unlike in Miami, Hispanic cultural and linguistic backgrounds are perhaps less valued in these boardrooms. This, however, shouldn’t eliminate the possibility for change. New York’s trade workers – a group once dominated by white men – now includes 21.3% Hispanic workers, one of the highest rates in the country. Efforts to develop Hispanic executive candidates similar to Miami’s youth entrepreneurship program or Pittsburgh’s business incubator program centered in the city’s Hispanic Beechwood neighborhood might lead to greater diversification of New York’s corporate offices. Rounding out the bottom five are San Jose, Salt Lake City, Hartford and Oklahoma City, all cities with at least 10% Hispanic representation in the labor force. Chart: The Conversation, CC-BY-ND Source: JD Swerzenski, University of Massachusetts Amherst Get the data Diversity matters Research indicates that boardroom diversity can positively impact both profitability and job satisfaction within companies, in particular by bridging the divide between company executives and lower level employees. With recent reports showing stagnation in the overall number of Hispanic executives nationwide, it’s particularly important for cities and companies to consider what more can be done to bring more Hispanics into the boardroom. Cities might bolster Hispanic business participation and entrepreneurship by helping build business incubator programs, supporting Hispanic business development groups and promoting educational opportunities at area universities. To make change Hispanic workers need to be employed in positions that feed into to the highest company levels. Currently, 8% of all managerial and 6% of all professional positions in the U.S. are Hispanic, far below their labor market share of 17%. Overriding these discrepancies means acknowledging cultural blindspots that often exclude Hispanic workers, such as non-Latino employers recognizing unconscious biases in their communication styles and providing opportunities to professionally use Hispanic cultural competencies. These efforts are important nationwide. However, they apply critically in cities such as Houston, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York and Phoenix, all cities with large and deep-rooted Hispanic populations where representation is lagging. By JD Swerzenski. Ph.D. Candidate in Communication, University of Massachusetts Amherst. | Donald T. Tomaskovic-Devey. Professor of Sociology; Director, Center for Employment Equity, University of Massachusetts Amherst. | Eric Hoyt Research Director of the Center for Employment Equity, University of Massachusetts Amherst. Special thanks to The Conversation for this story and images. You can support the independent network which provides news by donating today.

If you have a toddler, or if you encountered one in the last year, you’ve almost certainly experienced the “Baby Shark” song. Somehow, every kid seems to know this song, but scientists actually know very little about where and when sharks give birth. The origins of these famous baby sharks are still largely a mystery. Many of the large iconic shark species – like great whites, hammerheads, blue sharks and tiger sharks – cross hundreds or thousands of miles of ocean every year. Because they’re so wide-ranging, much of sharks’ lives, including their reproductive habits, remains a secret. Scientists have struggled to figure out precisely where and how often sharks mate, the length of their gestation, and many aspects of the birthing process. I am a Ph.D. student studying shark ecology and reproduction and am on a team of researchers hoping to answer two important questions: Where and when do sharks give birth? In need of innovation Until very recently, the technology to answer these questions did not exist. But marine biologist James Sulikowski, a professor at Arizona State University and my research mentor, changed that. He developed a new satellite tag called the Birth-Tag with the help of the technology company Lotek Wireless. He has no stake in the company. Using this new satellite tag, our team is working to uncover where and when tiger sharks give birth and is demonstrating a proof of concept for how scientists can do the same for other large shark species. The Birth-Tag is a small, egg-shaped device that we insert into the uterus of a pregnant shark where it will remain dormant and hidden among the fetal sharks throughout pregnancy. This kind of tag has never before been used on sharks, but similar implanted tags have been used to figure out the birthing locations of terrestrial mammals, such as deer, for decades with great success. When a tagged mother shark gives birth, the tag will be expelled alongside the babies and float to the sea surface. Once it senses dry air, the tag transmits its location to a passing satellite, which then sends that location and time of transmission back to our lab. As soon as we download this information, we know where and when that shark gave birth. After years of fine-tuning this new technology, we launched the first phase of the study in December of 2019 and began deploying the tags. Once the study was approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees at both Arizona State University and the University of Miami, as well as the Bahamian government, we set out to find some tiger sharks. To do this, our team of researchers from the Sulikowski Shark and Fish Conservation Lab and the Shark Research and Conservation Program at the University of Miami led by marine biologist Neil Hammerschlag, traveled to the crystal-clear waters of Tiger Beach off Grand Bahama Island to tag tiger sharks. Tiger sharks are large and powerful predators. Getting close enough for a check-up is not easy. Tanya Houppermans Up close with an apex predator Tiger Beach is a hot spot for female tiger sharks of many different life stages, including large pregnant individuals. These pregnant females may be aggregating in the warm, calm waters of Tiger Beach to take refuge and speed up their gestation. The high number of pregnant sharks in this small area makes finding one much easier, but actually catching and bringing a 10-foot-plus shark to the boat is no easy task. We fish for the sharks using drumlines, and it can take several hours to safely catch, pull in by hand, and secure one of these powerful creatures next to the boat. Once we catch a female tiger shark, we first take several length and girth measurements to get an idea of her general health and to see if she is sexually mature. Then we check for bite marks, which are evidence of a recent mating event. After we collect this baseline information, we rotate her upside down to coax her into a trance-like state called tonic immobility. Tonic immobility is a natural reflex in many sharks that induces a state of physical inactivity. This keeps the powerful shark calm and still for the most exciting part of the workup, the part where my experience comes into play: the pregnancy check. A not-so-routine ultrasound. Tanya Houppermans Expecting Just like the ultrasounds used on humans, we use a mobile ultrasound machine to figure out if a shark is expecting. I put on a pair of goggles that allow me to see everything the ultrasound sees, lean over the side of the boat, and place the probe onto the upside down shark’s abdomen. The image is usually fuzzy at first as water splashes over the shark and up onto the boat. The team holds the shark still as I slowly maneuver the probe along her belly. Then, if she’s pregnant, something magical happens. Wriggling baby tiger sharks, up to 40 of them packed tightly together inside their mother’s womb, appear in front of my eyes. The image also appears on a screen held by another team member on the boat, and everyone cheers as they gather around to take a peek into the secret world of unborn sharks. We spy on them as they pump fluid through their still-developing gills, and we watch in awe as they wiggle around, blissfully unaware that anything extraordinary is happening outside in the world. Once we have enough data on the approximate size of the offspring – which gives us an idea of how far along the pregnancy is – it’s time to tag the mama shark. As I hold the probe as still as possible to keep a visual of the shark’s internal anatomy, Dr. Sulikowski takes the Birth-Tag and uses a custom-designed applicator to carefully insert it into the uterus through the urogenital opening. No surgery required, the tagging procedure is complete in a matter of minutes. Once the tag is inside the uterus, we rotate the shark upright to wake her and release her back to the open ocean. I am filled with hope as I watch her swim gracefully away to continue her pregnancy, with a stow-away Birth-Tag hidden among her unborn offspring. These apex predatory sharks are important to ecosystems around the world. Tanya Houppermans Solving the mystery Last December, we deployed the first Birth-Tags on three pregnant tiger sharks. For tiger sharks, pregnancy is thought to last 12-16 months, but researchers have little in the way of hard data. Since these tagged sharks ranged from recently mated to mid-gestation, an added bonus of this study is that it might help refine estimates of the length of pregnancy for this species. Although we work in The Bahamas, a shark sanctuary where it is illegal to kill sharks, tiger sharks migrate extensively. As such, each tagged shark will likely spend time outside of The Bahamas in unprotected waters where she will have to navigate carefully to avoid interaction with fishing gear. Tiger sharks are considered near threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and their populations are currently in decline. The data we gain from this first round of tags will give us and policymakers information that could inform future protections for this species. We are currently waiting to receive a notification from our online ARGOS satellite system that will alert us that one of our sharks has given birth. When that happens, we will be the first in the world to know, in close to real time, where and when tiger sharks give birth. Many species of shark are threatened with extinction, and understanding their reproductive cycles is key to the effective conservation of these ecologically important and beautiful creatures. Using the Birth-Tag, we are at the cusp of unlocking this information about tiger sharks and will hopefully show that this can be done for many more species. We are planning future expeditions to deploy many more Birth-Tags, but for now, we’ll just have to keep singing the “Baby Shark” song as we patiently wait for our first glimpse into the private lives of these incredible creatures. By Hannah Verkamp. PhD Student in Marine Biology, Arizona State University. Special thanks to The Conversation for this story and images. 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January is a time when many people make resolutions – and then break them. Almost 60% of Americans will resolve to exercise more, but fewer than 10% will stick with their resolution. A key to keeping resolutions is ensuring they are measurable, and a simple way to track activity is through a wearable smartwatch or fitness tracker. Indeed, almost one in five adults has used a fitness tracker. Wearable fitness trackers can also help improve medical care by providing insights into physical activity, heart rate, location and sleep patterns. My research team uses wearable fitness tracker data with smart home sensors to help older adults live safely and independently. We also study wearable fitness tracker data along with electronic medical records and genomic data to investigate the causes of gestational diabetes. Many other researchers utilize wearable fitness trackers to better understand how lifestyles can impact health. Unfortunately, I’ve found in my health informatics research that wearable devices may not give all the credit their users deserve, and in some cases, users may want to consider how secure and private their data is. Giving credit when it’s due People who use fitness trackers have been frustrated with how they get “credit” for their activities, which drives some users to abandon fitness trackers. In my research team’s work, we find that people who have limited arm movement report that fitness trackers are not accurately recording their activities. This can happen as well with those who do not have traditional gaits because they may shuffle. The lack of credit is especially obvious when people are walking but keeping their arms still – such as pushing a stroller or walking while holding an infant. New mothers also report accuracy issues with respect to their sleep patterns. When they wake up multiple times a night, the next morning the device will show them as “lightly sleeping.” This is frustrating when the new mother wants to use this data to negotiate with her partner on child care because a device may credit the mother with more sleep than she actually gets. Were you ‘lightly sleeping’ or did you wake up multiple times? fizkes/iStock via Getty Images These inaccuracies make sense from a technical point of view. When people keep their wrists still, as in pushing a stroller, the wrist is not changing directions. Thus, the software cannot detect changes in movement from the accelerometer sensor on a wrist tracker which is looking for changes in up-down, forward-backward and side-to-side movements. Researchers have also shown that 500 or fewer steps can be recorded without wearing the device, reflecting how devices can over count activity sometimes. In the case of detecting sleep, most people do not wake up multiple times a night, so the algorithms used by wearable devices may throw these short bursts of movement away. The companies that make these wearable devices have significant intellectual property involved in detecting these movements and then using algorithms to decide how much people are moving or sleeping, so these algorithms are not shared publicly. There currently do not exist any mechanisms to give feedback on what was detected. Imagine if a person could push a button and tell a wearable fitness device, “I did wake up three times tonight!” Since people are not getting the credit they deserve for some of their activities, I am concerned about what type of lifestyle data we researchers can accurately assess from a commodity wearable for our health research. In computing, there is a saying, “Garbage in, garbage out.” If wearable fitness trackers are putting inaccurate step and sleep data into the algorithms that quantify our activities, then people will be making health-related decisions based on inaccurate data. Who has the data? Typically, consumers assess how much “credit” they are getting from a fitness tracker by transferring the data to an app. Most people likely assume that when people transfer the data to the app, the data is not shared widely. Users may assume, for instance, that they can see the data, people they shared data with can view it and the company who has the device and app can see the data. But this is only part of the story. A company, however, could change its terms of service – which, studies have shown, people have difficulty understanding – and decide to make this health data available to third parties. For example, wearable fitness data could be sold to help our employers understand our fitness and productivity or insurance companies to assist with or deny health coverage. Although there’s no evidence of this practice being done, I believe consumers would do well to be aware that it is a possibility in the future. By Katie Siek Associate Professor of Informatics, Indiana University. Special thanks to The Conversation for this story and images. You can support the independent network which provides news by donating today.

The Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami (MOCA) is pleased to reopen its doors to the public with the long-awaited unveiling of its exhibition, “Raúl de Nieves: Eternal Return and The Obsidian Heart,” curated Risa Puleo. Nieves and Puleo worked closely together to design the exhibition as an immersive experience in which individual sculptures, installations, and audio performances blend into a cohesive experience of the spiritual, familial, and self across time. The exhibition will be on display at MOCA from Oct. 15, 2020, through March 21, 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the museum has instituted new health and safety guidelines that require social distancing and face coverings, among other measures. For the safety of its visitors, staff members, and volunteers, MOCA is also implementing enhanced cleaning and disinfection protocols, such as the placement of signage and hand sanitizer throughout the museum. “‘Eternal Return and The Obsidian Heart’ offers a holistic look at the ways in which Raúl de Nieves rejoins the spiritual with the material in contemporary consumer culture,” said Puleo. "The exhibition is the first to consider the relationship between de Nieves’ sculptural work and his solo and collaborative performances, and in doing so, it also offers a comprehensive view of the artist's practice." At the center of the exhibition, is a life-size carousel circles endlessly in a performance of fantasy and delirium, referencing the cyclical time of Eternal Return: the idea that time is composed of a limited number of events that endlessly recur in different sequences and combinations. The exhibit also features a fourteen-foot tall by fifty-height-feet wide “stained glass" installation, Basilio, a Cosmic representation of time in colorful configurations of planets moving around the sun, which is itself depicted as it appears from earth at various moments of transit across the sky over the course of a year. Multimedia artist, performer, and musician de Nieves was born in Michoacá, Mexico, in 1983 and today resides in Brooklyn, NY. He is inspired by memories from his childhood in his hometown, where public religious rituals and private devotional acts included elaborate costuming, performances, and theatrical components. He found his artistic voice in queer punk scenes in San Diego, San Francisco, and New York City. For de Nieves, art-making is a related process of creating a mirror for one's self; a tool for reflection, and a means of externalizing an internal state in order to see possibilities for growth. His wide-ranging practice investigates notions of beauty and transformation. His elaborate and labor-intensive installations, sculptures, and paintings explore decadence, desire, and divinity across material, emotional and spiritual realms. Whether working in collaboration with other artists and musicians or as a solo practitioner, de Nieves articulates an aesthetic of abundance through an economy of means. Elaborate anthropomorphic figures shimmer and seduce from afar, but a closer look reveals that they are encrusted in beads, crystals, plastic jewels, sequins, cardboard, and other readily available items that the artist transforms through a laborious, ritual-like practice. De Nieves’ recent solo exhibitions include showings at the Cleveland Museum of Art; Company Gallery in New York City; SCAD Museum of Art in Savannah, Ga.; Freedman Fitzpatrick in Los Angeles; and Apalazzo Gallery in Brescia, Italy. Additional group shows include those at K11 Art Foundation in Hong Kong; Swiss Institute in New York City; New Orleans Museum of Art; Museum of Arts and Design in New York City; Zabludowicz Collection in London; as well as two N.Y. events: the Whitney Biennial 2017 and MoMA PS1’s Greater New York 2015. He will exhibit at the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston in Sept. 2021. Risa Puleo is an independent curator. Her exhibition, “Monarchs: Brown and Native Contemporary Artists in the Path of the Butterfly,” was curated for Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts during her year as curator-in-residence. The exhibition traveled to the Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami; Blue Star Contemporary and Southwest School of Art in San Antonio, Texas; and the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art in Overland Park, Kan. Puleo’s exhibition, “Walls Turned Sideways: Artists Confront the Justice System,” opened at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston in 2018 and traveled to Tufts University Art Galleries in Medford, Mass., in 2020. Other exhibitions have been hosted by the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art in New York City; Franklin Street Works in Stamford, Conn.; Charlotte Street Foundation in Kansas City, Mo., and others. She has written for Art in America, Art Papers, Art21, Asia Art Pacific, Hyperallergic, Modern Painters, and other art publications. “Raúl de Nieves: Eternal Return and The Obsidian Heart” is made possible with the continued support of the North Miami Mayor and Council and the City of North Miami, the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture, the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners, and with support from the Green Family Foundation. Additional support from Company Gallery, Michael Ringier and Fitzpatrick Gallery is gratefully acknowledged. For more information, visit mocanomi.org. By ML Staff. Images courtesy of MOCA.