From Grace Jones to Madonna - why divas deserve to be difficult

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From Grace Jones to Madonna - why divas deserve to be difficult     Mile-high heels, big hair and an extraordinary stage presence are not enough on their own. "It takes a long time to get to be a diva," Diana Ross once said. "You’ve got to work at it." But it's not clear what she means by "diva". Is she referring to her iconic status, having sold over 100 million records? Or to her reputation for temper tantrums and outlandish demands?Exploring the definition of diva-dom is the exhibition DIVA, just opened at the V&A, London. "The exhibition will show that there are many definitions and interpretations of a diva," lead curator Kate Bailey tells BBC Culture. But there’ll be no tabloid-style slating of Mariah Carey for allegedly demanding kittens and confetti at a Christmas lights launch, or of Jennifer Lopez for asking (UK TV show) Top of The Pops to redecorate her dressing room. "In our exhibition, we're reclaiming it as a positive," she says.     Continued here

S27

Would better buildings help fix the NHS? The story of Britain's hospitals, from grand designs to counting the costs     Outpatients at St James’ Hospital feel better even before they see the doctor – thanks to a new note in hospital design. ‘Comfort while you wait’ is the new policy, and that means an informal atmosphere, extra comfy chairs, concealed lighting, heated cork floors, and an ultra-modern design throughout. No shades of depressing institutions here.You might think this description comes from the glossy marketing material for one of today’s cutting-edge private hospitals. In fact, it’s from a 1954 Pathé News clip celebrating one of the earliest buildings designed for Britain’s fledgling National Health Service (NHS) – launched six years earlier on July 5, 1948. Continued here

S4

Generative AI Has an Intellectual Property Problem     Generative AI, which uses data lakes and question snippets to recover patterns and relationships, is becoming more prevalent in creative industries. However, the legal implications of using generative AI are still unclear, particularly in relation to copyright infringement, ownership of AI-generated works, and unlicensed content in training data. Courts are currently trying to establish how intellectual property laws should be applied to generative AI, and several cases have already been filed. To protect themselves from these risks, companies that use generative AI need to ensure that they are in compliance with the law and take steps to mitigate potential risks, such as ensuring they use training data free from unlicensed content and developing ways to show provenance of generated content. Continued here

S25

Illegal organ trade is more sophisticated than one might think - who's behind it and how it could be controlled     These reports and cases are part of a global proliferation of the organ trade that started in the late 1980s. It coincided with advancements in transplantation. Until the 1980s, transplantation was regarded as a risky and experimental procedure. Since the introduction of immunosuppressive drugs in the 1980s (which help to prevent the body from rejecting organs), it has become standardised practice. Organ transplants are now conducted in hospitals in more than 90 countries.Transplantation has however become a victim of its own success, with demand for organs far outpacing supply. Despite strategies to enlarge the donor organ pool, the worldwide organ shortage grows every year. Continued here

S5

The rise of the Gen Z side hustle     Shola West, 22, works on the media-partnerships team at advertising firm OMD. She combines her full-time role with a part-time business: providing Gen Z career advice through freelance consultancy work. West, who is based in London, says her employer is aware – and supportive – of her side hustle. “At my interview, they made it clear I was welcome to have my personal brand on the side. My CEO recently commented on my LinkedIn post saying what I’d done was brilliant, even though it had nothing to do with my full-time job,” she says. “Their openness means it doesn’t feel like a 9-to-5: it’s a job that works with my passions.” Continued here

S28

Euclid space mission is set for launch - here's how it will test alternative theories of gravity     The European Space Agency’s (Esa) Euclid mission will launch into space on a Falcon9 rocket from SpaceX on July 1, or soon after. Many of us who have worked on it will be in Florida to watch the nail-biting event.The mission is specifically designed to study the dark universe, probing both “dark matter” and “dark energy” – unknown substances thought to make up 95% of the energy density of the universe. Continued here

S70

Communication Is at the Heart of Positive Employee Relationships | Ben Laker     Our summer special report helps leaders gain a comprehensive view of risks, learn how to overcome market disrupters, and manage the analytical tools that provide predictive insight for decision-making.Our summer special report helps leaders gain a comprehensive view of risks, learn how to overcome market disrupters, and manage the analytical tools that provide predictive insight for decision-making.In today’s competitive job market, companies must focus not only on finding the best candidates but also on fostering positive relationships with them, starting with the first step of the recruitment process through every stage of employment. Continued here

S12

Intermittent fasting and calorie counting about equal for weight loss - new study     The traditional approach to weight loss is to count calories and try to reduce the number consumed each day. This is a time-consuming and error-prone process – often with disappointing results. Intermittent fasting – and the popular version known as time-restricted eating – could be a simpler option for people wanting to achieve a healthy weight.But is intermittent fasting any better than calorie counting for losing weight? A new study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, aimed to provide the answer. It showed that the two methods could be equally effective – if undertaken with professional counselling. Continued here

S19

A trauma-focused therapy is helping Ukrainian children besieged by war - a clinical psychologist explains how it could bring resilience to kids around the world     Instructor in psychiatry, clinical psychologist and director of training at Lifeline for Kids, UMass Chan Medical School Childhood trauma is a global health problem. Every year, up to 1 billion children worldwide experience some form of emotional, physical or sexual abuse. More than two-thirds of children report at least one traumatic event by age 16. Continued here

S8

Bougna: fish stew with sweet potatoes     The pristine, remote waters that surround New Caledonia – a French island territory in the South Pacific – aren't just known for their beauty; they're famous for their fish. When Valentine Thomas, a world record spearfisherwoman and an international ambassador for ocean sustainability, received an invitation from local diver friends in Nouméa, the capital of New Caledonia, to come and fish in the area, she said, "I could not have passed on that offer".Spearfishing, a form of underwater hunting that involves diving hundreds of feet below the water's surface without any oxygen, isn't for the faint of heart. And spearfishing in New Caledonia requires a particular kind of bravery – not only because the waters are teeming with sharks, but also because, on some of the islands, they're fiercely guarded by the Kanak. The Kanak are a Melanesian tribe indigenous to New Caledonia, dating back to roughly 3000 BCE. Today, the Kanak – who make up about 40% of the territory's population – actively work to protect what's left of their land, culture and identity. In certain places, if you dare to fish without a Kanak guide, Thomas said, "You enter at your own risk. Of getting shot." Continued here

S24

Nigeria's mobile money system has a dark side even though it's convenient - new study explores the risks     Financial services play vital roles in supporting economic activities. In Nigeria, though, a significant number of people don’t have access to essential banking services.A 2021 World Bank report shows that only 45% of Nigerian adults have bank accounts. Another 2021 study shows that nearly one in two adults don’t use any formal financial services. And more than one in three Nigerian adults are completely financially excluded. To be financially excluded means that such adults do not have or use any financial products or services – whether formal orinformal. Continued here

S11

The Titan disaster investigation has begun. An expert explains what might happen next     The United States Coast Guard is now leading the investigation into the Titan submersible, looking for answers about why it imploded, and what actions should be taken next.A multinational search for the Titan came to a halt on Thursday, when a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) found five pieces of debris sprawled across the seabed, some 500 metres from the Titanic shipwreck. The vessel experienced a catastrophic implosion at some point during its journey, with all five passengers presumed dead. Continued here

S6

Did Me Too change the workplace for Gen Z?     Like many women, I remember watching the Me Too movement mushroom as I scrolled through Facebook and Twitter in October 2017. While the hashtag #MeToo was first used in 2006 by black feminist activist Tarana Burke, who wanted to tackle sexual violence within her own community, it gained momentum following a viral tweet by actress Alyssa Milano after Harvey Weinstein’s crimes were exposed. Women around the world also began posting about how the misuse of power and privilege enabled sexual misconduct in the workplace.For many women in the workforce, the Me Too movement triggered conversations about the inappropriate (and often illegal) behaviours we’d encountered in our own careers, prompting a mix of anger, catharsis and, for some, painful re-lived trauma. But that wasn’t the case for Gen Z who were still children or teenagers. Born between 1996 and 2012, only the oldest, now workforce-aged, were in university, or applying for their first jobs, when #MeToo trended across social media and grabbed headlines. Continued here

S9

Maqloubeh: an upside-down chicken and rice dish     For many Palestinians, Eid al-Adha (the Feast of Sacrifice), held on 28 June this year, is celebrated with the most festive dish of all: maqloubeh (meaning "upside-down"). Ultimately, it's a "cake" of chicken pieces braised with aubergines, potatoes and cauliflower, with alternating layers of rice – though some make it with lamb and other vegetables.Its history spans several centuries throughout the Levant and is thought to originate in medieval Baghdad. Like the spelling of its name, there are numerous variations between families, religions and countries, but above all it's considered a comforting dish to be shared among friends. Continued here

S7

#quittok: Why young workers are live-quitting on TikTok     Even years into the Great Resignation, workers continue to leave their jobs in droves. While plenty of employees are still sending off official resignation emails to bosses, younger workers are increasingly taking a different tack: live quitting.In July 2021, a clip of UK McDonald’s workers quitting mid-shift went viral ­– and now TikTok is awash with users sharing real-time footage of the moment they told their bosses ‘I quit’. Sometimes tense, often funny and nearly always compelling, these short video clips are attracting thousands – sometimes millions – of views on the social media platform. Continued here

S3

Are You Failing to Prepare the Next Generation of C-Suite Leaders? - SPONSOR CONTENT FROM DAGGERWING     For many people leaders, that’s been the mantra for the past three years. “Let’s just get through this moment in time, focus on the short-term solutions for our immediate needs, and when things go back to normal, we’ll deal with all the issues we’ve been putting on the backburner.” Continued here

S21

This year's surplus will be bigger than the $4.2 billion projected at budget time: Chalmers     The surplus for the financial year that ends Friday will be larger than the $4.2 billion forecast in the budget, Treasurer Jim Chalmers will say on Wednesday. In a speech to be delivered in Darwin, Chalmers says the government had been “deliberately cautious” in its estimate in the budget, “given the history”. This was a reference to former Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s “back in black” prediction in 2019. Continued here

S20

Lab-grown meat techniques aren't new - cell cultures are common tools in science, but bringing them up to scale to meet society's demand for meat will require further development     You might be old enough to remember the famous “Where’s the Beef?” Wendy’s commercials. This question may be asked in a different context since U.S. regulators approved the sale of lab-grown chicken meat made from cultivated cells in June 2023.Cell cultures are typically grown using either natural or artificial growth media. Natural media comprise naturally-derived biological fluids, whereas artificial media comprise both organic and inorganic nutrients and compounds. Both contain the necessary ingredients to foster the growth and development of cells. These ingredients typically contain nutrients such as vitamins, carbohydrates, amino acids and other molecules that provide the fuel for cells to grow and multiply. Continued here

S26

We have forgotten what a 'natural' river even looks like     Britain’s rivers are under the spotlight because of an untreated sewage crisis, and the pendulum of floods and droughts that are the hallmark of a warming world. But hidden within these policy debates is a pervasive and under reported issue: quite simply, people have forgotten what a natural river even looks like. This is important because it underpins attitudes towards the kind of rivers people expect to live with, and therefore constrains the changes to rivers that people will be willing to accept. Scientific evidence says radically different looking rivers are needed in order to accommodate larger, more frequent floods and droughts, to deliver increases in biodiversity, and to store more carbon. Continued here

S15

COVID-19 hurt kids' math learning more than reading and writing - with the biggest setbacks in fall 2020     The COVID-19 pandemic had a stark negative impact on students’ math scores, new data from Michigan shows. Math achievement growth over the three-year period from spring 2019 through spring 2022 was substantially lower – approximately 7 national percentiles – than among comparable students the three years prior.There were even larger decreases among students who are Black or Latino, low income or who attended the majority of schools that taught remotely for at least part of the 2020-2021 academic year. Continued here

S18

The digital future may rely on ultrafast optical electronics and computers     If you’ve ever wished you had a faster phone, computer or internet connection, you’ve encountered the personal experience of hitting a limit of technology. But there might be help on the way.Over the past several decades, scientists and engineers like me have worked to develop faster transistors, the electronic components underlying modern electronic and digital communications technologies. These efforts have been based on a category of materials called semiconductors that have special electrical properties. Silicon is perhaps the best known example of this type of material. Continued here

S2

A Shelter in Time: John Berger on the Power of Music     Each month, I spend hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars keeping The Marginalian going. For seventeen years, it has remained free and ad-free and alive thanks to patronage from readers. I have no staff, no interns, not even an assistant — a thoroughly one-woman labor of love that is also my life and my livelihood. If this labor has made your own life more livable in the past year (or the past decade), please consider aiding its sustenance with a one-time or loyal donation. Your support makes all the difference.“A rough sound was polished until it became a smoother sound, which was polished until it became music,” the poet Mark Strand wrote in his ode to the enchantment of music. Music is the most indescribable of the arts, and that may be what makes it the most powerful — the creative force best capable of giving voice and shape to our most ineffable experiences and most layered longings, of containing them and expanding them at once. It is our supreme language for the exhilaration of being alive.I have come upon no finer definition of music than philosopher Susanne Langer’s, who conceived of it as a laboratory for feeling in time. Time, indeed, is not only the raw material of music — the fundamental building block of melody and rhythm — but also its supreme gift to the listener. A song is a shelter in time, a shelter in being — music meets us at particular moments of our lives, enters us and magnifies those moments, anchors them in the stream of life, so that each time we hear the song again the living self is transported to the lived moment, and yet transformed. Continued here

S34

On the 10th anniversary of the Lac-M     Bruce Campbell is affiliated with several non-governmental organizations: the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, the Rideau Institute for International Affairs, the Group of 78On July 6, 2013, a runaway train carrying 72 tank cars loaded with volatile Bakken shale oil derailed and exploded in Lac-Mégantic, a small town in southeastern Québec. It killed 47 people, orphaned 26 children, spilled a record six million litres of oil and incinerated the town centre. Continued here

S32

Dyma beth allai'r byd crypto ei ddysgu o'r arian cyfredol oedd yn cael ei dalu i weithwyr yng Nghymru canrifoedd yn      Mae'r farchnad cryptoarian wedi gweld nifer o rwystrau diweddar: o gwymp y system Terra/Luna ym mis Mai 2022 i fethiant un o gyfnewidfeydd crypto mwya'r byd (FTX) fis Tachwedd diwethaf. Oherwydd hyn, a phryderon ynghylch allyriadau carbon cryptoarian, fe gwympodd yr asedau'n llym yn 2022, gan golli gwerth $2 triliwn (£1.5 triliwn). Continued here

S23

African women lawyers: numbers are up but report sheds light on obstacles to leadership in the profession     Josephine Jarpa Dawuni works for/consults to Institute for African Women in Law. National Science Foundation grantThe African continent currently leads the world in the number of women chief justices and presidents of constitutional courts. Several countries across the continent have almost equal numbers of women and men at the bar. Continued here

S33

Asteroid City: Wes Anderson's cosmic tale is his most engaging in years     Wes Anderson’s new film Asteroid City (2023) is a sci-fi dramedy following a grieving family stranded in a rural US town during a star-gazing event in the summer of 1955.However, it’s also a text by fictional playwright, Conrad Earp (Edward Norton), the writing and dramatisation of which forms the basis of this film’s framing story. And those hyper-saturated, expansive vistas you’re likely to be familiar with from the film’s promotional materials are from the in-world, televised dramatisation of this play. Continued here

S29

We found coronaviruses in UK bats -- so far the danger's minimal but we need to know more about viruses that can spread to humans     Most emerging infectious diseases are caused by zoonotic pathogens – viruses and bacteria which circulate in wild and domestic animals but are also capable of infecting humans. Examples of diseases caused by zoonotic pathogens include Ebola, Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and bird flu.Certain bat species act as a reservoir for a range of viruses that can jump to humans – for example, the closest relatives of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID) circulate in bats of the Rhinolophus genus. However, we don’t have a good understanding of the diversity of viruses circulating in bat populations in most parts of the world. We also don’t have a good idea of the number of bat viruses that could jump into humans in the future. Continued here

S44

After the Manitoba crash, Canada needs to rethink bus safety     The recent collision between a bus and a semi-truck near Carberry, Man., which killed 16 seniors, is the latest fatal incident to raise concerns about bus and road safety in Canada. The crash shares similarities to other fatal bus crashes like the 2018 Humboldt Broncos bus crash and the 2019 bus rollover on Vancouver Island.Buses are one of the safest modes of transportation. However, these tragic incidents show that major crashes can result in significant loss of life, severe injuries and profound grief for entire communities. Continued here

S13

Napping may be beneficial for your brain - here's how     Sleep plays an important role in keeping the brain healthy, which is why people are advised to get at least 7-9 hours each night. When people have difficulties with sleep, for example, they usually feel more stressed. This is because a lack of sleep activates the body’s stress response, which affects different brain and body systems. This could lead to stress-related disorders. Our study aimed to uncover the potential causal relationship between daytime napping, cognitive function and brain volume. We focused on reaction time and memory because these cognitive abilities tend to decline as we get older. We also examined the hippocampus (an important brain structure for memory) and total brain volumes because they play a significant role in explaining differences in memory and overall thinking skills. Continued here

S22

Putin's Ukraine war keeps yielding dividends -- but not for him     On June 23, 2023, 16 months into Russia’s war with Ukraine, Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of Russia’s now disbanded potent mercenary fighting force and a protégé of Russian President Vladimir, turned his troops on the Russian military and, ostensibly, the Kremlin itself.Within 24 hours, though, Prigozhin had aborted his march to Moscow and turned his troops around. But the damage to Putin’s strongman image and possibly his plans to subjugate Ukraine by force had been done. Continued here