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Study: Air pollution particulates can even harm unborn children

Scott E. Rupp Waste Management & Environmental

It turns out that air pollution is worse on us than we may have previously known, especially for those not yet born. According to the findings of a new study, pollution can be so pervasive that it can penetrate a pregnant woman's placenta and may threaten the health of a developing fetus. The study reviewed and analyzed high-resolution images taken of placenta tissue retrieved from 28 women who had given birth at East-Limburg Hospital in Genk, Belgium.

Malls without walls: The stealth privatization of public space in the US

Lucy Wallwork Construction & Building Materials

To architects and urban designers, the "public realm" has become sacred in planning systems and urban visions over the last two decades. The space between buildings has become seen as equally consequential as the buildings themselves. This often results in captivating sketches and visualizations of new development or transformed town centers. But the creeping privatization of the land rights and management regimes that underlie those sketches is provoking questions about how the ownership of the public realm impacts our experience of it.

5 tips for a greener school year

Sheilamary Koch Education

On Sept. 20, around 4 million people took to the streets worldwide as part of the largest youth-led climate strike to date. Whether you were there or at work, here are five practical tips to help ride the momentum of this historic event to create a greener classroom, school building or entire district. "If you’re not sure where to start, look at what other schools are doing," says Robert Whiteman, field studies teacher at Costa Verde International School in Sayulita, Mexico.

Want to improve your employees’ health? Lead by example

Terri Williams Business Management, Services & Risk Management

Most employees spend at least eight of their 24 daily weekday hours at work. And whether companies want to assume responsibility or not, employees believe that their jobs play a role in their health. For example, a 2017 CareerBuilder survey found that 56% of Americans are overweight and they blame it on sitting at a desk most of the day; being too tired from work to exercise; having to skip meals because of time constraints; and having to engage in workplace celebrations. Employees, especially healthy employees, are the lifeblood of an organization.

California’s recent prison reforms require housing solutions

Michelle R. Matisons Law Enforcement, Defense & Security

Criminalization of homeless and undocumented populations in California is integral to the state’s mass incarceration policies, which produced privatization as an initial solution to overcrowding. The state has been attempting its own carceral cleanup, as the Legislature recently passed AB 32, which bans new and renewed private correctional and detention facilities contracts by 2020 and seeks zero inmate presence in private facilities by 2028. A uniquely Californian hand-wringing reluctance accompanies prison privatization efforts.

Loyalty is a 2-way street

Anne Rose Business Management, Services & Risk Management

I often hear business owners and corporation executives bemoan the lack of loyalty among their underlings. They complain about staff turnover and how staff will move to another company at the drop of a hat, their employees’ willingness to publicly disparage the company they work for, and their eagerness to discourage others from joining the company by openly sharing the "dirty laundry." If you can find another person to hire in this person's place, then that’s a smart, no-brainer business solution. Right? But take another look: loyalty is a two-way street.

View from Europe: HVAC and Brexit

Andrew Gaved Manufacturing

As U.S. readers are no doubt aware, the U.K. is still in the throes of trying to leave the European Union, a process we now universally describe in a single word: Brexit. It is not my place here to go into the political machinations that have been going on for the last three years as the country has attempted to negotiate a legal exit from the EU. My purpose, instead, is to report on the challenges that the HVAC industry faces because of the threat of Brexit. What the industry fears is the prospect of a no-deal Brexit.

The most important job of a leader

Roberta Matuson Business Management, Services & Risk Management

What do you think the most important job of a leader is? Is it to motivate the team to achieve departmental business objectives? Engage employees to ensure they are highly productive? Drive home business results? While thoseare essential, none are the most important job of a leader. Why? Because a leader cannot accomplish any of this without the right people on his or her team. Therefore, the most critical job of a leader is to hire the right people.

Remodeling activity to ease, then dip in 2020

Michael J. Berens Interior Design, Furnishings & Fixtures

Contrary to earlier forecasts, demand for residential remodeling services increased during the second quarter of 2019. Industry experts have adjusted their growth projections for the year upward. At the same time, however, they now foresee a steeper decline in growth for the year ahead. Mark Boud, chief economist at Metrostudy, noted that continued weak home sales and construction rates were expected to continue into 2020, resulting in “some loss of remodeling activity."

Community revitalization: 10 tips to get people to come downtown

Terri Williams Civil & Government

The heart of any city or town is its downtown area. While the lure of the suburbs has seduced many to put down roots in the outlying areas, there are ways to coax residents back to the city — if not permanently, then at least for shopping, eating, and entertainment. Once they’ve experienced a fun, walkable downtown, they’re more likely to want to live there. But how can you get people to come downtown? Programming. "Essentially, programming means creating activities that drive people downtown," explains Quint Studer, a community revitalization expert.

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