Isolation

Social isolation and loneliness are serious yet underappreciated public health risks that affect a significant portion of the older adult population. Approximately one-quarter of community-dwelling Americans aged 65 and older are considered to be socially isolated, and a significant proportion of adults in the United States report feeling lonely. People who are 50 years of age or older are more likely to experience many of the risk factors that can cause or exacerbate social isolation or loneliness, such as living alone, the loss of family or friends, chronic illness, and sensory impairments. Over a life course, social isolation and loneliness may be episodic or chronic, depending upon an individual's circumstances and perceptions. A substantial body of evidence demonstrates that social isolation presents a major risk for premature mortality, comparable to other risk factors such as high blood pressure, smoking, or obesity. As older adults are particularly high-volume and high-frequency users of the health care system, there is an opportunity for health care professionals to identify, prevent, and mitigate the adverse health impacts of social isolation and loneliness in older adults. Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults summarizes the evidence base and explores how social isolation and loneliness affect health and quality of life in adults aged 50 and older, particularly among low income, underserved, and vulnerable populations. This report makes recommendations specifically for clinical settings of health care to identify those who suffer the resultant negative health impacts of social isolation and loneliness and target interventions to improve their social conditions. Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults considers clinical tools and methodologies, better education and training for the health care workforce, and dissemination and implementation that will be important for translating research into practice, especially as the evidence base for effective interventions continues to flourish.

What life during lockdown reveals about digital inequality. The vast majority of people in wealthy, highly connected, or digitally privileged societies may have crossed the digital divide, but being online does not mean that everyone is equally connected—and digital inequality reflects experience both online and off. In Connected in Isolation Eszter Hargittai looks at how this digital disparity played out during the unprecedented isolation imposed in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. During initial COVID-19 lockdowns the Internet, for many, became a lifeline, as everything from family get-togethers to doctor’s visits moved online. Using survey data collected in April and May of 2020 in the United States, Italy, and Switzerland, Hargittai explores how people from varied backgrounds and differing skill levels were able to take advantage of digital media to find the crucial information they needed—to help loved ones, procure necessities, understand rules and risks. Her study reveals the extent to which long-standing social and digital inequalities played a critical role in this move toward computer-mediated communication—and were often exacerbated in the process. However, Hargittai notes, context matters: her findings reveal that some populations traditionally disadvantaged with technology, such as older people, actually did better than others, in part because of the continuing importance of traditional media, television in particular. The pandemic has permanently shifted how reliant we are upon online information, and the implications of Hargittai’s groundbreaking comparative research go far beyond the pandemic. Connected in Isolation informs and expands our understanding of digital media, including how they might mitigate or worsen existing social disparities; whom they empower or disenfranchise; and how we can identify and expand the skills people bring to them.

Tests for repeated patterns in evolution of island plants, which together comprise an 'island syndrome' analogous to animals.

How to keep calm, carry on, and reconnect during times of social isolation and emotional crisis. Although spending time alone for short periods may be restorative and helpful, unintentional or involuntary isolation can have profound detrimental effects on emotional and physical health. We all need social interaction and meaningful relationships in our lives to be well and thrive. Without them, we flounder. In Reconnecting after Isolation, Dr. Susan J. Noonan draws on our collective experience of the COVID-19 pandemic to help readers deal with the emotional impact of social isolation. Speaking as both a provider and recipient of mental health care services, Noonan combines her professional and personal experiences in an evidence-based and practical guide. Drawing on meticulous research and interviews with four psychologists, she outlines steps to overcome the emotional trauma of isolation. The book touches on how social isolation, loneliness, and stress affect each of us individually and can sometimes provoke depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, suicidality, and substance use. Describing specific lifestyle interventions that may help, it offers tips for • developing effective coping skills • facing isolation-induced fears adapting effectively to the changes in our personal, family, work, academic, and social lives caused by imposed isolation • finding effective, culturally sensitive mental health care • improving sleep hygiene • building and maintaining resilience • adopting a healthy diet • overcoming the fatigue burnout • grieving a loss • engaging in regular physical exercise • keeping a daily routine or structure • maintaining contact with others Dr. Noonan also discusses re-entry anxiety, the challenging experience many have upon returning to their prior lifestyle, and the difficulty of establishing new school and work routines following social isolation. Accessible and compassionate, Reconnecting after Isolation empowers individuals to manage their own challenges, offering them a better chance of recovery and of staying well.

The action-packed official adaptation of Alien: Isolation and a revealing look into the lives of Ellen Ripley and her daughter, Amanda Ripley. THE OFFICIAL VIDEO GAME ADAPTATION—AND MUCH MORE! From birth, Amanda Ripley's life is riddled with hardship. Her parents live on the edge of poverty, so her mother—Ellen Ripley—seeks off-world contracts that lead to a position aboard the commercial hauler Nostromo. Then when the deep-space vessel disappears, Amanda passes into adulthood focused on discovering one thing. WHAT HAPPENED TO ELLEN RIPLEY? Amanda's quest pulls her into the underbelly of society, where few can be trusted. On Luna she meets someone who seems the exception—Private Zula Hendricks of the Colonial Marines—but their relationship is short-lived. Just as Amanda appears to hit rock bottom... a lead appears. To follow it, she must travel to the remote Sevastopol Station. There she hopes to find the answers she seeks. But the station is in ruins, and death stalks the corridors in the form of a deadly alien the likes of which she never could have imagined.

“Fault Detection and Isolation: Multi-Vehicle Unmanned System” deals with the design and development of fault detection and isolation algorithms for unmanned vehicles such as spacecraft, aerial drones and other related vehicles. Addressing fault detection and isolation is a key step towards designing autonomous, fault-tolerant cooperative control of networks of unmanned systems. This book proposes a solution based on a geometric approach, and presents new theoretical findings for fault detection and isolation in Markovian jump systems. Also discussed are the effects of large environmental disturbances, as well as communication channels, on unmanned systems. The book proposes novel solutions to difficulties like robustness issues, as well as communication channel anomalies. “Fault Detection and Isolation: Multi-Vehicle Unmanned System” is an ideal book for researchers and engineers working in the fields of fault detection, as well as networks of unmanned vehicles.

With masterful storytelling, Travis Thrasher draws readers into a novel so gripping it cannot be put down. James Miller is a burned-out missionary whose time on the mission field in Papua New Guinea left him exhausted and disillusioned. His wife, Stephanie, feels like she's losing her mind. After moving to North Carolina, Stephanie begins seeing strange and frightening things: blood dripping down the walls, one of her children suffocating. Premonitions, she's sure, of what's to come. As the visions and haunting images intensify, Stephanie asks her brother to come for a much-needed visit--but he's hiding secrets of his own that will prove more destructive than Stephanie can imagine. Nine-year-old Zachary sees his family's move as an adventure, and as he explores the new house, he discovers every young boy's dream: secret passageways and hidden rooms. But what seems exciting at first quickly becomes altogether frightening. When a snowstorm traps the Millers, the supernatural dangers of their new home will test everything they thought they knew about each other, and about their faith.

Ever been hurt by someone and needed an alternative way to forgive them--without actually forgiving them? The mindful ideas can be practiced by anyone, at any time, and at any location. It does not matter who you are or what limitations, political, or religious leanings one way or another, you might have. Need to "stay calm and carry on" in today's harsh landscape, which seems so divided on various levels? For anyone of us who has ever been demeaned and demoralized prompted by misconstrued assumptions about who "you" are, use one or two of these suggestions for your benefit.