week4-'Still Alice' raises profile of early onset Alzheimer's

March 13, 2015 

Updated 2:42 p.m.

In the weeks following the Academy Awards, it’s not uncommon for little-known movies to get an “Oscars boost,” especially when they are honored in high profile categories.

This year, one movie that has received a great deal of post-Oscars interest is “Still Alice,” thanks to Julianne Moore winning Best Actress for her work in the film. Moore portrays Alice Howland, a 50-year-old Harvard linguistics professor who is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease. Films that depict characters living with Alzheimer’s are nothing new, as fans of 2004’s “The Notebook” can attest.

What sets “Still Alice” apart is that the protagonist is among the estimated 200,000 Americans diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s – meaning, Alzheimer’s disease that is diagnosed in people younger than 65.

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, early onset affects only 5 percent of the more than 5 million Americans with Alzheimer’s; the association states that many people with early onset are in their 40s and 50s like Moore’s character in the film. Because these are not people who fit the traditional profile of an Alzheimer’s patient, it may be harder for their families to access the right intervention and care options. That’s a problem that must be addressed.

People in their 40s and 50s have careers, and some are still raising children; more commonly, their children are young adults. As a staff member at a local memory care community, Villagio at Capriana in Brea, I am incredibly familiar with the plight of families who have a loved one living with Alzheimer’s.

However, our residents are primarily over age 65; their careers are behind them and their children are grown. Many were even able to get acquainted with their grandchildren before their symptoms became severe. For the families of early onset Alzheimer’s patients, the reality is very different.

Like Alice Howland in the film, a person with early onset Alzheimer’s disease may be forced to resign from employment years earlier than they had planned to. This may cause an undue financial burden on the family.

The career may be maintained for a time after the diagnosis, but that is certainly not without its challenges. As for family life, children gradually become caregivers at an age when they may have burgeoning careers of their own – unless they are younger, in which case the stress of caring for a parent can interfere with academic careers, social lives and extracurricular activities. Clearly, the families of early onset Alzheimer’s patients are in need of more resources, better advocacy and heightened awareness.

Think about it: If a 45-year-old woman with a demanding career tells her physician she is experiencing memory loss, having trouble concentrating and feels depressed or isolated, there’s a chance she may not be taken seriously right away. In one conversation that addressed the importance of the movie “Still Alice,” a woman living with early onset Alzheimer’s stated it was likely she had been suffering from the disease for seven years before it was diagnosed.

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/alzheimer-654152-onset-early.html

Structure of the lead:

What- it’s not uncommon for little-known movies to get an “Oscars boost

Where- not given

When- In the weeks following the Academy Awards

How-not given

Why- not given

Who- the movie, still Alice

Keywords:

1.     onset 開始 著手

2.     protagonist 主角

week3

Uber Says Goodbye to Japan After Government Ruling

Ma Jie, Bloomberg

Mar 07, 2015 10:00 pm

Uber, whose taxi-hailing app faces regulatory challenges globally, shut down a ride- sharing trial in southwestern Japan after the government called it illegal.

Uber yesterday halted operation of Everyone’s Uber, a program that let users in Fukuoka city share rides, Evelyn Tay, a Singapore-based spokeswoman for the company, said in an e- mailed statement today. Uber will consult the Transport Ministry on ways to structure the program to meet official requirements, she said.

The move is a fresh blow to San Francisco-based Uber, whose ride-sharing functions are under scrutiny in cities from Paris to Seoul. Until now, the company avoided regulatory obstacles in Japan by working with taxi and hire-car operators in Tokyo. The Fukuoka program marked its first expansion outside Japan’s capital, where local taxi firms are pressuring Uber with their own apps.

Customers of the pilot program received free rides, while Uber paid drivers a fee for participating as it collected traffic and usage data. The service was illegal because it let drivers without taxi licenses profit by providing transport, ministry official Hidetaka Sakai said this week.

Uber has said it will revise the compensation model and continue to negotiate with authorities.

The purpose of the program, started jointly on Feb. 5 with the Kyushu Technology Licensing Organization, was to collect data to understand local transportation needs, Masami Takahashi, chief executive officer of Uber’s Japan unit, said in an interview last month.

Uber was able to “collect meaningful data for analysis that will shed light on transportation patterns in various areas (including underserved) of the city,” the company said today in a statement. “In the next phase, we will focus on better understanding specific transportation needs from the data collected.”

Uber’s presence in Tokyo is still small, partly due to increasing competition from apps introduced by local taxi operators and the city’s availability of 50,000 taxis — almost four times the number in New York.

http://skift.com/2015/03/07/uber-says-goodbye-to-japan-after-government-ruling/

Structure of the lead:

Who- Uber

What –shut down a ride- sharing trial

When- not given

Where- in Japan

How- not given

Why- the government called it illegal

Keywords:

1.      halt 禁止

2.      scrutiny 仔細檢查

                 

 week2-Lindt cafe to reopen in March with memorial to Sydney siege victims

The Lindt cafe in Martin Place - the scene of the Sydney siege in which a gunman and two hostages were killed - will reopen in March with a permanent memorial to the victims.Updated 12 Feb 2015, 4:36pm

The cafe, where lawyer Katrina Dawson and cafe manager Tori Johnson were killed after gunman Man Haron Monis took 18 hostages, has been boarded up since December.

The families of Ms Dawson and Mr Johnson welcomed news of the reopening and the new memorial.

"Although it will be difficult at first, we hope to be able in time to return to the Lindt cafe so that [Katrina's] children can continue to experience one of [her] great joys," said Ms Dawson's husband Paul Smith.

Mr Johnson's partner Thomas Zinn said he hoped to see Martin Place regain its status as an important social hub.

"[Tori] always had so much pleasure in making other people happy or [putting] a smile on their face," Mr Zinn said.

"We would like for people to return to Martin Place and smile again."

Lindt Australia chief executive officer Steve Loane said he did not expect all staff would want to return to work.

"The last few weeks have been like a rollercoaster [of] emotion for everybody, but they were really positive ... it's been amazing how strong they've been," Mr Loane said.

"Some of the team have indicated they do want to come back.

"But we've put no pressure on them and they can make their decisions closer to the date on how much involvement they want.

"And I'm sure there are some who will not want to come back to work."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-02-12/lindt-cafe-to-reopen-with-memorial-to-sydney-siege-victims/6089548

Structure of the lead :

Who- the Lindt cafe

What-will reopen with a permanent memorial to the victims

When- in March

How-not given

Where- Martin Place in Sydney

Why- not given

Keywords:

1.      siege 包圍 圍攻

2.      hostage 人質

week1-New York man dies after chokehold by police

By Deborah E. Bloom and Jareen Imam, CNN

Updated 2231 GMT (0631 HKT) December 8, 2014

Confronted by police trying to arrest him for allegedly selling illegal cigarettes, Eric Garner raised both hands in the air and, with passive defiance, told the officers not to touch him. Seconds later, a video shows the officer behind him grab the 350-pound man in a chokehold and pull him to the sidewalk, rolling him onto his stomach.

"I can't breathe! I can't breathe!" Garner said repeatedly, his cries muffled into the pavement.

The video of the Thursday skirmish shows the Staten Island man lying on the ground motionless after the incident. An asthmatic, Garner was later declared dead at a nearby hospital, according to CNN affiliate WCBS. Police said he suffered a heart attack and died en route to the hospital.

"This is a terrible tragedy that occurred yesterday. A terrible tragedy that no family should have to experience," said New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, calling the video of the incident "very troubling."

Police told WCBS that 43-year-old Garner, a father of six, had a lengthy criminal history and had been previously arrested for selling untaxed cigarettes in May.

Officer Daniel Pantaleo, who is seen on video choking Garner, was put on modified assignment and stripped of his shield and gun as the New York Police Department continues to investigate the incident, WCBS reported. The chokehold tactic is prohibited by the NYPD.

Two EMTs and two paramedics have been suspended without pay, Erika Hellstrom, vice president of development at Richmond University Medical Center, said in an e-mail.

In a statement, Patrolmen's Benevolent Association President Patrick J. Lynch called Pantaleo's reassignment "a completely unwarranted, kneejerk reaction for political reasons." He said the move "effectively pre-judges this case and denies the officer the very benefit of a doubt that has long been part of the social contract that allows police officers to face the risks of this difficult and complex job."

On Saturday, Garner's friends and family rallied alongside the Rev. Al Sharpton in Upper Manhattan, demanding a full investigation into Garner's death, according to WCBS.

Garner's wife was set to speak at the rally but found herself too emotional, WCBS reported.

New York photographer Joel Graham was at Saturday's demonstration, which lasted for two hours. He shared his photographs with CNN iReport, and says he captured them while walking alongside protesters who traveled from New Brighton Church to the store where the chokehold incident took place.

"This crowd was composed of good, well-meaning people who understood that peace was the only option and were adamant that things remain calm over Eric's death. I have been to protests that have been violent, but this crowd reflected who Eric was," he said.

Graham, an area resident, had a familiar relationship with Garner. "I am an urban art photographer, and I will talk to everyone on the streets of New York City," he said, explaining that he would occasionally chat with Garner while taking photos near the Staten Island Ferry.

"I had empathy for Eric and how he must have felt trying to catch his breath, and sympathy for the family. This was a heartfelt emotional protest because everyone loved Eric," he said.

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/07/20/justice/ny-chokehold-death/

Structure of the lead:

Who- Eric Garner

When- not given

What- raised both hands in the air and, with passive defiance, told the officers not to touch him.

Where-not given

How- not given

Why-Confronted by police trying to arrest him for allegedly selling illegal cigarettes

Key words:

1.      chokehold 掐脖子

2.      paramedic 護理人員