Discover

    News magazine of science devoted to the wonders and stories of modern science, written for the educated general reader. Published by Disney Magazine Publishing Co., Discover tells many of the same stories professionals(专业人员) read in Scientific American. A truly delightful family science magazine, each issue(每期) brings to light new and newsworthy topics to make dinnertime and water-cooler conversations interesting.

    Cover Price: $59.88

    Price: $19.95($1.66/issue)

    You Save: $39.93(67%)

    Issues: 12 issues/12 months

    Self

    Published by Conde Nast Publications Inc., Self is a handbook devoted to women's overall physical(身体的) and mental health. Every issue contains usable articles such as "Style Lab", in which wearable clothes are mixed and matched on non-models and the "Eat-right Road Map", with tips on how to eat properly.

    Cover Price: $35.86

    Price: $15.00($2.5/issue)

    You Save: $20.86(58%)

    Issues: 6 issues/12 months

    InStyle

    InStyle is a guide(手册) to the lives and lifestyles of the world's famous people. The magazine covers the choices people make about their homes, their clothes and their free time activities. With photos and articles, it opens the door to these people's homes, families, parties and weddings, offering ideas about beauty, fitness and in general, lifestyles. Publisher: The Time Inc. Magazine Company.

    Cover Price: $47.88

    Price: $23.88($2.38/issue)

    You Save: $24.00(50%)

    Issues: 10 issues/12 months

    Wired

    This magazine is designed for leaders in the field of information engineering, including top managers and professionals in the computer, business, design and education industries. Published by Conde Nast Publications Inc., Wired often carries articles on how technology changes people's lives.

    Cover Price: $59.40

    Price: $10.00($1.00/issue)

    You save: $49.40(83%)

    Issues: 10 issues/12months

    Mobile technology has created new ways for all types of learning styles to help discover new information. If you want to teach yourself things, here are some apps that will help you.

    Coursera

    Perhaps one of the biggest advancements in the history of e﹣learning, Coursera has teamed up with top school like Duke, Stanford, and John Hopkins to bring you direct access to real college courses in psychology, computer science, business, and technology. Each course features pre﹣recorded videos, projects, and quizzes, just like you'd receive inside the classroom.

    Lumosity

    This app features three﹣day sessions that target many different areas of brain activity：memory, speed, problem solving, and thinking flexibility. Each day you can participate in a timed session to sharpen mental intelligence and keep track of your progress over time.

    Duolingo

    If you've ever wanted to learn a new language but didn't know where to start or couldn't afford expensive apps, you need to check out Duolingo. This app teaches more than a dozen languages by breaking up exercises into mini games. The developer of Duolingo claims that 34 hours of learning in this app equals a full term's worth of school.

    EarthViewer

    Ever wonder what Earth looked like a million years ago？There's no better way to know than to look for yourself. Earth Viewer takes you on a digital journey to see how the landscape（地貌） and face of the planet has developed over the past 4.5 billion years, and view climate changes, sea level adjustments, or the evolution of famous cities.

    In an industry with low margins (利润) where the traditional wisdom is led by Walmart, the key to success is lowering operating costs. A big part of those costs are in labor, so it is no surprise that the retail industry has been a leader in using more part-time workers to keep labor costs down, holding the line on wages, not training, and with few exceptions, seeing employees as a cost to be minimized. There is no doubt that these businesses fight for every dollar of margin. Unlike trend-leading hi-tech companies which spend a lot of money on employees to get them innovated, retail industry can spend very limited money on their employees.

    What researchers found was that companies were often staffing their stores far too low, and that many stores tended to perform better with higher staffing levels and were more profitable. Let's let that sink in for a minute. The stores were making more money (with all other things being equal) when they spent more on employees.

    They also found that retailers didn't do a very good job when staffing levels are just the actual demand in those stores. In fact, they set staffing levels identically across stores, even when the needs of the stores varied considerably. The average store did not appear to be understaffed, but there were enough that were understaffed and effect on overall company profitability was substantial.

    Interestingly, the same researchers persuaded the retail chain to run an experiment with them and slightly raise staffing levels to the amount that their analysis of historical data suggests would be ideal. Yes, labor costs obviously jumped when they did that, but so did profits. In retail, labor is a small percentage of costs—the biggest part is the cost of the products they sell. So, the net effect was an increase in profits of $7.4 million across 168 stores on an annual basis.

    What can we learn from this? One question worth thinking of is: How can traditional retail industry survive the increasingly severe market? Especially now with the growth of online retail, the one thing stores still have going for them is one to one customer contact with salespeople. If retailers cut that down to almost nothing, then they have effectively eliminated their competitive advantage against online stores.

    Teenagers who spend hours in front of the television may have a poorer diet as young adults.

    A study, which included nearly 1, 400 high school students, found those who watched TV for five hours or more per day had less healthy diets than peers (同龄人) five years later. Why does this happen? Should the parents take any measures?

    On the one hand, people who spend a lot of time in front of the TV, especially teenagers, may snack more, and that may affect their long-term diet quality.

    On the other hand, TV ads for fast food, sweets and snacks tempt teenagers to eat more of those foods. And TV time might also replace exercise time for some kids.

    Lead researcher Dr. Daheia J. Barr-Anderson, of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, told Reuters Health a clear correlation between TV time during high school and diet quality in young adulthood. While the heaviest TV viewers were eating the most junk food, those who'd watched less than two hours per day had the highest intake (吸收) of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and high-calcium food. In her opinion, parents should limit and monitor TV viewing.

    As far as I am concerned, children should watch no more than two hours of television per day. And parents should set a good example by eating right, being physically active and curbing their own TV time.

    Thanks to this new hands- free suitcase, carrying around heavy luggage may soon become a thing of the past. Designed by Israeli company NUA Robotics, this "smart" suitcase can follow you everywhere you go.

    The carry­on suitcase, now a prototype(雏形), connects to a smartphone app via bluetooth. It has a built­in camera sensor that can "see" you and follow you around on flat floors. It comes with an anti­theft alarm to prevent someone carrying it away when you're not looking. "It can follow and carry things for people around while communicating with their smartphone, and avoiding bumping into other objects," explained Alex Libman, founder of NUA Robotics. "We're combining sensor network, computer vision, and robotics. So if you download our app(应用), press the 'follow me' button, the luggage recognizes its user and knows to follow and communicate."

    NUA is still testing the products and trying to improve features like speed and customization(客户订制), but they hope to make the suitcase available to customers in a year's time. If it proves successful, they want to use the bluetooth pairing technology to automate(自动化操作)lots of other products, like shopping carts at the supermarket. These products are especially meant to be useful to the physically disabled and elderly. "Any object can be smart and robotic," Libman told Mashable. "We want to bring robots into everyday life."

    The Israeli tech company made it clear that the finished product will look just like a common suitcase. They're planning to partner with a carry­on luggage maker, since the product that makes it "smart" weighs just 2.5 pounds and can be fitted on old­fashion luggage.

    With NUA's smart suitcase, carrying around heavy luggage isn't a burden. But how their invention will handle tough blocks like stairs? It will be interesting to wait.

The Aquarium(水族馆) of the Pacific is Southern California's largest Aquarium. Beyond its world-class animal exhibits, the Aquarium offers monthly events for people of all ages. Here are the upcoming events for this November.

Photographers Night

On this night only, the Aquarium is accessible to photographers for the purpose of getting their dream photos without having to worry about being disturbed by the general public.

DATE: Saturday, NOVEMBER 4, 6:00—10:00 pm

COST: $44.95 per person, $41.95 for members. Ticket sales will be limited.

* Exhibits that will not be lit: Lorikeet Forest & Diving Birds because they will be getting their rest.

Seniors Day

The Aquarium will open its doors for free to people aged fifty and above on Seniors Day. It will feature special presentations, door prizes, and 20% off in the gift store for our senior guests.

DATE: Monday, NOVEMBER 13, 9:00 am—2:00 pm

COST: FREE to ages 50 and over with a valid photo ID. Advance reservations required.

Autism(自闭症) Families Treat

Spend a special evening at the Aquarium only for families with adults or children with autism. On this evening, guests can enjoy the peacefulness of the Aquarium's exhibits.

DATE: Sunday, NOVEMBER 19, 6:00—9:00 pm

COST: $12 per person, and free for Aquarium members and children under age three. Advance reservations required.

STEAM Fest

Spend the morning surrounded by STEAM science, technology, engineering, art, and math!

This event will feature interactive booths where you can learn about the ocean and the environment, make observations, and ask our animal care staff lots of questions.

DATE: Saturday, NOVEMBER 25, 9:00 am—1:00 pm

COST: $44.95 per adult(ages 12+), $29.95 per child(ages 3—12), and free for Aquarium members and children under age three. Advance reservations required.