You're rushing to work and a man ahead of you collapses on the sidewalk. Do you stop to help? In a study of by-standers, it was found that some people avert their gaze and keep on walking rather than stop and get involved.

    "There is a tendency to decide that no action is needed." says a psychologist. "The first thoughts that pop into your mind often keep you from offering help. In order to take action, you have to work against them. " Here are some common thoughts that might prevent you from helping.

    Why should I be the one? I'm probably not the most competent (有能力的) person in this crowd. You might think someone older or with more medical knowledge should offer assistance.

    What if he doesn't really need my help? The fear of embarrassment is powerful; no one wants to risk looking foolish in front of others.

    No one else looks concerned—this must not be a problem. We can follow the people around us, but most people tend to hold back their emotions in public.

    "If you spot trouble and find yourself explaining inaction, force yourself to stop and assess the situation instead of walking on," says the psychologist. "Then retry to involve other people; you don't have to take on the entire responsibility of being helpful. Sometimes it's just a matter of turning to the person next to you and saying, 'It looks like we should do something.' Or asking someone if an ambulance has been called and, if not, to call for one. Once you take action, most people will follow you."

    Vacation is a time for refreshment. In work, we are often called to think. Sometimes, it's good to give our brains a rest. Without a break, we may not be able to perform up to our potential. This can be a problem, not only for the employee, but for the employer as well.

    "The main benefit of vacation is for the worker to come back energized," says Weaver. "If they haven't had a break, then they're not coming back with new energy. They haven't had a chance to step back and get perspective（远景）, and come back with renewed enthusiasm."

    Long working hours without a break, insecurity about one's job, and other work-related worries can lead to burnout and stress. Humans can usually adapt to pressure, but not for a limitless amount of time.

    "It is a problem of relating good workers and having them loyal to the firm while they're there," says David Maume, PhD, professor of sociology at the University of Cincinnati. He says burnout can also affect employees' productivity, creativity, and effectiveness.

    In addition, high levels of stress may lead to depression, which can hit both the employer and employee's pocketbook. Even people who manage to remain productive at work can have problems. If they're always at work, then they're not with their family and friends. If they're working while on vacation, for the time that they're on the job, they're not really present.

    An unbalanced emphasis on work can strain family and social life. When you come up for air, you may see that you're alone, or that your relationships have gone on without you.

    Father's Day is celebrated today in 75 countries around the world. In my personal world, it's a day I like to think of my father's father.

    I learned a lot in my later life from my dad. But I learned something else, as a kid not even yet in school, from my grandfather. I learned to be curious. Little things fathers and grandfathers do can change the life of a child forever. In my case, this change came from necessity: My mom needed someone to look after little Allen, barely 4 years old, during the school day. My grandmother volunteered, and my grandfather came up with a way I could be watched while he worked in his clockmaker's shop.

    He seated me on a chair every day while I was there, right in front of his big workbench. He told me stories. He had a great sense of humor and a funny way of making a "buh-buh-buh" sound when he sensed my attention was weakening, and he encouraged me to ask questions about anything he was doing.

    Naturally, I was usually asking questions about clocks--what made the hands move, what the pendulum(钟摆) did, why you had to stop winding just before the weight hit the stop. Sometimes I just asked about which shiny parts went where.

    Most of all, he showed me how clocks worked. He treated me as if I were a sort of small grown-up. He never talked down to me, never told me I was "too young to understand".

    And so my grandfather granted me two things: A love of clocks, and an everlasting curiosity.

    As a journalist, I turned that fascination into explanations of why computers and software do what they do——and, perhaps even more importantly, why they fail at that task. I haven't been afraid of opening up the innards and looking for what is wrong with the computer.

    Put an ice cube(小冰块) from your fridge into a glass of water. You have a piece of string(线) 10 centimeters long. The problem is to take out that piece of ice with the help of the string. But you must not touch the ice with your fingers (手指).

    You may ask your friends to try to do that when you are having dinner together. There is a saltcellar on the table. You must use salt when you carry out this experiment.

    First you put the string across the piece of ice. Then put some salt on the ice. Salt makes ice melt(融化). The ice round the string will begin to melt. But when it melts, it will lose heat. The cold ice cube will make the salt water freeze(冻结) again.

    After a minute or two you may raise(提起) the piece of string and with it you will raise your piece of ice!

    This experiment can be very useful to you. If, for example, there is ice near the door of your house, you must use very much salt to melt all the ice. If you don't put enough salt, the water will freeze again.

    Shark attacks not only disturb beach activities, but can affect associated tourist industries. Shark nets are a common solution to preventing shark attacks on beaches, but they cause dangers to sea ecosystems.

    Seeking a cost-effective way to monitor beach safety over large areas, we have developed a system called Shark Spotter. It combines artificial intelligence (AI), computing power, and drone (无人机) technology to identify and warn lifesavers to sharks near swimmers. The project is a cooperation between the University of Technology Sydney and The Ripper Group, which is pioneering the use of drones—called "Westpac Little Ripper Lifesavers"—in the search and rescue movement in Australia.

    SharkSpotter can detect sharks and other potential threats using real-time aerial imagery. The system analyses video from a camera attached to a drone to monitor beaches for sharks, send warnings, and conduct rescues. Developed with techniques known as "deep learning", the Shark Spotter system receives imagery from the drone camera and attempts to identify all objects in the scene. Once certain objects are detected, they are put into one of 16 categories: shark, whale, dolphin, rays, different types of boats, surfers, and swimmers.

    If a shark is detected, Shark Spotter provides both a visual sign on the computer screen and an audible warning to the operator. The operator confirms the warning and sends text messages from the Shark Spotter system to the Surf Life Savers for further action. In an emergency, the drone is equipped with a lifesaving flotation pod (漂浮仓) together with an electronic shark repellent (驱逐装置) that can be dropped into the water in cases where swimmers are in severe trouble, trapped in a rip, or if there are sharks close by.

    In January 2018, the Westpac Little Ripper Lifesavers was used to rescue two young swimmers caught in a rip at Lennox Head, NSW. The drone flew down the beach some 800 meters from the lifeguard station, and a lifesaving flotation pod was dropped from the drone. The complete rescue operation took 70 seconds.

    We believe Shark Spotter is a win-win for both marine life and beachgoers. This unique technology combines dynamic video image processing AI and advanced drone technology to creatively deal with the global challenge of ensuring safe beaches, protecting environments, and promoting tourism.

Humans' overconsumption(过度消费) of resources is a leading contributor to global climate change, says University of Arizona researcher Sabrina Helm. Therefore, it's increasingly important to understand the choices consumers make and how those decisions affect the health of a planet with limited resources. In a new study, published in the journal Young Consumers, Helm and her colleagues explore how materialistic values influence pro-environmental behaviors in millennials(千禧一代), who are now the nation's most influential group of consumers. 

The researchers focused on two main categories of pro-environmental behaviors: reduced consumption, which includes actions like repairing instead of replacing older items; and "green buying," or purchasing products designed to limit environmental impacts. The researchers also looked at how engaging in pro-environmental behaviors affects consumer well-being.

More materialistic participants, the researchers found, were unlikely to engage in reduced consumption. However, materialism did not seem to have an effect on their likelihood of practicing "green buying." That's probably because "green buying," unlike reduced consumption, still offers a way for materialists to fulfill their desire to get new items, Helm said.

Study participants who reported having fewer materialistic values were much more likely to engage in reduced consumption. Consuming less was, in turn, linked to higher personal well-being and lower psychological suffering. Green buying—which may have some positive environmental effects, although to a smaller degree than reduced consumption—was not found to improve consumer well-being, Helm said.

The take-home message for consumers: "The key is to reduce consumption and not just buy green stuff. Having less and buying less can actually make us more satisfied and happier," Helm said. "If you have a lot of stuff, you have a lot on your mind," she said. "For example, it requires maintenance and there's a lot of burdens of ownership, and if you relieve yourself of that burden of ownership, most people report feeling a lot better and freer."

Helm and her colleagues additionally looked at how materialism affects millennial consumers' proactive financial behaviors, such as budgeting and saving. Examining financial behaviors alongside pro-environmental behaviors provides a picture of how young adults proactively deal with resource limitations in two contexts: environmental and financial, Helm said.

As expected, Helm and her colleagues found that those who reported having more materialistic values engaged in fewer proactive financial behaviors than their less materialistic counterparts(对应的人). The researchers also found that, consistent with previous studies, proactive financial behaviors were associated with better personal well-being, life satisfaction and financial satisfaction, as well as lower psychological suffering.

Understanding how materialistic values impact consumer behaviors, and how those behaviors in turn affect personal and environmental well-being, is important, Helm said. However, she acknowledges that for many consumers, shifting behaviors to be more financially proactive and consume less will be challenging.