You will write an op-ed for the New York Times (hypothetically) on a global health issue, which is Period - Best History Assignment Help By Professors

You will write an op-ed for the New York Times (hypothetically) on a global health issue, which is Period Poverty. Your audience is the readers of the NY Times, a general lay audience, so you need to convince them of your position and why they should care about the issue. Please read instructions for more detailed assignment instructions.

New York Times Op-Ed Piece
Purpose: To make an informed argument on a global health issue, which period poverty,
and communicate those ideas in a clear and interesting manner to the lay public

Descriiption: Generate and organize
your opinions around that issue. Take a stance on that issue and write a mock New
York Times Op-Ed trying to convince those in the lay public to share your stance. Be
sure to lay out for the audience what the issue is, why they should care, and what’s
something that can be done about it (e.g., legislation, funding).

Learning Objectives:
– Analyze the roles, relationships, and resources of the entities influencing
global health
– Display critical self-reflection, cultural humility, and ongoing learning in
global health

Please see general guidance below from the NYT. One difference is that you MUST provide references to support your statements. Please use AMA/sequentially numbering format with a reference page at the end. The reference page does not count towards the word limit.

https://help.nytimes.com/hc/en-us/articles/115014809107-How-to-submit-an-Op-Ed-

Investment is the employment of funds with the aim of achieving additional

Investment is the employment of funds with the aim of achieving additional income or growth in value. The essential quality of an investment is that, it involves ‘waiting’ for a reward. It involves the commitment of resources which have been saved or put away from current consumption in the hope that some benefits will accrue in future. The term ‘Investment’ does not appear to be as simple as it has been defined.

Investment has been categorised by financial experts and economists. It has also often been confused with the term speculation. The following discussion will give an explanation of the various ways in which investment is related or differentiated from the financial and economic sense and how speculation differs from investment. It must be clearly established that investment involves long-term commitment.

Investment is the allocation of monetary resources to assets that are expected to yield some gain or positive return over a given period of time. These assets range from safe investments to risky investments. Investments in this form are also called ‘Financial Investments’.

From the point of view of people who invest their funds, they are the suppliers of ‘Capital’ and in their view, investment is a commitment of a person’s funds to derive future income in the form of interest, dividends, rent, premiums, pension benefits or the appreciation of the value of their principal capital.

To the financial investor, it is not important whether money is invested for a productive use or for the purchase of second hand instruments such as existing shares and stocks listed on the stock exchanges. Most investments are considered to be transfers of financial assets from one person to another.

The nature of investment in the financial sense differs from its use in the economic sense. To the economist, ‘Investment’ means the net additions to the economy’s capital stock which consists of goods and service that are used in the production of other goods and services.

The term investment implies the formation of new and productive capital in the form of new construction, new producers’ durable equipment such as plant and equipment. Inventories and human capital are included in the economist’s definition of investment.

The financial and economic meaning of investment are related to each other because investment is a part of the savings of individuals which flow into the capital market either directly or through institutions, divided in ‘new’ and second hand capital financing.

Investors as ‘suppliers’ and investor as ‘users’ of long-term funds find a meeting place in the market. In this book, however, investment will be used in its ‘financial sense’ and investment will include those instruments and institutional media into which savings are placed.

Documentary Film Analysis – Helpful Steps Purpose: To give you the tools

You will write an op-ed for the New York Times (hypothetically) on a global health issue, which is Period Writing Assignment Help Documentary Film Analysis – Helpful Steps

Purpose:

To give you the tools to view the films from the unit analytically and critically. This document will generate thoughts and help you to organize information that will be needed to write your essay 2. Be complete and thorough in your viewing and notetaking and you will be prewriting and drafting as you go, saving you time!

Task:

Please answer all of the following in order to prepare for your upcoming essay on a documentary film. Be sure to take a look at all of the films on the prompt and pick the one you are most interested in analyzing. The work you do is here is pre-writing for your essay. You can only choose a film from the ones listed on the prompt for essay 2 / linked in the course modules. The ones you used for journals in this block are NOT eligible for essay 2.

Step 1. Pre-viewing

Title of Documentary?

Date Released?

Principle documentary maker(s)?

Why did you select this particular documentary for this assignment?

What do you think you will see in this documentary? List three concepts or ideas that you might expect to see based on the title of the documentary or list what you already know about this documentary.

Step 2. Viewing

Determine type of documentary (check all that apply – many films are a combination of more than one of these):

Advocacy for social concerns

Biography

Profile

Community History

Research/Factual

“How To”

Investigative

News/Special Events

Ideological Argument

Skits & Spoofs

Nature

Physical qualities of the film: Explain all of the qualities below as they are used in your film. How do the following ontribute to creating an atmosphere in this documentary?

Music

Live action

Narration/voice over:

Background noise

Special effects

Animation

Color/Black and white

Interviews (Who did the filmmaker interview and for what purpose?)

Dramatizations or reenactments

Camera angles

Lighting

What is the mood or tone of the documentary? What emotions does the documentary evoke in its viewers?

Step 3. Post-viewing (or repeated viewing)

Answer the following:

What is/are the central message(s) of this documentary? Be specific. Use examples from the documentary to support your choice.

Discuss the subjectivity in the documentary (point of view of the filmmakers).

Consider the effectiveness of the film in communicating its message. As a tool of communication, what are its strengths and weaknesses?

How do you think the filmmakers wanted the audience to respond? What evidence is there that the filmmaker was looking for this response?

Does this film appeal to the viewer’s reason? What about emotion? How does it build credibility? Explain the role of each rhetorical appeal in this documentary.

Write a question to the filmmaker that is left unanswered by his/her documentary. Do you believe the question was left unanswered purposefully? Why or why not?

Once you have answered / brainstormed through these steps you are ready to start working on your essay. Remember that rhetorical analysis is thinking about the structure of someone else’s argument in an effort to evaluate the effectiveness of the choices the creator of the text has made. You are focused on HOW the film is getting its point across.

E-Bikes “100+ Bike Statistics & Facts of 2020 [E-Bikes Included]” Website with

E-Bikes

“100+ Bike Statistics & Facts of 2020 [E-Bikes Included]”
Website with LOADS of info and statistics on bike usage and environmental/health impacts
Source: https://www.bicycle-guider.com/bike-facts-stats/ Accessed 2/12/21

~*~

E-Bikes Are Having Their Moment. They Deserve It.

The benefits of owning a battery-powered two-wheeler far outweigh the downsides, especially in a pandemic.

Brian Chen riding the electric Ride1Up 700, which sells for $1,495. A VanMoof S3 e-bike cost $1,998.Credit…Jim Wilson/The New York Times

By Brian X. Chen for The New York Times June 3, 2020

Many of us are entering a new stage of pandemic grief: adaptation. We are asking ourselves: How do we live with this new reality?

For many Americans, part of the solution has been to buy an electric bike. The battery-powered two-wheelers have become a compelling alternative for commuters who are being discouraged from taking public transportation and Ubers. For others, the bikes provide much-needed fresh air after months of confinement.

So it’s no surprise that e-bikes are now as difficult to buy as a bottle of hand sanitizer was a few weeks ago. In March, sales of e-bikes jumped 85 percent from a year earlier, according to the NPD Group, a research firm. Amazon, Walmart and Specialized are sold out of most models. Even smaller brands like Ride1Up and VanMoof have waiting lists.

That’s a remarkable shift. For many years, e-bikes carried the stigma of being vehicles for lazy pedalers and seniors. The bikes draw power from a battery and motor to make pedaling significantly easier. You can also accelerate with the press of a button, transforming cycling from a strenuous exercise into a joy ride.

“I was convinced that e-bikes would completely change cities all over the world in the next 10 years, but it seems like because of this crisis, suddenly it’s all happening in the next three or four months,” said Taco Carlier, the chief executive of VanMoof, which is based in Amsterdam.

If you are contemplating an e-bike purchase, there are trade-offs to consider. For one, the battery packs and motors add bulk. For another, these ostentatious bikes may lure thieves.

To find out what you get for your money, I tested two different e-bikes on the streets and steep hills of San Francisco over the last two weeks. Both can be ordered online: VanMoof’s $1,998 S3, an internet-connected smart bike, and Ride1Up’s $1,495 700 Series, which is more like a normal bicycle with a battery and motor.

After the tests, I’m totally sold. E-bikes, I concluded, are for people who want to get around quickly with minimal effort — and that’s a large portion of the population. Here’s what you need to know.

Comparing the e-bikes.

The Ride1Up electric bike, right, and the VanMoof bike.Credit…Jim Wilson/The New York Times

E-bikes come in many forms and with various features. They also range widely in price: Some cost a few hundred dollars, while others cost tens of thousands of dollars. In general, though, e-bikes fall into two camps:

E-bikes with pedal assistance. These use a motor system and sensors to detect how fast or hard you are pedaling and determine how much power to provide. So if you are pedaling hard or slow up a hill, the motor will use more power to assist you. Well-known brands include Trek, Specialized and Fuji.

E-bikes with a throttle. These work like the twist throttle on motorcycles and mo-peds. To accelerate, you press a trigger or twist a handlebar. Many modern e-bikes with a throttle also have pedal assist. Brands include Rad Power, Luna Cycle and Aventon.

VanMoof’s S3, which was released in late April, is a pedal-assist e-bike. Instead of a throttle, it has a Turbo Boost button on the right handlebar, which immediately gives a jolt of power. It has a top speed of about 20 miles per hour and can travel about 90 miles on a full charge.

VanMoof e-bikes are known for their antitheft security. Kicking a button on the rear brake activates an electronic lock, which makes the rear wheel unmovable. Trying to pick up the locked bike triggers a loud alarm. In addition, the bike includes a cellular connection to help you find it if it’s stolen, using VanMoof’s smartphone app.

Ride1Up’s 700 series has both a throttle and pedal assistance. On the left handlebar is a small screen with buttons to let you select the pedal-assist level; on the right handle bar is a gear shifter. With a larger, faster motor than the VanMoof, the Ride1Up has a top speed of 28 m.p.h. and can travel about 50 miles on a full charge.

Testing, testing.

{Photo removed to save printing: photo of e-bike controls on handlebars}

Ride1Up’s control panel offers nine pedal-assist levels.Credit…Jim Wilson/The New York Times

For two weeks, I alternated between riding the VanMoof and the Ride1Up. I found you get what you pay for: While $1,500 buys you a nice e-bike that takes time to get used to, like the Ride1Up, an additional $500 secures you a VanMoof, a smarter bike that is extremely simple to use.

The VanMoof’s motor system made pedaling feel more natural and smooth, like riding a normal bicycle but with a bit of oomph. The motor was also very quiet, and at points I forgot I was riding an e-bike. In areas where pedaling was more challenging, like hills, a press of the Turbo Boost button provided an extra push.

The Ride1Up bike was less intuitive. The control panel on the handlebar lets you choose from nine pedal-assist levels. Level 3 felt sufficient for getting me around the streets, but Level 5 felt better for getting up hills. Sometimes, when trying to pedal from a stop, I forgot to lower the pedal assist from Level 5, which caused the bike to jerk forward. That was a bit scary.

Ride1Up offers a YouTube tutorial on advanced settings for people to adjust the power of each pedal-assist level. Eventually, I reduced the power output for Levels 4 and 5, which made pedaling smoother.

As for the Ride1Up’s throttle, which is a trigger on the left handlebar, it was nice to have the option to accelerate without pedaling when I was getting exhausted. It did feel like cheating, though.

The downsides.

{Photo removed to save printing: The VanMoof weighs about 41 pounds. And the Ride1Up? About 55.Credit…Jim Wilson/The New York Times}

Testing the two e-bikes underlined some of their trade-offs.

E-bikes are heavy. The VanMoof weighs about 41 pounds and the Ride1Up about 55 pounds — more than double the average road bike, which weighs about 20 pounds. You probably won’t want an e-bike if you’d have to regularly carry it up many flights of stairs.

Maintenance may be tricky. VanMoof and Ride1Up said their bikes were designed to be user-serviceable, and any local bike mechanic should also be able to service minor parts, like brake pads.

But with e-bikes in general, you may need to seek help from the maker if something major goes wrong with proprietary electronic components. It’s a safer bet to buy your e-bike from a local store that can service it.

They may attract burglars. Parking the VanMoof made me anxious. Whenever I was locking it up, it got lots of attention from passers-by — it looks like an elegantly designed tech product.

A VanMoof spokesman said that up to 20 of its bikes are reported stolen each month worldwide, and that 70 percent are found within two weeks. So make sure to have renters or home insurance that covers the theft of e-bikes. (VanMoof offers its own three-year insurance for $340.)

Batteries are expensive. Like smartphones, e-bikes use consumable batteries that eventually need to be replaced. With regular riding, the batteries for the VanMoof and the Ride1Up may deplete in three to five years. Replacements cost roughly $350

But the pros outweigh the cons.

Despite some misgivings, my experience with e-bikes made me realize the benefits are far greater than the downsides.

Most important, e-bikes kept me out of my car. Whenever I had a reason to go outside — like making a trip to the grocery store or dropping off baked goods at a friend’s — I preferred riding an e-bike.

This will become increasingly important in the coming months. As businesses reopen, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has advised commuters to drive in cars alone. An e-bike may become crucial for squeezing through nightmare traffic.

There’s another benefit, which is important in hard times: E-bikes bring joy. I’m no fan of cycling in San Francisco, but on an e-bike, I saw more of the outdoors than I normally would, while keeping a safe distance from people. That beat bingeing on Netflix.

So I’ll probably buy an e-bike soon, even if it means getting on a waiting list. I figure we could all use a little more joy.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/03/technology/personaltech/e-bikes-are-having-their-moment-they-deserve-it.html Accessed

~*~

Congressman Panetta [Congressman representing central California] Introduces E-BIKE Act to Encourage Use of Electric Bicycles and Reduce Carbon Emissions

February 9, 2021

Today, Congressman Jimmy Panetta (D-Carmel Valley) and Congressional Bike Caucus Chairman Earl Blumenauer (OR-03) introduced the Electric Bicycle Incentive Kickstart for the Environment (E-BIKE) Act to encourage the use of electric bicycles, or e-bikes, through a consumer tax credit. Due to the distance, speed, and ease by which they can travel, e-bikes will help replace vehicle trips and commutes and reduce carbon emissions.

A recent study found that if 15 percent of car trips were made by e-bike, carbon emissions would drop by 12 percent. 46% percent of e-bike commute trips replaced automobile commute trips according to a recent North American survey, and a more thorough review of European studies showed that e-bike trips replaced car trips 47% to 76% of the time.

The E-BIKE Act creates a consumer tax credit that:

Covers 30% of the cost of the electric bicycle, up to a $1,500 credit

Applies to new electric bicycles that cost less than $8,000

Is fully refundable, allowing lower-income workers to claim the credit

“E-bikes are not just a fad for a select few, they are a legitimate and practical form of transportation that can help reduce our carbon emissions,” said Congressman Panetta. “My legislation will make it easier for more people from all socio-economic levels to own e-bikes and contribute to cutting our carbon output. By incentivizing the use of electric bicycles to replace car trips through a consumer tax credit, we can not only encourage more Americans to transition to greener modes of transportation, but also help fight the climate crisis.”

“One of the few positive developments of the last year has been the surge in biking. Communities large and small are driving a bike boom. Notably, electric bicycles are expanding the range of people who can participate and making bike commuting even easier,” said Rep. Earl Blumenauer, the founder and co-chair of the Congressional Bike Caucus. “I look forward to working with Congressman Panetta on this important expansion of cycling opportunities.”

“Incentivizing electric bicycles makes them a competitive transportation option for more Americans and supports a national effort to lower carbon emissions,” said PeopleForBikes CEO Jenn Dice. “The E-BIKE Act positions rightfully electric bicycles as a critical part of a larger solution to climate change and equitable mobility. We’re grateful to Congressman Panetta for leading the charge in Congress.”

“The League knows life is better for everyone when more people ride bikes, and we know e-bikes make biking a more accessible and easier option for more Americans,” said Bill Nesper, executive director of the League of American Bicyclists. “We’re encouraged by congressional leadership on the E-BIKE Act, a bill that if passed will enable Americans to fight climate change and improve public health through the simple act of bicycling.”

“Bike Santa Cruz County supports Congressman Panetta’s proposed consumer tax credit for the purchase of electric bicycles (e-bikes). E-bikes are a game changer for many people, allowing them to continue using a bicycle for recreation and fitness and opening an option for daily commuting. Cargo-type e-bikes also encourage others to feel more confident leaving the car at home and using bicycles for daily trips, including grocery shopping and transporting children to day-care or to parks,” said Gina Cole, Director, Bike Santa Cruz County.

“Transportation is the U.S. economy’s largest contributor of carbon emissions. But the personal budget of many Americans simply doesn’t allow them to purchase an electric car, even with tax rebates, until car prices come down. A tax rebate for electric bicycles will allow many more Americans to afford transportation that is better for the environment—with the added benefit of improved personal and public health,” said Mari Lynch, founder of Bicycling Monterey.

“Bicycles are the cleanest, greenest, most efficient form of transportation ever invented. And electric bikes take that a big leap further. They are a perfect replacement for so many local car trips, and an even more powerful tool for change. We should be doing everything possible to help more people afford e-bikes, which will lead to more bicycle commuting, fewer car trips, less congestion, less carbon emissions, and healthier lifestyles. It’s a win all the way around,” said Ken Martin, Founder and CEO, Mike’s Bikes.

“E-bikes make any short trip easy and fun and are a great alternative to cars. We are grateful to Rep. Panetta for recognizing the important role that bicycles can play as carbon-free transportation. A federal tax credit for e-bikes, combined with state support that we’re working on here in California, will make e-bikes a popular options for millions of Americans. It’s about time,” said Dave Snyder, Executive Director, California Bicycle Coalition.

“Congressman Panetta’s proposed ebike tax credit is well timed to meet the moment as ebikes offer healthy, fast, convenient, and Covid safe transportation but their purchase cost is often a barrier for low and moderate income residents. This tax credit would make ebikes – which travel faster with less effort than regular bikes – more afford to those in need of more sustainable mobility options. We applaud Congressman Panetta’s proposed legislation to increase equitable and affordable solutions to reducing GHG emissions,” said Piet Canin, Strategic Development Director of Ecology Action.

“E-bikes are a proven tool to cut greenhouse gas emissions by replacing car trips, but riding a bike for transportation in the U.S. is daunting. This tax credit could seriously help Americans who are interested but concerned about how a commuter e-bike could work for them decide to go ahead and make the investment,” said Ryan Schuchard, Director, Innovative Mobility, CALSTART

“America’s car-centric transportation system is wreaking havoc on our health and the health of our planet. To transform transportation in the United States, we need to encourage people to drive less by incentivizing the adoption of cleaner, healthier and more affordable ways to get around. The E-BIKE Act will help bring us one step closer to a pollution-free transportation network. As we move through the COVID-19 crisis, we urge policymakers to not only accommodate e-bike adoption, but to actively encourage it,” said John Stout, U.S. PIRG Transportation Advocate.

“We are thrilled about this new bill, and how it will make owning an electric bike a possibility for more Americans. Increasing the adoption of ebikes in the US will have a positive and transformative impact on cities, quality of life, and how people relate to one another, similar to what we have seen in the Netherlands,” said Ewoud van Leeuwen, General Manager Gazelle USA, LLC.

Source: https://panetta.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-panetta-introduces-e-bike-act-encourage-use-electric-bicycles-and Accessed 2/12/2021

~*~

COVID-19 fears are propelling e-bike sales, but regulations are having a braking effect

CBC News · June 4, 2020

(Seth Wenig/Associated Press)

Provinces across the country have been slowly relaxing physical distancing rules introduced to limit the spread of COVID-19. But as more people begin to return to work, it’s raising the question of how they’ll get there.

Public transportation, which many Canadians depend on to commute, has been hit hard across the country. B.C.’s TransLink said in April it was losing $75 million a month due to decreased ridership, while ridership on the Toronto Transit Commission has dipped to less than 20 per cent of the norm. At the same time, leaders in both Ontario and Quebec have recommended riders wear masks as physical distancing becomes difficult or impossible.

Darnel Harris, an urban planner and executive director of Toronto-based mobility advocacy group Our Greenway, believes there are alternatives to both public transit and travelling in high-emission vehicles: electric bikes.

According to a recent study by the U.K.-based Centre for Research into Energy Demand Solutions, e-bikes have the potential to help people return to work — especially those who are hesitant to use public transport or live in areas with little to no service.

E-bikes, which are electrically assisted bicycles that range in price from roughly $1,500 to $9,000, are a cheaper alternative to car travel — not to mention a greener one when they’re charged using clean power. They can often hit speeds of 25 km/h, and give people a way to avoid crowded buses and trains.

“Crucially, it allows people to go further, easier, and expands their access to things in an efficient way,” Harris said, “especially within a suburban area, where things are more spread out.”

E-bikes have gained a foothold abroad. In the Netherlands, roughly 40 per cent of bikes sold last year were electric, according to Dutch industry organizations RAI and BOVAG, while in China they have been a popular replacement for motorcycles for more than a decade.

But Harris sees demand surging in North America: U.S. sales increased by 85 per cent in March, according to the New York Times, while he said Canadian businesses are struggling to keep e-bikes in stock.

Even so, the possibility of e-bikes becoming commonplace in Canada continues to face significant hurdles. Harris said the federal government currently has insufficient safety standards in place, while Transport Canada proposed dropping all regulation of them in 2018.

Harris said rules are necessary to regulate the vastly different kinds of e-bikes on the market, including the much larger cargo bikes often used in place of delivery trucks.

Confusing or contradictory definitions of “e-bike” have led to legal troubles for some riders. In B.C., a Supreme Court judge recently upheld charges against a man who rode an e-bike without insurance, even though the man argued the law doesn’t require it.

“When people are unclear … about the law and how it applies, then of course they run the risk of offending the law,” said David Hay, a Vancouver lawyer who specializes in bike-related cases. For example, to be able to ride without road insurance or a license in B.C., it’s required that the bicycle have limited power and that it turns off when the rider stops pedalling — a feature many e-bike models don’t have.

Hays and Harris think that definitions and regulations around e-bikes need to be updated before they’ll be widely adopted in this country.

“Whenever you get any kind of technological innovation, the law struggles to keep up,” Hays said.

Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/what-on-earth-covid-19-e-bikes-1.5598801 Accessed: 2/12/2021

~*~

How joining the e-bike revolution made my 2020 a lot more bearable

Instead of feeling trapped at home, I’ve been enjoying the great outdoors more than ever—even when pedaling up the scariest hills in town.

Harry McCracken

{note: all photos omitted to save printing. There is also an embedded link to video of one of the author’s bike rides}

Last March, when the COVID-19 pandemic first disrupted everything, it took me a while to notice that my new lifestyle was one of extreme lethargy. With local businesses shuttered, activities canceled, and a second bedroom serving as my office, the amount of exercise I got on a typical day dwindled to a few hundred steps. Shuffling off to the kitchen for a snack started to feel like a workout.

After a month, I decided to confront the issue in a way that comes naturally to me: by purchasing a gadget. In this case, that gadget was an e-bike, something I’d been vaguely intrigued by for several years.

As much as I enjoyed riding my conventional road bike, the hills in between my home and the places I’d like to go had become a powerful disincentive to make it a major part of my fitness regimen. (The approach to our house is so steep that even kids tend to dismount and walk their bikes up it. ) An e-bike—which bolsters your own pedal power with an electric motor—seemed like it might give me fewer excuses not to ride.

In April, I bought a CityZen T9, an e-bike from Gazelle, a 128-year-old Dutch firm that’s a household name in its home market. Over the rest of 2020, rather than devolve further into couch potatohood, I’ve done more than 1,800 miles of e-biking. It’s been good for my state of mind, my weight, and my appreciation for the San Francisco Bay Area’s natural beauty. (I found further motivation to get out and about in my Garmin Vivoactive 4 smartwatch and the Strava fitness app, both of which help me track my journeys.)

As many people have noticed, bicycling is an ideal form of exercise for pandemic times: You’re outside and at a remove from other people by definition, assuming you don’t want to smash into them. I haven’t even minded riding with a mask on. But I expect to do just as much e-biking once the new normalcy is in sight, which is why I finally canceled my all-too-dormant gym membership.

The worst thing about e-bikes is paying for one. My CityZen T9 was $2,500–not counting upgrades I made to the tires, brakes, seat, and grips—which is more than the total cost of every other bike I’ve ever owned dating back to my boyhood Schwinn. Plenty of models cost far more than that. Prices are coming down, though: Rad Power, reportedly the U.S.’s largest maker of e-bikes, sells models that cost between $1,100 and $1,700. You can go even cheaper and end up with something basic but serviceable. (Electrek is a useful destination for reviews of not-so-pricey options.)

Still, when I measure the cost of my e-bike against the pleasure and utility I’m getting from it, I’m glad I splurged. I use it nearly every day—something that hasn’t been true of any new gizmo that’s entered my life since the iPad. And it’s my car that’s begun to feel like a supplemental form of transportation….

The surprisingly controversial e-bike

My sudden, pandemic-derived interest in e-bikes was far from unique. As 2020 left many people pursuing new ways to exercise—and some folks looking for alternatives to public transportation—there’s been a boom in sales of bikes of all sorts. E-bikes, once a tiny niche in the U.S., have surged so fast that the industry is struggling to keep up.

The e-bike message boards and Facebook groups I visit are full of folks who love their new rides. I’ve run across only a few who regret the purchase. However, people who have never been aboard an e-bike sometimes have strange, prickly reactions to the whole idea of putting a motor on a bike.

When I tell people about my Gazelle, some seem to misunderstand it as being more motorcycle than bicycle, or solely a conveyance for senior citizens. Earlier this year, I heard a TV news personality (hint: Her name is Rachel) express on-air incredulity that one of her colleagues (a guy named Chris) had gotten a Rad e-bike. There are even ugly rumors of e-bicyclists being subjected to insults (“cheater!”) as they pass riders of conventional bikes.

I suspect that much of this confusion could be cleared up if the naysayers spent some time on an e-bike. My Gazelle’s Bosch motor system has four levels of assistance—Eco, Tour, Sport, and Turbo—and I do much of my pedaling in Eco mode, which provides only a modest boost. But it’s enough that I can go farther than I’d venture on an unelectrified bike, and without dreading any monster hills along the way. Is that cheating? If it is, so is coasting.

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San Francisco looks spectacular from an e-bike such as my Gazelle. [Photo: Harry McCracken]As many people have noticed, bicycling is an ideal form of exercise for pandemic times: You’re outside and at a remove from other people by definition, assuming you don’t want to smash into them. I haven’t even minded riding with a mask on. But I expect to do just as much e-biking once the new normalcy is in sight, which is why I finally canceled my all-too-dormant gym membership.

Here’s a GoPro video I made of one of my Gazelle expeditions, including me making my way past a protest on the Golden Gate Bridge:

The surprisingly controversial e-bike

One thing I didn’t know before I began researching my purchase is that every e-bike falls into one of three classifications; they specify how fast the bike can go and how much effort is required. For instance, my CityZen 9 is a Class 1 model, which means that the motor kicks in only up to 20 miles an hour and only if I pedal. Class 2 e-bikes also provide assistance up to 20 miles, but have a throttle, which lets you opt to spend part of your trip on pure motor power, as with a moped. And Class 3 e-bikes lack a throttle but assist pedaling up to 28 mph, making them attractive if you’re a speed freak or simply want to shave some time off a daily commute.

To me, the key factor about an e-bike is not how fast you can go, but how far.

Local governments are still in the process of getting their heads around e-bikes, and impose different regulations depending on the class involved. I opted for a Class 1 bike in part because I’m allowed to ride it on paths where Class 3 bikes are forbidden. That doesn’t make a whole lot of sense given that it’s possible to violate the 15 mph speed limit on such paths even on a non-electric bike. But as cities get more serious about encouraging mass bicycling, perhaps they’ll be more welcoming to e-bikes of every sort.

To me, the key factor about an e-bike is not how fast you can go, but how far. Published range estimates mean very little, since so many factors impact how quickly the battery drains. Those include your weight and cargo, the level of assistance you choose, and whether your route is flat or hilly. Even poorly maintained roads and gusts of wind will cut into your range. That said, I have found that I can ride my Gazelle for about 50 miles—enough to get me from my home south of San Francisco to the Golden Gate Bridge and well into Marin County, one of the nicest places in the world to go for a bike ride. And then all the way back home.

Bottom line: The rides that really don’t give you any exercise are the ones you never take. I’ve done far more bicycling in 2020 than in any previous year of my life, including some when I regularly cycled to work.

Tech on two wheels

After a few months of riding the Gazelle, I borrowed an e-bike from another Dutch company: a VanMoof S3. Unlike Gazelle—whose bikes are available through local bike shops—VanMoof sells its models via its website and a few company stores in big cities.

The S3 and another new VanMoof, the X3, made a splash in e-bike circles last spring when they debuted with price tags of just $1,998 apiece, compared to $3,398 for their predecessors. The impressive bang-for-buck led to long waitlists and some quality-control issues as the company tried to satisfy demand. (The first X3 the company loaned me was damaged in shipping, a problem that VanMoof told The Verge’s Thomas Ricker it acknowledges is happening to some buyers and has been working to address.)

The Gazelle feels like a conventional bike that’s been enhanced with a motor. The VanMoof, by contrast, has been far more thoroughly reimagined for the digital age. It shifts through its four gears for itself—like a car with an automatic transmission—and offers a Turbo Boost button that lets you rocket along even if you’re barely nudging the pedals. The built-in lock engages when you tap a button with your foot; before unlocking, it verifies that you’re the owner by connecting to VanMoof’s smartphone app via Bluetooth. The bike also has GPS, allowing it to beam its location back to you (or VanMoof) in the event that it’s stolen. Even its bell offers ringtone-like options, such as a party noisemaker effect that drove my neighbors’ dogs nuts.

Everything about the VanMoof is simple, approachable, and well integrated, making for a particularly nice experience if all you want to do is get from point A to point B with a minimum of fuss. If it were a camera, it would be a point-and-shoot, not an SLR; I can imagine people who don’t think of themselves as serious cyclists loving it.

But as I rode this bike, I sometimes missed the finer degree of control offered by my Gazelle. For instance, the S3 zipped up most hills but felt overtaxed on the steepest ones I encountered, perhaps because it has only four gears. (My Gazelle has nine.) On long trips, I like adjusting the Gazelle’s gears and assistance level on the fly to wring as much life as possible out of the battery. With the VanMoof, you don’t shift for yourself and can only change the level of assistance when you’re stopped—or by pressing the battery-sapping Turbo Boost button—which made its effective maximum range less than that of the Gazelle, at least for me. (On the plus side, it was much easier to pedal with the power off.)

When it came time to return the S3 to VanMoof, I was sorry to see it go. But if the company had been willing to accept my Gazelle instead, I wouldn’t have taken the offer.

The road ahead

As much as I’m enjoying my Gazelle e-bike, one question remains tough to answer: How much of a keeper will it be? In just the few months that I’ve been riding it, Gazelle has discontinued the model I bought and unveiled several new ones with various improvements. Over the next few years, it seems likely that VanMoof-like technical invention will become standard fare in the industry.

My old, unpowered Gary Fisher bike—which I still have, though it’s in storage at the moment—served me well for 15 years. With tune-ups, it will probably be eminently ridable a decade from now. But by then, it’s possible that riding a Gazelle CityZen T9 will be a bit like carrying an iPhone 3G in 2020. And I would need to have replaced the battery at least a couple of times, at an intimdating $850 a pop. Buying a new e-bike might look better than endlessly investing in an antique one.

However things pan out, I do hope that I’m e-biking in 2030 and beyond. I can’t quite decide whether it’s a healthy activity that’s fun, or fun that’s healthy. Either way, it’s guilt-free technology in an era that could use more of it.

Source: https://www.fastcompany.com/90582978/e-bike-pandemic-2020-gazelle-van-moof Accessed: 2/12/2021

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E-scooters and e-bikes to come to Rochester in spring or summer

WHECTV
Created: January 24, 2020 06:29 PM

{Note: this article also had a very short embedded video}

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) — The City of Rochester says it’s hoping to roll out its new e-scooter and e-bike system this spring or summer.

Chief of Staff Alex Yudelson says the city already had a plan in place that was dependent on state legislation.

Now that the governor and legislature have made progress on safety regulations, the city is encouraged that the new bill will pass.

The e-scooters and e-bikes would be added to Rochester’s shared-mobility system that they deployed with the help of the company Zagster.

Source: https://www.whec.com/news/e-bikes-scooters-city-of-rochester-zagster/5622533/ Accessed: 2/12/2021

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Riding to New Heights: How E Bike Cyclery Thrived During COVID-19

Hector Tamayo, owner of E Bike Cyclery on San Dimas Avenue, explains what makes electric bicycles so desirable and how he got into the e-bike business. Video: Phil Ebiner

By Eric Nakano, San Dimas [California] Community Post [no date provided]

{all photos removed to save printing}

When California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on Mar. 2, 2020, in an effort to control the spread of COVID-19, Hector Tamayo worried the virus would have a detrimental impact on his electric bicycle store, E Bike Cyclery on San Dimas Avenue.

“Initially I was really worried. Are we still going to be a business? Should we just shut down now? And I saw a lot of businesses that were closing up and couldn’t conduct business anymore,” Tamayo said.

Like most businesses, E Bike Cyclery closed in early March but reopened a few weeks later after California declared that bicycle stores were an essential business. At first, Tamayo hoped to just sell enough bikes to keep his business afloat. Instead, business boomed. Across the country, consumers have flooded bicycle stores looking for alternatives to public transportation during the pandemic.

“Once everyone was in lockdown, riding bicycles was one of the things people could still do. And this created a bike boom, and with that came huge demand for bikes and bike accessories,” Tamayo said.

Consumers were especially interested in electric bicycles, or e-bikes for short. E-bikes use a battery to assist riders with peddling. This helps riders travel farther and faster while requiring less physical effort than standard bicycles.

Doug Brooks, a 63-year-old Claremont resident and e-bike owner, acknowledges the ease of using an e-bike over a traditional bicycle for his 11-mile daily commute to Upland.

“In my case, the bike is heavier, so it’s a more stable, smoother ride than a road bike,” Brooks said. “The e-bike I have can do a constant speed of just around 20 miles an hour, and it’s got different levels of assist.”

A recent study by The NPD Group found that while bike sales overall grew by 63% in 2020, sales of e-bikes nearly doubled. All of this has translated into more business than Tamayo can handle. His store sells out of shipments almost as soon as they arrive, and manufacturers are struggling to meet the surge in demand, often missing shipment schedules because they cannot produce e-bikes fast enough.

“The day a shipment comes in, we assemble them, and they would already be sold,” Tamayo said.

One reason E Bike Cyclery has done so well is that customers prefer to test and purchase an e-bike in person. When customers visit a store like E Bike Cyclery, they can experience the differences between an e-bike’s speed, acceleration and maneuverability — which would be impossible to do if they purchased the bike online.

An advocate with the La Verne Bicycle Coalition, Doug Strange agrees that actually riding and trying out an e-bike is a valuable experience. Strange says e-bikes make biking easier for those who may see traditional cycling as a challenge and can even convert some non-cyclists into bike advocates.

“Every single person who rides an e-bike gets off of it smiling. That was universally my experience,” Strange said.

Another factor Tamayo attributes to E Bike Cyclery’s success is its location in San Dimas. He believes San Dimas is easily accessible to customers across Southern California since the city is located near the 10, 210 and 57 freeways.

Despite his unexpected fortune, running an e-bike store during COVID-19 is not without challenges. Waiting lists for popular models stretch out for months, frustrating customers who come in wanting to start riding an e-bike right away. When customers visit the store, many have to wait outside for a long time since only two customers are allowed in the store at any given time, and a typical transaction takes about 30 minutes.

Additionally the labor required to keep both employees and customers safe can be overwhelming. Staff wipe down bikes with disinfectant before customers take them out for a test ride and after they finish. To serve customers who are not comfortable visiting the store, Tamayo repurposed a van he owned to drop off e-bikes at customers’ homes and pick up bikes that needed repairs. But the additional service adds a significant number of hours to his day.

Another major challenge is finding qualified employees to work at the store. Unlike a shop that sells regular bikes, selling and servicing e-bikes requires a level of technical skill that most people, even those who have worked in regular bike stores, do not possess. At E Bike Cyclery, employees act as both mechanics and salespeople.

“Before I was hired, I worked on both motorcycles and bicycles for four years, so the knowledge really helped me do the job here,” said Christopher Amarillas, one of the store’s employees.

To service an e-bike, many e-bike manufacturers require a retailer’s employees to become certified before they will authorize them to work on their e-bikes. And selling e-bikes requires an understanding of not only the different types of bikes the store carries — from electric cruisers to electric mountain bikes — but also requires knowledge of the differences between brands, since most customers expect staff to educate them on the different options.

“When customers walk into an e-bike shop, they expect you to educate them — what are the laws, what are the different types of motors, what are the differences between batteries, how fast can it go. There’s just an overwhelming number of questions that customers have,” Tamayo said.

While there is no playbook for running a small business, let alone one during a pandemic, it was an especially steep learning curve for Tamayo, who never aspired to be an entrepreneur. In fact, being a small business owner, let alone an e-bicycle business owner, was never part of Tamayo’s plans.

Tamayo studied criminology at Cal Poly Pomona in the hopes of becoming a police officer. After joining the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and later the Claremont Police Department, he worked his way up to the rank of detective before reassessing his career due to a back injury in 2017.

Unable to continue his career in law enforcement, he began customizing and selling e-bicycles to police departments in Southern California after test-riding one at the beach in San Diego. Surprised by how easily he could get around, Tamayo realized the impact e-bikes could have in assisting law enforcement.

“I saw that there was a need in law enforcement for bicycles, but most cops don’t want to ride bicycles because the equipment they need to carry makes getting around on them overbearing,” Tamayo said.

In his view, e-bikes made it possible for law enforcement officers to get around easily without requiring a lot of effort to peddle. After building a few prototypes and selling them to local police departments, Tamayo decided to open his store in San Dimas in December 2018, after finding a storefront that he could buy instead of rent.

At first, business was slow, and the store only carried two brands. But after sales began taking off during COVID-19, Tamayo expanded the number of brands and the variety of brands his store carries. Today, E Bike Cyclery carries nine different brands, each of which Tamayo selects based on quality, availability of parts and company reputation.

Tamayo also prefers carrying bikes that have a connection to California. He carries brands such as Vintage Electric based in San Jose, Intense based in Norco and Santa Cruz based in the city of the same name. Even the European brands the store carries have a connection to California — like iZip, which manufactures its bikes in Germany but was founded in California.

While business has changed quite a bit over the past few months because of COVID-19, Tamayo’s future plans post-COVID-19 are more modest: he hopes to start a regular e-biking group to build a community of e-bike lovers in San Dimas and move to a bigger location within the area so he can carry more inventory. But even if sales taper off after COVID-19, Tamayo believes that the e-bike boom is here to stay.

“When people start riding an e-bike they usually don’t go back. Once you ride an e-bike, you can go faster and farther,” Tamayo said. “Why would you want to go back to a traditional bike?”

Source: https://www.sandimascommunitypost.com/ebike-cyclery-san-dimas-thrived-covid-19/ Accessed: 2/12/2021

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Covid: Old bikes given a new life for lockdown cyclists

5 January [2020?] BBC

{Note: article includes embedded video: COVID: old bikes made into e-bikes to get people cycling}

There has been a surge in interest in the outdoors during the Covid pandemic, prompting a pair of cycling enthusiasts to breathe new life into old, discarded bicycles.

Beth Ward and Robin Hughes are turning unwanted bikes into electric powered cycles in Denbighshire.

They hope it will help encourage new riders to get fitter, for a fraction of the cost of a new e-bike.

The pair have now been hailed as “low carbon heroes” by the Welsh Government.

The two have set out to convert as many bikes as they can under the umbrella of their social enterprise business, called Drosi Bikes in Ruthin.

A play on the Welsh word trosi, for convert, the pair will even carry out the e-bike conversions at a more affordable price – all people have to do is supply the bike.

From pedal power to electric: Beth Ward and Robin Hughes get to work

Their inspiration was a four-month cycling holiday in Turkey.

“Cycling through Europe, we soon became aware of how bikes are used so much more in daily life to do things like taking the kids to school or to go shopping,” said Ms Ward.

“We realised that the UK really lags behind in this respect and still sees cycling as a hobby rather than a mode of transport.

“As our holiday progressed, we became more and more convinced that we could do something to make a change.”

How the pandemic sparked a cycling revolution

Boom for bikes as Covid changes lifestyles

Are cyclisists being wrongly targeted in lockdown?

After a year of planning, Drosi was launched just as the Covid pandemic hit its first peak and Wales was in its first full lockdown.

“We could see people were cycling more. They had the time, the roads were quieter and people were beginning to dust off their old bikes, which they probably hadn’t used for years,” said Mr Hughes.

“People are beginning to learn that the great thing about e-bikes is that you can cycle further for longer. You can choose to pedal or use the motor.

“Either way, you are being more active yourself and you will be using the car less.”

The two have now given up full-time jobs to concentrate on e-bikes.

Marie Schwartz, who confessed to being a “fair-weather” cyclist, said: “It was quite easy to put me off. If it was a very windy day, I wouldn’t go out, or if there were hills involved, I would not be that keen.

“But I’m a lot more keen now I’ve got this conversion.”

Even though her new bike has an electric motor – she insisted it was not doing all the leg work: “I thought it was going to be like a glorified moped – but it’s not.

“I still get a good workout when I’m on it, which I love.

“It just means that nothing puts me off now – the wind doesn’t, the hills don’t – and I can go out much further than I used to.”

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-55533981 Accessed 2/12/2021

Current: These themes/study findings are also mentioned in XYZ – i.e., the

Current:

These themes/study findings are also mentioned in XYZ – i.e., the readings: The historical trends mentioned above are still apparent in the literature. Specifically, when discussing risk factors related to childhood emotional disorders, many studies point to the parent-child relationship. Many studies still use the attachment framework to explain differences in children’s emotional well-being, while others have pointed to the importance of parental socio-emotional competence.

On the other hand, as mentioned above, the biological framework is also widely used to explain the presence of emotional challenges in children. These studies have looked at differences in brain activity and autonomic nervous system activity. In terms of the former, research has found decreased grey matter volume in regions within the limbic system and also blunted HPA axis activity, in children with depression/anxiety/PTSD. These findings may explain the observation that children with emotional disorders are more either more reactive to various stimuli (due to changes in the limbic system) or else are unable to respond effectively to stressful stimuli (due to blunted HPA axis activity). Similarly, research looking at the autonomic nervous system activity has found increased sympathetic nervous system activity (which is also related to disruption in the HPA axis), and decreased parasympathetic activity. More specifically, research has observed decreased vagal tone (decreased heart rate variability), which means children with emotional disorders find it hard to flexibily react to emotional challenges.

Of course there is a close link between relational factors and biological factors mentioned above, and these changes are often bidirectional.

Most recent studies have taken a network approach to the study of emotional disorders in children, and have looked at the full range of symptoms, across disorders, and their relationships with each other. These studies have found a close link between symptoms across disorders, which point to the presence of one, or a few, common factors generating emotional disorders in childhood.

What are some implication we found through these studies (positive)?

Throughout the research we found that there are several limitations that exist in studies on children’s emotional well-being. First, current common methods of identifying students in need of mental health service are more targeting overt behaviours. Some common data collection methods include self-report, teacher’s observation and academic achievement. However, these methods are very subjective. Suicidal thoughts and antisocial tendencies are hard to detected by these methods.The sample of studies are very limited too, most of participants are Caucasian from middle families. This is alarming to see since it shows that minority groups may not even have an opportunity to realize their children’s emotional well-being.

However, even participants who have the opportunity to explore their children’s mental state, a lot of parents still refuse to let their children get involved in the study. One of the studies (cunningham &suldo, 2014)mentioned almost half of the consent forms did not get response, It shows even in current society, when most of people begin to raise awareness about our own mental health, children are still the vulnerable ones who do not have right to confront and reflect on their mental state. This also highlights that the term mental health and disorder are still considered as a stigma in our society.

The other issue that exists right now is when we are talking about a child’s emotional-being, a lot of studies suggest the term “resilience ”,but it is hard to define what is resilience. In the study that talks about how pandemic affects children’s mental health , the study encourages adults around children to nurture resilience by increasing interaction and communication with children. However, as most studies showed that not everyone has the ability to provide high quality interaction and communication. Thus we have parental training and ParentCorps (Brotman et al; 2016).