Category Archives: Progress

Yesterday, REjournals hosted a national webinar acknowledging five of the nations top female leaders in CRE. The extended discussion dove into numerous topicsfrom what they are telling their mentees during the pandemic to the challenges they have faced and overcome in the quest for equal recognition.

Hundreds of real estate professionals from all over the country tuned in. The high number of viewers wouldnt have been possible without support from SIOR and from CREW Network and its various chapters in Baltimore, Charlotte, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Worth, Iowa, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Lehigh Valley, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Portland, Raleigh, St. Louis, Washington D.C. and Wisconsin.

Working through the pandemic

Sue Matejcak, Partner, Quarles & Brady LLP and President of the CREW Chicago Chapter, moderated the webinar. She opened the discussion by asking her peers how they are keeping their best foot forward and staying productive during such a stressful, turbulent time.

Carolyn Pianin, Senior Vice President in the New York office of Arcturus Group, said that she is grateful to still be employed, that shes able to work from home and that she and her family are healthy. This perspective was crystalized for her as she worked with many of her clients.

While we are helping landlords negotiate with their lenders, helping tenants negotiate with their landlords, helping hospitality firms look at their bottom line and try to figure out how to better manage the operational side, we are also very conscious that our clients are struggling, Pianin said. If youre busy during this time, you have to be mindful of other people that are struggling.

Echoing this sentiment, Deborah Quok, Managing Director at San Francisco-based SVN | QAV & Associates, believes that now more than ever, its important to communicate with clients, to understand their needs and to show steady leadership. Now is also the time to gather as much information as possible.

Im sharpening my tool set with the webinars and all of the information that is available, Quok said. My CREW friends in law, accounting, asset management and facilities management are doing their level best to keep me sharp with the information that is coming into my inbox. Im taking advantage of all of that because my colleagues and my clients want to have confidence that well be ready to bounce back together.

Leadership lessons

Theres no more important trait in business than good leadership. The quality of a leadergood or badis only magnified during tumultuous times, such as those we find ourselves in now. As companies try to chart their course through the uncertainty brough on by the pandemic, the firms that end up succeeding will be those with strong leaders who are capable of not only earning their employees trust, but conveying a strong vision.

Its important to know where you are right now, but I think a good leader is also looking to where they want to be, said Matejcak, You cant steer the ship unless you know where youre going.

The panelists all agreed that leadership begins with surrounding oneself with people that are helpful, honest and transparent. Communication and empathy are keys as well. Those companies that withstood past economic downturns and come out stronger on the other side were those that focused on taking care of their employees.

Personal brand

Commercial real estate is a people business, built on relationships. The best way to build up those relationships is to cultivate the image that others in the industry have of you. This was particularly true for women in CRE for years and continues to be to this day.

If I go into a room, I want the people to remember me when I walk out of the room, said Goldie B. Wolfe Miller, the Founder/Chair of The Goldie Initiative as well as President, Millbrook Corporate Real Estate Services, based in Buffalo Grove, Illinois. As Miller is approaching 50 years in CRE, she started out in an era when women had an even harder time getting traction in the industry.

If I did the work, I wanted to make the presentation. Unfortunately, that didnt always happen, Miller said. So, I would ask questions during the presentation. The point is, if I was in a meeting, I wanted to be heard.

Its not just about having a strong personality and being willing to go after what you want. The key to a personal brand is knowing oneselfsomething that, according to Mandi Wedin, who serves as CEO of FEROCE Real Estate Advisors LLC in Washington, D.C., many people struggle with.

I think understanding your personal brand is important and it provides you with a lot of self-awareness, said Wedin. For people out there listening, if you dont know what your personal brand is, go ask people. Many will answer you right off the cuff and for some people itll take a second, but theyll still answer you.

These titans of real estate had tons of great advice during the hour-and-a-half discussion, including words of wisdom for young professionals, what they wish they knew when they were starting out and the best ways to advance the roles of women in the industry.

Did you miss this webinar, or do you want to rewatch it? It and all of our past webinars are online at our YouTube channel. If you did miss it, dont let that happen again; you can view upcoming events and register on our website.

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For women in CRE, progress can't stop because of clouds on the horizon - REjournals.com

Since turning its focus on researchers, HHS' Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology said it's seen progress on interoperability goals in that space.

ONC has been coordinating development of data standards and IT infrastructure with other federal agencies after it released a policy agenda for researchers in February, said Teresa Zayas-Caban, ONC's chief scientist.

The agenda was meant to address health IT infrastructure problems that have made it challenging for biomedical and health services researchers to capitalize on the growing amount of data held in electronic health record systems and consumer electronics. The new priorities included increasing data harmonization and improving access to interoperable health information.

"Our research is only as good as the data that we have," said Kevin Chaney, a senior program manager at ONC, Wednesday during a monthly meeting of the Health Information Technology Advisory Committee.

ONC's work included collaborating with National Institutes of Health's All of Us Research Program to pilot data standards for sharing genomic information and opening a third round of funding under the agency's Leading Edge Acceleration Projects in Health IT program to develop data sharing functions that support clinical care and research.

Zayas-Caban added that while the agenda focuses on research, its priorities align with other goals included in the ONC's federal health IT strategic plan.

HITAC members during the meeting questioned how the agenda's goals would include commitment to data privacy, particularly when it comes to using data from EHRs in research.

Tension between data sharing and data privacy has been a point of contention for many recent ONC projects, including the agency's final interoperability rule.

Sheryl Turney, who leads data policy business administration teams at Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, raised concerns about re-identification of data, or the potential for anonymized data to be matched with an individual.

Arien Malec, senior vice president of research and development at Change Healthcare, asked whether legal and ethical frameworks researchers use may need to be revamped as it becomes more common to pull real-world data from EHRs. "If we're going to be using data more broadly we need to consider additional mechanisms to protect the rights of human subjects," he said.

ONC is looking into those issues.

Zayas-Caban said the agenda includes recommendations on how to build patient consent into IT infrastructure that's used to share data, such as suggestions on codifying data use agreements. The ONC's also awarded funding to developing a consent resource using Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources, or FHIR, data standards, she said.

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ONC shares progress on coordinating IT research priorities - ModernHealthcare.com

WHOs latest World Health Statistics reveal that low-income countries reported the biggest gains in life expectancy, which rose by 11 years between 2000 and 2016.

Other achievements during this period include a dramatic scale-up in access to services to prevent and treat HIV, malaria and tuberculosis. Child mortality was also halved thanks to better maternal and child healthcare.

However, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that the COVID-19 pandemic could further thwart progress.

The new statistics shine a light on one of the key drivers of this pandemic: inequality, he said during the agencys latest update on the crisis.

Tedros reported that more than one billion people worldwide spend at least 10 per cent of their household budgets on healthcare, while more than 55 percent of countries have fewer than 40 nursing and midwifery personnel, per 10,000 people.

The COVID-19 pandemic is causing a significant loss of life, disrupting livelihoods, and threatening to undo much of the progress we have made, he said.

While the coronavirus is an unprecedented shock to the world; through national unity and global solidarity, we can save both lives and livelihoods and ensure that other health services for neglected diseases, child vaccination, HIV, TB and malaria continue to both function and improve.

WHO also highlighted the challenge of preventing COVID-19 deaths in long-term care facilities: an unfortunate phenomenon that has occurred across the world, according to the agencys Executive Director.

Dr. Michael Ryan said residents are vulnerable to the respiratory disease because they tend to be older, and many have underlying health conditions.

He added that there already is a long list of countries where more than half of all COVID-19 cases were found in these settings.

I think this is something thats going to have be dealt with as countries now emerge from the high incidence phase, he said.

Not only is it a tragedy that this disease is occurring and killing so many people in those facilities. Ifthat disease remains in those facilities, it will come back out into communities through the workers who work there and families who visit.

Dr. Ryan also explained that long-term care facilities are not like hospitals as settings vary around the world.

Some can have many, many residents who are served by a relatively small number of staff. Furthermore, these workers may or may not have been fully trained in areas such as healthcare provision or infection prevention and control.

Dr. Ryan called for continued vigilance against COVID-19 but also action to protect older citizens in long-term care facilities, citing the example of hospitals twinning with these institutions to support infection prevention and control, diagnostics and rapid testing.

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COVID-19 threatens to undo global health progress - UN News

The Saskatchewan planting pace is pegged at 18% complete as of May 11, behind the 38% seeded as of the same week in 2019 and the five-year average of 25%. (DTN graphic by Cliff Jamieson)

Saskatchewan seeding progress remains off to a slow start. The Saskatchewan government estimates that 18% of the province's crop was seeded as of May 11, up from 7% last week. This compares to the 38% seeded as of this week in 2019 and the five-year average of 25%.

The week-over-week jump of 11 percentage points is behind the 17-point average realized over the past five years. Over this period, three years saw a faster pace reported, ranging from a 20- to 25-point jump over this week (2015, 2016 and 2019), while two years were slower, with an 8-point jump in 2018 and a 10-point jump in 2017.

The 18% of the area seeded continues to remain ahead of the pace set in 2017 and 2018, when an estimated 11% and 9% of the acres were seeded as of mid-May, respectively. A quick look at Statistics Canada data shows the estimated yields for both of these years for both canola and spring wheat were higher than their respective five-year average.

Of the six regions of the province, all are behind their five-year average pace of planting. An estimated 39% of the acres are seeded in the Southwest Region as of May 11, just 2 percentage points behind the five-year average for the region. Weather challenges have slowed the Southeast Region, with an estimated 23% of the acres seeded, down 16 percentage points from the region's five-year average. This is the furthest behind, relative to the average pace, seen for any of the six regions. Over the past five years, the pace of spring seeding was closer to 50% complete in three of the five years for this region.

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A Look at Saskatchewan's Seeding Progress - DTN The Progressive Farmer

CU Boulder Will Hold A Virtual Graduation Ceremony This SaturdayCU Boulder will hold a virtual graduation ceremony this Saturday.

Lightning Hot Spots In ColoradoMeteorologist Chris Spears gives us a lesson about lightning in his weather school.

Gov. Polis Announces Day Of Remembrance For Coloradans Lost To COVID-19Gov. Jared Polis is asking communities across Colorado to come together Friday evening to honor and remember the more than 1,000 Coloradans that we have lost during the coronavirus pandemic. Katie Johnston reports.

Denver Employees Being Forced To Take Furlough DaysThe mayor made the announcement on Thursday.

Colorado Has Received 100 Doses Of Remdesivir, An Experimental Drug For CoronavirusA new experimental drug test for coronavirus has been sent to Colorado with enough to treat 100 patients.

Golfer Jennifer Kupcho Returning Home To PlayJennifer Kupcho is from Westminster.

El Paso County Commissioners Discussing Restaurants ReopeningEl Paso county commissioners have spent the morning discussing getting a waiver from the governor to reopen restaurants.

Thunderstorms Building Thru Afternoon And EveningWatch Dave Aguilera's Forecast

Aerial Parade To Thank Front Line Workers Happening TodayAn aerial parade is taking place today to thank front line workers and to help raise money to help during the coronavirus outbreak.

Fallen Officers Honored With Wreath Laying CeremonyThe Denver Police Department held a wreath laying ceremony to honor our fallen officers on Thursday.

'We Want Her Back': $200,000 Reward Offered In Search For Suzanne MorphewThe reward for information about a missing Chaffee County woman has been doubled to $200,000.

Commencement Plan Announced For University Of DenverDU has announced it's spring commencement will be moved until 2021 but they will hold a virtual day of recognition for graduates on June 12th.

Fourth Straight Week Of Gradual Declines In Unemployment Filings In ColoradoColorado's latest unemployment numbers show more than 31,000 people filed for unemployment last week.

Arvada Boys Alert Authorities To House On FireThe boys were outside playing when they saw that their neighbor's house was on fire.

After Talking To Trump, Polis Is 'Cautiously Optimistic' About Keeping Space Command In ColoradoWhen Gov. Jared Polis met with President Donald Trump on Wednesday, he took the opportunity to ask the president about Space Command.

'Hamilton' Postponed At Denver Center For The Performing ArtsThe upcoming Denver tour of 'Hamilton' has been postponed.

JBS Plant Invests $200 Million In Enhanced Safety MeasuresThe plant shut down for two weeks in April for cleaning.

Brandon McManus Hands Out Lunches To Health Care WorkersMcManus said he wants to help out as many people as possible.

Sen. Cory Gardner Pleased With Progress Of Suicide Prevention BillSen. Cory Gardner is part of a bipartisan effort to get an extra $80 million in federal funding for critical suicide prevention programs during the coronavirus pandemic.

Christopher Adams-Wenger Pleads GuiltyHe was a teacher at Union Colony Prep School in Greeley.

Lakewood Motorcyclist Caught Doing StuntPolice are running into problems with speeding.

Searching For Suzanne Morphew: Reward For Information Doubled To $200,000"I'm willing to confirm that the bike was found on Sunday evening, the night she disappeared. The sheriff has said he doesn't not believe she was attacked by an animal.

Pilots Hope Coloradans Who Enjoy Flyover Will Donate To Charity"If everybody who sees it donates $, that would be awesome," one participant said.

City Of Denver Workers Must Take 8 Unpaid Days Off In 2020The city lost millions in tax revenue due to businesses being closed during the coronavirus pandemic.

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Sen. Cory Gardner Pleased With Progress Of Suicide Prevention Bill - CBS Denver

Personnel at NASA and the DLR have been working for months to get InSights Mole working. Theyre at a disadvantage, since the average distance between Earth and Mars is about 225 million km (140 million miles.) Theyve tried a number of things to get the Mole into the ground, and they may finally be making some progress.

The InSight lander (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport) is a joint mission between NASA and the DLR, or German Aerospace Center. One of the landers primary instruments is the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package, or Mole, so-called because it needs to burrow into the ground to fulfill its mission. The Moles job is to measure the heat that flows from the planets interior to the surface.

Trouble started when it became clear that the sub-surface soil near the lander was dura-crust. The duracrust is sand cemented together by salt, and its in a layer about 20 cm (8 in.) thick. After the Mole made some initial progress, it stalled. The Mole relies on soil falling in around its hole as it hammers its way into the surface, giving it the necessary friction to penetrate.

But the dura-crust refused to fall into the hole.

NASA and the DLR tried using the scoop on the end of the instrument arm to push soil into the Moles hole, but that didnt work.

Personnel also tried exerting sideways pressure on the Mole, in an attempt to provide the necessary friction. But that didnt work, either.

Theres no way to reposition the Mole to a new spot, in hopes of avoiding the troublesome duracrust. Its too delicate to be re-deployed safely, so engineers are forced to try everything else.

Now, mission personnel are using the instrument arms scoop to apply downward pressure on the Mole. Thats a tricky operation, with a wiring harness protruding from the top of the Mole in a vulnerable spot. Damage the harness, and the whole experiment is probably over.

They began this procedure back in March, and saw some progress.

On May 4th, a representative from the DLR spoke at a webinar as part of the European Geosciences Union General Assembly. Tilman Spohn is the principal investigator for the Mole, and he gave an update. The mole is going down by its hammering mechanism, but it is aided by the push of the scoop that balances the force of the recoil, Spohn said.

Its progress, which is great, but its very slow progress. Thats because they need to frequently re-position the instrument arm and its scoop. That is a very tedious operation, he said. We can only go like 1.5 centimeters (0.6 in) at a time before we have to readjust.

Then theres the problem of the angle. The Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package was designed to penetrate the surface at a vertical angle. But instead, its at a 30 degree angle, adding to the difficulties.

Its not something we like to see, Spohn said. But if the mole is able to get its whole instrument body to penetrate the surface, that angle might correct itself.

As if things arent complicated enough, theres another problem. The Mole penetrates with a hammering motion. As it hammered at the ground without making any progress, it compacted the soil directly underneath it. Now the Mole must contend with that compacted soil.

Theres no new word on how long itll take the Mole to penetrate far enough to do its job. It was designed to penetrate down to 5 meters (16 ft) but is able to do some work at less depth, perhaps about 2 meters (6 ft.) But with progress this slow, even getting to 2 meters could take a long time.

Spohn didnt provide an update on the timing. But back on April 17th, NASAs principal investigator for the InSight mission, Bruce Banerdt, did give an update.

We anticipate that well have the mole down flush with the ground within another month or two months, he said at a briefing. Once the Mole is flush with the surface, theres no way that the scoop on the instrument arm can push on it anymore. Itll be on its own.

At that point, its either going to be able to go on its own or not.

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Finally! InSight's Mole is Making Slow and Steady Progress - Universe Today

All over the world, the COVID-19 pandemic is causing significant loss of life, disrupting livelihoods, and threatening the recent advances in health and progress towards global development goals highlighted in the 2020 World Health Statistics published by the World Health Organization (WHO) today.

The good news is that people around the world are living longer and healthier lives. The bad news is the rate of progress is too slow to meet the Sustainable Development Goals and will be further thrown off track by COVID-19, said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.

The pandemic highlights the urgent need for all countries to invest in strong health systems and primary health care, as the best defense against outbreaks like COVID-19, and against the many other health threats that people around the world face every day. Health systems and health security are two sides of the same coin.

WHOs World Health Statistics an annual check-up on the worlds health reports progress against a series of key health and health service indicators, revealing some important lessons in terms of progress made towards the Sustainable Development Goals and gaps to fill.

Life expectancy and healthy life expectancy have increased, but unequally.

The biggest gains were reported in low-income countries, which saw life expectancy rise 21% or 11 years between 2000 and 2016 (compared with an increase of 4% or 3 years in higher income countries).

One driver of progress in lower-income countries was improved access to services to prevent and treat HIV, malaria and tuberculosis, as well as a

number of neglected tropical diseases such as guinea worm. Another was better maternal and child healthcare, which led to a halving of child mortality between 2000 and 2018.

But in a number of areas, progress has been stalling. Immunization coverage has barely increased in recent years, and there are fears that malaria gains may be reversed. And there is an overall shortage of services within and outside the health system to prevent and treat noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as cancer, diabetes, heart and lung disease, and stroke. In 2016, 71 per cent of all deaths worldwide were attributable to NCDs, with the majority of the 15 million premature deaths (85%) occurring in low and middle-income countries.

This uneven progress broadly mirrors inequalities in access to quality health services. Only between one third and one half the worlds population was able to obtain essential health services in 2017. Service coverage in low- and middle-income countries remains well below coverage in wealthier ones; as do health workforce densities. In more than 40% of all countries, there are fewer than 10 medical doctors per 10 000 people. Over 55% of countries have fewer than 40 nursing and midwifery personnel per 10 000 people.

The inability to pay for healthcare is another major challenge for many. On current trends, WHO estimates that this year, 2020, approximately 1 billion people (almost 13 per cent of the global population) will be spending at least 10% of their household budgets on health care. The majority of these people live in lower middle-income countries.

The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the need to protect people from health emergencies, as well as to promote universal health coverage and healthier populations to keep people from needing health services through multisecotral interventions like improving basic hygiene and sanitation, said Dr Samira Asma, Assistant Director General at WHO.

In 2017, more than half (55%) of the global population was estimated to lack access to safely-managed sanitation services, and more than one quarter (29%) lacked safely-managed drinking water. In the same year, two in five households globally (40%) lacked basic handwashing facilities with soap and water in their home.

The World Health Statistics also highlight the need for stronger data and health information systems. Uneven capacities to collect and use accurate, timely, and comparable health statistics, undermining countries ability to understand population health trends, develop appropriate policies, allocate resources and prioritize interventions.

For almost a fifth of countries, over half of the key indicators have no recent primary or direct underlying data, another major challenge in enabling countries to prepare for, prevent and respond to health emergencies such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. WHO is therefore supporting countries in strengthening surveillance and data and health information systems so they can measure their status and manage improvements.

The message from this report is clear: as the world battles the most serious pandemic in 100 years, just a decade away from the SDG deadline, we must act together to strengthen primary health care and focus on the most vulnerable among us in order to eliminate the gross inequalities that dictate who lives a long, healthy life and who doesnt, added Asma. We will only succeed in doing this by helping countries to improve their data and health information systems.

The World Health Statistics have been compiled primarily from publications and databases produced and maintained by WHO or by United Nations (UN) groups of which WHO is a member, such as the UN Interagency Group for Child Mortality Estimation. In addition, some statistics have been derived from data produced and maintained by other international organizations, such as the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs and its Population Division. The Global Health Observatory database contains additional details about the health-related SDG indicators, as well as interactive visualizations.

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WHO: People living longer and healthier lives but COVID-19 threatens to throw progress off track - World Health Organization

KALKASKA Few, if any construction projects, go completely as planned. Thats also the case with the ongoing redevelopment project of the 300 Block of South Cedar Street in downtown Kalkaska.

First, theres Mother Nature, with winter conditions including snow still gripping northern Michigan as recently as last week. That caused work crews to bring in special heaters to help thaw areas, as well as covering concrete that had just recently been poured to protect it from freezing temperatures at night.

Add in the COVID-19 pandemic that, at least temporarily, put the brakes on the $3.5-million redevelopment project almost as soon as it started in early March. Even the discovery of an old fuel tank on the site of the former chamber of commerce office provided for a small road bump for work crews.

But, at the Kalkaska Village Council meeting on Monday village officials stated work on the project is progressing well and that they still hope to complete the effort this year.

Read the full story in our regular edition of The Review. To subscribe to the paper for just $36 a year, which includes access to our full online e-edition, please go to the subscription page on this website at: http://www.antrimreview.net/subscribe/

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Village officials excited over early progress on RR Square project - Antrimreview

1More Dual Driver ANC Pro review-in-progress: Listen to this

The sexy new trend in wearable audio these days are true wireless earbuds and for good reason. When done right, they offer comfort and quality in a bite-sized package.

Still, 1More is living proof that a few wires here and there dont have to be a bad thing. The companys new $150 Dual Driver ANC Pro Wireless in-ear headphones, which are available now for pre-order and officially launch May 21, may not have the instant appeal of a true wireless counterpart. But even during the brief period Ive been able to test them, its evident that 1Mores new, efficient headphones will get you where you need to go.

Allow me, for a moment, to gush over the packaging in which the Dual Driver ANC Pro Wireless arrive.

Essentially, the headphones sit in a display case thats bound like a book, with artistic sketches of the headphones themselves on the inside cover. Competing companies, take note. This is how you make a good first impression.

Beneath the headphones, a smorgasbord of accessories is waiting. Among them are three sets of extra eartips, both a USB-C charging cable and an auxiliary cable, a carrying pouch for the headphones, and various documentation.

After taking the time to find the best-fitting tips for your ears, setup is standard compared to most wireless earbuds. I havent had these headphones long enough to speak to how well the built-in Bluetooth 5 technology works, but I can say that I havent hit any snags yet.

The 1More Music App pairs nicely with the headphones. You dont need the app to connect initially, but I would recommend downloading it. The app provides access to firmware updates, control over active noise cancellation, and smart burn-in options. Ill get to that last part a bit later.

Before I go any further, its time to address the elephant in the room er, ear. From the way the Dual Driver ANC look, its clear to me that I would classify these as earbuds that just happen to be tethered to a neckband by a pair of wires. 1More, however, refers to their new product as in-ear headphones, so Ill use that terminology throughout this review.

The in-ear component of the headphones fits comfortably and securely in my ears and hung in there rather nicely when I decided to audition them during a run around the local park. At the other end of the wire is the silicone neckband, which wraps gently around the neck. The band has buttons for power, volume control, active noise cancellation, and wind noise resistance mode, as well as the option to call upon your preferred voice assistant. They arent flashy, but so far, Ive found them easy to use.

The back of the buds are magnetic, allowing them to clasp together and sit like a hi-res necklace when youre not using them. Thats a nice design accommodation since the Dual Driver ANC dont seem like the easiest headphones to stow and go with.

Dont get me wrong, the neckband is flexible, and it looks like it could withstand some force. The carrying pouch just doesnt give me as much confidence as, say, a more rigid case would when its mixed in with other items in a backpack or suitcase.

That brings me to what I see as an inevitable design flaw with this style of headphone they just wont have the portability or ergonomic footprint that so many people have come to enjoy with true wireless earbuds. Theres a lot the Dual Driver ANC can offer between their features, audio quality, and price point. You just have to be able to make do with something a little more prominent in order to enjoy those traits.

The previous model in this series of 1More headphones, the Dual Driver BT ANC, offered a paltry 7 hours of playback time for either calls or music. It was clearly a weak point, and its safe to say 1More addressed it.

The new Dual Driver ANC claim 20 hours of battery life without ANC and 15 hours with the feature turned on, as well as a quick-charge feature that enables 3 extra hours with just 10 minutes on the charger. I havent had enough time to fully test 1Mores battery life claims, but if the specs hold up, thats a huge improvement.

The Dual Driver ANC have IPX5 waterproof resistance, giving them protection against jet streams of water from any direction. I havent had the chance to get that intense with them yet, but the headphones did make it unscathed through a rain-soaked walk.

In addition to their active noise cancellation capabilities, the Dual Driver ANC also have the previously mentioned wind noise resistance mode, which 1More says is designed to suppress the microphonics caused by wind and keep unwanted distractions out of your listening experience. Weather didnt want to cooperate with me in the time Ive spent testing them to this point, meaning I havent been able to pit them against any strong gusts to see how the feature holds up. As soon as Im able to, however, Ill report back with my findings.

With products like its Triple Driver and Quad Driver in-ear headphones, as well its more recent 1More Stylish true wireless earbuds, 1More has established quite a reputation. In a nutshell, this is a company that delivers quality sound that doesnt cost a fortune.

The Dual Driver ANC, then, have expectations to uphold. To repeat myself for the umpteenth time, I havent listened to these long enough to fully break down their audio chops. However, the early returns are excellent.

These headphones have the name they do for a reason. Theyre comprised of a 13.6mm dynamic driver with a titanium composite diaphragm, as well as 1Mores proprietary balanced armature. Its saying a lot, but if this isnt the MJ and Scottie of headphone components, they sure come darn close.

In other words, name a better duo. Ill wait.

Seriously, though, the time Ive spent listening to the Dual Driver ANC has been quite an experience. In addition to support for audio codecs like SBC, AAC, and LDAC, they expertly navigate between genres of music, digging low for the vibrating rumbles of Lil Nas Xs Panini before climbing for a powerful rendition of Bill Withers Lean on Me. As with all the companys products, the Dual Driver ANC were tuned by Luca Bignardi, a Grammy Award-winning sound engineer, and it shows.

If theres an issue I have with the sound quality, its that I must wait before I can hear the best the Dual Driver ANC has to offer. The headphones app has a smart burn-in feature, which essentially plays tones and signals through your buds to train them, according to 1More. For the best performance, 1More suggests it could take anywhere from a few dozen to hundreds of hours of burning in to reach the optimum level. Call me impatient, but that just seems excessive.

As I said earlier, Ive yet to put the Dual Driver ANCs wind noise resistance mode up against any worthwhile elements. I have, however, briefly tested the headphones active noise cancellation feature on bustling roadways, and I have a few takeaways.

Products from 1More employ hybrid active noise cancellation, where a pair of microphones in each bud analyze sounds both inside the ear and in the outside environment, then block the unwanted sounds out with the help of a dedicated digital signal processor (DSP). The headphones have two different levels of noise cancellation, mild and strong, that can be chosen with the neckband button or in the 1More Music app.

My trials with the ANC features of these headphones were good overall. White noise with the feature in action was minimal, and they generally did a solid job of dampening most outside noises. I would keep expectations realistic, though. They dont approach the cancellation abilities that solid over-ear cans can offer, and some sounds will inevitably get through. Thats not really a knock on 1More, but rather a reminder of the limitations of this style of product. They do well within those constraints.

Ill have to revisit this review after more time listening to these headphones to have a definitive take. But 1More has built excellent, affordable listening devices time and time again in the past, and so far, theyre on the right track once more with the Dual Driver ANC Pro Wireless.

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1More Dual Driver ANC Pro review-in-progress: Listen to this - Digital Trends

(Illustration by iStock/rudall30)

In the report Shaping Inclusive Markets from FSG and The Rockefeller Foundation, I and other authors found thatsome of the most significant progress in creating sustainable and equitable market systems has come during crises. Amid the responses to COVID-19, there are also opportunities for innovative solutions that can further the vision of equitable societies that serve all of their members. To identify, create, preserve, and augment these steps toward more just systems, civil society must support and expand the efforts beyond the immediate response to this crisis.

Foundations have a particularly important role to play. There are more than 260,000 of them around the world. They command roughly $1.5 trillion in assets and spend more than $150 billion a year, according to the Hauser Institute for Civil Society at Harvard University. At FSG, we have partnered with dozens of foundations that are working toward a more equitable world by changing the practices, regulations, and informal norms that make up complex social systems, from business markets to health care to education. Based on this experience, here are three steps foundations can take to play an important role amid a crisis to bring about lasting, positive change:

Use New Crisis Responses to Reassess Old Systems | To further the long-term goals of equitable and inclusive social systems, foundations need to identify and explore the innovative solutions taken in response to the pandemic that may be worth continuing beyond the end of the crisis.

For example, in most developing countries, the traditional measure of education has been children being present in school rather than the quality of education. The crisis offers a unique opportunity to challenge this belief and reshape education as remote learning replaces physical classrooms. The shift allows people to newly inspect the details of the educational experience to find what works best. Activity-based learning, which has been a common part of remote learning and which FSG has been promoting in India to improve educational outcomes more than rote-based learning, may become a more permanent and greater part of educational experiences after the crisis ends.

Empower Champions | New movements and their champions often come to the fore during a crisis. Identifying and empowering them to talk about longer-term issues and pulling them into an agenda for social change will help foundations strengthen their local alliances. In general, the initial identification of such champions in local systems has been a weak point for foundations that sometimes operate from a great distance. One effective method to find them is to partner with local organizations that can identify local individuals to carry a cause forward. In India, an example is Wadhwani Initiative for Sustainable Healthcare (WISH), which identifies senior leaders and officials in government who are open to changing rules that could significantly improve health outcomes. WISH also seeks out and supports civil servants and technical experts within the health system who are willing to innovate.

Move Quickly | This crisis too shall pass, and the window of opportunity to solidify the changes it has sparked will close. Foundations need to deploy resources and form alliances now, not in weeks or months.

Nothing shows the importance of agility as the crisis itself. A recent study indicated that a three-day delay in introducing social distancing measures in Wuhan could be responsible for the 35 percent increase in the number of cases that occurred outside of the area in late February.

Foundations must realize that this short window of opportunity will not be amenable for multiple approval rounds and the decision-making hierarchy that works in normal times. Empowering teams to make investments, not all of which will be successful, will be a key to success.

Getting through major crises like COVID-19 is extraordinarily taxing for a huge array of organizations. Foundationsalong with nonprofits, governments, and many othersmust address urgent problems within their own ranks and their partners'. At the same time, they cannot simply abandon the long-term goals that are core to their missionsa crisis of course does not make serious inequities suddenly go away. If anything, a crisis exacerbates longstanding social problems, increasing the need for organizations who understand them and know how to respond to them.

By learning from this crisis and others before it, it is my hope that foundations can do moreindividually and as an allianceto identify and prepare themselves and their partners for major threats in the future and their impact on long-term efforts to solve serious social problems. Doing so will help ensure that the opportunities for innovative solutions created by a crisis today become the building blocks of a more just world tomorrow.

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How Foundations Can Make Progress on Long-Term Social Change Amid the COVID-19 Crisis - Stanford Social Innovation Review