Boston Globe, 2/23/2014
Written by David Abel
Photo by Suzanne Kreiter
Beacon Hill resisting ramps, aids for disabled.
For years, Carl Richardson has shuffled gingerly across the uneven sidewalks and poorly cut curbs of Beacon Hill, guided by a dog and the hope that a loose brick or an unexpected slope doesn’t trip him up.
His journey would be made far easier by a city proposal to install 259 pedestrian ramps with tactile warning strips throughout the historic neighborhood, as part of a decades-long effort to bring the city’s curbs into compliance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.
But the plan was rejected in December by officials of the Beacon Hill Architectural Commission. Why? Because they believed, among other things, that the bumpy plastic strips would mar the neighborhood’s Colonial-era character.
Long after other parts of the city, including other designated historic districts, have come into compliance with the disabilities act or have reached agreements to do so, Beacon Hill remains the lone holdout. It holds that stance despite the fact that the city stands to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal funds if a plan is not approved within the next month.
Could a pair of headphones change the lives of millions of Americans suffering from Alzheimer's and dementia? "Alive Inside: A Story of Music & Memory," a new documentary at the Sundance Film Festival, follows a social worker named Dan Cohen who has launched a campaign to bring iPods and music therapy to nursing homes. One of the central characters he works with is a 90-something Alzheimer's patient named Henry Dryer, who was featured in a video posted online that went viral in 2012, with over 1 million views. The above clip begins with video of Dryer looking largely unresponsive to the outside world. Then he was given a pair of headphones to listen to Cab Calloway, his favorite artist. The music energizes him, awakens him and helps bring back old memories. We play clips from the film and speak with Cohen about his project, "Music & Memory", which he hopes to expand around the world. We are also joined by Michael Rossato-Bennett, the film's director and producer.
An illustration of Dr. James Kaufman by Chris Brandt
What can the latest psychological research teach us about creativity, how it's expressed, and how it can be measured? Join this discussion with Dr. James C. Kaufman, president of the American Psychological Association's Division 10: The Society for the Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts. Kaufman is Professor of Educational Psychology at the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut. The author of more than 25 books, Kaufman is internationally known for his research on such areas as everyday creativity, creativity assessment, and creativity and mental health.
