This is the fifth installment in an eight-part series that examines the social role of design beyond its aesthetic aspect. The weekly series is a precursor to Herald Design Week 2013 from Oct. 7-11, which will be organized under the theme “Re-imagine the World.” ― Ed.In poverty-stricken states of sub-Saharan Africa, about 10 percent of people drink any water that is available ― at rivers, lakes and ponds. About 88 percent of people who die from diarrhea are thought to have consumed unhygienic wa

With the increased use of computers and the Internet, many people are spending extended periods of time using computers at work and at home. This has led to an increase in conditions related to such activity. Computer-related health problems are called VDT syndrome, or “computer related diseases.” VDT syndrome refers to pain in the neck and shoulders due to shoulder-arm-neck syndrome, and other musculoskeletal symptoms, fatigued eyes and foreign sensation, skin conditions and neuropsychiatric pr

Doctors urge government to develop measures to curb growing suicide rate

BEIJING (AP) ― A billionaire Chinese real estate developer who bought one of the biggest U.S. cinema chains last year has emerged as the country’s new richest tycoon. The Hurun Report, which follows China’s wealthy, said Wednesday a surge in stock prices helped to boost the number of Chinese worth at least $1 billion by 64 to 315 this year, compared with none a decade ago. The top five saw their wealth double.  Wang Jianlin, whose Dalian Wanda Group Co. operates hotels, cinemas and department st

Kwon Gee-chan, CEO of Wearfun International Co. and chairman of Opera Gallery Seoul, will receive the Italian Order of Merit, one of the highest honors given by the Italian government, for his contribution to introducing Italian fashion and art to Koreans. The award ceremony is scheduled to take place at the residence of the Italian Ambassador in Seoul on Saturday. Italian Ambassador Sergio Mercuri will give out the award on behalf of Italian President Giorgio Napolitano. Kwon, one of the leadin

A foreign national has been appointed an administrative faculty member at Seoul National University for the first time since the school opened in 1946.Bernhard Egger, a 38-year-old professor of computer science and engineering from Switzerland, was named director of information and international affairs of the college of engineering by its dean on Sept. 1.He received a combined bachelor’s and master’s degree in computer science from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich in 2001 and a

It’s Not Love, It’s Just ParisBy Patricia Engel (Grove)Patricia Engel sets her first novel in late ’90s Paris, where recent college graduate Lita del Cielo arrives to take language classes for a year. It’s a respite of sorts as she attempts to forestall the expectations of her Colombian immigrant parents, who arrived in the United States with nothing and built a Latin food empire in short order.Twenty-year-old Lita is to live in the House of Stars, a crumbling old mansion on the Left Bank. Her l

DeceivedBy Randy Wayne White (Putnam)Randy Wayne White has made Florida’s Gulf Coast an iconic part of crime fiction with his novels about Marion “Doc” Ford.His new heroine Hannah Smith, introduced in last year’s “Gone,” isn’t a substitute for Ford. But she is an intriguing enough character to make readers look forward to her second appearance in the suspenseful “Deceived.” Smith, a Gulf Coast fishing guide who inherited a nearly defunct private detective agency from her uncle, lives near Ford’s

NEW YORK (AP) ― The book world is finally honoring Maya Angelou.The poet and author of “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” will be this year’s recipient of the Literarian Award, an honorary National Book Award for contributions to the literary community, the National Book Foundation announced last Thursday. It is the first major U.S. literary prize for the 85-year-old Angelou, who has been celebrated everywhere from the Grammy Awards to the White House. She has received three Grammys for best spok

When news emerged three years ago that filmmaker Shane Salerno and writer David Shields were working on a lengthy oral biography (with accompanying documentary) about J.D. Salinger, I assumed it would be all smoke and no fire. Salinger, after all, had gone to ground after the publication of his novella “Hapworth 16, 1924” in the June 19, 1965, issue of the New Yorker; even in the wake of his death, in January 2010 at age 91, his estate had preserved the silence of his final 45 years.What had he