Plant-pollinating insects are essential to the reproductive process of many flowering plants, but the numbers of these insects are declining around the world. Interestingly, a 2017 ecological study led by Dr. Eva Knop suggests that artificial lighting, the modern convenience that (1) illuminates many streets, storefronts, and athletic fields, may be contributing to the decline of these organisms.

[ l] Daytime pollinators, such as bees and butterflies, have many well-documented threats, so Dr. Knop's team sought to investigate a potential threat to nocturnal (2) pollinators; artificial light. [2] To do so, the team located samples of the thistle plant Cirsium oleraceum, which is pollinated by insects, in mountain meadows that are ordinarily dark at night. [3] Before the plants' flowering began, some of the plants were covered with mesh bags to (3) outlaw visits from (4) pollinators, however, others were left unbagged. [4] The scientists measured how much fruit each plant produced over the course of its life cycle. (5)

Whereas the unbagged plants' fruit production changed significantly with light exposure, the bagged plants saw no such effect. (6) The bagged plants couldn't be visited by pollinators. Because of that fact, the bagged plants self-fertilized and thus averaged only about  (7) 15 fruits per plant in dark sites but 85 fruits per plant in illuminated sites. On the other hand, unbagged plants from the dark sites produced an average of 90 fruits per plant, whereas (8) bagged plants that were exposed to artificial light produced an average of 78 fruits per plant-a 13 percent decline in fruit production for plants that were illuminated at night. From these results, the researchers concluded that nocturnal pollinators were avoiding the unbagged plants in the illuminated sites, (9) which affected the overall yield of the plants.

 The scientists also found that the decline in nighttime pollination visits (10) coincided with a decline in visits from daytime pollinators. The precise cause for this dual decline was unclear; one possibility is that the plants were less nourishing to daytime pollinators when no longer visited by nighttime pollinators. Whatever the reason, artificial illumination clearly has adverse effects on plant pollination, and the increasing (11) presents of artificial lighting may pose a major problem for biodiversity. "Urgent measures must be taken, to reduce the negative consequences of the annually increasing light emissions on the environment," says Dr. Knop. She is hopeful that further research will focus on ways to reduce excessive light and revive populations of nighttime pollinators.

In July 2016 the coffee shop chain Starbucks instituted a new policy to relax its dress code. The decision-allowing employees to customize their previously uniform looks with such accessories as hats and colorful socks- (12) reflects workplaces across the United States. From retail services to large corporate offices, employers are finding that flexible dress codes can make a company more attractive to potential (13) workers; boosting morale among current employees. Given these benefits, more employers ought to embrace the trend of relaxed dress codes.

There are a number of reasons why job applicants might favor companies that allow for some degree of flexibility in workplace attire. Having the option to dress casually can mean greater physical comfort. Also, being able to personalize otherwise identical uniforms with unique flourishes can enhance happiness by allowing (14) them to retain a greater sense of personal identity in the workplace.

(15) Individuals' motives may vary, but job recruiters are finding that many potential employees do indeed share a preference for flexible dress codes, and embracing this preference could help companies attract a wider range of talent. According to a 2016 study, (16) essentially none of those surveyed wanted to be employed by a company with a relaxed dress code: 31 percent of respondents reported that they would prefer a company with a business casual dress code, and a further 27 percent reported that they would prefer a casual dress code or no dress code at all. (17)

In addition to making companies more appealing to potential employees, (18) dressing casually can also be a fun way to express one's individuality. When the accounting firm Crowe Horwath LLP asked workers what changes they would like to see in the (19) workplace, and workers said that dressing casually would help them most (20) with, "being comfortable, being engaged, and being productive," said chief people officer Julie Wood. The firm started allowing workers to wear jeans and other relatively casual attire, and the response from employees was overwhelmingly positive. "With our change in dress, the level of excitement and feedback from our people has been really phenomenal," Wood said.

Of course, formal workplace attire is (21) appropriate and even required in some contexts. For example, job interviews and client meetings often require professional clothing. (22) However, in certain occupations, such as law enforcement, uniforms without personal embellishments are still necessary. When possible, though, companies should consider relaxing dress codes and allow flexibility, a move that is likely to benefit both employees and companies.

Search engines make it easy for us to keep up with current issues, but the information we find may not be as objective as it appears. Many search engines collect data from users, such as their locations and search (23) histories, they use what they gather to filter search results. This invisible customization may create what media CEO Eli Pariser has termed a "filter bubble," a biased worldview that is (24) reinforced when it is consistently confirmed rather than challenged. It is important, especially with regard to political issues, that search engines make their filtering practices (25) explicit. When search engines make them explicit, users can be aware of potential biases when making important decisions, especially when those decisions (26) are shared with friends and family members on social media.

Psychologist Robert Epstein has shown how filtered (27) results, can lead to political biases. In an experiment conducted before the 2014 general election in India, Epstein created a fake search engine and asked 2,000 undecided voters to use it to research candidates running for the office of prime minister. Voters were divided into three groups, and each group was presented with results favoring a different major-party candidate. Participants whose searches favored a given candidate (28) was 12 percent more likely to report a positive view of that candidate than were participants in other groups. While there is no evidence that commercial search engines intentionally skew their results in favor of certain candidates or (29) positions, filters based on (30) user's browsing history's could produce similarly slanted results.

(31) This possibility is especially troubling because most users think their searches display the full spectrum of perspectives on an issue. The vast majority of participants in Epstein's experiment—99.3 percent—did not recognize the bias in their results. (32) Politicians hope to counteract this: a 2012 survey from the Pew Research Center indicated that 66 percent of respondents believed that results obtained through a search engine represent all available information rather than a personalized selection. 

Filtering is essential to search engines because the sheer volume of information on the Internet makes it impossible to display more than a small portion of all relevant results. But in the case of political information, it is important for users to be aware of the existence of filters and of the factors that might bias results. If search engines published this information (33) —by displaying a warning that results are selected based on user preferences, for example—users would be better able to read political coverage online with an appropriately critical eye and thus base their political beliefs on a fuller range of information.

A 2015 study led by First Peoples Fund, an organization dedicated to supporting indigenous (34) artists revealed that roughly four out of ten households on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota had home businesses centered on arts or handicrafts. This finding reflects the deeply rooted importance of art within the reservation's Oglala Lakota culture. However, the study also concluded that the vastness of the reservation limited local artists' ability to collaborate with one another, find mentors, and sell their art. (35) Regardless of these discoveries, First Peoples Fund worked with a group of organizations and supporters to implement a plan for strengthening the creative economy of the reservation. The outcome of the organization's combined efforts (36) have been Rolling Rez Arts, a bus that would serve as a mobile space to support artistic collaboration and (37) forge critical partnerships with local financial institutions.

  Rolling Rez Arts itself was a collaborative work of art by Oglala Lakota artists. Donald Montileaux, (38) a 2014 inductee into the South Dakota Hall of Fame, was selected to give the bus a distinctive appearance. He created a lavish design for the (39) bus. This design, intended for the sides of the bus, had vivid pictograms of running Buffalo inspired by the narrative scenes of ledger art. After Montileaux produced drawings of the design, an Oglala Lakota graphic artist adapted them to fit the bus, helping transform (40) its exterior into a brilliant, traveling canvas.

With the eye-catching collaboration complete, the bus was ready to begin journeying across the far-flung communities of the reservation. The bus's versatile interior allows artists to work together on projects, study with mentors, and even set up bank accounts to help grow their art as a business. The bus also hosts a gift shop whose manager buys works on-site to sell elsewhere along the bus's travels, (41) enhancing artists' ability to benefit financially from their art. Local artist and (42) rancher, Tony Richards used to have to drive more than an hour to reach a local cultural center, where he sold his jewelry at the gift shop. "A lot of times I didn't have time to go over there," Richards said.

While the organizations behind the project ultimately aim to open a permanent art space and gallery on the reservation to serve as a fixed cultural (43) hub; the art in motion of Rolling Rez Arts will continue. As (44) Warren "Guss" Yellow Hair, an artist trainer for First Peoples Fund, said, "What I do is contact some of the established artists and utilize some of their skills."