Wealth And Income Inequality In Uk Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Wealth And Income Inequality In Uk - Essay Example The building of rehabilitation centers and provision of family counseling services in the most affected communities to help change the future of the generations to come. Change is possible if we stand together and fight for it. Enhancement of law protecting the minority, anyone caught employing or abusing a minor will face the wrath of the law. Availability of social grants, like foster care, child support, general relief, disability grant to help those in need, the government should also ensure its availability to the people who need it. The rate of corruption in the sector is not to tolerate at all costs (Yunus 2007). With a responsible government and sound management system, eradicating poverty should not be an alarming issue, income disparities between the rich and the poor will incredibly decrease. More citizens will enter the wealthy bracket, and few or none will be below the poverty line. The society of today and tomorrow should take this subject very seriously because it determines the future of tomorrow. We all need good food, health, education, houses. The list is endless. So we should come together as one and work towards creating a favorable environment for everyone.Society has made it a little difficult for equality to have a chance. The balance and the gap between the rich and the poor continue to grow every day in the UK and around the world. Eradication of poverty and the high poverty levels should be one of the highest priorities of the government for the sake of its citizens.

Study guid answer Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Study guid answer - Term Paper Example Conservatism  is a  political  and  social philosophy. It promotes adherence to traditional values, social and religious doctrines. This ideology defends state interests and public order. The main thing is stability. Conservatism denies any radical reforms and extremism. Liberalism  is a  political philosophy. Its basic ideas presuppose liberty and equality. Individual rights of people are of crucial importance. The movement appeared during the  Age of Enlightenment. It refused from  hereditary privilege,  state religion,  absolute monarchy, and the  Divine Right of Kings (Wikipedia). Socialism  is a social and economic system. Its purpose is to realize its fundamental principles of social justice, liberties, and equality. Its basic characteristic is the social ownership  of the  means of production  and co-operative management of the economy (Wikipedia). Nationalism emerged on the basis of French Revolution. This revolution gave radical intellectuals inspiration to put an emphasis on their own national identity  and developed a  romantic view  of  cultural  self-expression through  nationhood (Wikipedia). According to its theorists Friedrich Hegel, the sense of nationality was the crucial element which would make a country prosperous. The terms â€Å"national state† presupposes: 1. political  and  geopolitical  entity; 2. cultural  and  ethnic entity. National state is opposite to multinational state. Colonialism: a certain country conquers and rules over other territories. The aim is to exploit its resources. The conqueror builds and maintains its colonies. Great number of people moves to the conquered territory. Example: British colonization of the North America (now the US). An imperialist country seeks to expand its governance over as large territory as possible. It wants to create an empire and expand its dominance far. There are no mass movements of people. Its sense lies in exercising power over the conquered territories. Example:

Global Issues in Astronautics Essay Example for Free

Global Issues in Astronautics Essay The Mars Exploration Rovers were two programs launched by NASA to Mars for the primary reason of finding water on the planet. Twin robots were launched on June 10 and July 7 for this purpose which landed on January 24 and 25. These robots were sent to the opposite poles where past records of liquid water were apparent. The robots contained Cameras, Spectrometers, Rock Abrasion Tools and Imagers and collected panoramic images of promising sites on the surface of Mars much like the way a human would through the arms, elbows and wrist. A total distance of more than 1 kilometer was travelled each day making the project a success from NASA’s point of view. (NASA, Mars Exploration Rover Mission: Summary, 2007) On the other hand, Mars Pathfinder Missions were a part of NASA’s Discovery Program to explore Mars. This was one of the first launches to Mars and its objectives were to analyze the atmosphere, climate and geological surroundings on the red planet. Even though its objective has been achieved, the Pathfinders Mission is used as a technology testing ground for future space programs like the Mars Exploration Rovers. The rover was launched on December 4, 1996 and contained experiment related tools including cameras and spectrometers. (NASA, Mars Pathfinder, 2007) One of the most important discoveries has been on finding the silica on the ground which means that water was indeed used to form the planet. The high-silica soil found surprisingly had led the scientists to believe that water was involved like it is on Earth. (Chandler, 2007) Q2: International Space station: What was the main incident that halted the construction of ISS? And as of today, when is NASA planning to complete the ISS? In your opinion, what problems NASA might be facing in doing that? The incident due to which the assembly of the International Space Station was halted was the disintegration of the NASA’s Columbia space program on February 1, 2003 during its reentry into Earth’s atmosphere. Being a combined project by America, Russia, Japan, Brazil etc. , there were many costs involved as well as agreements to be made. After the disaster, the ISS assembly was delayed by another 5 years. (Lindroos Wade, 2007) NASA along with other space companies of the world has set a target of completion of the assembly of the ISS by 2010 to 2011 if no further mishaps occur. In the completion of the project several problems have delayed the completion. High cost of maintenance, repairs and adding modules is one of the biggest factors as American Taxpayers money is involved along with funding from other companies of the world. Due to the multination agreement of the project, contracts have to be made, funding to be added thus causing further delays. Changing political structure make it additionally difficult to either carry this mission based on public demand or remove it in light of huge cost already spent on it. The last problem as discussed before was the inevitable space disasters taking place that have grounded space programs or to the least delayed the operations. (Lindroos Wade, 2007) Works Cited 1. Chandler, D. L. (2007). Mars rovers disability leads to major water discovery. Retrieved May 19, 2008, from NewScientist. com news service: http://space.newscientist. com/channel/space-tech/mars-rovers/dn11914-mars-rovers-disability-leads-to-major-water-discovery. html 2. Lindroos, M. , Wade, M. (2007). International Space Station. Retrieved May 19, 2008, from Astronautix: http://www. astronautix. com/craft/intation. htm 3. NASA. (2007). Mars Exploration Rover Mission: Summary. Retrieved May 19, 2008, from NASA: http://marsrovers. nasa. gov/overview/ 4. NASA. (2007). Mars Pathfinder. Retrieved May 19, 2008, from NASA: http://mars. jpl. nasa. gov/missions/past/pathfinder. html

Project Intervention Plan for Elderly Community

Project Intervention Plan for Elderly Community A Project Intervention Plan  on  Wah Fu Estate Community Mao Peter Introduction of the community Wah Fu Estate was built in 1963. It is located in Pok Fu Lam, south-western part of the Hong Kong Island. Such establishment of public estates was closely related to the fire accident at Shek Kip Mei, Kowloon in 1953, which is the milestone of public housing history in Hong Kong since that the government provide better and affordable public housing for Hong Kong residents. As a satellite town in Hong Kong, the Wah Fu Estate provides most of the basic facilities such as wet markets, schools, community hall, library, and public transportation as well. It is a quiet and pleasant place where the resident can enjoy a board sea view with hills behind. That is why the Wah Fu Estate is called a â€Å"luxurious estate for common people†. It includes two phases of development. Wah Fu I with 12 blocks of buildings of old-slab design, and Wah Fu II with 6 blocks of twin-tower design. Rationales for community issues As the Wah Fu Estate has developed for more than 50 years, many of the original residents there have become the elderly. This can be seen to the latest census statistics as shown in table 1, the largest age group in the Wah Fu Estate is 45-64, about 30% of the overall population (Census and Statistics Department, 2011) and more than 20% are aged 65 and over. It is significantly higher than the ones of Southern District in general (13.7%). This demographic characteristic has greatly influenced the community need and problem of the Estate. Table 1. Age structure of Wah Fu Estate and Southern District Higher proportion of the aged people in the estate leads to the greater concern of health care and social welfare services provided in the Wah Fu estate for their deteriorating health conditions and higher demand for getting help from others. The geographical location of the estate makes it mainly rely on the bus and minibus services. The provision of public transportation services to the MTR stations, other main districts in the Hong Kong Island and the other side of the Victoria Harbour is very crucial to the residents there. The provision of social facilities such as shopping centres, restaurants are another concerns in the community especially those in the open area for the elder residents to take a rest and have better interactions with others. Long history of Wah Fu Estate is reflected by the supporting pillars outside the buildings, decaying rooftop and messy electronic lines. The maintenance of the estate is a main and urgent issue in the community. The latest development of the estate is the redevelopment, which has pronounced on the Chief Executive’s policy address this year. It can be projected that this will become the major issue of the community in the next few years. Rationales choosing community work approach To have the community work in such an old public estate, locality development can be used. It is one of the three models of community practices by Jack Rothman. The relationship among the residents in the Wah Fu estate is very close as they live together for such a long time. Their bonding is strong that it is more effective to use this advantage to coordinate them in presenting and solving the community issues with the government and other stakeholders instead of advocate them to have social actions and campaigns. The estate as a whole and even each of the buildings has their own Mutual Aid Committees or similar organizations. We can build up a close relationship with them and use their networks throughout our community work in order to have a greater effect to express their views to the public and solve the problems of the community. There have some NGOs providing social services to the residents in the Wah Fu Estate, such as Salvation Army Wah Fu Centre for Senior Citizens and Aberdeen Kai-fong Welfare Association Southern District Integrated Elderly Service Centre, the collaboration with those NGOs which know the community situation well is also essential to have a better community work in Wah Fu estate. Specific intervention strategies/empowerment plans We can organize some outdoor seminars in the estate for the discussion of the community problems to let the residents concern the issues of their own community more. We can also build up the foundation of the membership and help them to set up the locality-based concern group to discuss issues faced by them including the maintenance of their apartments, provision of social facilities etc as I have mentioned before in this paper. Some sub-groups can also be set up for some typical issues like transportation and redevelopment programme. Throughout the discussion in these groups, they can have mutual support and build up their civic consciousness. They can make collaborative and informed decision or consensus by themselves and express them in one voice to the society. This is the process of empowerment to the residents of Wah Fu estate to handle issues of their community by themselves. Another way which is more traditional to promote our community work is to set up a counter over the street and spread out our leaflets to present our service and get in touch with the residents. The periodic newsletter can be printed to the member, other relevant NGOs and organizations to publicize our activities and keep continuous contact with the residents. Roles of Community Worker The community worker can play the roles of enabler, instructor, facilitator and trainer. We instruct the residents to speak up their opinions and views about the community issues in the concern group. We help them to coordinate different views and conflicts between them, that means to facilitate the discussion or empowerment process. Through these activities, it is an opportunity for us to train up the district leaders to help their neighbours for their own betterment of living. Challenges and Difficulties From the interviews conducted in our community walk, they concern more with the current issues in the estate such as health care and community facilities than the redevelopment programme that is believed to be the most concern issues in the community. They are widely believed that the redevelopment plan may take 5 to 10 years to complete which is too far away for them to think about it. As they have been waiting for a long time for the plan, their desire to concern about it has faded out. This is one of the main challenges to do the community work in Wah Fu estate. The forums and visits from outsider about the redevelopment plan have also fatigued the residents and they have the tendency to alienate from it. It is another difficulty to get contact with them and start our community work. Conclusion In order to have an effective community work, helping and instructing them to present the existing problems that mentioned previously in this paper is significant to gain their trust. After that, we have to ensure the residents to know and realize that as it is one of the key statements in the policy address, the redevelopment of Wah Fu Estate will take place soon, then mobilize and empower them to work for solutions, to make their voice and requests about the redevelopment issues such as in-situ settlement can be heard by the government and the public. References Census and Statistics Department. (2011). 2011 Population Census. Retrieved from http://www.census2011.gov.hk/pdf/fact_sheets/estates/D_10182e.pdf http://www.census2011.gov.hk/en/major-housing-estate/10183.html Rothman, J., Erlich, J. L., and Tropman, J. E. (eds.) 2008, Strategies of Community Intervention. (7th Ed.) Itasca, Illinois: F. E. Peacock. Chapter 7.

Falling Behind by Robert Frank Essay -- Falling Behind, Robert Frank

Robert H. Frank’s book Falling Behind is a short, lucid, and compelling account of what is going on with the middle class†(Alexander Kemestrios Ben). That is what one reviewer on Amazon.com commented about Frank’s book Falling Behind: How Rising Inequality Harms the Middle Class. In order to engage readers and support their ideas, most argumentative nonfiction books use statistics, logical reasoning, personal anecdotes, and real-life examples. While all of these strategies such as should make an interesting and compelling argument, the question is not of how interesting the book is, but rather is it or is it not a quality argumentative nonfiction book? Before answering that question, we must first consider what makes a quality argumentative nonfiction book. A quality argumentative nonfiction book should engage readers with entertaining and unique ideas and also have well-explained and simplified ideas that are easy for the audience to understand. By these standard s, Falling Behind is partially a quality argumentative nonfiction book because, although it fully meets the criterion of having entertaining and unique ideas, it only partially meets the criterion of having well-explained and simplified ideas. In addition to being â€Å"the Henrietta Johnson Louis Professor of Management and Professor of Economics at Cornell's Johnson Graduate School of Management,† Robert H. Frank is also â€Å"the co-director of the Paduano Seminar in business ethics at NYU’s Stern School of Business†(â€Å"Faculty and Research†). He earned a â€Å"B.S. in mathematics from Georgia Tech† and â€Å"an M.A. in statistics and a Ph.D. in economics† from the University of California at Berkeley (â€Å"Faculty and Research†). Frank has written and cowritten many books, as well as various... ...zon.com. Amazon, 2014. Web. 10 Feb. 2014. â€Å"Falling Behind: How Rising Inequality Harms the Middle Class.† Goodreads. Goodreads, 2014. Web. 10 Feb. 2014. Finn, Daniel. "Smart for One, Dumb for All." Commonweal 135.5 (2008): 22+. Academic OneFile. Web. 6 Feb. 2014 Frank, Robert H. Falling Behind: How Rising Inequality Harms the Middle Class. Berkeley: University of California, 2007. Print. Gross, Daniel. "Thy Neighbor’s Stash." NYTimes.com. Ed. Andrew Rosenthal. New York Times, 5 Aug. 2007. Web. 6 Feb. 2014. â€Å"Herpangina† MedlinePlus. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 3 Feb. 2014. Web. 6 Feb. 2014 "Robert H. Frank." Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2013. Gale Biography In Context. Web. 5 Feb. 2014. Whaley, Mary. "Falling Behind: How Rising Inequality Harms the Middle Class." Booklist 1 July 2007: 15. EBSCO Academic Search Premier. Web. 6 Feb. 2014.

Faith and Hope in Business Essay

Faith in business is having trust and confidence in whatever you set out to do, regardless of circumstances or condition, such as economic recession or an entity’s ability to continue as a going concern. Faith in business is some fixed points of reference for business leaders to stay ethically and professionally. Faith in business is like a compass for many CEOs. For Ford Motor Company, Episcopalian is the compass for Henry Ford. For Whole Food, Buddhism is the compass for John Mackey. Hope in business is the belief that things will get better, whether the financial data or evidence indicates it will or not. Hope in business is like a road in the world; there was never a road, but when many people walk on it, the road comes into existence. The difference between faith and hope in business is that hope always looks to the future, while faith is now. Moreover, hope is a subset of faith. Entrepreneurs must have hope to have faith, but they don’t have to have faith to have hope. Faith always inspired entrepreneurs to do fearless action, but hope doesn’t do that. Faithful business does not always aim at profit; one of the most typical examples of this is Chick-fil-A, a company that has been well known for operating on Christian principles and values. To honor the biblical teaching to rest on the Sabbath, Chick-fil-A always closes on Sundays, thus forgoing one of the highest revenue days of the week for the restaurant industry. Another typical example of faith in business is the operation of the Grameen Bank Project, which object was to extend banking facilities to poor locals in rural Bangladesh. On the other hand, hope in business can be just simply that entrepreneurs hope their entities could make an acquisition in the future, such as Google hope to acquire Linux and replace Chrome OS to have their own official OS exclusively for PCs’ and combine it with all the Features and Design of Chrome OS to become more powerful than ever.

Modern Gadgets Implications to Teenagers Essay

Whether we like it or not, electric appliances and gadgets have occupied a major position in our day to day lives. Though they were invented to make life better for us in the first place, it is an undeniable fact that many of the gadgets have a negative influence upon the quality of our lives in some ways. As we cannot live without them in this modern world and they are a necessary evil, we have to find ways to reduce the negative impact of those modern appliances. Let us see some of the gadgets that we commonly use, the problems arising out of their use, and the ways of minimizing the negative effects arising from their use. Television: see more:importance of old age homes Though it might be considered as a good source of family entertainment and a good way to wind-down after a hectic day, too much television viewing can be very bad for us. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children below the age of 2 years should not see any TV and those above 2 years should be restricted to 2 hours of viewing per day. However researches indicate that if Video games/ DVD watching is also included there are some teens who average about 35 hours per week (more than double the recommended maximum view time!) in front of the tube. This definitely eats into the time that can be spent on more productive activities. The scenes witnessed in TV programs even in so-called family programs or soaps are often not recommended for teen-viewership when they are highly impressionable. For instance, there are studies to prove that children exposed to repeated scenes of violence (fight sequences) did not appreciate the physical harm that such acts can cause to others and were found to be insensitive to the trauma of victims of violent incidents. This is explained by a phenomenon called â€Å"Psychological overload† where the mind learns to accept scenarios to which it is repeatedly exposed and thus prevents the person thus exposed from experiencing â€Å"strong feelings like sympathy† in situations similar to that. Similarly, unrealistic portrayal of characters or stereotyping that is common in most programs can blunt a young adult’s ability to evaluate persons/ situations from realistic perspectives. Even discounting the psychological effects of such a viewing pattern, on a very gross level we find that family members have very little time to talk and understand each other better due to the amount of time they spend in front of the screen. The warmth of relationship is something that the distant tube cannot provide; but we have a generation of children which has grown up not knowing how much they are missing in terms of a joyous family interaction by merely sitting glued to television programs for hours together. The solution to this lies in reducing TV viewing time to a great extent, and in spending the time in family chatter instead. We have much to learn from each other as persons and no artificial media can substitute human warmth and interaction when it comes to improving emotional intelligence. So, we should put our foot firmly down and reduce the TV viewing time of the family in the best interests of everyone. Computers: Though computers have become almost indispensable today, too much time in front of the screen can be damaging to the eyes. Dryness of eyes, weakening of optical nerves, blank stares developed as a result of staring at the screen for hours together, idiopathic head-aches, and mood swings are some of the negative effects that arise due to spending too much time in front of the computer continuously. Lap tops have the added â€Å"honour† of even reducing fertility of men (due to the high temperature arising out of constant usage). The solution lies in taking a break from the screen at least for at least 3 mins for every one hour of computer usage. We can simply close our eyes or walk out of the work-station and train our eyes on distant greeneries so that the â€Å"blank stare† syndrome is avoided. Laptops are best used keeping an insulating medium like a wooden plank or a file folder between our laps and the laptop to avoid exposing our body to the â€Å"heat† of the gadget. Children should never be allowed to immerse themselves in computer games that  have too vivid graphics because it curtails their ability to visualize things for themselves. The mental imagery that is developed when reading novels or stories or while listening to good story-tellers is much more vivid than even the best designed graphics. But repeated to exposure to good quality graphic games makes the child blind to such joys of the mind where the young mind imagines things, and recreates wonderful scenarios merely from vivid descriptions depicted in stories. Cultivation of active reading habits is better than passive viewing of graphic models/ games. In fact, there are parents who feel proud that their tiny tot will not trouble anyone and will sit silently for hours if its favourite computer game is loaded on to the system. This is not correct. Children should be allowed to make a â€Å"nuisance† of themselves – to run around the house, to break things, to ask uncomfortable questions to adults, to shout, and in short – they should be allowed to be children – wild and active. By restricting them to the screen at young age, we are encouraging sedentary and passive life-style which will be manifest as myriad problems when they grow up. Psychological dependence on computers and how it impacts personal lives: I recently came to know of a young man who was so addicted to â€Å"Face Book† on the internet that he lost out on his MS fellowship – Face Book seemed more important than his course! Unfortunately, this is just not a stray incident of a misguided youth who behaved like a juvenile; there are many intelligent persons around the globe who perform below their true potential as their quality time is spent online in various activities including chats, unhealthy online debates (or gossip!), or addictive searches (there are many who indulge in ego-searches – searching for one’s name, one’s school name in websites, etc. just to â€Å"feel good†). In another instance, a young woman divorced her husband after just 3 months of marriage because she found it more enjoyable to play computer games and the husband was considered as an â€Å"intruder† in the happy relationship between herself and the fantasy world in her computer! Believe me, it is only the tip of the ice-berg†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦the two bizarre instances I have quoted are just symbolic of a wider raging psycho-pathology that is sweeping the world populace in various ways. The virtual world seems more real to many young adults than the real world! This is definitely not a healthy sign. I will go as far as to say that almost everyone today is addicted to the computer in one way or the other that impacts our life in various ways – it can be the chronic obsession to check emails at the death of night thus spoiling sleep rhythm, the chronic obsession to â€Å"search† matter on google or other search engines even if you are armed with all the relevant facts, the chronic obsession to log on to chat rooms while your dear and near ones are longing for your company in just the next room, and so on. We need to understand that computers were invented to make our life easier and they should serve us. It should never be that we venerate our systems to an extent that they Lord over us! We should discipline ourselves to spending only â€Å"productive† time before our systems – i.e. we should avoid the tendency to sit before the system just for the heck of it, but simply log off once our tasks are over. Well, there are cases when the person has to be really online due to professional compulsions. In such cases, keeping an amethyst crystal can heal the person and prevent health disorders arising out of over-exposure to electrical waves. Similarly, keeping fresh cucumber slices over the eyes can prevent eye strain and dark circles beneath the eyes. Cars, bikes, elevators, etc. A person can be healthy only if he/ she takes minimum amount of physical exercise every day and the day is also generally interspersed with optimum physical activity. Taking a walk of at least 3 km. per day can prevent most heart-ailments and blood-pressure complaints. But with the improving â€Å"standards of life† manifest in the form of every mode of transport, we take very little walk. There are persons who need to take out their bikes or worse even their car for even the street-corner mall – a distance of hardly 150m! These persons, apart from harming their bodies by depriving it of  necessary exercise, also contribute to environmental pollution by unnecessary use of vehicles that emit poisonous carbon-monoxide fumes to the atmosphere. The use of vehicles for transport cannot be avoided, but at least we should limit the usage to a healthy minimum and should switch to more eco-friendly fuels (for instance, restrict use of diesel vehicles; use car parks – people going along the same route from the same neighbourhood can share cars to reduce the number of vehicles plying on the road, etc.). Similarly, one should prefer to take a flight of stairs rather than use the elevator as far as possible. Taking short walks now and then is the greatest good that you can do to your body. Optimal use of refrigerators While refrigerators have become almost indispensable for storage of food items, it is not necessary for a single family to have 2 or 3 fridges! Though there are environment mandates that restrict the usage of CFCs in refrigerators in most developed countries (CFCs are the major culprits in depleting ozone layer), there are many developing countries where such CFC models still rule the roost! Even in nations where CFCs are restricted, HCFC or HFCs that are used instead still contribute to global warming – even these chemicals are not completely ozone safe – the only consolation being that they deplete lesser ozone! But, they use 10% more energy and contribute in a greater way to global warming. So, the only solution lies in at least limiting the use of refrigerators as complete avoidance of a refrigerator is not feasible due to various reasons, and these are indispensable for pharmacies to store medicines. A big family living in various apartments of a building society can just share one fridge; each branch/ division of an office need not have a refrigerator – they can just share one fridge for their usage. Small adjustments like these by different groups can reduce the overall impact on our environment. Microwave ovens/ heating appliances Researches indicate that microwave cooking can distort the molecular structure of foods – this can range from decrease in bioavailability of nutrients (thereby reducing the body’s ability to assimilate the nutrients) to the more dangerous formation of carcinogens (cancer causing molecules)  from basically harmless amino-acid chains of protein substances (this is markedly observed while heating milk and other cereals rich in proteins using microwave ovens). Studies of Dr. Hans Ulrich Hentel (Switzerland), Dr. Lita Lee of Hawaii, and other short-term studies have documented the effects of microwave cooking on food substances and the adverse impact on health. The studies indicate such effects ranging from increase of leucocytes, decrease in haemoglobin levels, and decrease in level of lymphocytes. In Comparative Study of Food Prepared Conventionally and in the Microwave Oven, published by Raum & Zelt in 1992, at 3(2): 43, it states â€Å"A basic hypothesis of natural medicine states that the introduction into the human body of molecules and energies, to which it is not accustomed, is much more likely to cause harm than good. Microwaved food contains both molecules and energies not present in food cooked in the way humans have been cooking food since the discovery of fire. Microwave energy from the sun and other stars is direct current based. Artificially produced microwaves, including those in ovens, are produced from alternating current and force a billion or more polarity reversals per second in every food molecule they hit. Production of unnatural molecules is inevitable. Naturally occurring amino acids have been observed to undergo isomeric changes (changes in shape morphing) as well as transformation into toxic forms, under the impact of microwaves produced in ovens. Dr. Lita Lee says that microwaving baby foods can convert certain trans-amino acids into their synthetic ciz-isomers. Further one of the amino-acids, L-Proline was converted into its d-isomer which is known to be neurotoxic (poisonous to nerves), and nephrotoxic ( poisonous to kidneys). – Ref. Lancet, issue of Dec 9, 1989. So, ideally we should use conventional cooking methods over microwave ovens or at least limit the usage of the ovens. In no instance should you use microwaves to heat baby formulae. If you do use microwave ovens for cooking, consume the foods at least half an hour later to avoid impact of the residual waves on your body tissues. IntroductionReading is an essential tool for lifelong learning. It is important for everyone to develop the rudiments of reading and the culture of reading always so as to survive in life. Reading according to Holte (1998) adds quality to life and provides access to culture and cultural heritage. He pointed out that reading empowers and emancipates citizens and bring people together. Okeke (2000) reaffirms that the art of reading is a priceless instrument for everyone. It is one of the most important activities of life through which we enter into the life and experiences of others and extend our knowledge, scope of experience and enjoyment. It has critical role to play in the overall development of an individual and the nation at large. Reading experience can be obtained in the library. The school library is a gateway to knowledge and will serve as a starting point or road map to reading and the promotion to reading culture. The library provides books and other resources which will h elp shape thoughts and influence the actions of students throughout life with active supervision by an experienced librarian. Due to technological development, reading habits are changing. In our society today, while technology is slowly taking a steady control over individual lives, the reading habit is fast vanishing into thin air (The Hindu, 2004). Students now lack the skill of reading. Instead they spend more hours on electronic media. Browsing the net, playing with funky handsets and passing non-stop SMSs seem to be the order of the day, there by making reading a book or any other piece of written material in a quiet or peaceful corner of a library or home become an archaic idea for most school children and adults (The Hindu, 2004). Obama (2008) in his speech pinpointed that children cannot achieve unless they raise their expectations and turn off television sets. Shabi and Udofia (2009) noted that active learning from books is better than passive learning such as watching televisions and playing games.Students are rarely interested in reading for pleasure and enjoyment instead they read only to pass examination. The declining interest in reading culture among our children (especially those in primary and secondary schools) is a cause for alarm and a challenge to all and something need to be done to alleviate this yawning problem. Unfortunately, reading is not taught or included in school curriculum. Reading is not a subject and cannot be taught separately as most other subjects in the curriculum rather it is subsumed in every other  subject and is regarded as a tool facilitating many other types of learning. Nowadays, due to the rat race syndrome, parents pay little or no attention to their children’s reading ability, parents themselves lack the skill and the culture of reading such that some do not read to their kids.Mefor (2010) urged all Nigerians schools to launch a readership promotion campaign which will help to inculcate the culture of reading in children. It is also important to start early to inculcate the culture of reading early enough in a child. Also Olukemi (2010) advised Nigerian youths to imbibe the reading culture in all their endeavours. She lamented that lack of reading culture among youths nowadays has greatly affected quality of graduates being produced by the nation’s higher institutions. It is against this background that this study tries to investigate on the influence of electronic media on the reading habits of pupils in homes and schools. Improving access to relevant information and promoting a reading culture are prerequisites for strengthening literacy skills, widening education and learning opportunities, and helping people to address the causes of poverty (Makotsi, 2005).| How often to teenagers Preview – Focus Questions – Case Study – Discussion – Links – References Case One The Young & the Wired Background Information The Net Generation or children who have been born since 1986 are the focus of a study done by a husband and wife team, the Oblingers, how teens learn. Technology has always been a part of the Net Generations life. The fascination with technology is missing it simply represents a tool. They use this tool daily and comfortably to stay connected especially with each other. Because of the presence of digital media in their homes and schools today’s students maybe more visually than verbally literate (Johnson, 2005). Studies done by the Oblingers indicate that students prefer learning by doing and working in groups (Johnson, 2005). The student in today’s classroom needs the interaction with their teachers and computers do not replace people. Adolescent Internet Use: What we expect, what teens report are not the same. The last decade has shown teen Internet use to have grown  exponentially. Our expectations of teens Internet use predicted: (1) boys use the Internet more than girls and they use it play violent games, (2) girls use the Internet less and mostly to shop or chat, and (3) the use of the Internet by teens will result in social isolation (Gross, 2004). The groups of 10th graders surveyed from a suburban California public school in 2001 have responded with very different conclusions. The findings say boys and girls online activities are very similar, they both use e-mail and instant messages, and spending time with friends offline is also a part of their daily life (Gross, 2004). A telephone survey was conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project in October and November 2004. The responses to their survey were compared to data collected in 2000 of how teens in America use technology. This extensive report covers 50 typed pages of information. Short Summary of their findings; * 87% of teens use the Internet (Lenhart, 2005) * 13% of teenagers who do not use the Internet are almost always from low income homes with limited access to technology and disproportionately African Americans (Lenhart, 2005) * 32% of all teems IM every day, teens prefer instant messaging over e-mail * 45% of teens own a cell phone * 72% of teens who connect from home use a computer that is located in a family room (Lenhart, 2005) Teens are also busy with friends and extracurricular activities. The average teen keeps in touch with 20 friends per week. They are averaging 10 hours per week in social activities outside of school (Lenhart, 2005). Today’s teens 83% are also involved in other offline activities including school sports programs, clubs, band, and recreational programs not associated with school. Transition Points for the Gender Gap in Computer Enjoyment compares girls and boys from elementary school to high school. The purpose of this study was to determine the gender differences in using computers at school. The study covered 10,000 students in Texas public schools covering the years 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2005. In summary the findings show no differences in the early elementary years, by the 4 and 5th grades girls enjoy computers more than boys (Christensen, 2005). In the 6th grade boys have a more positive feeling towards using computers at school than girls and by the 8th grade boys are significantly  more interested in using computers than girls (Christensen, 2005). The good news is that by the end of secondary school the attitudes are similar with little differences. Nerds and Geeks: Society’s Evolving Stereotypes of our Students with Gifts and Talents are finding a much more respected place in today’s classrooms among their peers. As our society has moved from the Industrial Age to the Information Age the importance of being technologically competent has provided positive changes for our students labeled talented and gifted (Cross, 2005). In the past the negative terms nerds and geeks were often associated with students achieving academic excellence. The new term â€Å"tech geek† has positive associations as being someone who is technologically savvy and this expert is seen as a helper to others (Cross, 2005). With our current students striving to use technology in their personal lives they have discovered knowledge is power and it is cool to be knowledgeable. Preview Today’s high school and middle school age students have grown up with personal computers in their homes as well as their schools. Many of today’s youth were not even born when the first pc’s hit the stores. The personal computer has been around more than 20 years. The Apple IIc was introduced in 1984. Teens use all kinds of technology driven gadgets with little or no hesitation. The Pew survey tells us that almost all teens have cell phones, they use the Internet daily, enjoy and prefer instant messaging over e-mail, and online games draw both teenage girls and boys. The research also tells us that teens prefer to use the Internet at home to communicate with their friends. Many teens spend their evenings talking on their cell phones or â€Å"IM-ing† with their friends. They still prefer face- to- face interaction with their friends and the average time spent with friends is about 10 hours per week for both girls and boys. Parents and educators face the challenge of how to provide the training for teens to be good citizens while using today’s technology to interact with each other which is for the most part not supervised. Youth have always enjoyed pulling pranks and today’s teens are armed with some powerful tools to pull some high tech foolishness that can be very damaging to each other. Focus Questions As you study the following case, keep these questions in mind: (1) Should Internet activity that occurs at home be the concern of schools? (2) What should schools be teaching teenagers concerning being good â€Å"cyber-citizens†? (3) Do students understand the potential problems associated with giving or sharing personal login information? The Case Hijacked* The second period Computer Applications Class at Highland Park High School is filled with mostly ninth graders. This class is an equal mix of boys and girls all trying to fulfill their high school computer requirement. The instructor, Ms. Leigh Ellen Powell, has given the class an Internet research assignment. Each student has been assigned a U. S. President to research and design a web page with links to more information about the life and career of their President. The atmosphere in this classroom is relaxed with the students chatting casually and quietly to each other. While Ms. Powell is walking around assisting each student, she overhears some girls talking about the upcoming Sadie Hawkins Dance. This traditional February event is where the girls ask the boys. Claire, Katie, and Megan are discussing who their dream date would be for the dance. Each girl wants the attention of a new student, Will, but is too shy to talk to him. Katie mentions that she will ask her potential date to the Sadie Hawkins dance via instant messaging or IM. It is much easier than face-to-face and compares it to passing a note. Claire and Megan agree that they will also ask their date at home on their computer via instant messaging. Claire, Katie, and Megan like so many of today’s teens, are using the Internet from home to communicate with their friends from the time they get home until bedtime. The teens today are fabulous at multitasking. The girls can be working on their homework on the family pc, â€Å"talking† to several friends at a time on IM, listening to their mp3 player, taking a digital picture, and composing a text message on their cell phone all in the comforts of their family room. The research tells us that today’s teens use a variety of gadgets proficiently. For example, Megan took a digital photo of her outfit for the dance, downloaded the image to her computer, and attached it to an e-mail to Claire and Katie for their  opinion of her clothes. This activity is common for most teens but the divide where teens are not using technology as much comes in the form of economics. Our low income families are struggling to provide broadband Internet connections and without high speed connection teens are not as interested in using the web. At school the next day, the girls confess they had not asked anyone to the dance and all were feeling a little shy. Claire, Katie, and Megan decided to spend the night at Megan’s house and ask the boys while together on Megan’s computer. Megan logged on to IM and walked into the kitchen for snacks. Claire decided to pretend to be Megan and ask Will to the dance. The â€Å"conversation† took on a very mature tone and was nothing like what Megan would say. Will was shocked and declined her invitation to the dance. Claire logged off before Megan returned and decided not to tell her. In computer class Ms. Powell overheard Claire and Katie discussing what they had done. The girls thought it was very funny and decided to do it again and maybe post an unflattering picture of Megan. Ms. Powell felt very uneasy knowing what the girls had done and were going to do. She wondered, as a teacher, what is her responsibility in this situation? Questions for Discussion 1. What is the teacher’s role concerning student Internet activities at home? 2. She wondered how to incorporate being a good citizen even in cyberspace? 3. How important is keeping your login information secure? 4. Why should students get into the habit of logging off when they are away from your computer? *Hijacked is the term used when someone poses as someone else and is using someone else’s password or personal log in information. What are the disadvantages and advantages of the modern gadgets like cellphone, computer, etc. to STUDENTS? PLEASE answer this as many as you know†¦ I really need your cooperation.. This is a research in english subj. If i can’t submit the research I will FAIL the subject†¦ ‘:-( Best Answer – Chosen by Voters Advantages of modern gadgets to students: 1. A faster way to search for information (via the Internet) 2. Sometimes a more effective way of learning. (via educational computer programs) 3.  Prepares students for the globalized world where computer-literacy is a must. 4. Easier way of communication. 5. Helps students if they have difficulties (homework helpers, etc. ) 6. More accessible. 7. Gives students recreation.8. A larger information source. Disadvantages: 1. Students tend to be lazy. 2. Computer games such as online games divert the students’ attention from school. 3. Can be used for procrastination. 4. Distracts students from schoolwork. 5. Students lose interest in their schoolwork. cellphones are great for keeping in contact with people, entertainment, now music, & everything else its coming up with†¦ disadvantage: a fuss to get signals, dead battery, dependant, addicting, and old tehcnology. not to mention costs. computer: basically everything it has to offer, games,business, shopping, information, world wide web lets not forget that†¦yahoo answer!!! disadvantage:too addicting, old technology, pop-up, spam, scam online, viruses. can delelte your work, makes people lazy. ipods:music,video,photos its cool†¦period. dis:cds lowering How often  cell phones have not only become a method for communication, they have evolved into an entertainment gadget. Because these small, hand-held computers seem to do it all, young kids beg and plead for a cell phone. The average age for teens to receive their own cell phone is between 12 and 13. But that doesn’t mean you won’t see even younger children with phones. About  3 percent of children receive their cell phone under age 10, and 6 percent get them at age 10. Even though many parents may feel middle school is still too young for students to have their own cell phone, others may feel there are several advantages to having these gadgets at such a young age. They like to be able to stay in touch with their children so they can take a more active role in ensuring their safety. Parents can even use software such as cell phone parental control software to keep a closer eye on their child’s daily activities. It’s an important decision, and it is up to the parent how old the child is when they receive their first phone. Many parents say they wait until the child is involved in school activities and others wait until their teenagers are driving. Some parents may not even let their child have a cell phone until they can afford it on their own. While it’s quite common for teenagers to have their own phone, statistics show that 25 percent of teenagers don’t have cell phones. According to Pew Research Center, 84 percent of Americans ages 12 and up own a cell phone, and 31 percent own a smartphone. Cell phones have become such an integral part of daily life for teenagers that 15-18 year olds are reported to spend an average of 1 hour and 51 minutes each day sending text messages. Kids between 11 and 14 spend an average of 1 hour and 13 minutes texting. A few additional statistics we found regarding teens and texting include: * Texting is the second most common use of cell phones, following checking the time * 65 percent of high school students use their cell phone in school * One-fourth of text messages sent by teens are during class hours * 42 percent of teens say they can text with their eyes closed * One study shows that teens under 18 years old send and receive 2,779 texts a month * Teens send and receive five times more text messages per day than adults * Those who send and receive more than 50 texts a day also tend to be heavy users of voice calling * 54 percent of teens use text messaging as daily communication, and only 38 percent will call on a cell phone Cell phones are a way that teenagers feel they can communicate with other individuals. According to one study, 84 percent of teens say they like that cell phones make it easy to talk to people. Additionally, the study states that 69 percent of teens say their cell phone is used as a form of entertainment and 47 percent say their social life would end without their cell phone. The same study shows that 57 percent say their life has improved by using their  cell phone. Role of teens in modern gadgets A teen wants to make a significant change in a world where grown-ups are expected to do this or that. A modern teen wants to break away from the usual norms of the society by making an active role in improving the world. He or she wants to make a fundamental contribution to attain peace, economic growth and of course, their own dreams. It may be too forceful to act too mature by pretending to be a grownup, but there’s actually an easy way for a teen to make a noteworthy contribution to the society and that it through modern technology. It is of course a known fact that before modern technological gadgets like a computer came into the market, the teens usually have to suffer spending time in using their parent’s typewriters. One can only imagine the frustration of a teen when he or she mistypes a letter and had to halt the work in order to get a liquid eraser just to get rid of a single letter. It is also safe to assume that after the work has been done, a lot of trash c an be seen on the floor. Crumpled papers, torn carbon papers and wrinkled typewriter ribbons can be seen casually strewn on the floor. After hours of typing just a couple of papers, and they’re all set. Now, this is something an active teen wants to do on a Saturday night! The nightmare is over, thanks to the emergence of the ever reliable personal computers! With just a click of a mouse and a push of a button, a single mistake is solved. No more frustrated tears and bloodied hands from too much force in typing. The new age of technology is here! If that’s not enough, the teens have the privilege of using the Internet. If one can remember, it used to be a communication strategy for the military where they can send information even if they are from a far off place in secret. Now that this technology is passed to the younger generation, then a plethora of opportunities have emerged. The internet, in fact, has entirely changed the perception of a teen. It is because the teen has a new role to accomplish, to improve the quality of education in their respective schools. The use of internet to check updated information on current issues makes the teen more updated with the latest in the world. No more rushing to the library to get outdated information from old books, the internet is the modern library for teens! Another technological device that was passed on to the teens was the  ever reliable device, the mobile phone! The device comes from different shapes and sizes, each boasting its own spectacular features. This gadget makes it easier for teens to communicate with each other, with their loved ones and their respective local authorities in case something bad happens. An urgent call to 911 just to save someone’s life is a big role for a teen. Remember, way back, teens are forbidden to go out at night because there’s no way to contact them. Here’s the answer, the mobile phone. For most teens, the emergence of modern technology is like the best gift for their generation. In fact, these modern devices inspire them to make a significant contribution to the society. However, just like anything else, there’s a bad side of it if it’s not used for the better good. These gadgets can be addicting to the point that one doesn’t have the desire to go to school anymore because the latest video games are now available in computers or that the mobile phones are used to communicate with friends who just want to skip school and will try to encourage the teen to skip school too. It is at this point that teens should be aware of what their true roles are in the society. It is not to be a headache to the grownups but rather to be the implementers of meaningful change. The gadget is a device that is able to perform one or several functions. Gadgets often have funky designs but have useful functions as well. It is also being referred as gizmos. The history of gadgets can be traced back to the early 1800s. There is a wide variety of gadget including GPS system, USB toys, smartphone and etc. The first appearance of the term â€Å"gadget† occurs in 1985. Amiga OS uses the term to describe the GUI widget in a graphical user interface. 1. Benefits of Modern Gadgets Gadgets offer many benefits to the users. It usually has a small size so you can bring it with you to any place. Spy gadgets incorporate a recording player and video camera. For example, a spy pen gadget can have a camera. It functions just like a pen and can be used to write words. No one will know if the camera is recording scane because it is hidden within the pen. There are also gadgets that design to aid people with physical impairment. For example, the electronic eyes gadget allows the blind person to cross the road.