Giving Money to Families with Kids Can Relieve Child Poverty
Nearly 1 in 5 American children is officially poor. That’s roughly 15 million kids. But the number living with a significant deprivation——insufficient food, seriously overcrowded housing or a lack of access to medical care due to cost-is actually much higher. According to the latest studies, it’s more like 1 in 3.
A mountain of evidence now shows that poverty can lead to cognitive (认知的) and emotional damage in children. Child poverty is too harmful and punishing to ignore. A growing number of academics believe there is a solution: the government should give monthly cash allowances, without conditions, to every family with kids.
When Michael Harrington’s classic book, The Other America, called attention to America’s general poverty rate of about 25% in 1962, Washington developed social programs that brought the rate down sharply. Valuable policies intended to relieve child poverty have been enacted since then, but they are not enough: 1 in 3 children does not receive the full benefits of these programs because their parents do not qualify for them.
A family with two children receiving $300 to $400 a month per child could improve their standard of living immediately. Money can buy food, heat, coats, eye-glasses and regular doctors’ visits, including transportation, and help pay for childcare. It can also help reduce family stress and help parents provide a psychologically nourishing environment for learning and social development. Studies demonstrate children’s improved educational performance when families are simply given more money.
For far less money-about $100 billion-the number of children living in official poverty could be cut in half. Such a policy would be a humane, practical, efficient victory for a nation too willing to neglect its poor.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Drawing High Schoolers to Science
A group of educators and plant scientists at Michigan State University (MSU) are connecting to reshape science classes. And this particular partnership isn’t just helping students get a better understanding of biology; it’s turning them into young scientists, even if only during class.
It doesn’t take long to see that the curriculum born from this collaboration makes for a much different experience than the traditional high school biology classes. For starters, it has a comic book for a workbook. Secondly, students are getting their hands dirty growing plants. MSU researchers are also studying the plant. The high schoolers are asking some of the same questions professional plant scientists are trying to answer.
“We’re getting them engaged with science in science practices, not just having them learn about science,” says Hildah Makori, a researcher at MSU. “They learn to look at things differently. That’s a life-time impact.”
The main characters of the comic book are a pair of young field scientists. They invite the high school students to help with plant research inspired by a real project at MSU. By growing their own plants, the students learn about genetics, evolution and how these interact with the environment.
The team has seen how this practice could keep students in the driver’s seat of their learning. To help the characters out, students set up different experiments to test their ideas.
The program is working. “This comic personally gave me a click that sparked my curiosity,” reads one student’s survey response. “The comic book put a lot of creative atmosphere into the story instead of just looking at words, instead of just listening to the teacher talk,” says another.
Teachers also had positive reviews. In a survey, one remarked how helpful it was to have the comic to refer to. The students could see the comic’s characters doing something in the lab and realize, “I’m able to do this right here at my table and I can do the same thing,” the teacher says.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Do you have a favorite podcast? That can be a difficult question to answer for some as there are so many options. That is because the world is full of interesting topics and thoughts about them. If you feel you have something engaging and valuable to share, start a podcast.
A podcast is a series of audio episodes that cover a particular subject. The first step to creating a podcast is to find your topic. It’s believed that the best topics are ones that you know a lot about and love.
Another important step is to make sure you have the right equipment. While podcast equipment can be complex and expensive, it doesn’t have to be. For your first podcast, you can simply rely on your phone and computer. You can record all of your audio on your phone. Then with your computer — and the right software — you can mix the audio. This is the process of putting your audio together into one perfect-sounding file.
After you have your topic and equipment, you’ll want to choose your format. Your podcast could be one person speaking, two people talking, or many people offering their opinions. Your podcast could also include more than one of these options.
Once you’ve decided, you can start drafting your episodes. However, whatever format or formats you choose, maintain the same structure for each episode. The next step is to find a quiet place and do your recording.
When you’ve completed your recording and audio mixing, you’ll need to find a platform for your podcast. Luckily there are plenty of free and paid platform options on which to upload your podcast. Before uploading, make sure you have an interesting title and good tags for your show. Be sure to post about your show on social media. Get your podcast listed in a podcast directory, too. You want to get the word out about your podcast to grow your audience. Your podcast just might become someone’s new favorite.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Competitive Cheerleading
Over the years, cheerleading has taken two primary forms: game-time cheerleading and competitive cheerleading. Game-time cheerleaders’ main goal is to entertain the crowd and lead them with team cheers, which should not be considered a sport. However, competitive cheerleading is more than a form of entertainment. It is really a competitive sport.
Competitive cheerleading includes lots of physical activity. The majority of the teams require a certain level of tumbling (翻腾运动) ability. It’s a very common thing for gymnasts, so it’s easy for them to go into competitive cheerleading. Usually these cheerleaders integrate lots of their gymnastics experience including their jumps, tumbling, and overall energy. They also perform lifts and throws.
Competitive cheerleading is also an activity that is governed by rules under which a winner can be declared. It is awarded points for technique, creativity and sharpness. Usually the more difficult the action is, the better the score is. That’s why cheerleaders are trying to experience great difficulty in their performance. Besides, there is also a strict rule of time. The whole performance has to be completed in less than three minutes and fifteen seconds, during which the cheerleaders are required to stay within a certain area. Any performance beyond the limit of time is invalid.
Another reason for the fact that competitive cheerleading is one of the hardest sports is that it has more reported injuries. According to some research, competitive cheerleading is the number one cause of serious sports injuries to women. Generally, these injuries affect all areas of the body, including wrists, shoulders, ankles, head, and neck.
There can be no doubt that competitive cheerleading is a sport with professional skills. It should be noted that it is a team sport and even the smallest mistake made by one teammate can bring the score of the entire team down. So without working together to achieve the goal, first place is out of reach.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________It was the old lady’s birthday. She got up early to be ready for the post. From the second floor flat she could see the postman when he came, and the little boy from the ground floor brought up her letters on rare occasions (场合) when anything came.
Today she was sure there would be something. Myra wouldn’t forget her mother’s birthday, even if she seldom wrote at other times. Of course Myra was busy, and she herself had got a medal for her work for the aged. The old lady was proud of Myra. And Myra had been to see her mother three times since two years ago.
The old lady was eighty today. She had put on her best dress. Perhaps Myra might come. After all, eighty was a special birthday. Even if Myra did not come, she would send a present. She was excited, like a child.
Mrs. Morrison had cleaned the flat, and she had brought a bunch of flowers when she came to do the breakfast. Mrs. Grant downstairs had made a cake. Little Johnnie had been up with a packet of mints (薄荷), and said he wouldn’t go out to play until the post had come.
“I guess you’ll get lots of presents,” he said.
What would it be? A pair of slippers, a table lamp, or a travel book? She stood by the window, watching. The postman turned round the corner on his bicycle. Her heart beat fast.
Johnnie knocked at her door. “Granny, granny,” he shouted, “I have got your post.”
He gave her four envelopes. Three were unsealed cards from old friends. The fourth was sealed (封闭的), in Myra’s writing. The old lady felt a sudden feeling of disappointment.
Almost reluctantly (不情愿地) she tore the envelope open. Folded in the card was a piece of paper. Written on the card was a message under the printed Happy Birthday — Buy yourself something nice with the cheque (支票), Myra.
The cheque dropped to the floor like a bird with a broken wing. Slowly the old lady picked it up. With trembling fingers she tore it into pieces.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Why You Need a Network of Casual Friends
When I was laid off in 2015, I tweeted it the way any young people would in the hope that someone in my social network would point me to potential opportunities. To my surprise, a friend of a friend alerted me to an opening in her department by Facebook message, and she became my boss three rounds of interviews later.
Think of the parents you see in the drop-off zone at school, your favorite waiter, the other dog owners at the park. Sociologists call these relationships “weak ties.” Not only can these connections affect our job prospects, but they can also have a positive impact on our well-being.
Maintaining the network of acquaintances can help you feel more connected. The desire to belong and form social attachments is a basic human need, alongside food, sleep and safety. But once we hit 25, the number of friends we have peaks and becomes smaller over time, according to a 2016 study. As we get older and priorities shift from after-work bowling league to after-school pickup, maintaining a loaded social calendar becomes less important. Staying socially engaged, then, is integral to personal fulfillment.
Besides, having at least a few acquaintances can connect us with a larger circle of people, which is fantastic news, say, for job hunters. Even if our friends want to help us find a job, the weak ties are often the ones who widen the job-search playing field.
Those acquaintances also provide us with a wider worldview. Regularly interacting with people who have different experiences than we do allows us to be more mindful of others’ circumstances. This, in turn, builds empathy.
Still, casual friends have a lot to offer. Uncovering surprising tidbits(花边新闻) about the regular players in one’s life—discovering that your neighbor is an accomplished dancer, for instance—can spice up your day.
So next time you see a friendly face when you’ re out and about, you might as well try to initiate small talks.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Getting rid of dirt, in the opinion of most people, is a good thing. However, the attitudes to dirt are always changing.
In the early 16th century, people thought that dirt on the skin was a means to block out disease, and washing off dirt with hot water could open up the skin and let ills in. A particular danger was thought to lie in public baths. By 1538, the French king had closed the bath houses in his kingdom. The king of England did something similar in 1546. Thus began a long time when the rich and the poor in Europe lived with dirt in a friendly way. France’s Henry IV was famously dirty. Upon learning that a nobleman had taken a bath, the king ordered that, to avoid the attack of disease, the nobleman should not go out.
Though the belief above was long-lived, dirt has no longer been regarded as a nice neighbour ever since the 18th century. Scientifically speaking, cleaning away dirt is good to health. Clean water supply and hand washing are practical means of preventing disease. Yet, it seems that standards of cleanliness have moved beyond science since World War II. Advertisements repeatedly sell the idea; clothes need to be whiter than white, cloths ever softer, surfaces to shine. Has the hate for dirt, however, gone too far?
Attitudes to dirt still differ hugely nowadays. Many first-time parents nervously try to warn their children off touching dirt, which might be responsible for the spread of disease. On the contrary, Mary Ruebush, an American immunologist(免疫学家) , encourages children to play in the dirt to build up a strong immune system. And the latter position is gaining some ground.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Fed up with constantly having to recharge or replace batteries in your ever-expanding electronic devices? The solution may be just a few steps away.
“Energy harvesting” promises to power countless consumer devices, often with nothing more than your body’s movement or heat. Dozens of companies around the world already offer such products, but many experts believe the market for the technology could explode due to electronic devices being developed for the Internet of Things.
“It’s huge,” said Graham Martin, CEO of the EnOcean Alliance, a San Ramon-based group of businesses that promotes wireless energy-harvesting technologies. With the Internet of Things expected to combine billions of devices, “if they are all battery-powered, we’ll have a problem because there’s not enough lithium (锂) in the world,” he added. “So a lot of them will have to use energy harvesting.”
Among the most basic forms of the technology is body power. When certain materials are squeezed or stretched, the movement of their atoms creates an electrical charge. Automatic watches have employed the concept for decades, for example, by winding themselves when their user moves their arm. Now, the concept is being considered for a number of other devices.
In a contest seeking visionary ideas for wearable technologies, Intel awarded $5,000 for a concept to change the temperature difference between a person’s body and a special piece of clothing they’d wear into electricity for mobile devices.
Using sound to power devices is another energy-harvesting variation. Stanford University engineers are testing smart microchips (芯片) that create electricity from ultrasound (超声波) to power implantable (可植入的) devices that can analyze a person’s nervous system or treat their diseases.
A textile research association in Spain is proposing to obtain electricity from radio waves that flow around everyone to power sensors sewn into clothes, which can monitor a person’s heartbeat or other vital signs.
Research firm ID Tech Ex has estimated that annual global sales of energy-harvesting products could hit $2.6 billion by 2024, while Winter Green Research predicts sales of $4.2 billion by 2019.
Obtaining stable energy from devices can be complex, however. For one thing, the motion that generates the electricity has to be constant to be useful. Moreover, the amount of power the devices produce depends on the person using them, according to a Columbia University study. It determined that taller people on average provide about 20 percent more power than shorter ones when walking, running or cycling.
It’s also unclear how eagerly consumers might welcome energy-harvesting products. While such devices are expected to cost less than battery-powered alternatives when compared over many years, experts say, people may continue buying ones with batteries merely because those would be cheaper in the short term.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Panic Buying
Have you ever watched one of the many TV shows set during the apocalypse (大灾难). If it’s not zombies, it’s viruses or natural disasters. One thing that seems to be a typical part of these series is survivors searching for food and resources. Is that why people stockpile food when things go bad?
What is stockpiling? Quite simply it’s when people accumulate a substantial number of goods, for example food or water.
But why do we do it? Consumer psychologist Paul Marsden puts it down to three factors that relate to retail therapy. Firstly, ‘autonomy’ -the idea that people feel the need to be in control. Secondly, ‘relatedness’ - panic shopping helps people to feel connected to the community or other shoppers who are doing the same. Lastly, ‘competence’ - people want to feel like they are ‘smart shoppers’ and doing the right thing. Sander Van der Lindon, an assistant professor of social psychology at Cambridge University, said that a phenomenon known as ‘fear contagion (传播)’ can take hold. People’s decision making stops when stressed, so they follow the actions of other people. If they are panic buying, you will too.
So, can you stop people from stockpiling? Well, supermarkets can ration the amount of products consumers purchase, and governments can try to reassure people that there is no need to panic. However, it seems that it goes against our basic psychology to try and stop people from panic buying.
So, the next time a virus, natural disaster or zombie apocalypse starts, remember that panic buying is probably a given, thanks to our need for retail therapy to manage our emotional state.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Book That Keeps On Growing
It is one of the most famous books in the world; yet it has no story and no interesting characters, no exciting beginning and no satisfying ending. And yet this book keeps being printed and it keeps growing. This book is the Oxford English Dictionary, one of the most famous dictionaries in the English-speaking world.
The Oxford English Dictionary or OED for short, began in 1857 as just an idea of a group of people who thought the world needed an English-language dictionary to show the history of English words from 1150 CE to the present. It wasn’t until the late 1870s, however, when James Murray joined the project that it began to grow. Murray planned for a dictionary of about 6,400 pages in four volumes (册), completed in 10 years.
Murray and his assistants worked in a small metal building. They collected millions of pieces of paper, each one with a word and an example sentence or phrase written on it. Murray and his assistants worked hard, but after five years they had only reached the word ant!
It was not until 1928 that the dictionary was completed and published: 10 volumes with over 400, 000 words and phrases. James Murray did not live to see the completion of his life’s work, he passed away in 1915, over a decade before OED came out.
As soon as the dictionary was published, however, the editors started to update it! In 1933, the Oxford English dictionary was reprinted in 12 volumes. Between 1972 and 1986, four more volumes were added with new technical and scientific vocabulary and words from other English-speaking countries, such as Canada, the USA, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. In 1989, the entire dictionary was reprinted in 20 volumes! Three years later, all 20 volumes were put onto CD-ROM, and the entire dictionary is available online today.
With about 600,000 words and three million quotations (引语) from over 1,000 years of English, the OED not only is a record of where the English language has come from but has also become an important part of the history of English-speaking cultures around the world.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
