Review of: Your Child’s Disorder May Be Yours, too.
Author: Benedict Carey
Date of Publication: December 9th, 2007
Student: Carolina Flores
Link:http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/09/fashion/09diagnosis.html
By the age of 2, Jeremy Schwarz was a child that had a sensibility all his own, being affectionate and distant at the same time and more focused on objects and patterns rather than people around him. Then he was diagnosed with high functioning autism.
The child’s father found in his son’s diagnosis a new language to understand his own life, his sensitivities, his diffidence through school… all echoed through his and Jeremy’s behaviour.
Researchers have long known that many psychiatric disorders and developmental problems run in families. Attention and developmental disorders like autism also have a genetic component. The diagnosis may spread from the child to other family members, forcing each to confront family frustrations. It is a surprise because the child is the first one in family to get a through evaluation and history. However, diagnosing an adult about his or her child has its risks. They may exaggerate about their behaviour and their children’s.
To make a proper diagnosis, doctors like to see some evidence of a problem in childhood — evidence that can be hard to come by.
Children long for evidence that they aren’t the only ones who are going through these difficulties.
This problem can alter the present if parent and child have common ground. Jeremy’s father became in some way the translator of his son.
It is believed there are a lot of parents of kids with this diagnosis who have at least a little bit of the traits their kids have but because of the stigma that societies associate with disabilities, they are inhibited from embracing that part of themselves.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Discrimination Versus Opportunities
Original Name: ‘Fight AIDS, Not People with AIDS’
Author: Lulwa Shalhoud
Source: Arab News
Date of Publication: December 7th, 2007
Link: http://www.arabnews.com/?page=9§ion=0&article=104375&d=7&m=12&y=2007
Student: Carolina Flores
A 46-year-old Saudi Arabian man with 2 wives and 11 children is actually suffering job discrimination as he is infected with the AIDS virus.
He used to work in an airport but he had to leave work when his friends and colleagues learnt about his disease. They started to treat them in a different way.
The standard procedure in the case a person has a viral infection is that officials verify if the person –in this case diagnosed with AIDS- is a foreigner, and he or she is deported. Accompanied by the police, he was put in an isolation room. After his citizenship was verified, he was released from custody. He was treated as if he were the most dangerous person in the world.
Actually, there are now treatments that exterminate the virus completely but the patients have to take it throughout their lifetimes so that they have normal immunity.
AIDS patients have the right to have any job as long as they can work. Otherwise, they could drift into forbidden practices like drugs or prostitution for money.
I think AIDS and HIV patients should be given the opportunity to have a job and not precisely for charity but for necessity. Let us not forget they have to support themselves and their families. It is ridiculous to keep on stigmatizing these diseases and learn more about them. We should think that perhaps is not the viruses which are killing these people, but our ridiculous prejudices.
Author: Lulwa Shalhoud
Source: Arab News
Date of Publication: December 7th, 2007
Link: http://www.arabnews.com/?page=9§ion=0&article=104375&d=7&m=12&y=2007
Student: Carolina Flores
A 46-year-old Saudi Arabian man with 2 wives and 11 children is actually suffering job discrimination as he is infected with the AIDS virus.
He used to work in an airport but he had to leave work when his friends and colleagues learnt about his disease. They started to treat them in a different way.
The standard procedure in the case a person has a viral infection is that officials verify if the person –in this case diagnosed with AIDS- is a foreigner, and he or she is deported. Accompanied by the police, he was put in an isolation room. After his citizenship was verified, he was released from custody. He was treated as if he were the most dangerous person in the world.
Actually, there are now treatments that exterminate the virus completely but the patients have to take it throughout their lifetimes so that they have normal immunity.
AIDS patients have the right to have any job as long as they can work. Otherwise, they could drift into forbidden practices like drugs or prostitution for money.
I think AIDS and HIV patients should be given the opportunity to have a job and not precisely for charity but for necessity. Let us not forget they have to support themselves and their families. It is ridiculous to keep on stigmatizing these diseases and learn more about them. We should think that perhaps is not the viruses which are killing these people, but our ridiculous prejudices.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Absinthe Returns in a Glass Half Full of Mystique and Misery
Review of: Absinthe Returns in a Glass Half Full of Mystique and Misery
Student: Jesica Suparo, English Language IV
Author: EDWARD ROTHSTEIN
Published: November 12, 2007, New York Times.
Artists have a different perception of the world and the aspects of it. It is widely known that, through history, some well-known artists have used stimulants such as drugs and alcohol which “helped” them in producing stunning pieces of work. But there is one that had an outstanding role from the rest: Absinthe. A brief description of it would be that it is a highly alcoholic berverage (usually 68 to 80 percent) anise-flavored spirit derived from herbs including the flowers and leaves of the medicinal plant Artemisia absinthium, also called Grand Wormwood or Absinth Wormwood; together with anise, fennel, coriander, mint and other herbs. Absinthe originated in Switzerland as an elixir/tincture. In the 17th century it was used to treat venereal disease, intestinal worms and drunkenness. By the 19th century absinthe was used by French soldiers in Africa as an antiseptic, to ward off insects and to treat dysentery. Despite this, it was better known for its popularity in late 19th and early 20th century France, particularly among Parisian artists and writers. At the end of the 19th century absinthe was portrayed as a dangerously addictive, psychoactive drug. After connecting violent crimes supposedly committed under its influence, absinthe was banned in 1906 in Switzerland, and by 1915, it was prohibited in a number of European countries and the United States. The revival of absinthe distelleries took place in 2000, along with regulations and controlls over it.
But the controversy began much earlier along with its preparation rituals and myths that grew around it; when artists which consumed it began to feel the effects of this drink: such was the powerful effects that led Hemingway’s character Robert Jordan, in “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” to describe it as “(…) an opaque, bitter, tongue-numbing, brain-warming, stomach-warming, idea-changing liquid alchemy(...)”. This is, for sure, not just another drink. It has a special place in the history of modern culture. Poems were written about it under the names of: the green fairy, the green goddess, the green muse, the glaucous witch and the queen of poisons. Skip to next paragraphPicasso, Van Gogh, Manet, and Degas painted about it. It seems that absinthe raises an awakening of the consciousness along with the lulling, inevitable dumbness of drunkenness. As Oscar Wilde said: “After the first glass, you see things as you wish they were. After the second, you see them as they are not. Finally you see things as they really are, and that is the most horrible thing in the world.”
Sources:
www.nytimes.com/2007/11/12/arts/12conn.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&ref=arts
http://www.wikipedia.com/
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Student: Jesica Suparo, English Language IV
Author: EDWARD ROTHSTEIN
Published: November 12, 2007, New York Times.
Artists have a different perception of the world and the aspects of it. It is widely known that, through history, some well-known artists have used stimulants such as drugs and alcohol which “helped” them in producing stunning pieces of work. But there is one that had an outstanding role from the rest: Absinthe. A brief description of it would be that it is a highly alcoholic berverage (usually 68 to 80 percent) anise-flavored spirit derived from herbs including the flowers and leaves of the medicinal plant Artemisia absinthium, also called Grand Wormwood or Absinth Wormwood; together with anise, fennel, coriander, mint and other herbs. Absinthe originated in Switzerland as an elixir/tincture. In the 17th century it was used to treat venereal disease, intestinal worms and drunkenness. By the 19th century absinthe was used by French soldiers in Africa as an antiseptic, to ward off insects and to treat dysentery. Despite this, it was better known for its popularity in late 19th and early 20th century France, particularly among Parisian artists and writers. At the end of the 19th century absinthe was portrayed as a dangerously addictive, psychoactive drug. After connecting violent crimes supposedly committed under its influence, absinthe was banned in 1906 in Switzerland, and by 1915, it was prohibited in a number of European countries and the United States. The revival of absinthe distelleries took place in 2000, along with regulations and controlls over it.
But the controversy began much earlier along with its preparation rituals and myths that grew around it; when artists which consumed it began to feel the effects of this drink: such was the powerful effects that led Hemingway’s character Robert Jordan, in “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” to describe it as “(…) an opaque, bitter, tongue-numbing, brain-warming, stomach-warming, idea-changing liquid alchemy(...)”. This is, for sure, not just another drink. It has a special place in the history of modern culture. Poems were written about it under the names of: the green fairy, the green goddess, the green muse, the glaucous witch and the queen of poisons. Skip to next paragraphPicasso, Van Gogh, Manet, and Degas painted about it. It seems that absinthe raises an awakening of the consciousness along with the lulling, inevitable dumbness of drunkenness. As Oscar Wilde said: “After the first glass, you see things as you wish they were. After the second, you see them as they are not. Finally you see things as they really are, and that is the most horrible thing in the world.”
Sources:
www.nytimes.com/2007/11/12/arts/12conn.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&ref=arts
http://www.wikipedia.com/
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Get over your fears by facing them
Review of: Get over your fears by facing them
Ducking what scares you only aggravates your anxiety
Student: Jesica Suparo, English Language IV
Author: By Maureen Farrell
Published: Oct. 26, 2007 ,
Link: http://www.forbes.com/home/index.html?partner=msnbc
Ducking what scares you only aggravates your anxiety
Student: Jesica Suparo, English Language IV
Author: By Maureen Farrell
Published: Oct. 26, 2007 ,
Link: http://www.forbes.com/home/index.html?partner=msnbc
We all suffer from some kind of fear: fear of being on stage, fear of certain animals or fear of overcrowded places. But sometimes, these mere fears which seem natural become a paralyzing state of phobia. Feeling paralyzed from a simple thought is not normal at all; and our body responds to these fears in several ways: sweat, palpitations, dizziness and even heart attacks. In the last years, these consequences exist under a new label: Anxiety Disorders. AD is provoked by specific phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorders. With this explanation, we can think that only a small amount of the world’s population may suffer from this, but, in fact, everyone experiences some kind of anxiety in some level.
The article explains how the most common fears -fear of flying, giving a speech or even going to a party- are treated through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), a form of psychotherapy that involves changing behaviors and thoughts to overcome depression, self-loathing and fear. It is valuable to highlight two characteristics of CBT: first; this therapy is not based on the notion that fear bubbles up from repressed childhood memories, instead, CBT focuses on treating fears in the here and now by rewiring our perceptions of them. Second; CBT do not administrate pills to its patients. The trouble with taking pills is that, while they may mitigate anxiety for a short time, they don't really address the fear long term; worst case, they lead to dependency. The other problem, says Greenberger: “Anti-anxiety medicines can limit the effectiveness of exposure-therapy (such as CBT) by altering the "phobic conditions."
We should think about the origin of our anxieties: are they provoked by real, tangible episodes and inconveniences or are they the dramatic result of our thoughts? We should be able to separate the real from the unreal. If we are afraid of something real, for example, the fear of being trapped in an elevator, you should start by staying in a closed room for a while, and then, little by little, you may come to the point of taking as many elevators as possible; always bearing in mind why you do it and that the purpose of it is to overcome a fear by facing it. On the other hand, if the fear is unreal and has no real motive, we should be more careful; because the only thought of a situation which is not likely to happen but symbolizes a potential risk for us, produces anxiety. Of this, Dr. Greenberger says: "Catastrophic thoughts lead to fear, which leads to avoidance, which leads to more catastrophic thoughts,"…"It's a vicious cycle that exacerbates the fear over time." The most effective way to get over your fears is by facing them.
Source:
www.forbes.com/home/index.html?partner=msnbc
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Saturday, December 8, 2007
A day to remember
In a few days will be remembered the 20th World Aids Day, and many highlight the need to fight continued prejudices against people with HIV/Aids. Estimation about the figure of people with this infection has been reduced by the UN, however, the number still stands at 33 million.
Former South African President Nelson Mandela speaking at a concert in Johannesburg, stated that to stop the Aids epidemic from expanding, it is necessary to break the cycle of new infections. South Africa has more HIV infections than any other country. Moreover, Aids campaigners said more must be done especially in preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission and called for renewed efforts to focus on helping women.
Despite the fact that almost three-quarters of Aids-related death during 2006 were in sub-Saharan Africa, the number of people living with the virus has increased everywhere.
Different ceremonies were held in different cities all around the world such as a giant Aids ribbon running the length of its side in India or the international concert in Johannesburg.
The head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI, has said that he is spiritually close to the victims of Aids. However, the Vatican still opposes the use of condoms as a means of fighting the epidemic. Roman Catholics all around the world, on the other hand, believe condom use helps save lives.
Despite these declarations, I believe that all the efforts must be done to reduce the expansion of the disease and to help those already infected with the virus to take more decent life.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7003969.stm
Former South African President Nelson Mandela speaking at a concert in Johannesburg, stated that to stop the Aids epidemic from expanding, it is necessary to break the cycle of new infections. South Africa has more HIV infections than any other country. Moreover, Aids campaigners said more must be done especially in preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission and called for renewed efforts to focus on helping women.
Despite the fact that almost three-quarters of Aids-related death during 2006 were in sub-Saharan Africa, the number of people living with the virus has increased everywhere.
Different ceremonies were held in different cities all around the world such as a giant Aids ribbon running the length of its side in India or the international concert in Johannesburg.
The head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI, has said that he is spiritually close to the victims of Aids. However, the Vatican still opposes the use of condoms as a means of fighting the epidemic. Roman Catholics all around the world, on the other hand, believe condom use helps save lives.
Despite these declarations, I believe that all the efforts must be done to reduce the expansion of the disease and to help those already infected with the virus to take more decent life.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7003969.stm
Thursday, December 6, 2007
A 'Dead' Man Still Has Something to Explain
Review of: 'A dead man has some explaining to do'
Student: Carolina Flores
Author: Sarah Lyall
Published: December 6th,2007
Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/06/world/europe/06canoe.html?_r=1&ref=world&oref=slogin
John Darwin was declared dead almost five years ago and it was a surprise for the police as he walked into a police station to claim he is alive but he has no idea what happened to him during these years.
In March 2002 Mr Smith, a kayaking enthusiast was reported missing by his wife and his body was not found for obvious reasons now.
All his family seems to be astonished, except for his wife, who has always been waiting for this. She always speculated her husband did not die in the accident he had in 2002 while he was canoeing, and he did not die in fact. Mr. Smith seems to have lost his memory and he does not remember anything that happened after a family vacation in 2000. However, he will have to face further questioning as it seems that the police suspect about his disappearance. It is believed he has had financial problems before disappearing and the police is already looking into any prove to clear their suspects.
They cannot explain about the mysterious disappearance of this man but they think there was a reason for Mr Smith to walk to the police station and they will try to find out what it was.
Student: Carolina Flores
Author: Sarah Lyall
Published: December 6th,2007
Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/06/world/europe/06canoe.html?_r=1&ref=world&oref=slogin
John Darwin was declared dead almost five years ago and it was a surprise for the police as he walked into a police station to claim he is alive but he has no idea what happened to him during these years.
In March 2002 Mr Smith, a kayaking enthusiast was reported missing by his wife and his body was not found for obvious reasons now.
All his family seems to be astonished, except for his wife, who has always been waiting for this. She always speculated her husband did not die in the accident he had in 2002 while he was canoeing, and he did not die in fact. Mr. Smith seems to have lost his memory and he does not remember anything that happened after a family vacation in 2000. However, he will have to face further questioning as it seems that the police suspect about his disappearance. It is believed he has had financial problems before disappearing and the police is already looking into any prove to clear their suspects.
They cannot explain about the mysterious disappearance of this man but they think there was a reason for Mr Smith to walk to the police station and they will try to find out what it was.
Friday, November 30, 2007
IN THE DREAMSCAPE OF NIGHTMARES, CLUES TO WHY WE DREAM AT ALL
Link: www.nytimes.com
Oustrageously bad dreams are a universal human experience. Although few of us suffer from nightmares crippling and persistent enough to demand treatment, we all know how bad a nightmare feels. Nightmares and dreadful dreams offer potentially telling clues into the larger mystery of why we dream in the first place, how our dreaming and waking lives may intersect and cross-infect each other and how we manage to construct a virtual reality in our skull.
A big reason bad dreams offer insight into the architecture of dreams generally is that most of our dreams are bad. Studies have shown that three-quarters of the emotions described by subjects periodically awoken out of rapid eye movement sleep, were negative. We spend 60% to 70% of somnolence dreaming, which works out to three hours nightly spent in a state of anxiety or frustation.
Nightmare frequency varies by age and sex, content also shifts over time and across cultures. Roughly 25% of children ages 5 to 12 being awakened by had bad dreams at least once a week. Nightmares rates climb through adolescence, peak in young adulthood, and then begin to drop. At nearly every age, girls and women report having significantly more nightmares than do boys and men. A fact that some researchers say may be related to women’s comparatively higher rates of anxiety and mood disorders.
In conclusion, although when asked some people say they do not dream at all and some others do not remember what they dreamed about, it has been scientifically proved that all of us always dream while we sleep. Some of these dreams are just bad dreams and some others are nightmares and their frequence and content will depend on many factors such as age, gender and culture and even more, the persistence of repetitive nightmares can demand psychological treatment.
Name: Cristina Soledad Guzmán review n 4
Source: www.nytimes.com
UNDIAGNOSED BRAIN INJURY- THE HIDDEN LEGACY OF IRAK
Link: www.guardian.uk.comIrak and Afghanistan wars had resulted in an extremely worrying legacy, thousands of US and UK troops have suffered mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) as a consequence of the exposure to high-velocity explosions.
The number of soldiers and marines affected by this condition are estimated in more than 20% of the US army, 15% of those never recovering, and as many as 20,000 UK troops could be at risk.
This injury can be made when a soldier gets a blow on the head or is in close proximity to an explosion and even the most advanced helmets cannot protect the brain from the shock waves. The condition can lead to memory loss, depression and anxiety. Advances in brain scanning have revealed that soldiers can sustain bruising and blood clots on the brain, even if there is no visible injury.
Although the British Ministry of Defence had drawn up a list of measures to help deal with mTBI, the US troops seem to be getting better care.
I think that in the same way that the government encourages young people to join in the military forces and to “defend their country with their lives during war time”, it is a governmental obligation and a social duty, to them and their families, to provide the best treatments possible to all the troops affected by war.
Name: Cristina Soledad Guzmán- review nº 3
Source: http://www.guardian.uk.com/
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
The healthiest food
According to a research held by Unicef
A child care expert has warned that babies should be fed with breast milk for six months and after that period; they could be fed with solid food. Introducing solid food in the baby’s diet would prevent them from becoming picky about food.
I think that breast milk is the best food a baby must consume at his early age. It contains all the proteins and minerals a baby needs to grow healthier. Even more, doctors say it is the best medicine babies can be given when they feel ill. Moreover, it has been proved that milking is also favourable to emotional health. Finally, not only is milking beneficial for babies but also for mothers; doctors believed that milking would reduce the risks of develop diabetes type two.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6173645.stm
Gay allege
Court battles referring to gay marriage were lost in two of the most populous US states,
Despite the fact that the Supreme Court rejected the argument that the state ban on gay matrimony; pro-gay groups succeeded with court battles in
On the other hand, a leading candidate to be the next governor claimed the law makers could rationally accept as true that marriage must be limited to one man and one woman.
A lesbian couple claimed that they have been in the fight for a long time, “If we can not get it for us, we will do it for our partners”.
All in all, no one can deny the fact that homosexuality has caused controversial opinions all over the world. Gay and lesbian groups are claiming for their acceptance in society. However, people are unready to understand such relationships. But what rally should be discussed is the fact that homosexuals are fighting for what they consider their rights.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7003969.stm
REVIEW 4(HENRY)
NAME:ENRIQUE GONZALEZ
DATE:26 NOVEMBER 2007
TITLE:Free and Uneasy
Vindicated by DNA, but a Lost Man on the Outside
SOURCE:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/25/us/25jeffrey.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
DATE OF PUBLICATION: 25 NOVEMBER 2007
Jeffrey Deskovic, left, on a subway to Greenwich Village. He was freed last year after 16 years in prison.
What an unpleasant and disagreeable experience Mr. Descokovic had all these years.
suffering.
There is no apology for this poor man.It does not exist,how is he going to recover the wasted time?.Of course he cannot ,no one can.
Mr Deskovic's horrible fate is just one single example of how justice is put into effect in The United States Of America.There are at least 205 men and one woman that suffered the very same torture,and agony.
Extreme anguish of body and mind.
As a matter of fact,I met a person who told me about a similar case in Tafí Viejo my city.It is said that a young boy in his 20's was convicted for sexual abuse over young girl.That was in 2002,and now in September the boy blamed for that was released after 5 years of unfair improsonment.How do you call this ? fate?,bad luck?wrong moment,wrong place?.Whatever you dare to callit ,no one can return the time he spent in prison.No one can.
Scarred life.
Sad life.
I know he went through hell in there,like Mr Deskovic himself.
He told me once,that he was tired, confused,scared,hungry.He wanted to get out of there.He told the policewhat they wnted to hear,but he never got to go home.
They lied to him.
DATE:26 NOVEMBER 2007
TITLE:Free and Uneasy
Vindicated by DNA, but a Lost Man on the Outside
SOURCE:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/25/us/25jeffrey.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
DATE OF PUBLICATION: 25 NOVEMBER 2007
Jeffrey Deskovic, left, on a subway to Greenwich Village. He was freed last year after 16 years in prison.
What an unpleasant and disagreeable experience Mr. Descokovic had all these years.suffering.
There is no apology for this poor man.It does not exist,how is he going to recover the wasted time?.Of course he cannot ,no one can.
Mr Deskovic's horrible fate is just one single example of how justice is put into effect in The United States Of America.There are at least 205 men and one woman that suffered the very same torture,and agony.
Extreme anguish of body and mind.
As a matter of fact,I met a person who told me about a similar case in Tafí Viejo my city.It is said that a young boy in his 20's was convicted for sexual abuse over young girl.That was in 2002,and now in September the boy blamed for that was released after 5 years of unfair improsonment.How do you call this ? fate?,bad luck?wrong moment,wrong place?.Whatever you dare to callit ,no one can return the time he spent in prison.No one can.
Scarred life.
Sad life.
I know he went through hell in there,like Mr Deskovic himself.
He told me once,that he was tired, confused,scared,hungry.He wanted to get out of there.He told the policewhat they wnted to hear,but he never got to go home.
They lied to him.
REVIEW 3(HENRY)
NAME:ENRIQUE GONZÁLEZ
DATE:26 NOVEMBER 2007
TITLE:'They put a gun to the back of my head. I heard them cock it. It jammed'
http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,,2215522,00.html
SOURCE:http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,,2215522,00.html
DATE OF PUBLICATION:24 NOVEMBER 2007
Very alarming and shocking reality.Our young peple under 18 are doing the very same in our province Tucumán and nobody seems to do anything to prevent this awful way of living.
I believe that the majority of teens crimes are related to their families.I mean lack of love ,affection ,good models to imitate.
Parents should and must be the examples for their children,that ia an indisputable fact here and elsewhere.As many people think,we cannot demonise the teenagers involved.Young people do this because it is what is around them.Adults need to look at what they are doing.It is not young people putting this stuff on tv,it is not young people bringing in the drugs .We all need to take responsibility.
Let us not wait everything from our government,instead why don't we help our teens,let us talk to them,let us guide them,let us provide the love they deserve, and by doing that we will be able to better recognise our role of supporting society.
A society giving love and receiving love.
Is it hard to try?
DATE:26 NOVEMBER 2007
TITLE:'They put a gun to the back of my head. I heard them cock it. It jammed'
http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,,2215522,00.html
SOURCE:http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,,2215522,00.html
DATE OF PUBLICATION:24 NOVEMBER 2007
Very alarming and shocking reality.Our young peple under 18 are doing the very same in our province Tucumán and nobody seems to do anything to prevent this awful way of living.
I believe that the majority of teens crimes are related to their families.I mean lack of love ,affection ,good models to imitate.
Parents should and must be the examples for their children,that ia an indisputable fact here and elsewhere.As many people think,we cannot demonise the teenagers involved.Young people do this because it is what is around them.Adults need to look at what they are doing.It is not young people putting this stuff on tv,it is not young people bringing in the drugs .We all need to take responsibility.
Let us not wait everything from our government,instead why don't we help our teens,let us talk to them,let us guide them,let us provide the love they deserve, and by doing that we will be able to better recognise our role of supporting society.
A society giving love and receiving love.
Is it hard to try?
Monday, November 26, 2007
A right or a crime?
In Mexico City, abortion has been legalized.
The Roman Catholic Church and some conservatives groups claim they will challenge this law in the courts.
While most of Roman Catholic sectors opposed abortion, there are non-government organizations that defend women rights to decide in case of an unwelcome pregnancy.
One of the main reasons why this law was passed in Congress was the fact that illegal abortion was at the increase in that city. Abortion caused the death of numerous women in many countries in Latin America. Many doctors support abortion in cases of rape or poor women who can not afford the costs of a child’s welfare.
I strongly support the doctors’ view. I think that women should have the chance to decide when rape so as to terminate their pregnancy or when their own health is at risk.
The Roman Catholic Church and some conservatives groups claim they will challenge this law in the courts.
While most of Roman Catholic sectors opposed abortion, there are non-government organizations that defend women rights to decide in case of an unwelcome pregnancy.
One of the main reasons why this law was passed in Congress was the fact that illegal abortion was at the increase in that city. Abortion caused the death of numerous women in many countries in Latin America. Many doctors support abortion in cases of rape or poor women who can not afford the costs of a child’s welfare.
I strongly support the doctors’ view. I think that women should have the chance to decide when rape so as to terminate their pregnancy or when their own health is at risk.
REVIEW 2(HENRY)
NAME:ENRIQUE GONZALEZ
DATE:26 NOVEMBER 2007
TITLE:MOBILE WEB:SO CLOSE YET SO FAR
SOURCE:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/25/technology/25proto.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
DATE OF PUBLICATION:25 NOVEMBER 2007
DATE:26 NOVEMBER 2007
TITLE:MOBILE WEB:SO CLOSE YET SO FAR
SOURCE:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/25/technology/25proto.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
DATE OF PUBLICATION:25 NOVEMBER 2007
I like mobile phones.They are extremely useful, they all look good.However,the mobile web has been a disaster.While many of them have some form of web access,most are hard to use,just finding a place to type in a web address can be a challenge.And once you find it,most web content doesn´t look very good on cellphone screens.Even the best cellphones in Tucumán can dissappoint you.Their browser doesn't support FLASH, a programming language that enables the user to see the sites properly.In reference to this article,I believe that cellphone carriers are the ones that should invest the millions in order to have a better service.I also think that the mobile web will inexorably open over the next five years,solving many current problems.It will be expensive, of course ,but those who have the chance of enjoying that technology willdo it .People talk about the mobile web ,and it's just assumed that it'll be a replica of the desktop experience,I believe that the experience will be beyond that ,certainly.
REVIEW 1(HENRY)
NAME: ENRIQUE GONZÁLEZ
DATE: 26 NOVEMBER
TITLE:GAY PASTOR IN THE BRONX COULD LOSE HER COLLAR
SOURCE: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/25/nyregion/25pastor.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
DATE OF PUBLICATION:25 NOVEMBER
Gay parents,gay marriage,gay jobs.They always give people something to talk about.Nowadays,this issue is generating a burning debate,with plenty of scandals and opinions.
I believe gays have the right to work and the right to be treated as anyone else.However,there exist certain aspects and considerations to think about.Such as the case of Pastor Foster.I do understand those families that stopped going to church.What is more ,I do respect their option.
As pastor Paul Hagen said:Can She honestly say she is a follower of Jesus?Does she teach what Jesus teaches or What she teaches.
Many people think the same.But can we judge Pastor Foster for her sexual choice.
No one can.
Apart from that,many times we believe in things that are apparently correct.I may say that not everything that glitters is gold.
Let us not confuse our views,let usa not get a norrow viewpoint.
Let them live,that is their choice.
DATE: 26 NOVEMBER
TITLE:GAY PASTOR IN THE BRONX COULD LOSE HER COLLAR
SOURCE: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/25/nyregion/25pastor.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
DATE OF PUBLICATION:25 NOVEMBER
Gay parents,gay marriage,gay jobs.They always give people something to talk about.Nowadays,this issue is generating a burning debate,with plenty of scandals and opinions.
I believe gays have the right to work and the right to be treated as anyone else.However,there exist certain aspects and considerations to think about.Such as the case of Pastor Foster.I do understand those families that stopped going to church.What is more ,I do respect their option.
As pastor Paul Hagen said:Can She honestly say she is a follower of Jesus?Does she teach what Jesus teaches or What she teaches.
Many people think the same.But can we judge Pastor Foster for her sexual choice.
No one can.
Apart from that,many times we believe in things that are apparently correct.I may say that not everything that glitters is gold.
Let us not confuse our views,let usa not get a norrow viewpoint.
Let them live,that is their choice.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Review 4
Name: Constanza Quinteros
Title:The history of the future.
Author:Mark Lewis.
Link: http://www.forbes.com/2007/10/13/history-future-philosophy-tech-future07-cx_ml_1015ages.html
The future is something we all long to know. There are people who even pay to know what the future is going to be about. But who would have imagined that in ancient times the concept of future as such did not exist.
Babilonians thought that future was ciclical so they thought useless to conjure visions that would be destroyed when the cycle ends.
But then the idea of time changed from cyclical to linear.This idea was taken from christians. For them time bagan with the Creation and is due to end on Judment day. Christians prognosticators held the idea that the future would be better. first the improvements they forecast were related to moral progress but then they were extended to technological and scientific ones.
As time went by the key figure that introduced the concept if geologic time was Charles Lyell and with him people had to contend with the idea that the earth was billions of years old and with billions of years still to come. Then Darwin with his theory gave a little glimpse of the future still to come, he was folowed by imaginative seers such as Verne who started creating visions of a fantastic future.
Throghout the time the idea of future fluctuated, from the pesimistics ones to the optimistics. But the future in fact is changing all the time. Nobody knows what it will bring with it. No matter how much we want to pay to know about it, we just can wait to see it..
Title:The history of the future.
Author:Mark Lewis.
Link: http://www.forbes.com/2007/10/13/history-future-philosophy-tech-future07-cx_ml_1015ages.html
The future is something we all long to know. There are people who even pay to know what the future is going to be about. But who would have imagined that in ancient times the concept of future as such did not exist.
Babilonians thought that future was ciclical so they thought useless to conjure visions that would be destroyed when the cycle ends.
But then the idea of time changed from cyclical to linear.This idea was taken from christians. For them time bagan with the Creation and is due to end on Judment day. Christians prognosticators held the idea that the future would be better. first the improvements they forecast were related to moral progress but then they were extended to technological and scientific ones.
As time went by the key figure that introduced the concept if geologic time was Charles Lyell and with him people had to contend with the idea that the earth was billions of years old and with billions of years still to come. Then Darwin with his theory gave a little glimpse of the future still to come, he was folowed by imaginative seers such as Verne who started creating visions of a fantastic future.
Throghout the time the idea of future fluctuated, from the pesimistics ones to the optimistics. But the future in fact is changing all the time. Nobody knows what it will bring with it. No matter how much we want to pay to know about it, we just can wait to see it..
Nostradamus
Lived: 1503 to 1566Native of: France Michel de Notredame ("Nostradamus" is the Latinized version of his name) was a Renaissance apothecary who made a profitable sideline of prophecy. Modern-day enthusiasts insist he predicted the French Revolution and the nuking of Hiroshima, among many other events. His book Les Propheties, first published in 1555, is still in print. ( picture above)
Lived: 1503 to 1566Native of: France Michel de Notredame ("Nostradamus" is the Latinized version of his name) was a Renaissance apothecary who made a profitable sideline of prophecy. Modern-day enthusiasts insist he predicted the French Revolution and the nuking of Hiroshima, among many other events. His book Les Propheties, first published in 1555, is still in print. ( picture above)
Review 3
Name: constanza Quinteros
Title: Cheating but everybody's doing it.
Who has not cheated at least once? But now cheating has become an epidemic. Experts say that cheating is hardly an isolated act. Academic cheating has become an epidemic in America's high schools and colleges.
According to a survey 70 percent of students at 60 colleges admited to have cheated. But cheating is not new what is new and alerming is the fact that it has widespread and that thr majority of students are bold about it. They say that they will do whatever they have to do get ahead.
Josephson Anderson founder of the Josephson institute of ethics says that there are two major factors behind the erosion of ethics. First advances in technology,that have made cheating easier. And a bigger factor is the bad behaviour across society.
People feel pressure to succed, their motto is "if you want to get a better grade, you are going to cheat to get it". Because that is what you will do in real life, if you want to get a better job.
This might be true in a great majority but it isn't so. "Succes at any cost" is not what education is aimed to.
Not only the education system is failling but also parents. In many cases the lack of integrity children show is a reflection of parents behaviour. Parents show no concern about their children cheating at school. As a consecuense they keep on doing it.
Where are the rules, where is the respect and the moral of our future?
Review 2
Name: Constanza Quintero
Title:Shock anorexia billboard annoys fashion designers
Link:http://lifeandhealth.guardian.co.uk/fashion/story/0,,2176923,00.html
Potograph link:http://www.watch-trend.com/watches-and-fashion/no-anorexia-nolita.html
Author: Jess Cartner
Milan fahion week is one of the most important events in the world of fashion. The most prestigious designers prestigious designers present their creations and top models appear to themselves and their bodies. On the catwalk the female stereotype, skinny women, with pale faces, looking almost as if they were dead, walk along showing themselves to the world.
Every year these sterotypes are under the spotlight. But this time what is causin furore is a diturbing billboard that shows a naked anorexic woman, the billboard bears the legend "No anorexia".The billboard is part of a campaign of " Nolita" a womeswear brand.
The owners of "Nolita" said that this campaign is aimed to raise awareness of an illness caused in many of the cases by the stereotypes imposed by the world of fashion.
However representatives of the fashion industry that anorexia is a psyciatric problem with nothing to do with fashion.
The world of fashion is not the only one to be blamed for this desease. There are several factors that can contribute to make a healthy person suffer from this desease but the fact that skinny models are presented as "the female stereotype" is not helpful in a world where image consumption is so important.
I think that to release this campaign in the place and time they did is one important step towards make people aware of the terrible consecuences.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Review 4: Human Therapeutic Cloning
Cloned embryos have been created from an adult monkey for the first time, leading scientists to speculate that cloning human embryos using stem-cell therapies is a significant possibility. The success in the US proves that viable cloned embryos can be produced from primates.
Though further work is required before the technique can be applied to human cells, it suggests that it will be feasible to clone embryos from the DNA of living patients, and derive working stem cells from them. These embryonic stem-cells could then be transplanted to treat diseases such as Parkinson’s and Diabetes. Such therapeutic cloning has been a goal for medical research since the birth of Dolly the sheep in 1997.
Some monkeys’ embryos have been cloned before, but they have always died before reaching the stage at which stem-cells can be extracted. And the only human embryo to have been cloned so far, by a British team, died almost immediately. This lead scientist to speculate that primate cloning was so difficult that therapeutic cloning would always remain unpractical.
The research has been peer-reviewed and a group of scientists confirmed beyond doubt that the embryonic stem-cells are true clones of an adult male macaque monkey called Semos. The success is due to a new technique for handing the eggs during the nuclear transfer process of removing and placing stem-cell from the monkey into eggs of female primates. The achievement has a low success rate (0,7 %) which means that it is still too early to use the new technique to attempt to clone human embryos for reproductive purposes, but it does suggest that h
uman therapeutic cloning is a possibility.
Scientists are in the position to assure the world that the ability to produce embryos stem-cells from cloned human embryos would create entirely new opportunities to study serious inherited diseases, possible therapies and drug discovery. These are enough reasons to keep on studying human cloning but as closer we are to that goal it is also likely to strengthen calls from an international ban on reproductive cloning. This has been recently done by the United Nations and should also be supported as well as therapeutic human cloning is.
Gabriela Garcia Fernandez.
Article’s Title: First cloning of monkey embryos rises hope of a great leap on medical science.
Author: Mark Henderson, Science Editor.
Date of Publication: November 15, 2007.
Source:http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article2870675.ece
Though further work is required before the technique can be applied to human cells, it suggests that it will be feasible to clone embryos from the DNA of living patients, and derive working stem cells from them. These embryonic stem-cells could then be transplanted to treat diseases such as Parkinson’s and Diabetes. Such therapeutic cloning has been a goal for medical research since the birth of Dolly the sheep in 1997.
Some monkeys’ embryos have been cloned before, but they have always died before reaching the stage at which stem-cells can be extracted. And the only human embryo to have been cloned so far, by a British team, died almost immediately. This lead scientist to speculate that primate cloning was so difficult that therapeutic cloning would always remain unpractical.
The research has been peer-reviewed and a group of scientists confirmed beyond doubt that the embryonic stem-cells are true clones of an adult male macaque monkey called Semos. The success is due to a new technique for handing the eggs during the nuclear transfer process of removing and placing stem-cell from the monkey into eggs of female primates. The achievement has a low success rate (0,7 %) which means that it is still too early to use the new technique to attempt to clone human embryos for reproductive purposes, but it does suggest that h
uman therapeutic cloning is a possibility.Scientists are in the position to assure the world that the ability to produce embryos stem-cells from cloned human embryos would create entirely new opportunities to study serious inherited diseases, possible therapies and drug discovery. These are enough reasons to keep on studying human cloning but as closer we are to that goal it is also likely to strengthen calls from an international ban on reproductive cloning. This has been recently done by the United Nations and should also be supported as well as therapeutic human cloning is.
Gabriela Garcia Fernandez.
Article’s Title: First cloning of monkey embryos rises hope of a great leap on medical science.
Author: Mark Henderson, Science Editor.
Date of Publication: November 15, 2007.
Source:http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article2870675.ece
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Review 3: Real Or Imagined Discrimination?
Some of the black and Asian workers across the BBC, from journalists to support staff, are fearful that in an inminent mass sacking, they would be the first ones to be cast out. In a still hideously white BBC, the management had better not throw out their few streaks of colour. Morale at the corporation is in tatters from top to bottom regardless of race an ethnicity. There is still no genuine and uncontested equivalence between white Britons and those who are unfourtunate enough not to be. However, old forms of overt racism are said to have been vanished from the landsacape. The main political parties, for example have tacitly agreed a red line on racist statements by influential insiders and several chosen black and Asian citizens now get to powerful positions. Besides this, race, religion and ethnicity compound the existing vulnerability, sometimes becasue of real discrimination sometimes because discrimination is imagined or assumed.
New internal fissures and violent hatreds within black and Asians hearts and minds sometimes make white racism appear tame and polite. There is no genuine parity between whites and non-whites. This is why furies arise against the nobel prize winner James Watson and why people campign against the next punitive Bush war on mostly innocent Muslims this time in Iran. Let's remember that Watson claimed black peolpe have inherently low intelligence an by doing so, he authorized inequality in perpetuity between whites and blacks. Another example of discrimination that deserves to be mention is what occurs in Youtube.com. In that web site you can appreciate how young black children are asked to choose between white and ba
lck dolls. 80 percent choose the white because they think black is "bad". In what regards the situation related with the BBC, one of the black workers from the corporation said: "Maybe we could never be as good as whites. They let us in as a favour, but they are very ahead...". A similar type of racisms occurs in the National Black Police Association, which president asserts that more young black men need to be stopped and searched in the fight against gun crime.
lck dolls. 80 percent choose the white because they think black is "bad". In what regards the situation related with the BBC, one of the black workers from the corporation said: "Maybe we could never be as good as whites. They let us in as a favour, but they are very ahead...". A similar type of racisms occurs in the National Black Police Association, which president asserts that more young black men need to be stopped and searched in the fight against gun crime.All these examples mentioned, show situations in which the racist component cannot be hiden. The problem is that in some of those cases, the discrimination does not come from part of the opposite side but from within the same group of peolpe who tends to be discriminated. In other words, they show how sometimes, black people auto-dicrimate themselves. Besides this , the only relevant and undeniable conclusion that arises, is that when there is no equivalence between the races, anything goes in both sides.
Gabriela Garcia Fernandez.
Article's Title: If blacks are fearful for their job, they are right to be.
Author: Yasmin Alibhai-Brown
Author: Yasmin Alibhai-Brown
Date of Publication: 22 october 2007
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Get over your fears by facing them
Review of: Get over your fears by facing them
Ducking what scares you only aggravates your anxiety
Student: Jesica Suparo, English Language IV
Author: By Maureen Farrell
Published: Oct. 26, 2007
Source: Forbes.
Link: http://www.forbes.com/home/index.html?partner=msnbc
Ducking what scares you only aggravates your anxiety
Student: Jesica Suparo, English Language IV
Author: By Maureen Farrell
Published: Oct. 26, 2007
Source: Forbes.
Link: http://www.forbes.com/home/index.html?partner=msnbc
We all suffer from some kind of fear: fear of being on stage, fear of certain animals or fear of overcrowded places. But sometimes, these mere fears which seem natural become a paralyzing state of phobia. Feeling paralyzed from a simple thought is not normal at all; and our body responds to these fears in several ways: sweat, palpitations, dizziness and even heart attacks. In the last years, these consequences exist under a new label: Anxiety Disorders. AD is provoked by specific phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorders. With this explanation, we can think that only a small amount of the world’s population may suffer from this; but in fact, everyone experiences some kind of anxiety in some level.
The article explains how the most common fears -fear of flying, giving a speech or even going to a party- are treated through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), a form of psychotherapy that involves changing behaviors and thoughts to overcome depression, self-loathing and fear. It is valuable to highlight to characteristics of CBT: first; this therapy is not based on the notion that fear bubbles up from repressed childhood memories; CBT focuses on treating fears in the here and now by rewiring our perceptions of them. Second, CBT do not administrate pills to its patients. The trouble with taking pills is that, while they may mitigate anxiety for a short time, they don't really address the fear long term; worst case, they lead to dependency. The other problem, says Greenberger: “Anti-anxiety medicines can limit the effectiveness of exposure-therapy (such as CBT) by altering the "phobic conditions."
We should think about the origin of our anxieties: are they provoked by real, tangible episodes and inconveniences or are they the dramatic result of our thoughts? We should be able to separate the real from the unreal. If we are afraid of something real, for example, the fear of being trapped in an elevator, you should start by staying in a closed room for a while, and then, little by little, you may come to the point of taking as many elevators as possible; always bearing in mind why you do it and that the purpose of it is to overcome a fear by facing it. On the other hand, if the fear is unreal and has no real motive, we should be more careful; because the only thought of a situation which is not likely to happen but symbolizes a potential risk for us, produces anxiety. Of this, Dr. Greenberger says: "Catastrophic thoughts lead to fear, which leads to avoidance, which leads to more catastrophic thoughts,"…"It's a vicious cycle that exacerbates the fear over time." The most effective way to get over your fears is by facing them.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Review 2: The Genome Project
Looking for the genetic reasons of the different intellectual capacities of human beings will lead us to answer many of the the big and difficult questions that have troubled people for hundred of years. But those answers may not be easy to understand and accept. Many new moral dilemas would arise as a consequence and would help to establish the ethical, legal and social components of the Genome Project.
The reknown Genome Project, will soon make possible to read individual genetic messages at a cost which will not bankrupt our health systems. In so doing, we will see wether changes in the DNA sequences from peolpe to people result in our behaviour and capacity differences. One of the main reasons why scientists are willing to answer that, is in order to understand certain patterns of human attitudes. As example, a research mentioned that one in three people looking for a job in temporary employment in LA is a psychopath or a sociopath. And in finding out the extent in which genes influence behaviour, scientists shall also be able to understand how them also influence intellectual capacities. By these days, the Genome Project is working around gene-caused failures in the brain development that frequently leads to Autism and Schizophrenia. Scientists want to find out if differences registered in brain development genes also lead to differences in our abilities to carry out different mental tasks. In some cases, how these genes function may help us to understand variation in IQ, or why some people excel at poetry but are terible at maths. The same genes that give people great mathematical abilities may also cause them to have autistic behaviour. This is why, in studing Autism and Schisophrenia, scientist believe that they shall come very close to a better understanding of inteligence and , therefore, differences in human capacities.
We do not yet adequatly understand the way in which nature have selected over tim
e, the genes which determine our capacity to do different thinghs. The overwelming desire of society nowadays, is to assume that equal power of reason is an universal heritage of humanity. But simply wanting this to be the case is not enough. It is necessary to seek for individual differences, about why some of us are great musicians and others great ingenieers. It is very likely that at least some 10 to 15 years will pass, before we get an adequate understanding for the relative importance of nature in the achievement of human objectives. Gabriela Garcia Fernandez
Article's Title: To question genetic intelligence is not racism
Author: James Watson
Date of Publication: 19 October 2007
Source: http:/comment.independent.co.uk/commentators/article3075642.ece
www.independent.co.uk
Article's Title: To question genetic intelligence is not racism
Author: James Watson
Date of Publication: 19 October 2007
Source: http:/comment.independent.co.uk/commentators/article3075642.ece
www.independent.co.uk
Friday, November 9, 2007
Are you TANOREXIC?
Name: Aldana Vercellone
Article: Are you tanorexic?
Source: Times Online
Have you ever seen the new tv show "Sunset Tan" or the "orange" actors and actresses walking along the famous "red carpet"
Well, even though they look radiant and beautiful wearing the newest "accesorie" - Sunbed tan - their skin might not be as healthy as we, ordinary people, think.
The wish of being tanned in the middle of winter, for a special event or just because we do not have time to sunbathe, can lead us to take the example from many famous people, like Paris Hilton, to get a sunbed tan.
If you have ever experienced this way of tanning, you probably want to repeat the session one more than and so on until you get hooked on the bright-and-brownie look of your skin.
But this desire to get tanned permanently could be the result of a new syndrome, nicknamed TANOREXIA.
Tanorexia applies to people who have a compulsion to get tanned in sunbeds several times a week. In fact, in a study published by the British Journal of Dermatology, 17% of sunbed users admitted to having more than 100 sessions a year, which increases their risk of suffering from skin cancer: The prercentage sums up to 20% of risk per decade of using sunbeds.
Getting tanned in sunbeds, appart from producing the wanted "brownie" look, make the users feel happier and with a better mood. But this state of mind is addictive due to the fact that they are part of the effects of the exposition of the body to UV rays.
Unlike sunlight, which contains a mix of UVA and UVB, sunbeds produce mainly UVA radiation, the rays that penetrate more deeply into the skin. Since radiation levels in sunbeds can be up to 12 times more powerful than sunlight, when you go on a sunbed you get a much more intense shot of UV light. These UV rays cause endorphins, the body’s natural feel-good chemicals, to be released into the bloodstream, creating a similar effect to a post-exercise high.
Uv light also activates SOLITROL, a skin hormone that works together with MELATONIN to produce changes in mood and regulate the body clock.
But, although these effect may seem to be good for people, the addicitve potential of intense UV exposure may affect people with SAD (seasonal affective disorder) produced by the suppression of serotonin from sunlight, specially during winter.
Besides, sunbed tanning causes an accelerated skin-ageing. The skin goes sallow, blotchy and wrinkles appear making people believe that the solution to this state is getting tanned again.
Monday, November 5, 2007
In the Dreamscape of Nightmares, Clues to Why We Dream at All
Student: Jesica Suparo -English Language IV
Review of: In the Dreamscape of Nightmares, Clues to Why We Dream at All.
Source: New York Times.
The original definition of Nightmare was codified by Dr Johnson in his A Dictionary of the English Language (1755) and was thus understood to include a "morbid oppression in the night, resembling the pressure of weight upon the breast." This is a beautiful definition to illustrate the mental daily activities which we can not express; but which in sleep time becomes real in perception. Day by day and through our experiences most of our thoughts stay hidden and unknown to us. This intersects with our dreams, taking the lead of our consciousness. We dream whether we remember it or not. We have what we considered good dreams and bad dreams, and also we have nightmares; but the truth behind sleep research is that most of our dreams are bad. Dreams show the worst of our fears; nightmares which make our repressed fears and phobias real. Not all of us remember every dream that we have but we can always recall a nightmare.
According to Dr. Nielsen who is a sleep researcher there are two kinds of nightmares, the ones which leads us to an extreme unpleasant situation but from which we can wake up, and the ones from which we can not wake up when we want. The second type sounds traumatic, and actually it works in that way, while we fight and suffer the nightmare itself takes the leadership of our mind, and when we think it is over, it begins again. People who have suffered from physical abuse and mistreating tend to have persistent nightmares and demand professional treatment. But these kinds of dreams are not restricted only to them. Nightmares are universal and they change according to age, gender – women have more nightmares owed to their higher rates of anxiety and mood disorders- even according to social and cultural backgrounds. Behaviors which are not allowed in certain cultures become terrible nightmares for the members of that particular community. The concept of nightmare extends to social conventions too -for a priest to dream about sex is considered a nightmare that threatens his particular viewpoint of life and clerical principles-. There are nightmares of every shape and color; children may have nightmares related to their daily life, whether if they have been reprimanded by their parents, as a result of a fight with a classmate, or after watching a movie which scared them. In adolescents, nightmares have the shape of insecurity of growing up, and sometimes have the remains of a late childhood. As we become young adults, nightmares and fears may become recurrent; like dreaming of falling or running without going anywhere, or being chased. The answer to the question of why we construct nightmares at all is simple and yet disturbing: “The brain learns quickly what to be afraid of” Dr. Nielsen said. “But if there isn’t a check on the process, we’d fear things in adulthood we feared in childhood.”
See Me
Student: Jesica Suparo -English Language IV
Review of: See Me,
Yours for the Peeping.
Author: PENELOPE GREEN
Published: November 4, 2007
Source: NEY WORK TIMES
Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/weekinreview/04green.html?_r=1&ref=technology&oref=slogin
Yours for the Peeping.
Author: PENELOPE GREEN
Published: November 4, 2007
Source: NEY WORK TIMES
Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/weekinreview/04green.html?_r=1&ref=technology&oref=slogin
JEREMY FLETCHER and Alejandra Lillo, designers of an architecture and design firm based in Berlin, Beijing and Los Angeles, were working out a dialogue between voyeurism, solitude and exhibitionism, when they designed the shiny white interiors of the W Downtown, a glass-walled condominium tower to be built in Manhattan’s financial district. This architectural trend is another brick on the wall that keep on building the solitude among crowded places; but, ironically, these types of buildings do not only allow the residents to see out but also to be seen by passers-by. The designers say that they are creating stages for people which actually become displays for the others. We are having the need to be seen and too see every aspect of people’s lives; we can check YouTube where we will find thousands of home-made videos where people of all ages and social status videotape themselves just talking or showing themselves to the world. Websites such as Facebook where friends virtually meet; and the now so-called Twitters – a variation of a blog that works through mobile phones, so the posts get to every phone instantly- are proofs that the need for connection is so strong that we use any device to achieve it. There is nothing wrong with self-expression and the exhibition of our inner thoughts. But we should be able to notice when we are trespassing the limits of exhibitionism at one point, and, on the extreme point of the spectrum, the deliberate isolation. Why do we need to be seen all the time? And why the constant need of approval that carries this self-exposure? For many psychologists and professionals this has to do with a global sense of anxiety. We look carefully around us; everything is tainted with some kind of anxiety.
Sherry Turkle, a psychologist of the M.I.T. Program in Science, Technology and Society, explains this phenomenon of the glass towers and expands it: “There is real confusion about intimacy and solitude,” says Professor Turkle, who for more than two decades has been studying computers and the people who love them. “Are we alone in these buildings, facing the anonymity of the city, or are we connected to the city? What do we show and what do we hide?”
Accurately, he states:
“…That (intimacy and solitude) mirrors what happens when we’re on the computer, on our networks in Facebook. We are no longer able to distinguish when we are together and nurtured and when we are alone and isolated. I can be in intimate contact with 300 people on e-mail, but when I look up from my computer I feel bereft. I haven’t heard a voice, touched a hand, for hours or days. I think people are no longer certain where the self resides.”
Name:Constanza Quinteros
Article:Spending on computwers is finally paying off-with young children
Source:The Economist
Link:
Article:Spending on computwers is finally paying off-with young children
Source:The Economist
Link:
http://www.economist.com/research/articlesBySubject/displayStory.cfm?story_id=9954516&subjectID=348909&fsrc=nwl&emailauth=%2527%252A%2520Z2H%255EO%255DR0%25224%250A
Spending on new technology to be used in educatiom is something not all countries can do. But for those countries that can do it, it has bring remarkable results.
In different European countries where teachers use computers in class, for example "the interactive whiteboard" (IWB), A device that consists on a screen on the wall that talks wirelessly to a laptop tucked away to one side, the resulsts obtained by teachers have been very interesting. Among the good results obtained, the facts that students paid more attention, paricipated more, behaved better, are the most remarkable. However all the good results could only be found with younger children. In secondary schools, mot so good results could be found, because there technology is consigned to the odd power- point presentation passively received.
Teachers of young children afirm that they incredibly moyivated by being ablr to show what they know. A tipical activity would consist on giving a student a coin or any object, so they would thry to work out what is it by making and answering questions using a voting pod. In this way they are in contact with the real world element and at the same time they use the computer. What results to be very important for teachers is the fact that it is easier for them to manitor students progress and it is also an advantage for them not waste so much time planning lessons or marking papers.
It seems that computers in the future will replace much more than we think. Their use is benefitial for both, teacher and student, but i think that during this process the interaction between children and students will be lost and for me this interaction is very important.
Perhaps in the future we will have to say good bye board and chalk, goodbye folder and pencil, but good bye teacher?
Spending on new technology to be used in educatiom is something not all countries can do. But for those countries that can do it, it has bring remarkable results.
In different European countries where teachers use computers in class, for example "the interactive whiteboard" (IWB), A device that consists on a screen on the wall that talks wirelessly to a laptop tucked away to one side, the resulsts obtained by teachers have been very interesting. Among the good results obtained, the facts that students paid more attention, paricipated more, behaved better, are the most remarkable. However all the good results could only be found with younger children. In secondary schools, mot so good results could be found, because there technology is consigned to the odd power- point presentation passively received.
Teachers of young children afirm that they incredibly moyivated by being ablr to show what they know. A tipical activity would consist on giving a student a coin or any object, so they would thry to work out what is it by making and answering questions using a voting pod. In this way they are in contact with the real world element and at the same time they use the computer. What results to be very important for teachers is the fact that it is easier for them to manitor students progress and it is also an advantage for them not waste so much time planning lessons or marking papers.
It seems that computers in the future will replace much more than we think. Their use is benefitial for both, teacher and student, but i think that during this process the interaction between children and students will be lost and for me this interaction is very important.
Perhaps in the future we will have to say good bye board and chalk, goodbye folder and pencil, but good bye teacher?
Energy Drinks + Alcohol = Danger!
Name: Aldana VercelloneArticle: Drinkers who mix Red Bull with alcohol ‘twice as likely to suffer harm’
Source: Times Online
Date: November 5, 2007
A recent study shows that drinking Energy Drinks with alcohol doubles the risks of getting injured or harming someone else than those who only drink alcohol.
The study suggests that products such as Red Bull, which contain Caffeine and Taurine, allow drinkers to consume more alcohol without noticing they are getting drunk. As there is no acknowledgment of the drunkenness a person is undergoing, the danger of suffering a car crash or being sexually abused increases.
Appart from that, the effects in the drinker's body can be as harmful as deadly. In fact, this year a young woman died in a nightclub in Dublin after drinking several cocktails of Red Bull with Vodka. That is why, the beverage has been banned in France and Denmark while the The National Swedish Food Administration has warned people to avoid drinking the energy drink.
What does the energy drink mixed with alcohol cause in a person's body?
Caffeine is a stimulant and alcohol is a deppresant. The stimulant effects can mask how intoxicated you are and prevent you from realizing how much alcohol you have consumed. Also, the caffeine in energy drinks is dehydrating which slows down the metabolism of alcohol in the body.
Caffeine is a stimulant and alcohol is a deppresant. The stimulant effects can mask how intoxicated you are and prevent you from realizing how much alcohol you have consumed. Also, the caffeine in energy drinks is dehydrating which slows down the metabolism of alcohol in the body.
As a result, the symptoms of drunkenness are reduced, but not the drunkennes putting drinkers' lives in danger.
In my opinion, Energy Drinks makers should take actions in what regards harmful effects of the beverage they are producing. And I think that drinkers should take responsability of their own acts as well: If you read carefully in the cans you would be able to see a warning sign saying "Do not drink more than 4 cans" that is why I can not understand why a person consumes more than the advised amount. It may be because they are drunk, but I consider that nobody obliges them to drink what they drink to enters into a state of drunkennes.
I would advise them "Be responsible of your acts, and do not blame others for the harm you are causing to yourself."
Spiked! Kids and Energy Drinks.
Name: Aldana Vercellone
Article: Spiked!
Source: Reader's Digest Online
Date: July, 2007
As the fashion of taking Energy Drinks is setting in kids and adolescents, worried parents and doctors are asking themselves: How bad can they be?
Energy drinks are loaded with high amounts of CAFFEINE plus high doses of SUGAR and CALORIES. Besides, they also contain ingredients that accelerate caffeine's effect, such as TAURINE and GUARANA. This mixing can have serious consequences on children's bodies, which are in the process of growing up.
The after effect of consuming high amounts of energy drinks include heart palpitations, seizures, high blood pressure, nervousness, anxiety, insomnia, shaking, nausea, diarrhea and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders. It is claimed that, as opposed to adolescents' beliefs, the overdoing of caffeine restricts the ability to concentrate while studying.
Appart from that doctors refer to energy drinks as a way of drinking empty calories due to the fact that the fashionable drinks double and even triple the doses of sugar and calories raising the fear of obesity as a national epidemic in the US.
The most worrying aspect of this new fashion is that Energy Drinks are obtaining great marketing in kids. You will see posters encouraging the ingest of the beverage in concerts, fashion shows and sports events dedicated to teenagers.
But, there are good news for parents: Energy drinks are not addictive and adolescents can quit drinking them easily.
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Why men and women argue differently.
Name: Aldana Vercellone
Article: Why men and women argue differently.
Source: Times Online
Date: October 30, 2007
It is a fact that men and women argue differently: A recent study showed that in almost all the cases, while women tend to quarrel about an issue, men tend to bottle up their feelings, and then the argument finishes not being solved.
But, why do we behave differently? US research published in Psychosomatic Medicine, found that more men than women tend to "self-silence" themselves during confrontations when they feel they are loosing control, while women bring up and pursue issues to be talked and analysed because they are usually the ones in charge of the relationship.
Besides, it has been shown that, on average, men are afraid of confrontations and they would rather avoid talking about any topics that may cause an argument, as opposed to women, who would keep on looking for solving any problem.
But despite any kind of generalisation, women also are capable of withdrawing from an argument, and the most popular technique is crying. Men, on the other hand, can become aggresive as the confrontations pent up.
Even though arguments will be always be present in a relationship, there is a thesis in which it is claimed that the differences and disagreements between men and women are not as harmful as the way in which they are communicated.
If a point is winded up agressively, the other person will need to withdraw from the confrontation, and then pattern of pushing-withdrawing-pushing again-and-silencing will keep on occuring and the problems will never be solved.
In my opinion, the key for a healthy relationship relies on communication. If a person does not speak their minds, a feeling of resentment will arise damaging any kind of relationship among the peope involved.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Marital spats, Taken to heart
Name: Fernanda Martín
Article: Marital Spats, Taken to Heart
Source: New York Times
Author: Tara Parker-Pope
Date of Publication: October 2, 2007
Links:
Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/02/health/02well.html?ref=research
Photo: http://search.msn.com/images/results.aspx?q=husband+and+wife+quarrel&form=QBIR#focal=f4c4a6c22323e2d68b5f923e502d0687&furl=http%3A%2F%2Fvideo.google.com%2FThumbnailServer2%3Fapp%3Dvss%26contentid%3D132bda12aca1f88f%26offsetms%3D5000%26itag%3Dw160%26lang%3Den%26sigh%3DJKPTe0h0cAczAvSQdpEC6bsPYxY
Arguing forms part everyday life especially among married couples. They try to defend their respective opinions. Yet, couples do not know how unhealthy these conflicts can turn out on the couple’s health.
While many of them bottle up their feelings, others do not and thus speak their minds as open and fiercely as possible. In a recent study by the American psychosomatic Society, it was proved that self-silencing and hostile arguments can do something negative to both, men and women’s physiology.
Both extremes are unhealthy and the results can result in wild variations in our health ranging from depression through eating disorders to heart diseases. Dr Smith, psychologist, asked couples to express their opinions but without harming the other.
I agree that psychological pressure against a person can cause an unbalanced resentment against the other such a terrific feeling when both had swore love till death tears them apart. Isn’t it ironic?
Article: Marital Spats, Taken to Heart
Source: New York Times
Author: Tara Parker-Pope
Date of Publication: October 2, 2007
Links:
Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/02/health/02well.html?ref=research
Photo: http://search.msn.com/images/results.aspx?q=husband+and+wife+quarrel&form=QBIR#focal=f4c4a6c22323e2d68b5f923e502d0687&furl=http%3A%2F%2Fvideo.google.com%2FThumbnailServer2%3Fapp%3Dvss%26contentid%3D132bda12aca1f88f%26offsetms%3D5000%26itag%3Dw160%26lang%3Den%26sigh%3DJKPTe0h0cAczAvSQdpEC6bsPYxY
Arguing forms part everyday life especially among married couples. They try to defend their respective opinions. Yet, couples do not know how unhealthy these conflicts can turn out on the couple’s health.
While many of them bottle up their feelings, others do not and thus speak their minds as open and fiercely as possible. In a recent study by the American psychosomatic Society, it was proved that self-silencing and hostile arguments can do something negative to both, men and women’s physiology.
Both extremes are unhealthy and the results can result in wild variations in our health ranging from depression through eating disorders to heart diseases. Dr Smith, psychologist, asked couples to express their opinions but without harming the other.
I agree that psychological pressure against a person can cause an unbalanced resentment against the other such a terrific feeling when both had swore love till death tears them apart. Isn’t it ironic?
Organic food are efficient as it is said?
Name: Fernanda Martín
Article: Natural, Organic Beauty
Source: New York Times
Author: NATASHA SINGER
Date of Publication: November 1, 2007
Links:
Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/01/fashion/01skin.html?_r=1&8dpc&oref=slogin
Photo: http://leahy.senate.gov/images/organicfood.jpg
There is no such certainty about the safety natural ingredients have in food and cosmetics. According to some experts, organic does not necessarily means good. It is widely known that preservatives, pesticides and syntactic materials are some of the most well-known derivatives that form part of the diversity of products any person can buy in a store. These multi-syllabic industrial ingredients can cause diseases raging from skin allergies to severe ones like Alzheimer.
Some naturists pass judgements on preservatives because they consider that buying natural products means health benefit. While in fact, it has never been proved. Moreover, consumers should bear in mind that cosmetics, or food without preservatives may easily decay in a shorter period. Government and some agencies suggest that consumers should read the ingredient levels so as to know what they are consuming.
I must confess I belong to the massive belief nowadays that biological products mean a healthy life style. After reading the article, I realize how ignorant I am. I am convinced by the advertisements! It is good enough that articles like this one may open the consumers’ eyes and ask the government and accredited certifiers to test products and prove the efficacy or health benefits of our investments.
Article: Natural, Organic Beauty
Source: New York Times
Author: NATASHA SINGER
Date of Publication: November 1, 2007
Links:
Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/01/fashion/01skin.html?_r=1&8dpc&oref=slogin
Photo: http://leahy.senate.gov/images/organicfood.jpg
There is no such certainty about the safety natural ingredients have in food and cosmetics. According to some experts, organic does not necessarily means good. It is widely known that preservatives, pesticides and syntactic materials are some of the most well-known derivatives that form part of the diversity of products any person can buy in a store. These multi-syllabic industrial ingredients can cause diseases raging from skin allergies to severe ones like Alzheimer.
Some naturists pass judgements on preservatives because they consider that buying natural products means health benefit. While in fact, it has never been proved. Moreover, consumers should bear in mind that cosmetics, or food without preservatives may easily decay in a shorter period. Government and some agencies suggest that consumers should read the ingredient levels so as to know what they are consuming.
I must confess I belong to the massive belief nowadays that biological products mean a healthy life style. After reading the article, I realize how ignorant I am. I am convinced by the advertisements! It is good enough that articles like this one may open the consumers’ eyes and ask the government and accredited certifiers to test products and prove the efficacy or health benefits of our investments.
Talk therapy Pivotal for Depressed Youth
Name: Fernanda Martín
Article: Talk Therapy Pivotal for Depressed Youth
Source: New York Times
Author: Benedict Carey
Date of Publication: October 2, 2007
Links:
Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/02/health/research/02depress.html
Photo: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=51510629
Adolescents seems to follow a fashion but not of clothes or hair cuts. No. The use of antidepressants like Prozac in minors without needed treatment has increased since 2004.
These adolescents who go through depression for diverse and varied reasons (sexual abuse, rejection in society, etc) experiment the wish to be dead. Suicidal thinking emerges as a ghost and parents do not know what to do.
In a recent study, psychiatrists offer a new hope to these youngsters’ parents: a talking therapy. This alternative seems safer than just medication and more pills. This therapy promotes social interaction and build up their self-esteem.
In my opinion, recognizing the warning signs of suicidal thinking is one thing; knowing what to do is another. Suicide was a taboo subject for a very long time. Even talking about it is still difficult for most people. Imagine those poor parents who suffer seeing their sons and daughters going through such an horror. I think this therapy can be a good alternative enabling the teenager to talk about his thoughts. May be, it can help save a life
Article: Talk Therapy Pivotal for Depressed Youth
Source: New York Times
Author: Benedict Carey
Date of Publication: October 2, 2007
Links:
Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/02/health/research/02depress.html
Photo: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=51510629
Adolescents seems to follow a fashion but not of clothes or hair cuts. No. The use of antidepressants like Prozac in minors without needed treatment has increased since 2004.
These adolescents who go through depression for diverse and varied reasons (sexual abuse, rejection in society, etc) experiment the wish to be dead. Suicidal thinking emerges as a ghost and parents do not know what to do.
In a recent study, psychiatrists offer a new hope to these youngsters’ parents: a talking therapy. This alternative seems safer than just medication and more pills. This therapy promotes social interaction and build up their self-esteem.
In my opinion, recognizing the warning signs of suicidal thinking is one thing; knowing what to do is another. Suicide was a taboo subject for a very long time. Even talking about it is still difficult for most people. Imagine those poor parents who suffer seeing their sons and daughters going through such an horror. I think this therapy can be a good alternative enabling the teenager to talk about his thoughts. May be, it can help save a life
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
