Generation Next Blog

November 2013

Contact with nature can be restorative

By |2013-11-11T21:24:48+11:00November 11th, 2013|Categories: Mental Health & Wellbeing|Tags: , , , , , , , |

"Being in natural settings is intrinsically soothing and is shown to reduce unhealthy behavior," he says. "Exactly why isn't clear, but there is probably an evolutionary factor, as human beings and their predecessors were raised in, evolved in and likely designed for natural settings."This affinity to natural life forms, what researchers term "biophilia," is now [...]

Technology no substitute for reading time

By |2013-11-19T17:39:04+11:00November 11th, 2013|Categories: Society & Culture|Tags: , , , , , , |

Leading children's author Mem Fox finds it ''heartbreaking'' to see small children left alone with smartphones and tablets to entertain themselves, saying an increasing reliance on technology to teach children how to read could inhibit their empathy and social skills. Fox said parents must keep reading books - either paper or ebooks - with their [...]

5 insights on the “would you like to live next door to someone of a different race?” question

By |2013-11-11T18:50:14+11:00November 11th, 2013|Categories: Society & Culture|Tags: , , , , |

Here's a map of countries where people show the highest and lowest levels of racial tolerance. Reducing such a complicated, subjective phenomenon to a single metric is controversial – the frequency with which people in a certain country said they would not want neighbors of a different race – is going to produce some highly [...]

SACE SPECIAL PROVISIONS fails another dyslexic student

By |2013-11-20T16:45:18+11:00November 11th, 2013|Categories: Mental Health & Wellbeing|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

A year 12 student, with a significant dyslexic disability, has had his second appeal for EXTRA TIME denied in his exams by SACE.   To protect his identity, let’s call him Tom. Tom has been formally identified as a classically dyslexic student. His disability is genuine and significant. His long-term, dyslexic impairment has been comprehensively [...]

Adaptability is Essential for the Future

By |2013-11-11T17:09:41+11:00November 11th, 2013|Categories: Society & Culture|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

The world is changing in front of our eyes.   Globalisation and the impact of technology means that, in many ways, the world of today is barely recognizable to that of twenty or thirty years ago.   This is particularly true of the workplace. We’ve long been aware of the concept of offshoring the work [...]

Here’s a map of the best and worst countries to be a mother

By |2013-11-19T17:48:28+11:00November 11th, 2013|Categories: Mental Health & Wellbeing, Society & Culture|Tags: , , , , , , |

A new report by Save the Children, a London-based NGO, gauges and ranks the conditions for mothers in almost every country in the world.  The Mother's Index, measures conditions for mothers using five different metrics: risk of maternal death, infant mortality rate, the number of years an average child will spend in school, gross national income [...]

Far from being harmless, the effects of bullying last long into adulthood

By |2013-11-04T16:11:13+11:00November 4th, 2013|Categories: Mental Health & Wellbeing|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

It has long been acknowledged that bullying at a young age presents a problem for schools, parents and public policy makers alike. Although children spend more time with their peers than their parents, there is relatively little published research on understanding the impact of these interactions on their lives beyond school. The results of the [...]

What’s the point of running an education campaign?

By |2013-11-04T16:10:11+11:00November 4th, 2013|Categories: Drugs & Alcohol, Society & Culture|Tags: , , , , , , |

Some commentators have suggested that mass media campaigns are more likely to be effective when they are: - well-resourced and enduring - target a clearly defined audience - are based on advanced marketing strategies that effectively target, communicate with, and have relevance for, and credibility with, the audience - provide a credible message to which [...]

Research finds brain scans may aid in diagnosis of autism

By |2013-11-04T16:09:13+11:00November 4th, 2013|Categories: Mental Health & Wellbeing|Tags: , , , , , |

Joint research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Psychology and Auburn University indicates that brain scans show signs of autism that could eventually support behavior-based diagnosis of autism and effective early intervention therapies. via Research finds brain scans may aid in diagnosis of autism.

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