Generation Next Blog

April 2013

A Brave New World 2013 – Huxley, Happiness and the United States of Amazing

By |2013-04-02T21:18:07+11:00April 2nd, 2013|Categories: Society & Culture|Tags: , , , , , , |

Like other dystopian authors, Aldous Huxley held a pretty bleak view of society. In A Brave New World, his future looks something like this: We live to consume. We're brainwashed by advertisements and institutions that make us feel as though we're free, even as they wipe out any originality and creativity in us. We lack [...]

Botox bad for babies, with blank looks all round

By |2013-04-02T21:17:10+11:00April 2nd, 2013|Categories: Society & Culture|Tags: , , , , , , , |

It is that intimate, magical chemistry that allows a mother to show even the youngest of babies how she is feeling. A grimace, a frown or a smile are all useful tools for helping a little one to learn what is approved of, and what isn't. But one of the country's leading child psychologists believes [...]

March 2013

Liquorland shamed over reckless drinking ads

By |2013-04-02T21:15:36+11:00March 27th, 2013|Categories: Drugs & Alcohol|Tags: , , , , , |

Liquorland has been found in breach of a voluntary code of practice in its TV advertising, with the chain's ads accused of encouraging binge drinking, underage drinking and portraying an improper link between alcohol and sport. via Liquorland shamed over reckless drinking ads.

Steubenville Gang Rape Shame

By |2013-03-25T16:39:28+11:00March 25th, 2013|Categories: Drugs & Alcohol, Mental Health & Wellbeing, Society & Culture|Tags: , , , |

The town of Steubenville sits in a valley on the Ohio River. Like Weirton, just over the river in West Virginia, and many more towns nearby, Steubenville has been hollowed out and shrunk since the steel mills began to close in the 1980s. When the kids finish high school most of them leave for college [...]

Surprising connections between our well-being and giving, getting, and gratitude

By |2013-03-25T16:35:46+11:00March 25th, 2013|Categories: Mental Health & Wellbeing, Society & Culture|Tags: , , , , |

"A plethora of research highlights the importance of getting a good night's sleep for physical and psychological well-being, yet in our society, people still seem to take pride in needing, and getting, little sleep," says Amie Gordon of the University of California, Berkeley. "And in the past, research has shown that gratitude promotes good sleep, [...]

Neuroscience in education

By |2013-03-25T16:33:46+11:00March 25th, 2013|Categories: Science & Research|Tags: , , , , |

In the past ten years, there has been growing interest in applying our knowledge of the human brain to the field of education, including reading, learning, language, and mathematics. Teachers themselves have embraced the neuro revolution enthusiastically. A recent investigation in the US-based journal Mind, Brain, and Education showed that almost 90% of teachers consider knowledge [...]

Loneliness Is Bad for Your Health

By |2013-03-25T16:32:30+11:00March 25th, 2013|Categories: Mental Health & Wellbeing|Tags: , , , , , |

Feeling lonely? New research suggests you might want to reach out. Not only is loneliness an unpleasant condition, it can harm the body's immune system. The new study, presented Saturday (Jan. 19) here at the annual meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, reveals that people who are lonely experience more reactivation of [...]

7 positive parental engagement tips to help kids

By |2013-03-25T16:28:15+11:00March 25th, 2013|Categories: Mental Health & Wellbeing, Society & Culture|Tags: , , , , |

'Family-school and community partnerships are re-defining the boundaries and functions of education. They enlarge parental and community capacity; they create conditions in which children learn more effectively. In these ways they take education beyond the school gates'.* The Family-School and Community Partnership Bureau recently commissioned a report into the effects parental engagement on children’s educational [...]

‘PORNIFYING’ our kids, harms families

By |2013-03-25T16:23:31+11:00March 25th, 2013|Categories: Cybersafety, Society & Culture|Tags: , , , , |

I fear we’re seeing the rise of a ‘strip tease’ culture in British schools, and British culture, with the British family unit left marginalised. It’s hyper-sexualised British culture in which women are objectified, objectify one another, and are encouraged to objectify themselves; where homophobic bullying is normalised; and young boys’ world view is shaped by [...]

Can you affect your child’s education?

By |2013-03-25T16:30:27+11:00March 25th, 2013|Categories: Society & Culture|Tags: , , , , , , |

I finally got around to reading Freakonomics by Steven Levitt & Stephen Dubner. It’s been since about 2005, and has been on my list of “to-reads” but it always seemed to get pushed to the side for another title. Anyway, for those who haven’t heard of it, the book is a collection of observations and [...]

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