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Information gives you power. With knowledge, you can take control more on your destiny, future, and your own well-being. Knowledge also gives you the power of making right decisions for you and your family. We all need to seek for right information.
But, it’s easy to say than done. Ever since I had my child, it has been hard for me to follow latest news and information. When my first child was a newborn, if he constipated for a few days, everything else in the world seemed secondary to me. I kept breaking my own commitment to reading all the articles of the weekly magazine The Economist that I had enjoyed reading for years before becoming a parent. I think many parents have more or less similar experiences unless their profession requires constant acquiring of information or unless they have access to the latest and valuable information through work or personal contacts.
Teaching to (or sharing with) others is the best way to learn, as almost everyone acknowledges. Thus, I have decided to search for useful information and share it by posting on my blog my top 10 news and articles within a week that I believe convey essential information to me and my blog’s readers. I came up with that idea, after contemplating what is the best and most effective way for me to get knowledge essential to me and possibly others (especially other parents).
Here are my picks of the articles that I found interesting and useful over the past week (as of May 9th, 2019). I ranked the articles subjectively. I hope you’ll enjoy reading them.
10. High tech toys for children with disabilities
This young lady, an inventor and entrepreneur, created high tech toys for children with learning disabilities to enhance language and cognitive skills. This video also shows how she get motivated by convincing herself that everything is possible. A very inspiring story.
(source: BBC)
9. Women’s wage gap in the AI era
This article sheds light on the gender pay gap in the context of the AI (Artificial Intelligence) era. The author predict that the wage disparity will persist or even get worse in the AI era, given that men have huge presence in the tech industry. That said, I don’t agree to the author’s suggestion that all women should learn code (computer programming) and work at the tech industry. I don’t believe that everyone is suited to be programmers, although many talented women will go to the high tech industry. I think, in AI era, many women will be free from chores, and will flourish their unique talent in their own suitable fields.
(Source: Financial Times)
8. Rethinking your own value and belief to stop worrying about what other people think of you
I like this article because it offers more principle-based yet practical approaches (instead of band-aid fix solutions) to tackle or manage the fear of other people’s opinions that most of us might have with varying degrees. The author suggests developing a personal philosophy – a word or phrase that expresses your basic beliefs and values, which you can construct by asking some questions to yourself, such as “When I’m at my best, what beliefs lie just beneath the surface of my thoughts and actions?”
(Source: Harvard Business Review)
7. Why flowers are so expensive
On Mother’s Day weekend, it’s worth learning about where flowers come from and how they arrive to florists on time. Nowadays many countries import flowers, and the logistics of transporting flowers is not easy at all, which explains why flowers are so expensive. When I lived in USA, I was surprised to learn that a lot of flowers sold in USA were imported from Columbia, while I had assumed that flowers should come from local farms.
(Source: BBC)
6. Global warming has made the rich richer
Intuitively, the global climate change should worsen income inequalities. This article states that the climate change has already negatively impacted the poor, unfortunately.
(Source: BBC)
5. Is technology good or bad for children’s learning?
This article nicely summarizes the pros and cons of tablet learning for children, and provide practical guidance of how to let children use technology effectively. As a parent of young children, I’m concerned about the potential adverse impacts caused by the recent trend of 1-1 iPad Program (in which iPads are provided to all school children as early as the 1st grade), because too much use of iPads from early stages could deprive young children of the opportunity to develop concentration and critical thinking skills and of the time otherwise used for physical activities or other useful activities. That said, in this world where smartphones and tablets are so common, it is not realistic to completely restrict children from using technology. Thus, I think that clarifying the benefits and risks of tablet learning, as well as taking practical approaches to tablets, are some of feasible solutions.
(Source: Brookings Institute)
4. Parents can offer supports to youngsters, in addition to using Apps, to help them stay mentally healthy
More and more adolescents are suffering from mood disorder and severe depression, mainly because of the two factors: the rise in electronic communication and digital media; and a decline in sleep duration. Good news is that Parental Control Apps to monitor, filter, and limit children’s internet use are available for Android and iOS. The author emphasizes the importance of parents’ interpersonal roles such as observing their behavior, spending quality time together, and offering empathy.
(Source: Psychology Today)
3. Tackling plastic waste problems by using AI technology
The sensational images of plastic waste floods have been getting media’s attention these days, and this article talks about using AI (Artificial Intelligence) to efficiently recycle wastes. AI has already helped boost the recycling of plastics, as only 9 percent of plastics worldwide are currently recycled. However, AI and robots cannot solve all the problems; humans have to do their part. Customers should learn what they can recycle and how they should do it; on the top of it, avoiding single-use plastics is key.
(Source: Scientific America)
2. US-China trade war is already impacting our lives
The US-China trade war has already affected our lives through financial market and economic growth fluctuations, even if we are not living in USA or China. This article nicely summarizes the US-China trade war with visual charts, with the recent updates of the US President’s vow to accelerate the situation. Against the backdrop of the widening of US trade deficit with China since 1985, USA imposed tariffs (tax on imports) on Chinese products last year, which already hit hard the Chinese products as well as world economy.
(Source: BBC)
1. Ramadan has started
Ramadan, the holly month of Islam, has started earlier this month, during which hundreds of millions of Muslims across the world abstain from eating, drinking, or smoking from dawn to sunset. Won’t you take some time to learn a bit about the tradition of the world’s second largest religion that has lasted for 1,400 years, even if you are not a Muslim?
(Source: BBC)