Video of effects of climate change, Eastern England

Definitely worth checking out.
Climate Change Action

Under God or Under Darwin?

Having just finished teaching a mini course to year nines on origins, the whole thing about arguments of design, evolution etc has been quite uppermost in my mind of late. And then I've also been inducting year tens into the basics of Islam. So I simply had to note this article I found via Evolution News and Views.
Anyway, the intriguing thing here is summed up by this:

As the history of the cultural conflict between the modern West and Islam shows, ID can also be a bridge between these two civilizations. The first bricks of that bridge are now being laid in the Islamic world. In Turkey, the current debate over ID has attracted much attention in the Islamic media. Islamic newspapers are publishing translations of pieces by the leading figures of the ID movement, such as Michael J. Behe and Phillip E. Johnson. The Discovery Institute is praised in their news stories and depicted as the vanguard in the case for God, and President Bush's support for ID is gaining sympathy. For many decades the cultural debate in Turkey has been between secularists who quote modern Western sources and Muslims who quote traditional Islamic sources. Now, for the first time, Muslims are discovering that they share a common cause with the believers in the West. For the first time, the West appears to be the antidote to, not the source of, the materialist plague.

It's interesting to note too that ID is being misdescribed by atheist opponents by being lumped in with creationism and that a lot of the UK press seem to have been taken in by that piece of propaganda.

Discovery Institute - Article Database - Under God or Under Darwin?
Filed in: evolution, intelligent_design, Islam, science, culture, religion

Study Of Language Use In Children Suggests Sex Influences How Brain Processes Words

Gender and thinking skills could be linked, it seems. Keep an eye on this, it could be really important.

This study shows that differences between males and females may be an important factor in these cognitive processes,” said the lead author, Michael Ullman, PhD, professor of neuroscience, psychology, neurology and linguistics. He added that since the brain systems tested in this study are responsible for more than just language use, the study supports the notion that “men and women may tend to process various skills differently from one another.” One potential underlying reason, suggested by other research, is that the hormone estrogen, found primarily in females, affects brain processing

As long as we don't start using differences as a method of negatively evaluating one another on the basis of gender. Big ask I know but important.
Oh, and while we're on that, and men do multi-task, they just prefer to do it with a different set of tasks than women.
ScienceDaily: Study Of Language Use In Children Suggests Sex Influences How Brain Processes Words: Filed in: language, brain, gender, acquisition

Violent Video Games Leave Teenagers Emotionally Aroused

This may be the start of scientific backing for what many of us instinctively feel; that it is hard to think that game-related arousal does not have knock-on effects.

Our study suggests that playing a certain type of violent video game may have different short-term effects on brain function than playing a nonviolent--but exciting--game

However, we should be careful: the previous more sociological studies are not discounted, there is clearly no simple one-to-one link which would mean one could say that more video gaming yields more violence. That is clearly not the case in simple terms. What one probably can say is that video-gaming with violent games leads to certain kinds of arousal that in certain conditions may increase the likelihood of violent or inappropriate behaviour ... though that is to run ahead of the evidence, it would be a fair hypothesis, I think. It does seem counter-intuitive to say that there is no effect at all or to deny that what one fills ones thinking with does not have knock-on effects. It's just that those effects are more subtle and long term than cruder studies can pick up.
ScienceDaily: Violent Video Games Leave Teenagers Emotionally Aroused: Filed in: gaming, video, violence, emotion, brain, activity, arousal

Way to go UK!?

BBC NEWS | Magazine | Green backs:

The annual survey of ethical spending in the UK, compiled by the Co-operative Bank, shows a record level of £29.4bn. This means that green spending has overtaken the £28bn spent on alcohol and cigarettes (excluding pubs). ... In the same survey two years ago, shoppers said they were withholding £2.58bn worth of business from firms with which they disagreed.

Of course with relative success comes the danger of greenwashing and misleading advertising to catch the bandwagon ... but sufficient to the day ...
Filed in: consumerism, ethics, fair_trade, environment, UK, spending

Have You Wrestled With A Paradox Today?

Here's a thought: if as Roger Von Oech says,

the very act of "seeing the paradox" — the
ability to entertain two contradictory ideas at the same time — lies at the heart of creative thinking

then a Christian faith is potentially a very creative 'thing' to have...
I see that as a commendation of religious education in schools ...
Creative Think: Have You Wrestled With A Paradox Today?

Filed in: paradoxes, thinking, skills

Partners helping men retrain as teachers

Well, this was bound to get my attention; after all, at a headline level it applies to me.

Mike Watkins, the director of teacher recruitment at the TDA, said: "Career changers are now fuelling the ranks of teachers as never before, particularly in areas where we have a high need, such as maths and science.
"This research confirms that professional men are re-evaluating what they want from a career after a few years of working life. It's evident that the appeal of office life can wear thin and that men are looking for more than just a high salary - they want to make use of their skills.
"When you consider these factors, it's easy to see why teaching is the top choice for a career change. As well as attractive financial and lifestyle benefits, working with children creates a dynamic, vibrant environment in which no two days are the same."

Now I do have to say that out of just over a hundred training with me, only about a dozen are over 30, I would guess. So while I'm not able to say that I can see huge numbers responding in this way, I do take heart that mere monetary profit is having this kind of effect.
Now as to that "working with children..." bit. Hmm depends on whether you've had certain classes I could name but won't... But then there are the classes that make it true and worthwhile.
Partners helping men retrain as teachers, survey shows | Special Reports | EducationGuardian.co.uk: Filed in: career, teaching, change, rewards, skills