How to green the world's deserts and reverse climate change | Allan Savory

This talk gives me chills every time I watch it.

"Get tough, or die!"

Let me try to keep this story about advice I've received relatively short, yet informative. Though at first you may consider the advice valid only for participants in a particular event in Montana decades ago, in the end I hope you may find ways to generalize (adopt or adapt) it to your own circumstances. Here goes.

In high school, I competed in gymnastics. The coach of a cross-town rival team and I became friends after I had entered college, and beg[u]n judging local gymnastics meets. 

In the off-season, the cross-town high school coach and I also became rivals in canoe races. In one race, actually a three-legged team-relay event, in which a grade school friend of mine had run, I'd cycled, and the two of us paddled together, my old friend and I finished fourth. 

Though our running and cycling times weren't stellar, we'd been white-water canoeing together for years (since high school). So we passed a number of other teams on the river, including slow rafters, and were about to overtake another when the river narrowed.

As we passed just astern of a raft running the rapids ahead of us, an inner-tube it was towing on a tail line dragged under our canoe, and dumped us immediately. We lost time swimming the canoe to shore, emptying the water from it, and resuming the race.

At the end of the third leg of the race, my old friend and I finished fourth. My rival and his team had finished first or second. In the parking lot, at the end of the race, was where I got the advice. 

My rival and his partner had loaded their low-cut racing canoe on his car rack. It was easy to distinguish from ours–a high-gunneled recreational model. The advice was on a bumper sticker on his car.

As the race committee began awarding prizes, it became clear that the third-place team hadn't waited around for awards. So my partner and I received the third prize. Though I don't remember what that prize was, I do remember the message on my rival's rear bumper.

It read, "Get tough, or die!"

[356 words]

Better World Flux (recovered draft, 2012.07.13)

The Better World Flux site provides an interface that creates graphic representations of world population trends in just a few easy steps:

• 0. Reset the display.
• 1. Drag and drop population trend indicators, or combinations of them, that you want to include in the display; 
• 2. Click to add countries whose relative status vis-a-vis those indicators you want to highlight;
• 3. Explore the results: 
• a) either by playing an animation or moving the slider with your cursor to see changes over time, and 
• b) by clicking on colorful data bands to display the names of other countries in the same bands.

The indicators correspond to UN Millennium Development Goals. Clicking on the About tab on the Better World Flux site reveals a Glossary of indicators with cross-links to sources of data, some dating back up to six decades.

For example, the life-expectancy indicator (1960–2010), which when animated looks a bit like a garden slug crawling in general towards a better world, shows:

a. Japan's human life-expectancy rose to the level of those of Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden, tops in the world in 1972;

b. Japan then became the sole country at the top in 1981, and was joined by Sweden again in 1983; 

c. Switzerland joined those two at the top in 1984, along with a variety of other countries – between 1985 and 1993, including: Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, Cyprus, France, Greece, Hong Kong, Iceland, Italy, Israel, Macao, Malta, Spain, and the UK;

d. Rwanda became a separate node on the long-tail in the 1990's.

e. Japan topped the list solo again in 1994, rejoined by Hong Kong from 1996 to 1998, and Switzerland in 1999.

f. Italy and Australia were next to regain the top band, in 2000 and 2001, respectively, followed by Canada, joined by Liechtenstein in 2002, and then Iceland and Israel again in 2003.

Thanks to Larry Ferlazzo for pointing out Better World Flux (The Best Resources For Creating Infographics, 2011.01.11), and to Richard Byrne, as well (Better World Flux - Create Animated Data Displays, 2011.02.04).

From _The Conversation_: Debunking ... myths about raising bilingual children

Debunking common myths about raising bilingual children

Mark Antoniou, Western Sydney University

By the age of two, children are typically able to say a few hundred words. My son, Alexander, was able to understand almost everything in both languages – Greek and English – but he could say only six words.

Our concerns grew as we watched younger kids overtake his speaking ability. Like many parents, we questioned if we were doing something wrong (even experts can’t escape the fear and guilt that comes with being a parent).

A number of enduring myths surround bilingualism, such as that it causes language delays and cognitive impairments.

However, research shows that raising a child bilingually does not cause language learning difficulties. Any lag in language development is temporary, so parents shouldn’t worry!

Here are some more common myths debunked:

Raising your child bilingually can cause a delay in development

Not true. In fact there are numerous advantages, such as improved executive function (mental planning), metalinguistic awareness (the ability to think about language as abstract units), mental flexibility (processing information adaptively) and creative thinking.

Bilingual children will generally meet developmental milestones within the normal range of language development, but may in some cases be towards the tail end (which was exactly the case with Alexander).

Bilingual children lag behind their peers and won’t catch up

This is a contentious issue, as there is considerable variability within bilingual children. Some children will not show any lag at all.

It has been suggested that a temporary lag may stem from having to accommodate two language systems within the same brain, but these children will catch up within a few months (note that this is not the same as a language delay).

But more research is needed to understand the exact mechanisms that are responsible.

My child will confuse the two languages

False. Although there is some controversy concerning when the languages become separated.
It was long thought that the two languages are fused at first and begin to separate when the child is around five. Recent evidence suggests that the languages may separate a lot earlier than was previously thought.

For example, bilingual children as young as 10-15 months babble differently depending on who they are interacting with (for example, English babbling sounds to the mother, and French babbling sounds to the father).

This suggests that babies are sensitive to who they are talking to from a very young age. This is probably a precursor of code-switching (when bilinguals use two languages within the same utterance).

Five tips for parents raising a child bilingually

1. Be encouraging and patient as you would with any infant, and be aware that a bilingual child faces a tougher task than one learning only a single language.
2. It is very important that both languages serve a functional purpose. Language is, after all, a tool for communication. If the child does not need to use the other language, they will probably stop using it. So, it is important to consistently place the child in situations that necessitate the use of both languages, and ideally with a variety of speakers. Doing so will develop robust speech categories in each language and ensure that they learn to process speech efficiently - which will aid both listening and talking.
3. Many parents worry about the issue of balance, meaning whether a child knows both languages equally well. In the past, it was thought that in order to be truly bilingual you needed to have an equal command of both languages. I conducted a series of studies on very proficient bilinguals and observed time and again that even fluent bilinguals have a dominant language. So, there is little point stressing about a child not having a perfectly equal command of each language because the truth is almost no one does.
4. Parents commonly become concerned when bilingual children mix their languages. Do not worry. This is a normal part of bilingual language development and not a sign of confusion. Even proficient bilinguals mix their languages.
5. If you are concerned about your child’s language development, you should have your child assessed by a doctor and, if necessary, a speech-language pathologist. Bilingual children may present with language delays, just like any other children. If your child has a language delay, early intervention may be required to help them learn their languages.

Mark Antoniou, ARC Research Fellow, MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

[Republished with permission (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/)]

Two articles, one after the other: 1 + 1 = 0.5?

Toward the end of last year, two extremely similar articles about one study showed up in social media networks for language educators worldwide. Both articles splashed on sensational headlines to make it sound almost like the findings represented everyone in Japan – population: 127 million (2010 estimate, WolframAlpha). 

1. Nearly 90% dissatisfied with Japan's English education: survey – The Mainichi, December 3, 2012; and
• Arama, they didn't! LiveJournal, December 4, 2012
• 21st Century English Langauge Learners, Teachers and Administrators: Ajaan Rob Hatfield, Scoop.it, December 5, 2012
• TESOL Intl Assn, Twitter, December 5, 2012
2. Japanese highly unhappy with English education quality in the country – Ida Torres, The Japan Daily Press, December 4, 2012
• TESOL International Association, English Langauge Bulletin; December 12, 2012
• ELT Professionals around the World: Ian Butler, LinkedIn, c. December 15, 2012

Neither of those two articles cites the Rakuten Research study in a way that enables readers to find it easily. Nor do any of the other as-is social media representations of the articles shed any additional light on the subject.

If you're interested in reading either the original Rakuten Research press release, or the online report, both dated November 21, 2012; they're here:

• 楽天リサーチ、「日本の英語教育」に関する調査を発表 (press release)
• http://corp.rakuten.co.jp/news/press/2012/1121_02.html
• Apparently not published in English (press releases [2012])
• 日本の英語教育に関する調査 (report)
• http://research.rakuten.co.jp/report/20121121/
• PDF: http://research.rakuten.co.jp/report/pdf/english_20121121.pdf
• Though the filename seems to suggest that the PDF is in English, it isn't.

At best, both articles cherry-picked findings from a Rakuten Research report covering only 1000 subjects, parents of children whom the articles describe variously as "underage" (Mainichi) or simply "young" (Torres). The survey actually involved 1000 16- to 69-year-old men and women with non-adult children (report, ¶1). The prospective population from which those 1000 responses derived included approximately two and a quarter million subscribed monitors (report, ¶1) earning points redeemable for Rakuten services – a response rate of approximately 0.04%.

Naoto Kan and the End of 'Japan Inc.' | The Nation

Naoto Kan and the End of 'Japan Inc.' | The Nation:

A surprising enough find for April 7, this article "...[a]ppeared in the April 18 [sic], 2011 edition of The Nation." It offers a critical appraisal of numerous issues entwined with U.S. foreign relations.

Facebook To Share Users' Home Addresses, Phone Numbers With External Sites

Is Facebook's bark (see update at foot of Bosker's post about Facebook) less worse than its bite?

Facebook To Share Users' Home Addresses, Phone Numbers With External Sites 

Bianca Bosker, HuffPost Reporting;

First Posted: 02/28/11 09:04 PM; 

Updated: 03/ 2/11 08:43 PM

(published with Chrome's BlogThis! extension; labeled and revised after posting)

Skill sets, passion, and imagination – "liberalizing education"

What the snippets below from "an extended abstract written for the TP eNewlsetter by ... Robert A. Scott" (TP Msg. #1064 The Modern American University: A Love Story) indicate is a niche if not a nexus or  need for "liberating ... [and] liberalizing education" (extended abstract, ¶¶ 19-20) in modern universities.

There is considerable evidence that many employers want graduates with particular skills such as accounting, but the vast majority of employers want employees with a broad set of skills, and abilities, more emphasis on effective oral and written communication, critical thinking and reasoning in multiple settings, and the ability to be imaginative across cultural boundaries.

At the same time, increasing numbers of students say they want to develop a “meaningful philosophy of life,” not just be “well-off financially.” They want to pursue with passion a path that leads to personal satisfaction and fulfillment as well as material comfort. In other words, they want a course of study that combines what employers want and what they want. 

(extended abstract, ¶¶ 10-11)

It seems to me, without yet having laid eyes on the actual story by Scott, that a short answer to the question, "Are we there yet?" might be for some students, sometimes, somewhat.

References

Scott, Robert A. (2010). The modern American university: a love story. On the Horizon 18(4), 294 - 307. doi:10.1108/10748121011082608