Topic Reading-Vol.3582-1/31/2022

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

The people deciding to ditch their smartphones

How long do you spend looking at your smartphone a day? How many times do you check messages or tweets every day? Many of those who have smartphones are glued to the tiny screen. One study found that the average person spends nearly five hours a day on their phone. When you check SNS, watch videos, and play games, you can easily spend hours gazing at the rectangular display. Indeed, smartphones are an essential tool for daily lives, public services, and social connections. It is much easier and faster by reading a QR coke than inputting or searching information. However, you may be missing the time and chance to think, feel, and learn things. While your phone is being turned on, your brain, senses, and mind are switched off. Some people realized that they had missed precious time and opportunities too much while using their phones and decided to abandon them. They now spend more time on other activities like reading, watching TV, or talking with friends and family members. What do you think? The best way to find the impact of using your smartphone is to turn it off or leave it somewhere so that you can spend your smartphone-free time. What do you think you will be doing then?

Imagine yourself on your deathbed. Will you be still checking or tweeting messages?

Enjoy reading the article and think about the influence of the smartphone on your life.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-60067032

Topic Reading-Vol.3581-1/30/2022

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

Why hybrid work is emotionally exhausting

Many workers chose or were forced to work from home under the Covid pandemic. For most workers, it has been a challenging shift from working in the office. While they don’t have to dress up or commute to and from the office, they need to set up a workplace and daily schedule for themselves. It took some time and effort to make the transition for both employers and employees. Then, another idea came, called hybrid. For example, you come to the office and work on certain days of the week, say Mondays and Wednesdays, and work from home on other days. The concept theoretically sounded ideal as it is intended to take advantage of both work patterns. However, it seems to disrupt the employees’ work schedules and daily routines. Indeed, you probably need to have very different tasks to accomplish between working in the office with others and working at home by yourself. So, in order to take advantage of either or both work patterns, both the employer and employees need to agree with what works best for both. Since work style seems to have become an important issue for employment, employers need to be conscious of and sensitive to both the physical and emotional welfare of their employees to be attractive and competitive in their business field.

Enjoy reading the article and think which work style, or any other work style works best for you.

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20220120-why-hybrid-work-is-emotionally-exhausting

Topic Reading-Vol.3580-1/29/2022

Dear MEL Topic Readers,  

Is having a favourite child really a bad thing?

Do you know any parent who loves one of their children more than the other(s)? Imagine a situation of a mother who had three children, two daughters, and a boy. Who do you think she loves more than the others? Even if she doesn’t admit it, she may favor the boy simply because he is a boy. Another example. If a father had two boys, one of them shares similar values and the other has totally different interests, who do you think he would prefer spending more time with? Even though most parents don’t admit it, research shows that many do favor one child over other(s). Gender, birth order, interests, similarities, talent, or appearance, to name a few reasons. If so, you may think such favoritism affects their children negatively. Interestingly, however, whether children aren’t good at guessing such favoritism or parents are good at disguising their favoritism, they don’t seem to be affected by parents’ favoritism so much. What about you?

Well, it may not be so much of an issue any longer as more couples tend to have one or no child in developed countries.

Enjoy reading the article and think about parents’ favoritism.

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20220119-is-having-a-favourite-child-really-a-bad-thing

Topic Reading-Vol.3579-1/28/2022

Dear MEL Topic Readers,  

Apple AirTags - 'A perfect tool for stalking'

Apple AirTag is a three-centimeter disc that tracks the location of the device. The $29 tracking device was designed to be attached to an item that the user wants to find the location of in case it is lost, such as luggage or keys. Once lost, it will notify your iPhone where the item is within a meter range if there is some other iPhone or Apple device is around as it relies on Bluetooth signals. It is convenient to find your item, pet, or even kid that could go anywhere. However, it could also be abused by someone who wants to know where you are like a stalker. Apple says they created various safeguard measures to protect people from being tracked. For example, it alerts the owner by beeping noise if it is separated for some time. But that sound cannot always be heard if the device is wrapped or attached to an inaudible spot like a car bumper. It seems that convenience often comes with a risk.

Enjoy reading the article about Apple’s AirTag.

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-60004257

Topic Reading-Vol.3578-1/27/2022

Dear MEL Topic Readers,  

Judges reveal why Novak Djokovic had to miss Australian Open

A Servian tennis player Novak Djokovic had been eager to get his 21^st grand slam title at the Australian Open. But hours after his arrival at Melbourne airport on January 5, his visa was canceled because he hadn’t been vaccinated. He hoped his previous Covid infection would exempt the Australian policy. He had been detained in an immigration facility like anyone else for five days until the visa cancelation was overturned by a single judge. He then started preparing for the tournament but only a few days later, his visa was revoked again. Another appeal was made but the court didn’t find any fault with the decision by the immigration minister because of the super tennis star’s influence on all people, including the young. The judges also stated that this is so evident that the ruling requires no evidence. It seems reasonable for the Australian government not to exempt someone for his fame or world ranking, but angered the people in his home country.

As noted in Topic Reading Vol.3577-1/26/2022, a previous infection isn’t as effective as vaccination. Djokovic is a human being like everyone else after all.

Enjoy reading the article and think if you support the ruling or still wanted to see him play in the tournament.

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/01/20/tennis/djokovic-australia-judge-ruling-intl-spt-hnk/index.html

Topic Reading-Vol.3577-1/26/2022

Dear MEL Topic Readers,   

Hana Horka: Czech singer dies after catching Covid intentionally

Vaccination saves more lives than prior infection. A Czech folk singer proved it by her own life. She didn’t undermine or disregard vaccination but thought prior infection would work better. So, when her husband and son, both of whom had been vaccinated, were infected, she intentionally spent time with them and exposed herself to the virus. And she was infected by the coronavirus as she wanted. She seemed to have been well until only 10 minutes before she suddenly choked to death. That was right after she was about to go out for a walk.

According to a newly released report by the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, vaccination is safer than prior infection even before a booster shot. So, why not?

Read the article and learn about this shocking case of infection to an unvaccinated woman.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60050996

Topic Reading-Vol.3576-1/25/2022

Dear MEL Topic Readers,   

Urgent need to encourage births after drop in 2021

The one-child policy was implemented in China between 1980 and 2015 to curb the rapid population growth. It restricted urban couples to have only one child but allowed rural couples to have a second child if the first child was a daughter. The policy worked too much and the birth rate fell below the reproduction level. So, in 2015, the government allowed parents to have two children, and last year, up to three. However, the 45-year-long policy produced a huge number of couples who themselves were the only child. Also, it seemed to have been long enough to change the cultural practices and family values. So, despite the central and local government measures to encourage couples to have more than one child, Chinese parents produced 10.62 million babies last year, down from 12 million in the previous year. You may think 10 million is a huge number but China’s population is 1.4 billion. Also, that is almost the same number as the national college entrance exam takers last year. Now, China’s fertility rate was 1.3 in 2000, higher than South Korea’s 0.84 but lower than Japan’s 1.34. A fertility rate of 2.1 is needed to maintain the population. China’s society is aging fast. They need more young people to sustain the economy and welfare, which is a common problem among developed countries.

Enjoy reading the article and think about what could encourage couples to produce more offspring.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202201/18/WS61e5f749a310cdd39bc8194c.html