Children would prefer to ask Google whenever they have questions....

Daddy no longer knows best? Most children would prefer to ask Google if they have a question - not their parents

By Rob Waugh
PUBLISHED: 08:02 GMT, 9 March 2012 | UPDATED: 08:02 GMT, 9 March 2012

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Most six to 15 year olds would turn to the search engine first, with 54 per cent saying they¿d ask Google before their parents or teachers

When under-15s have pressing questions, parents might hope that they’d turn to them for help – but it seems that most youngsters would prefer to ask Google.

Most six to 15 year olds would turn to the search engine first, with 54 per cent saying they’d ask Google before their parents or teachers. 

Only one quarter of children would ask their parents first over Google.
Encylcopedias came in a VERY poor last place – with one quarter of children admitting they don’t know what one IS.


Almost half of all children - 45% -have never used a print encyclopaedia and nearly a fifth - 19% -  have never used a print dictionary.

Guesses as to the strange 'encyclopedia' device’s function included that an ‘encyclopedia’ might be something you travel on or use to perform an operation.

Teachers also fared badly in the research conducted by Birmingham Science City.

Only three per cent of children aged six to fifteen would ask their teacher for an answer.

The survey of 500 children highlighted how central technology has become to young lives. Almost half of children use Google at least five times day.

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Dr Pam Waddell, Director of Birmingham Science City, commented on the findings: 

‘With children now growing up in an environment where digital technology is accepted as standard, we wanted to see just how this has affected their approach to research and exploration. 


'It’s not surprising that with answers at the touch of the button, youngsters often Google questions before asking parents, friends or teachers.

‘However, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.  It shows just how commonplace digital technology is for children today and how comfortable they are with using it.


'Children, no matter what generation they grow up in, have an inquisitive and curious nature, and so the fact they are able to use new technology to explore this is a positive sign for the future.’

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2112223/Most-children-prefer-ask-GOOGLE-question-parents.html#ixzz1p0yp9uKZ

Ambitious people earn more money - but die younger...

Get rich AND die trying: Ambitious people earn more money - but they die younger and are no happier, says study

By Rob Waugh

Last updated at 11:48 PM on 6th March 2012

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Career ladder: The new study found that ambitious people earned more money and had prestigious jobs - but died younger, and were not a great deal happier 

Parents who teach their children  to value career ambitions over spending time with friends could be setting them up for an early grave, a study has revealed.


It found that go-getters who attend the best universities and secure high-powered jobs suffer poorer health and die younger than those with more modest aspirations. 


Over 70 years, the U.S. study tracked 717 high-achievers who attended universities, such as Oxford, Harvard and Yale, as well as those without university degrees, to the end of their lives.



The researchers found that highly ambitious people neglected key areas of their lives that lead to happiness, including building a strong network of friends and maintaining stable relationships. 


Professor Timothy Judge, who led the study at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, said: ‘Ambitious kids had higher educational attainment, attended highly esteemed universities, worked in more prestigious occupations, and earned more.


‘So, it would seem that they are poised to "have it all." However, we determined that ambition has a much weaker effect on life satisfaction and actually a slightly negative impact  on longevity (how long people lived).

 

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'So, yes, ambitious people do achieve more successful careers, but that doesn't seem to translate into leading happier or healthier lives.’

Judge used a complex formula to judge ambition at every stage of life - and to divide high-ability individuals into 'ambitious' and 'less ambitious' groups.

The study didn’t address the underlying reasons for the higher mortality of ambitious people. 

Those who went to university at institutions such as Cambridge may be more ambitious, but this will not necessarily make them happier in later life

‘If ambition has its positive effects, and in terms of career success it certainly seems that it does, our study also suggests that it carries with it some cost,’ Prof Judge says. 

‘Despite their many accomplishments, ambitious people are only slightly happier than their less-ambitious counterparts, and they actually live somewhat shorter lives.’

‘Perhaps the investments they make in their careers come at the expense of the things we know affect longevity: healthy behaviours, stable relationships and deep social networks.

He added: ‘If your biggest wish for your children is that they lead happy and healthy lives, you might not want to overemphasise professional success.

'There are limits to what our ambitions bring us - or our children.’

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2110891/Get-rich-AND-die-trying-Ambitious-people-earn-money--poorer-health-die-younger-says-study.html#ixzz1oRmCj9Dc

Be alert of Sun-dried tomato...

Sun-dried tomato alert: Health investigators link the celebrity chefs' favourite to outbreak of hepatitis cases

By Beezy Marsh

Last updated at 10:41 AM on 5th March 2012

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Health experts are investigating an outbreak of potentially deadly hepatitis linked to sun-dried tomatoes, it emerged yesterday.

Seven people developed symptoms of hepatitis A, which is infectious and can lead to fatal liver complications.

Four of them were hospitalised by the illness but have now been given the all-clear.

Health experts are investigating an outbreak of potentially deadly hepatitis linked to sun-dried tomatoes

However, health protection officials fear contaminated samples or other foods containing them could still be on sale or lurking in kitchen cupboards. 


This is because they are unable to test food for the virus and do not know which brand of sun-dried tomato is responsible.

 

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The Government’s Health Protection Agency and the Food Standards Agency are on the alert for further cases after the two men and five women became ill. Four of the patients live in the East of England, two in London and one in the South West.
The health alert was triggered when two of the cases were reported late last year to the HPA.

Their hepatitis A was identical to a strain from a previous outbreak associated with sun-dried tomatoes in the Netherlands. Neither of the patients had travelled to a country with a high risk of hepatitis in the previous three months and both had eaten ‘substantial’ amounts of sun-dried tomatoes. 
 

Risk: The Hepatitis A bugbe

An investigation by the HPA of cases of hepatitis A from July to December last year revealed the total of seven cases in which sun-dried tomatoes were implicated.

Because some of the genetic strains of the virus found differed from the Netherlands outbreak, experts believe the contaminated sun-dried tomatoes may carry various strains of hepatitis A. 

Previous hepatitis A outbreaks have been linked to sun-dried tomatoes, which have become an increasingly popular ingredient in middle class kitchens and favourite of TV celebrity chefs.

The virus is carried by human faeces and can be passed on through contaminated food or water, especially as a result of poor hygiene during the preparation of food. 

It is the only common food-borne disease preventable by vaccine.

Symptoms appear around 28 days after infection and include aches, loss of appetite, abdominal discomfort, fever and fatigue. Patients may also develop itchy skin and jaundice which can last several months. 


In the most serious cases, acute hepatitis A can develop into fulminant hepatitis A in which toxins attack the liver, leading to life-threatening complications. 

Around half of these patients will need a liver transplant to survive.
Hepatitis A is diagnosed by a blood test, but there is no treatment other than rest and fluids. 

Writing in the medical journal Eurosurveillance, Carlos Carvalho, of the HPA, said: ‘A single food source may be contaminated with more than one strain.

‘A food-borne outbreak with multiple strains in at least two European countries is suspected.’

A spokesman for the Food Standards Agency said: ‘Sun-dried tomatoes are being investigated as one possible source of the hepatitis A cases. However, no food source has been conclusively identified and no other relevant cases have been reported in the UK.’

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2110221/Sun-dried-tomato-alert-Health-investigators-link-celebrity-chefs-favourite-outbreak-hepatitis-cases.html#ixzz1oG7PR1Gb