Monthly Archives: January 2008

China

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I thought readers would find this fun and reassuring for that matter!
It’s from Food Navigator.com

Dunkin’ Donuts moves into mainland China

By staff reporter
1/29/2008- Only one year after moving into Taiwan, US bakery firm Dunkin’ Donuts plans to open 100 new shops in Shanghai and the surrounding provinces over the next ten years, the company announced last week.

The bakery company, which posted net sales of $6.4bn at the end of 2006, has adopted an aggressive expansion policy in recent years, which has seen the firm accumulate over 7,900 shops in 31 countries.

Dunkin’ Donuts is now looking to increase its presence in the Asia Pacific region, where it already has stores in Indonesia, South Korea, New Zealand and the Philippines.

The new stores in Shanghai will sell a mixture of US-style beverages and doughnuts, but will also cater for local tastes and serve some traditional, Chinese delicacies the company said.

“The shop will serve items customised to suit local taste preferences such as green tea and honeydew melon doughnuts, as well as mochi rings, which are similar to cake doughnuts but made with rice flour indigenous to the region,” the group explained.

In Shanghai, the company has granted franchise rights to Mercuries and Associates, the same company that opened Dunkin’ Donuts stores in Taiwan.

Like many food companies, Dunking Donuts is taking advantage of industry growth in China, currently booming at breathtaking speed. According to a Deloitte & Touche study, the country is now the most popular area with manufacturers looking to expand operations.

From 446 executives questioned by the market consultants last year, 84 per cent said they planned to carry out ‘significant expansion’ in China over the next five years.

Over 59 per cent of respondents said they already had manufacturing facilities in the country, beating other emerging markets of Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia and Latin America – favoured by a third of those questioned.

Broccoli

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Broccoli from World’s Healthiest Foods.

We’re introducing broccoli tomorrow. I’m hoping to make it a child friendly event. It’s a really good vegetable to make friends with. I hope the children like it.

Broccoli is a member of the cabbage family, and is closely related to cauliflower. Its cultivation originated in Italy. Broccolo, its Italian name, means “cabbage sprout.” Because of its different components, broccoli provides a range of tastes and textures, from soft and flowery (the floret) to fibrous and crunchy (the stem and stalk). Do not let the smell of the sulfur compounds that are released while cooking keep you away from this highly nutritious vegetable.

Crucifers Cut Risk of Bladder Cancer

Human population as well as animal studies consistently show that diets high in cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, kale, cabbage and cauliflower, are associated with lower incidence of certain cancers, including lung, colon, breast and ovarian cancer. Now, research published in the International Journal of Cancer (Zhao H, Lin J) suggests that bladder cancer can join the list.

University of Texas researchers analyzed the diets of 697 newly diagnosed bladder cancer cases and 708 healthy controls matched by age, gender and ethnicity. Average daily intake of cruciferous vegetables was significantly lower in those with bladder cancer than in healthy controls.

Those eating the most cruciferous vegetables were found to have a 29% lower risk of bladder cancer compared to participants eating the least of this family of vegetables.

Crucifers’ protective benefits were even more pronounced in three groups typically at higher risk for bladder cancer: men, smokers, and older individuals (aged at least 64).

Diagnosed in about 336,000 people every year worldwide, bladder cancer is three times more likely to affect men than women, according to the European School of Oncology.

Crucifers’ well known cancer-fighting properties are thought to result from their high levels of active phytochemicals called glucosinolates, which our bodies metabolize into powerful anti-carcinogens called isothiocyanates. Isothiocyanates offer the bladder, in particular, significant protection, most likely because the majority of compounds produced by isothiocyanate metabolism travel through the bladder en route to excretion in the urine, suggested the researchers.

A Weekly Serving of Cruciferous Vegetables Halves Advanced Prostate Cancer Risk

A study of 29,361 men, enrolled on the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial found that men who ate more than a serving of either broccoli or cauliflower each week almost halved their risk of developing advanced-stage prostate cancer (cancer that had spread beyond the prostate gland), compared with their peers who ate these vegetables less than once a month. Specifically, compared to men eating broccoli just once a month, those eating a weekly serving lowered their risk of advanced prostate cancer by 45%. Cauliflower was even a bit more protective. Compared to men eating one serving of cauliflower per month, those enjoying a weekly serving lowered their risk of advanced prostate cancer by 52%. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2007 Aug 1;99(15):1200-9.

Something Fun for Evansville

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This notice is from Susie E. I thought it would be fun to share.

Halston Exhibit
Comes to Evansville
Roy Halston Frowick, an Evansville native, was once considered America’s premier fashion designer. Halston, as he became known, was born in Des Moines, Iowa, but later moved to Evansville. He attended Washington and Hebron Elementary Schools, and
graduated from Bosse High School in 1950.

Halston started his career designing pillbox hats like those worn by Jacqueline Kennedy. He
later became widely known for his innovative dress designs. The Evansville Museum of Arts and Sciences will host a Halston exhibit – Halston: A Family Remembrance of an Evansville Original – which will feature daywear and evening wear designed by Halston. The exhibit will run from February 3 through May 4 in the Main Gallery.

The Garden School Tattler

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This is a picture of the South Pole today, January 27. It’s amazing that we can so easily check into the South Pole for a new picture every 15 minutes. It’s summer down there right now. Can’t wait to check in this summer to see winter down there!

We’ve finished our polar places studies and are moving towards a new theme – listening. We will be beginning the Narnia Chronicles tomorrow. Only those children who listen will be able to watch the Chronicles. This is an excellent time for parents to begin to ask questions when a child is watching something on TV. Questions that make children think and return questions are the most valuable.

In February, we are going to do a Stage theme and try to incorporate a lot of play acting, puppets and dance into the afternoon classes. I think the children will really like this. They take to dancing and to theatre quite naturally as Tom and Lindsay have noticed on their karaoke afternoons!

We are encouraging communication skills. Please help your child make sentences to respond to you. Yeah, uhn uhn are not the best responses. When asking your child a question, try to keep from why questions and make them what questions. “Why are you doing that” should be “What do you think you are doing?” It’s a matter of being able to answer the question. Why questions are too philosophical for young children. But you can get a great answer to what!

It’s going to be relatively nice this week. Please send your child with a coat anyway. He needs to have one to play out doors.

There’s a new food game at school. Please have your child show it to you.

Nigeria

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How universal is universal? This is a marvelous article and applicable anywhere in the world!

It’s from Vanguard Online Edition

Expert harps on importance of early childhood
Written by Adekunle Aliyu
Wednesday, 23 January 2008
“The root cause of students’ failure is from the foundation and this is due to lack of well researched information that will positively influence children/students behaviours through parents, school owners, teachers and students themselves.”

These are words of an Education Planner, Mrs Kobune Ben-Uponi (BSc.Ed Econs O.A.U, MBA) publisher of the Nigerian schools guide, Step by Step Educator an educational magazine all in her bid to promote quality education.

She spoke with Vanguard Education Weekly in this interview.

What is the magazine ‘Step by Step Educator’ all about?

The magazine is all about learning, teaching and parenting. It is for teachers and school owners alike who want to know more about the current trends in teaching and learning as well as get informed on the topics and issues in terms of class room learning.

The step by step educator also focuses at enriching parents on issues facing them and their wards in terms of parenting i.e. duties of parents to their wards, how to savvy their kids situation in school .It is an encompassing mag that educates both teachers parents and kids.

Looking at the reforms in education so far what are your views in terms of development?

Education in Nigeria is okay. It is coming up but the quality of results, the quality of graduates we have is nothing to write home about. For the reforms to be effective, I believe it has to be from the grass- root, from early child hood.

Early child hood education, primary, secondary these areas are key areas that government must look into to improve the standards in the sense that if the foundation is bad then it will be a case of garbage in garbage out.

Having said that with the reforms both past and present we will get there but not immediate it is going to be a gradual thing.

What is your take on the quality of teachers we have in our schools today?

The quality of teachers today is nothing to go by with and the resultant effect on the students is as we have in computers jargons in jargons out. The quality of teachers tells so much on the students.

Does the Step by Step Educator takes a crucial look into early childhood education?

Early childhood education or training of a child is the responsibility of parents and teachers in up bringing of a child. Parents should not neglect their responsibility for the teachers nor should teachers leave their’s for the parents they must understand that they are both responsible in the total development of the child.

What we at Meribet consult opine is that the Child’s development is vital hence what we have done with Step by Step educator is to focus on the onus of teachers and parents.

The parents should not just pay school fees and careless about the child’s developments, or if the child is taught the right curricula in school. So we use the mag to bring about harmony between parents, teachers and school owners informing them on how to go about proper up bring of a child because if both parties know what is to be done in terms of numeracy, literacy etc

I think the best result will be reflected in the child’s development. More so the mag helps a child to capture very good reading habits as well as writing from tender age as it helps them to recognize how to break words into syllables.

How can reading culture be improved in students in the face of prevailing home videos and other attractions that can take kids away from reading?

Well, I will say most people don’t enjoy reading but our main focus is to promote reading and learning through consolations and our publication. Like the School guide and the educators.

You talked about quality of teachers as nothing to write home about. How then can parents and school owners find quality teachers?

Parents want the best teachers or tutors for their kids. You see a lot of them searching for home tutors, well they must know what to look for in a teacher before they engage one.

A good tutor must savvy the learning style of a given child not that the tutor will stuff the kids with home works or assignments but teach the kids to be independent and that is key to effective teaching.

How about cost?

In any area of work, motivation is a factor to be considered mostly in our kind of environment money is key. Parents must pay to get an A class tutor to get an A class result i.e. quality education Mind you the teacher is a crucial factor when it comes to training of a child

How do you come about the rating and assessment of those 1000 schools in your book?

As an education planner we take our time to go to the schools to see what they have on ground that can bring about effective teaching and learning more so, we give the schools administration quality counseling on how to deliver good and quality education.

So you look at structures and location?

No we go beyond structures.

So how do you marry schools that impress parents by not giving the true picture of a child’s academic performance?

Well, you see in Nigeria the problem with our education is that “we buy education” in the sense that parent pay so much for their kids hence they expect so much from the schools and the schools too want to impress parents due to the amount of money collected from parents which they will not want to lose their students come a new session.

Some schools upgrade their students’ scores just to impress the parents and improve the school’s image that they are doing well or pretending to providing quality education. But if parents work hand in hand with the schools they will know their kids’ capabilities. Parents involvement in a child’s education goes beyond just paying of school fees.

In those days when you and I went to schools, the report card tells the child’s true academic performance but today the story had change.

Having said that, mind you, the schools only help mold the child that is building on the child’s God’s giving abilities helping him to be independent in life so parents participation includes knowing the right school to put their kids and the Nigerian Schools Guide assists parents to chose the right schools for there sons and daughters.

How can parents know how to choose a good school?

The book helps parents to know how to access the schools they intend to send their wards to. The question to ask the schools and how to analyse the schools programmes and results are in the book

Was your analysis done for those schools in the rich areas or all schools in Nigeria?

Oh no !!! we did not segregate any area in our analysis of schools. We went to schools in area like Ajegunle, Mushin, Okokomaiko, Ojo, Ibadan, Oyo etc, most of the areas you will call area of the downtrodden were visited and took record of the school that are doing well there.

So our school guide take into consideration all schools in Nigeria before we rated the best 1000 schools so far.

Fun at My House

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Just a personal story I thought was fun. Last Saturday, my daughter Anne was downtown Evansville working and she needed a cup of coffee, so she ran over to Subway, and there crouching in the street gutter was a tiny freezing starving kitten. She said the kitten looked at her in the five degree blowing weather as if to say, “I just don’t know what to do, help me.” She swooped it up and brought it to work, and called mother. We decided in less than 2.5 seconds that I would drive to Evansville and pick it up. It was the most pathetic thing I’ve ever seen. It was dirty, and it’s hair stuck out all over it because there was not enough hydration or fat to let the hair lay flat. It sat on my shoulder during the drive home, happy – so happy – to be warm.

At home, I dropped it in front of Arthur’s food dish. Arthur is the drop dead gorgeous blue point Siamese my husband gave me for Christmas who is now his cat. Arthur is a small cat at about 11 pounds. Much smaller than my old cat who in his dotage and stripped of most of his fat was still 16 pounds.

The kitten sang as it ate it was so hungry. As he thawed out, his eye began to run and he started hacking a terrible cough. Then he quit eating and I figured he’d last about two days. He slept and slept and but the cough did not go away, but he didn’t die.

I took him to my fabulous vet yesterday, and luckily he has no diseases and he’s going to make it. He weighs 1.9 pounds after he discovered Ensure makes a nice milkshake. He’s going to be a tuxedo cat like Maestro. He’s got a feisty personality and may be cute once we get the eye under control and the coat lays flat.

Kindness to a cat is none the less kindness in my book. We have to think broad strokes on that one. I’m glad Anne found Merlin in the street. Arthur is delighted to have a pal to play with, and one more cat in this big house hardly makes a difference. It’s a happily ever ending story!

For the Expecting Mother!

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This is a really article for anyone pregnant or not. I got it from Baby Fit, a really good site on the Internet. Whether you are pregnant or not, these exercises will keep you in shape, and that’s important for now and for later.

The Secret To Easing Labor Pain

Exercise!
— By Sara Hambidge, Physical Therapist

Why is it that some women experience a labor that lasts two hours when others are in labor for 14 hours? How do some women go natural despite the potential intense pain involved? Why do some women tear when others do not?

Is there a way to ease the delivery process? Research says YES – through exercise, especially routines involving the pelvic floor.

In a recent study cited in the British Medical Journal, researchers noted that of the 300 women studied, those who did intensive pelvic floor/kegel exercises in the last few months of pregnancy had an easier time giving birth. Most affected was the second stage of labor– the pushing stage– where the study found that women who had done the exercises were less likely to spend prolonged time. Having a shorter pushing stage is extremely beneficial, since a longer pushing phase can lead to a tear or episiotomy, as well as increased chances for bleeding or requiring Cesarean delivery.

Kegel Exercises
It’s been known for a long time that kegel exercises also decrease urinary incontinence, a problem in late pregnancy and postpartum.

And there is no excuse to not do them, since they can be done anywhere without anyone knowing you are doing them! You can do kegel exercises in all positions: sitting standing, lying down. Just tighten the muscles of the pelvic floor (the ones that start and stop the urine flow). Do sets of ten, holding for 5 seconds, 10 times per day.

Other Exercises
Exercise in general is a good way to prepare for labor, since it will strengthen the body, increase circulation and flexibility, and improve endurance – all needed during labor. A few other exercises that can assist in the labor process:

  • Squats help strengthen the legs and pelvic floor, opening up the pelvis. Many natural birth advocates believe this is the optimal position for giving birth, since it opens the birth canal and allows gravity to assist with delivery. Try Wall Squats with a Ball, Squats with an Overhead Press, or Plie Squats with a Baby Carrier.
  • Tailor sitting & stretching involves sitting on the floor like the stereotypical tailor, with legs crossed. It is one of the most beneficial positions to sit in during pregnancy for many reasons: circulation to the pelvic muscles is increased, and the weight of the baby is supported on the pelvic bones, relieving the pelvic muscles of strain. Stretches the groin and hips, which helps in the second stage of labor (the pushing stage), and alleviates backaches, especially when done with your back against a wall.
  • Sit and stretch with legs outstretched until you feel a stretch in the groin and hamstrings, then hold for a minute. With each breath, relax and release further into the stretch. Try the Seated Thigh Stretch or Partner Surrender Stretch.
  • Pelvic tilts will assist in strengthening the abdominals and stretching the area of the back that’s usually sore in later pregnancy. The “all fours” position is also a good position during the first stage of labor to ease pain.

No one can predict what your labor will be like, but if your body is physically prepared for it, the anxiety of a long and painful labor can be lessened. Keep the exercises above in mind and hopefully you’ll have an easier labor—one that will allow you to enjoy the ride!

From a Pediatrician

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Courant.com

Pediatrician: Life’s Tracks Set By Age 3

Early Child Care’s Importance Stressed

By ARIELLE LEVIN BECKER

Courant Staff Writer

January 16, 2008

Comment: As we focus in on the child at earlier and earlier moments in his life, it can only be a a good thing. Too often we think children are formed when they can think more like we do -about age ten. A psychologist once told me that a child is mostly formed by age ten. If we wait to age ten, we are beginning at the finish not at the beginning. Children watch us and copy our behaviors right from birth.

Jack P. Shonkoff, a Harvard pediatrician, was only sort of joking when he referred to 3-year- olds as middle-aged.

By then, much of the basic circuitry of a child’s brain, a series of connections not yet formed at birth, has already developed.

A child whose parents interact with her will probably have well-formed brain circuits and a strong foundation to build on. A child raised in an abusive environment may have damage to his brain architecture that sets him on a path to lifelong problems in learning, behavior, and mental and physical health.

“Things are happening early on in the lives of young children that are either going to set a strong foundation for high economic achievement and high economic productivity … or can build a foundation that’s going to be the beginning of failure, of school failure and economic dependence and criminal behavior,” said Shonkoff, a professor of child health and development and founder of the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University.

Shonkoff spoke to policymakers, educators and other professionals Tuesday as part of the Governor’s Early Childhood Summit.

“Every child gets one chance at their first 1,000 days,” Gov. M. Jodi Rell said. “We don’t want to squander that.”

The summit came as many states, including Connecticut, work to expand and remake early childhood programs, spurred in part by research that links a child’s earliest experiences to key brain developments. Studies have shown that focusing on the most disadvantaged children as early as possible can lead to significant savings in special education, welfare and prison costs, Shonkoff said.

The summit was also held as state lawmakers consider changes to the prison system, a response to last summer’s home invasion homicides in Cheshire.

Beginning with early childhood “is economically right, morally right, workforce right,” said Janice Gruendel, the governor’s senior policy adviser for children and youths and a chairwoman of the state’s Early Childhood Education Cabinet. “It makes for a very good argument in a year when you’re talking about let’s put all our resources into the prisons.”

The Early Childhood Education Cabinet is developing a plan to support children from birth to age 3, designed to link to its plans for children in preschool and beyond. The recommendations include improving maternal health and access to prenatal care, fatherhood initiatives, home visits for infants, and increasing slots for care for infants and toddlers.

Shonkoff praised the proposals and said they reflected state-of-the-art science. The science Shonkoff presented stemmed from decades of brain research in neuroscience, developmental psychology, molecular biology and economics.

Stable, safe relationships and rich learning experiences are key to brain development, Shonkoff said. Children can get them at home and in child-care programs, but they must be evidence-based, quality programs, he said. Child care must be treated as something to facilitate child development, not just to allow parents to go to work, he said.

Shonkoff recommended making basic health services and early care and education available to all children, targeting interventions for children in poverty, and providing specialized services to children experiencing significant stress.

“Forget the school budget and even forget the prison budget,” he said. “The health budget would be helped even more by helping children when they’re young.”

Contact Arielle Levin Becker at alevinbecker@courant.com.

India

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Here’s what is happening in India from the Times of India

Panel to decide upper age limit of childhood

NEW DELHI: When does childhood end? At 18, when a girl can marry; 16, when she can give consent for sex; or 14, when a person can work in hazardous jobs? These legal ambiguities may soon be history, with moves afoot to hammer out a uniform definition of “child” in India.

The National Commission for Child Rights (NCPCR) has constituted a committee, comprising representatives from ministries of HRD, labour and women and child development, to redefine the upper age limit of childhood in the country.

The committee, chaired by NCPCR member Deepa Dikshit, will place its final suggestions by March this year. And, it’s likely to follow the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child while arriving at a common age, after which a person should not be legally regarded as a child.

According to Article 1 of UNCRC, “a child means every human being below the age of 18 years unless, under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier”. The Article, however, grants individual countries the discretion to determine by law whether childhood ceases at 12, 14, 16 or whatever age is found appropriate. Being a signatory to UNCRC, NCPCR in its preamble, vows to protect the rights of anyone under the age of 18.

Having a single definition of childhood age will have far-reaching consequences.

“There are multiple variations in India about the definition of a child. NCPCR believes that UNCRC’s definition of a child should be universally accepted by the government for right to education, prevention of child labour, booking anyone under criminal law or any other purpose. This would certainly be a step forward for protection of child rights in education, as lakhs of children in the age group of 15-18 years will then be able to avail of government schemes of free and compulsory education. Currently, the right to education is restricted to the age of 14, when a child is in Class VIII or IX. There should be compulsory education till 18 years, when they can at least study till Class XII,” NCPCR chairperson Shantha Sinha told TOI.

There are wide variations regarding the definition of a child in India. For purposes of legal protection against kidnapping and related offences, it’s 16 years for boys and 18 for girls. But for special treatment under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2000, the age is 18 for both boys and girls. And the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005 defines a child as any person below the age of 18, and includes an adopted step or foster child.

“Article 21 A of the Constitution of India says that the state shall provide free and compulsory education to all children within the ages of six and 14, while Article 45 specifies that the state shall endeavour to provide early childhood care and education for all children until they complete the age of six,” Sinha said.