2012 Trends - News and Textbook Formats for the Future

There are quite a few new trends in the news and news media industry in 2012, we see new pay-walls, and custom tailored web news for those with eReaders, Tablet Computers, and accessing their news on their mobile tech devices such as; Android, iPhone, or some other smart phone model. It seems also that the eBook and eReader are also evolving, allowing for more multi-media version and new models of eReaders to allow for eTextBooks too. Okay so let's talk about all this for a moment, as I have a few forward looking thoughts on all this new technology.

The weekend Wall Street Journal Nick named; "WSJ Weekend Edition" seems to be taking a note from The Popular Mechanics Magazine format with its; "Ideas Market" section which appears on page 3 of each week's weekend edition. Not surprisingly, also Bloomberg is moving towards this type of fast-paced format for their tech topics. Why you ask? Because it works, it's been proven, and folks like to get their information with quick bites of information and pictures. They can read it fast, and they very much enjoy that format.

Okay so, if humans like the uptake of information in this way, then why don't we create the new eTextbooks in a similar format with multimedia? Well, it just so happens that it appears that Apple is attempting to do just that, and I believe that's a good thing, rather than giving students a large textbook which reads like an encyclopedia. In that case they don't really need to memorize the information, they just need the textbook for later reference, do you see my point?

Further, there is some information which we need to know, and some which we don't, having it all spread out nicely with quick little important pieces of information, which is about all a human being can really remember anyway, is probably the proper way to do it for informational uptake and rote memorization. The other day, I was discussing all this with a retired educational psychologist on the different ways that people learn. Custom tailoring information for faster learning, imprinting, and individual preference sure makes a lot more sense than what we've been doing.

Of course, I suppose that's nothing new really, just new technology enabling us to get there faster and allow us to make it happen. Ronald G. Corwin in his book "Education in Crisis" written in 1974 stated in Chapter I - Bureaucracy in Education notes; "Each person tends to interpret his experiences from the unique vantage point of his own background" and goes on to say that they will learn in different ways and choose different styles of the information they choose to commit to memory. Certainly we all agree on that.

Thus, it only makes sense to deliver the information is such a format which suits the human mind and lay out all that information, and apparently in 2012 the personal tech vendors, eBook purveyors, and even the old media is quickly re-learning these genetic realities of human nature. I'd say "bravo!" it's about time. Please consider all this and think on it.

Lance Winslow has launched a new provocative series of eBooks on the Future Internet. Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank; http://www.worldthinktank.net/

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Occupying the Commons Through Grassroots Democracy

There is a movement afoot - the WE of humanity has been awoken by the breakdown of its beloved planet. The movement has risen under many names: anti-corporate, anti-capitalist, anti-free-trade, anti-imperialist, anti-neoliberalist. Many say that it started in Seattle. Others maintain it began five hundred years ago. Others again say it began on 1 January 1994 when the Zapatistas launched their uprising on the night NAFTA became law in Mexico.

Thousands of groups today are all working against forces whose common thread is what might broadly be described as the privatisation of every aspect of life, and the transformation of every activity and value into a commodity for private ownership.

The oppositional threads, as different campaigns and movements, share the spirit of a radical reclaiming of the commons. While our communal spaces-town squares, streets, schools, farms, plants are being displaced into the marketplace, a spirit of resistance is taking hold around the world. Activist spaces are being created for people to begin the job of reclaiming bits of nature and restoring rights. In short, activists aren't waiting for the revolution, they are acting right now, where they live, where they study, where they work, where they farm.

Typically these anti-privatisation campaigns get under way on their own. But they also periodically converge-that's what happened in Seattle, Prague, Washington, Davos, Porto Alegre and Quebec. During the battles against NAFTA, there emerged the first signs of a coalition between organised labour, environmentalists, farmers and consumer groups within the countries concerned. They had recognised a common opponent, which has been gradually collectivising its control over the world's resources into an informal empire. These forces of dispossession (FoD) have been able to create a globalitarian world using the debt-based monetary system underlying modern banking.

The fight against globalisation has morphed into a struggle against corporatisation and, for, some, against capitalism itself. It has also become a fight for democracy.

La Via Campesina, a global association of small farmers-has launched a campaign to remove food safety and agricultural products from all trade agreements, under the slogan 'The World is Not for Sale'. They want to draw a line around the commons.

This is a cause that transcends nationality and state borders. The real news out of Seattle is that organisers around the world are beginning to see their local and national struggles-for better funded public schools, against union-busting and casualisation, for family farms, and against the widening gap between rich and poor-through a global lens. That is the most significant shift we have seen in years.

Still, if there is one force we can thank for bringing this front into being, it is the multi-national corporations. Thanks to the sheer imperialist ambition of the corporate project at this moment in history that they have created our coalitions for us. Thanks to Monsanto, farmers in India are working with environmentalists and consumers around the world to develop direct-action strategies that cut off genetically modified foods in the fields and in the supermarkets. The biggest challenge facing us is to distil all of this into a message that is widely accessible.

Rather than forming a pyramid, as most movements do, with leaders up on top and followers down below, the Occupy Movement was more like an elaborate web. In part, this structure is the result of internet-based organising, but it is also a response to the political realities that sparked the protests: the utter failure of traditional party politics.

So it is up to the grassroots to challenge the structures that make democracy toothless, like the IMF, the World Bank, the WTO, and so on. This is the only response at an ideological level to the understanding that globalisation is in essence a crisis in representative democracy.

What has caused this crisis? One of the basic reasons for it is the way power and decision-making have been handed along to points ever further away from citizens: from local to provincial, from provincial to national, from national to international institutions, that lack all transparency or accountability. What is the solution? To articulate an alternative, participatory democracy.

Ross Scholes [BSc; DipNatResMgt((PG); DipDevStud(PG)], presents issues like these in PEASANTS NZ, a New Zealand based website dedicated to the transition to sustainable self provisioning within the globalising context.

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How Volunteer Opportunities Prove Beneficial for People of All Ages

Volunteering indeed is an incredible way to give back to your community. It would certainly not be wrong to state that it is a fun and easy way to explore your diverse interests and passions. If you are doing volunteer work, it can prove to be an uncomplicated way for you to find a meaningful and stimulating life. It can be relaxing and energizing escape from your day-to-day routine of work, school, or certain commitments that your family deserves. Grabbing the volunteer opportunities provides you transformed creativity, vision, and motivation that you can carry over into personal and professional life.

There are numerous people who volunteer in order to take time out for hobbies outside of work as well.

For example, if you have a desk job and yearn to spend time outdoors, you might take into consideration to help plant a community garden, lead local hikes, or lend a helping hand at a children's camp.

A good number of communities have numerous volunteer opportunities for people of all ages. They have foster grandparents programs, which match up with old people with children who have special needs or those who could reap the benefits from the care and influence of grandparents. Nothing can deny the fact that there are several senior citizens who prefer helping other seniors who may not be in the best of their health as they are. They may sit with them and discuss their problems they face or assist in meal preparation or even drive them to the appointments.

Hospital Volunteer Opportunities

Nothing else can prove to be noble than volunteering at a hospital. We come to know that taking an active part in volunteering at a hospital helps several people reap immense benefits. It surely is a worthy cause whether you opt for working with children or adults. Those individuals that are trapped in a hospital and bearing the stress of diverse ailments truly appreciate the company and assistance that are provided by volunteers. It can be rewarding for you if you work with children. You can help their parents in taking a much needed break and help brighten the day of the children.

Education and Career Exploration

One of the main reasons for volunteering is to explore career opportunities. That is why several people involve them in diverse volunteer programs. Young people and those who are seeking a change in their career often make use of volunteer positions as a means of learning more about potential career prospects prior to investing time and money in additional training. Several volunteer in schools, hospitals, nursing homes, and in other organizations to get acquainted with the fact if these careers would be ideal for them to pursue.

Go Voluntouring is an organization that provides diverse opportunities to individuals that are willing to undertake volunteer opportunities in another country and contribute their skills and knowledge to less-privileged people. They gladly volunteer in various volunteer programs so that they make a difference in the lives of deprived people.

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Beware of the Media, It Will Melt Your Mind and Make You Stupid He Said

All it is, is mass brainwashing - dummying down society, he told me. Then he explained last year how he went down to the local newsstand right after the Giant Earthquake and Japanese Tsunami and what was on the cover? One headline about the mega-disaster and several stories about such things as "some football star having an affair with a prostitute and this is not an isolated incident it happens every day worldwide."

Sure enough and we all know he's right, we all observe the same thing really. Later he equated this to be one of the reasons there is very little creativity going on in the world, and that "the majority of people seem to be happy with being told what's good for them and when it's good for them by people they've never met and have never heard before. It's like watching a flock of sheep being herded by sheepdog, as long as it doesn't affect their television they're quite happy to accept anything they're told."

Again, he's right, and we all know this, and then he told me that he was much happier living in his flat in Europe alone, without having to deal with such a screwed up world. Okay so, if you feel the same way, which I am certain many of us do from time to time, here is what I told him:

Okay so, you are happy, you win, others are happy with they are doing, so they win also. If we take away what they perceive to make them happy, and censor what they can view in the media, that is really; shame on us. Now then, I'm not saying they are not to blame, or shouldn't exercise responsibility in what they watch or take in, in fact, shame on them also. But humans just want to be happy, they tend to do the things that make them happy, often above what's good for them. If we dictate what is good for everyone, they will end up living sterile lives, and unfulfilled.

In many regards many of the rules, regulations, and onerous dictates imposed in our society is causing depression amongst the masses. I don't find that to be good, as it leads to things like depression medicines, drug use, alcohol abuse, and all sorts of other bizarre behavior and activities. None of which is any good. The biggest challenge with making rules, or deciding what is good for other people, even if you have the greatest intentions, is you are doing nothing more than paving the road to hell, and causing them to have unfulfilled and unhappy lives.

You are happy, you win, may be they are happy doing what they are doing, even if that road leads basically to know where. But then again in the end no one has ever escaped Earth alive, and everyone's life experience appears to end at the time of their departing this reality as fully functional entity. So they may as well be happy while they're here, and who are we to say what should make them happy? You see that issue?

Maybe, if people want to stop thinking, let them, as long as they don't tell us intellectual people how to live our lives or force that nonsense on us, we should be happy they are happy, or at least believe they are happy in this case. Please consider all this and think on it.

Lance Winslow has launched a new provocative series of eBooks on Future Concepts. Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank; http://www.worldthinktank.net/

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The Best Way to Protect Your War Medals

Every achievement that one has made whether big or small must be given proper recognition. It is very gratifying when you have done a marvelous job and people salute you for doing such a great thing. Pride and honour are the reasons why war medals are priceless and worth keeping. Not all people have the opportunity to receive awards. You must be thankful if you are one of the few inspiring people who have received awards in the form of medals, trophies, ribbons or badges. People who have medals should be proud to have those awards. You might inspire other people when you tell the remarkable story behind those awards. So you don't have keep your awards in a place where you are the only one who sees them. Be proud enough to display them inside your house for everyone to see. You can put them in shadow boxes, frames or in mounting cabinets. These are the best places where you could certainly protect your medals.

The honour that you brought to your country and to your family should be remembered. Your family and other people will remember your courageous deeds every time they see your war medals displayed in a mounting cabinet or in a shadow box. These symbolise the valour and the loyalty of a soldier to serve his country. It is just right to display these awards in a suitable place. Collecting medals you receive is an enjoyable hobby. If some of your medals have rust or have lost their glossy appearance, then you must polish them or you can send them to professional mounting providers. Professional medal mounters are specialists in restoring damaged, old and rusty medals to their original state. They have the right equipment to do the job. In case your medals need to have their ribbons replaced with a new one, you can request a reputable mounter to do it so that your medals will be ready to be placed in mounting cabinets. Awards should not be displayed only for the purpose of decorations. They have irreplaceable values that must be protected. You need to give them a proper care if you want to make them last.

Each of these medals has different values with different stories, in order to keep them for good, you need to understand and value their worth. By keeping them in the right place, you can guarantee that they will be in good condition and will be preserved properly. Remember that these symbolise your achievements and these are your reliable proofs of your history. That is why they must be protected in the best way you can. You can request for replica medals if ever you misplaced some of your valuable medals.

The author writes for http://foxholemedals.com.au/ which provides information regarding war medals.

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Is The Justice Department Over Reaching On Fraud Enforcement in An Election Year?

It seems whenever there is a tough economy, there are more shysters who come out of the woodwork. This makes sense of course because if money is tight, and fewer people to get a job, it's more difficult for these culprits to get a real job to use their cunning and intellectual abilities for positive purposes such as making a profit in their own small businesses. Okay so, I'd like to talk about this for a moment if I might.

You see, I've also noticed another trend. Whenever there is a major election going on, candidates claim that when they get into office they will stop the crime, scams, and fraud. It's hard to say why they do this - perhaps they are redirecting attention away from themselves and their own political shenanigans. But I would suspect that's not the only reason. It's because negative events make better headlines, and if a politician can point at some negative event, and then claim they will fix it, all the suddenly more voters take interest.

In fact, I think a little bit of that is going on right now. There was an interesting piece recently on the FBI website which was of value to discuss, the title of the government press release was; "Attorney General Eric Holder Launches Consumer Protection Working Group to Combat Consumer Fraud Working Group Created Under President Obama's Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force Brings Together Federal, State, and Local Partners," and it appeared on their site on February 13, 2011.

The reality is - we already have the government bureaucracy to take care of some of these problems, not to mention lots of law enforcement agencies. So why is it now that the Obama Administration wants to jump on this right away, during an election year. How come they didn't work on this problem in the last couple of years? It is not as if there was ever a shortage of dishonest people in the world, so why now?

Another comment that I would like to make, perhaps tongue-in-cheek, is that I guess my biggest question is; when will the FBI investigate the Obama Administration for abuse of law, violating the constitution, and other fraudulent activity (in my opinion)? Seriously, let's talk about that and not just because it's an election year, we can wait until after the election to seek justice and return things back to the rule of law.

If the Obama Administration is merely trying to secure their proposed budget by showing that they need more money to do the job, then the DOJ should have been doing it all along. As we look for things such as corporate malfeasance, how about government administrative and executive leadership malfeasance? Well, I dare to ask the question, yes even in an election year. Please consider all this and think on it.

Lance Winslow has launched a new provocative series of eBooks on Online Crimes. Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank; http://www.worldthinktank.net/

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April Is National Child Abuse Prevention Month

Every day in America more than 5 children die from child abuse and neglect, 80% of those children are under the age of 4. Sadly, that number is growing, 15 years ago it was 3 children a day. What's worse is that it's actually 3 times more kids than that because this statistic doesn't account for all of the cases that go unrecorded. It's also estimated that there are three times more incidents of child abuse than the 3.3 million cases reported each year.

There are many organizations that are working hard to prevent child abuse, help children and bring awareness to the devastating problem. Since 1959 Child Help has been dedicated to preventing child abuse and neglect and helping its victims. Child Welfare Information Gateway promotes safety and welfare of children and families by connecting them with proper resources and tools. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children provides necessary resources and information to parents, victims and law enforcement. PROTECT is a national association providing political strength and leadership for the protection of abused, exploited, and neglected children. Your time or financial assistance will be put to good use with any of these organizations.

Help Spread This is raising awareness by encouraging those on Twitter to donate 1 tweet a day in an effort to stop child abuse. Another easy way to help is visiting Click to Give, ad money raised will go to Child Help.

Writing this article was not easy. The stories I read about innocent children who need love and nurturing but get instead get brutalized moved me to tears. In doing the research I discovered some sobering facts: Approximately 60% of child fatalities that are caused by mistreatment are not listed as such on their death certificates. Children who experience child abuse & neglect are 59% more likely to be arrested as a juvenile, 28% more likely to be arrested as an adult, and 30% more likely to commit violent crime. About 80% of 21 year olds that were abused as children met criteria for at least one psychological disorder. Up to two-thirds of people being treated for drug abuse report being neglected or abused when they were children. More than 90% of victims are acquainted with their abuser in some way. The vicious cycle of abuse continues as about 30% of those abused and neglected will go on to abuse their own children.

It is estimated that there are three times more incidents of child abuse than the 3.3 million cases reported each year. There are many organizations that are working hard to help children and bring awareness. National Child Abuse Hotline: 1.800.4.A.Child (1.800.422.4453).

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