Contact person: Truman Spring tspring@sd47.bc.ca 250-561-9235

August 24, 2014 - Kelowna, BC
Workshop for professionals sponsored by Early Learning, Literacy CMOS & UBCO, SD No. 23 

Contact person: Donna Kozak donna.kozak@sd23.bc.ca 250-718-5332

September 19, 20, 2014 - Hong Kong, China

Workshops on impact of technology on corporate productivity and family life sponsored by the Young Presidents Organization.

Contact Person: Timothy Wong twong@ypowpo.org 

September 22, 23, 2014  - Mongolia

Workshops on impact of technology on corporate productivity and family life sponsored by the Young Presidents Organization.

Contact Person: Timothy Wong twong@ypowpo.org 

October 2, 2014 - Vancouver, BC

Workshop on the impact of technology on children sponsored by Gatehouse Montessori School

Contact Person: Gretchen van Nostrand gretchen@gatehousemontesorri.com 604-925-1437

How to think about the risk of autism

By Sam Wang associate professor of molecular biology and neuroscience at Princeton, a co-author of "Welcome to Your Child's Brain" on March 29, 2014 for NY Times Opinion

Looking at the problem of autism in terms of relative odds can provide a conceptual framework for understanding autism. For example, odds might help us understand why more children are being classified as autistic. Are the diagnostic criteria changing, or is the population changing as a result of stress and other risk factors?

Your Phone vs. Your Heart

By Barbara L. Frederickson professor of psychology at the University of North Carolina and author of "Love 2.0: How Our Supreme Emotion Affects Everything We Feel, Think, Do, and Become" for NY Times Opinion on March 23, 2013

How much time do you typically spend with others? And when you do, how connected and attuned to them do you feel? Your answers to these simple questions may well reveal your biological capacity to connect.

Children wired, for better or for worse

By Daphne Bavelier et. al. for Neuron (Perspectives), Vol. 67, September 9, 2010, 692-701

Commentary on education technology. "Given the goal of predicting behavioral outcomes, it would likely be of substantial benefit to describe forms of technology quantitatively in terms of the neural processing they demand, rather than describe them qualitatively based upon surface characteristics. Such collaboration would also benefit neuroscientific theories of learning, as it offers an opportunity to ''reverse engineer'' the learning problem-starting with a tool that strongly promotes learning and determining how and why it works, rather than starting with low-level principles of neural learning and building tools that may or may not produce the desired outcomes".

Trafficking in Persons escalates

18 minute radio interview with Jonathan Spencer, CEO of New Horizons www.nhhope.org aired on KLove's Closer Look

According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Trafficking in Persons (TIP) is tied with the illegal arms industry as the second largest criminal industry in the world, and it is the fastest growing.  In India alone, 200,000 persons are trafficked annually. In 1998 the average age of those being trafficked was 18; by 2000, the average age had dropped to 15.  The most prevalent destination for trafficked people is employment in the commercial sex industry and the production of pornography for worldwide distribution.   Annual profits generated by the human trafficking industry are estimated to be $32 billion / annually.

Rape myth acceptance in men who completed the prostitution offender program of British Columbia
By C. Klein et. al. for International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology;  2009 Jun;53(3):305-15
Results reveal that age, education, use of pornography, ideal frequency of intercourse, and believing that purchasing sex is a problem are all negatively correlated with rape myth acceptance. Positive correlations were found between rape myth acceptance and sexual conservatism, sexual violence/coercion, and social desirability. Results are discussed in terms of the association between rape myth acceptance and the violence frequently perpetrated against those working in the sex trade

Does porn hurt children? 

By David Segal for NY Times News Analysis on March 28, 2014

Starting late last year, Internet service providers in Britain made "family-friendly filters," which block X-rated websites, the default for customers. Now any account holder who wants to view adult material needs to actively opt in. What does the research say?

Generation X-Rated: Porn causing erectile dysfunction in young men

By Hannah James and Sean O'Shea on March 28, 2014 for Global News

A new generation of young, healthy men who are suffering from what some call "porn-induced erectile dysfunction."

No Laptops, No Wi-Fi: How One Cafe Fired Up Sales

By Annie Russell on April 10, 2014 for NPR - All Tech Considered

The August First Bakery in Burlington, Vt., bans laptops and tablets. Some customers were disappointed, but the owner says it has helped boost business and a sense of community

New regulations in Belgium for the sale of mobile phones as of 2014

Belgium Federal Public Service Announcement; Health, Food Chain Safety, and Environment on February 7, 2014

As of 1 March 2014, new regulations will apply to the sale of mobile phones. The sale of mobile phones that have been specially manufactured for young children (under 7s) will be prohibited, as well as the SAR value will have to be listed everywhere where mobile phones are sold: in stores as well as for distance sales over the Internet.

Interview with Katharina Gustavs, Cert. EOH with Rainbow Consulting

When radio-frequency (RF) electromagnetic fields were classified as possibly carcinogenic in May 2011 by the World Health Organization, Health Canada issued a health alert, encouraging "parents to reduce their children's RF exposure from cell phones." In the same year, Health Canada claimed and continues to claim that the RF exposure from Wi-Fi devices is "very low" and that therefore "no precautionary measures are needed"- regardless of the fact that a given cell phone or Wi-Fi antenna in tablets/iPads emit roughly the same amount of RF energy.

By Peper, E & Booiman, A.C. (2014), Nederlandse Vereniging voor Arbeidshygiėne-Nieuwsbrief EMV en EHS, 5(1),19-22. http://www.arbeidshygiene.nl/

Wireless devices such as mobile phones, tablets or laptops may cause harm. Contains guidelines for safe use.

The link between Light-At-Night, Depression and Suicidality

By Victoria Dunckley, MD in Psychology Today's Mental Wealth
According to the CDC, about 15 percent of teens report they've considered hurting themselves over the past 12 months. While the subject of bullying has received media attention leading to more research and improved  resources, another more insidious culprit lurks undetected: the ubiquitous use of screen media by adolescents at night, aka "light-at-night." 

Facebook to buy virtual reality firm Oculus VR for $2 billion

Oculus makes the Oculus Rift headset, which covers your eyes and immerses you in a virtual environment that responds to your head movements.

For the children's sake, put down that iPhone!
By Patti Neighmond on April 21, 2014 for NPR's Health News
Profiles research by Dr. Jenny Radesky, pediatrician who observed parents in restaurants, and found over 80% used a mobile device during the meal, many parents more absorbed in the device than in the kids. 

How a cold brew can stop you from checking your smartphone
By Elise Hu for NPR All Tech Considered on March 26, 2014
Awesome adaptation of a beer glass to reduce the use of tech at the bar. Be sure to watch the instructional video.  

Five times to put down your phone and save relationships
By Donna Wick, Ed.D for Huffington Post on April 21, 2014
At dinner, when caring for an infant or young child, when having a good time, during conversations, and when you  can't stop (using tech). 

The Overprotected Kid
By Hanna Rosin for The Atlantic on March 19, 2014
A preoccupation with safety has stripped childhood of independence, risk taking, and discovery-without making it safer. A new kind of playground points to a better solution. 

When one New Zealand school tossed its playground rules and let students risk injury, the results were surprising
By Sarah Boesveld for The National on March 13, 2014

A principal's unconventional approach has made waves around the world, with school administrators and parents as far away as the United States and the United Kingdom asking how they, too, can abandon a rulebook designed to assuage fears about school safety in a seemingly dangerous time. 

Selfie addict attempts suicide after failing to take the perfect selfie
By Alex Moore for Death and Taxes on March 13, 2014
"I stood in front of the mirror and took a photo of myself," Danny Bowman reports. "I didn't like it so I took another. Then before I knew it I had taken about 30, discarding each one." And so started a mental-emotional disorder combining obsessive-compulsion, body dysmorphia and internet addiction. Danny became so obsessed with taking the perfect selfie that it completely disrupted his life, resulting in a suicide attempt.