Culture Days

Culture days are over and I have to say that I learned a lot about American and Irish culture. I attended about 15 presentations and each of these people did a good job. Of course I liked some better than others, not always because of the topic, but because of the way they the topic was presented. Were they enthusiastic about their topic? Did they include interesting details and examples? Were they able to get my full attention? 

Sadly I wasn't able to watch all presentations I wanted to but I did watch some I didn't intended to originally. Sometimes I was positively surprised because the title didn't give much away about the topic and sometimes I was quite disappointed. 

5 of the presentations I liked best:  

Arab Americans after 9/11

Arab Americans after 9/11 was the first presentation I watched on Monday. I wanted to attend this presentation because it is connected to my own topic, Guantanamo. It was really interesting to learn about problems, Arab American people had to face after the assassinations. I learned about shocking facts and Andreas pointed out some good examples. 

College Life in the USA

I was really interested in the topic and I think Elodie did a great job presenting it. I really liked her prezi, it fitted the topic and looked really professional. Comparing American and French schools was a good idea. Like many other students all I knew about Campus Life in the US I took from American teeny movies. Learning that in reality it is quite the same was really interesting. Additionally I learned something about French universities which are quite similar to Austrian universities. 

Two Famous American Women poets

I have to admit I didn´t plan to watch this presentation but Magdalena did so well that I decided to put her topic in my top 5.  It was very nice to hear her talking. She had a good pronunciation and talked slowly and fluently. She presented her topic very self- confidently. In my opinion she did everything correctly. Since she presented two famous women poets she also read out a poem of each of them. After she had told us something about both women, she let us guess which one belongs to whom. 

American Indian Boarding schools

I wanted to watch this presentation because I have never heard anything about American Indian Boarding schools and I thought it might be interesting. Also I was really interested in the CLIs related to Native American history. The presentation really did live up to my expectation and I really enjoyed it. 

Other presentations I watched:

• David Norris' contribution to LGBT rights in the Republic of Ireland
• Charlie Wilson's war 
• The Black Power Salute at the Olympic Games 1968
• What did Fenian Brotherhood achieve with their raids on Canada
• Irish as an official EU language
• Massace at Virginia Tech
• America's Gun Culture
• The origin of the Chinese American Culture
• Rosie the Riveter
• HIV and discrimination

Keep calm and FINNISH school

According to the PISA Program Finland is a leading country regarding education. Austria however didn´t score very good the last couple of years. What is it that makes Finnish schools so successful?

Finland vs Austria

Finland has a number of smart ideas how to teach kids while letting them be kids. They believe in short school days, little homework and as little testing as possible. There are only few rules, like no mobile phones in class. A student has to do something really bad like hit somebody to actually get punished.

Also, Finnish schools have stopped putting pupils into different math and language groups based on ability. They say that people can't be divided in how smart they are. Finland is a society based on equity and outperforming their neighbour isn't really important. Everybody is average, but they want that average to be very high.

Finland invests much in their teachers. It is the quality of teaching that brings the great success. For example, every teacher has to have a master's degree. Many Finns want to become teachers, so Finland has a large quantity to choose from and they filter it very selectively. Only about 10 % of the applicants are accepted and sent to a 5-year teaching program. It is really expensive to educate all teachers in five year program but it helps to make them highly respected. 

Additionally Finnish teachers stay with a class from first grade through sixth grade. That way the teacher has years to get to know the students well. 

All of this measurements seem to pay off. Only 13 % of students take remedial after school lessons. 

Comparatively in Austria between 20 and 30 % of students take after school lessons.

In Austria  we have longer school days. I remember coming home exhausted at 6 sometimes, not to mention the tons of homework to do due the next day. Some of our teachers believed in weekly testing, others did only one big test per semester. Regarding punishment, I think it is pretty similar here in Austria.

I attended a "Gymnasium" and we didn't have different ability groups. In the other school type called Hauptschule , they had these "Leistungsgruppen" in every main subject. I think Austria is a much more competitive country. 

It is more easy to become a teacher in Austria. Most teacher studies don't have entrance exams. Also teachers can switch each year. In my opinion this can have positive as well as negative effects. For example if you really don't get along with a teacher it can be helpful to know that the next year you may get someone else. On the other hand not all teachers cover the same topics at the same time. This may cause problems for the students. 

"I make dresses I'll never wear" - child labour

Recently I read a newspaper article about child labour. It left me thinking what my own childhood would have looked like if I had been one of these children forced to work from young age. Here in Austria we can barely imagine what it is like. We were mostly lucky, but unfortunately very many children were not. 

Around the world, 215 million young people have to work to feed themselves and their families. How is this possible?

In theory, young people under 18 are protected by the UN Convention and the ILO (International Labour Organisation), which forbid child labour. But in practice it looks different.

Millions of children are working all day long, sometimes in dangerous conditions. One of he worst examples for this is  the use of children in mining and quarrying. Some of them even start at the age of 3! The young workers have to use highly toxic chemicals and have to work in slavery-like conditions. They have to carry heavy loads and stand, dive or squat for long hours in order to extract mineral ore. And this carries long term effects on physical health! Work also means that children cannot go to school and without qualifications; they have no chance to finding better work.

But they often have no choice. Even if their parents are willing to send them to school it is impossible because they need the income of their children to survive. At the age of 10 a child already makes a big contribution to the family income and at age 16 a young person almost earns as much as an adult.

In order to let their children go to school, the adults in the families must earn enough and education must be free. 

Newsmap article: Language workout

Summer is coming and I am eager to get rid of the rest of the winter fat. So I decided to get fit again and go for a run a couple times a week. I have to say: I hate running before I start, but afterwards I always feel very good and proud of myself so I do it again and again.

But not just my body needs to get fit for the summer, also my language skills need some workout in order to get fit for finals. I decided to follow my teachers suggestions and translate some German articles.

I have to admit, it was harder than I expected. Having the German sentence right in front of you makes it hard to think of a good and idiomatic translation. Sometimes I had to close my eyes and think: How would an American say it? What did I learn about …? Also I had to look up several words. At first I had serious problems, but once you get into it, it gets easier.

Ebola epidemic

 german newsmap article

Brazzaville. The deadly Ebola virus has killed at least 330 people since March. Only last week, 14 new deaths and 47 suspected cases were reported, said the WHO in Brazzaville, Congo.

Guinea, where the epidemic broke out 3 month ago, is the worst- affected area. 264 people died from the virus, 398 more are under treatment. The remaining deaths happened in the neighbouring countries Sierra Leone and Liberia. Sierra Leone had closed their borders in order to prevent the virus from spreading.

The Ebola virus kills up to 90 percent of all people infected. Symptoms are throwing up , diarrhoea and fever, such as internal and external bleeding. There is no known cure or vaccination for Ebola yet.

Painless dental treatment

german newsmap article

new method heals caries without painful drilling

Having caries usually entrains an unpleasant procedure that includes an injection, a drill and a filling. Now English researchers want to put an end to this. They promise a painless caries treatment without fillings. 

The plan is to stop the decay process through remineralisation and help the teeth to repair themselves. The necessary minerals are brought in using electricity. The amount of electricity is very low, so the patient doesn´t feel anything. The new treatment should be at least as economical as the current one, said Professor Nigel Pitts from the King´s College. Additionally, the device could also be used to whitewash teeth.  

The researchers think that they can bring out the new method called Electrically Accelerated and Enhanced Remineralisation (EAER) three years from now. To do so, they are still searching for investors. 

 

Fifa go home

The World Cup 2014 in Brazil is the most expensive of all time. Therefore it is no surprise that also the demonstrations are bigger than ever. 2,6 billion euro- that is what the country spent for hosting the mega event. Money that could have been spent in health and education, so the demonstrators. Protests and strikes have been going on for almost a year. 

Brazilian citizens are angry. An opinion poll in April revealed that more than half of all Brazilians questioned thought it was a bad idea to host the World Cup in their country. It was not among them to decide, so now they are fighting for their voices to be heard. And they are, now that the worlds focus is on Brazil. 

But authorities are fighting back. They have taken drastic measures to crack down the protest. Officers used tear gas and truncheons on crowds in Sao Paulo only hours before Brazil's team beat Croatia 3-1 in the opening match. Many people were injured. 

Australia's Deadliest

This summer I am going to work in a typical Bavarian restaurant. I am going to wear my Dirdl and serve a lot of Weißwurst and Beer. But here is the best part:  I am also going to improve my English skills. 

How come? This special Bavarian restaurant is neither located in Germany, nor anywhere else in Europe. It takes me 36 hours to get there, changing planes twice. It is located in Australia, near the city of Melbourne and it is going extraordinary well. 

Germans Down Under

During the post-war period many Germans emigrated to Australia and settled down. At that time Australia was very supportive towards immigrants. By 1991, there were 112,000 German-born people in Australia and the Germans formed the 4th largest non-English- speaking ethical group on the continent. You see, a Bavarian Restaurant should be very popular not only among tourists but also among the many people with German roots who long for a small piece of homeland. 

Australias Deadliest

I have always wanted to visit Australia one day and this summer my dream is actually coming true. I couldn´t be more excited about my trip. Well, until last week when made a "deadly" mistake watching the series "Australia's Deadliest" on National Geographic. My excitement slowly turned into horror as the documentary went on. I thought to myself repeatedly "Everything will be fine. You are not going to die" to calm myself down, just as my boyfriend turned to me and said: "You are going to die".
Practically everything that crawls on this continent and swims in it´s waters is able to kill you in one or another way - at least that was my impression. The documentary left me horrified.

Nevertheless I am looking forward to this adventure, somehow feeling like Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin, hoping to survive ;)

To share my excitement with you I have listed the top five of "Australia's Deadliest" for you. Enjoy!

5. Saltwater Crocodile

Saltwater crocodiles are known for their viciousness and aggression. The largest animal of this species ever measured was a 6.4 metre bull.  However there are unverified reports of crocodiles up to 8 metres. 

4. Eastern Brown snake

These snakes are very fast-moving and bad tempered. The eastern brown snake together with other brown snakes is responsible for more deaths per year than any other group of snakes. Their venom is ranked as the second most toxic in the world. It causes progressive paralysis and stops the blood from clotting. Victims collapse within minutes. 

3. Sydney funnel web spider

The Sydney funnel web is without doubt the deadliest spider in Australia, maybe the world. It produces large amounts of highly toxic venom and is equipped with long fangs (even longer than the fangs of a brown snake) to inject it. Their venom attacks the human nervous system and alters the function of all organs. Thank God there is effective antivenom. 

2. Irukandji

This deadly jellyfish is tiny and almost invisible in the water. When stung, the venom causes fatal brainhaemorrhages. Each year 50 to 100 people are sent to hospital.

1. Box Jellyfish

The scars of  a Box jellyfish attack

The Box Jellyfish has a danger rate of 10/10. It is responsible for 99 % of all the recorded deaths caused by jellyfish. Their long tentacles are almost invisible. Additionally they are provided with millions of harpoons that inject a lot of venom at once. The venom kills the victim in minutes. 

How to make people read your blog

What makes a good blogger? Well, some of us seem to be very talented, and others, well , not - but there is hope for everyone. There are a few rules, that if taken into account, will improve your blog posts instantly . Of course you are not going to be an expert blogger right away, it needs time and a lot of experience, but a good way to start is browsing through many blogs and reflect what was appealing and what was not.

Browsing some of the suggested blogs of Mr. Newman I noticed a couple of things, most of this bloggers do, or at least parts of them. I have listed some things here for you :)

1. interesting headline

2. nice layout

3. to address readers personally

4. interesting and unique style of writing

5. Don´t leave the reader indecisive after reading your blog 

6. Keep it short and simple

7. Be yourself

1. Layout

There’s much to say about "inner values" but let´s face the truth. You might be the most interesting blogger in the world, if I click on your page and the layout is vacuous and boring I very likely won´t read it (unless someone has suggested it). The first impression is extremely important, because your brain decides in less than a second whether it likes something or not, so do not underestimate the importance of a nice layout.

2. Catchy headline

The second thing you notice is the headline, it is the next checkpoint to decide whether you are going to read this blog post or not so you are doing fine making it interesting and catchy. Capture their attention and curiosity!

3. Topic /Style of writing

Once you got that far and there is really someone out there reading your blog posts ( except for your English teacher maybe, who is obligated to do so ;) you need to keep his or her interest. You can do so through an interesting topic, an unique or funny style of writing, or (for experts) a combination of both. Try to choose topics that really interest you, so you are passionate about what you are writing. Make sure to include your own opinion. Remember if people just wanted to know pure facts they would browse wikipedia and not blogspot. Also try to address your readers personally, it gives them a nice feeling and they are more likely to continue to read. 

4. links /videos /references

There is another important rule for blogging: never leave the reader indecisive after having finished to read a blog post. Provide links for further information or interesting videos about the topic. If they are interested, they may want to know more about it. 

5.KISS

Consider the KISS - rule: Keep it short and simple: because nobody is reading through dozen of pages. The amount of time you invested is not determined through the lengths of your post

For my part I too took some of this strategies into account and started by making a completely new layout that will meet my own requests. Also I will think more about the topics I post and will try to find my own unique style of writing.