My Top 10 Articles for May 24th-30th

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Here are my top 10 news and articles I found in the week of May 24th-30th, as the 4th entry for the project of posting my top 10 articles weekly. There are two articles on financial literacy education in USA and Jordan. Financial literacy education is overall progressing, although unevenly and somehow slowly. Financial literacy really gives young people better job and life. Knowing how to manage bank accounts, handle a budget, or save money help youth to enhance their education, employability, and financial future. Unfortunately, financial illiteracy (not having enough knowledge in personal finance) would have the poor even poorer.

The purpose of my Top 10 Article project is to share articles that I believe convey essential information for parents or anyone who care about the next generation. I ranked the articles subjectively. I hope you’ll enjoy reading it!

 

10. Keeping data will give you a solution

I like the author's approach when you notice unusual behavior/changes in your children; that is, collecting data on them (what, when, and how it happened). That way, parents can analyze the situation more objectively and think of solutions. I think collecting data helps us in other occasions. For example, if you have a tendency to lose patience to children’s behavior (well, it is the case for me sometimes), you can collect your own data (such as when it happens, why it annoys you so much, whether you were tired already). That way, you could possibly explore healthier parenting practices.

(Source: Washington Post, On-Parenting)

9. Financial literacy education in USA

Unfortunately, not all American youth are given enough opportunities to enhance their financial literacy. Some states provide good opportunities to enhance financial literacy of school children while other states do not. I think financial literacy education should be mandatory as well as reading and math skills, because it makes big differences to children’s future especially for children from disadvantaged groups.

(Source: Brookings Institute)

8. Jordan as a model country that has initiated to enhance financial education

This article is about global financial literacy education to young people (especially those in developing or emerging countries). Unfortunately, many young people around the world have limited knowledge on how to manage their finance to live well. This article sheds light on Jordan aiming to enhance financial literacy of its youth, as so many of them have limited knowledge on finance and economy.

(Source: Brookings Institute)

7. Childhood exposure to nature may have long-lasting benefits

I cannot agree more on this article arguing that childhood exposure to nature may have long-lasting benefits. Nowadays parents have to push hard to get children spend time outside, because there are so many temptations to stay indoor, using tablets, watching TV, and playing computer games. If you are living in Jordan, you might find my article at another website useful, which briefly mentions how to enjoy Jordan’s nature with children.

(Source: Psychology Today)

6. Climate change actions

As we watch the youth led by a Swedish teenage girl take to the streets over climate change, some of us have certainly wondered what to do. One of the suggestions the article propose is to place a climate action lens over even a small percentage of our daily choices, as average individual makes about 35,000 decisions every day. We can buy local vegetables/fruits over imported ones that consume more energy in transportation; we can bring ecobags (reusable shopping bags) instead of receiving plastic bags at grocery stores; we can we can buy stocks of a clean tech company. The author argues that, when you consider the climate crisis in your decision-making, others notice and discussion begins, which multiplies the effect of your decision.

(Source: World Economic Forum)

5. Global internet is not totally unbiased anymore

I wonder if the open internet that its early creators dreamed of is actually already gone. Those countries whose leaders are unhappy about “Western” influence have developed digital sovereign borders to keep their people from Western values. Even UK has proposed measures to regulate online information by creating an independent regulator who is tasked with establishing good practices for internet platforms to follow and punishments to mete out if they don’t. Facebook has called for more government regulation of internet companies.

So what’s the implication to parents or children if information is not exchanged/provided totally freely? I think examining information, as well as developing our own capability of judging information, are vital. Abundance of information does not necessarily mean that it enhances our well-being by itself. We have to select trustable information sources among many others (often junks). To judge information, we need to develop solid background. For example, my training of economics (from grad school and through my profession) and of natural science (from my bachelor’s degree) helps me to pick right information. Reading books (both fiction and non-fiction) also help me to select right information, because reading not only expands my “experiences” but also provide different view points that I would not think about otherwise. Travelling and meeting with diversified groups of people have also broadened my horizon and help me to reach our different types of information.

(Source: BBC)

4. A simple but very effective self-care

A very simple and quick self-care solution: breathing. Self-care is what we do for ourselves in order to maintain a sense of psychological, physical, and emotional well-being. But how do you decide what's right for you, as nowadays there are overwhelming amount of self-care remedies?

This article suggests a 6-3-6-3 breathing cycle that you can repeat 12 times.

1. Gently place your tongue on the roof of your mouth. (This helps circulate the energy in your body.)

2. Inhale through your nose for a count of six.

3. Hold your breath for a count of three.

4. Exhale through your nose for a count of six.

5. Hold your breath for a count of three.

(Source: Psychology Today)

3. Don’t Panic About Rare Earth Elements

This article gave me relief over global rare earth element availability. As trade war between the U.S. and China has intensified, rare earth minerals are once again in the political spotlight as China threats to curb exporting rare earth. Currently, China is by far the largest exporter of rare minerals. The 17 rare earth elements, which cluster near the bottom of the periodic table, play a vital role in several industries: consumer electronics including Apple AirPods and iPhones, green technologies such as General Electric wind turbines and Tesla electric cars, medical tools including Philips Healthcare scanners, and military hardware such as F-35 jet fighters, according to the article.

The article suggests three reasons why US companies can live with exported rare elements from China. First, In the short term, U.S. companies that rely on these minerals would likely have inventory stockpiles for brief supply shortages. Second, even if China stops providing rare metals for a longer term, US or Australia mines can step up production. Third, the technology to reduce, reuse, and recycle rare minerals has much advanced.

(Source: Scientific American)

2. Extreme poverty in some countries has increased, sadly

Global poverty reduction has slowed down – again. Extreme poverty has been ignored by the international community, sadly. Due to conflicts in Yemen and Venezuela and an economic slowdown in Tanzania, extreme poverty has increased and tackling poverty is difficult.

(Source: Brookings Institute)

1. Unintended consequence of banning a promising Chinese company – a hefty cost that consumers have to bear

Economics would tell us that consumers have to endure high prices and cannot enjoy best services otherwise available when the government moves to banning a promising Chinese company Hauwei with best next-generation 5G technology, creating monopoly in USA, and protecting US firms from international competition. Thus, it is unfortunate that US consumers have to pay the cost of big companies monopolizing and 5G technology being out of their reach.

(Source: BBC)

(photo by Simon Matzinger on Unsplash)