Pupils per teacher
Sunday, February 24, 2008
- 25 - The average number of pupils per teacher in primary education worldwide, 2005
- 45 - The average number of pupils per teacher in primary education in sub-Saharan Africa, 2005.
- 83 - The average number of pupils per teacher in primary education in Afghanistan, 2005.
Research on suicide rates
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
The suicide rate among young men in England and Wales is at the lowest level for 30 years, say researchers.
Using data on suicides from 1968 to 2005, the researchers found that for males aged 15 to 24, the overall suicide rate dropped from 16.6 per 100,000 people in 1990 to 8.5 per 100,000 in 2005. Amongst men aged 25 to 34, overall suicide rates declined from 22.2 to 15.7 per 100,000 over the same period.
For women, suicide rates have been fairly steady. However, the proportion of women aged 15 to 34 committing suicide by hanging has increased "massively" - from 5.7% of all suicides in 1968 to 47.3% by 2005. More research is needed to find out why this is, the study says.
Thanks Nigel.
Cost of Valentine's Day
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
A poll for online payment provider PayPal claims that Britons will spend an average of £71.25 each on gifts, some 15% of their weekly salary.
Yet, a survey for price comparison website uSwitch.com suggested lovers are looking for a genuinely priceless present. It claimed one in three could not afford to celebrate Valentine's Day and the average amount spent on a partner would be £22.69.
I am sure these statistics will be helpful for that assembly or session on love in the next few days!
How inappropriate is modern music?
How inappropriate is modern music? Church Relevance have highlighted some statistics, where researchers analaysed Billboard magazine’s top 279 most popular songs of 2005 to determine what percentage of songs referenced tobacco, alcohol, and drug use. Here are some highlights from their findings:
- 1 in 3 songs portray substance use (33.3%)
This includes:
- 4 in 5 rap songs (77%)
- 1 in 3 country songs (36%)
- 1 in 5 R&B/hip-hop songs (20%)
- 1 in 7 rock songs (14%)
- 1 in 10 pop songs (9%)
Only 1 in 25 songs have anti-use messages (4%)
The average teenager is exposed daily to approximately 84 references to explicit substance use in popular songs, although this exposure varies widely by musical genre. Although the study did not analyze the frequency of sex and violence in popular music, 46% of substance use references were associated with sex, and 29% were associated with violence.
It is worrying that the average teenager hears 588 messages a week about substance use compared to one message a week from the youth group. A youth leader better make his message count. [via Church Relevance]
Books I have read: Information for parents - Speech and language difficulties
Sunday, February 03, 2008
Watching football increases heart attack risk
Saturday, February 02, 2008
For men the risk of having a heart attack or another cardiovascular problem was three times higher on days when the German team was in action. Munich's Ludwig-Maximilians University found that female fans had an 82% increased risk.
Read more here.
Fizzy drinks sales set to lose sparkle
Some random statistics:
- Fizzy drinks are set to make up 50% of the UK soft drinks market by 2011 - down from 61% today.
- By contrast bottled water will increase from a 19% to a 24% share over the same period, Datamonitor said.
- Juices are also tipped to get more popular, making up 22% of UK soft drink consumption by 2011 compared to 16% today.
For more information read this Which article.
More children drinking alcohol, fuelling violence
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
From Reuters news agency:
Almost half of Britain's youngsters are drinking in their pre-teen years, fuelling violence and anti-social behavior, a government-backed study said on Wednesday. Drinking was damaging their health and inflating crime figures, it found. The crime prevention charity's study, commissioned by one of its umbrella groups Positive Futures, also revealed that people were drinking at increasingly younger ages, which it concluded had "serious consequences to health and crime".
The Home Office-backed Crime Concern study, "Binge drinking: young people's attitudes and behavior" conducted one-on-one interviews with 1,250 people aged between 10 and 19.
It found that about half of respondents said they had been involved in fighting, violence and aggression as a result of underage drinking.
Almost half said they began drinking aged 13 or younger, almost a third said they drink to get drunk and almost a quarter had been in trouble with the law after drinking.
80% of Crime in the UK committed by teenagers!
Sunday, January 27, 2008
UK iPhone misses sales targets
Thursday, January 24, 2008
O2 claimed in November that it expected to sell 200,000 units in the first two months after launch, with research firm Gartner estimating that sales could double that figure. However, queues outside shops before the UK launch of the iPhone were far smaller than those in the US, and leaked figures during the following months suggested that sales had been slower than expected.
Teen sex habits revealed in survey
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
The percentages of 15-year-olds who said they had sexual intercourse varied by country ranging from 14.1 percent in Croatia to 37.6 percent in England. Boys were more apt than girls to report having had sexual intercourse.
Family meals may lower girls' eating disorder risk
Check out this article - Family Meals May Lower Girls' Eating Disorder Risk. Here are some quotes:
Dr. Dianne Neumark-Sztainer and colleagues from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis found that adolescent girls who ate five or more meals each week with their families were approximately one third less likely to engage in extreme weight control behaviors, such as making themselves vomit, taking diet pills and abusing diuretics or laxatives than girls who ate less frequently with their families.
However, the researchers found that boys who ate with their families more often were actually at increased risk of unhealthy weight control behaviors. They speculate that boys who eat regularly with their families may have certain characteristics that predispose them to unhealthy eating habits, or that eating with family somehow benefits girls more than it does boys.
Virginity loss map
Apparently people worldwide are having sex for the first time at an average age of 17.3 years old, with just over a third (35%) say they were 16 or under when they lost their virginity. It's based on the results from a 2005 survey by Durex that noticed gems like the fact that young people continue to have sex at an earlier age than previous generations: while the 25-34s lost it at 17.9, the 21-24 year olds were 17.5 and 16-20 year olds were just 16.3. I actually expected it to be a little younger to be honest.
Girls 'being brainwashed to be promiscuous'
Friday, January 18, 2008
In Prude: How The Sex-Obsessed Culture Damages Girls, Liebau claims there is "scant recognition or respect" for a woman's achievement that is not associated with sex appeal.
Liebau says the sexy images of performers such as Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera catapulted them to fame.
She claims that teenage girls are growing up in a culture in which being called "a slut" is preferable to being labelled "a prude".
Go here for more information.
Older Mums keener on religious values
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Older mothers are more likely to want religious values for their children than their younger counter-partsa study across 15,590 families in the UK has revealed. 64% of mothers aged 35-39 want their children to adopt religious values, whereas only 38% of 16-24 year olds agree to this. Ethnically, the vast majority of Pakistani and Black African mothers (98% and 96%) regard religious values as important, compared with 54% of White mums.
When asked whether they were very good mothers, on average 31% of UK women agreed. The most confident group was the Bangladeshi females at 65% with the Black Caribbeans also doing well with 42%. Interestingly these two groups disagreed with what made them very good at parenting, as the Black Caribbeans were the most likely to have a lot of rules (39%) and the Bangladeshi the least (17%).
Northern Ireland reported having the calmest atmosphere at home and also the highest proportion of married natural-parent families. Wales had the highest proportion of lone natural-parent families. Lone-parenthood was a reality for 42.5% of mothers aged between 16 and 24. In the 36 to 39 age group this figure had dropped to 8.1%. Further details of the research carried out by the Centre for Longitudinal Studies can be accessed here: precis by the Bible Society
Find the survey here.
Joseph Rowntree Foundation study on cannabis and young people
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
"The researchers conclude that cannabis supply among the young people was social rather than commercial, and not linked to more overtly criminal drug markets. However, cannabis use was embedded in their social world. Change in the drug's legal status may have little impact"
Well worth a read, read the summary here.
Over 50% of babies born outside of marraige
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Playing on a Wii is not enough exercise
Friday, December 21, 2007
"These increases were of insufficient intensity to contribute towards recommendations for children's daily exercise. ... Although this figure is trivial it might contribute to weight management. New generation computer games stimulated positive activity behaviours - the children were on their feet and they moved in all directions. Given the current prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity, such positive behaviours should be encouraged."
It costs £186,032 to bring a child up in the UK
Sunday, December 09, 2007
A typical family now pays an average of £186,032 to raise a child from birth to the age of 21 - which amounts to £8,859 a year, £738 a month or £24.30 a day - according to Liverpool Victoria.
Childcare remains by far the largest cost faced by parents, with the average family spending £50,538 on childminders, nursery care, nannies and after-school clubs. But education comes a close second, accounting for a further £47,310 - even assuming a state education at primary and secondary school - covering the cost of uniform and other clothing, school lunches, books and extras such as school trips. It also includes the tuition fees for a typical three-year university degree course and the associated living expenses of being away from home. A private education would hugely inflate that figure.
The group found that the expenses associated with having children had increased by 33% since it began the research in 2003, and forecast that costs could rise by a further 42% between now and 2012 to an average of £265,577 - more than £12,500 a year for each child.New parents can expect to shell out as much as £8,184 in the first year of their baby's life, once they have paid for nursery equipment, toys and clothing.The costs are much higher in central London, where families typically pay £199,860 a child, and are cheapest in Wales, at £179,317 a child. Those who choose to educate their child privately face an additional bill of £72,957 for a day pupil and £130,557 for a boarder. Overall the group estimated the total cost of raising all the children born in the UK during 2006 at £140bn, excluding inflation.
Parents underestimate their influence on their children
Thursday, December 06, 2007
1. Preparation. Millions of parents enroll their youngsters in numerous and varied activities in order to prepare their children for success. Most parents do not see themselves as the key to grooming a well-rounded child; they believe their role is to place their child in developmental environments and under the tutelage of those who can take their prodigies to the next level of proficiency.
2. Performing well. Parents look for measures of productivity that indicate how their child is doing on the path to success. Good grades in school, scoring in sports, and performing well in artistic endeavors are among the measures parents rely upon, as well as feedback from other parents, teachers, coaches, pastors and other experts.3. Pressure management. Amidst significant parental expectations, stiff academic standards and peer pressure, many kids struggle to stay healthy and balanced. Parents who are cognizant of these mounting pressures attempt to help their offspring learn how to manage stress, competition and disappointments.4. Protection. The age-old problem of bullies - still considered by kids, parents and teachers to be a significant issue - can be added to such parental fears as kidnapping, drugs, and sexualization, making the security of children one of the top priorities of parents.5. Public perception. In a society where image is reality, and parents are as anxious about their image as a parent as they are about their child’s image in their peer group, influencing public perceptions is a major concern among parents. Like politicians, many parents hone their skills in spin control and positioning in order to place them and their children in the best possible light.
Barna’s surveys point out that most parents underestimate the influence they can exert on their children. Consequently, they often focus on the 5 Ps but neglect emphasis upon activities that would strengthen their relational bond with the children. Many parents, even those who are born again Christians, also overlook the need to foster deeper a connection between their children and God, or to enhance the child’s worldview as a critical component of their decision-making skills.
