Study Freaks Need to Find a Balance

Bookworms and A-students may be able to flash a winning report card to admissions directors and employers, but high marks lose their value when they are not accompanied with the social skills necessary to succeed in the workforce. These studious perfectionists are only setting themselves up for failure in the future. A balance between social and academic affairs is crucial to successful life post-graduation. Instead of pulling a nightly 4-hour study session, these students need to get out into the world and experience life, not only relying on the description of a textbook. Without the proper life-skills, these students will realize that success after school will not be an easy “A”.
Academic stress among high-school and college students can have lasting effects. To relieve stress, many students turn to binge drinking, smoking, and stimulant abuse to take the edge off their stressful schedules. The American Journal of Health Studies surveyed 249 undergraduate students in 2000 concerning stress-level, time management, and health issues.This study revealed that much of the stress was “self-imposed” due to “changes, conflict and frustration. This study also covered the physiological effects of leisure activities, and many reported that they experienced no physiological changes after leisure time. Two main stressors found in this study were pressure to complete school work and the learning process as a whole. Behavioral stressors did not appear as often as what the study dubbed self-imposed and school-related stressors.
These types of stressors can—and have been proven to—lead to drastic escape measures such as acting out, becoming withdrawn and in the most extreme cases: suicide. According to another study conducted by The Boston Globe, 11 undergraduate students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) had committed suicide since 1990. This averages to be about one student per year when the study was conducted in 2000. MIT’s undergraduate suicide rates are the highest in the nation according to the study.
Often some under the stress to compete with other students for top marks will resort to academic dishonesty. In a survey conducted by the Electronic Journal of Sociology—sent to more than 15,000 students at 31 major universities—found that over 60 percent admitted cheating at least once. Many resort to cheating on tests or plagiarizing entire papers to get the competitive edge they need for a higher rank.
Any over-achieving student will tell you that their disciplined techniques will pay off in the long run. That student would be wrong. Becoming overly-stressed can actually have negative effects on your marks. Stress affects your health, which in turn will affect your ability to participate in classes and studying. It is almost guaranteed that an unhealthy student will not be giving 100% in all of their courses, leading to lower marks and in turn more stress. Stress also affects memory retention, meaning those six-hour cram-jams are all but worthless.
Though most will agree that academic performance is a major deciding factor in one’s future, there is a limit to how much pressure one can take before breaking. Keeping a balance between social and academic affairs is crucial to becoming a well-rounded student, which is what college admissions officers and employers are really looking for. It’s great to have unscathed “A’s” all through your academic career, but not so beneficial if you do not also have the social and civic skill to carry yourself through the working world.
Okay students, time to review. Too much stress can lead to lasting health affects as well as affect your grades poorly. So, put that study guide away and go for a jog. Call your grandmother. Experience life and you will be a success. After all, it’s not the letters on your transcript that decide who you are.

Newspapers: Is the Web Worse?

With each passing year, as newspapers lose daily circulation, many have begun the transition to online publications. Those still stubbornly residing in the realm of printed news should cut their losses and follow their example.
The benefits of making the stride toward complete online distribution overwhelm those of printed news. As our nation’s economy spirals downward, more businesses have cut back on advertisement. Newspapers’ revenue has taken a significant cut due to the many businesses that cannot afford print advertising. According to Gaebler Ventures, some bigger-name papers can price up to $10,000 for a half-page advertisement. In a local paper, you’d pay an average of $1,000 for a full-page ad. Advertising online, businesses will find themselves paying far less. I-advertising.com says that “there is no ‘average rate’ for advertising online. There is what you are willing to pay and what you are not willing to pay as an advertiser to reach the audience you need to reach and to generate the results you need to generate.” This simply states that paying for online advertisement can be as costly or as cheap as it needs to be for the audience you’re attempting to target. The New York Times has what is called Self-Service Online Advertising, which allows businesses and individuals to create or post their own ad for a price that fits their specific budget.
Subscription revenue does not have to be lost in the switch to online publication. Publishers could create a system in which access to the full text is limited to non-subscribers. Readers could then procure an online subscription in order to read the same stories they would be reading in print. Some of the paper’s audience would be lost, due partially to the fact that the generation who grew up reading it is now dying and are without computers. But the growing generation spends more of their time on the internet and less time reading newspapers. Few people these days can take the time to sit down and read the paper, and putting it online would be a convenient solution for the younger generations.
The transition from print would cost some people their jobs – your average newspaper boy and the press printing the papers each day would be out of a job. Despite this, the changeover would also open new doors and new jobs for Web designers and site maintenance technicians. Through this, the most important people involved with the newspaper, the editors and the journalists, would still retain their positions.
With the thousands of newspapers being printed across the country each day, there is a considerable amount of paper being used. There is no doubt that this is both incredibly costly and harmful to the environment. It can be assumed that the majority of the budget a newspaper spends is on the ink and paper that goes into a publication. According to Marshall Brain, the New York Times spends approximately $664 million a year between the raw materials that go into printing the paper and the labor it takes to print and deliver the news. If every newspaper were to make the transition from print to online publications, not only would the newspaper be saving a large sum of money, but they’d be saving many trees in the process.
When thinking about making the transition from printed news to an online publication, a newspaper must take into consideration both the benefits of the switch and the needs of their new target audience. As their original audience passes on and the new generation becomes increasingly involved and enraptured by technology, an online publication would be a more realistic way to spread the news. Not only would it be a more convenient method of mass communication, but it would be of great benefit to both the environment and their wallet.

iDog May be Overly-hyped

Hasbro's 2006 release of the iDog sparked America's younger generation to purchase iPods in conjunction with the product for a different kind of entertainment experience. iDog is a potable speaker system in the form of, you guessed it, a robotic dog. This mechanical pup "dances" to the rhythm and melody of any song played on it. The toy also forms a sense of what the owner likes to listen to, and reacts to frequently played styles and songs much more than to an off-beat selection (no pun intended). This product is sold in many toy and department stores nationally and currently comes in many different colors and styles.

However, iDog's performance falls short of the company's advertisements. The speaker quality on the product leaves much to be desired. In addition to this, the iDog does not put on much of a show either. The product gives more of a light show with the different colored lights in the toy's "face" than an actual dance. Overall, this product is not much to listen to or watch.

The iDog products range in price from $19.99 to $50 and up. Frankly, you can purchase a much better speaker that is more appealing to look at for this price. To the folks thinking about taking their musical experience to new canine-related heights, save your money. There are much better portable speakers out there for around the same price.