Technology explosion: latest gadgets

Technology explosion: are we caught unaware?
Islamabad, July 29: With almost no progress in the field of scientific research and technology, we have very successfully become a complete consumers' society.

Getting hold of all the latest gadgets with the sheer ability of our purchase power is a matter of pride and satisfaction for us. But do we, as a society, morally qualify to use such products? Are we groomed accordingly and wise enough to make a positive use of what we have with complete awareness of our social, moral and legal retrospect?

Ghulam Mustafa, a retired bureaucrat, said, "We did not hand over any technology to our kids. They are born in a time where technology is showered on everyone like rainfall — irrespective of the age and culture. We elders have some sense of right and wrong, but we are slow learners - not fully aware of what technology can do. On the other hand, our youngsters are quick to explore and learn all the possible uses of the devices but they are not mature enough to avoid the downside." Our youngsters keep awake all night to avail late night call packages, cell phone cameras are used in educational institutions and public places to take photographs of females - further hurdling their movement, internet is used to acquire the first position among the porn-surfing nations — is this what science has offered us? We have access to all the latest devices available in the world but we seem to lose something very important. Our moral, social, and cultural values have either not been transferred to our youngsters or they have refused to live according to the norms and traditions of this society.

Uzma Qayyum, a mother of two and a working lady said while talking to this agency, "Parents are more than happy for providing every modern gadget to their kids, including mobile phones, computers etc, but they are too busy to share any cultural values and wisdom with their kids. We are handing over luxuries to our kids on the cost of our values and traditions.

However our youngsters are living in their own time, they will adjust according to their own time and space" Dr. Shahid Saghir, a teacher by profession says, "We have a tendency to import everything - be it anything ranging from a sewing needle to the premiers. We have blindly imported and adopted every sort of technology and still we wish to live according to our indigenous culture. It's nothing but a wishful thinking."

Every invention is a result of the need that a way of living demands. When a nation progresses with absolute awareness and control over the course of development in a particular field, its socio-cultural values also change to handle every technology and to get maximum out of it in a positive way. The news

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Six members of 'Youth Parliament' among victims
Islamabad: Six members of a 'Youth Parliament' were among the victims of Wednesday's air crash in Islamabad.

They were coming here to attend the final session of the 'Youth Parliament', a project of the Pakistan Institute for Legislative Development and Transparency (Pildat).

The six are 'Youth Prime Minister' Hasan Javed, 'Information Minister' Syeda Rabab Zehra Naqvi, 'Minister for Culture and Sports' Prem Chand, 'Shadow Youth Minister for Information' Bilal Jamaee, 'Member of Youth Parliament's Standing Committee on Information' Owais bin Laiq and 'Member of Youth Parliament's Standing Committee on Information Syed Arsalan Ahmad. All six belonged to Sindh.

The Pildat management and team, its board of directors, board of advisers and Youth Parliament's Steering Committee expressed their shock and sorrow at the tragic death of the members of the Youth Parliament.

At a meeting, members of the 'Youth Parliament' adopted a resolution, expressing shock and sorrow at the loss of lives in the crash.

The meeting was also attended by chairman of Youth Parliament Steering Committee, Senator S.M. Zafar, and member Wazir Jogezai.

Hassan Javed belonged to Hyderabad and worked for the Royal Bank of Scotland in Karachi, as the Team Head for Client Relationships for the Royal Preferred Banking (RPB) Department.

He did his MSc in Investment and Finance with Distinction from the University of London. During his stay there, he participated in the University of London Squash League. He won gold medals at the Hyderabad BISE Inter-school Squash Tournament in 1998 and 1999.

Syeda Rabab Zehra Naqvi from Karachi was doing BSc in Economics and Finance as an external student of the London School of Economics (LSE).

During her school years, she took part in activities of student councils and held various leadership positions. Ms Naqvi interned at banks, media firms and NGOs, and had plans to follow a career in politics after completing her studies.

Prem Chand, who hailed from Sanghar, was studying for a Masters in Social Work at the University of Sindh.

Mr Bilal Jamaee was a second year Mass Communication student at the University of Karachi and was general secretary of 'Bazm-i-Adab'. He took part in a number of debating competitions and wrote a number of stories for children's magazines.

Mr Owais bin Laiq from Karachi had joined the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) for a bachelor's degree. He was the manager of the Media and Publication Society at IBA.

He had won various contests including the National Samaa TV Documentary Competition. Syed Arsalan Ahmed from Karachi was pursuing a degree in Textile Engineering. Dawn

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Stay in school longer to avoid dementia
Researchers have found that individuals with 'more' education are better equipped to stave off dementia.

These findings published in the Advanced Access online edition of the journal Brain confirm a decade of past studies that have also concluded more schooling equals a decreased risk of suffering from dementia, defined as the "loss of intellectual functions" including memory, orientation, calculation, language, attention and thinking.

Carol Brayne, MSc, MD, MRCP, MFPHM, a professor of epidemiology and principal investigator at the University of Cambridge, led the study and discovered higher education and loss of intellectual functions is not reserved solely for the upwardly mobile or those with healthier lifestyles.

"People with different levels of education have similar brain pathology but ... those with more education are better able to compensate for the effects of dementia," noted the researchers.

According to a July 24 University of Cambridge announcement, "each additional year of education" decreases your risk of developing dementia by 11 percent.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates over 29 million suffer from dementia globally and projects "Africa, Asia and Latin America together could have more than 80 million people with dementia by the year 2025."

Co-author of the study, Hannah Keage, PhD, a research associate at Cambridge funded by the Marie Curie International Incoming Research Fellowship, explained "education in early life appears to enable some people to cope with a lot of changes in their brain before showing dementia symptoms."

Brayne underscored the point saying, "Education is known to be good for population health and equity. This study provides strong support for investment in early life factors which should have an impact on society and the whole lifespan."

Additionally, Lon White, MD, MPH, a research scientist and neuroepidemiologist at the Kuakini Medical Center in Hawaii, told Relaxnews, "both low educational attainment (reflecting childhood experiences) and stress during middle adult life appear to be legitimate risk factors for late onset dementia. "Everybody sees the phenomenon, and no one really understands it."

The WHO explains, "Global population ageing will inevitably result in huge increases in the number of cases of dementia. The risk of developing the condition rises steeply with age in people over 60; the possibilities for prevention and treatment are limited. "

"It is particularly interesting because most of our education occurs in childhood, but the dementia is at the end of life," said White. The news

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