Yearly Archives: 2005

Pensions vs Obesity

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With the new pensions report to be published today to set a new retirement age of 67 I wonder if anyone would point out the possible conflict with another population trend? The belief that the rise in levels of obesity in young people will mean they could die younger than their parents. Though there are sceptics regarding this idea, I only ask because having worked on a WHO-backed programme concerned with young people’s health this concern seems strongly held with dramatic evidence of the rise of obesity in the US:

But maybe that’s part of the calculation for increasing the retirement age, with less young people to support the retired? It would be interesting to know if that was factored in.

Real Science – Encouraging experimentation and investigation in school science learning

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Yesterday’s NESTA report into the worrying state of science experimentation in UK schools made me smile:

“The opportunities for science enquiry learning, in particular more open-ended forms of practical experimental work, continue to be inhibited by familiar issues. These include resourcing, time, concerns about health and safety, and the perceived restrictions of curricula and assessment systems..Yet this research shows that more innovative and creative approaches to science education can support the achievement of curriculum learning objectives, and encourage learners to consider further study in science.”

I mean surely, that was why Andy set up Crocodile Clips and others like him to provide educational software to enable scientific experimentation? I’ll just  have to be patient and ask him when I next get to see him at BETT in January. In the meantime a free Galilean thermometer to the first person who can tell me my connection to ‘Croc Clips’ beyond  once advising Andy on usability issues (btw the usual competition disclaimers apply)?