plus: China tries to boost its birth rate
| | | | It may be tempting to conclude that teenagers who do not answer phone calls are showing indifference to or rejection of parents' efforts to reach them. But that would be a misreading, according to Anne Cordier, a professor of information sciences and communication at the University of Lorraine, who views their delayed, texted responses to calls as attempts to "set boundaries… in a world where everyone is expected to be reachable". Fewer women in China are opting to have children, and more young people are delaying or taking a pass on marriage. The central government recently introduced an annual childcare subsidy for families with children under age three and plans for free preschool education, the first nationwide efforts to boost the birth rate. Ming Gao, a researcher in East Asia studies at Lund University, points to both the high cost of raising kids – a 2024 report found that only South Korea has a higher ratio of cost to GDP per capita – and entrenched gender inequality as reasons why childlessness has become more popular. Combating this trend, he argues, will require a cultural shift toward "parenting as a shared responsibility", not just extra cash. Engineers who helped design Paris's Eiffel Tower once suggested that the future landmark be named the Tour de 300 mètres, which is just as prosaic in translation. It's also not quite accurate, because due to thermal expansion – the phenomenon of materials expanding when temperature increases – the tower, which is composed of more than 18,000 pieces of riveted iron, is thought to grow between 12 and 15 centimetres depending on summer heat. What does this mean? Federico de Isidro Gordejuela, a professor of architectural constructions at Universidad CEU San Pablo, brings it home: "in addition to being a landmark… the Eiffel Tower is also, in effect, a giant thermometer". |  | Philippe Theise Editor, Paris | |  Anne Cordier, Université de Lorraine Behind teenagers' refusal to answer the phone lies a global transformation in communication norms. Here are some explanations for parents… and everyone else. |  Ming Gao, Lund University China's government steps in to address dwindling birth rates, following years of leaving the issue to local authorities. |  Federico de Isidro Gordejuela, Universidad CEU San Pablo On hot days, the Eiffel Tower grows by 12-15cm, and leans away from the sun. | | |  Samuel Walker, Bournemouth University; Sanne Boessenkool, University of Oslo More than 6,000 bone fragments were found and dated, giving a rare ecological snapshot of the last ice age. | |  Stephan Blum, University of Tübingen; Michael La Corte, University of Tübingen Odysseus is one of ancient literature's most complex figures. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
0 comments:
Post a Comment