Laptop can toast your skin

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/health-science/prolonged-use-of-laptops-on-your-lap-can-leave-skin-mottled-and-discoloured-study-says/story-e6frg8y6-1225933925060

(Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Brian_Dunning_on_laptop.jpg)

I believe this article can easily capture the attention of readers due to the popularity of lap-top computers in this digital era of mobile technology. It certainly has a 'wow' factor at the first glance as the idea of getting skin burn from the use of lap-top is unusual, and thus interesting. The writer developed the story around the news hook - a recent Swiss research which revealed medical cases of "toasted skin syndrome" that can be attributed to prolonged use of lap-tops. This gives the article the news value of timeliness. The writer then mentioned some other real medical cases and made use of interview quotes from experts in dermatology to boost the credibility and sense of authority of the story.

The writer also brought up research findings few years ago which suggested that the use of lap-top computers may lead to infertility in men. Although the findings are dated, I think the message works well in this story as it is also linked with health hazards of the heat of lap-tops.

This article was written in the style of hard news, which mainly serves the purpose of directly presenting facts and new information to its readers. Blogger Daphne Green discussed the same research findings in her blog but I find it more helpful than the one in the Australian because she has suggested ways to avoid lap-top skin burns (source 1). From my point of view, it better suits the needs of readers if the writer positions the story as a service feature article about safely tips for using lap-top computers. The use of illustrations or videos will be more eye-catching and easier for readers who use mobile devices, e.g. mobile phones, iPads, blackberries etc, as those are people who are likely to use lap-top computers as well. To make the article more practical and interesting for a wider group of audience, the writer can also introduce fashionable lap-top heat protectors.


Source:

1) Blog entry by Daphne Green, http://www.suite101.com/content/laptop-skin-burn-a293967

A melting pot of world's health secrets

http://health.ninemsn.com.au/dietandnutrition/nutrition/7952187/health-secrets-from-around-the-globe

Many cultures have their own secrets of logevity. This piece of service article exposes some of the health secrets in Asian and European countries. Unsurprisingly the 'Fast Food Nation' or the mainstream Amercian living style is on the list. Given this article is written by Dr. Cassy Richmond, it gives the audience a sense of authority. However there is no information or link on the page telling the audience who Dr. Richmond is, or where her expertise lies in.

In general this is an effective article in conveying the message. It is interesting to learn about the background of the health benefits of these cultures. I think it is appealing for Australians as the nation itself is a melting pot of different cultures. Not only did Dr. Richmond discussed what the health benefits were, she also gave easy-to-follow, practical, and achievable suggestions on what we can do in our daily lives to improve our health. She discussed a supposedly boring health topic in an interesting way.

The article also links to other relevant online materials, e.g. another article "Slimming secrets from Japan" in the same website, and a video clip about the beauty secrets of French women. It leverages on exisiting online multimedia materials to make it more more eye-catching than a wordy document on the screen.

Form my point of view, the writer could have included health secrets in China. Not only is there a significant population of Chinese in Australia, Chinese medicine is becoming more and more popular in Western cultures. Martial arts like Tai Chi are also well-known for theirs health benefits (source 1) so it is a good idea to include it in the article. China has many more health secrets, so I believe that it should not be left out of the picture if the article is about health secrets aroudn the globe.


Source:

1) http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/body-soul/tai-chi-can-save-your-life/story-e6frfot9-1225864061721

Shop (& Return) till you drop?

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/buy-or-not-buy/201008/compulsive-returners

A common understanding of shopaholism is what is portrayed in the popular movie/novel Confessions of a Shopaholic. The unstoppable desire to shop could lead compulsive shoppers to financial debts and disruption of careers or relationships. Dr. Benson, psychologist specialised in treating shopaholism introduced us to the idea of compulsive returning in this article.

This blog entry is perfect for the publication, Psychology Today, as it explores an interesting and popular psychological problem of Americans. Dr. Benson used layman languages as her target readers are not psychology experts. She has successfully demonstrated how compulsive returning, although not creating any financial burden to the individual, is a waste of physical energy and obviously time. Not only did Dr. Benson explained what the problem of compulsive returning means, she also suggested ways to deal with it, making this blog an informational piece for those who can relate themselves to the article.

From my point of view, this blog is a platform where Dr. Benson shares her expertise in treating shopaholism. I believe that anecdotes or even a short video clip of footage of a compulsive returner can better engage its readers. ABCNews had run an article (source 1) about compulsive returners and set a good example of getting quotes from a real compulsive returner. Todaytonight's story on a recovered shopaholic (source 2) was also effective in making its point and keeping their readers interested. Having said that, Dr. Benson's blog article delivered its message well as it provides all the important information.

The Australian Psychological Society revealed that up to one in every twelve Australian shoppers suffered from compulsive shopping back in 2004 (source 3). Despite its prevalence, it is not recognized as a legitimate mental disorder in Australia (source 4). It reflects that the problem is not being taken seriously in the nation despite the potential disruptions it may cause to an individual's well-being. Shopaholics may therefore refuse to acknowledge the need for them to seek professional help, and go through the self-denial process.

If you want to know more about shopaholism, here are the real confessions of a shopaholic girl (source 5):

Sources:

1) ABCNews, http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Business/story?id=1481435

2) TodayTonight, http://au.todaytonight.yahoo.com/article/7951253/general/compulsive-shoppers

3) Australian Psychological Society, http://www.psychology.org.au/publications/inpsych/shopping/

4)SMH, http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/shopping/diary-of-a-shopaholic-20100616-yfs6.html

5) Confessions of a shopaholic, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWXG9rEk6vQ

A Healthy Feast of Global Cuisine

(Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Good_Food_Display_-_NCI_Visuals_Online.jpg)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/28/the-10-healthiest-ethnic-_1_n_696295.html

After reading this article at Huffingtonpost, I know a whole longer list of healthy cuisines to choose from when I dine out. It is an interesting source of information for advocates for healthy food. Eating healthy is not simply equivalent to a diet of salad or consume everything with an "organic" label. It can be much more exotic.

The writer of this article consulted Daphne Miller, MD, is an author of a book about healthy eating and some other experts to rank the 10 healthiest cuisines in the world. In form of a slide show, the article presents the cuisines one by one with a illustration. Not only had the writer explained what and why exactly these cuisines are healthy, but he/she also put a little reminder on the traps on the menus which we'd better avoid.

From my point of view, this is a successful article in the online environment. The writer used simple and direct languages in explaining why the food are good for health, quoted experts to make the dining suggestions more convincing to readers and did extensive research on various cuisines. Presenting the information in a slideshow allows readers to navigate the 10 cuisines one by one, without seemingly have to keep scrolling down to read this rather long article. This is effective in engaging the interest of the readers.

The content in this article is applicable to readers from all round the world although Health.com is based in the States. As a citizen in the global village, we are all eating cuisines originates from varies parts of the world. This is a light-hearted yet informative article for food lovers who are health-conscious. Also, many people living in big cities like Sydney do not have time to cook themselves healthy food. This article suggests an alternative for them - choose healthy cuisines (and items) from the menus!

The Australian Department of Health and Ageing also provides guidelines on healthy eating. You may refer to the Australian Guide to Healthy eating here.

Friendly Reminder: Watch out for the cereal killer.

(Source: Wikimedia Commons http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Froot_loops_in_a_bowl.jpg)

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/lifestyle/body-soul/cereal-offenders/story-e6frf01r-1225892749553

This article written by Sharon Labi was published in the lifestyle section of the Daily Telegraph on 18 July 2010. As suggested in the article, about 7.5 million Australians are regular purchasers of cereals, implying that this story can be of interest to a wide readership, justifying its news value in the paper.

The author quote a wide range of information sources - health experts, academics, research findings, food manufacturers, etc. She seemed to have covered many angles of the story. I would say this well-researched piece fulfill its role in informing and educating readers who are conscious about their diet and health.

At the beginning of the article, the author tried to capture the attention of readers by stating the 'surprising' fact that cereal can be less healthy than junk food in the lead. I believe she was using this technique to make readers feel they must read on and she leveraged on the 'unusual' facts to shape a newsworthy story.

However, I would like to argue that this article seemed to lack the timeliness element. The '10 healthiest cereals' report quoted in the end was released by consumer group Choice in April 2009, which is more than a year a go (see source 1). I have therefore conducted a quick search on the internet and found that the problem of unhealthy cereal had already been widely reported by various news outlets.

Guardian.co.uk addressed the same issue in an article published back in 2006: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2006/jul/19/foodanddrink.healthandwellbeing

Here is another article published by the Age after the release of the above-mentioned cereal review report by Choice in 2009: http://www.theage.com.au/lifestyle/wellbeing/only-two-cereals-healthy-enough-to-eat-everyday-20090429-amlt.html

Therefore, despite its informative structure, this article unfortunately do not have too much of a new angle to report on the issue. This could be disappointing to readers who are already aware of the facts, but reading the article for something new and exciting.

Source:

1) http://www.choice.com.au/Reviews-and-Tests/Food-and-Health/Food-and-drink/Groceries/Breakfast-cereal-review-and-compare/Page/Introduction.aspx

Give Australians a break

(Source: http://www.multimedia-stock.com/3642)

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/08/03/2971765.htm

This is an article about a recent survey revealing Australian's increasing dissatisfaction with their work-life balance situation. The writer adopted a traditional news story structure - concept of the inverted pyramid. In this format, the most important information appears first in the story and the rest of the details follow in order of descending importance.

The writer begin the story with a one-sentence introduction which is a flat, precise factual statement. It is an effective way in conveying the major idea of the story to the readers. Instead of listing out the findings of the survey in the body, the writer used quotations from researchers involved in the study. This technique helps bringing a story to life and creates a sense of authority.

In general this story works pretty well and is newsworthy. First of all, it is timely because it is based on the fourth Australian Work Life Index launched by the Committee for Economic Development of Australia on the same day (source 1). Secondly, it is worth publishing as the issue of work-life balance relates not only to full-time and part-time workers, but also their family and friends, i.e. literally every person in the nation. Although this story does not contain too much of a "wow-factor", readers can relate to it well due to the proximity element.

The concern on poor work-life balance is hardly limited to the workforce in Australia. It is getting increasing attention across the globe. U.S. President Obama has addressed the need for flexible workplace option and work-life balance at the Forum on Workplace Flexibility held earlier this year, demonstrating that it is one of the hottest issue on health and quality of life.

Here is President Obama's speech at the closing of the forum (source 2):

From my point of view, this piece of article is very simple and straight-forward. Another possible angle of writing a story on the findings in this survey is to take a further step and look at why a work-life balance strategy can benefit employers by improving employees' productivity and retaining talents (see source 3) but still remains an unresolved problem in the nation.


Sources:

1) Governmentnews.com.au: Australians dissatisfied with work-life balance
http://www.governmentnews.com.au/2010/08/03/article/Australians-dissatisfied-with-work-life-balance/FDYLKICKZY.html

2) President Obama speaks about how both men and women need flexible workplace options
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvb4mPCyIQo

3) New South Wales Government
http://www.smallbiz.nsw.gov.au/run/hr/pages/worklifebalance.aspx