STREET CHANT

Auckland based three-piece Street Chant have recently released album
Means. Scroll down on http://cheeseontoast.co.nz  to see review by Andrew Tidball.

Brainwave

Brainwave
Brainwave is a charitable trust, which exists to educate New Zealanders from all walks of life about the latest research in neuroscience.  They now know that a child’s experiences from conception to three largely determine how their brain develops, and whether they will become capable, contributing, well adjusted adults.  They have a lot of information they want to pass on – to parents, to educators, to health professionals, to social workers, to anyone who works with or parents children!

The Neuroscience Data of Childcare

Researching and understanding the effects of non-parental care on young children is complex. Each child, each family, each situation is different. Data can only speak in statistically significant generalities. Yet once the findings from the research become robust and repeated it is important to report it so that parents can incorporate this information into their decisions, as well as advocate for improved policies and programmes. 

To date, many studies have examined the link between the stress hormone cortisol and the use of childcare in children. Because observed behaviours do not always reliably reflect a child’s stress level, physiological measures are seen as more accurate assessments of a child’s stress response in childcare. Humans produce cortisol even when they are not stressed. However, multiple pathways in the brain respond to threat or challenge by increasing activity of the HPA system that raises cortisol levels over normal baseline. Chronic exposure to stress early in childhood may be a risk for later affective and cognitive functioning.

As of 2006, all the published studies examining this link were assessed and evaluated in a meta-analysis . The data included research from the USA, Germany, Hungary and France and draws from a range of childcare settings, including use of a model centre that is used for training purposes and was assessed as of the highest quality.

Pakistan Flood

Pakistan estimates that it could cost £10bn to rebuild the country. Rains that first fell in northern areas such as the Swat valley have caused "walls of water" to sweep through the south, especially along the river Indus.

Cranberry by The Ruby Suns

Cranberry by The Ruby Suns

Our Moon

SKIN NECTAR

SKIN NECTAR

 

Rosemary and Peppermint Scrub
Price: £15.00
The ultimate pick me up, rosemary for remembrance and peppermint for, well, some serious va-voom. Dead sea salts slough away dull skin whilst the oils nourish. This age old combination will perk you up and get you out the door with skin that glistens like a pearl.

The fact that Rosemary is an age old method for waving goodbye to cellulite is also worth a mention here.

Snow White - I'm Wishing

Tricked into Sex Slavery

Quinton Fortune for Tender

Tender Final from Morph Films on Vimeo.

Tender is a charity situated in London, which teaches domestic abuse and sexual violence prevention to young people under 25 through the use of drama and other forms of art.  Tender promotes healthy relationships based on equality and respect, encouraging all men, women and especially young people to actively prevent domestic abuse and sexual violence.

Early warning signs of abuse in intimate partner relationships are often hard to detect.  Being able to identify these when sexual relationships are forming is crucial in preventing people from entering into unhealthy relationships. Abuse/violence in relationships starts with the perpetrator conducting subtle controlling behaviour over the other, which escalates over time. 

Tender's evaluation report, 2009 shows that the work is making positive impact on participants.

www.tender.org.uk

Presidential polls open in Rwanda

Rwanda: Silencing Dissent Ahead of Elections

Proposition 8, California's ban on gay marriage, overturned by judge

Modern Day Slavery - Dignity Overdue

WATCH

Millions of women and girls around the world turn to domestic work in order to provide for themselves and their families. Instead of guaranteeing their ability to work with dignity and free of violence, governments have systematically denied them key labor protections extended to other workers. Domestic workers, often making extraordinary sacrifices to support their families, are among the most exploited and abused workers in the world.