BLOG 15 - A concert without musical instruments

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/music-news/8994621/A-concert-without-musical-instruments.html

(Another video can be found in the original article.)

On January 5 the National Youth Orchestra performed at the Philharmonic Hall in Liverpool; the world premiere of HandsFree. Anna Meredith, 33, is one of Britain’s leading young composers and composed a piece without any musical instruments. She said about the piece: “There will be clapping, stamping, singing, beat boxing – basically anything I can think of that avoids instruments.” Meredith showed the NYO musicians around in Birmingham last summer to show them how interesting music could be made by clapping, body percussion and beat boxing in a creative way. Meredith added: “Beat boxing for long periods is exhausting and it turns out that clapping for more than 30 seconds is pretty painful.”

After watching the clip, I really wish I could have seen HandsFree in Liverpool. I love music in general, but I especially like it when people try to do something different. Music without musical instruments, for instance, is something I particularly like. It is not without reason that I like the group Voice Male so much. Voice Male is a Belgian group of six people who sing all their songs a cappella. Although, the trailer (as shown above) implies that HandsFree might seem a little chaotic, I do hope that a longer version of their performance will be online soon, so I can enjoy watching them without leaving home.

BLOG 14 - Death rate in Welsh villages similar to African countries

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8966669/Death-rate-in-Welsh-villages-similar-to-African-countries.html

Data released in Parliament show that the death rate in the poorest parts of Britain is as high as that in some African countries. The mortality rate is the amount of deaths per 100,000 people in a single year. The mortality rate for England as a whole is 462, but in the most deprived areas of Britain, mainly Wales, is as high as 1,500. By contrast, in Rwanda this is 1,427 and it is 1,452 in Botswana (data from the World Health Organization). The highest rate recorded by the WHO is in Malawi: 2,344. The high death rate in parts of Wales and England is said to be caused by older people who did hard manual work and younger residents who are unemployed an often turn to drinking, doing drugs or violence. In the mean time everyone who gets the chance to leave will do so, which leaves the least healthy residents behind.

The reason mentioned above for the high death rate seems highly probable. However, the mortality rates provided by the World Health Organization shows figures about the whole country, whereas the data from Britain shows rates from a relatively small part of the country. What if there are several retirement homes in that particular area? That would also mean a higher mortality rate. If I was to advise the British government, I would suggest investigating the reason for the high mortality rates and helping the areas where most help is needed. Perhaps, creating work could be a solution for a better and longer life in some of these areas.

BLOG 13 - Number of UK-born university applicants slumps by 8%

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2012/jan/04/uk-born-university-applicants-slumps

The number of UK-born students applying to start university has slumped by almost 8%. This is because fees have increased up to £9,000, which is almost three times the current maximum. According to Martin Lewis, head of a government-commissioned taskforce on student finance information, the drop in university applicants is caused by misinformation about the new fees regime. Students believe that they have to pay the fees upfront, whereas in fact they have to repay their loans when they graduate and earn more than £21,000. Some say that the increased fees are not the only cause of the decline in applications. Demographic factors could aloes be behind the slump because the number of 18-year olds in the UK is projected to decline over the rest of the decade by 11%. Professor Les Ebdon says: “Ministers need to launch a campaign to ensure that older students understand the loan system and the opportunities available.”

I agree with Professor Les Ebdon. If a campaign about the loan system is launched by the Ministers, students will be better informed and therefore more able to make a thought-out decision. On the other hand, the increased fees have to be paid back in the end, which means that it takes longer for the students have fully repaid their loans. For some students this might be a deliberate reason not to apply for university. Still, a drop in applications should be expected because there will be a decrease in eighteen year olds over the past couple of years.

BLOG 12 - UK album sales fell in 2011 but digital downloads rose

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16382648

According to the British Recorded Music Industry, BPI, digital downloading music has become more popular in the UK in 2011. Digital sales have quadrupled since 2007, with fifteen albums selling more than 100,000 digital copies. Adele’s album 21 proved to be the most popular. However, the decline in CD album sales is higher than the increase in downloads. The BPI blamed the overall decline to piracy and accused the government of taking too long to tackle the problem. In France, on the contrary, a law has been passed that allows pirates to be blocked from the internet for one year after three infringements. However, not only piracy caused the overall decline in album sales; buying habits changed. Philip Buxton, an independent digital media consultant, explained that people are buying more individual songs compared to albums. They seem to buy only the songs they like and not the entire album.

I have to agree with Philip Buxton because I think the main cause in the decline in album sales is due to changing buying habits. The internet allows us to buy just the tracks we love most. Although, this seems ideal, it could potentially harm the music industry in the future. When the artists’ incomes diminish, more artists might decide to quit music. Increasing ticket prices might prevent from that, but perhaps we should all keep buying albums.

BLOG 11 - The secret behind Royal Wedding Chocolate Cake - 1,700 rich tea biscuits

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/theroyalfamily/8960505/The-secret-behind-Royal-Wedding-Chocolate-Cake-1700-rich-tea-biscuits.html

The recipe of the royal wedding cake is still top secret, but the secret behind it can finally be uncovered. Barry Colense, responsible for the cake, revealed that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s cake was made using 1,700 rich tea biscuits; the Duke’s favourites. Colense also told that he had to make two versions. Both cakes travelled to Buckingham Palace following two separate routes to be sure that one of the cakes made it safely. The cake itself remained untouched during the wedding because they wanted to display it later. The guests were served 1,000 especially made pieces. Overall, it was a lot of work and very labour intensive for each of the white decorative flowers took four or five hours to make.

It is nice to know how something like this works, but to me it seems a bit exaggerated. Of course, the wedding is followed by the entire world and it is preferred that everything runs smoothly. However, are two versions of the cake, two routes to Buckingham Palace, 1,000 especially made pieces to actually eat, and 1,700 rich tea biscuits really necessary? My answer: no.

BLOG 10 - Third of parents give schools thumbs down in new Ofsted rating system

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/8986292/Third-of-parents-give-schools-thumbs-down-in-new-Ofsted-rating-system.html

Thousands of parents have rated their children’s primary and secondary schools on a new website and with shocking results. A third of parents are so unhappy with their schools that they would discourage other parents to send their children to the same school. Special concerns have risen about teaching, behaviour, bullying and levels of homework. Families are given more power to raise concerns about schools for their views will be passed to inspectors carrying out routing visits. Jean Humphrys, Ofsted education director, explained that this is very useful for other parents who are choosing a school. It is also possible to look instantly at the areas that parents are most satisfied about and their main concerns.

It seems that this new rating system is a good step forward in encouraging better education. Since it is rather easy to find this information about all the school in the neighbourhood, it might happen that some schools will see a decline in applications. If so, those schools will be forced to improve themselves. The only thing that should be taken into consideration while reading the other parent’s feedback is that the feedback will not always be nuanced. Apart from that, I think it is a good system and possibly necessary. If a third of all parents give their schools thumbs down, something calls for change.

BLOG 9 - New Year Honours: London list includes ex-gang member

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-16364580

Chris Preddie, 24, is a former gang member who was related to a schoolboy’s killers. His cousins were jailed for eight years in 2006 and his brother was shot dead. He abandoned drug dealing and turned his life around. He joined a Crimestoppers scheme aimed at cutting youth violence in south London. Now he is among the London figures listed in the New Year Honours for his youth work. Richard Tayler does not agree with this because he feels an honour should not be given “to the cousin of the killers of my son”.

I understand the way Mr Tayler thinks. However, as far as I know you should be judged on your own actions and not your relatives. I have to admit that I do not know much about this case, though. If you look at the achievements of Chris Preddie, I have to admit that his life changed for the better and it is good to recognize this. It would be great if it could stimulate others as well. Being completely honest, I am not so sure if I would have nominated him, but I have to admit that it seems like Chris Preddie really achieved something. Congratulations!

BLOG 8 - Unemployment 'set to rise in 2012'

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/dec/28/unemployment-set-rise-2012-cipd

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) forecast an increase in jobless people for the upcoming years. The unemployment rate will be the highest (2.85 million) since 1994 and it will continue to rise in 2013 were it is to peak at 2.9 million who are out of work. Slow economic growth is said to be the cause of a high unemployment rate (2.5 million) until the middle of the decade. Dr John Philpott, chief economic adviser at the CIPD, said that labour productivity need to be raised back to more normal levels by the private sector business at some point. A spokeswoman from the Department for Work and Pensions said: “The increase in those claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance has slowed and our welfare reforms are having a positive impact with overall benefit claimant numbers falling by around 40,000 in the last 18 months.”

The slowed increase in those claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance seems positive. Unfortunately, there is still an increase and considering the numbers of CIPD the future for the current jobless people does not seem bright. If predictions are right around 4.7% will be out of work in 2013. Compared to the Netherlands it is actually not extremely high for the unemployment rate in the Netherlands was 4.9% last November. Still, it is way too high in both countries and if possible it should be stopped as soon as possible. For now, I just would not know how to do so.

BLOG 7 - Alcohol hospital admissions double in a decade

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8947210/Alcohol-hospital-admissions-double-in-a-decade.html

In 2010/11 over 1.1 million people were admitted to casualty for injuries or illnesses caused by drinking in England. In 2002/3 this was ‘only’ half a million. In the last 12 months admissions have risen with 11%. In London the increase was the highest with 14%. Retail analyst Nielsen published a study which announced that

It seems like the government should undertake some action in order to prevent increasing hospital admissions due to alcohol. However, this might not be easy since total consumption of alcohol has not increased. It seems like less people are drinking, but they are drinking more. For the government to reach these people and to prevent them from more drinking seems like a real challenge. If they do not manage though, the National Health Service will be charged with increased costs. Something the government must be willing to prevent.

the amount of alcohol sold in supermarkets and off-licenses in Scotland has dropped since October. Andrew Lansley, the Health Secretary, said that total consumption of alcohol has not increased recently, and therefore: “We have serious problems with both binge-drinking and long-term excessive alcohol abuse in a minority of people.”

BLOG 6 - Car insurance to rise by 11% for young women after European ruling

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/8930102/Car-insurance-to-rise-by-11-for-young-women-after-European-ruling.html

Due to European rules young women face an 11% rise in the cost of their car insurance by the end of 2012. The reason behind this rise is that European rules ban pricing according to gender. Since young women motorists are at relatively low risk of an accident, they might see their insurance costs rise with about £400 annually. This is more than any other group. Young men, on the other hand, are likely to get cheaper premiums, even though they are generally high risk drivers. The continuing discussion in Europe focuses now on whether the rules should be extended to cover pricing on the basis of age and disability. If so, it could increase the insurance costs for the majority of people.

Although, it seems like European rules provide against discrimination, it in fact does discriminate now. Insurance costs are based on statistics and it happens to be that young men in general are more reckless and therefore more likely to be involved in an accident than. Let’s say middle-aged women. Instead of making them – those who are responsible – pay for their actions, everyone has to pay for it now. So, European rulers decided to ban pricing according to gender to provide against discrimination, but I am not so sure if it really fair.