Workforce of the Future

    The workplace is changing rapidly. Rather than the standard working day of nine to five, employees are working more flexibly to meet their busy home lives. Advances in technology are {#blank#}1{#/blank#} the very nature of the tasks and skills required in the workplace.

    To gain a full perspective of how the workplace is set to change over the next decade, employee benefits provider Unum UK {#blank#}2{#/blank#} with The Future Laboratory to survey 3,000 workers across several industries. They also interviewed industry experts and business leaders on topics from artificial intelligence and robotics to the increase of flexible working and an ageing workforce.

    The result outlines some of the employment changes that businesses can expect to see over the next decade and predicts the {#blank#}3{#/blank#} of two worker cultures which will dominate the workforce. They are the obligated and the self-fulfilled workers.

    “Obligated workers” refer to people with dependents and the sandwich generation, {#blank#}4{#/blank#} raising children with caring for elderly parents. Therefore, they value a career {#blank#}5{#/blank#} to life stages and events and financial security. Joel Defries, 33, father of one kid and partner at London Vodka said, “A flexible employer will allow me to have a long paternity leave (陪产假) and to value my family just as much as I value my job.”

    Self-fulfilled workers are committed to life-long learning and acquiring new skills rather than {#blank#}6{#/blank#} to an employer. They actively look for personal development and want employee benefits that help them {#blank#}7{#/blank#} both their personal and professional ambitions. They treat personal commitments and pursuits as {#blank#}8{#/blank#} to professional commitments. Elly Kemp, 31, {#blank#}9{#/blank#} a full-time employee, now working part-time in a caféand also assisting with her grandmother's care said, “My approach to work allows me the freedom to {#blank#}10{#/blank#} my career at my own pace. I want my work to be fluid so I can change it when I want and do whatever makes me happy at the time.”

Getting help with parenting makes a difference -- at any age

    New Oxford University study finds that parenting interventions(育儿干预)for helping children with behavior problems are just as effective in school age, as in younger children.

    There is a dominant view among scientists and policy-makers. They believes, for the greatest effect, interventions need to be {#blank#}1{#/blank#} early in life, when children's brain function and behavior are thought to be more flexible. However, according to the new research, it's time to stop focusing on when we intervene with parenting, and just continue helping children in need of all ages.

    Just published in Child Development, the study is one of the first to {#blank#}2{#/blank#} this age assumption. Parenting interventions are a common and effective tool for reducing child behavior problems, but studies of age effects have produced different results until now.

    A team led by Professor Frances Fardner {#blank#}3{#/blank#}data from over 15,000 families from all over the world, and found no evidence that earlier is better.  Older children benefited just as much as younger ones from parenting interventions for reducing behavior problems. There was no evidence that earlier interventions are more powerful. This was based on {#blank#}4{#/blank#} data from more than 150 different experiments.

    What's more, their economic analysis found that interventions with older children were {#blank#}5{#/blank#} more likely to be cost-effective.

    Professor Gardner commented: “When there is {#blank#}6{#/blank#} about behavioral difficulties in younger children, our findings should never be used as a reason to delay intervention, otherwise, children and families will suffer for longer.” She continued, “As for {#blank#}7{#/blank#} parenting interventions for reducing behavior problems in childhood, we should stick to the principle, 'it's never too early, never too late', rather than 'earlier is better'.”

    The study draws the conclusion that it makes sense to invest in parenting interventions for children at all ages with behavioral difficulties, because they are no more likely to be {#blank#}8{#/blank#} in younger than older children, at least in the pre-adolescents.

    Of course, there's more work to be done. The experiments conducted were {#blank#}9{#/blank#} to pre-adolescents, to shorter-term effects, and parent-reported assessment of child outcomes. Future studies are needed that focus on adolescents, longer-term outcomes, and using multiple sources for {#blank#}10{#/blank#} child behavior problems.

    Eco-tourism involves people travelling to beautiful but environmental sensitive place. Such trips are usually carried out with a(n) {#blank#}1{#/blank#} guide. Over recent years  this type of travel has been steadily gaining {#blank#}2{#/blank#} as more people search for new travel experiences.

    It is obvious that eco-tourism is beneficial in many aspects. First, all the money spent by the tourists is used to {#blank#}3{#/blank#} the important environmental spots they visit. Second, it helps visitors to better understand the environment, which is sure to {#blank#}4{#/blank#} their knowledge of the world. Furthermore, this style of travel is also more {#blank#}5{#/blank#} of the local culture.

    Compared to normal tourists, eco-tourist use energy more {#blank#}6{#/blank#}, save water and produce less rubbish by finding ways to recycle it. These behaviors have a(n) {#blank#}7{#/blank#} and lasting effect on the local environment.

    Two things are needed to make eco-tourism a success. First, it should be done in small groups. And second, because it requires {#blank#}8{#/blank#} effort, both eco-tourists and locals must be sincere in their devotion to improving the environment.

    Green travel provides local people with jobs in parks, hotels and shops. One great achievement of eco-tourism has been the {#blank#}9{#/blank#} of illegal hunting. Former hunters can now work as guides to help keep the animals safe in their natural surroundings.

Peru is one country using eco-tourism to promote respect for the environment. It's not able to take better care of its rainforests because of {#blank#}10{#/blank#} on more sustainable travel.

    In addition to this, local people's living-standards have improved. Many others are now following Peru's example and using eco-tourism to preserve their environment for the future generations.

    Do you like to play with kids?{#blank#}1{#/blank#}Easter Day(复活节), students at Nazareth Academy in Texas, US, got a{#blank#}2{#/blank#}to play with kindergarten kids.

    Easter Day was on March 27 this year. It's a{#blank#}3{#/blank#}festival in western culture. Each student paired with a kid. They did crafts(手工作品), had an Easter egg hunt(寻找彩蛋活动) and did other activities to celebrate. The school{#blank#}4{#/blank#}this activity.

    They spent a lot of time{#blank#}5{#/blank#}kindergarten kids how to make Easter arts and crafts. Mitul Agarwal, 14, an eighth-grader, taught his partner Ruben Gonzalez how to use scissors(剪刀){#blank#}6{#/blank#}paper. This 5-year-old boy tried to get the scissor cuts{#blank#}7{#/blank#}while Mitul sat next to him to help.

    "Working with little kids is{#blank#}8{#/blank#}. We do a lot of{#blank#}9{#/blank#}about teamwork," Mitu told the Victoria Advocate, a local newspaper. "We teach them things that we know. And we{#blank#}10{#/blank#}about things that they know."

The programme attracted millions of {#blank#}1{#/blank#}.

People came from all over the world to {#blank#}2{#/blank#}her work.