The sharing economy, represented by companies like Airbnb or Uber, is the latest fashion craze. But many supporters have overlooked the reality that this new business model is largely based on escaping regulations and breaking the law.

    Airbnb is an Internet-based service that allows people to rent out spare rooms to strangers for short stays. Uber is an Internet taxi service that allows thousands of people to answer ride requests with their own cars. There are hundreds of other such services.

    The good thing about the sharing economy is that it promotes the use of underused resources. Millions of people have houses or apartments with empty rooms, and Airbnb allows them to profit from these rooms while allowing guests a place to stay at prices that are often far less than those charged by hotels. Uber offers prices that are competitive with standard taxi prices and their drivers are often much quicker and more trustworthy.

    But the downside of the sharing economy has gotten much less attention. Most cities and states both tax and regulate hotels, and the tourists who stay in hotels are usually an important source of tax income. But many of Airbnb's customers are not paying the taxes required under the law.

    Airbnb can also raise issues of safety for its customers and trouble for hosts' neighbors. Hotels are regularly inspected to ensure that they are not fire traps and that they don't form other risks for visitors. Airbnb hosts face no such inspections.

    Since Airbnb is allowing people to escape taxes and regulations, the company is simply promoting thefts. Others in the economy will lose by bearing an additional tax burden or being forced to live next to an apartment unit with a never-ending series of noisy visitors.

    The same story may apply with Uber. Uber is currently in disputes over whether its cars meet the safety and insurance requirements imposed on standard taxis. Also, if Uber and related services flood the market, they could harm all taxi drivers' ability to earn a minimum wage.

    This downside of the sharing needs to be taken seriously, but that doesn't mean the current tax and regulatory structure is perfect.

    When it comes to generation gap (代沟), we usually think of different tastes in music, or pastimes. But now the generation gap is handwriting. After one teacher in Tennessee discovered that she had students who couldn't read what she was writing on the board, she posted it on the Internet saying that handwriting should be taught in schools.

    Others who are against it claim that handwriting has become out of time in our modern world. Typed words have become a main form of communication. Once a practical skill, handwriting is no longer used by most of Americans. It is no longer taught in schools, and some claim that the time that it would take to teach it could be put to better use, for example, by teaching the technical skills.

    But even in today's world there are still plenty of reasons to pick up a pen and write on the paper. In America, signatures (签字) by hand are still often required, for example, signing for a registered letter and buying a house. And original signatures are much more difficult to fake (伪造).

    There is also strong evidence that writing by hand is good for the mind. It makes a different part of the brain active and improves fine moving skills in young children. People are also more likely to remember what they write by hand than what they type, and the process of writing by hand has been shown to stimulate ideas. Not only those, studies have shown that kids who write by hand learn to read and spell earlier than those who don't.

    Yes, we live in a modern world, but we live in a modern world of basic and important values.

    What makes a sense of humor is a difficult thing to tell. Different people find different things funny, and what may seem hilarious to some, will be highly rude to others. However, having some kind of sense of humor is important for reducing stress and getting along with others. Therefore, it's important to think about ways to improve your sense of humor.

    Look for the funny side of situations. While it can be difficult at times to find the funny side in unfortunate events when you're having a bad day, try to think about how the situation might look like to other people, and attempt not to get too angry. Laughing over minor accidents, trips and falls will help you in preventing the loss of temper that you will regret later.

    Learn some basic jokes. Some people find it hard to remember jokes, and feel left out when others are telling them. It's worth trying to learn a few jokes that you can pull out the bag when you need to, or regularly think about how you can turn a funny situation that occurs in daily life into an entertaining anecdote(趣闻) for later.

    Look at joke or humor cards. There are many different kinds of funny cards available, which can be a great inspiration for finding ways to improve your sense of humor. Giving an appropriate funny card to friends and family on the right occasion will show that you have a good sense of humor and are thinking about them.

    Learn from friends. Look at friends that you think have a great sense of humor. How do they deal with situations, and what kind of jokes do they make? Is there anything you can take away from their actions?

    Each year there is an increasing number of cars on roads and streets as millions of new cars and trucks are produced. One out of every six Americans works at putting together the parts of cars, driving trucks, building roads or filling cars and trucks with gas. Americans won't live without cars!

    Most Americans would find it hard to think what life would look like without cars. However, some have realized the serious problems of the air pollution that is caused by the car.

    The polluted air becomes poisonous and dangerous to health.

    One way to get rid of the polluted air is to build a car that does not pollute. That's what several of the large car factories have been trying to do. But to build a clean car is easier said than done. Progress in this field has been slow.

    Another way is to take the place of the car engine by something else. Inventors are now working on steam cars as well as electric cars. Many makers believe that it will take years to develop a practical model that pleases man.

    To prevent the world from being polluted by cars, we'll have to make some changes in the way many of us live. Americans, for example, have to cut down on the number of their total cars. They are encouraged to travel and go to work by bicycle. Bicycling is thought to help keep the air clean.

    But this change does not come easily. A large number of workers may find themselves without jobs if a car factory closes down. Thus the problem of air pollution would become less important than that of unemployment.

    Although cars have led us to a better life, they have also brought us new problems.

Unhealthy health care bills, long emergency-room waits and inability to find a primary care physician just scratch the surface of the problems that patients face daily.

Primary care should be the backbone of any health care system. Countries with appropriate primary care resources score highly when it comes to health outcomes and costs. The U.S. takes the opposite approach by emphasizing the specialists rather than the primary care physician.

A recent study analyzed the providers who treat Medicare Beneficiaries(老年医保受惠人). The startling finding was that the average Medicare patient saw a total of seven doctors — two primary care physicians and five specialists — in a given year. Contrary to popular belief, the more physicians taking care of you don't guarantee better care. Actually increasing breakup of care results in a corresponding rise in costs and medical errors.

How did we let primary care slip so far? The key is how doctors are paid. Most physicians are paid whenever they perform a medical service. The more a physician does, regardless of quality or outcome, the better he's reimbursed (返还费用). Moreover, the amount of a physician receives leans heavily toward medical or surgical procedures. A specialist who performs a procedure in a 30-minute visit can be paid three times more than a primary care physician using that same 30 minutes to discuss a patient's disease. Combine this fact with annual government threats to indiscriminately cut reimbursements, physicians are faced with no choice but to increase quantity to boost income.

Primary care physicians who refuse to compromise quality are either driven out of business or to cash-only practices, further contributing to the decline of primary care.

Medical students are not blind to this scenario. They see how heavily the reimbursement deck is stacked against primary care. The recent numbers show that since 1997, newly graduated U.S. medical students who choose primary care as a career have declined by 50%. This trend results in emergency rooms being overwhelmed with patients without regular doctors.

How do we fix this problem?

It starts with reforming the physician reimbursement system. Remove the pressure for primary care physicians to squeeze in more patients per hour, and reward them for optimally managing their diseases and practicing evidence-based medicine. Make primary care more attractive food to medical students by forgiving students loans for those who choose primary care as a career and harmonizing the marked difference between specialist and primary care physician salaries.

We're at the point where primary care is needed more than ever. Within a few years, the first wave of 76 million Baby Boomers will become qualified for Medicare. Patients older than 85, who need chronic care most, will rise by 50% this decade.

Who will be there to treat  them？

SHARK CONSERVATION IN SOUTH AFRICA

Take a two-week trip that you will never forget as a volunteer with sharks on a beautiful stretch of South Africa's coastline. Head out to sea to witness one of the world's most powerful (and most misunderstood) creatures on this inspiring project, enjoying watching them from both above and below water.

The DAY-BY-DAY schedule

Day 1: Arrive in Cape Town on a Sunday. You will be collected from the airport and spend your first night in a guest house in the city centre.

Day 2: You will be collected bright and early from the guest house and taken down to the project. The drive takes about 90 minutes. You will receive a welcome and head out to sea to witness your first sharks!

Day 3: Most days you will be out on the boat with the sharks, depending on weather. Help out with the full range of tasks on the boats, and in conservation initiatives on land too.

Last day: On the final day of your project you will be taken back to Cape Town for your onward travel.

The price is £ 829, including the voluntary work programme with accommodations, airport transfers, one night in a guest house in Cape Town, breakfasts daily and lunches when on the boats. Your trip can be extended at a cost of £ 375 per week.

It is an amazing experience! Some volunteers planned to stay for 4 weeks, extended to 6 weeks and still didn't want to come home. If you'd like to chat about this holiday or need help, we're very happy to help.

Call us at 01273 823 700.

Email us at rosy@responsibletravel.com.