Lights out, phones on. Many teenagers reach for their smartphones or tablets at bedtime, but it may be a good idea to switch off before you hit the pillow.

    According to a study by researchers at Murdoch and Griffith Universities in Australia, using mobile devices late at night could harm teenagers' sleep and lead to an increased risk of mental health problems.

    The study was carried out on more than 1,000 Australian high school students aged between 13 and 16. It lasted four years as student participants moved from Year 8 to Year 11.

    During the study, students were asked what time of the night they received or sent text messages and phone calls, and how well they slept.

    The results are impressive. When the study started in Year 8, more than 85 percent of the students had a mobile pone and around one-third of these students never used phones after lights out. In contrast, 93 percent of Year 11 students had a mobile phone and only 22 percent of then had no late night mobile use when the study concluded four years later.

    As the levels of mobile phone use increased, there was a growth in poor sleep behavior among the students. Meanwhile, mental health problems also increased. Students in Year 8 who were more likely to use phones at night were found to have higher levels of depression (抑郁) and lower self-esteem (自尊心) one year later.

    Lynette Vernon, lead author of the study, explained that phones affect our sleep patterns because of the unnatural blue light they produce. This light could affect the level of hormones (荷尔蒙) in the body, disrupting (打乱) its balance.

     “The more you sit in bed and watch TV, play with your tablet, and play with your phone at three o'clock in the morning, the more these things affect the slow waves of your sleep pattern and give your poor quality sleep,” Mark Levi, a Sydney-based sleep doctor said.

    Based on the findings, the researchers suggested parents should focus on guiding their children's use of mobile devices.

    According to Vernon, the solution is not simply to ban teenagers from using their devices, but teach them better ways of using them

     “Back when they're aged 7 to 10, you have to be a role model. If you put your phone away at night and it doesn't go into your bedroom, it becomes normalizedin the household and you have a much easier job,” he told The Guardian.

    The Department of Modern and Classical Languages at the University of North Georgia seeks to hire a part-time instructor of Chinese for the Fall Term 2017. Depending on enrollments(登记人数）, the opportunity could continue in the spring and be ongoing.

    Located in the fastest-growing area of the state, the University of North Georgia is a multi-campus(多校园） university with an enrollment of over 18,000 students, making it one of the largest institutions in the University System og Georgia. Through a variety of educational pathways that provide access and range from certificates and associate degrees to a professional doctoral program, the UNG is responsive to local education and economic development needs.

    Job Duties & Responsibilities:

    Teaching schedules may include evening or online classes.

Certifications/ Licenses & Minimum Requirements:

    The candidate should have a Master's degree in Chinese or related field.

    Native or near-native fluency in Chinese.

    Expected Hire Date: 08/01/2017

    Special instructions to applicants:

    If you received any graduate degrees from an institution outside the United States, you must provide a foreign course-by-course evaluation by an independent evaluation service that is a member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Service, Inc.

    Employer Information:

    All employment offers are dependent upon successful completion of a background investigation(调查), as determined by the University of North Georgia. The University of North Georgia, a unit of the University System of Georgia, does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex or national origin, age, disability or religion. We provide equal employment opportunities to minorities, females, and disabled individuals, as well as other protected groups.

    Is smile just a facial expression? Of course not! It is not only used to express pleasure, affection, and friendliness, but also the commonest way to show our good will perfectly without saying anything. A Chinese saying runs： “Never hit a person who is smiling at you.” It is a time-proven fact that smile is a language all its own—a universal language—understood by the people of every nation in the world. We may not speak the same tongue as our foreign neighbors, but we smile in the same tongue. We need no interpreter for thus expressing love, happiness, or good will.

    One day while shopping in a small town in southern California, it was my misfortune to be approached by a clerk whose personality conflicted with mine. He seemed quite unfriendly and not at all concerned about my intended purchase. I bought nothing, and marched angrily out of the store. On the outside stood a young man in his early twenties. His expressive brown eyes met and held mine, and in the next instant a beautiful, brilliant smile covered his face. The magic power of that smile made all bitterness within me melt, and I found the muscles in my own face happily responding. “Beautiful day, isn't it?” I remarked, in passing. Then, obeying an impulse(冲动), I turned back. “I really owe you a debt of gratitude,” I said softly. His smile deepened, but he made no attempt to answer. A Mexican woman and two men were standing nearby. The woman stepped forward and eyed me inquiringly. “Carlos, he no speak English,” she volunteered. “You want I should tell him something?” At that moment I felt changed. Carlos' smile had made a big person of me. My friendliness and good will toward all mankind stood ten feet tall. “Yes,” my reply was enthusiastic and sincere, “tell him I said, 'Thank you!' “Thank you?” The woman seemed slightly confused.

    I gave her arm a friendly pat as I turned to leave. “Just tell him that.” I insisted. “He'll understand, I am sure!”

    Oh, what a smile can do! Although I have never seen that young man again, I shall never forget the lesson he taught me that morning. From that day on, I became smile-conscious, and I practice the art diligently, anywhere and everywhere, with everybody.

    Do you like to show off your expensive items? You could find yourself without friends! Scientists prove that expensive status symbols make you look less socially attractive.

    Items such as a fancy car and a Rolex watch are often thought to increase our social standing(地位) and often come with a high price tag(标签).According to the latest research, however, it has the opposite effect and people would prefer to be friends with someone who places less value on material objects.

    "Often we think that status symbols will make us look more socially attractive to others," says Stephen Garcia, the study's leading author from the University of Michigan. He adds, "However, our research suggests that these status signals actually make us look less socially attractive.

    The researchers conducted six studies which assessed how people presented themselves and how people viewed strangers. People who chose to wear higher status items tended to get a negative response, but people wanted to be friends with people who preferred lower status symbols.

    The study took the role of the luxury(奢侈) item to see if it was possible that the expensive item itself played a part in people's reactions. The definition of a status symbol changed based on a person's socioeconomic status, but the same effect of keeping off potential friends was seen regardless of social position.

    "At a social level, we may be wasting billions of dollars on expensive status symbols that finally keep others from wanting to associate with us, "says Kimberlee Weaver Livnat at the University of Haifa. She says, "And to the extent that close friendships are important to well-being, and we may be unintentionally hurting ourselves."

    However, Patricia Chen of the National University of Singapore said this does not necessarily mean status symbols are a bad thing. She says, "Our findings right now only apply to the formation of new friendships. Status symbols may be beneficial at other times and in other settings, such as when trying to establish new business contacts."

A new study of fifth and sixth graders in Germany examined the relation between classmates' gender stereotypes (性别刻板印象) and individual students' reading outcomes to explain how these stereotypes contribute to the gender gap in reading.

"It's a cycle of sorts," explains Francesca Muntoni, a researcher at the University of Hamburg, who leads the study. "Reading is first thought as a female advantage." It stresses that girls are born to have an advantage in reading, which in turn greatly affects boys by causing them to devalue their actual reading ability. So finally, it damages their reading motivation (积极性)."

The study has proven that boys are less motivated to read and hold weaker reading-related beliefs about their own skills if they hold the strong stereotype mentioned above. And accordingly, they perform poorly in the reading test. The effect of classmates' stereotypes is seen over and above the effect of individual stereotypes. The study found fewer individual positive effects and no effects of classmates, stereotyping on reading-related outcomes for girls.

The researchers say although their study provides evidence of lasting negative effects of stereotypical beliefs in a classroom context, they need more experimental findings on the subject. They also note that students' gender stereotypes were measured by self-reports, which might limit their accuracy. Finally, they point out that their study did not settle how gender stereotypes were formed.

"To solve socially the determined gender inequality in reading and help create classroom contexts that discourage students from acting on their stereotypical beliefs, teacher and parents may consider educating boys and girls in ways that change stereotypical behaviors. And thus students can become aware of their gender stereotypes to counteract their effects on other students' outcomes and to create a gender-fair learning environment," says Jan Retelsdorf, professor of the University of Hamburg, who co-authored the study.

How much of your monthly grocery list ends up in the garbage? A new study reveals the average American spends nearly $1,500 per year on food they'll never eat.

A recent survey of 2,000 Americans reveals the average shopper wastes $1,493.93 on food per year. That's almost a fifth of their grocery bill after every shopping trip. One tenth of respondents claim they "never" purchase food they don't end up eating, while three in 10 say this is something they "always" do.

Half of respondents prefer to head to the grocery store alone, and when they do, half are more likely to stick to their list and 36% are less likely to buy food they don't want or need.

Keeping the list in mind is important, as 38 percent are more likely to let food be wasted if it wasn't originally on their shopping list. Seven in 10 add that when they go to the store on an empty stomach, they're more likely to buy foods they won't eat. So they don't do that that way. Some respondents appear to be in a wasteful cycle when it comes to food waste. Nearly half usually buy and end up wasting the same food every month because they think they'll get around to eating it.

"We can all do better to limit food waste by sticking to grocery lists and, when we get home, prioritizing eating our foods that are_perishable, like fruits, vegetables, and dairy products" says Avocado Co-Founder and CMO Mark Abrials in a statement.

Three-quarters feel guilty about throwing away uneaten food because it's a waste of money — and 48 percent feel the same, due to the harm food waste causes to the environment. "When it comes to food waste, nobody is perfect," Abrials adds. "But in order to consider our environmental impact, not to mention wasted money, we think it's essential to be thoughtful about everything we purchase — whether that's food, mattresses or other goods."