Using smells in advertising

So, is scent-based promotion the last great frontier in advertising?  After having your eyes and ears assailed with ads, are you resentful that now advertisers are ready to have a go at your nose?  Or, is this a positive trend?  Since the modern industrial world makes so many terrible smells, is it good that companies are sharing some nice ones?  Finally, how important is your sense of smell to you?  It seems that it is often underestimated.  For instance, in the sphere of education, we talk about visual learners, tactile learners and aural learners, but not olfactory learners.  What role does the sense of smell play in our lives? 

Cargo bikes!

OK.  There are a lot of pictures (and videos) here, but enough text too, so don't fall into the trap of reacting only to the cool bike models you see.  Cite some details from the text as well.

Is this an encouraging trend?  Do you think it will catch on here?  Besides the ecological side, there also seems to be an aspect of this trend connected to individual expression.  Does Slovak culture discourage people from expressing themselves and being rather eccentric?  Are US and other English-speaking cultures more tolerant in this regard?  Have some of the eccentrics in this article gone too far?  Would you consider being carless, or trying to accomplish tasks like these without a motor?  Should the city of Bratislava, or Slovakia in general, do more to become bike-friendly?  Are there safety issues which need to be addressed here?

Greenpeace in Greenland

What do you think about Greenpeace and their actions?  Is it sometimes necessary to break the law in order to bring about positive change?  Do you think the oil spill in the gulf of Mexico was a single incident which could be prevented from happening again through adjustments and safety measures, or is it indicative of a greater problem connected with the inherent dangers of off-shore drilling?  Finally, should saving the Arctic ecosystem be a priority at the moment?  After all, there are not many people in the Arctic and plenty of other environmental problems which effect our well-being to a greater extent.  Should the importance of environmental problems be measured by their impact on humans, and if not, by what?

Soros contributes to delegalization measure in California

It seems to me that this article raises two fundamental questions.  The most obvious being whether marijuana should be legalized.  What do you think?   The other being the role of money in politics.  Soros has often been criticized for throwing his financial weight around in politics (although this is usually by the right wing, who seem to have and use more money in politics than the left does).  Do rich people have an unfair advantage?  How can democracies avoid just living by the "golden rule" –who has the gold makes the rules?  On the other hand, if individuals feel strongly about a particular issue, shouldn't they have the right to give financial support?  What about corporations?

Study says that bullying is frequent even in high school

I am sure this is a topic that is covered fairly often in English classes, but here goes… Skip the survey, but read the article as well as some of the comments on the bottom.  The findings of the study indicate that bullying is more prevalent than was previously thought, especially among high-school students, and not only younger pupils.  Do you think bullying is a problem in Slovakia?  What forms does it take here?  I am guessing that it is less common than it is in the US, but if so, why?  What should be done about it?  Is all of the guilt on the bully's side, or can the "victim" sometimes be partially to blame?  Can violence, or the threat of violence, be a solution in some cases, as certain of the comments indicate?  Finally, one of my students gave a presentation last year about how Slovak kids in British schools are now getting the reputation of being violent bullies towards their British peers.  Is this surprising to you?

Quidditch comes to the real world

This is the last article you can comment on for the second half of October.

So an article for the sports fans and fantasy fiction fans out there.  Make sure to read both pages.  A fluffy topic, but hopefully some at least semi-serious issues connected with it.  What do you think about trying to take something from a book and make it real?  Is this different or similar to people who are part of the Society for Creative Anachronisms and dress up as knights in armor and fight with swords and things? 

The participants say that it is a serious and difficult sport.  There is even the possibility that the NCAA will recognize it.  Is it somehow more laughable and ridiculous than other sports, or are all sports, including Quidditch, only for having fun and keeping in shape?  What do you think about the fact that both men and women play together?  Can you think of other sports which have this possibility (officially)?  Would it be good if more did, or do you think that co-ed sports are a bad idea?

Finally, it seems that this sport is generally only popular on college campuses.  In fact, it would seem difficult for Komenskeho students to do it, since there is no real campus, only buildings in BA (especially given that the snitch can run around off-field).  Does going to university at an American-style campus (where you can do crazy things like this out of the public eye and be part of a community of your peers) attract you?  Or does it seem too separated from the outside world (and perhaps too expensive…)?

History textbooks and national interests.

Here is another example of how education, especially the teaching of history, can become a hot political topic.  This really reminds me of the dispute over textbooks in Hungarian language schools here in Slovakia and also the diplomatic row a few years ago between Japan and China about how Japanese textbooks whitewashed the Japanese role in WWII.  Even in this article, there is a link to another interesting article about how Texas officials have decided not to allow textbooks that paint Islam in too favorable a light  (which you are also free to read and comment on rather than, or in addition to, this article). What do you think?  Should government and the public have a role in how teachers teach history and what textbooks they choose, or should teachers have the power to decide?   Can the teaching of history ever be completely neutral?  Is teaching pride in our country part of teaching history?  Or, on the other hand, is it more important to teach students to be critical towards their country?

Also, this article mainly deals with how the textbooks treat the founding of Israel.  Is there something special about the circumstances surrounding the founding of a country?  Slovakia seems pretty sensitive about criticisms toward the first Slovakia (during WWII) and also seems eager to claim the Great Moravian Empire as a sort of proto-Slovakia.  Americans are free to criticize any period or president, but our "founding fathers" are held as sacred (beyond reproach) even though it is fairly clear that much of our early history has to do with the subjugation, if not elimination, of the native population.  Are people becoming more ashamed of their countrys origins because conquest and war is perceived as less noble nowadays than it was in the past?  

Prenuptial agreements

This website is full of ads, so make sure you ignore them and read all three pages.  Also, check out the comments.  You can also react to these.

It seems that more and more people are signing prenuptial agreements before they get married, in order to protect their money in case they get divorced.  Women were hesitant to do it previously, but now are more likely to agree.  Why do you think that is?   Why is divorce so common as compared to the past?  Do you think that by preparing for divorce through a prenuptial agreement, you are more likely to make it happen?  Is there something unromantic or selfish about prenuptial agreements, or is it a rational choice given the spirit of the times?  Do you think that they will become more common in Slovakia?  In what circumstances would you consider signing one?

Corruption in Slovak politics and employment discrimination

Here's an editorial (an opinion piece from a newspaper which itself is of course not perfectly unbiased) about the recent scandals involving the current government.  The writer apparently fears that this government will lose people's trust and the public will become cynical and think that this government is no better than the last one in terms of honesty.  What do you think?  During the recent elections, some parties/candidates from the current coalition claimed to be new-comers to politics (honest and innocent).  Was this a complete sham?  Is corruption in government an inevitable part of Slovak society?  Is it more prominent in certain parties or types of people than others?  If so, why?  Does it make the public less interested and involved in politics than they might be?  What should be done about this problem?  What is the media's role?

The article concludes with a comment about a recent case of discrimination against Roma teacher applicants.  What does this case say about the common argument that Roma do not want to work?  Is the case exceptional or is it the sign of a larger trend?  What should be done about it?

Renting friends.

Apparently a service is spreading which gives you a friend to go out with for a day (not for free of course).  It started in America (surprise, surprise).  Would you like to have such a job?  Would you ask your clients to pay you directly or just to pick up your tabs?  Would you ever consider asking for the service?  Why are people having trouble finding friends by more traditional methods?  Or is there some other reason why you think this has developed?  What might be the possible risks? 

Last post for October. U.S. Christians don't know much about religion.

Here is the last article for October blog entries.  Please don't write responses to the previous articles for your October entry.

This article reports the results of a US survey which says that Christians don't know much about their religion or about others' religions.  There are a few explanations.  Are they convincing to you?  Why do you think this is the case?  You can also follow a link and take a short version of the quiz.   Do the questions seem appropriate to you?  What is missing?  What questions would you put on a quiz aimed at Europeans or even more specifically Slovaks?

What should be the role of religion and religious instruction in schools?  Do students get enough education about other religions (and about the majority religion) here in Slovakia?  Is it important enough that it should be made a required subject for all students?  Is it possible to teach it in a fair and critical manner?  What are some reasons why people should know more about religion than they do?  If it is not important, why not?