Miscellaneous
Child seeks parents
Attention is the best antidote for materialism. Lisette Thooft| November 2003 issue Once when my son John was around 13, he was sitting in the living room watching television. It was a daily soap opera that he ab-so-lute-ly had to see so he could join in with peer group discussions. Another stupid Read More...
Little people, big business
Jonathan Rowe and Gary Ruskin claim that our culture of consumption is undermining parenting. Jonathan Rowe and Gary Ruskin | November 2003 issue Paul Kurnit is the president of KidShop, an advertising firm that specialises in marketing to children, and he has plans for our kids. ‘Kid business Read More...
Dying to live
To find peace you sometimes need to confront your worst fears. Tijn Touber | November 2003 issue Not too long ago, a good friend of mine reached a stage in her life where she did not know what to do any more. Having just survived a marriage crisis, she had recently severely dislocated her back. Read More...
It takes one to talk
More and more people are looking to revive the lost art of conversation. How do we start talking again?Margaret Wheatley | November 2003 issue We stay silent and apart for many reasons. Some of us have never been invited to share our ideas and opinions. From early school days, and now as adults, Read More...
Learning not to fight
Conflict mediation at schools improves atmosphere and student performance.Marco Visscher | November 2003 issue Ao Wen Ya, a secondary school teacher in Beijing, China, teaches her students to live together peacefully. The result? ‘Children feel happier and more relaxed now,’ says Wen Ya. Read More...
Liquid love
Modern individuals continually yearn for the security of a relationship. At the same time they fear the accompanying obligations and impingements on their freedom. A philosophical look at an all too familiar paradox.Zygmunt Bauman | December 2003 issue My central characters are men and women, our Read More...
No more free ski holidays
Doctor Bob Goodman doesn't want to be a walking billboard. Marco Visscher | November 2003 issue His desk at the academic medical centre in the heart of New York is overflowing with pens. Paxil, Zocor, Lipitor; the names betrays the origins of these gifts. Dr. Bob Goodman’s colleagues sent him Read More...
Somalia needs a mother's nurturing
Asha Abdalla's quest to become Africa's first female president. Luke Disney | November 2003 issue She could have gone back. With dual American-Somali citizenship, a university education and a strong résumé, Asha Ahmed Abdalla would have had little trouble returning to the comfortable life she had Read More...
Crisis? What crisis?
The recession is causing tension in the job market and uncertainty in many families. But according to Jurriaan Kamp there is a deeper crisis lurking behind the current malaise: the modern economic system is creating fewer and fewer jobs that people find gratifying.Jurriaan Kamp | October 2003 Read More...
Stars on the rise
Europe is a philosophy to be reckoned with. Luke Disney | October 2003 issue ‘Where is the world going: toward perpetuation of rule by power, or instead evolution to communities of consent?’ Graham Fuller, former vice-chairman of the CIA’s National Intelligence Council, put a fine point on Read More...