The pros and cons of joining the European Union

The European Union is the economic organization founded after the Second World War by six European countries in 1957 with the signing of the Treaty of Rome. Over time 21 countries more joined this union, so at the present time the Union is composed of 27 member states.It was founded with the intention of bringing peace, stability and prosperity to Europe. As everybody knows the European Union is active in a wide range of areas, economic, social, financial and regulatory environment in which his action in the interest of Member States. Anyway it is important to take into account pros and cons of this Union, and that is going to be my goal in this assignment.

In the one hand, the EU has brought many advantages. In fact, from my generation’s point of view entering the EU it is very beneficial because it enables us many different things which our parents could not even dream of. For us the most obvious positive achieve is that we have the opportunity to work and study abroad. Thanks to this I am studying in Karlstad. This also increases employment opportunities, since everybody have the chance to work abroad. Beside, forgetting about the passport it is not a problem anymore because a simple ID is enough for travelling in the EU.

In the other hand, it is clear to see many disadvantages by taking part of this community. For instance, the richest countries are not equal than the others, it is not fair to pay more and receive less. While the poor ones are taking advantage of belonging to this union because it will benefit, the richest ones are beaten. Thus more and more poor countries (comparing with those who are already in the European Union) are seeking their input. Another disadvantage is that twelve of twenty-seven countries do not have Euro as the official currency so, all good within the Union are not leveled in the same coin.

As a conclusion, it is obvious that the European Union is not perfect even if it constantly has to be improved. Moreover it is also clear that the advantages and disadvantages that this union provides depend on the point of view, which is the country that looked at it. In my opinion entering the EU has more advantages then disadvantages in long term. Now the question would be how long the EU operation will be effective and sustainable with the increasing number of member states and whether its limits will stay within Europe or expand to other continents.

Surveillance In Today´s Society

In today´s society surveillance technologies are invading our lives in every sense. It seems we are walking to a surveillance society where technology is extensively used to track and record our daily activities and movements. As the time passes more aspects of our lives are monitored and recorded, not only trough cameras in public spaces, but with the emergence of new technologies the notion of “home as private space” is becoming much contested.That could indicate that with such technical advances private life comes to an end. But we have to be aware that surveillance is no bad at all. In fact from my point of view nowadays surveillance has always two faces: security and control.

On one hand surveillance activities can be associated to security and social care. I think that sacrificing a little privacy or our freedom is worth the security we get from being under control. People who have nothing to hide should not worry about their privacy and, by giving up some privacy it is easier to fight terrorism and crime. In fact Statistics show that in areas where CCTV is employed, crime rates have dropped considerably, and this is a beneficial factor. These cameras are installed in order to make people feel safer and prevent undesirable behaviors. Hence surveillance can be necessary in today’s world where there are a multiplicity of dangers and risks, and where efficiency is so valued.

On the other hand surveillance is associated to control and lack of privacy. In a democratic context the right of privacy should be undeniable. So the feeling of being spied on by the government does not fit in such environment where privacy must be an essential pre-requisite to the exercise of individual freedom. I consider that governments or other organizations do not have the right to encroach on our lives or rights, although being controlled the right to privacy could be eliminated completely. So, what about living in a free country whether we are continuously monitored? In this sense it could be understood that Governments are destroying our privacy. However surveillance does not come only from the state, in fact on the net Data is digital, so almost everything we do leaves a mark. And this is used as a commercial tool in order to target products. On the whole, from this point of view surveillance activities are inhuman, destructive of liberty and untrustworthy.

In conclusion, we live in a free country and the government at the end of the day wants the best for its citizens. This way, even if I take into account some disadvantages of surveillance in today´s society, I think that being surveillance can help us to live in a safer world. So the ideal point would be to find the accurate equilibrium between the two approaches showed above. We want liberty and order, privacy and security in our lives.

Grades build you up

Education has been keenly debated in Sweden during the past decade and finally the new new government (the Centre-Right Alliance) applied several reforms, one of them in the educational field. They concluded to introduce a new grading system in Sweden in August 2009. Instead of grading with the grades MVG, VG, G and IG starting in grade 8, there will be a 7-step grading system and students will be graded from grade 6, which means official evaluation will begin two years earlier. All in all I definitely agree with this new grading system.

To be honest before coming to Sweden I had no idea about this issue, but since February I am collaborating with a Swedish Primary School in teaching Spanish so I know a bit more in relation to this new Political-Educational reform. The first day in that school I was so interested in knowing how the learning system works in general and after getting the basic information I got a shock. The late grading system which prevailed until the moment absolutely surprised me. Maybe it is because I come from a country where the pupils are evaluated since the third year that I cannot understand how children can be without any kind of formal evaluation until the eighth year, this is merely unbelievable for me.

So for me the educational reform is something I really agree with, since I think grades in earlier time are necessary. There are several reasons behind my opinion.

First of all my view is probably based on my own experience. When I was a child, I was always focused on getting the best marks, and for me this should be the goal in school. Thanks to grades children can feel the pressure and importance of studying and thus doing their best. Besides this way they can experience that going to school is something formal and serious, not just a game. In fact by being graded studying becomes a challenge for students. Maybe at that age it is difficult to figure out how this could help you in the future, but actually it does. So at this point it is clear that grades prepare you in some way for the future, where it is our task to survive in a world of challenge and individualism.

In addition the Swedish National Agency for Education recommends currently formal school reports from year five, however according to my Spanish point of view I would recommend from year three, seeing as it can be profitable in anyways.

As a conclusion as I explained above the introduction of this educational reform will bring better results in this field since the Swedish students will feel the pressure of studying. In the whole grades will provide an incentive to the students. Moreover I think the Swedish government will extend these grades to earlier ages as a consequence of the good results and general acceptation.

Let´s cope with climate change!

The issue of climate change has sparked debate all over the world. There is no doubt that the climate is changing and this increase in the average temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans since the mid-twentieth century is projecting continuation. So in this moment what the Earth need is people who cares the environment where they live in.

Dealing with climate change must be our goal (as long as we live), since it is a real problem that affects us as well as our environment. If we want to continue living on the planet as we've known it, we should act now, otherwise we will regret it. So let´s cope with it instead of focusing on the debate of if humans are the cause of it. Our task is to take steps to adjust to what is coming, not only physically but mentally.

There are different ways to deal with climate issues and many of these start with simple green technologies. Switching to biofuels for transport and nuclear energy for industrial power will be the guaranteed way to make ending global warming happen. That set of measures ends carbon dioxide entering the atmosphere and at the same time it will bring down pollution levels.

The main problem around this topic is that citizens are not aware of the fatal end which is already leading the global warming. One of the key factors in this lack of human consciousness raising is the communication from the correspondent institutions. Thus it is urgent to promote national communication policies in educational environment in order to decrease the level of ignorance. This initiative is supposed to be led by the country's universities and the presence of representatives of the State, civil society and business in general. It is obvious that the current warnings and advices about climate change are not effective at all. We still think that it is not going to happen to us in a direct way, so we just skip the topic by don´t caring about it.

The future is unpredictable but we are on time to prevent and cope with climate change, we are the ones who have the responsibility of changing the future of the world. Moreover a trickle of money from those institutions should begin to fund people´s efforts in order to prevent the biggest problems. More investments by governments would help to cope with this situation and in some sense to contribute to people´s awareness.

My favourite TV series

Since my childhood I have had free access to television so from then on I have had every so often one different favourite series (this term should be understood as an audio-visual works usually seasonal and ongoing with a duration of only a few episodes to many seasons). In general, the TV series and most of the programs I am used to watch are designed to amuse and entertain. Nowadays I am a devout follower of Ugly Betty. But anyway I like watching as well a large number of TV series, such as Friends, Grey´s Anatomy, Prison Break or even The Simpsons.

Initially I did not like so much those kind of series but since the moment I saw the first episode of Ugly Betty I developed a liking for such types of TV series. From that time onward the plot got me hooked and I could not resist to sit down in front of the TV every single afternoon at 4 a.m. Shortly, Ugly Betty deals with an ordinary girl who tries to fit in into an uncompressible world where image is everything. It is an animated TV series where drama, love and amusement take place. And that is exactly what I like.

Actually the thing I like the most from this opera soap is that keeps the full nature of the story hidden and reveals elements episode by episode to keep tuning in to learn more and more. As well this TV series contains recapping segments at the beginning and cliffhangers at the end of each episode. That makes me even more intrigued, so this way I have no other choice than to watch the next episode to follow the plot. Furthermore, I like so much Ugly Betty that I can keep watching every episode over and over, and I never would get tired of watching it. The plots fascinates me from the beginning and are very cleverly set up.

Since I came to Sweden last August, my TV habits have changed radically. Basically because I seldom watch TV, nevertheless I keep watching the online broadcasting every week in order to know the innovations of every episode. Obviously it is not the same as before coming here, but at least I am informed about latest news and changes that happen as the time passes in Ugly Betty.

As a conclusion I just want to recommend to everybody Ugly Betty, it doesn't matter in which version or in which language, the most important thing is the fascinating story below this TV series. You will see, if you watch it for a while, you will be very soon an Ugly Betty fan.

Learning by doing

The experiences of children in their growing up phase are a key factor in building their personalities. The question is which experiences are useful and which are less useful for building a good personality? In my opinion during the infancy it’s important that the children experience good things as well as bad things. This means that the communication between parent and children should be as fluent as possible, and they might let them to experience almost all kind of situations.

Children should learn by life experience not just by their parent´s speech. That is valid for good as well as bad experiences. Children should learn by doing. For example a child will never believe his parents, if they say: “Don’t go down this steeply hill by bike, it’s too dangerous.” But if the child goes down this hill by bike and it falls down and gets some abrasions, then it will always remind that some things are just too dangerous. Off course this kind of education is not always practicable. For example you can’t let a child try drugs only that it experiences how bad drugs are. But for more or less common situations it’s a practicable way of education.
Also it’s probably a better way not to make such strength forbids towards your children. As I said before, children should learn by doing. So in my opinion for example you should not make children instructions when they have to go to bed. The first times they probably go to bed very late, but after a few days, they will notice that it’s probably not the best for them to sleep less and they will change their behavior by their own.

All above mentioned ideas should be applied in the right measure, extreme poles wouldn’t work.