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More Physical Education, but Also More Injuries in Class

March 18th, 2010 at 09:38am Under Education report

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

Too much eating. Too many unhealthy foods. Too many advertisements for food. Too little activity.

Different explanations are offered for America’s weight problem — a problem increasingly shared by other countries. Almost one-fifth of American children and teenagers are overweight.

Dana Cooper hangs upside down on a climbing wall in her P.E. class at Northport High School in New York State

Schools have been urged to increase physical education, an important tool for public health. And many have. Yet now comes a study showing an increase in the number of injuries in “phys ed” class. Injuries increased one hundred fifty percent between nineteen ninety-seven and two thousand seven.

The study involved injuries treated in hospital emergency departments. Only two percent were serious.

The researchers did not try to identify the causes of the increase, but they have some theories.

Lara McKenzie from Ohio State University was the lead researcher. She says one possibility is a decrease in the number of school nurses during the period they studied. For example, a two thousand four study showed that the number of school nurses nationally failed to meet federal guidelines.

Schools without a nurse on duty may be more likely to send an injured child to a hospital.

Another possible reason for more injuries is a change in the traditional idea of physical education. This “New P.E.” expands the kinds of sports that are taught. But activities that some schools offer now, like rock climbing walls and skateboarding, can also expand the risks, says Cheryl Richardson. She is with the National Association for Sport and Physical Education.

Also, she says not all states require P.E. teachers to be specially trained. Untrained teachers could be less likely to recognize unsafe conditions.

Cheryl Richardson also points to one of the study’s findings — that injuries are often the result of contact with a person or a structure. This tells her that the teachers were not giving each student enough space to move around safely.

Six activities produced seventy percent of all injuries: running, basketball, football, volleyball, soccer and gymnastics.

The study appeared online this week in Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The researchers say larger class sizes are another possible reason for the increase in injuries. Larger classes can mean less supervision. The National Association for Sport and Physical Education says twenty to thirty students in a P.E. class should be the limit.

And that’s the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. I’m Steve Ember.

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Dubai Feels the Financial Pain

March 16th, 2010 at 09:36am Under Economy Report

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

In recent years, a shining city grew in the desert of Dubai on — and even off — the Gulf coast. An island shaped like a palm tree was built for hotels, homes and entertainment.

In October of last year the same developer announced plans for the world’s tallest building yet. But the economic downturn soon forced the Nakheel company to suspend those plans.

Dubai is in the United Arab Emirates, a thirty-eight year old federation of seven territories ruled by emirs. But, unlike its neighbor Abu Dhabi, oil has not fueled Dubai’s growth. Oil is only six percent of its economy. Instead, the property and service industries have led its expansion.

Now Dubai finds itself in financial pain. And its reaction has some investors worried.

Last week, Dubai’s largest investment company called for a six-month delay in paying some of its debts. Dubai World Group is seeking to renegotiate terms on twenty-six billion dollars in debt. All of it is linked to Nakheel, which is part of Dubai World.

The government owns Dubai World and will take control of its restructuring. But Dubai’s finance chief said the government does not guarantee its debt.

Dubai World owes creditors a total of sixty billion dollars. The company is not an investment vehicle for the government like a sovereign wealth fund. It is a holding company for businesses in land development, port operations, energy and financial services. The group has used borrowed money for economic development.

Ghiyath Nakshbendi of American University in Washington notes that the problems are linked to a worldwide collapse in real estate prices.

GHIYATH NAKSHBENDI: “Emerging markets are as victim to the world meltdown as any other economy and there are no exceptions.”

He expects the debt restructuring to be successful. He says Dubai and its leaders have too much to lose to let creditors — like banks in Britain — suffer losses.

Still, last week’s announcement was a surprise. Now Dubai World is faced with selling properties at heavy losses to raise money. Some experts question how willing Abu Dhabi will be to rescue Dubai. Their relationship is sometimes tense.

Ghiyath Nakshbendi says Dubai World will have to change its ways.

GHIYATH NAKSHBENDI: “I think Dubai went a little bit too fast and they borrowed too much money in a very short period of time.”

Of course, Dubai was not alone in gathering debt during the easy credit years. There are worries that the crisis could be the first of more to come in other parts of the world.

And that’s the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. I’m Steve Ember.

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