Week #6 Articles {December 21, '20}

Articles written by Ananya Nayar and Misaki Tomiyama, Website edited by Misaki Tomiyama

Articles for this week-

World News-

• Electoral votes affirm Biden’s Victory + How does the electoral vote work?

• UK Further Tightens Restrictions as Cases Increase Rapidly

• Singapore approves vaccine

• Alaskan Healthcare worker has an allergic reaction due to Pfizer dose

• U.S. Cyber Attack

India News-

• CoronaVirus

• Malnourishment in kids

• Virtual Learning impacts on children in India

Other Articles-

• Music while studying; is it a good idea?

• This Week in History

• This Day Signifies

Electoral votes affirm Biden’s Victory

By Misaki Tomiyama

The announcement made on November 3rd affirmed that Joe Biden had won the presidential election with 306 electoral votes, to Trump 232. Ever since the announcement, Trump has been filing lawsuits stating that there has been a “massive fraud” in the electoral counting. Trump and his allies have filed around 50 lawsuits in different states, in which most of them were dismissed by the judges. There was no widespread electoral fraud, but Trump still refused to concede. An electoral college vote cast was scheduled for 14th December, where the electors gathered to formally cast their votes for the next president.

The electoral college finished voting in the evening of 14th December, and solidified Biden's victory for the U.S. presidential election 2020. The state of California formally delivered 55 electoral votes to Joe Biden. He had more than 270 electoral votes, which is the requirement for winning the elections.

Joe Biden will be sworn in as president of the United States on January 20, 2021. On Thanksgiving, a video call was held with president Trump, and he was asked various questions about the elections, in the White House. In the meeting, he was asked whether he will leave the White House if Biden's victory is affirmed. He responded- "Certainly I will, certainly I will and you know that," However, there are still signs of Trump refusing to concede, as in the meeting, he has also mentioned that if Biden's victory was confirmed, the electors had made a mistake. "if they do, they made a mistake", he said. President Putin of Russia, has congratulated Joe Biden for his victory.

How does the electoral college work?

By Misaki Tomiyama

The citizens of the United States do not directly vote for the president, but there is something called the electoral college. The electoral college is a group of representatives for the states who formally elect the president and vice president of the United States. There is a total of 538 votes in the electoral college which determine the president and vice president of the United States. 538 is the total of the 100 senators and 438 representatives of the United States Congress. These 538 electoral college votes are divided amongst the states. Each state gets 3 votes to start with, no matter how big, small or populous. The remaining votes are given in proportion according to the population of the states. When the population goes to vote, they aren't directly voting for the candidates running for president, but actually just telling their state on who they want to vote for, so the elector of the state can cast their votes according to the state's opinion. When a candidate receives more than 270 electoral votes, they win the position for president.

UK Further Tightens Restrictions as Cases Increase Rapidly

By Ananya Nayar

England, Scotland, Wales eliminated the planned relaxation of Covid Restrictions for the winter break, and will now only relax rules for just Christmas day on 25th December.

They have also added a restriction called ‘Tier Four’ which will not allow those categorised to mingle with anybody outside their household. Tier Four now appears in the most congested parts of the UK, so London will be attempting to crush the steady rise in cases.

It is an issued stay home action, however, and does not apply to school and work- so family members will be allowed to go to schools, just not have parties or meet with anyone other than their direct family. Non-essentials, meaning spas, gyms, leisure will close and it is highly advised to not travel in Tier Four areas.

Singapore approves vaccine

By Ananya Nayar

On Monday, Singapore announced that they have approved the Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine which the UK and US had previously approved and are distributing it. The first shipment is expected by December 2020, the Prime Minister also said that there will be enough vaccines for everyone by the third quarter of 2021 if everything goes as planned.

Many were asking from around the world ‘how will the vaccine be stored?’ The Pfizer Vaccine must have -70 degrees celsius storage, and the Singapore health care sector shared how they are storing the vaccine in a cold room which is crucial. The cold storage room’s store the vaccines prior to when they are transported at the same temperature to pharmacies, Singapore only accepted the vaccines when they made sure the vaccines were transported using the cold chain process. Singapore generally has a high temperature, being on the equator and having a warm climate. However, Singapore is a developed country, so it does not have the issue of a short electricity supply or not being able to afford the high cost of electricity, so high air conditioners and insulating doors help prevent temperatures to rise in the cold storage area. When the vaccine was moved to smaller pharmacies and hospitals, there was an issue of power shortages, where the vaccine is not provided with the temperature required. This problem was sorted with the provision of two power generators- if one supply dropped, the other would be used as a backup and maintain the temperature of -70 degrees celsius.

Does the Vaccine have other effects? Alaskan Healthcare worker has an allergic reaction due to Pfizer dose

By Ananya Nayar

On Tuesday, a frontline worker in Alaska had an allergic reaction within ten minute of taking her first BioNTech and Pfizer Shot, and continued to show symptoms of short breath and a high heart beat, she had also developed a rash on her face and her body. Earlier this month, there were two reported cases of allergic reaction in Britain due to the vaccine.

It was said that in the early stages of providing the vaccine, it is normal and common to see reactions like these so it is not to worry.

India News:

Malnourishment in kids

By Ananya Nayar

A recent survey showed that in the main, most populated and significant states, malnutrition has worsened significantly. The proportion of children with growth stunts due to starvation is much higher, despite efforts and improvements of sanitation, access to healthcare and clean water.

Malnourishment in children means- when children are not provided or eating enough food, usually because they cannot afford it due to their family’s poverty. The undernourished children show results of having low height and weight, often feeling tired or fatigued and sick. Below the age of 6, more than 20 million children are undernourished in India, 190 million people are undernourished. That holds for 14% in total of India's huge population.

U.S. Cyber Attack

By Misaki Tomiyama

The Department of Homeland Security- the department aiming to improve the security of the U.S. which takes care of cybersecurity, counterterrorism, border security, aviation security etc, has announced that government agencies and several private companies have been hacked.

The U.S. has accused Russia for being in charge of this ongoing intrusion campaign, however, Russia denies these accusations. The exact information regarding the hacker, is still unknown.

The hackers have attached a malware to the soft-ware update of SolarWinds. SolarWinds is a network- monitoring business which also provides technical service to thousands of organisations. It is claimed that the hack began in March, and a malicious code was attached to the popular software by SolarWinds- Orion. The malware allowed the hackers to steal information from organisations, as they had access to their networks. Around 18,000 SolarWind customers have downloaded the update containing malicious software.

Up till now, six government departments, and several non-government organisations such as Microsoft have been affected by this intrusion campaign. The FBI is also investigating this hack, and many believe that there are more victims who have been hacked, but have not found out yet.

The information stolen and the use of the acquired information still remains unclear. The things that can be done to stop this malicious campaign is also still unclear. Current president of U.S. Donald Trump, has not said much about this incident. President-elect Joe Biden said that he will make cybersecurity his top priorities in his administration.

CoronaVirus

By Ananya Nayar

Citizens of India and the Government have seen Covid-19 cases slowly going down and the Corona Virus situation in India becoming better in the past few months. Yet, India just reached a four point in the number of cases nationwide- 1 crore cases (10 million) reported CoronaVirus cases. The officials are aware of the fact that there are still millions of underreported cases around the country, and it has been approximated that there are/have been more than 6 million unreported Covid victims.

Virtual Learning impacts on children in India

By Ananya Nayar

A study in Mumbai recently showed that at least 40% of children now show symptoms of sensory issues and hyperactivity ‘directly related to attending online classes’ (-The Economic Times.) Child psychologists have seen depression and anxiety among children and teenagers double in numbers during the lockdown and pandemic. The biggest factor being online classes and other triggers such as anxiety for their loved ones and scepticism and wariness about their future and returning to their life before the pandemic. The study also showed that online school is crushing children’s social-emotional development and learning skills, the lack of interaction has caused social anxiety in not only teenagers but children aged even 5 years old. Virtual learning has also impacted younger children in their first few years of primary school since they are not able to keep up with learning basic skills to be taught such as writing, reading, computation, and other necessary life skills that are in the syllabus.

Music while studying; is it a good idea?

By Misaki Tomiyama

All of us listen to music. Babies listen to their parents sing lullabies, kindergarten children sing nursery rhymes, many of us listen to music on Spotify or apple music, and music is often played as background music in shops. It's no exaggeration to say that not a day goes by when you don't hear music. Many students listen to music when they study as well. Students listen to different types of music, ranging from pop to classical, instrumental to loud rap music. Many say listening to music helps them study better, but many also think of music as a distraction to studying. So, is music beneficial, and if it is, what type of music is the best for studying?

Firstly, music can motivate us. According to a research of 2019, when we listen to music, our brain interprets it as a sort of reward. when studying something, you might have promised yourself a reward like watching an episode of a show, or going outside for a bit, if you finish a studying session. When we know we are going to be rewarded, we tend to study more effectively, therefore, music can motivate us.

Many of us can agree that studying is sometimes extremely boring and tiring, and there are times when we get in a bad mood, and can't focus since we don't want to study. Well, music can make us feel better, and improve our concentration. When we are in a good mood, we try a little harder and try to challenge ourselves when doing something difficult or unfavourable. This means that even when you are stressed and overwhelmed while studying something difficult, music can help you work more effectively as it makes you relaxed. Music can also help you become less anxious before a test. A study by Stanford found that music helps the brain pay more attention. "music engages the areas of the brain involved with paying attention, making predictions and updating the event in memory." -med.stanford.edu

Music can have several benefits, but it also has a few disadvantages. Music can distract us. When listening to music with lyrics, or music with an upbeat tempo, we tend to pay more attention to the music rather than studying. That means we can't be fully concentrated. It can also sometimes worsen the working memory, and make us pay less attention to the work we are doing. Our working memory is the ability to work with information. It is the brain's function, and allows us to hold on to new information.

If listening to music can benefit us, but also distract us, what do we do? Well, choosing the right music is extremely important. The type of music we listen to can determine whether we will concentrate or be distracted while studying. It is probably not a good idea to listen to loud and fast rap music, pop music which we like or upbeat music as they can distract us. The best type of music you can listen to is classical music, such as Mozart or Bach. If that makes you sleepy, then you can also listen to lo-fi music, or any calm, relaxing or chill music without lyrics. You should also not make the music too loud, and just keep it as background music. Also, it is always better to not have any ads while you are listening to music, such as on Spotify or YouTube. This can distract you, and it is especially annoying when you are in a full-concentration mode.

So, to conclude, it's your call on whether you want to listen to music while studying or not. If music puts you in a good mood, if the music is not too upbeat or loud and doesn't have lyrics, you should go ahead and listen to music.

This Week in History: 14th - 21st December 2020

By Ananya Nayar

On December 15th 2011, the USA declared an end to the ongoing war against Iran. The war had started in 2003, when the US invaded Iraq. Barack Obama, during his presidency said one of his biggest concerns was what will happen with Iran, so he was fixated on withdrawing the US troops.

The Wright Brothers' first aircraft

December 17th 1903, in North Carolina, brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright are the first people to successfully fly the first aircraft- proving there is a land of possibilities. The gasoline powered engine stayed in flight for 12 seconds, covering around 120 feet on the first flight.

1998 America, on the 19th of December, former US President Bill Clinton was impeached. Impeachment means- to question or point out an error, fault or something that may not seem relevant. It is to challenge or accuse authority legally, in this case it questions justice.

This Day Signifies-21st December '20

By Misaki Tomiyama

The Winter Solstice; Why it happens

Between December 20-22, is the Winter Solstice of the Northern Hemisphere! The Winter Solstice is the shortest day and longest night. We know that the days in Summer are longer than the days in Winter. That means that the length of the days keep changing every day. This is because the earth tilts on its axis, (by 23.5 degrees) and it orbits around the sun. In the winter, the northern hemisphere is tilted away from the sun, and receives very little sunlight. That also means that the Winter Solstice is the day when half of the Earth is tilted farthest away from the sun. However, everyday after the winter Solstice, the day becomes gradually longer. As a result, between June 20 and 22 is the Summer Solstice, where the day is the longest of the year, while the night is the shortest.

The winter solstice is celebrated by many people around the world. Even in ancient Rome, slaves had to celebrate the Winter Solstice with their masters and the schools were closed on the day as well.