Damien Queally, Programe Manager with Plan Ireland and an Inagh native spoke to The Today Show about how today marks the second anniversary of the devastating earthquake in Haiti. The country is still struggling to come to terms with the aftermath of the catastrophe – which killed more than 300-thousand people. Around 1.5 million survivors were left homeless. Two years since the devastating earthquake progress has been steady, however commitments to children must still be honoured, says international children’s development charity Plan Ireland. Plan’s ‘Haiti Two Years After: Successes, Challenges and Priorities’ report, launched today, highlights that in the past two years since the earthquake of 12th January 2010, nearly 1 million people have now left the temporary camps of Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince. In addition, almost half of all rubble – more than five million cubic metres – has been cleared, agricultural production has improved and spending by agencies on livelihoods has increased by some 30%.
Declan Fitzpatrick, Director & Co Founder of the Addictive Behaviours Centre Ireland (ABC) discussed internet addiction with Gavin Grace. The discussion followed the release of a new survey, which found that internet addiction disrupts nerve wiring in the brains of teenagers. Similar effects have been seen in the brains of people exposed to alcohol, cocaine and cannabis. The discovery shows that being hooked on a behaviour can be just as physically damaging as addiction to drugs, scientists believe. Internet addiction disorder (IAD) is a recently recognised condition characterised by out-of-control internet use. One of the main areas that Declan and ABC provides help and support with is Online/Internet Addiction (including gaming, chatrooms, social neworking sites, dating sites etc).
Some symptoms of internet addiction include;
• Failed attempts to control behaviour
• Heightened sense of euphoria while involved in computer or Internet activities
• Neglecting friends and family
• Neglecting sleep to stay online
Gavin also checked in with another Co. Clare school that’s representing the county at the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition 2012. Lisa Maher, a student at St John Bosco Community College in Kildysart discussed her science project – The Dark Side of Social Media.
In its 48th year the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition is an experience of a lifetime for the students who take part. The exhibition itself is the final stage in the competition which is open to all second level students from Ireland, both North and South. As well as the 520 student projects on display, there are a further four exhibition halls filled with science and technology based exhibits and entertainment.
Clare FM’s Stephen McDermott joined Gavin for his weekly film review. This week Stephen talked about the upcoming Golden Globe awards – taking place this Sunday night and reviewed War Horse by Stephen Spielberg and a new silent movie – The Artist.
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