updates on e-books

Three of Korea's online English papers discuss e-books today (well, still in the headlines today - the articles could be a day or two old).

The Herald describes how e-books and reader devices have helped the publishing industry:

The year started off poorly for booksellers.

The outlook for the overall publishing market was largely negative in January. The economy was in the doldrums, and readers put off book purchases.

Kyobo, the country's biggest bookstore chain, said its preliminary yearly sales rose 8.9 percent from 2008, helped by the stronger-than-expected revenue from e-book sales. The lackluster figure illustrates that books sold in electronic form were the main drivers for growth.

While offline book sales remain stagnant, publishers and IT companies began to pay attention to the potential of e-books. Even though there have been a handful of attempts to kick-start the potentially huge market in the past few years, writers, readers and publishers have not paid much attention. That changed dramatically this year.

Device makers such as Samsung Electronics and iriver introduced new e-book readers, raising the possibility that Korea might see a boom in the new platform in the near future following the success of Amazon.com's the Kindle in the United States.

The Joongang discusses how Sony has chosen to keep it's reader device dedicated to reading, and not add a variety of other features.

NEW YORK - The way Howard Stringer sees it, Sony’s digital e-readers should focus on the printed word and making reading “comfortable,” even though the consumer electronics giant could turn it into a multimedia machine. Stringer, chief executive of Japan’s Sony Corp, admits there is a lot of “energy” behind Amazon.com’s Kindle, which is seen as the leader in a burgeoning market for portable reading devices. 

As speculation grows that Apple Inc. may introduce a tablet-style computer that could also address the e-reader market, Sony could differentiate itself by adding more powerful chips, displays and media features to the pocket sized readers. 

But Stringer says that, given the nascence of the market, it is smarter to wait and see how consumer warm to the current makeup of the devices. 

“The consumer will tell us if this format is comfortable and helpful and convenient and all those things before you start plowing on a thousand apps or making the ‘Vaio Reader,’” Stringer said on the sidelines of a press conference in New York on Thursday. 

Although I do like the idea of carrying one device that can do everything, in practice it often seems a challenge for me to shift between features or use two at once.  I guess people better at multi-tasking will feel differently, but I don't mind the idea of having a device that only offers books (and magazines and textbooks...) for reading.  If I want to jog or walk with music or a podcast, I won't want to carry a full-size e-book reader, so I'll need a dedicated MP3 player anyway.

The Times describes a serious problem with using e-book readers in class.  Korea has worked to set up electronic whiteboards - that function as a computer screen you can write on -and e-books for the students to carry that will be lighter than a stack of textbooks.  Those textbooks are copyrighted and the copyright holders aren't interested in offering the material in an easily copiable format.

The government plans to have digital devices replace books and blackboards in schools, a transition it claims will open a new chapter in education. However, the ambitious e-learning initiative appears to have been derailed from the start, with a problem that is less about technology than it is with content. 

The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology has spent 300 billion won (about $255 million) to install "electronic blackboards," or interactive monitors for showing electronic content, in 256 middle and high schools across the country.

However, these neat screens don't see much use in classrooms, as the e-book content to replace printed textbooks is non-existent. 

Critics ridicule the government for putting the cart before the horse, spending lavish money on the e-learning equipment when there has been little progress in plans to convert state-authorized textbooks into digital formats. 

It does seem poor planning to spend all that money to set up the framework and not check up on the content.  Still, there will be no e-book content if there are no e-book readers.  Perhaps the government were attempting to be visionaries, leading the market and the market itself failed in taking advantage of the opportunity.

I've been writing a lot in the last few weeks about e-books but still have no plan to buy one.  Partly, the price is holding me back and partly the range of books and their prices are holding me back.   I don't understand how a paper version of a book is only a little more expensive than the e-version.  There is no need to print the books or store them or transport them; the price should be significantly lower.

Odds and sods

The anonymous blogger at The Korean Front is having housing problems but, admirably, admits that this is uncommon in the EPIK program.  I've been working on updating the blogroll but this blogger may be gone, due to housing issues, soon.  I hope things work out for him/her.
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Ex-Gangwon KOTESOL president Chris Grayson is featured in a Times articles about EPIK teachers.

Being from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, he was a former stained glass artist. Seeking a new adventure, he came to Korea and started to teach in a private English institute or "hagwon" for two years before joining EPIK. "I chose Korea because I knew very little about Korea. It was a mystery to me," Grayson said.

Grayson liked the mountains and the sea of the port city and now meets his former students all around the city. "Korean students are bright and innocent. I see my students everywhere since Sokcho is a small town," he said. He also liked being a part of the regular school system and available to teach students of all classes.

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Hoengseong Gun is concerned about over-drinking during Christmas parties and offers a list of eight nuisances.
Number 2 on the list is boilermakers.  Strange seeing as they originated in Gangwon.

The future of ESL

disney has ESL schools in Shanghai, China.   As a teacher who personally emphasizes 'edutainment' even for my university classes, I think the schools will do well, financially and in actually having students leave the school with a strong command of English.

I am of mixed feelings, though, in how I feel about the school.  I think everyone in the modern age is suspicious of large companies and Disney just about defines 'large'.

Still, I do expect it to work, regardless of what else it teaches.

Here is the site.

This is the opportunity to reduce spending on hagwons

Korean governments have repeatedly tried to reduce the amount that parents spend on hagwons (cramming schools for math, English and other subjects) and repeatedly been unsuccessful.

It could happen this time.

From the Dong-a.

Elementary schools in Seoul have had an average of 29 students this year, the first time for the number to fall below 30 in the city, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education said yesterday.

One big advantage that hagwons have over public schools is the student/teacher ratio.  Indeed, that might be the only big advantage that hagwons have.  The teachers are usually under-qualified...

Wait.  Don't get angry.  In my opinion, many hagwons are using university students who have not yet graduated.  Some of my students are working at hagwons, teaching English, math, geography, piano and other subjects.  They are eager and hard-working, but typically have not graduated with a degree in education.

...School teachers, with an education in education, and small class sizes, should be able to teach more effectively.

A message to the various Ministries of Education:  don't close the schools.  Keep them open and accept the lower ratios as a good thing.

Solving the birthrate crisis.

Birthrate incentives need to focus of returning women to the workforce.

Korea's incredibly low birthrate has been in the news a lot lately and I recently promised a serious post on the subject.  I will try to keep this post 'serious' but I am not sure how deep or authoritative it will be.  It may be serious in tone, but not so much in length.  alright, it is finished and it is a serious length, I would say.

From the Herald:

The government will soon launch a nationwide anti-abortion campaign and aggressively seek more foreigners to come and settle down here as part of efforts to keep the country's population from shrinking, a presidential council said Wednesday.

According to Yonhap News, the move comes as the country again marked one of the lowest birthrates in the world this year.

Let me start with the bad.  I am moderately pro-choice: there are good reasons to have an abortion and there are terrible reasons for having an abortion.  With one exception, I would like to separate this the subject of abortion from birthrate.  That exception is abortion due to the gender of the fetus.  I may return to this point later.

The plans to increase immigration are interesting.  I've been in Korea for a long time, possibly too long, but am not sure how educated I am about the culture (Two humourous links on the subject: asktheexpat, dokdoisours - back to serious-stuff) but this contradicts everything I know about minjok and keeping bloodlines pure.  I like the idea of Korea being more multi-cultural and being more a part of the world than it currently is, but it's clear we aren't thinking about birthrates anymore.

From the Times:

Recognizing the grave nature of this matter, the Presidential Council for Future and Vision proposed Wednesday a package of measures to lift the birthrate and provide support for childcare and education. One of the steps is to offer incentives for families with three or more children which include special interest rates on their mortgages. Third or additional children can also receive bonus scores on college entrance exams and job applications

...

The government has so far announced a series of different measures to promote marriages and childbirth to avert a looming population crisis. But we have to admit that those measures have proven to be unsuccessful at producing tangible results.

The Times also mentions immigration and the seriousness of Korea's low birthrate, but that's not the focus of this post.

The news about mortgages and universities is definitely part of this post.

I can't hold back from saying that it is so weird reading about such a strong government involvement in increasing the birthrate, when in the recent past, having more than one child in China would invite negative government involvement.

Alright, mortgage relief does sound like a good idea and it directly addresses the problem of finding a home big enough for a large family.  Scholarship and financial assistance would also help.  On the other hand, boosting a university entrance exam score and moving a job application higher in it's queue sound terrible.

The Chosun describes two reasons for the low birthrate.  The first is the high cost of raising a child, and the second, related, is the high cost of being a senior citizen:

Advanced countries offer comprehensive welfare benefits. They not only support the cost of raising children, but also guarantee the financial stability of elderly citizens after retirement. But the situation is quite different for the average Korean worker, who faces the constant threat of layoffs, may have already cashed in his pension, and lives in a nation where programs such as annuity insurance to prepare for life after retirement are just budding. Everyone feels pressured to have fewer children so they can save for retirement.

Here is a point that sounds exactly right to me.  I already see myself working until I am grey and bent over, then moving into a grim storage locker for my final days.  I will spend whatever it takes to raise a great child, but fear the cost of a second child.

We've heard enough from the papers; here are my thoughts.

I like the increased immigration plan for a variety of reasons.  It will bring more productive people to Korea and possibly decrease overpopulation elsewhere.  There might be a win-win thing going here and that always feels good.  I hope that immigrants can send some money home and take home some expertise to further assist other countries.  Unfortunately, this would dilute Korean stock and culture - while I don't have much respect for 'pure blood', I don't like the homogenization, the McDonald'sification  of the world.  I guess this is a luxury that we must do without to better care for our seniors.

While I do like the financial aid, I don't think it is fixing the specific limiting reagent involved.  I am a feminist and know that, in my profession, women are at least as capable as I.  Yet, somehow, women must be convinced to give up a year of professional growth, and probably longer.  Indeed, it almost has to be longer; after a year away from work, upon her return, a women might reasonably be less efficient than a man who has not taken time from work.  Presuming this is a traditional family with a wife and husband, it makes better financial sense for the man to keep working and the woman to stay home as long as is best for the child.

I love my son and love most of the time I spend with him but I also enjoy working and my job.  Most women feel the same way, I expect.  If a woman is being asked to have two or three or more children, that is a long time away from the workforce.

All this means women need educational and employment assistance for themselves as much as their children do.

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Near the top of this post I mentioned abortion and new restrictions.  I can see that a lack of abortion services might raise the birthrate, but I foresee not only more children, but more miserable children.  I felt this way in the post leading up to this one - it described plans to lower the minimum age to enter school.  As a childish adult, I want to see happier children; children who are able to enjoy childhood, more than I want to see more children in general.  The Times touches on this point with "some education experts express concerns that the measure may bring about side effects such as children's difficulty in adapting themselves to school life at a younger age. They point out that education should not be tackled only from the point of economic efficiency."

Mulling Things

Acocrding to the Dong-A, "Lowering of School Entry Age to 5 Mulled".

(Man, using the word, or even thinking the word, 'mull' a few times really destroys it's meaning.  Mull.  Mulled.  Mull. Mulled.  I don't even know if I'm pronouncing it right anymore.)

Anyway, back to the article

The government seeks to lower the age of school entry by a year to encourage people to have more children.

Also under consideration are incentives to households having three or more children, such as giving the third child and beyond extra credit for college entrance and employment and financial support for high school and college.

Encouraging to parents,maybe.  Even more hellish for Korean kids, definitely.
In the future, I promise a serious post about Korea's falling birthrate and methods I think would solve the problem.

For now, while the government is mulling children, I plan to mull wine.

When I was a wee lad, I read the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, and other fantasy fare of greater or lesser substance.  One thing that stood out was the healing and restorative power of wine and brandy.  Wine was nearly magically in it's own right.

The truth; that while good,it was nothing special, hurt.

I am hoping that mulled wine will be a wonderful evening treat after a cold day outside, warming my insides and my spirits.  I am hoping that one more dream won't be crushed.

Anyway, here is a recipe:

My favorite spices are cinnamon (6 sticks), cloves (12 whole), nutmeg (1/4 tsp), ginger (1/8 tsp), and allspice (1/8 tsp).
Combine the spices and citrus in a dry red wine, such as Burgundy. Add 1/4 cup sugar. Heat this through for at least 15 minutes, but don't boil. A clean, large coffee pot is a great method for heating the wine.
Use an inexpensive wine for this recipe. Don't get something that tastes absolutely horrible, but this is the time to look at the bottom wine shelf at the grocery store.

And here is the wine (from Gangwondo, no less):

Diony Castle Wine of Hoengseong, Gangwon Province announced on Thursday that its 2007 Domaine Han 23B received 80 points in the famous critic's 100-point rating system.

No flu, flu and Bird Flu/ no jets today

Editted before posting: The links are good. I had to search for sentences in the article, and google gave me full URLs for linking purposes.

I am using my old computer at work. I seem unable to see the full links for newspaper articles. The URLs I am using here for linking are only to the newspaper main page. I'm sorry but you'll have to hunt through to find the articles I am describing. I will edit the post this evening to include links.
From the Dong-a, I learned there is no swine flu in North Korea:

North Korea officially refers to swine flu as new influenza, but many in the North call it swine flu because of international media.

The communist country said yesterday that it has no cases of the flu so far, adding it has no reason to hide any flu outbreaks.

Pak Myong Su, in charge of infectious disease control at the North’s Health Ministry, told the Japan-based daily Chosun Shinbo Oct. 14, “A weakened health infrastructure doesn’t lead to the outbreak of the new flu. If so, this will not undermine our image.”

I recall the communist countries of Europe denying that AIDS existed in their pure and more-wholesome countries. They certainly feared that news of such diseases would undermine their image. Of course, it would be challenging to undermine my image of North Korea.
I was interested to read, though, that it was known by the public as swine flu because of 'international media'. I guess international bad news is transmitted there.

Elsewhere in the article, I learned that there is a new flu from China that medicines don't work on and that North Korean doctors don't have the ability (testing materials or knowledge, I don't know) to recognize the swine flu. But there is no swine flu in North Korea. And it there were, it wouldn't reflect badly on them.

There is swine flu in South Korea but today is the University Entrance Exam and there is no second chance to take it. You take it today or you wait a year.

From the Joongang:

High school seniors nationwide had their temperatures checked at schools where they gathered for last-minute preparations yesterday, and re-takers underwent the checkup process at regional education offices. Some 677,000 people, up 18 percent from last year, will be taking the state test, which will decide their college admission next spring.

Under the Education Ministry guidelines, there will be two separate rooms at each school acting as a CSAT venue for students who are confirmed with and suspected of having the flu.

Each room can house between 15 and 28 students. Some 14,000 teachers nationwide who have been selected as supervisors of the flu rooms have been vaccinated. Anyone showing flu symptoms during the test will be relocated to the separate rooms.

Wow! "Yes, we know you have swine flu and, hysterical exaggerations aside, it can kill you. You can take the test in that room, over there. Feel a little dizzy? Just hang onto the sides of the desk a moment. We'll give you until six PM to finish the exam. You can see a doctor or take your medicine after that."

Although my sympathies go out to all the Entrance Exam takers today, I particularly feel for the sick ones. Fighting!
I am thrilled though, to be teaching today without the frequent roar of fighter jets training overhead. The whole country changes it's behaviors to allow the students the best conditions to work.

I don't know if the migration patterns of birds are responsible but bird flu virus has been found in South Korea recently. From the Chosun (and a good link!):

The resurgence of bird flu in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province is causing concerns to health authorities as the H1N1 flu scare continues. A low pathogenic bird-flu virus was found in excrement of migratory birds in a reservoir in Chuncheon. Despite the low infectiousness, health authorities claim they cannot rule out danger to humans or mutation and pledged to stay alert.

The worst-case scenario is that patients infected with the H1N1 virus could additionally contract bird flu, leading to a mutation that gives rise to a new supervirus. "But that doesn't necessarily mean that a new form of virus will be formed when the bird flu virus appears amid the spread of H1N1 virus," a health official said. "But if that did actually happen, the situation we've seen so far would be a mere shadow of what lies ahead. That's why we have to take preventive measures."

Viruses can share genetic information so I guess a 'supervirus' could be created. As I recall (Bird Flu is so 2005), bird flu wasn't very contagious between people. You could catch it from a bird but not spread it to other humans. Simply making it infectious among humans would be a big step toward 'supervirus' status.

When to close a school: a Japanese study that might work here

Study

review of study.

Some time ago, I saw a link to a study that used hard data to predict when an epidemic is likely and so when a school should be closed.

I should point out that I don't know the exact definition of 'epidemic' - the study uses data to predict if an absentee rate of 10% of students was likely. Losing 10% of students sounds like an epidemic to me, so that's how I am using the word.

The researchers looked at historic absentee rates in previous flu seasons. When they found the magic number of 10%, they looked at the week previous. a single day of 5% absenteeism was a good predictor of 10% absences a week later, but two consecutive days of 4% was better and three days of 3% was better still.

This graph is from a review of the article. I don't know why the numbers are different.

In the study, absences were known to be due to the flu. This might be a problem at my university as students often use a simple prescription form as evidence of illness as an excuse for missing class. They should be using the official excuse letter (Korean "Hal-ae-sa" or "Seo-yo-sa") but many teachers are lenient. This means that some students might be faking the illness but also that the university might not be aware the student was sick.

I'm not satisfied with this post - my son wants some more attention, so I must turn away from the computer. Oh, not 'must turn away', 'get to play with my son'. I may look it over again later, but no promises.

The papers are full of good news!

Another inspiring story, this time from the Joongang.  Climber Um Hong-gil, completed a promise he had made 23 years ago to build a school in Nepal where a fallen Sherpa had lived.

Mr Um was previously mentioned here in March.

I don't want to be negative, but...

Korean politics and the management of same are hard to take seriously.

Recently, a law against junk food being sold within 200 m of schools came into effect.

However, the list of outlawed foodstuffs ― those high in calories and low on nutrition ― has yet to be decided, but noodles and fried chicken have already been removed.

So, the law took effect today, but the specific contents of the law are still unknown. It sounds a lot like the early days of the immigration requirements for E-2 visas. There were new requirements in place, but no one knew exactly what they were.

Now, have noodles and fried chicken been removed from school areas or been removed from the provisions of the law? I have no axe to grind either way, it's just confusing grammar. I figured junk food would include chocolate, well, anything, and most soft drinks. There might well be discussion over Powerade and the like; so-called health drinks with who knows much sugar and the like in them. Fried chicken seems a little high-end for snacking kids.