Is music good for the brain?

Our world, though much more advanced now, still has it's flaws. Problems such as global warming, pollution and poverty have risen. However, we have also been slapped in the face with more sly problems, including depression, cancer and ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). There have been a lot of different treatments for these illnesses, and a more recent, less known one is using music, also known as music therapy. At just the thought of it, one can not think of a bad side to music therapy on the spot. Nevertheless, is it affective? I think that it is.

Music has been part of our culture for centuries. The original idea of music as a healing 'device'  which could affect health and behavior is quite old, dating back to at least the writings of Aristotle and Plato. However, in the 20th century, music therapy really began after World War I and World War II when community musicians, both professional and beginner, went to Veterans hospitals and played for the thousands of veterans suffering both physical and emotional trauma from the wars. The notable physical and emotional responses to music from the patients led the doctors and nurses start hiring musicians into the hospitals.Evidence soon showed that musicians needed some training before entering the facility therefore the demand grew for a college curriculum.  The American Music Therapy Association was founded in 1998 as a union of the National Association for Music Therapy and the American Association for Music therapy.
Music therapy, based on the patient's needs, may include singing, improvising, song writing, marching, playing percussion instruments, movement or listening to their preferred style of live or pre-recorded music.

As mentioned before, music has had a profound effect on your body and psyche. Those who practice music therapy are finding a benefit in using music to help cancer patients, children with ADD, and others.Hospitals are also beginning to use music and music therapy to help with pain management, to promote movement, to calm patients, to keep away depression, to ease muscle tension, and for many other benefits that music and music therapy can bring. This is not surprising, as music affects the body and mind in many powerful ways. Some of the parts affected by music may include: brainwaves (Research has shown that music with a strong beat can stimulate brainwaves to resonate in sync with the beat, with faster beats bringing sharper concentration and more alert thinking, and a slower tempo promoting a calm, meditative state), breathing and heart rate (Parts governed by the autonomic nervous system, such as breathing and heart rate can also be altered by the changes music can bring. This may mean slower breathing and slower heart rate...)and state of mind (Music can also be used to bring a more positive state of mind, keeping away stress, depression, anxiety..) Music may also affect other areas of the brain. In the interview with Professor Denise Grocke about music therapy, she had said that music affects the brain in miriad ways, depending on what you ask the person to do.  Rhythm is represented across the brain fairly globally, so just tapping to a beat doesn't require a lot of cognitive ability.  But if you ask someone to remember a rhthm and clap it back, then you activating memory areas in the brain.  Similarly with melody.  Music perception tends to be located in the right hemisphere, but if the task is complicated then other areas of the brain are activated.

Luckily, music therapy has no side affects. Maybe the information is wrong, or we haven't been treating patients with music for long enough to really decide. However, some websites state that listening to music way too much is bad, and that the more you 'over-listen' music, the more likely you are depressed. In a test, one-hundred and six children between the ages of seven and seventeen participated. They were exposed to four different levels of music listening. After interviewing the children, researchers documented their exposure to media. After categorizing media exposure into five categories (Music, Video Games, the internet, television and movies, and print material, such as books and magazines), the researchers determined that children who listened to music a lot were more likely to be depressed. You may be thinking that this just contradicts my point in how music helps keep away depression, but the study didn't say that music was the cause of depression, just that depressed kids were most likely to listen to music more.

Music has been part of our lives for a very long time. The origins of the thought of music healing also dated back a while, up to the writings of Plato and Aristotle. Music therapy helps cancer patients, children with ADD, and other mental illnesses... Hospitals and clinics are beginning to use music and music therapy to help with pain management, ease muscle tension, and for many other benefits. Therefore, is music good for the brain? I believe it is.


http://www.austmta.org.au/

http://www.dailyrx.com/depression-linked-music-consumption

http://www.life123.com/health/stress-management/therapy/what-is-music-therapy.shtml

http://musicworkswonders.org/html/MTFAQ1.html

http://stress.about.com/od/tensiontamers/a/music_therapy.htm

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/When_did_music_therapy_start


musictherapy.org

Interview with Professor Denise Grocke

Camp Reflection

(Camp was extremely fun, but due a very busy week, my camp recount will probably be done only by Monday)

I think that during those three or so days at camp, I improved on many skills, some of which surprised me a lot. These included: walking long distances with a 15kg pack, leadership, persistence, tolerance (really surprising), patience, responsibility.... Most of these goals did connect to my learning goals, though, as mentioned before, a few popped up out of the blue.

Some of the most challenging things that happened, other than the fact that i have a heavy pack on my back for at least 4-5 hours, being the whip (a really hard job when the last people always stop every 5 seconds to massage their necks... moaning), trying to stay calm as different times (an example was when the boys in our cooking group refused to eat tuna with the spaghetti), setting up the tent with twisted pegs and waiting 2 HRS FOR THE OTHER GROUPS TO GET BACK SO THE I COULD HAVE A SHOWER!!! So highlights where: realising our walking group had completed the hike first :P, FINALLY having a shower, cooking 'independently',  playing a failed attempt of forty forty (with the occasional face plants by Aaron), the Open Mic Contest and when a tiny puppy chased a pig three times its size :P

Meeting up with the group, I felt pretty excited to see some people, though not as... thrilled to see others. Maybe it was because I though that they would go overboard with some jokes again? (and I wasn't wrong).

If I could have left one thing at home, well... I think I packed pretty well, but if I had to choose, it'd probably be my extra pair of runners? I didn't really have a need for them, so they stayed in my bag the whole time making it smell weird. If I could have taken something, it would probably be my phone. When I came home, I felt really bad because my parents had tried to call me without realising it was turned off.. at home :(

Sad-ish stuff beside, I will definitely remember many of the hilarious things that happened that camp for the rest of my life :D

 

Is It Ethical To Keep Animals In Zoos?

What is a zoo? According to Encarta Dictionaries, a zoo is a park where live wild animals from different parts of the world are kept in cages or enclosures for people to come and see, and where they are bred and studied by scientists. However, there is often debate on whether it is right to keep animals from their natural habitat. My arguments will be around the Melbourne Zoo and I do think that zoos, especially Melbourne Zoo, are ethical, though only when certain requirements are considered, including enclosure size and landscape, before the animal can be placed into a zoo.

As mentioned above, I think zoos are ethical. Firstly, they are great places to preserve endangered species. At the Melbourne Zoo, I saw many different species at the zoo which were endangered including orangutans, gorillas and Sumatran tigers. In 2008, the population of the Sumatran tigers was only 250, however in 2010, the population rose to 300. Another reason zoos are ethical is because they provide health care and vets when there isn't any in the wild. I was at the Sumatran tiger talk at the zoo and the speaker said that if a tiger was to hurt its tooth in the wild, it would have to live the rest of its life with a sore tooth. On the other hand, those living in the zoo would definitely get treatment. My third point is that zoos are a great way to educate people about animals, endangered or not. Everywhere I walked at the Melbourne zoo, I saw signs and speakers telling me about the animal, how they lived, why they may be endangered and much more. After the trail, I learnt countless things, including gorillas being 98% similar to human and that a lion wold be defeated by a polar bear in the fight. Another example is the 'They are calling on you' campaign to save gorillas. There are many signs around the zoo educating people on why gorillas are disappearing. One of the main threats to gorillas is the illegal mining of coltan, which is a mineral used in mobile phones. By donating old phones, it will help lessen the demand for coltan mining in gorilla habitats. Thanks to the numerous signs containing information about the campaign, Uganda's mountain gorillas have risen from 302 (in 2006) to 400, according to last year's census count.

I think it is alright to put animals in zoos as long as they don't know that they are trapped and that they have adequate land for their mass and size. For my first idea, my zoo group had a talk with Carly and she said that she wouldn't mind being trapped if she didn't actually know that she was trapped. All of us agreed with her. Some of the animals there seemed pretty happy where they were (though human kind will never really know what animals are thinking) whilst some naturally had that instinct of breaking free. My second part of the principle is a fairly important on, and largely defines which animals can be put in the zoo. For example, the otter enclosure at the Melbourne zoo is designed quite well. There is a pool, rocks and leaves, and other things that would normally be present at their normal habitat. Additionally, the enclosure size does, in fact, support the small creatures' volume. On the contrary, the elephant enclosure is without doubt too small. As Jane Goodall said in her interview (on Galileo homework page), there should be way more space for the elephants to roam around. I think that the only places elephants can be 'contained' are large reserves.

Some people are really against zoos. They say that zoos fail to treat animals with the respect they deserve, violate the animal's right to live in freedom and (I have to admit) that zoochosis is definitely visible for some animals at the Melbourne zoo, like the tigers, which pace up and down, hidden away from human eyes. Some animals are also deprived of their natural social structure and companionship, forced into close proximity with other species and human beings which may be unnatural for it and even though animals may live longer lives in zoos than in the wild, they may experience a lower quality of life. However, maybe we have to look at the bigger picture. This is only a few animals' sufferings for their entire species. If there were no zoos, the whole species would be dying out. Wouldn’t it be better if one or two creatures endured life in the zoo for the survival of their entire species?

Therefore, I think zoos are ethical, as long as the animal doesn't know that it is trapped and there is sufficient land for each one. They provide education for humans, shelter and care for all animals, and even if they are not feeling as well as they should, bearing unfortunate luck  is definitely better than bearing the dying out of their whole species on their shoulder.

Sources:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/animals/using/entertainment_1.shtml

http://www.zoo.org.au/melbourne

http://www.zoo.org.au/get-involved/act-for-wildlife/theyre-calling-on-you

http://www.janegoodall.org.au/?page_id=123

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/ugandas-gorilla-population-increases-giving-hope-for-great-apes/story-fnd134gw-1226518538420

http://teamgalileo.wikispaces.com/Homework,

Melbourne Zoo trail

Videos watched on Wednesday

Me

Choose your own adventure week reflection

For me, this week was Philosophy Week and IT WAS AS AMAZING AS THE REST!!! 

On Tuesday, we did some really fun debates. I found it interesting how the class was split  and they were so sure about their opinion whereas I was kinda in the middle and wasn't sure how to make up my mind. The most interesting debate was is Carly's laptop was real :)

On Wednesday, we went to the zoo and I took sooooo many photos of the animals. My most favourite animal has always and will always be the tiger. I just find them so AWESOME!!!!
Luckily, We got to see the tiger talk and actually saw the tigers IN ACTION!!! We also went around the zoo and after hearing the Seal talk, I decided that zoo were ethical. 

However, community service WAS THE BEST!!!! I AM GETTING SO ATTACHED TO THEM!!! ONE OF THEM GAVE ME A CARD: 

For those who can't see, it says: Dear 'Thao-My' and 'Emily' (the girl didn't know how to spell our names). Thank you for coming to our school. Please keep coming. From Mel

ANOTHER GIRL GAVE ME A NOSE RUB AND... I REALLY DO NOT WANT TO LEAVE!!! In week 7, I HAVE CAMP AND I HAVE ORIENTATION DAY THE WEEK AFTER, SO I ONLY HAVE 1 MORE WEEK OF COMMUNITY SERVICE LEFT!! (apologies for my ranting) But I'm feeling alright because on Sunday, I went out and bought some small, cute Christmas decorations to give to each of them!!! I am also wondering if they accept work experience.

Overall, week 6 was SSOO EXCITING, but it was also sad realising how much time I had left at both Uni high and Ascot Vale Special School :(

Learning Goals Reflection

Just to refresh your memory (and mine), my goals were: Public Speaking, Using and Writing Blogs, Essay Writing Skills, Essay Planning, Melbourne Streets, First Aid, Responsibility, Patience, Organisation and Getting Rid Of a VERY VERY BAD Nail-Biting Habit

So, I am now halfway through my Galileo experience and I think at least half of my goals have been improved on. I have improved on public speaking, using and writing blogs, essay writing skills, essay planning, Melbourne streets, First Aid, Pa- wait.... I think I have actually improved on ALL of my goals!!! Some of the goals were hard and without support from Galileo classes, trails, friends and family, I doubt I would have been able to complete/ improve on my goals. By now, I think the goals I have fully achieved are: using and writing blogs (though there is still going to be some new feature I don't know), Melbourne Streets (just the streets, not places), (basic) first aid, patience (with anyone but my little brother) and (non) NAIL-BITING (but my finger occasionally manages to appear near my teeth).  

My major goal was public speaking. I feel like I have improved on it, but not as much as I would have liked to. I still sometimes stumble over the words and only one of my three sub-goals have been achieved (start speaking up more in class)

For my remaining goals (Essay Writing Skills, Essay Planning, Responsibility and Organisation), I think are are ones that just need practice. Essay writing skills and essay planning kind of go together, and to improve on them all, I'd probably need support from my teachers, family and friends. I will know that I have been successful if I receive a 10 for my essay (excluding flukes) and have all the homework done two days before the due date as a habit

Huddle Character and Community Homework

Apologies because when I took a photo of the map, it was too blurry.

After six months into VoViNam, I felt my confidence increase a little. In VoViNam, and many other martial arts, you have to do a yell/ scream ( a bit like 'ki-yah')when you start and after you do something. I was really self-conscious of my 'yell' so every time we did it, I would just mouth it. However, my first grading (moving up a belt test) was looming and it required for me to yell... alone. So, I decided to suck it up, thought who cares if I sound weird, and from then on, I could yell as load as I could. I was still self-conscious, but my confidence level boosted quite a bit.

I'd like to develop my perspective. I want to become a psychologist/ psychiatrist (can't decide) when I grow up and it would help me because then my I could put myself in other people's shoes easier.

Weekly Reflection: Week 4

Another week gone by, only around 5 more to go! Justice Week for me was awesome!!!

TRAILS

Wednesday: AYCC (Australian Youth Climate Coalition) and School

After the teachers came back form their half-day strike, it was off to the AYCC. It was a hot day so by the time we got there, everyone had become zombies. Despite being surround by the undead, our speakers carried on and gave out wonderful ideas to prevent further climate change (like movie night and fashion show) and also opinions on our focus question :). After that I decided to join (online) the AYCC.

Friday: Magistrates' Court

Being lucky enough to be randomly picked to go to the Magistrates' Court, I found that my view of justice and the law did change I didn't realise that the magistrate (judge) could lessen or harshen the sentence because of things such as family matters. As mentioned my essay, a man's punishment was lessened because he had all 6 of his children depending on his income, which required his driver license. The trip ended with a DELICIOUS MACAROON!!!

After returning back to school, we had a discussion on human rights and then I took the  Uni High's Human Rights temperature test and found that Uni High scored 83/100. The score was pretty good, considering there was a 68 somewhere. I actually don't remember the questions that well, but I think it was pretty accurate. The school allows people to give their own opinion and have equal opportunities. However, some people may have suffered from voicing their oponions, the reason why Uni High got marked down.

COMMUNITY SERVICE

When Chris made a surprise appearance at the room where I was working, I immediately asked him if we were leaving. His response was a no, so I continued to carry on with my work. (To me) He looked a bit distracted (and annoyed?). He then went to ask Annie something, sound vaguely like a I heard you wanted to speak, is there something wrong (I think). Then Annie said something along the lines of: NO!!! I wanted you to come here to tell you how wonderful these girls have been... I immediately relaxed and began helping the kids again :) i really think my patience has been improving. Sometimes you just have to repeat something 10 times and they still won't get it, so I found myself not even getting a little bit agitated when this happened :)

OTHER CLASSES:

Shapes Game: With a mixture of poverty, sexual assault (we can all guess who THAT was) and robbery, the shapes game was extremely fun. After starting off with the least amount of objects (and no paper), our group was the most disadvantaged. However, we started getting more organised (something I have also improved on) with one person measuring, one cutting, one selling and one with a personal business, which didn't go all too well (however, in the culprit's defense, the victim moved closer to him :P). I learnt that not everyone starts off with the same amount of resources. But, with hard work and determination, we can still make it (to third, that is).

NAIL BITING SUMMARY

Another week by and NO NAIL BITING :) YAYAYAY!!! But they're getting quite long and it's hard to play the piano... I'll have to cut them soon. 

Thao-My

Is Melbourne Fair?

Fair. What is fair? A word meaning not exhibiting any bias, dishonest and injustice and therefore reasonable or impartial. The question asks if Melbourne is fair. I believe that Melbourne, a city overpopulated with sexism, racism, ageism, financial imbalance and much more, will probably never be fair. However, compared to the rest of the world, Melbourne is considered pretty fair. Many points contribute to the fact and the answer may be yes or no, depending on which side you see it.

The Government. Unlike many other countries, Australia is capitalist. In 2010, we elected our first female prime minister, Julia Gillard. However, many Melbourne citizens (and Australian for that matter) decided not to take a liking to her. The first and foremost thing they insulted her on was her gender. She was a female, and 'females will never do as well as men'. Another thing was about the way she dressed. The Daily Telegraph and many other newpapers fired countless insults at ther clothing, and one raincoat in particular. Seriously, shouldn't we be judging people on their policies, and not on how they dress? Another problem is, if you are a child/ teenager living in Melbourne, you barely have any say. Your opinions aren't taken seriously and you are often ignored. Everything mentioned above is definitely unfair. However, there are some countries, like Saudi Arabia where women have no rights at all. They are not allowed to drive, vote and go anywhere without male approval, let alone run a country. Afghanistan's women live up to and average of no further than 45 due to domestic violence and war.  The reason children's opinions may not be taken too seriously is maybe because they have 'less experience'. They (we) haven't experienced the world as 'adults' have and therefore have less knowledge of the world. Luckily for us, unlike other nations, we have the AYCC: Australian Youth Climate Coalition. The AYCC is an organisation where 'young adults' can push their beliefs onto politicians, can question things, can petition, pressure the government.... On Wednesday, I went on a trail to an AYCC office and the people who talked to us also agreed that though Melbourne is unfair, compared to the rest of the world, Melbourne is in one of the top 10 because of the reasons listed before.

The law and the way it is handled. On Friday, I was fortunate enough to be in a group that was randomly selected to go to the Magistrates' Court. At the courts, we got to wander around to different courts designed for different things. Listening to the case at the last court I visited, I came to the assumption that Indigenous people had less government support than other races. However, when I went home to do my own little reasearch, I found out that Aboriginal people actually received no less (and no more) government sponsorship. (Link: http://www.reconciliation.org.au/home/get-involved/learning-tools/mythbusters) Another 'fairness point' was that in one of the cases where a man being accused of driving without a license. When asked how many children he had, the reply was that he had 6, all aged between 3-20 and living with him. The magistrate was quiet for a moment, then said something along the lines of, "Obviously, all of your children depend on your income, which depends on the fact that you need a license. Because of that, you will only be fined $500 and not have your license taken away. " That was one of the many things I witnessed that day that made me think, gee, Melbourne is quite fair. Magistrates give people a chance to defend themsevles even when it is obvious that they are guilty. They can also be sympathetic and, of course, fair, unlike those of other countries such as Syria.

Financial (im)balance/ distribution of wealth. Did you know that a shocking 10% of household wealth is owned by the bottom 50% bread-winners? Other than that, Melbourne also has one of the highest rates of low-income households out of developed countries! If divided into ten wealth groups, the three lowest parts of Melbourne earn no money at all!!! On the bright side, I think every country suffers from this. In fact, in United States, the richest 1% of Americans get 34.6% of wealth whilst the poorest 40% of the population earns 0.2% of wealth. Considering that, Melbourne's distribution of wealth is probably one of the best on the world.

Therefore, yes Melbourne is unfair. However, isn't it unfair everywhere else? Afghanistan has 87% of its women experiencing domestic violence, many countries are being dictated in an unfair government and the distribution of wealth between classes are so far apart. Therefore, whether you are rich or poor, young or old, male or female, Melbourne will always be unfair, but in comparison the rest of the world, Melbourne is seen as fair.

http://www.reference.com/motif/society/which-countries-are-ruled-by-a-dictator

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/326354--ten-worst-countries-for-women

http://www.reconciliation.org.au/home/get-involved/learning-tools/mythbusters

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wealth_inequality_in_the_United_States

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/julia-gillards-technicolour-coat-shows-prime-minister-needs-an-allowance/story-e6freuy9-1225888233550

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/reminder-woman-are-not-allowed-to-vote-in-saudi-elections/

Trails

ME :)

Team Project Reflection

We had finally completed our first major part of you team project. The mini-trail on Friday and the presentation on Monday, with the time in between whirling out of our grasp as we tried to finish. 

What challenges and successes did you experience in the planning and execution of the mini-trail?

Most of our planning and execution of the mini-trail was successful, having the day end with lots of work done and answering all of our questions. At first, we did have a little trouble deciding where to go. At first, we decided to go and interview a worker at ACMF, however that didn't really work out with our jaws dropping to the ground as we realised their office was in Sydney. Luskily, we had a back-up plan: to interview Helen Marcou. The only real problem was that we didn't have all of the interview details worked out until the actual day of the mini-trail!!! Despite the (VERY VERY VERY) small hiccup, everything worked out and we ended up having a great time interviewing her.

Considering the team project so far score your team out of 10 for the following and then write a paragraph justifying your scores:

Organisation & time-management: 8/10
I was pretty happy with the overall outcome, however we hadn't really finalized our mini-trail until the actual day and when we were meant to be presenting on Monday, some of the information STILL WASN'T ON OUR GLOG!!! (be we had done it beforehand)

Sharing the workload:6.5/10
About sharing the workload... it was split 31/31/31/7. I felt like one of the members didn't put as much effort and enthusiasm in as the rest of us. They only did their part, failing to load it onto the wiki and on the day of the presentation, lost their speech. It was thanks to another member that the presentation still went on.
 
Communication: 9/10
We communicated pretty well. We all had each others' phone numbers and whilst some of us didn't have one (or the other), we all could communicate, whether it was on Viber (app on phone where you can call and text for free), Skype or Facebook.

Reflect on your experience of public speaking during the presentation. What did you do well? What could you improve?

For a non-confident public speaker, I actually think I did alright. I tried to involve the public, which, I guess, went well, had a bit of eye-contact and I spoke with a clear(-ish) voice. What didn't work was probably that fact the I was pretty nervous before it was my turn and people could see it!!!

Weekly Reflection: Week 3

Week three was Health week. I began the week happy knowing that I was improving at blog writing and excited to know that I was finally going to learn first aid (one of my goals). The first session was based on non-CPR first aid. I cannot believe I still remember the acronyms and what they stand for :) (COWS, DRS.ABCD, RICE). One of the activities was acting out an accident and what we'd have to do. It was fun... though luckily I didn't have to undo my partner's 'tight clothing'. The next session was also extremely fun, as well as disgusting because we had to put our mouths on these dummies that smelt HORRIBLE!!! However doing CPR to music was great :D

I really don't think my view of health has really changed at all. I had always thought that there were three main 'branched' to do with health, and if one of them failed, the whole 'tree' would crumble as well. The discussions we had in Galileo (I think it was the Tuesday one?) were kind of based around that, and so I stuck with my view.

The positivity diary was a great idea, because it shows that you can still find a silver lining in a cloud :). My diary included: having a 30 second Gangnam Style break during team project session with Carly, realizing that I had nearly finished my speech  for the presentation on Monday (which I hope I did alright in, and I actually think I did improve my public speaking a bit) and COMPLETING THE 30KM BIKE TRAIL. Well, that last one was interesting. Despite the fact that my day didn't go as planned (uhh: my bike was less than a metre tall so it was hard for me to catch up to the others, falling once (due to a steep slope turn), bumping into the fence twice (a different one each time) with the second time having someone accidentally ram their bike into mine and after happily rolling down a huge hill at Docklands Park (without my bike), I got a GAZILLION mosquito bite looking things on my arms and legs), I still REALLY ENJOYED IT and wouldn't have missed it for the world (well, maybe), even though the bad experiences definitely outweighed the good experiences.

Community Service was great, as usual. For a whole two or so hours, Emily and I sat at a table and helped the kids (it feels weird calling them kids, especially since they are all older than me) write things out for Duke of Ed, something I am really excited to do next year (sadly, I am leaving for MacRob). It was kind of tedious, as some of them didn't have the 'ability' to maintain a stream of thought. However, at the end, I felt extremely good and my patience has definitely improved.

Also, about my nail biting goal. I found that usually, I would subconsciously put one my fingernails near/ on my teeth, however that was just it. I didn't bite it (and still haven't)  at all, though it gives the impression that I do.

I know I don't need to write it, but I am still excited the I got I GOT 90% IN MY ESSAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hope that this week, Justice Week, will live up to the standards of fun and enjoyment as the other weeks, though I'm still a bit worried about the focus question essay coming up.

Thao-My :)

Is Melbourne more livable now than in the past?

This year Melbourne, a city founded in 1835, rated perfect scores for healthcare, education and infrastructure in the latest Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) livability survey, helping it maintain the title of the world’s most livable city for the second year running. However, is the Melbourne now more livable than during pre-settlement? Some people would definitely say that now is better, others would disagree. In my opinion, there is no exact response to this. You would have to consider many different factors, and yet there is no yes or no answer. 

Firstly, what does livable mean. According to the Galileo Wiki, livability is the sum of the aspects that add up to the quality of life of a place, including its economy, facilities and services, environmental sustainability, health and wellbeing, equity, education and learning and government. Since the mid 1830’s, when the first Europeans ‘founded’ our great city, much change has occurred and many of these changes make up what Melbourne is today. No one can deny that the technology nowadays is much more advanced. Electricity has been invented. Television, computers and phones have also become part of our daily lives. Now we are able to do things, which would have been tedious and long during the early settlement period, a lot faster. For example, one of the methods that was used in the past is described very clearly by Richard A. Gould in his book "Yiwara: Foragers of the Australian Desert", ISBN684-71787-5, published in 1960 by Charles Scribner's Sons. It explains how time-consuming and tiring it was. Now, you can light a fire with just the flick of a hand. 

However, though short cuts may sometimes be good, this has made people become lazier. Where the aboriginals walked the lands around 200+ years ago, there are now roads which people drive cars on. Though it may be a faster means or travel, it has caused pollution, global warming… Before European settlement, the indigenous people hunted, celebrated rituals… (learnt from the Koorie Heritage Trail) for leisure. Nowadays up to 70.5% of Australians watched t.v. at home on an average day, watching an average of 143 minutes per day. These statistics stress that people have now become lazier.

Before European settlement, Melbourne had already been settled for 31,000 to 40,000 years by the Wuthaurong, Wurundjeri and Boonwurrung people of the indigenous tribes. On our trail this week, I got the opportunity to gain insight into what life was like before, in the eyes of these indigenous people. Donna, our guide from the Koorie Heritage Trust, told us that, even though technology had not developed a great deal, it was pretty much peaceful. The tribes were close knit communities, excluding a few clashes, and the land was undisturbed. People could hunt for fish in the wetlands and gain access to clean water from the Yarra River. Most would be immune to the diseases that were already there and there would rarely be an outbreak of new diseases. Before European settlement, the Indigenous people were happy with their lives and didn’t expect anything better. But as a flock of new immigrants took over the land in 1835, most of this changed. Melbourne became populated with not only foreigners, but their flora and fauna as well. The numbers soared up to hundreds of thousands. Soon, the crime rate rose, pollution became more crucial and global warming. Unknown illnesses broke out and with the blink of an eye, 80% of the indigenous population were gone. Now Melbourne, and the world, is polluted, is being affected by global warming and poverty is occurring in many parts of the world. These are just a few of the problems we face today.

On the other hand, you could argue that there were fewer outbreaks of sicknesses because the population back there was significantly less than now. If there were a higher number of aboriginal people, there might have more diseases. Melbourne is facing global warming, poverty and many other problems, but we are still trying to bring to an end to these disasters. Furthermore, many different facilities have appeared for our leisures that definitely would have existed in the pre-settlement period. There are stadiums for sport, medical centers that provide more advanced medicines than before and gyms where people can 'work out'.

As for education, I am actually leaning towards the past. In the past, the aboriginals passed on their history by orally speaking to them. The children were taught how to hunt, fish and which plants were edible. They taught the next generation things that they actually needed to know! Now, we are taught maths, geography, history... many of which we aren't necessarily going to use in our futures. Comparing the two education 'systems', The earlier one stands out to be more efficient and useful than the latter.

Therefore, after taking into consideration the different parts there are that decide whether a city is livable and comparing them two periods, I still cannot say which was the better time era to live in Melbourne. To me, it really depends who you are, what you prefer, and how high/low your expectations are. I enjoy living in Melbourne in this time period; there are many more facilities available and the technology has evolved (which is what I'd prefer). However, I wouldn't mind living in the past and embracing the many difficulties and simplicities that come my way.

Sources:

http://www.primitiveways.com/pt-firesaw.html

http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/2f762f95845417aeca25706c00834efa/a1b5d7636e6719f7ca2570ec00753522!OpenDocument

Galileo trails

Myself :)