Monday, December 3, 2012

Study: Student Loan Worries Affect New College Students’ Mental Health

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by: Jeff Mictabor






Researchers at the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California in Los Angeles say that worries about student loans are having a measurable negative impact on the mental health of first-year college students.

The latest results, from the fall of 2010, of the long-standing annual study “The American Freshman: National Norms” (http://www.heri.ucla.edu/pr-display.php?prQry=55) show that the overall mental health of first-year students in college has dropped to a 25-year low, prompted in part by concerns about the economy and paying for college.

Surveyed students among the class of 2014 cited growing concern about the current state of the economy and the need to pay for higher education with student loans (http://www.nextstudent.com/student-loans/) as a primary cause of chronic stress.

About half of the study subjects reported that they had had to take out student loans to pay for their education. Researchers say that these students also expressed uncertainty about their ability to repay their college loans after graduation.

Indirect woes related to students’ families and the economy also had a pronounced effect on new students. Paternal unemployment was cited as a serious concern of nearly 5 percent of students surveyed, while 8.6 percent of students reported that maternal unemployment was a significant concern.

Researchers report that a growing number of new college students can’t rely on family support to finance their education and must take on the burden of paying for college themselves by finding available student loans, grants, and scholarships (http://scholarships101.com/). Nearly three-fourths of the study participants reported that they received some grants or scholarships to help defray their higher education expenses, the highest reported proportion since 2001.

The study also noted that participants reported feeling frequently overwhelmed as high school seniors and that female participants reported a significantly lower state of mental health than did their male counterparts.

The study, which has been conducted annually since 1966, examines, among other things, the mental health status of more than 200,000 full-time first-year college students at nearly 280 four-year higher education institutions throughout the United States. Participation in the study is voluntary, and the survey questions are focused on the students’ self-perceptions of mental health.

Researchers say that the study results should serve as a warning to college administrators that students who are already overwhelmed with worries about financial and family matters when they arrive on campus may respond to high or increasing levels of stress by managing their time poorly, performing poorly in classes, or turning to drugs and alcohol or other self-destructive behaviors in an attempt to relieve stress.

Barely 52 percent of participants classified their perceived mental health status as “in the highest 10 percent” or “above average.” This characterization reflects a drop of 3.4 percent from the answers given by first-year students in 2009, and a drop of 11.7 percent from 1985, when mental health self-assessment questions were first added to the survey.

Concerns about the economy and post-graduation employment may be driving students to work harder. The study indicates that participants reported a stronger drive to achieve and higher perceived academic abilities than did past study participants. Nearly three-fourths of study participants said better earning potential was the chief benefit of a college degree.

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About The Author
Jeff Mictabor is an enthusiast on the topic of student loan issues in the news. He has been writing for the past 10 years for a variety of education publications. He now offers his writing services on a freelance basis.
The author invites you to visit:
http://www.nextstudent.com

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Energy-Saving & Environment Friendly Led Light Bulbs

by: Green Sim

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Technological advancement is only possible through constant research and innovations. The latest example of such progress is the LED light bulb. Most research is carried out in order to find a way of improving the performance of an existing facility or to find a new product that will prove to be more economical and more efficient than the existing facility.

Positive Aspects of LED Light Bulbs

LED light bulbs have been developed to take the place of incandescent light bulbs or halogen light bulbs because they save energy, their efficiency is nearly double that of normal halogen bulbs and they do not have any harmful substance such as mercury. Moreover, these bulbs are environment-friendly because they can be recycled and they do not produce any heat. The durability and life expectancy of LED bulbs is in the region of 50,000 hours, which is much higher than that of the earlier bulbs. As such, once you have installed these LED light bulbs, you can forget about any cost of replacing them in the near future.

Energy-Saving Feature

The earlier incandescent or halogen light bulbs used to dissipate a large amount of energy by producing heat. This meant that the electricity bill was unnecessarily high. LED light bulbs have been created after a lot of research to eliminate the energy wasted due to heating, This has resulted in the creation of the latest innovative LED bulbs that do not produce any heat and consequently use much less energy to light up a room.

Whereas the halogen bulbs were using 85% of the electrical energy to produce heat and only the 15% balance was being used to produce light, the LED light bulbs utilize 90% of the electrical energy to produce light. Halogen bulbs were fitted with filaments through which electricity was passed in order to produce light but these filaments heat up and consume nearly 90% of the electricity for heating. In the case of LED bulbs, which use light emitting diodes for producing light, almost the entire electrical energy is converted into light energy without wasting any energy for heating. By using LED bulbs you can save 80% of your previous electricity bill. By using the LED bulbs you can make sure that you are contributing towards lessening global warming because no heating from the bulb is being dissipated into the atmosphere.

Cost Aspect

Although LED bulbs are more expensive than the halogen bulbs, it is almost a one-time expense because these bulbs have a long life, which means they do not need to be changed for a long time. The extra initial cost will easily pay for itself over the years. Moreover, since these bulbs use so little energy, they are environment friendly and do not add to pollution. The LED light bulbs have standard bulb fitting features making them convenient to install and replace anywhere.

GU10 LED Bulbs

GU10 LED bulbs are the most common replacement LED bulbs. Though they are similar to the normal LED bulbs, they have many similar LED lights placed in one fitting. GU10 LED bulbs have a specific type of fastening and in most commonwealth countries such as the UK, New Zealand and Australia; the standard fastening is the bayonet mount. These types of LED light bulbs are mostly used in offices, shops, commercial spaces and in showrooms. They are high in style and efficiency.

About The Author
LED light bulbs does not use a filament to burn to produce light. They use diodes in a particular setting for producing light without wasting any energy. They are environment friendly as they do not produce any heat. Visit us: http://www.ledlightbulbsdirect.co.uk .