The Malaysian Insider :: Features
The Malaysian Insider :: Features |
| Meet Lashawn, Malaysia’s first and only guide dog Posted: 08 May 2014 05:24 AM PDT Dialogue in the Dark Malaysia (DID) today introduced Lashawn as part of its ongoing efforts to promote the "Dogs for Sight" campaign. Stevens Chan Kum Fai, CEO and founder of DID, Save Ones Sight Mission Bhd (SOSM) and Glaucoma Society Malaysia (GSM) has been advocating the use of guide dogs for the visually impaired in Malaysia since 2012. "In 2012, we held a press conference on the same matter which led to the initiative for permitting the use of guide dogs for the visually impaired being brought up as a topic of discussion during Parliament meetings," said Chan. Lashawn, a professionally trained Labrador, was the star at today's event representing Malaysian's first ever guide dog permitted in the country. Lashawn comes from a line of professional service dogs from Nanjing, China. Like many of its breed, Lashawn was trained at the Nanjing Police Academy to learn, understand and take on its life-long professional role and responsibility as a service dog. Upon reaching two years old and after training for more than a year, the guide dogs are deemed to be at the perfect stage to start a "partnership" consisting of the dog and its new master. Lashawn was handpicked and partnered with Chan. Now, both are working together to advocate the "Dogs for Sight" campaign. Lashawn proudly demonstrated its professional skills and abilities to guide and protect his master, Chan, weaving through the obstacles in Chan's path. DID is committed to bridging the gap between the marginalised and society to facilitate social inclusion on a global basis. DID's mission is to raise awareness and create tolerance for "otherness" in the general public, thereby overcoming barriers between the visual impaired and the general public. For information, visit www.did.my or www.facebook.com/DialogueMalaysia. – May 8, 2014. |
| Handshake strength reveals education, age, shows study Posted: 07 May 2014 06:55 PM PDT The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis researchers reviewed more than 50 published studies from around the world for their article in the journal PLOS ONE. They found that people with more education at age 69 tended to grip just as strongly as less educated people at age 65, suggesting the latter were aging about four years faster. "According to hand grip strength, people with high education... feel several years younger compared with people with lower education," study author Sergei Scherbov told AFP. Another study the authors reviewed was done on more than a million Swedish adolescent males, whose handgrip strength was measured as part of an exam for military service. Those with lower handgrip strength were significantly more likely to die earlier, have heart disease, be at higher risk of suicide and experience psychological problems. Differences in health that correlated with handgrip strength could be seen across many of the studies, the researchers said. "Low handgrip strength has been shown definitively to predict poor outcomes in a wide variety of mortality, morbidity, and other health outcomes," said the PLOS ONE study. However, any educational and racial differences that could be parsed by handgrip tended to disappear as people reached their 90s. The study was funded by the European Research Council as part of a grant to define new measures of aging based on people's characteristics, such as their longevity, health, disability status and other demographic factors. – AFP, May 8, 2014. |
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