大象传媒

TOPIC 1: HARD UP SCHOOLS
Scottish schools are so starved of cash that classrooms only get by because parents' fundraising efforts for equipment, a damning new report says. It has prompted fresh calls for schools to be taken out of council control completely to avoid the risk of more closures and cuts, with the prospect of a national education body or control being handed to grass-roots bodies. Eileen Prior of the Scottish Parent Teacher Council, told Holyrood's education committee: "We're supposed to have a system of education that is free at the point of delivery - we don't. We've been tracking this for a number of years and parent groups are raising funds not for frills, not for ribbons or fancy things, but for fundamental resources," she said. "Parent groups are funding things which would previously have been included in the school budget - that is across the board."

Louise asks: Are schools too reliant on parents to fund classroom essentials?

TOPIC 2: SHIFT WORK
A new study suggests that long term shift work could have a negative impact on people's brain power. Data shows that those who currently, or who have previously, worked shifts had lower scores on memory, processing speed and over all mental performance than those who worked normally office hours. It's known that shift work can have a negative impact on people physically as, like chronic jet lag, it disrupts the body's internal clock and has been linked to a range of health problems, such as ulcers, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome and some cancers.

Louise asks: How hard is it to cope with shift work?

Extra Question:
A new social alarm app has been introduced which replaces irksome beeping with messages from a human being - users receive a one minute call from other users across the world - We want to know what wakes you in the morning - classic alarm, crying baby, farmyard cockerel or even the dulcet tones of Gary Robertson?