WEC Articles

  The conspiracy-theory group known as QAnon has grown in popularity in recent months. It has spread from fringe internet message boards to mainstream platforms and has  become a political issue, and on Jan. 6, its adherents were among the most prominent members of the mob of former President Donald Trump’s supporters who   stormed th U.S Capitol  in Washington. Here is what we know about QAnon, the conspiracy theory behind it and how it started. What is QAnon? QAnon is a far right-wing, loosely organized network and community of believers who embrace a range of unsubstantiated beliefs. These views center on the idea that a cabal of Satan-worshipping pedophiles—mainly consisting of what they see as elitist Democrats, politicians, journalists, entertainment moguls and other institutional figures—have long controlled much of the so-called deep state government, which they say sought to undermine Mr. Trump, mostly with aid of media and entertainment outlets. What is the...

 1. TOKYO -- Despite the new coronavirus pandemic, box office takings for an animated film adaptation of popular manga and anime series "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba" are breaking records, with distributor Toho Co. reporting that on Oct. 25 it became the fastest film in Japanese cinema history to make 10 billion yen (around $95.9 million). What's behind its huge success? 2. "Demon Slayer -- Kimetsu no Yaiba -- The Movie: Mugen Train," directed by Haruo Sotozaki, was released on Oct. 16, and sources including Toho says that within three days it had earned about 4.62 billion yen in theaters, later reaching over 10.75 billion yen on Oct. 25. Until now, seven Japan- produced animated films have passed the milestone number, but none as fast as Demon Slayer. The top two highest-grossing Japanese films at the country's box office, " highest-grossing " (30.8 billion yen) and "Your Name," (25 billion yen) each needed three weeks or more in theat...

1.You didn't need a crystal ball to forecast that the COVID-19 pandemic would devastate mental health. Illness or fear of Illness, social isolation, economic insecurity, disruption of routine and loss of loved ones are known risk factors for depression and anxiety. Now studies have confirmed the predictions. But psychologists say the findings also include surprises about the wide extent of mental distress; the way media consumption exacerbates it; and how badly it has affected young people. 2. For example a report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, published in August, found a tripling of anxiety symptoms and a quadrupling of depression among 5,470 adults surveyed compared with a 2019 sample. 3. Similarly, two nationally representative surveys conducted in April, one by researchers at the Boston University School of Public Health and another at Johns Hopkins University found that the prevalence of depressive symptoms (B.U.) and ''serious psychological...

Perception is an intellectual process of transforming sensory stimuli to meaningful information. It is the process of interpreting something that we see or hear in our mind and use it later to judge and give a verdict on a situation, person, group etc. Selective perception  is the tendency not to notice and more quickly forget stimuli that cause emotional discomfort and contradict our prior beliefs. For example, a teacher may have a favorite student because they are biased by in group favoritism . The teacher ignores the student's poor attainment. Conversely, they might not notice the progress of their least favorite student. Example - Selective perception is the process by which individuals perceive what they want to in media messages while ignoring opposing viewpoints. It is a broad term to identify the behavior all people exhibit to tend to "see things" based on their particular   frame of reference . It also describes how we categorize and interpret sensory informat...

  I n November 1918, Japan was to emerge victorious in World War I, and as part of the spoils stripped Germany of its possessions in Shandong, China and various territories in the Pacific, including the islands of Saipan and Tinian. It was a time when the country enjoyed unprecedented political freedoms during its short-lived "Taisho Democracy." It also suffered through two waves of the Spanish flu pandemic. The first patients in Japan, reported Shukan Gendai (May 2-9), began showing symptoms around April 1918. Initially the disease was referred to as the "Sumo Kaze" (sumo cold) because a contingent of sumo wrestlers contracted it while on a tour of Taiwan. Three well known grapplers, Masagoishi, Choshunada and Wakagiyama, died before they could return from Taiwan. As the contagion spread, the summer sumo tournament, which would have been held on the grounds of Yasukuni shrine, was cancelled. At the Yokosuka navy base, meanwhile, 150 sailors aboard the warship Shubo...

The idea that Trump, the leader of the free world, would simply declare himself the winner of a U.S. election jarred even some of the most loyal of Republican stalwarts. For nearly four years  of the Trump presidency, the question to Republican lawmakers and leaders has been: Where would you draw the line when it comes to supporting President Donald Trump? The nasty tweets, the thousands of misstatements, the promotion of his business interests while in office? Maybe separating children from their parents when they came over the border illegally or threatening to withhold aid from states and governors he doesn't like? Turns out, the line came as Trump faced the reality that he might lose the election, as mail-in ballot counting started to take must-win states out of Trump's reach. Even as millions of votes remained to be counted, Trump boasted of a victory early Wednesday. All week, Trump and his campaign have been insisting on social media that the president had won states lik...

 ①　Reviewing prevalent Japanese-style employment practices such as the seniority-based wage system and lifetime (or at least long-term) employment — as proposed by the Keidanren business lobby for this year’s wage negotiations — is indeed a pressing challenge as Japanese firms seek to survive global competition in a rapidly changing business environment. But that is one thing, and to bump up pay — whose sluggish growth continues to restrain consumer spending — is another. ②　Many Japanese businesses that compete globally need highly qualified workers with expertise in such advanced technology fields as artificial intelligence — and they face tightening competition with overseas rivals in either recruiting or retaining such talent in the globalizing market. They will face clear disadvantages in this competition if they remain bound by the lifetime employment system, in which employees are hired en masse upon graduation from school, receive on-the-job training and get seniority-based ...

1. As we face tragedy, devastating economic turmoil and dislocation, public libraries will play a key part in the recovery of our country, cities and lives. Libraries offer all people — regardless of background or circumstance — free access to the tools and knowledge they need to open doors of opportunity and be productive members of society. To remain true to their mission, all libraries must undergo radical change. To serve the public in the face of unprecedented challenges, libraries will need to transition their services to the virtual space and explore new avenues to serve the public and bring people together, even while we are apart. 2. Since the New York Public Library has invested for years in digital offerings, we have been able to quickly transition and expand a wide variety of online services. Our goal has been to replicate, as best we can, the unique experience of being in a library while at home. We offer online story times, tutoring and other educational tools for parents...

2020 The Year We Couldn’t Breathe  George Floyd said it at least 16 times before he died on a Minneapolis sidewalk around 9 a.m. on Monday, May 25. “I can’t breathe.” Breathing is a real thing. If you have ever choked, suffered through an asthma attack, had pneumonia, or been under water a bit too long, you know how quickly your body trips into panic. Before you read the next sentence, close your eyes and hold your nose and hold your breath for as long as you can endure it. Now let your best friend hold your breath in for another 30 or 60 seconds and you will know real desperation. Breathing is also a metaphor. When someone tells you, “You need to take a deep breath,” they usually mean, “calm down, step back, give it some distance, put this in perspective.” They may mean it literally, too. When you cease to hunch your shoulders in frustration, lift your head, and take in as much air as your lungs can hold, it almost invariably reduces the tension and brings at least temporary relie...