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New school subjects aimed at reducing children’s screen time

Next year will see two new subjects being introduced into schools, specifically aimed at reducing the amount of time children spend on computers and their smart phones.

Over the past decade there has been an exponential increase in the amount of time children are spending on a device. Schemes such as “bring your own device” have only amplified the problem.

In a recent study by the UNSOW, 5000 high school students were monitored for a month and the amount of time in front of a screen was recorded. What made this study remarkable was that if a student was on a smart phone while watching TV, it was counted as two devices. It was found that the average amount of screen time was 20.5 hours, and over 30% of students spent more than 24 hours a day in front of a screen.

As a result of this explosion in screen time, the NSW Monister of Education, Rob Strokes, announced two new subjects to reduce screen time. Both subjects will be mandatory subjects from years 7 to 10 and will replace English and Maths. The subjects are “The Internet” and “Computer Games”.

When asked how these subjects will reduce screen time, Rob Strokes was quick to explain the logic. “Experience has shown that the best way to kill a student’s interest in a subject is to force them to learn it at school. The department of education has managed to utterly destroy a student’s love of a book or movie by having an English teacher spend a month micro-analysing it. Likewise, some great songs can now bring adults to tears due to traumatic experiences associated with them at school.”

The “Computer Games” subject is expected to have the greatest results. Students will be asked to analyse games in terms of character development, themes, visual effects, and what the programmer was trying to achieve. In later years, they will then analyse the socio-economic impact that games are having, how they portray woman and minority groups, and how they are impacting on global warming.

The scheme was trialled in 3 high schools in 2017. Year 9 student William Gates said that as a direct result of the subject, he can no longer enjoy League of Legends. Previously he did not realise that the game stereotyped woman and was racist. Now he can’t play the game without realising there is a back story and it just gets in the way of shooting the $^^@ out of the other players.

If successful, the World Health Organisation will be recommending the subjects become a standard part of the curriculum world wide. Rob Strokes was disappointed by this announcement and announced “we were hoping that it would be backed by an organisation with a bit of power that could actually change things”.

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Our normal terms and conditions (like most businesses) is that you take possession the moment an order ships. If the order is lost or damaged in transit then, in theory, it’s your problem. In reality we will have a conversation and try to work out a good way to resolve the issue where we are both happy (or not too upset).

Shipping insurance is there to remove the drama. If an order is lost or damaged in transit, we will simply send out a replacement, and we will then deal with the courier directly to resolve the original problem.

Our shipping insurance also means that if an order is delayed beyond what is normal and reasonable then we will send you another shipment (stock levels permitting). Then you should receive one of them sooner, and when the second one arrives you simply Return To Sender.

How much is shipping insurance?

Shipping insurance is 5% of the cost of the goods.

Is it worth it? Practically we have had far less than 5% of shipments have problems. It is, however, what Australia Post and other couriers charge. Ultimately insurance is about peace of mind and less hassle when something does go wrong.

Shipping insurance as an option

Shipping insurance is offered as an option on all our web sites. You can select it at the checkout.

For large orders our staff may also ask if you would like shipping insurance.

If you would like shipping insurance on an order you are placing with us, just ask.

Mandatory shipping insurance

Unfortunately we have had a couple of large orders not make it and then the customer refused to pay. A friend suggested that the easy way to avoid the dispute is to insure any shipments where we have a significant risk.

If you would like an immediate line of credit (30 days to pay) and have the goods ship immediately (no credit check delays) and are purchasing over $500 then we will add shipping insurance to your order.

The shipping insurance can be waived if the order is between $500 and $2,000 and you provide us with a formal confirmation that you accept responsibility of the goods once they ship.

Alternatively you can prepay by direct deposit or credit card.

What is not covered?

If there is a clear proof of delivery to the shipping address provided then we class that as delivered. Unfortunately there are cases where it is lost somewhere between the loading dock or receptionist and ending up in your hands. But we also know that a photo of the bag against a generic grey background is not proof of delivery, it is just proof of existence! It needs to be a reasonable proof of delivery.

It also doesn’t cover the expectation of overnight delivery. For example, if we were to ship to Melbourne (we are in Sydney) then we would expect it to be delivered within about 3 days. Most of the time it is overnight, but there are enough floods and other issues that regularly cause minor delays. Sending a second order the next day tends to not fix the problem. If it is super urgent, talk to us about how we can minimise the risk.

For damage claims we ask that you contact us immediately and we will probably ask for photos or some proof. The shipping insurance doesn’t cover claims weeks later. We do have warranty covering our items, but it excludes physical damage (e.g. being dropped). If the goods are damaged in transit then please let us know ASAP so we can cover it under the shipping insurance.