Museum visitors can 'unwrap' a mummy digitally http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23045904
Showing posts with label Education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Education. Show all posts
Jul 13, 2013
May 25, 2013
May 29, 2010
Ph.D. in Dream is now a reality
If a well-known Saudi dream interpreter gets his wish, you'll soon be able to get a Ph.D. in your sleep. Yusuf al-Harthy, with the help of an unnamed Arab university, plans to start up an institute offering degrees in explaining dreams and visions. "Dream interpretation is by nature a way of counseling a person," said Harthy
Source: http://slashdot.org/palm/28/10/05/03/1650222_1.shtml
Source: http://slashdot.org/palm/28/10/05/03/1650222_1.shtml
Oct 16, 2009
Oct 10, 2009
The errant boy and the Catholic School?
Until a child tells you what they are thinking, we can't even begin to imagine how their mind is working....
Little Zachary was doing very badly in math. His parents had tried everything...tutors, mentors, flash cards, special learning centers. In short, everything they could think of to help his math. Finally, in a last ditch effort, they took Zachary down and enrolled him in the local Catholic school.
After the first day, little Zachary came homewith a very serious look on his face.
He didn't even kiss his mother hello. Instead, he went straight to his room and started studying. Books and papers were spread out all over the room and little Zachary was hard at work. His mother was amazed. She called him down to dinner. To her shock, the minute he was done, he marched back to his room without a word, and in no time, he was back hitting the books as hard as before. This went on for some time, day after day, while the mother tried to understand what made all the difference. Finally, little Zachary brought home his report Card..
He quietly laid it on the table, went up to his room and hit the books.
With great trepidation, His Mom looked at it and to her great surprise, Little Zachary got an 'A' in math. She could no longer hold her curiosity.. She went to his room and said, 'Son, what was it?
Was it the nuns? Little Zachary looked at her and shook his head, no.. 'Well, then,' she replied, Was it the books, the discipline, the structure, the uniforms? WHAT WAS IT?'
Little Zachary looked at her and said, 'Well, on the first day of school when I saw that guy nailed to the plus sign, I knew they weren't fooling around.'
Little Zachary was doing very badly in math. His parents had tried everything...tutors, mentors, flash cards, special learning centers. In short, everything they could think of to help his math. Finally, in a last ditch effort, they took Zachary down and enrolled him in the local Catholic school.
After the first day, little Zachary came homewith a very serious look on his face.
He didn't even kiss his mother hello. Instead, he went straight to his room and started studying. Books and papers were spread out all over the room and little Zachary was hard at work. His mother was amazed. She called him down to dinner. To her shock, the minute he was done, he marched back to his room without a word, and in no time, he was back hitting the books as hard as before. This went on for some time, day after day, while the mother tried to understand what made all the difference. Finally, little Zachary brought home his report Card..
He quietly laid it on the table, went up to his room and hit the books.
With great trepidation, His Mom looked at it and to her great surprise, Little Zachary got an 'A' in math. She could no longer hold her curiosity.. She went to his room and said, 'Son, what was it?
Was it the nuns? Little Zachary looked at her and shook his head, no.. 'Well, then,' she replied, Was it the books, the discipline, the structure, the uniforms? WHAT WAS IT?'
Little Zachary looked at her and said, 'Well, on the first day of school when I saw that guy nailed to the plus sign, I knew they weren't fooling around.'
Jan 16, 2009
From round the world
- If you are "overweight” air hostesses, get ready to be sacked. That what happened to Air India's air hostesses.
- My old college, Christ College at Bangalore - Karnataka state of India, affiliated to Bangalore University, became on July 22, 2008 Christ University. As I recall, they have been working maybe from 1997 or before that to become a university. The lecturers were sent to USA for training and attachments to prepare for the transaction.
- I just found out that a first private Omani TV channel to be known as Majan TV, which will be live on 1st Feb 2009, and the website will be Majan-TV.com, which means new jobs, new pulse, and above all freedom of speech. Did I say that? I am kidding.
- My luck with Eseries mobiles, I have changed from Nokia E65 to E61i, both are gifts.
Dec 25, 2008
Think out of the Box..
A friend have dropped me this article, from unknown source, and thought of sharing the same with you, it might change your thoughts.
Every company has a performance appraisal system in place to measure the effectiveness of its employees.
Employees are normally rated in most of the companies in the above categories. Apart from the above non performance category is also there, which is not depicted here . Needless to say everyone wants to be rated Outstanding.
What is the yard stick and how do you measure these aspects?
Employee "A" in a company walked up to his manager and asked what my job is for the day?
The manager took "A" to the bank of a river and asked him to cross the river and reach the other side of the bank.
"A" completed this task successfully and reported back to the manager about the completion of the task assigned. The manager smiled and said "GOOD JOB"
Next day Employee "B" reported to the same manager and asked him the job for the day. The manager assigned the same task as above to this person also.
The Employee "B' before starting the task saw Employee "C" struggling in the river to reach the other side of the bank. He realized "C" has the same task.
Now "B" not only crossed the river but also helped "C" to cross the river.
"B" reported back to the manager and the manager smiled and said "VERY GOOD JOB"
The following day Employee "Q" reported to the same manager and asked him the job for the day. The manager assigned the same task again.
Employee "Q" before starting the work did some home work and realized "A", "B" & "C" all has done this task before. He met them and understood how they performed.
He realized that there is a need for a guide and training for doing this task.
He sat first and wrote down the procedure for crossing the river, he documented the common mistakes people made, and tricks to do the task efficiently and effortlessly.
Using the methodology he had written down he crossed the river and reported back to the manager along with documented procedure and training material.
The manger said "Q" you have done an "EXCELLENT JOB".
The following day Employee "O" reported to the manager and asked him the job for the day. The manager assigned the same task again.
"O" studied the procedure written down by "Q" and sat and thought about the whole task.
He realized company is spending lot of money in getting this task completed. He decided not to cross the river, but sat and designed and implemented a bridge across the river and went back to his manager and said, "You no longer need to assign this task to any one".
The manager smiled and said "Outstanding job 'O'. I am very proud of you."
What is the difference between A, B, Q & O????????
Many a times in life we get tasks to be done at home, at office, at play….,
Most of us end up doing what is expected out of us. Do we feel happy? Most probably yes. We would be often disappointed when the recognition is not meeting our expectation.
Let us compare ourselves with "B". Helping some one else the problem often improves our own skills. There is an old proverb (I do not know the author) "learn to teach and teach to learn". From a company point of view "B" has demonstrated much better skills than "A" since one more task for the company is completed.
"Q" created knowledge base for the team. More often than not, we do the task assigned to us without checking history. Learning from other's mistake is the best way to improve efficiency. This knowledge creation for the team is of immense help. Re-usability reduces cost there by increases productivity of the team. "Q" demonstrated good "team-player" skills,
Now to the outstanding person, "O" made the task irrelevant; he created a Permanent Asset to the team.
If you notice B, Q and O all have demonstrated "team performance" over an above individual performance; also they have demonstrated a very invaluable characteristic known as "INITIATIVE".
Initiative pays of every where whether at work or at personal life. If you put initiative you will succeed. Initiative is a continual process and it never ends. This is because this year's achievement is next year's task. You cannot use the same success story every year.
The story provides an instance of performance, where as measurement needs to be spread across at least 6-12 months. Consequently performance should be consistent and evenly spread.
Out-of-Box thinkers are always premium and that is what every one constantly looks out for. Initiative, Out-of-Box thinking and commitment are the stepping stone to success.
Initiative should be life long. Think of out of the box.
Every company has a performance appraisal system in place to measure the effectiveness of its employees.
Employees are normally rated in most of the companies in the above categories. Apart from the above non performance category is also there, which is not depicted here . Needless to say everyone wants to be rated Outstanding.
What is the yard stick and how do you measure these aspects?
Employee "A" in a company walked up to his manager and asked what my job is for the day?
The manager took "A" to the bank of a river and asked him to cross the river and reach the other side of the bank.
"A" completed this task successfully and reported back to the manager about the completion of the task assigned. The manager smiled and said "GOOD JOB"
Next day Employee "B" reported to the same manager and asked him the job for the day. The manager assigned the same task as above to this person also.
The Employee "B' before starting the task saw Employee "C" struggling in the river to reach the other side of the bank. He realized "C" has the same task.
Now "B" not only crossed the river but also helped "C" to cross the river.
"B" reported back to the manager and the manager smiled and said "VERY GOOD JOB"
The following day Employee "Q" reported to the same manager and asked him the job for the day. The manager assigned the same task again.
Employee "Q" before starting the work did some home work and realized "A", "B" & "C" all has done this task before. He met them and understood how they performed.
He realized that there is a need for a guide and training for doing this task.
He sat first and wrote down the procedure for crossing the river, he documented the common mistakes people made, and tricks to do the task efficiently and effortlessly.
Using the methodology he had written down he crossed the river and reported back to the manager along with documented procedure and training material.
The manger said "Q" you have done an "EXCELLENT JOB".
The following day Employee "O" reported to the manager and asked him the job for the day. The manager assigned the same task again.
"O" studied the procedure written down by "Q" and sat and thought about the whole task.
He realized company is spending lot of money in getting this task completed. He decided not to cross the river, but sat and designed and implemented a bridge across the river and went back to his manager and said, "You no longer need to assign this task to any one".
The manager smiled and said "Outstanding job 'O'. I am very proud of you."
What is the difference between A, B, Q & O????????
Many a times in life we get tasks to be done at home, at office, at play….,
Most of us end up doing what is expected out of us. Do we feel happy? Most probably yes. We would be often disappointed when the recognition is not meeting our expectation.
Let us compare ourselves with "B". Helping some one else the problem often improves our own skills. There is an old proverb (I do not know the author) "learn to teach and teach to learn". From a company point of view "B" has demonstrated much better skills than "A" since one more task for the company is completed.
"Q" created knowledge base for the team. More often than not, we do the task assigned to us without checking history. Learning from other's mistake is the best way to improve efficiency. This knowledge creation for the team is of immense help. Re-usability reduces cost there by increases productivity of the team. "Q" demonstrated good "team-player" skills,
Now to the outstanding person, "O" made the task irrelevant; he created a Permanent Asset to the team.
If you notice B, Q and O all have demonstrated "team performance" over an above individual performance; also they have demonstrated a very invaluable characteristic known as "INITIATIVE".
Initiative pays of every where whether at work or at personal life. If you put initiative you will succeed. Initiative is a continual process and it never ends. This is because this year's achievement is next year's task. You cannot use the same success story every year.
The story provides an instance of performance, where as measurement needs to be spread across at least 6-12 months. Consequently performance should be consistent and evenly spread.
Out-of-Box thinkers are always premium and that is what every one constantly looks out for. Initiative, Out-of-Box thinking and commitment are the stepping stone to success.
Initiative should be life long. Think of out of the box.
Nov 19, 2008
Aqim Salatak
AqimSalatak.com, A Message For Every Muslim.
Bits and Bytes
- Nawras won the 2nd Fixed-Line bid in Oman.
- Emarat Al Youm, an Arabic UAE-based newpaper has been banned for publishing for 20 days from 20th Nov 2008 and Mr Sami Al Reyami, the editor-in-chief of Emarat Al Youm has been fined DHS 20,000.
Nov 14, 2008
AIESEC in Oman
The following article is from TheWeek Issue 297, the whole purpose is to develop the local workforces and explore them to the internationally, which will benefit both the individual and the country.
One of the world's largest international organisations for students, AISEC, is all set to start operations in Oman with an innovative foreign internship programme.
At 19, Saqib Khan is like any other student within the Majan College premises in Muttrah but for one thing. Come February next year this third year student of computer networking will be off to Keio in Japan for a three-month internship with Kiban, a technology company dealing with e-commerce. Saqib, will be the first person rom Oman to go on an internship arranged by the international youth organisation AIESEC.
He will be the first of many hundred more young people from the sultanate who will be off in the coming years on an exchange programme that opens the doors for Omani youth to develop their skills abroad. At the same time, AIESEC’s programme will offer local busines-ses a chance to tap into an international talent pool especially for temporary roles.
“At the moment, AIESEC, with 32,000 active members, is present in more than 108 countries and territories around the world. We have a deep history in the Middle East-North Africa region, dating back to the 1960s,” said Brett Borkan, director of business development, AIESEC official extension to Oman.
“With student chapters in Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Algeria, Jordan, Iran, Bahrain, Qatar, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Oman is logically the next step in our efforts,” he added.
Although AIESEC has been present in Oman for some time now, their official launch is expected to take place at year-end. The organisation itself, which is run entirely by students and recent graduates of higher education, was launched 60 years ago in 1948 in Stockholm with just seven member countries.
The aim was to promote peaceful relations between these seven nations in a world fresh out World War II. In its first year the then fledgling organisation arranged 89 traineeships. Interestingly enough, many of these early internship exc-hange programmes were between France and Germany, a country that had occupied much of France during the war.
But how does all this make a difference to people in Oman? Kenneth MacFarlane, senior country partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), which is AIESEC’s global partner and also its local partner in the sultanate, has this to say. “PWC absorbs around ten Omanis into its permanent staff each year.
The main attraction for me is to get Omanis on outbound internships where they can gain international exposure,” he expl-ained, adding that this would help build a young national workforce that would come armed with knowledge of how things work outside their own country.
MacFarlane’s argument is vindicated by the views of inbound interns who are already working in Oman. “I have already worked with PWC in Mexico City. I wanted to see how the firm operated elsewhere so that I could learn about its global operation methods,” said 25-year-old Rebeca Rubi Alvarado, a student of accounting from Mexico. Yet, the idea of overseas internships is not the only attraction for AIESEC’s members.
A non-profit global organisation run like a business house, it gives its members the opportunity to try their hand at being professionals before even exiting the academic world. “Firstly, I enjoy the sense of responsibility that comes with being a key member of the organisation. Secondly, as the vice-president of marketing, I get practice in reality what I learn in the confines of the classroom,” said Hasna Sultan, who recently graduated from the Modern College of Business and is the vice- president of marketing for AIESEC’s local committee in Bausher.
For Rashad al Jamali, president, local committee, Bausher, AIESEC, it was the whole professional aura of its members that drew him in. “I got to know about AIESEC when Brett and a friend were promoting the organisation in our college. At the time I thought the whole thing seemed a lot more professional than anything else,” he said.
Since then Rashad has attended two international AIESEC conferences, one in Bahrain and another in Tunisia, and the only thing that he thinks could be a deterrent to more people joining the organisation is the need for time management. “It can get difficult to manage time on occasion, especially during exams,” he said, adding that he would nevertheless recommend becoming a member.
Meanwhile Saqib’s initial excitement about going to Japan has given way to apprehensions about the change in environment. “Language is probably going to be a big problem. Unlike in Oman where most people speak in English, everything in Japan is in Japanese,” he explained, adding with a nervous smile, “And I don’t know a syllable of Japanese.” According to 26-year-old Kristina Mader, a student of finance and tax audit from Germany, the only way to get over such apprehensions is to take the plunge and find out what the situation on the ground is really like rather than depend on second hand experience or the opinions of others.
“Back home, everyone has a negative opinion of the Middle East region because of what they read or see in the media. But no one really knows what things are like here. Only after coming here do you realise that not all of the Middle East is a conflict zone,” she said.
Besides, according to Adriana Marinaro, senior manager, assurance/business advisory services, PWC, being an AIESEC member might even work out in your favour when it comes to employment.
“Having AIESEC on your CV immediately communicates that you are more likely to be a dedicated employee,” said Adriana, who was a member of the organisation for three years and is now coordinating PWC’s activities with AIESEC in Oman. So, does being a member of AIESEC mean a ticket to overseas internships, fancy designations and an easier route to a job? Not quite. “You could either choose to be a passive member or someone who is actively involved. Most people who benefit from their time as AIESEC members are the latter,” said Adriana.
After all you get what you give. Email BrettB@aiesecom.org or log on to www.aiesec.org for more details
H E Dr abdullah al sarmi undersecretary, ministry of higher education, speaks to THEWEEK
What will AIESEC be able to accomplish for Oman and its youth?
AIESEC, the world’s largest international student organisation and the second largest organisation registered with the United Nations (UN), has taken recent steps in a bold initiative to bring new human development opportunities to the youth in the Arab region.
In Oman, AIESEC will work with higher education institutions to give students the opportunity to participate in its empowering programmes. These would offer students the chance to participate in conferences with youth from across the region and the world and in skills training from local and global businesses in Oman.
In addition, they will help develop a sense of community and giving back through cultural programmes; foster a greater understanding of what is happening in the Omani society and in the world. What exactly is the ministry’s role in the establishment of AIESEC in Oman?
The ministry has already liaised with the government sectors involved in this regard. AIESEC is now registered in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, as an independent body, and can exercise its functions, one of which is to sponsor visits of inbound interns to Oman.
The ministry has also encouraged public and private higher education institutions to participate and contribute with AIESEC in order to activate its noble functions. What sets AIESEC’s internship programme apart from others? The exchange programme will open the doors for Omani youth to develop their skills in any of the countries where AIESEC currently operates, and at the same time give Omani businesses the chance to access an international talent pool to fulfill their business needs in temporary roles while building future local capacity.
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