My Views May 4th 2014

This blog is going to be my thoughts on recent events, a change from my recent posting giving advice to other people about their future development or career changes etc.

Indonesian Executions and reactions

Many people have made their opinions felt regarding the executions in Indonesia, but let’s look at this from a different perspective. Suppose the alleged smugglers had been successful and had got their product to its intended destination. This would have created more misery for people already addicted to drugs, first of all they need to raise money to buy the drugs, where does this come from? In most cases usually criminal activity and this usually involves at some point violence and possible deaths. Then there are the addicts themselves, every time they consume the drugs they are literally putting their life at risk from overdose, bad drugs etc.

So what do you do? Allow the drugs into your market? How many people are impacted from the use of drugs both directly and indirectly? Which will increase your crime rate and deaths from drug related activities? And let’s not be blinkered by this, there will be deaths from this and it will impact outside of the so-called drug world.

Each and every drug trafficker is well aware of the consequences involved within their trade, they know only too well the countries that carry the death penalty and which ones will actually carry out the executions see the list below:

Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Brunei, China, Cuba, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Laos, Malaysia, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Qatar, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore. Somalia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Sudan, Taiwan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United States, Vietnam, Yemen Zimbabwe.

Notice from the list one of the biggest complainers about the executions is the USA, whose approach to the death penalty has long been clear.

As for Australia, how they can complain about the executions is a little bit absurd considering it was their own police force that informed the Indonesian government of the actions of the drug traffickers, who knew full well what the consequences would be. So, please if you are going to create an International incident and a Diplomatic row make sure you have all the facts before you say something. And as for the Police Commissioner stating they had nothing to arrest them for, how about conspiracy to commit the alleged offence?

Shooting at Dallas Event

The organisers of this event must be really stupid and did not think this through very well at all, to hold a conference on cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. With recent events in France and Denmark this is tantamount to stupidity of a mind-boggling degree. Yes you have freedom of speech enshrined in your constitution, but for heaven’s sake the writing was on the wall long before the event, therefore you might as well have sent them a personal invitation and as for the venue itself, are you serious, that you would put people’s lives at risk to make a dollar?

• Depictions of the Prophet Muhammad are offensive to many Muslims.
• There were widespread protests in 2006 when the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published cartoons satirising the Prophet Muhammad.
• In January this year, 12 people were murdered by two Islamist gunmen at the French magazine Charlie Hebdo, which had published similar cartoons.
• And a gathering of free speech activists in the Danish capital Copenhagen was targeted by a gunmanin February, killing a film director.

A little forethought and listening plus being aware of people’s feelings would have avoided this.

French Schoolgirl Skirt Ban

Ok we get that France is an alleged secular culture, were the wearing of religious symbols is not accepted in public, but to get to a stage were the wearing of a long black skirt being deemed as religious in a public school is extreme to say the least.

As far as I can remember no-one has ever been told that a long black skirt is offensive.

I think someone needs to inform the fashion industry that they are perpetuating religious symbols in their latest trends about long skirts

Mayweather vs Pacquaio

Billed as the fight of the century actually turned out to be what most commentators could see a masterclass in defensive tactics, Mayweather threw more punches with greater accuracy than Pacquaio. He had height and reach advantages, so how anyone can say that it was a wrong result needs to look very closely at the statistics involved.

So you want to go to University?

Attending University is now a requirement to secure a good career, gone are the days when a High School diploma would guarantee a good job with prospects.

There are many Universities worldwide, offering better programmes to follow the career of your choice, the difficult part is choosing the University or programme that suits your needs and intended career path.

• Where do you start?

Planning is important and the earlier you begin your search for the programme or University the better. Many potential students make the mistake of waiting for their results before applying to the University of their choice, the sooner you apply the better your chances. So begin planning as soon as possible, many parents in the US begin planning their child’s entry to University almost as soon as they are born, although much of this has to do with cost rather than the University or career choice, some students are still paying off  student loans into their 40’s and 50’s.

• When do you start

The earlier you apply the better, it is not necessary to wait for your final results, as most Universities will give you a conditional offer, subject to your results. So the earlier you apply, the better chance you have of being accepted at the University of your choice. For example, American students start applying in the previous November to ensure they can get the University of their choice, whilst in the UK students start applying to UCAS in January.

The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service is a UK-based charity whose main role is providing the application process for almost all British universities. Some of UCAS services include several online application portals, a number of search tools, and free information and advice aimed at a number of key audiences, such as students considering higher education, students with pending applications to higher education institutes, parents and legal guardians of applicants and pre-applicants, school and Further Education college staff involved in helping students apply, and providers of higher education (universities and HE colleges). (From Wikipedia, 2015).

• Deciding what to study

Before you decide on applying to the University of your choice, you need to have an idea of what programme you wish to study, not all Universities cover all programmes, many specialise in a particular area depending on their strengths and also decide, whether you want to study locally or further afield. Studying locally may limit your options for your choice of programme. Also which country you study in can also have an impact, for example, length of the programme, many Bachelor degree courses are 4 years, however the British system of Higher Education requires only 3 years to complete a Bachelor’s degree in most cases (dependent on the programme) this is because unlike many others the British System concentrates on the Major subjects and does not add in any Minor programmes, in effect this saves you a year of studies and tuition fees compared to other countries.

Your choice of programme is dependent on the future career path you would like to follow and from here is where you decide which University best suits your needs. For example, it is not a good choice to choose a University that excels in Sports if you want to have a Finance degree and vice versa. Look for the University’s strengths and depths read reviews and try to find students that are either finished studying or are still studying ask them questions. Go to the open days and observe the surroundings, making note of layout of campus and accommodation facilities etc.

• How do you apply

As stated above, depending on where you study will also depend on how you apply, in general the British System requires you to apply through UCAS, this is generally the case but you can also apply directly.

Most Universities have an online application service of their own, so apply though this or alternatively visit the University of your choice on one of their open days and apply directly. Many of the universities that you will apply to will require that besides the required academic achievements that you also write a motivational letter, stating why you want to study that particular programme at their University, do not forget in some instances there will be more students applying than places available, so it must be a high caliber letter and not a 2 line sentence. After reviewing your application and motivation letter, you will be asked to come to the University to sit an entrance exam, usually this is to guide you, to ensure that you have made the right choice of programme. There are students that will apply for a Software Engineering degree but will not have a background in the sciences or maths, which are a must if you want to become a programmer.

Check the full requirements needed for your subject, you will be surprised how these may vary according to the University.

• Accreditation

Is the degree you are applying to study an internationally accredited degree? This could make a difference if you decide to pursue a Master’s Degree at another University, which may not be in the country you are currently studying, also if you are a foreign student it may not be recognized by your local authorities check before you decide, otherwise you may end up having to do additional courses for your masters because of the different methods of validation in each country, check to see the learning outcomes are they of an International standard. Does your education Authority recognize the origin of the Degree, this is of great importance depending if you wish to pursue a career in the public sector or private sector.

For example, all British degrees must come under the umbrella of the QAA (Quality Assurance Agency)

• The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education(QAA) is an independent agency in the United Kingdom established to safeguard standards and improve the quality of UK higher education.^[1] Established in 1997 through the transfer of functions and staff from the former Higher Education Quality Council and the quality assessment divisions of HEFCE and HEFCW, this independent agency works to ensure that higher education qualifications in the United Kingdom (UK) are of a sound standard and quality. It checks how universities and colleges maintain their academic standards and quality and, to support this work, develops guidance in cooperation with the higher education sector, principal among which is the UK Quality Code for Higher Education (Quality Code).^[QAA’s main business is to conduct external peer reviews of all UK degree-awarding bodies (including universities – known as ‘recognized bodies’ as well as colleges that provide higher education programs in partnership with UK degree-awarding bodies (‘listed bodies’^[4]). Since 2011 QAA has been designated by the UK government to conduct ‘educational oversight’ of unlisted higher education providers wishing to become ‘highly trusted sponsors’ entitled to recruit overseas students under UK Tier 4 regulations.^[5]Similarly, since 2013, QAA conducts reviews of the management of individual courses that receive public funding, where these courses are not provided by recognised or listed bodies and the providers have not undergone a separate educational oversight review.
• QAA is the body entrusted with advising the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, via government ministers, on which institutions should be granted degree awarding powers and the right to be called a university. QAA also regulates the Access to Higher Education Diploma,^[6]a qualification that enables individuals without A Levels or the usual equivalent to enter higher education. It does this by reviewing and monitoring the Access Validating Agencies that award the Diploma. (From Wikipedia, 2015)

• Other requirements

If your choice of University is not in your own country but abroad, you must ensure that the VISA requirements are met for studying in that country, each country has a different requirement for overseas students and it is vitally important that you complete the process only after you have received confirmation from the University of an Acceptance letter, this is different to a Conditional offer, this is the document that will be the major part of your application for a VISA to so study.

Ensure that you follow the VISA exactly, the biggest mistake many students make is in regard to their Bank statements, most VISA’s require that you have sufficient funds (to cover tuition and living expenses) in your Bank account 28 WORKING days prior to your application, this is where many students make a fundamental mistake weekends are not included, this is why many applications’ states a minimum of 6 WEEKS.

• Tuition Fees

Tuition fees and living expenses are 2 different amounts that you need to be aware of normally Tuition fees do NOT include living expenses these have to be calculated separately and this will depend on the local area or country where you study, be sure to research thoroughly, it is usually cheaper to find accommodation on campus rather than off campus, off campus you are subject to supply and demand of the accommodation. Tuition fees need to be clear and transparent, some University’s, for marketing purposes, only quote their fees per semester (usually stated in very small print at the foot of the webpage) you need to know the yearly cost of the course you are studying otherwise this will also impact your VISA application.

This is only a guide ensure that you do full research on every aspect of your choice, do not be fooled by Marketing literature, this is to make the University look good. A classic sign is the overabundance of statistical data, remember statistics are only as good as the information that is provided and usually this will have a bias towards the University. A good example being that many quote is that 95% of their students are either employed or continuing Further Education, it does not tell you how many are actually employed, whether they are fully employed or on an Internship. So be careful do the research and good luck.

Works Cited

From Wikipedia, t. f. e., 2015. Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education. [Online]
Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quality_Assurance_Agency_for_Higher_Education
[Accessed 22 April 2015].

From Wikipedia, t. f. e., 2015. UCAS. [Online]
Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UCAS
[Accessed 22 April 2015].

Advice for students seeking to study in UK

Studying in UK

This note is guidance for students who are considering studying in the UK.

The UK Border Agency has closed down an estimated 500 so called “bogus” colleges in just 18 months.

Before you apply to a school you should check carefully whether it may be a bogus school. These are some things you can look for:

Accreditation

Carefully check any claims about accreditation. A bogus school sometimes falsely state that it has been accredited by a proper accreditation agency (check the website of the accreditation agency to make sure it is listed there). A bogus school sometimes lists a fake accreditation agency (an “accreditation mill”) – in some cases they even own these agencies themselves.

Note that publicly owned schools, colleges and universities in the UK (funded by the British government) are all accredited, and are regularly inspected.

Carefully check any claims about links with public universities. Sometimes a bogus school claims to have a “special relationship” or “partnership” with a university, or even “accreditation” by the university, but this may be false or over-stated.

Register

Check if the school is on the Register of Tier 4 Sponsors, using the exact name. However, even if a school is on this list it does not mean that there have been checks on the quality of education provided. Some bogus schools falsely try to suggest that they have been accredited because they are on this list. If you are studying for a course leading to a degree or MBA issued by an external university in the UK, check that this university is also on the register.

Qualifications

Be cautious about schools based in the UK which have mainly international (non-British) students but which offer degrees or other qualifications from other countries. Check the country in which the issuer of the qualification is based – don’t assume that it is in the UK.

Note that a certificate, degree or diploma is just a piece of paper. What is important is the value which is placed on this by employers in the UK or in other countries. Degrees or diplomas which have not been issued by a properly accredited university are worthless. 

Website

Websites of public UK universities generally end with “.ac.uk

” (this shows it is an academic institution).

If the English on the website is poor then it has probably not been written or checked by a native English speaker. Note that some bogus schools have websites that use correct English.

Be suspicious if the website contains links many links which do not work, especially if these are to accreditation agencies or other colleges/universities. This may be because these links were to other fake institutions whose websites have been closed down.

Warning signs

Fees

Common sense is the best means of ensuring that your course is genuine. If your course appears to be surprisingly cheap (or expensive) you should be suspicious. Course fees do vary but if you are suspicious of the cost for course you should contact the awarding organisation which provides the qualification and check with them whether the price seems reasonable.

Length of course

The length of the course is often another useful indicator of the validity of the qualification being offered. If your course appears to offer a full qualification in a very short time you should be suspicious.

<p>Pass requirements</p>

Some colleges offer a ‘guaranteed pass’ in their advertising. Although this may simply reflect high standards within the centre, be aware that no accredited qualification comes with a guarantee of a pass and be wary of courses which offer such a guarantee, especially if you are also suspicious of the cost and time the course will take.

Advertising

A centre’s promotional material may reflect their legitimacy. A website with very little information, or one which encourages you to telephone or email them only, rather than providing a legitimate postal address may be bogus. Doing as much research into your potential college and the qualifications offered before you enrol is the best way to avoid becoming a victim. However, there are many unfortunate circumstances where students have enrolled with a college and paid significant sums of money before they realise the college is not genuine.

Educational Myths

Disadvantaged pupils are doomed to do badly in school

Teachers all around the world struggle with how to make up for social disadvantage in their classrooms. Some believe that deprivation is destiny.

And yet, results from Pisa tests show that the 10% most disadvantaged 15-year-olds in Shanghai have better maths skills than the 10% most privileged students in the United States and several European countries.

Smaller class sizes raise standards

Everywhere, teachers, parents and policy-makers favour small classes as the key to better and more personalised education.

Reductions in class size have also been the main reason behind the significant increases in expenditure per student in most countries over the last decade.

And yet, Pisa results show no relationship between class size and learning outcomes, neither within nor across countries.

More interestingly, the highest performing education systems in Pisa tend to systematically prioritise the quality of teachers over the size of classes. Wherever they have to make a choice between a smaller class and a better teacher, they go for the latter.

Rather than putting money into small classes, they invest in competitive teacher salaries, ongoing professional development and a balance in working time.

Success is about being born talented

The writings of many educational psychologists have fostered the belief that student achievement is mainly a product of inherited intelligence, not hard work.

The findings from Pisa also show this mistaken belief, with a significant share of students in the western world reporting that they needed good luck rather than hard work to do well in mathematics or science. It’s a characteristic that is consistently negatively related to performance.

Teachers may feel guilty pushing students who are perceived as less capable to achieve at higher levels, because they think it is unfair to the student.

Their goal is more likely to be enabling each student to achieve up to the average of students in their classrooms, rather than, as in Finland, Singapore or Shanghai-China, to achieve high universal standards.

A comparison between school marks and performance of students in Pisa also suggests that teachers often expect less of students from lower socio-economic backgrounds. And those students and their parents may expect less too.

In Finland, Japan, Singapore, Shanghai and Hong Kong, students, parents, teachers and the public at large tend to share the belief that all students are capable of achieving high standards.

Teaching is about the inspiring performance of individuals

This is the view presented by most teaching awards and Hollywood – the spontaneous and brilliant teacher who enchants students, changing their lives for ever. It is largely nonsense. Life-changing teaching is a collaborative activity in which we draw on collective bodies of knowledge to design our curricula in discussion with colleagues, professional bodies and students. Degree programmes involve many different academics and need to include a range of activities that help students to develop personal engagement with disciplinary and professional knowledge. Captivating lectures are one, relatively minor, part of transformative teaching.

Good teaching is all about student-centeredness

Teaching is about making particular aspects of knowledge accessible to particular groups of students. It is about having a three-dimensional understanding of your discipline, allowing you to view it in different ways and to decide which angles will offer students the best chance of developing understanding. So, taking students into account is one key element, but student-centeredness without knowledge is process without substance. If you do not possess a rich understanding of your discipline that you can make accessible to your students, then students should rightly question the nature of your expertise.

An education guarantees a job.

REALITY: An education is just one factor that might help you get you a job. It might get your foot in an employer’s door. It might even land you your dream job. But there’s no assurance that it will even prepare you for a job. There are numerous factors that are within your control and that will help get you a job, including (but not limited to):

• Your experience.

• Your attitude and personality.

• The right mentor.

• The right connections.

• Your online identity.

Teachers and instructors should have numerous education qualifications.

REALITY: Teachers and instructors without education qualifications can still be excellent teachers and instructors. In short, being a qualified teacher or instructor won’t necessarily make you better at your job. Degrees, certificates, graduate-level credentials; these are all great. Yet while acknowledging that teaching is a skillset and can be taught (you’re not born with or without the ability to teach), there are many valid ways to start a career as a teacher or instructor.

Just Rambling …No real significance to the comments

Number 1 Most powerful passport in the world:

• United Kingdom
• Sweden
• Finland

Can get access to 173 countries without a visa.

• Steve Jobs blatantly admitted in a 1996 interview that they do steal ideas and make money out of it. The idea of the Mac came from a Xerox machine that Jobs saw in 1979 and borrowed some interface elements from Windows; the idea of the first tablet PC came about in 1987, 23 years before the IPad was launched; Touchscreen technology is a thing of the past, dating back in 1965, yet Jobs claims Apple invented it.
• Alan Turing did not originally conceive the idea of a fully functional home computer. Sure, he made the first commercial computer, but almost a century ago, another man had a dream, a ‘difference machine’, to be exact. Mathematics professor Charles Babbage laid out blueprints for a machine that could execute simultaneous calculations in minimal amount of time. The problem was Babbage didn’t have the money and moral support that an inventor needs. Basically Alan Turing, together with some colleagues, just continued what Babbage couldn’t finish.
• On March 25, 1925, Baird gave the firstpublic demonstration of televised silhouette images in motion, at Selfridge’s Department Store in London.
• Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak belonged to a group of hackers and hobbyists called the Homebrew Computer Club.
• In a 2008 survey, 58% of British teens thought Sherlock Holmes was a real guy, while 20% thought Winston Churchill was not.
• Sean Connery turned down the Gandalf role in Lord of the Rings. “I read the book. I read the script. I saw the movie. I still don’t understand it.”
• Only one word in the English language has three consecutive sets of double letters and it’s “Bookkeeper” B-oo-kk-ee-per.
• The real inventor of the electric light was Englishman Joseph Swan in 1880. He later set up a business with Thomas Edison to perfect it.
• Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’! – Audrey Hepburn
• Bullet proof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers, and laser printers were all invented by women
• When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains,however improbable, must be the truth.
• 

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You think you know where your AID money goes?

At least 20% of the aid money countries claim they are giving to developing countries never leaves, according to new research.

Researchers at the Bristol-based group Development Initiatives estimate that at least $22bn (£13.7bn) of the $100bn-plus reported by donors in 2011 was never transferred to developing countries.

“Large headline figures are presented as if aid is entirely a cash lump sum passed directly from donor to recipient,” added the researchers. “[But] aid is a bundle of different things. Some of it is money. Some is food and other goods. Some is people: the costs of consultants and staff providing technical advice and training.”

Countries report their aid spending annually to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris, though their submissions are rarely subjected to rigorous independent scrutiny.

The researchers found that while Italy reported giving about $2bn in bilateral (country-to-country) aid in 2011, less than $300m was transferred to developing countries.

In contrast, Denmark, which also reported giving about $2bn in aid, transferred roughly $1.85bn to developing countries in the form of cash grants, loans, project support or technical advice.

Less than 70% of French aid – and less than 50% of Austrian aid – was transferred to developing countries in 2011.

At least 8% of British bilateral aid was not transferred to developing countries – a relatively low proportion compared with other donors.

The report doesn’t examine which companies or consultants win contracts for technical advice or other projects, which means the real figures on how much aid stays in donor countries could be significantly higher.

Last year, the Sunday Telegraph revealed just how lucrative the UK aid business has been for a small group of primarily British consultants.

Aid statistics therefore fail to reflect the resources that developing countries receive, the report argues, making it difficult for poor countries to understand exactly how much money is coming in from donors.

Researchers found, for example,

“that more than $5bn of aid supposedly given to the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2011 was never transferred to the country. Instead, most of this figure represented debt relief.”

So where does it go?

The real problem is that aid is actually rising but much of it never reaches poor countries and, when it does, it causes economic, social and political damage.

Almost 50% of donor aid fails to target poverty, but instead aims to meet other donor priorities.

• Consultants

 

In the UK almost £500million was paid in 2011 to consultants, many of whom earn six, even seven-figure incomes, courtesy of the donors.

• £6million was paid to the University of Cape Town to investigate mental health issues in southern Africa and millions of pounds to US-based organisations, including the Clinton Foundation, the International Food Policy Research Institute and Family Health Inter-national.
• It is paying a Washington-based group, Search for Common Ground, £3.9million to “support the electoral cycle in Sierra Leone”. Consultancy firms in India and Uganda are also receiving large sums.

• More than £20million last year was spent on hotels for these consultants, including many five-star ones.

• Corruption

(The abuse of power for Personal gain)

 

Corruption comes in many forms through the various AID programmes starting with the Customs Offices of the recipient country and then filters down the system, which, results in some instances no AID actually being received for the original recipients.

• Corruption manifests at three different levels. These include:

• Petty corruption where small favours are exchanged between small groups of people. This level of corruption is rampant in developing countries where civil servants are poorly paid. These people will exchange small gifts just to obtain some small favours.

• Grand corruption, which occurs at the highest levels of government. This form of corruption necessitates considerable insurrection of the economic, legal and political systems. This is the sort of corruption that precipitated the significant cutting of foreign aid in Uganda. It is characterised with despotic governments and those without strong anti-corruption agencies.

• Also known as endemic corruption, systematic corruption occurs due to the failing of the system. Corruption can occur in the different economic sectors, both public and private, and even in non-governmental organisations (NGOs) as these are not immune to it. Corruption in the public sector occurring in the legislative (political), executive (police) and the judiciary systems is considerably dangerous as it affects public service delivery.

This is just scratching the surface of the problems of giving AID to people that are most in need, seems that the politicians and others in the so called developed countries like to play with the figures saying how wonderful they are.

There is obviously no accountability and/or transparency from either the Donors or the recipients.

Most research has shown that there is plenty of smoke and mirrors to mask the fact that the well intentioned donations are being siphoned off into the pockets of the people who least need it and away from the people who most need it.