Six tips for liberal arts colleges to produce employable grads
Posted: April 1, 2012 at 11:02 pm
Here is a guest post from Andy Chan, vice president of the Wake Forest University Office of Personal and Career Development, and Jacquelyn S. Fetrow, Reynolds Professor of Computational Biophysics and dean of Wake Forest College. From April 11-13, they will co-host Rethinking Success: From the Liberal Arts to Careers in the 21st Century, a national conference to examine issues related to the relevance and value of the liberal arts education to the workforce today.
Wake Forest Vice President for Career Development Andy Chan talks with students in the universitys Reynolda Hall. (WFU/KEN BENNETT)Seniors graduating this May started their college careers shrouded by the dark cloud of economic insecurity. In September 2008, they were eager freshmen adjusting to campus life when the subprime mortgage crisis forced Lehman Brothers to file for bankruptcy. Four years later, many college students, recent graduates and their families remain paralyzed with fear and pessimism by the dismal prospects for turning a diploma into a paycheck. Although the economy may be recovering, the world of work has fundamentally changed.
Innovative technology, higher productivity, international outsourcing and our self-service economy have replaced thousands of entry-level jobs that were once ready-made for college graduates, and are now gone forever. In addition, the competition for jobs is fierce as employers raise their sights in recruiting new talent.
The March 2012 Duke University/CFO Magazine Global Business Outlook Survey of chief financial officers projects increased hiring which will bring the national unemployment rate below 8 percent by the end of the year. However, nearly half of the employers actively trying to fill vacant positions are struggling to find qualified applicants. Extremely selective recruiters have their choice of attractive candidates ranging from ambitious college grads to experienced Gen-X professionals to humbled baby boomers desperately needing work. The old get a good college education and youll be successful adage isnt nearly enough today and it may not be enough for job-seeking college grads in the 21st Century.
Politicians have fueled the fear and pessimism by questioning the value of college and especially the liberal education both in terms of cost and content, trumpeting the need for a technically skilled workforce as a solution to our floundering economy. Ironically, China, Singapore, South Korea and other Asian countries are adopting the opposite position by investing in the creation of high school and university curriculum to provide a liberal education in hopes of developing nimble, adaptable and creative thinkers. Concerned that their traditional system only produces stellar test takers, but few innovators and inventors, they are moving towards the educational model that America seems ready to leave behind.
Employers are seeking candidates who have the critical, creative thinking and interpersonal skills that result from a liberal education, plus the technical skills required for the job and finally, the hunger and passion to do and learn whats required to be an outstanding and productive contributor for the firm. According to former Procter & Gamble chairman A.G. Lafley, The formula for businesses trying to compete in todays economy is simple: hire employees with the mental agility, leadership and passion to navigate constant change in other words, hire those who are liberally educated. Sound advice when you consider the CEOs of Dell, JP Morgan Chase, Walt Disney Company, IBM, and FedEx were liberally educated.
Here are a few recommendations for liberal arts colleges to more deeply realize and communicate the value of the liberal education for the world of work today:
Develop partnerships that bridge the career development office with the faculty and academic advisors. Students demand to know how their choice of major will affect their career options. By sharing these data and student examples with the faculty and academic advisors, the career development office becomes more vital to students and to the faculty. With the endorsement and influence of the faculty, students utilize the complete range of resources offered by the career development office starting from their first year on campus.
Provide opportunities for faculty to understand the needs of employers. When professors understand why employers hire certain students, they can articulate how the academic material can be applied variety of work settings and help students recognize and better market this knowledge and skills. They can also more effectively mentor students and provide career advice and connections.
Make internships and/or research projects an integral part of the student experience. Make sure the student demonstrates the drive to stick with a research problem for longer than a semester. A survey by the Association of American Colleges and Universities found that 84 percent of executives at private sector and non-profit organizations expressed a desire for students to complete a significant project before graduation to demonstrate their depth of knowledge and a passion for a particular areas, as well as their acquisition of broad analytical, problem solving and communication skills.
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Six tips for liberal arts colleges to produce employable grads
Unfair promotions, questionable spending irk cops, study shows
Posted: at 11:02 pm
MEMBERS of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) are unhappy about options for their personal development provided by the organisation, a survey conducted by a University of the West Indies (UWI) academic has revealed.
The concern was a recurring feature of the survey, which gauged the perceptions of 869 police officers towards the constabulary's strategic reform and modernisation process.
There are just over 8,000 members of the JCF.
The survey was conducted last year by Dr Kadamawe Knife, lecturer in strategic management and planning at the UWI. Its findings were launched at a press conference at the Police Officers' Club on Hope Road in St Andrew, Friday.
"Things that relate to personal development within the force, those are the things that persons have concern about, as well as things that relate to fiscal management," said Dr Knife, presenting the findings of the survey which was paid for by the United States Agency for International Development.
"Fairness surrounding promotion, the disciplinary process, transfer, grievances, all of those things we find relating to persons' perception of how they will move forward if they see the JCF as their long-term profession. These are the things that persons have a problem with," continued Dr Knife, citing the allocation of resources as the other major concern raised by respondents.
"These we need to work on some more," he said, outlining that 34.8 per cent of responders deemed the Human Resource Practices and Employee Performance Management as good, 18 per cent said it was bad, while 47.2 per cent said it was nuetral. Dr Knife said the fact that so many persons were indifferent to it is, in itself, cause for concern.
The study was the second of a series reviewing the accomplishments of the constabulary strategic review programme launched by the Ministry of National Security in 2007.
Among the other variables looked at were organisational climate, leadership, management and supervision, communication, organisational culture, fiscal management, operating procedures and practices, strategic planning, and vehicle, equipment, technology, and facilities.
The areas of organisation climate/culture, communication and equipment were also areas of much concern, Dr Knife said.
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Unfair promotions, questionable spending irk cops, study shows
How Audiences Respond: Online Journalism and Advocacy – Video
Posted: at 11:01 pm
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How Audiences Respond: Online Journalism and Advocacy - Video
【91VOA Learn English】Getting a Free Education, in Huge Online Classes – Video
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【91VOA Learn English】Getting a Free Education, in Huge Online Classes - Video
EVA woos Asean to make Taipei a hub
Posted: at 8:24 pm
BAMRUNG AMNATCHAROENRIT The Nation
THE Taipei April 2, 2012 1:00 am
James Jeng, chairman of Taiwan's second-largest airline, said last week that Taipei enjoys a good geographical location for transpacific flights. The transit time at Taoyuan Inter-national Airport is only two to three hours. EVA operates 45 flights per week to those markets.
Passengers come from Singapore, Malaysia, Jakarta, Ho Chi Minh City and Bangkok. Especially from Vietnam, half of them arrive for flight connections to North America. From Bangkok alone, EVA has 10 flights scheduled per week. It has a code-sharing agreement with Bangkok Airways so its passengers can conveniently continue on to destinations across the Kingdom.
Asean, especially Thailand, is an important market for EVA. Since the Asean Economic Community will materialise in less than three years, the firm would look at this market "carefully".
EVA's ambition is to play a bigger role in the global aviation industry. Its membership application to Star Alliance, the world's largest airline grouping with 26 members, was unanimously accepted after a year-long discussion. Now, EVA will have to spend a year working on the integration process, with strong support from Air China, based in Beijing, as the mentor airline.
Pandit Chanapai, executive vice president for commercial affairs of Thai Airways International, the national carrier, said the entry of EVA into the group would help strengthen THAI's network by adding destinations that it cannot reach. Vancouver is an example. THAI's passengers can fly from Bangkok to Taipei then transfer to an EVA aircraft bound for Vancouver. THAI's passengers will enjoy benefits on both segments, especially mileage points for redemption.
THAI has turned its focus to the Asian market and is looking for major cities to add to its regional network. It flies from Bangkok to Taipei 14 times a week and is planning to increase the frequency to 15 in the future. Its load factor this month is 73 per cent on the morning flight from Bangkok and 82 per cent on the evening flight from Taipei. In October, THAI will add Taipei to its Phuket-Hong Kong route, with seven stopovers per week, as part of its plan to increase load capacity.
Becoming a member of Star Alliance will be a crucial step for EVA. The airline will be able to expand its global network where it has not gone yet, especially South America and Africa. It will be able to reach the European market with cost-saving cooperation, especially with members like Lufthansa and Austrian, amid the controversy over the collection of carbon emission fees by the European Union from airlines flying to the continent. EVA's major market is still China. EVA will enter the world's fastest-moving market via Air China. EVA serves 25 destinations in China from various cities in Taiwan with 105 flights per week, with some operated by its sister airline UNI Air. The airline plans to cash in on mainland China following the relaxation of political tensions between the two economies.
UNI flies mainly domestic routes, especially to remote islands. However, it is studying the feasibility of transforming itself into one of the low-cost airlines in Asia in the future, said Chang Kuo-wei, president of EVA Airways Corp. EVA Air was established in March 1989 and took off on its inaugural flight in July 1991. Last year, it carried 6.7 million passengers to domestic and 62 international destinations. Its fleet consists of 42 passenger aircraft and 17 freighters.
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EVA woos Asean to make Taipei a hub
Cardiac Yoga DVD Released by Heart Fit Clinic
Posted: at 8:24 pm
The Heart Fit Clinic has released its new Cardiac Yoga DVD program to reverse heart disease. Stress management after a heart attack can be a challenge but it is of paramount importance to know stress management techniques for your heart attack treatment and to start a cardiac rehabilitation program as soon as possible. Now everyone can take advantage of the Heart Fit Clinic cardiac yoga program to reverse this deadly disease process.
Calgary, AB (PRWEB) March 30, 2012
Heart disease is frightening and can be reversed but it takes a lot of dedication and correct information from cardiac rehabilitation heart health experts like those with the Heart Fit Clinic. Understanding essential cardiac yoga techniques after a heart attack is essential to the road to recovery.
The Heart Fit Clinic has released its new Cardiac Yoga DVD - to prevent and reverse heart disease. The success of their patients in a clinical setting has been in large part thanks to this program. Hundreds of patients with the clinic have been guided with this program and it is now available to everyone off their website. "Heart disease is frightening but there is something you can do about it and we have your solution to be a success with heart disease". says Diamond Fernandes, clinic director.
Lifestyle modification strategies are important for heart attack treatment to reverse and prevent heart disease. The Cardiac Yoga DVD program comes with a free heart health manual ($47 value). Individuals who have an acute or chronic medical condition (heart disease), are elderly, have limited mobility, or would like to practice a gentle and modified form of yoga will find the cardiac yoga DVD safe, empowering and helpful in optimizing health and healing.
Cardiac yoga to prevent and reverse heart disease lets patients know how to cope after a heart problem. Heart disease is an inflammatory disease. In this program, the Heart Fit Clinic will take you through some guided cardiac yoga sessions to get you on the right track for heart health.
Millions of people suffer from heart disease, high blood pressure and high cholesterol and in this program the Heart Fit Clinic covers stress management technique to keep your blood pressure controlled. Seeing a heart health yoga expert can cost hundreds of dollars. The Heart Fit Clinic is able to deliver the best cardiac rehabilitation and heart attack and stroke prevention cardiac yoga DVD program for the fraction of the cost for $37 (limited time offer) . Now this program is also a part of their complete cardiac rehabilitation and heart attack prevention program. Contact their clinic via email or phone to live happier, healthier and longer.
The Heart Fit Clinic is the leader in cardiac rehabilitation and heart attack and stroke prevention program. Whether patients have had a recent heart attack or heart problem, past or trying to prevent heart disease this program will help people reverse heart disease.
For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prweb2012/3/prweb9353371.htm
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Cardiac Yoga DVD Released by Heart Fit Clinic
Beyond Life (Commercial – Excercise, 2nd edit) – Video
Posted: at 8:41 am
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Beyond Life (Commercial - Excercise, 2nd edit) - Video
'Yoga can cure every disease, but don't universalise'
Posted: at 8:41 am
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Calcutta News.Net Sunday 1st April, 2012 (IANS)
Yoga therapy can cure every disease and disorder, even cancer, says a Delhi-based yoga therapist but warns against the mass teaching of yoga - including popular pranayams like kapalbhati and anulom vilom - saying they "can cause complications".
"Yoga cannot be universalised...like prescribing a paracetamol tablet," says Subhash Sharma, a yoga therapist who spent 19 years in a gurukul in Rajasthan and is also a post-graduate from the Kasturba Medical College, Manipal.
Sharma told IANS: "People have different physiologies and each person's response to yoga is individualistic. Therefore, there can't be standardisation of yoga for any particular disorder."
Sharma, who describes himself as a pioneering yoga therapist and runs a busy practice in south Delhi, says even a step-by-step book on yoga can be "fatal".
Recounting a particular case, he says one gentleman had come to him with a problem - he had lost the sensation of the nerves to the anus that tell us when to pass faeces.
"He had learnt the steps from a book and started practising 'nauli kriya', or rotating of the intestines. This paralysed the nerves to the anus. He did not know when he was passing stools, he would only make out from the bad smell."
Bhastrika, a popular yogic pranayam that many people do while following an expert on television, can cause asthma, warns Sharma.
"In bhastrika pranayam you pump the lungs. It can hyperventilate the lungs and people can develop asthma."
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'Yoga can cure every disease, but don't universalise'
Halls baseball field dedicated to Bob Polston
Posted: at 1:44 am
Bob Polston spent countless hours during the golden years of his life at the Halls High School baseball field.
Polston mowed the grass. Worked the pitcher's mound. Dragged the infield. Critiqued the team and his son, Doug, Halls' baseball coach since 1988, while sitting behind the backstop.
Almost until his death last August at age 77, Bob Polston was a fixture at the field, which was dedicated as Bob Polston Field during a ceremony Friday before the Red Devils' 7-6 victory against Morristown East.
"It's a special day for me and my family and this community," Doug Polston said. "The man dedicated over 50 years of his life to the high school youth in this county. This is something the community wanted to do, and if (Bob) knew about it, he'd scoff at it a little bit, but I'm proud of it."
Bob Polston, a 1952 graduate of Joelton High School in Middle Tennessee, spent 21 years coaching football and baseball at East High School, Austin-East High School, and Rule High School. He was KFL Coach of the Year in 1969, '71, '73, and '76.
After his coaching career, Polston served 27 years as athletic director for the Knox County School System before retiring in 2004.
Even before retiring, Polston spent plenty of time around the Halls baseball program and even more time once he retired.
"It's a good thing it happened with them dedicating the field, but there's never going to be another person like Bob," said Zach Lawson, a 2006 Halls graduate and currently assistant baseball coach at Gibbs. "He just meant so much to everybody that's been through here. He was a great person and this is a good thing they did for him."
Among those attending the ceremony were Bob Polston's wife, Dorothy; his sister, Sarah Anderson of Joelton; and his daughter, Kathy Arnold of Strawberry Plains.
Dorothy spent years working in the Halls concession stand while Bob watched from his spot behind the backstop, where a memorial and plaque with his name stands.
Program Addresses Failure to Launch Syndrome – Released by Forte Strong
Posted: at 1:44 am
Saint George, UT (PRWEB) March 31, 2012
Forte Strongs failure to launch program for young men reaches new success with its experiential approach to life coaching. Young men are becoming more motivated, active, happy and educated.
Recent studies show that young men are becoming less and less involved in society. They are experiencing a larger substance abuse rate, more mental health issues and a suicide rate 5 times that of young women. They are also trending a lower graduation rate, poorer scholastic performance and lower career acquisition post college. All of these elements may be contributing factors to the failure to launch syndrome so many young men are currently experiencing. Forte Strong, a premier failure to launch program specializing in the life coaching of these young men (18-26) and is taking the issue to heart. They provide a short term residential approach to coach these struggling young men to independence. Some of the key elements of the program involve enrolling into some form of higher education, personalized strength assessments to build confidence and self esteem, and a unique experiential education curriculum where students learn by doing.
Matthew Arrington, co-founder of Forte Strong explains, Young men just learn differently than women. Because they learn differently they need a different approach than the one society has set up for them and thats where Forte Strong comes in. We know how to coach these young men to success. We show them how to develop the confidence, the strength and the life skills they need to be successful in the real world that they can use for the rest of their lives.
Part of Forte Strongs experiential education approach involves participating in internships, job shadowing, community involvement, service projects, personal safety courses (CPR & first aid), higher education, international leadership treks, and much more. In an uncertain world Forte Strong gives young men the ability to rise to the challenge by developing their character, both internally and externally. They also provide free coaching for life even after their students have graduated the program which is unheard of in this industry.
Forte Strong is a failure to launch program specializing in the life coaching of young adult men. Forte Strong is also a national leader in providing skill development, leadership training, and life coaching for young adults ages 18-26. Their unique strength based coaching allows their students to accelerate their lives to independence in a shorter amount of time than most programs.
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Program Addresses Failure to Launch Syndrome – Released by Forte Strong