text:
No. of Comments: 4
Add comments |
More comments
The world's first media façade featuring LUCEM light transmitting concrete panels has been unveiled in Aachen, Germany. Opened on 6 December 2012, the LUCEM Media Facade, situated at RWTH Aachen University contains the light transmitting concrete panels as designed by German concrete manufacturer LUCEM.
As part of the project, which was designed by Aachen-based architects Carpus & Partner, 150cm by 50cm concrete panels containing optical fibres have been used, forming a total area 30m wide by 4m high with 136 panels. Each panel is fitting with colour-changing technology, with the colours becoming brighter approximately one hour before sunset. The LED-panels are controlled using an internet-based DMX technology system, with each panel containing 3% optical fibres.
The technology controlling the lights opens up new boundaries for design and architecture as the light panels are made with red, green and blue chips which control more than 16 million colours. As well as this, all the panels can be controlled independently meaning the entire facade can become a large display screen. The light shows on the screen can be controlled via the internet or a mobile device and interactive elements as well as text and logos can be displayed on the screen.
According to LUCEM, the panels have various uses including 'facades, interior walls, claddings and flooring systems up to the design of room dividers and bars'. There are currently three different types of LUCEM ®Lichbeton panels, which offer different effects and aesthetics for the user. With the LUCEM® Label panels, light transmitting fibres are arranged individually so that clients can display design logos, images, names, signatures and icons on the panels.
The LUCEM® Line panel on the other hand, has a fine-meshed surface which gives the impression of a lightweight structure which also reveals silhouetted objects while the LUCEM® Starlight panels contain larger light transmitting fibres that give the effect of brightly lit spots appearing on the surface of the concrete. Previous projects featuring the light transmitting concrete panels include the headquarters of the Bank of Georgia, where the panels were used to create light-filled accent walls and office partitions.
Naomi Wilcock Editorial
Please enter above code:
Cannot read the code? Please click hereOR click on the image to reload.
Click here to view the NEWS IN PICTURES tablet site


text:
About Langkawi International Airport
Langkawi International Airport is situated on the duty-free island of Langkawi in Kedah. The airport is located about 25-minutes' drive from Kuah Town.
To cater to the increasing demand of tourist and business travellers, the airport has extended its terminal to accommodate a maximum of 2.5 million passengers annually and 1,000 passengers during peak hours. The airport's runway is capable of handling B747 aircraft.
The airport has a variety of retail and duty-free outlets, cafés and restaurants, as well as premium passenger lounges for your travelling convenience and comfort.
Latest News
Qatar Airways' Inaugural Flight To Penang, Malaysia Touches Down At Penang International Airport
06 February 2018
Award-winning airline commences service to its second destination in Malaysia, continuing its robust expansion throughout Southeast Asia Announces increased frequency to four-times weekly effective 1 July 2018 in response to strong leisure and business demand
PENANG- Qatar Airways' first non-stop flight to Penang...
Read more
Everything you need to know about Langkawi International Airport
Download the factsheet
Passenger Service Charges
See the Passenger Service Charges ↗
Privacy Notice
Privacy Notice

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The Ehell Blog
The Story Archives
Hells Bells
Link 5
"Where The Civil People Meet"
May 24, 2018, 02:54:24 PM
1 Hour
1 Day
1 Week
1 Month
Login with username, password and session length
Etiquette Hell
General Etiquette
All In A Day's Work
This was fine, right? Tell me it was fine...
« previous
next »
Pages: [
Go Down
Topic: This was fine, right? Tell me it was fine... (Read 5531 times)
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
Posts: 3249
This was fine, right? Tell me it was fine...
May 10, 2013, 02:26:51 AM »
Hi all,
At work a colleague that I am sort of mentoring asked me to observe her work and help with pointers. Important details are that English is her second language and our job is very verbal. Anyway, today I observed her and later on we sat down to talk things through. Although in general she is excellent at her job there was one thing that I felt she needed to work on, and I had a feeling that that was why she had asked for help in the first place.
Anyway, I tried to be noncommittal and try to draw her out to see if this was the aspect that she wanted help with (it was) and then it came out that basically in the scripted parts of our job she is fine and happy but feels insecure when needing to improvise, due to the language thing. My suggestion was that she think of what she wants to achieve, write some 'lines' to deal with situations that are likely to arise and practice them in English until she feels confident using them.
Now (of course
) I am over-thinking this and worried that my advice was patronising or discouraging or even a little racist. I would appreciate either a) reassurance or b) suggestions on how I could do it better next time. Also if anyone has experience with working outside their comfort zone, language wise, suggestions on what helped you would be great.
"Can't do anything with children, can you?" the woman said.
Poirot thought you could, but forebore to say so.
Posts: 912
Re: This was fine, right? Tell me it was fine...
Reply #1 on:
May 10, 2013, 03:04:15 AM »
I think you were just fine. I don't think there's anything racist whatsoever about that advice.
Let me just tell you this: English is my native language. I am very fluent in it, and I have professional communications training. Even still, when I was working in a public-facing role, I still found it necessary to develop some "talking points" in reference to questions I often faced. It was simply more efficient. As a reporter, I used to write up a brief list of questions before covering stories sometimes, just because it helped get things going for me.
Nothing wrong about your advice, and certainly nothing patronizing that I can see. I can see even giving the same advice to a native language speaker who sometimes struggles with communicating with the public, being less experienced in the role.
I'm sure your co-worker appreciates your advice and will take it to heart - and that it will help her achieve success. I'm sure she's well aware of any communication issues she has as a non-native English speaker. In time, though, she will be more experienced with dealing with the public and will be just fine. You'll see.
Posts: 8322
Re: This was fine, right? Tell me it was fine...
Reply #2 on:
May 10, 2013, 09:42:55 AM »
I also think you were fine. I am a native speaker of English; almost everyone else at my job speaks English as a second language (with different languages as their first). Dancing around the fact that someone else is having problems communicating because of a language issue just becomes silly after a while. I think it's better to acknowledge it in a straightforward manner, and suggest concrete solutions.
And I agree with mrkitty, your solution could easily be used with a native English speaker who just didn't think very well on their feet, etc.. In fact, here we often suggest people plan responses in advance and even practice saying them aloud, so that when the time comes they can say very firmly, "NO, I will not watch your pet dragon again this weekend," or something like that.
Posts: 14036
It's too darned hot! (song from Kiss Me, Kate)
Re: This was fine, right? Tell me it was fine...
Reply #3 on:
May 10, 2013, 10:02:36 AM »
Even if English is your first language - sometimes questions come up at work that you need to check the correct work terminology for. Calling something a nonsense term at home can work - calling it the same nonsense term at work may get a laugh & the correct term once - but the fourth or fifth time, it won't be a laugh, it'll be a comment about "learn the correct terminology" from a coworker or boss.
Insurance, car repair, computers, dentists, and other work fields all have one thing in common - there are terms that they use in a particular way that other work fields either don't have those terms or use similar words to mean something completely different. An example might be the word "filter" - a "filter" for a computer programmer would probably written into some software, a "filter" for a photographer is a physical item for the camera OR possibly a software choice when editing raw photos, and a "filter" at a car repair place may be for oil, fuel, air to the engine or for the heating & A/C to the cabin.
Other places may use words that just don't turn up in your average conversation unless you're discussing that subject ("Subrogation" is an insurance term that I don't recall using except to an insurance agent or at least when talking about an insurance claim).
"Claimant" has a slightly different, but related meaning in insurance as it does in law. But the other party in a claim is not called the "defendant" as they might be in a legal matter - they are usually called the "insured" by the company that they have bought their insurance from.
Use the wrong term (or one that is almost right in the wrong office) and you'll still have a miscommunication.
For someone who is working in a second language - the specific vocabulary used for that job may be almost like having to learn a third language! I know that in various careers, I've had to learn enough new terms to get the idea that I was no longer speaking the "English" that I knew growing up!
Last Edit: May 10, 2013, 12:07:23 PM by VorFemme
Let sleeping dragons be.......morning breath......need I explain?
Posts: 14155
Re: This was fine, right? Tell me it was fine...
Reply #4 on:
May 10, 2013, 10:12:50 AM »
Even here on Ehell we tell people to come up with phrases (e.g., "That will not be possible." ) in advance so they are prepared. The brain does better if it has rehearsed a situation previously (which is why we have fire drills). So you did fine.
Posts: 3249
Re: This was fine, right? Tell me it was fine...
Reply #5 on:
May 10, 2013, 06:05:08 PM »
Thanks for the reassurance guys. It's been a long week and I'm off balance. I have always said that I have NO interest in a management role and worrying about things this much definitely confirms that that is right
"Can't do anything with children, can you?" the woman said.
Poirot thought you could, but forebore to say so.
Posts: 10801
Re: This was fine, right? Tell me it was fine...
Reply #6 on:
May 10, 2013, 11:20:08 PM »
I totally understand why you may feel weird about it - anytime we have to actually think about whether we're being politically correct, it makes us self-conscious whether we were accidentally offensive or not
I've run into this with my SIL a few times - I hardly knew any African-American people until I went to college, and I've never had a particularly close friend who was black, so every once in a while I have this "Wait, was that totally racist of me?" moment. (Most recently, it was when she forgot her shampoo when coming to visit - I offered to loan her mine, but she tactfully explained that she really needs something formulated for natural Afro-textured hair. No biggie, but I was worrying for a while afterwards about whether she thought I was a complete idiot for not knowing that African-American women with non-straightened hair used a different type of shampoo than white women did
So yeah, long way of saying it sounds like you did fine, and although her non-native-English-speaking status was indirectly the cause of her issue, you found a good way to suggest help without making her feel like you were judging her for it.
Posts: 7934
Re: This was fine, right? Tell me it was fine...
Reply #7 on:
May 11, 2013, 12:55:44 AM »
I think your response was perfect, and is something that could easily also be applied to a native English speaker, so not racist/patronising at all.
Awestruck Shmuck
Posts: 144
Re: This was fine, right? Tell me it was fine...
Reply #8 on:
May 11, 2013, 04:39:46 AM »
I think you gave great advice! I worked in customer service a long time, and while the calls started out fairly scripted, I was able to adapt them to suit my conversational style/sales tactics - but there was always questions that came up, and having points or sentences that I could fall back on - if I wasn't feeling particularly chatty or 'switched-on' really helped!
And for someone who is adjusting to working in an english speaking environment, when english is not their first language, your suggestion was spot on as far as I can tell - it's exactly what I would have suggested to newer staff members.
Pages: [
Go Up
« previous
next »
Etiquette Hell
General Etiquette
All In A Day's Work
This was fine, right? Tell me it was fine...
Simple Machines
Etiquette Hell © 2018
SMF Hispano ©
Page created in 0.176 seconds with 18 queries.


text:
set the alarm again
Taking your slow poke reputation to greater heights here.
Hey everyone, anyone seen this???:
Parmi | #1 draft pick | Jake King is **** | Big Bash League tipping champion of the universeCome and Paint Turtle
Burgeinho insisting on three net sessions a week during the mid season break.
Good lad. Good, good lad.
WWCC - Loyaulte Mi Lie
"Hope is the fuel of progress and fear is the prison in which you put yourself" - Tony Benn
#408. Sixty three not out forever.
Made: Tried watching The Peep Show for the first time. So so funny.
Only problem is that it's so cringe worthy that I can't watch some of the stuff.
Johnson and Super Hans are comedy gold. And that smarmy look Johnson has on his face, as if to say I am the greatest and you are a piece of ****.
Yeah Peep Show is gun. So uncomfortable, I love it.
slowfinger didnt get the dont quote the **** memo
Flogcity on a 28k dial up connection here.
my first m0dem was 2400 baud, ****
would take about 3 days to read this msg
Finally watched Fire in Babylon. Much better than I thought it'd be. I was glued to the TV the whole time. Some excellent footage and it was very well done.
Forever 63* at the SCG
Went for a call last night involving a lorry and a bus collision. Two guys were trapped in the lorry cabin, we had to use hydraulic tools to push open the dashboard and pull them out onto stretchers and send them off in the ambulances. There was soooo much blood, and the fact that the two were conscious and screaming made it worse. Feel like a hero.
It was my second time going out to a traffic accident, but this was much more stressful since in the previous one the dude had already died.
I know I may come across as a bit of a narcissistic **** (esp to CSers) but I do like to keep it to the internet rather than talk about myself irl and annoy people.
Discovered Yo La Tengo. Formed in 1984 and still going strong on their 14th album despite never being a big band and critics love them. Makes me feel optimistic.
Last edited by Top_Cat; 07-01-2013 at 02:30 PM.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)


text:
Microsoft PowerPoint 10.1.9 update contains several improvements to enhance security and stability, including fixes for vulnerabilities that an attacker can use to overwrite the contents of your computer's memory with malicious code. In addition, this update includes all of the improvements released in all previous Office v. X updates.
- Mac OS X 10.3 or later
- Microsoft PowerPoint v.X
Similar Software
Suggest other similar software


text:
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Arlington Park Barn Notes: Wed., June 20
It wasn't too many years ago that increasingly prominent conditioner Brian Williamson was known as an assistant to his father-in-law – the legendary Arlington trainer Harvey Vanier – but when the venerable Mr. Vanier retired in 2004 Williamson stepped up to take over the reins of that family-oriented operation.
However, this year, beginning at Oaklawn and now at Chicago's northwest suburban oval, Williamson is in the midst of the best season of his own two decade-long career of saddling horses in his own name.
"That was a very nice win for us, especially to see the horse dominate the race like that," said Williamson a few days after that victory while on the cusp of a top 10 ranking in the trainer standings. "I was pretty confident she'd run well in that race because of the way she ran in the race before that.
"What's next for her?" the trainer asked rhetorically. "I suppose we'll have to at least nominate to the (Grade III Arlington) Oaks (July 21) and then take a look to see how that race shapes up as it gets closer.
"Somewhere down the line we're going to try the grass with her," Williamson said. "She's related to that mare Mulata (also bred by Hernandez but now owned by In His Favor Stable and trained by Manny Perez) who has won two races on the grass here at Arlington this summer.
"However, (La Tia) is going so good on the Polytrack here right now it's hard to think of taking her off of it just yet," Williamson said. "We galloped her again today. She came out of that race the other day just great.
"It's been a good year so far for us," Williamson said. "Hopefully, we can keep it going. I went to Hot Springs last winter and won a couple of stakes there, including one (the $60,000 Gazebo) with (Oak Knoll Farm and Team Wilcox's Ontario-bred) Fastestwhogetspaid, who won a grass race for us here at Arlington a couple of weeks ago. I was originally thinking about the (Grade I) Queen's Plate for that horse, but there's a $150,000 stakes at Woodbine July 2 (the Achievement Stakes for Canadian-bred 3-year-olds) that's a more likely possibility.
"(Russell L. Reineman Stable's) Color Me Blue was getting ready to make a nice run in the ($114,625) Black Tie Affair Handicap the other day, but then he got pin-balled all the way down the lane," Williamson said. "He's a nice horse, too. We won the Fifth Season Stakes at Oaklawn with him last winter. Then, he was third to (Pin Oak Stable's Grade II Oaklawn Handicap and Grade III Pimlico Special winner) Alternation in the Grade III Razorback Handicap at Oaklawn and second to him to him before that in the Essex, and that's when Alternation was starting to get good.
"So even in the races where we're not winning, we've been getting some decent checks," Williamson concluded. "Now, we've got some nice 2-year-olds that are starting to get going, too, and they're our hope for the future."
Longtime Chicago news anchor Ron Magers is back in town now, but when his filly Third Chance won the $112,125 Isaac Murphy Stakes by six and a half lengths on Prairie State Festival Day June 16, the dean of Chicago broadcaster's was in Italy.
"I just got off the plane," Magers said on the day after the Festival. "Yesterday, I watched the race on the internet in my hotel in Florence, Italy. I was there with Bob Marcocchio (another Third Chance co-owner) enjoying a brief vacation in Tuscany.
"However, I understand (WLS Afternoon Drive Co-Host) Roe Conn, another one of our co-owners along with Russ Scurto, represented us very well in the winner's circle, so it was a big day for all of us."
Read more articles in the Arlington Park category.


text:
Market participants remain in a wait-and-see mode pending a resolution to the fiscal cliff negotiations. This stalemate has left many large investors sidelined and can be seen in the price/volume behavior of the averages.
While the Nasdaq, below, appears lifeless in its recent sideways drift, this is viewed as a sign of health. It suggests a lack of substantial profit-taking in the wake of the late-November advance.
Of bullish note is the outperformance of emerging markets. This says that the speculative sentiment is alive and kicking…somewhere. Maybe not the U.S., but better somewhere than nowhere. This outperformance actually began three months ago…
…but it was last week's breakout by China's relative strength line from its four-week range that underscored this behavior.
(An up-sloping RS Line indicates the stock/ETF is outperforming the S&P 500. A down sloping line shows the stock/ETF is performing worse than the S&P. The scale off to the right is meaningless.)
Thailand THD, +0.84% the Philippines EPHE, +0.29% and frontier market Turkey TUR, +1.10% are the real burners, are presently extended technically, and can be monitored for a retracement entry.
Much of this EM outperformance is tied to the realization that China's economy "bottomed." For example, in October, Australian iron ore shipments set a record, aided by firming Chinese activity. Iron ore is an ingredient used in the making of steel.
Beneath the surface of the averages, things have been quiet among the glamours. Breakouts occur every day, but in cyclical, value, and defensive issues — not in growth titles. At the present time, growth is taking a back seat to other sectors as the speculative sentiment chills.
It is acceptable for a position trader to take breakouts in non-growth issues as long as he or she understands that these don't normally lead bull markets. It is the stocks of companies with innovative, new products and services which usually are the outstanding leaders in any cycle.
This explains the reticence here to discuss conservative growers like Visa V, -0.24% and MasterCard MA, -0.51% Despite possessing good price patterns and trends, these are unlikely to be the type of dynamic leader which is the raison d'être of these reports.
An exception is the home builders XHB, +1.11% This is a cyclical group that can pay out significantly at a time when growth may not be working. It is also a group that is more sensitive to external influences and news events than the typical growth stock. For example, the builders can move on the new-home sales report, the existing-home sales report, the housing starts report, and the monthly survey of industry participants.
Currently, the group is basing and devoid of attractive entries.
Among the names, Medivation US:MDVN is a top-performing biotech issue that develops small-molecule drugs for treatment of advanced prostate cancer. The company has yet to turn an annual profit, and most analysts forecast losses for '12 and '13. Revenue, which had lingered in the $15-$17 million area for some time, jumped in recent quarters from $14.9 million to $36.8 million to $42.9 million to $64.8 million, respectively. For younger companies, the lack of earnings growth can still correlate with a big-winning stock when paired with fast sequential quarterly revenue growth. Over the last several quarters, the number of mutual funds sponsoring the shares has grown from 205 to 253 to 367 to 444 to 488, respectively.
Regardless of the pickup in mutual funds and revenue growth, a biotech issue is riskier than other stocks, no matter how one slices it. For aggressive players, MDVN sets up in a nine-week base. Monday saw volume increase to 139% above average as price rose 3.1%. This is the type of accumulation that is desirable on the right side of a base. The Oct. 5 high of 58.83 is the high of the base, and serves as a potential pivot for entry of a junior-sized position. A standard 5%-7% stop loss would mitigate the risk of being incorrect.
Equinix EQIX, +0.56% the big winner in the glamour complex in Q1, is a provider of network services including co-location. Most analysts eye earnings growth of 51%/25% in '12/'13. The number of mutual funds that own the stock swelled from 536 in Q1 to 645 in Q2 to 714 in Q3.
Technically, the stock has outperformed over the past four weeks. Accumulation has occurred in two of the last three days as price rounds the corner of its three-month base. Price is 8.5% from its old high. It is premature to speak of a specific entry point, but EQIX is worth watching due to its fast earnings growth, precedent for leadership, recent relative strength, and growing popularity among mutual funds.
Elsewhere, Ariad Pharmaceutical US:ARIA is worth watching.
In summation, the last report noted leadership that decayed at the margin. Over the past few sessions, this has reversed as a few glamours show signs of life. The next steps would be for the averages to ignore bad news, and the printing of one or more volume-backed up days. Until then, the medium-term, momentum player sits on the sidelines in a high cash position.
Charts created using TradeStation. ©TradeStation Technologies, 2001-2012. All rights reserved. All mutual fund ownership and earnings estimate data provided by Thomson Reuters.
At the time of this writing, of the stocks mentioned in this report, Kevin Marder or an affiliate thereof held no positions, though positions are subject to change at any time and without notice. The information contained herein may have been previously disseminated.


text:
I was pleased to read Frank Llano�s corrections to the convenient �facts� espoused by Rafael Cruz in recent remarks published in the SJ-R and other news outlets.
As I read the original article quoting Sen. Ted Cruz�s father, I became a bit confused by the dates he had used in chronicling his �escape� from Cuba. I knew that something was not quite right in his statements and was shaking my head about it because I knew of others who left Cuba during the time frames he details.
I find it unfortunate and frustrating that some people tweak the details and facts concerning the misfortunes and horrors of history in order to promote ideological and political beliefs. Add to that practice the attack mode used by these same people to discredit others and we have a truly sad state of affairs. The notion that we can twist and rearrange facts in order to support our opinions has become far too commonplace in our society.
Thanks again to Llano for contributing truth to the conversation.
Patricia L. Ryan


text:
Do you have a plan B? I'm not talking about your disaster escape plan but an alternative career plan if things in your current industry go pear-shaped.
There are some major structural changes occurring in many industries at the moment - media, finance, retail and manufacturing to name just a few - and many of us employed in those industries are hurriedly examining our options.
The idea of transferring to a growth industry from a shrinking one is also attractive for people who are tired of watching their budgets and personnel numbers shrink by the day.
The national client manager at ManpowerGroup Australia, Michael Sacco, says there are many areas in which there are talent shortages, and both employees and employers looking to fill those gaps need to focus on ''teachable fit".
What this involves is, in cases where applicants may have 70 per cent of the relevant skills for a job, their prospective employer may get involved with teaching them the remainder.
For employees, it means working out the industries where some of their skills may be applicable and endeavouring to find the right training to fill the gaps. Or you could consider a total retraining exercise and go back to university.
It may seem like a time-and-money-consuming exercise, but our table on Page 72 shows that you could be better off in the long run.
The Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) forecasts outlooks for the majority of occupations. You can check out the outlook for any career here: joboutlook.gov.au/pagesalpha.aspx. In its analysis of occupations set to grow over the next five years it has drillers, miners and shot firers at No.1 with a five-year growth rate of 27.7 per cent.
Incidentally, according to the DEEWR, ''shot firers assemble, position and detonate explosives to break or dislodge rock and soil or to demolish structures''. Mining engineers come in a close second with a growth rate of 23.5 per cent. Medical practitioners also feature in the top 20, as do a lot of care-based workers such as registered nurses (20.5 per cent), carers of the aged and disabled (20.4 per cent), and social workers, health and welfare services managers and childcare staff - all on 16 per cent.
The occupations that are forecast to contract over the next five years include product assemblers (minus 22.7 per cent), caravan park and camping ground managers (minus 19.3 per cent), plastics and rubber factory workers (minus 18.3 per cent), paper and wood-processing machine operators (minus 18.6 per cent) and printing assistants and table workers (minus 14.6 per cent).
If the industries that are falling are those dependent on old-school technology and transitioning to the web, then by default IT is also set to rise, according to Sacco.
''Digital is a $100 billion industry and it's only going to continue to grow and evolve,'' he says.
''Social media and cloud technology - now there is heavy, heavy demand for people in these areas.''
Because there have been lower enrolments in these courses at tertiary institutions, those already
in the sector have significant bargaining power, according to Sacco.
At the University of Technology, Sydney, it appears students have been catching on with the demand for IT skills.
The senior deputy vice-chancellor, Professor Peter Booth, reports that enrolments in UTS's technology-related courses are on the rise.
''Over the last few years there has been a good recovery of IT,'' he says.
Not surprisingly, engineering has also been strong at UTS, something the University of New South Wales director of student recruitment, admissions and scholarships, Shane Griffin, reports is robust at his institution, too.
''If you look in the engineering space, we've had some pretty strong growth in chemical engineering over the past five years - and petroleum engineering,'' he says.
''Although petroleum and mining engineering are programs where we don't take hundreds and hundreds, they have both experienced strong growth.''
In terms of career opportunities, it's the percentage of graduates working in their chosen professions that is a real indicator.
The table to the right shows just that for a select number of courses. It is the percentage of bachelor-degree graduates working full time as a proportion of those available for full-time employment, and is sourced from Graduate Careers Australia's annual research on graduate destinations.
Who wouldn't want to be a mining engineer graduate, with an employment rate of 97.3 per cent? Graduates in that field were still enjoying a high employment rate in the early 1990s during that decade's recession.
The trends in business studies, accounting and economics are interesting, too. While they were all 90 per cent or more in the 1980s, they have all dropped since then and were all less than 80 per cent last year.
Visual/performing arts has the lowest graduate employment rate, with just 52.5 per cent of graduates working in their field as a percentage of all graduates last year.
Although the employment rate of graduates in education may not appear so great, there are often special factors that mean one industry might be set for growth. Early childcare teaching appears in our tables as a possible retraining option. In terms of salary and our return on investment calculations, it may not appear that attractive.
However, due to recent regulatory changes and increases in funding, IBISWorld is tipping preschool education as an industry to grow by 26 per cent this financial year.
IBISWorld believes that the government's universal access policy will increase demand for the services.
The chief executive at peak body Family Day Care Australia, Carla Northam, reports that while the average salary for childcare workers may appear lower, those with qualifications enjoy a better career trajectory - and many educators earn six-figure salaries.
She says the recruitment of quality specialists in the field is needed across the country.
''Family Day Care Australia is supportive of all family day-care co-ordination units in their recruitment of quality educators,'' Northam says.
''It is essential to ensure that all parents have access to quality childcare options to meet their working needs.''
For those just starting out, it's important to have an understanding of what's going on in the real world. Just because law seems to be an esteemed profession, it won't mean much when you're one of the 17.3 per cent of graduates in that field who can't get a job.
Manpower's Sacco calls for better co-ordination between governments, schools and industry so that people have a better idea of their career prospects once they do obtain a certain qualification.
''In terms of schools, there is a need for more awareness of what's going on in the workplace - not just now but in the future.''
But if this is your second time around and you're doing a stocktake on your career path, you need to focus on upskilling or adding skills.
''For a while now we have been implementing initiatives around training solutions, supporting job applicants - a lot of this training is across broad-based business skills,'' Sacco says.
The company is also working with government and federal initiatives to provide upskilling and teachable fit options. National and international surveys have Australia as one of the countries set to experience a talent shortage over the next years - and even decades.
A report by Oxford Economics in partnership with Towers Watson found that Australia will be suffering a major talent deficit in 2021. A ManpowerGroup survey also found that last year 54 per cent of employers in Australia reported difficulty in filling jobs, with that number only dropping slightly to 50 per cent this year.
So the jobs are there, it's just a matter of finding them and making sure you are appropriately qualified.
Interactivity of media fascinates
ROB BlANCH is a 27-year-old from Wollongong, and a first-year part-time communication and media-studies student at the University of Wollongong.
Rob is working in management for a large fast-food chain - and we weren't the first to tell him that journalism is a dying industry.
''It sounds really illogical but, honestly, it isn't,'' he says.
''I'm hoping to pursue [it] down a number of avenues. Government is one, counter-intelligence is another or the alternative is going into media-liaison roles.''
He doesn't rule out journalism, but knows it is a difficult career path.
''I would love to be a journalist -but I'm just really realistic,'' he says.
At the University of Wollongong, Rob is enjoying being taught by teachers and lecturers with real-life experience - one of his tutors works for Vogue - and says what he is learning is fascinating.
After completing high school he started a commerce degree, which he never finished.
''Comparing the two, journalism is so interactive and so fascinating in that there are so many facets to the degree,'' he says.
''I got to hold a press conference in front of 200 students and I'm getting to do a blog. So I'm focusing on the writing aspect as well.''
But he also stresses the importance of an understanding employer, for anyone wishing to study and work at the same time.
Rob, like many mature-age students, has discovered that a few years in the workforce has made him understand the importance of education.
But it has also revealed to him which areas he is truly interested in. He says once he found a specialty he liked, study became almost a joy.


text:
This majestic edifice is the tallest building on the West Coast waterfront. It's not just conveniently located right in the heart of Downtown San Diego, it's also right smack on the bay, where you can simultaneously watch sailboats and air craft carriers from your hotel room window.
From the moment you check in you're treated like royalty. No matter the number of people in line, the receptionist takes time with each guest to answer any questions and make sure you're happy with your accomodations. And when you see the palatial lobby for the first time, you'll definitely be impressed by its high ceilings, elegant wood paneling and marble floors. It is, after all, a four-star resort.
The rooms, and there are over 16-hundred, are spacious and well appointed with a coffee and mini bar, in-home movies, hair dryer, iron and ironing board, and daily newspaper delivery. And, unlike most hotels, this one boasts a room with a view throughout the facility. There's 24-hour room service available, gift shops and boutiques, several restaurants and pools, a state of the art fitness center and a full service spa.
The spa, in fact, has its own private pool overlooking the bay. It also features his and her steam rooms, saunas, an outdoor whirlpool, and all the spa services you might imagine: massages, body treatments and facials. You can also order spa cuisine featuring healthy choices that are also pretty tasty. It's open every day from 8 in the morning till 8 at night.
There are two main restaurants as well as a coffee shop on the hotel grounds. Each is named for one of the daughters of the hotel's developer. Lael's is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but it's their signature breakfast you won't want to miss, featuring Sticky Bun French Toast, Crab Cake Benedict and made to order omelets. Their Breakfast Buffet has quite a varied selection for $22 per person.
For dinner I'd suggest Sally's, a little more romantic with dim lighting and an haute cuisine menu. You can dine indoors or on the patio overlooking the harbor. Chef Sarah Linkenheil prides herself on her eclectic selections from around the world: Seafood Cioppino ($31) with the broth poured onto the seafood at the table to keep the shrimp and scallops from getting soggy; Fish and Chips ($29) served with malt vinegar and a spicy tamarind sauce; and Grilled Peppered Ahi ($32) with a miso mustard sauce. There's also a Miso Crusted Beef Tenderloin ($35) for those who prefer meat over seafood. The beef so tender you don't even need a knife!
Leave room for dessert, because the Dark Chocolate Cake with Coffee Bean Syrup served with a vanilla/coffee sauce is amazing. It's better than any souffle I've ever tasted. And if you like Tiramisu, Sally's is not only tasty it's beautifully served in a martini glass with a tall spiral of dark chocolate.
Not that hungry? Ann Marie's Coffee House is open from 6:30 in the morning and serves Starbucks, pastries, and if you stop by later in the day, you can sample their gelato. There's also Redfield's Deli (not named after a daughter, I'm afraid). You can grab a sandwich or salad anywhere from 5am to 8pm.
No, you won't go hungry at this hotel!
One spot you simply can't miss during your stay at the Manchester is the Top of the Hyatt on the 40th floor. Voted San Diego's Best Upscale Bar, the lounge features traditional and exotic drinks with a view that won't quit. Afraid of heights? Don't look down!
Rooms at the Manchester range in price from $300 and up. There are spa packages and weekly rates available, as well. You can check it out on their website:


text:
Josie Seebeck, a sophomore who played on the women's soccer team at Central Michigan University, died this weekend after a rollover car accident on I-69.
The accident happened Friday on I-69 near Lansing street in Charlotte.
Seebeck, along with two others were in the car when the rollover crash happened.
Seebeck passed away from her injuries. Central Michigan University's athletic department referring to the other two passengers, said one soccer player is hospitalized and the other was released Saturday after spending the night at the hospital for observation.
The cause of the accident is under investigation.


text:
School News
Dual language program
- Details
- Category: School News
- Published on 03 April 2014
- Written by Mount Vernon Optic-Herald
A total of 25 families attended the Dual Language Two Way program informational meeting on Thursday, March 27 in the elementary cafeteria.
Leonard Beles from Region 8 presented information about the program and parents took applications in hopes of getting their student enrolled in this new program. A second meeting has been planned for Tuesday, April 29.


text:
Written by Barbara M [2]
LSC-Tomball Community Library is proud to announce that we have acquired a Common Access Card reader or CAC reader for military personnel to use in the library so they can access the particular websites that only a Common Access Card will allow. This reader will enable active duty and reserve military to conduct online military business locally instead of having to travel to a military base/facility. With a CAC reader, a service member can access websites to do online training, check military email, create orders and travel vouchers, apply for billets, access unit sharepoint sites, and more.
Military service members may use the CAC reader on their personal laptops or the public computers here at the LSC-Tomball Community branch. Due to the library's firewall, however, there are a few websites that cannot be accessed on the public computers even with a CAC reader. Therefore, military members are advised to bring their personal laptops if they have them and use our free WiFi. Personal laptops with older versions of Windows such as XP, Vista and older, must have ActivClient software installed. It can be downloaded for free at http://militarycac.com/ [3] or, for MAC users, go to http://militarycac.com/lion.htm [4]. The CAC reader is compatible with Windows 7 and 8 without ActivClient software.
The CAC reader checks out for a two hour time period but may be extended dependent upon current demand. You may use the CAC Reader if:
-You have a current Department of Defense issued military ID AND you are
-a library card holder with Harris County Public Library or Lone Star College AND
-In good standing with library
LSC-Tomball Community Library is the first Harris County Public Library branch to provide a CAC Reader for community use. If you would like to use this service and do not carry either library card listed above, as long as you have a photo ID and proof of your current in-state address, HCPL will issue you one at the Customer Service desk.
The address for Tomball College and Community Library is 30555 Tomball Pkwy, Tomball, TX 77375. Phone: 832-559-4200.
[1] http://www.hcpl.net/users/david-cherry
[2] http://www.hcpl.net/users/barbara-m
[3] http://militarycac.com/
[4] http://militarycac.com/lion.htm.
[5] http://www.hcpl.net/category/tags/active-duty-military
[6] http://www.hcpl.net/category/tags/common-access-card-reader


text: I'm pretty sure the bench will be Ludwick (assuming Heisey starts), Francisco, Hanigan, Valdez, and Cairo. Francisco kind of has to be in there due to the fact that he's out of options. Ludwick, Cairo, and Francisco all have decent power, so I don't think that the bench is all that weak. I would have liked to have just gone with Frazier instead of Valdez, but I'm okay with the move. Horst wasn't anything special, and Valdez is at least a very versatile guy who is comfortable in the backup role.


text:
10. Apple Botches Map Application In iOS Upgrade
When Apple rolled out iOS 6 in September, it bragged about the 200-plus new features in the iPad and iPhone operating system upgrade. But most will remember just one feature: the new map application Apple developed to replace Google Maps.
Within a week it became clear the new map application was a disaster. Users complained about inaccurate directions, wrong location data and downright bizarre glitches. A little more than a week after iOS 6 debuted Apple CEO Tim Cook issued an apology for the problems. By then Richard Williamson, the manager in charge of developing the map application, and Scott Forstall, Apple's iOS software chief, were no longer with the company.
While the fiasco might seem minor compared to other IT vendor screw-ups (see Hewlett-Packard and Autonomy), it came at a time when Apple was on a roll and seemingly could do no wrong. Was it a one-time stumble or a hint of what's to come from a post-Steve Jobs Apple?


text:
We'll have to wait for the NEXT version of Windows for Handhelds (whatever it will look like and be called by then) to know how big a mistake this was for Nokia.
If it's going to run on ARM anyway they can always just defect back to Android if they ever come to their senses.
The next version? It took them years to develop this and it didn't even have copy/paste at launch. They will have minor updates periodically but the next major version is long off. They are so far behind on mobile they don't know what to do.
The iPhone came out years before and had nothing for a point of reference, ms was trying to build something better than iPhone and android years after the first iPhone and couldn't even release something with the same basic features.
Desktop/laptop windows owns the market and they have no real competition so they had the luxury of being able to release a poorly received product. In the phone market they don't have that luxury. I don't see what they can do know to compete since they have little market share
Oh come on, copy/paste still sucks on Android 2.2.1 on my Droid X. Works OK for some things (phone numbers) in some applications, but it was still definitely a step back from WinMo 6.5 in this regard. For one, the stylus was just a must better select tool than my fat finger. I still miss it sometimes. Let's give them the benefit of the doubt and reason that it was not ready and rather than delay the entire release they are patching it, supposedly soon. Let's see if they come up with something better th
The iPhone came out years before and had nothing for a point of reference
The iPhone came out years before and had nothing for a point of reference
Seriously? My old Nokia phone (not smartphone), running S40 - not a smartphone OS by a long shot - had copy/paste when iPhone just came out. Most certainly all actual smartphones then on the market also had it.
It's kind of odd that MS didn't have copy/paste either after the flack that Apple received for that move.
What's funnier is the other way around. When pressed with the copy/paste issue, iPhone users had a long list of reasons why copy/paste isn't useful, or how a smart phone doesn't need it, or how it's not a big deal. Now these same people act like it is the most important feature in a smart phone. The same thing happened with multitasking. Before, it drained battery and you didn't really need to do it on a smart phone, but now it makes or breaks the platform.
The difference is that MS had the vicarious learning opportunity, seeing the flak that Apple got for three years, and still released WP 7 without C&P. Apple users seem to buy the Apple company line or come up with their own reasons why it's not necessary, I don't know if Microsoft has that kind of pull with its users.
On android you couldn't copy/paste in the browser [android.com] until 1.5, released 7 months after 1.0: MS is releasing a system wide copy/paste in the next couple of weeks.
Also, wasn't Android lacking multi touch at launch? All this crying is from people who wouldn't even consider using the platform.
So if I release a single-tasking desktop operating system today would you let me off the hook since "well, DOS couldn't multitask either when it was launched!"
8 billion US dollars.
1 billion... Really doesn't cover that...
When I saw the headline, I thought: "Nokia is rolling out WordPerfect v7???"
When I saw the headline, I thought: "Nokia is rolling out WordPerfect v7???"
That would actually make more sense.
that it could be the single best operating system on the planet that is superior to every other system in every possible way, but...
It's still A Trap(tm).
Microsoft has a very long history of blatantly destructive behaviour. They have a lot to make up for before they should be considered trustworthy enough to rely on.
Anyone who willingly buys microsoft products should be pitied, because clearly they're trapped in an abusive relationship. "Oh! He's not like that anymore! He's changed! Oh no, I got that black eye from falling down the stairs!"
thank you good sir, for that mental image of Admiral Ackbar shouting "It's a trap!" in the face of milions of WP7 phones swarming out of a star destroyer, with Ballmer at the helm, complete in Grand Moff uniform
It's like the old joke...
Scene: a bar in Helsinki. Microsoft has flown in from Redmond....
Microsoft: Would you let me stick my operating system in your phone for a billion bucks?
Nokia: *sips a glass of wine* Yes...
Microsoft: How about two shares of stock?
Nokia: What, do you think I'm some kind of whore?
Microsoft: We've already established the relationship. We're just negotiating price now.
Nokia: We've had a good think about it and we're going to start developing for Android
Microsoft: What would it take for you to start using and developing for Windows Mobile?
Nokia: *Has a think* *Pinky moves towards mouth* ONE BILLION DOLLARS!
Microsoft reps: *look at each other, shrug shoulders* Yeah, OK, I can't see any reason why we can't do that..
Nokia: Err, OK, I guess we're using Windows Mobile then....
So serious sweetners are the only way to pull it off again [stashbox.org].
1 billion dollars US.
No difference, really.
It's still selling out. The scale is just different.
The scale is just different.
i wonder what 1978 years of inflation amounts too
Yes yes, I know we all hate Microsoft, but on the face of it this was a very shrewd business decision. Nokia was getting killed by the fact that people now want their phones to do such exotic things as email and Web browsing. They had no real internal direction in terms of software development, as evidenced by the schizophrenia of Symbian and Maemo, and the fact that they were trying to do it all in-house wasn't helping things any.
Meanwhile, Microsoft comes along with a ready-made solution to Nokia's woes in the form of a pretty complete mobile platform and a $1 billion payout to help with the transition. To Nokia's idiot board of directors this probably looked like a no-brainer. Meanwhile Microsoft gets amazing value in the form of a very, very large company now pushing out its software products worldwide. This isn't going to put WP7 ahead of Android or iOS, not by a long shot, but it will do wonders in terms of shoring up their position.
On the flip side of things, consider Motorola. At one point they were kind of in the same boat as Nokia, having missed the first wave of the smartphone epidemic, and went from being the company that had it all with the once-super cool RAZR to an also-ran. They got behind Android in a very complete and enthusiastic way and the results have really paid off for them. I'd venture to say that they make some of the best Android phones out there, and they're taking a great stab at the tablet market. And no one had to pay them $1 billion to do it!
In short, this is great news for MS, bad news for Nokia fans. I always thought the path to Palm's demise was paved by Windows Mobile ending up on Treo smartphones. They just couldn't be bothered to invest in an innovate mobile OS of their own until webOS, and that was obviously a day late and a dollar short...
If you think the iPhone revolutionized the space by offering email and web browsing, it just means you have missed the entire picture. What Apple brought to the table is *much* more than a featureset. It brought an experience. It's the glue between the features that got them ahead of the competition - even if the features were way ahead of the competition as well.
Right. The android marketplace is ridiculously full with all sorts of "me too" phones. I don't see why we need yet another lazy Android vendor who will put in basic UI tweaks, crapware, etc and delay updates.
I'm looking forward to competition from WP7. Competition will help the tech industry deliver better phones, especially since WP will be a lot more controlled by MS than Android is by Google. MS will be pushing out updates, not Nokia. I hope the Android vendors start upping their game. The status quo o
Jukka Eklund at Nokia writes to the Meego Dev list [meego.com]: "I am thrilled to announce a little thing we started at Nokia. Basically we want to have MeeGo running in N900 device, so that it's really usable as your daily development device. Basic Handset UX should work, phone calls, SMS, web browsing. So we are concentrating on a few selected features and polish those to be "perfect". It might mean that we leave out some things in MeeGo 1.2 trunk for this edition, but that is not the default intention.
We are doing this fully on the open, and I hope this is an interesting project where we all in the community work towards the same goal: have a great MeeGo edition in the N900. This work is naturally based on the great work done already by N900 adaptation team lead by Harri and Carsten.
The wiki is up here: http://wiki.meego.com/ARM/N900/DeveloperEdition [meego.com]. It will populated with more information as we go, thanks for the patience.
Developer Edition product manager"
[note this was posted as an article Saturday [slashdot.org] and wasn't accepted as newsworthy by Slashdot. I cannot imagine why not.]
It's nifty that they did this, but wouldn't you say this was a day late, dollar short overall? I seriously doubt that Nokia would market anything like an N950 because they've sold Qt off to someone else and they've said they're pretty much ditching MeeGo and Symbian for Windows Phone- unless they don't have clauses in there to sneak it in under radar and the current upper management is going to quietly develop a backup plan for this if it doesn't work, the N950's not terribly likely to happen.
Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons.


text:
In most cases, nearly half of a movie's total audience turns out in the first week of release, which means there has been very little or no word of mouth motivating most of the audience. In other words, many people go to a movie without any real information about it - without even reading a review. Or, put most cynically: Most of the time, there is no relationship between how good a film is, and how many people turn out to see it.I guess that explains my personal pre-awareness: I'm not going to like any of these movies. And I don't want to. I used to look for movies to like. Now, I flip through the pages and pages of ads for new movies and feel nothing but resistance. Too many. Too much. They're all bad.
So what makes people go to a movie? Generally, it is awareness - or now, in Hollywood parlance, "pre-awareness." Since studios cannot spend enough on advertising to buy awareness (there is so much advertising noise in the marketplace these days), there is a tendency to make movies with familiar titles, characters and stories: "The Dukes of Hazzard," "Spider-Man," "War of the Worlds," "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." In the past decade, most box-office revenue has come from pre-aware titles, which includes sequels ("X-Men 3," set for a May 2006 release) and remakes ( "King Kong," Dec. 14).
November 13, 2005
Why aren't you going to the movies?
39 comments:
- EddieP said...
Too many. Too much. They're all bad.
Well said. I saw the original French Connection, Dirty Harry, and Bullit. Now they recycle them every year with new titles.
- jar said...
I stopped by the movie theater on Friday and decided to see Chicken Little. Hadn't seen a movie in awhile and had free time between events. It was okay but I find that new cartoon features put music of the parents generation into their films for the parents enjoyment instead of trying to make their cartoons smart or put in some intellectually funny things that only parents will get. I miss that.
I am looking forward to The Chronicles of Narnia however and Harry Potter is a must with my youngest and his friends.
- Julian Morrison said...
I don't think it's fair to say "many people go to a movie without any real information about it". Any major movie comes with a pre-release blitz of publicity. There's trailers, reviews, screen-shots, etc. In other words, what you're seeing isn't people buying the title. They're excercising the remarkable human facility for guessing on limited data.
- Dave said...
The Wall St. Journal's Joe Morgenstern has a similar article, here. I believe the article, like the rest of the Journal, is free this week.
- Firehand said...
I haven't gone to the movies in a long time because most of them are crap. Among other things, there's a difference between an effect that's part of the story(if there is one), and an extra explosion or whatever thrown in because some studio weenie thinks it's really something.
I planned to see Serenity, but between work and other things couldn't make it; so in this case I'll buy the DVD when it comes out.
- brylin said...
Hugh Hewitt has a good point:
"How much money would a well-made movie honoring the soldiers, sailors, airmen, Coast Guard and Marines of the armed services haul in?
Why hasn't it been made?"
I was going to take my 15-yr old son to see Jarhead until I read Hugh's blog entry.
Hollywood is so obsessed with leftism that it seems to be abandoning profits for ideology. See Ann Coulter's latest column.
Disclaimer: Both Hewitt and Coulter are Michigan Law grads, but this isn't about school spirit. Really.
- Ron said...
Oh you mean movies like Black Hawk Down? Heartbreak Ridge? Saving Private Ryan? Windtalkers? Even older movies like Hunt for Red October are out there. Yes, Hollywood has a slant, but it's not correct that they don't make movies that honor military men. Certainly more than '60's military movies!
- brylin said...
I think Hewitt's point was reflective of the Gulf War and the War in Iraq, where leftist ideology prevents a movie of the type you list.
As for the movies you cited, they are relatively old and involve other wars/campaigns:
Windtalkers – 2002 (WW II)
Black Hawk Down – 2001 (Somalia)
Saving Private Ryan – 1998 (WW II)
Heartbreak Ridge – 1986 (Grenada)
Hunt for Red October – 1990 (Cold War)
And the recent downward trend in box office revenues is further evidence.
And, whether you like the movie or not, The Passion of Christ was a huge box office success. Yet no Hollywood copycat movies?
- P. Froward said...
In most cases, nearly half of a movie's total audience turns out in the first week of release...
Would those cases be the ones where the first-week audience tell their friends it's crap?
Most of the time, there is no relationship between how good a film is, and how many people turn out to see it.
More like "how many people turn out to see it in the first week." Thereafter, it's a function of that initial number and how much they liked it.
- Bruce Hayden said...
I am another who has one young enough that both Narnia and Potter are necessities. Right now, given the choice between the two, and given the stuff about it already on TV, my guess is that Narnia would come in first.
But note that both of these movies have pre-awareness in that both are derived from very successful books.
As for me, I think I make movies at theaters with adults only about once ever five years - all with dates I think. Waiting until they come out in video always seems to work for me.
- erp said...
I don't think it's quite fair to say that people go to the movies "without any real information about it - without even reading a review."
Almost all the information we need to know about a film is revealed by a cursory review of the newspaper ads and the cast lists. The interminable coming attractions which can take up to 20 minutes of movie viewing time in the theater also lets us know more than enough about the next round of films.
We don't like films full of gore, teenage angst or leftwing propaganda, nor do we add to the considerable wealth of those who hate us and our country, so we don't see films with people like Whoopi, Barbra, Tim, Eric . . .
Subsequently, there are often months between our visits to the cinema.
I wish movie makers would take heed. There are millions more like us. We're retired, enjoy a nice income, have time and energy at our disposal and would go the movies at least once a week or even more if there was something showing we wanted to see. In fact, right now there are a dozen or more movies being shown within a 25 mile radius of our home and there isn't a one we'd go to see.
- Troy said...
EddieP -- I agree -- Bullitt and French Conn. (who can choose between car chases?!?) were great and are being recycled. But there was plenty of crapola in the 1970s. In the 1940s, for every Casablanca (which means ONE) there was plenty of junk which none of us will ever see because it either wasn't preserved or no one wants to show it.
Surely, there are just as many "quality" (not meaning esoteric necessarily) films made today as in the 1930s-50s where each studio could crank out a movie a week.
I live in So Cal. The main reason I'm pickier about movies is that with gas prices, three kids,etc. I don't have the $40+ (2 tix, drinks, popcorn) to go the 4-6 movies a month we went to pre-kid -- plain and simple.
War Movies... I saw Flying Leathernecks last night (TCM)-- great movie viewing experience, but mostly because it was the Duke being the Duke. The plot was simplistic and a retread of the tough ass sgt./officer who does things his men won't understand, the popular guy dies in combat after a rapprochement with his officer, etc. It's a bad movie (as a lot of 1940s/50s war movies are -- I hate to say), but I have a nostalgia for John Wayne and for the 1940s.
- twwren said...
I avoid movies featuring George Clooney and other politically active actors not as a protest but because I cannot escape; I can't separate their political persona from the characters they portray.
- Starless said...
I think if you separate out the "good" movies from the "bad" movies, you'll probably find that the overall quality has increased over the years. Technology has helped out significantly (not just CGI, but film quality and sound also) and the "good" actors are technically better through more formalized training. The difference is in volume.
Just 10 or 20 years ago, there used to be maybe one or two big budget movies per season, now there are five or six. The movie industry is under a lot of competitive pressure (TV, cable, DVDs, the Internet), so they're trying to compete with volume. That means more, better movies in the theater, but it also means a lot more crap gets shoved through the distribution chain to the local theater. So, yeah, there are a lot of bad movies out there and that makes it harder to distinguish between what's going to be good and what isn't.
If people aren't informed before they go to see movies, then they aren't using technology. Sites like RottenTomatoes give a quick measure of what's getting good reviews and what isn't. It isn't a be-all and end-all to say what is "good" and what is "bad", but it's a good way to winnow out the garbage and go from there.
- Will said...
My wife and I love movies, but we see them at The Alamo Drafthouse - no kids, good food, great booze. A pitcher of New Castle made even "The Hulk" a good movie!
- PatCA said...
I also am depressed by today's movies but I thought it was because I was just super critical (master's in film studies).
Last time I read about the business of movies--and it may have changed--I learned that studios retain a larger percentage of the box office the first weekend; then on a sliding scale the revenue share goes to the screener. So studios want to make as much as they can early.
Another aspect of the business model IMO that results in bad movies, and that is the independent contractor status of all the creatives. In the studio system, employee/directors and stars made lots of movies, some good and some bad. Today, directors and stars make millions for one movie up front and are set, even if it tanks, so the studio desperately searches for safe subjects--best selling books, big stars--not story.
Coppola tried the studio method once and failed, but he was somewhat mercurial as a manager. I think a real business person could run a studio successfully today.
- miklos rosza said...
I guess these days I almost exclusively see films as DVDs on the TV. This strikes me as somewhat sad, because the experience is so drastically different.
I blame George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. This may be oversimplistic, but it's my story and I'm sticking to it.
I saw "Trainspotting" in a theatre.
I don't much like stunt doubles and special effects.
- miklos rosza said...
I remember a few years ago reading a publicist talking about what a triumph of his art it is to get a truly lousy movie to have a big opening weekend (before the word gets out).
This is one of the bad side-effects of capitalism.
- Joe Baby said...
I recently worked with about 20 people in the 17-25 yo range.
I'd say on average, they saw at least 1 movie in a theatre per week. They would watch whatever was coming out, almost like folks went to the theatre or the cinema decades ago.
They also had an extremely liberal grading scale. At worst, a movie would get the "it had some cool stuff in it" rating.
Let's face it -- if the market is that willing to purchase anything, film quality doesn't matter.
- Palladian said...
I think that as it became technically easier to make movies, as special effects became cheaper and easier, movie makers became lazier and lazier. Look at something like Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey", which was written by Arthur C. Clark and Kubrick, not a marketing team and script doctors, has absolutely flawless, beautiful special effects (which were excruciatingly difficult to create) in the service of the story, has first rate actors yet very little dialog. And it's a science fiction movie yet makes no compromises to either science or poetry. And it has only one explosion (when Dave blows the hatch on the pod in order to get back into the ship) which, in keeping with the reality of space, is absolutely silent! There is something grand about this movie, and I think that's something we've lost; movies don't go for grand anymore. They seem disposable.
Another thing that has absolutely gone down the toilet is the art of the movie poster. I mean, what happened? Every single damned poster looks exactly the same, the same boring graphic style, and there seems to be a law now that every performer in the movie has to have a picture of their face on the poster, no matter how the faces have to be shoe horned into the design (this is apparently called "Big Heads Floating in the Sky"). I sort of think that Photoshop has a lot to do with the laziness that has overtaken movie poster design, as well as the sclerotic hand of the focus-group driven marketing department.
- Starless said...
2001 is one of the best movies of all time, but how much garbage was shown in theaters at that time? How many awful horror movies and inane teen beach movies were made in the '60s? A movie like 2001 is the exception, not the rule.
The trouble is, I think, when we look at the past we remember only the good movies and not the bad. We can moan about how production companies churn out bad movies just because they want to make a quick buck, but when hasn't that been true of the movie business?
And while it's true that special effects have become easier to make, I don't think good special effects have become easier to make. Kubrick used the FX technology and techniques (many of which he stole from George Pal, btw) of the time to great effect. A lesser director would have botched it, but again, Kubrick is the exception of the time, not the rule.
At this time, we're just being hit with a blizzard of movie stimuli. The turn-around time for movies in theaters is at a much, much higher rate (the original Star Wars was in theaters for a year, how long was The Fellowship of the Ring in theaters? A couple of months?) so it's harder to catch the good stuff if you're not quick enough and there's less time for a movie to gain Legendary status.
My only real complaint is that I really abhore sitting through Pepsi and American Express commercials in a theater.
- Ann Althouse said...
Palladian: You are so right about the posters -- which are also most of the ads. The dramatically shadowed, lined up faces -- even thinking about it makes me ill. It's like Easter Island. And with all the Botox, they're just about as expressive. When I think about movies, I think, faces, ugh. A lot of people here are complaining about the special effects, but I can't stand to look at the actors anymore! That's just bizarre, but I'm ready to believe it's something they are doing to movies, ruining them.
- Ann Althouse said...
It's funny to me that "2001" has developed such a strong artistic reputation over the years. When it came out, everyone just thought it was a big light show, best seen high, and afterwards we all said, "What the hell was that supposed to be about?"
- Palladian said...
Ann, that's a good point! The faces are so generic that I often can't tell people apart anymore. There is no grandness or strangeness to most Hollywood faces these days. I always think about the opening to Hitchcock's Vertigo, with the long extreme closeup of Kim Novak's expressionless face staring at the camera, which scans her like some sort of medical device- my gosh! She would never make it in today's Hollywood.
And talk about movie posters, it's hard to beat Saul Bass' poster for Vertigo.
Of course, it is possible to do the "big head floating in the sky" well- when the big head is Garbo's. Wow.
- Starless said...
Ann Althouse said...
It's funny to me that "2001" has developed such a strong artistic reputation over the years. When it came out, everyone just thought it was a big light show, best seen high, and afterwards we all said, "What the hell was that supposed to be about?"
Haha. Almost thirty years later, many people still think that.
- erp said...
For some reason I never saw 2001 when it came out, so we rented it a couple of years ago and my reaction was the same as some of you, what was that all about?
Perhaps seeing it on a large screen in the theater was a different experience as it often is, but watching a DVD was a big ho-hum.
- PatCA said...
2001 was the first of big artsy, philosophical special effects sci-fi extravaganzas, at least for Baby Bommers, so it's an icon. I'm sure all the marijuana smoke inhaled during a screening had something to do with it, as well.
- Starless said...
erp said...
For some reason I never saw 2001 when it came out, so we rented it a couple of years ago and my reaction was the same as some of you, what was that all about?
Multi-dimensional beings come and tinker with the evolution of man and give Dave Bowman a peak at what the next stage of evolution will be. It was also about how space travel is not Flash Gordon rocketships getting to Mars in a couple of days, but long, tedious, and isolating. Clarke (pushing 90) has published an alternative to the "space odyssey" idea with Stephen Baxter--the "time odyssey": Time's Eye and Sunstorm. _Time's Eye_ was pretty good but I haven't gotten to _Sunstorm_ yet.
Perhaps seeing it on a large screen in the theater was a different experience as it often is, but watching a DVD was a big ho-hum.
Oh, my people!
Morgan Freeman has been trying to get _Rendezvous with Rama_ made into a movie since 1997. It's supposed to be out next year, but no one knows if it will happen.
- PatCA said...
Everybody I talk to, including creatives from Hollywood, say they're staying in and watching Turner Classics!
- erp said...
Starless, I actually was able to follow the story line, by my question I meant what was the fuss about? I thought 2001 dull and ho hum as seen on an old TV at home.
Perhaps seeing it in a theater when it first came out in 1968 would have had an impact. The music remains great.
- Starless said...
erp said...
Starless, I actually was able to follow the story line, by my question I meant what was the fuss about? I thought 2001 dull and ho hum as seen on an old TV at home.
OIC. My apologies if I sounded pedantic.
If you're a dedicated space nerd like myself, it's the most accurate fictional film portrayal of what space travel would be like. For most, I think it's a very visually stunning movie (so, yeah, a small screen doesn't do it justice). For people who find being "artsy" trendy, I'm sure the apes hopping about, the monolith, and the psychedelic bits have some deep symbolic meaning for them.
Perhaps seeing it in a theater when it first came out in 1968 would have had an impact. The music remains great.
Hard to beat Strauss when you're approaching a torus space station.
In 1968, it was a completely new film. I don't think anything like it had been seen before, so I'm sure it jarred quite a few people. Also, 1968 was the year Apollo 8 went around the moon and one year before the anticipated moon landing, so it was very relevant.
- erp said...
Starless, I can hardly claim nerdiness, but loved reading science fiction when I was a kid in the 40's, yes that's right, it's not a typo.
We watched very little TV when my kids were growing up. The one exception was Star Trek. We actually got a color TV just because of that show. Lately my little granddaughter is a fan of Harry Potter and the LOTR, so we've been watching them too. All great fun.
Thanks for taking the time to educate me about 2001.
- XWL said...
Don't forget to blame HBO and Showtime movies and series for the dearth of good adult films coming from Hollywood.
They can attract top line talent on small budgets for prestige films since they don't have to worry about distribution. The talent also knows that their work will be seen and repeated for a good amount of time, plus there is the added bonus of award show buzz that those projects often generate.
Globalization of audiences also can be partially blamed. Horrid stories and bad acting can still bring great receipts in Brazil, Korea, Italy, etc. if the action is bigger and explosions louder than anything that can be produced domestically (whereas audiences tend to favor locally produced dramas since well written stories don't always transcend cultures and languages as well as the boom and flash does).
- Starless said...
erp said...
Starless, I can hardly claim nerdiness, but loved reading science fiction when I was a kid in the 40's, yes that's right, it's not a typo.
Ah, well then you would have been reading the great Golden Age writers just as their work came off the printing press. Sad that Clarke and Bradbury are the only ones left now.
But speaking of Hollywood garbage, its treatment of Heinlein's great _Starship Troopers_ (a piece of great controversy) was a good example of the belief that special effects can dull the critical senses of an audience. What a horrible, horrible piece of crap they managed to make out of a very good book.
Lately my little granddaughter is a fan of Harry Potter and the LOTR, so we've been watching them too. All great fun.
I hope she will also read LoTR. The movies were great, the books are greater.
Thanks for taking the time to educate me about 2001.
Oy, don't get me started on 2001, I won't shut up about it.
- Ernst Blofeld said...
Maybe the HBOs of the world are the modern equivalent of the old studio system.
With the 15-25 age group I suspect the content of the movie is almost irrelevant. The idea is to go out with their friends, and the theater provides an accepted social context for that.
- Tristram said...
I think if you separate out the "good" movies from the "bad" movies, you'll probably find that the overall quality has increased over the years. Technology has helped out significantly (not just CGI, but film quality and sound also) and the "good" actors are technically better through more formalized training. The difference is in volume.
Well, Cinemetography has certainly imporved, as well as the theatre (projector/sound systems and in some cases the chairs...lol).
But the scripting and to a large extent the acting has stagnated or even regressed from older movies.
- Starless said...
Ernst Blofeld said...
With the 15-25 age group I suspect the content of the movie is almost irrelevant. The idea is to go out with their friends, and the theater provides an accepted social context for that.
I think that's been true for decades.
I'm not buying this "everything in theaters is crap these days and things were so much better back then" argument. It sounds too much like, "these kids these days don't know nothin'!" Were people really more discerning 20, 30, 40 years ago? Are young people these days so much more gullible and vacuous? (Should we talk about poodle skirts, bell bottoms, the Twist, New Wave?)
What we're seeing these days is an increase in volume over anything else. The MPAA is fighting a rear-guard action against fierce competition from other media so they're throwing anything they can up against the wall to see what will stick. As a result, the "good" can get lost in the quagmire of the "bad".
tristram said...
But the scripting and to a large extent the acting has stagnated or even regressed from older movies.
I think you have to separate talent from technical proficiency. Talent is transcendant--you've got it or you don't and whether talent makes it to the screen or not is more dependent on random events than anything else. I think this is a constant in the film industry. Technical proficiency is a matter of training and I think you'd be hard-pressed to argue that there was more in the past than there is now.
- paulfrommpls said...
Sometimes I think the best movies of all are the movies that register 2.5 to 3 stars in movie guides. There used to be a lot of them, it seems.
I recently went through a movie guide, upon realizing that a really cool Robert Mitchum rodeo flick I was watching had been directed by the estimable Don Siegel (original Body Snatchers; Dirty Harry). I looked up all his movies, and I think they were all 2.5 to 3 stars, and they all seemed great, and they were all low-budget.
I think that's maybe been the main area where Hollywood movies have basically disappeared: there's just not as many pretty quick, cheap, and damn good and better upon reflection movies being made.
These days, a movie that has pretensions to being Quality just reeks of Qualty, and actually that's true as well of "indy" movies. "Dances With Wolves" - how often do you really, really want to watch that? Like, never?
Theorem: movies tend to be best when they're not trying to be great, but are quietly being made by folks who don't take Art all that seriously but are just doing a good job making a good movie. I would say.
I don't know where Hitchcock fits into all this; he was obviously trying to make quality movies. He was conscious of the art form. But he also worked with low budgets, by and large. And at the time, he was looked down as making movies for the masses. I believe.
It's amazing how ignored he was at Oscar time in the 50's, by the way.
Oh, and of course, "European art movie" makes as much sense to me as "classical harmonica." I just don't care.
- Starless said...
paulfrommpls said...
I think that's maybe been the main area where Hollywood movies have basically disappeared: there's just not as many pretty quick, cheap, and damn good and better upon reflection movies being made.
This is where we come back to Entertainment Economics and having to make the most you can in the first two weeks. Movie-making is so expensive and theater turn-around times are so fast these days, that it's hard to make something relatively low budget and then let it sit in the theaters for a while until it gets a following. Serenity is a very, very good science fiction movie that was made on a relatively low budget. It was released September 30th of this year and went from first-run to second-run theaters in only a few weeks. If you blinked, you missed it.
I don't know where Hitchcock fits into all this; he was obviously trying to make quality movies. He was conscious of the art form. But he also worked with low budgets, by and large. And at the time, he was looked down as making movies for the masses. I believe.
Hitchcock was rare genius, I don't think directors like him really fit in any particular time.


text:
Unleashing students' intrinsic motivation to learn
By Greg Reiva
Two of the best books dealing with student intrinsic motivation to lean are the following: Flow: the psychology of optimal experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and the book called Mindset: the new psychology of success by Carol Dweck Ph.D.
This summer I am again working on and reflecting upon the most pronounced issue I grapple with in the science classroom. The issue is getting students motivated to learn. It is the most vexing problem that educators like myself face because it will determine what we expect students to achieve in our schools. It is the one issue where the problem and solution both gather strength from the complexity of thought by our adolescence. Cracking the casing around this problem requires an insight into how adolescent students perceive themselves in the school environment. From this understanding teachers can design dynamic curriculum that lends to students' skills, abilities and mindsets.
This complexity of thought is a product of our students' life experience well-seasoned in a culture that glorifies and justifies goals in terms of tangible experience. Csikszentmihalyi explains in his book, "People in a sensate culture (culture integrated around views of reality designed to satisfy the senses) are not necessarily more materialistic, but they organize their goals and justify their behavior with reference primarily to pleasure and practicality rather than to more abstract principles. The challenges they see are almost exclusively concerned with making life easier, more comfortable, and more pleasant. They tend to identify the good with what feels good and mistrust idealized values."(p.219).
When I refer to "cracking the nut", I am addressing the need to design curriculum that breaks down the barriers that students erect in their minds, which prevents teachers from reaching students' intrinsic motivation to learn. The goals we set before our students define the challenges they need to face as learners. Czikszenentmihaly states that , "As longs as it provides clear objectives , clear rules for action and a way to concentrate and become involved, any goal can serve to give meaning to a person's life" (p.215). He further states that, "People who find their lives meaningful usually have a goal that is challenging enough to take up all their energies, a goal that can give significance to their lives. We may refer to this process as achieving purpose. To experience flow one must set goals for one's actions: to win a game, to make friends with a person, to accomplish something in a certain way. The goal itself is usually not important; what matters is that it focuses a person's attention and involves it in an achievable, enjoyable activity" (p.216).
From my experience working with students in science class for over 20 years, I believe that you have to meet the students where they are with respect to their knowledge, interests and experiences. It is important to design curriculum that lends to the strengths of students by incorporating both their interests and their needs as learners. Teachers have the foresight to envision a future for their students full of opportunity and personal fulfillment. Teachers have the professional expertise to develop those attributes, within their students, that are most needed so they can take on the multitude of challenges faced in their lives.
Carol Dweck states in her book called Mindset, "This low-effort syndrome is often seen as a way that adolescents assert their independence from adults, but it is also a way that students with fixed mindset protect themselves. They view the adults as saying, "Now we will measure you and see what you've got". And they are answering, "No you won't"" (p.58). Students protect their egos as they confront the hard transition of adolescence and the demands of school. It is up to the teacher to create a learning environment that accommodates the needs of these adolescent students and focuses upon a growth orientated mindset. The dynamic curriculum design structures learning as an opportunity to showcase their abilities not as a test of abilities. It will nurture and develop abilities! Carol Dweck states that, "For students with the growth mindset, it doesn't make sense to stop trying. For them, adolescence is a time of opportunity: a time to learn new subjects, a time to find out what they like and what they want to become in the future" (p.59).
The essential structure that a dynamic curriculum incorporates begins with clear well established goals that students work toward and have a chance of completing. The learning environment provides the means to attain these goals by facilitating the learning process through interesting and challenging projects and scientific investigations. Students are closely monitored during this process and the immediacy of the feedback becomes a critical factor necessary to spur motivation and to guide students on a forward thinking path. Science projects by their nature require discipline and are couched within boundaries of expectation. Students work to fulfill these expectations and at the same time experience a deep sense of enjoyment as they move through the learning process.
To provide the science education that our students deserve in the 21 century requires a science curriculum that addresses real needs of our students. Curriculum is not a means to cover content as much as it should be a means to develop abilities within our students. The ability to think, reason and commit to goals are expectations in learning that science teachers should strive for in their classrooms. Science educators, in the modern classroom, adapt to changing demographics, while utilizing new cutting-edge technologies and addressing issues that affect the lives of our students. If teachers can provide an education that students perceive as meaningful in their personal development, then there is a chance that the barrier of resistance to learning (cracking the nut) will fall and students will become their own advocates for knowledge and understanding. These are the fundamental characteristics that intelligent and successful people process in our modern and globally connected world.


text:
TLTC LockDown Browser: Instructor View
Setting up LockDown Browser in ANGEL
In order to have students use Lockdown Browser, you will have to change some settings for your assessment in ANGEL You will need an assessment in order to use LockDown Browser. Go to Adding and Managing Assessments if you need help building an assessment.
- Log into ANGEL and go into the course and the assessment you wish to use in LockDown Browser.
- Inside the assessment, click on settings. Make sure you are viewing advanced settings and not normal settings.
- Next, to go the Access tab and scroll down to Internet Security. Click the arrow, it will show a drop-down menu.
- Select High - requires Respondus LockDown Browser to enable LockDown Browser.
You will also want to look under the Interactions tab for extra security:
- Delivery Settings: LockDown Browser will only show the assessment within the program once the instructor makes it available for the rest of the class to see.
- Display Mode and Question Set Defaults: These settings will show up the same as they would if you were taking the test in ANGEL instead of LockDown Browser.
- Submission Settings: If you do not want your students to be able to save where they are in the test and come back to it later, or wish for the test to only be taken once, you must make sure that the Show save button is unchecked. If you do not uncheck that button, students will be able to save their assessment wherever they are in it, exit LockDown Browser, and come back to the test whenever they like.
Using LockDown Browser
- Open the LockDown Browser program.
- Log in with your BVU username and password.
- In the Courses list, you will see all of the tests or quizzes through ANGEL which require use of LockDown Browser. Nothing else will show up.
- Choose the appropriate test/quiz and then you can begin the test/quiz like normal.
Now that the settings have been changed for LockDown Browser, the assessment is now ready for students to use. Your students can go to Student Use of LockDown Browser help guide to learn how to install the program. Instructors do not need to download LockDown Browser in order to use it.
Lockdown Browser Features
Disabled Shortcuts
As mentioned before, students are not allowed to perform certain shortcuts that could benefit cheating. These shortcuts include:
- copy
- cut
- paste
- print screen
- right-click
Also, students are not allowed to access their start menu, desktop, or taskbar while in LockDown Browser and you cannot minimize the screen. This makes it almost impossible to cheat or get extra help on an assessment.
Caching Feature
If, for any reason, the student has to leave LockDown Browser or their computer crashed, LockDown Browser will save what that student has completed on the test so far. It will save what the student has answered every few minutes so if the student has something happen to their computer that forced them to leave or not access LockDown Browser during a test, they can sign back in and start where they left off.
"Bail Out"
When students are taking an assessment inside of LockDown Browser, they are not allowed to exit the program until the assessment is complete. If there is a need to exit LockDown Browser you may do so by following these steps:
- Inside of LockDown Browser, find the "i" icon and click on it.
- Next, go to Proctor Options.
- A screen will come up asking you for the Exit Password. Once you enter the password, the student will be able to exit out of LockDown Browser.
|Note: You must contact the TLTC in order to obtain the Exit Password.


text:
LaRue Fackrell Cox
LaRue Fackrell Cox. July 25, 1924-Jan. 14, 2014
LaRue F. Cox passed away quietly at home Jan. 14, 2014.
LaRue was born July 25, 1924 in the home of her parents at Thomas. LaRue was the third of six children born to Lewis N. Fackrell and Amanda M. Dance Fackrell. She joined sister Thelda and brother Quinten. Eventually brothers Ivan and Arlis and sister Lois completed the family.
LaRue grew up on the family farm. She loved the outside work . Her love of plants and animals and all living things stayed with her all of her life. She went to school in Rockford and Thomas, graduating from Thomas High School in 1942.
She married the love of her life, Orson (Bud) Cox on Oct. 2, 1942 in the Salt Lake LDS Temple. They made their home in Groveland. LaRue lived in San Diego, Calif,; Chicago, Ill. and Brooklyn, N.Y. during Bud's time in the service. They then moved back to Groveland to stay. To this union were born four children: CaRene (Dennis) Heap, Kim (Brenda) Cox, Jacquelyn (Howard) Nation and Leisa (Clark) Fields.
Bud and LaRue served an 18-month LDS mission to the Philippines and then later returned to serve for 6 more months at the Manila Temple. They were ordinance workers at the Idaho Falls Temple when they returned from Manila.
LaRue was predeceased by her parents Lewis and Amanda; by her sister Thelda and her brothers Quinten and Arlis; and her husband, Bud.
Survivors include her brother Ivan Fackrell and her sister Lois (Jack) Worlton. Also surviving are her four children: CaRene, Kim, Jacquelyn and Leisa; 18 grandchildren and 40 great- grandchildren at present.
A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 18, 2014 at the Groveland LDS Chapel. The family will meet with friends on Friday, Jan. 17, 2014 from 6-8 p.m. at Hawker Funeral Home, 132 S. Shilling Avenue in Blackfoot and for one hour prior to the service at the church. Interment will be in the Groveland Cemetery. Condolences may be sent to the family at firstname.lastname@example.com.