Eat Ur Hearts Out

pop culture at its finest…

Wednesday
Mar 3,2010
Niv Orlian asked:




If you’re looking for ways to improve soccer skills individually, you’ve come to the right place. I know that soccer team practice sometimes just isn’t enough if you want to become great. Just take a look at most of the great soccer players in activity. They always say that they spend a lot of hours off-pitch improving their soccer skills, which makes them so good in matches. But simply training after hours isn’t enough, you need to train intelligently, after a rigorous program.

-Best Ways to Improve Soccer Skills – DVD Programs

There’s a lot of these babies around the Internet these days, so if you’re planning on buying a DVD program for individual soccer practice, make sure it’s a serious author that created it and it’s not some lame compilation of soccer highlights with subtitles saying “Do this and you’ll be great”.
A quality DVD program is a great way to improve soccer skills, because it allows a certain level of interactivity to your learning. It’s not like learning from a TV show, because with DVD’s you can go straight to the chapter that interests you, you can go back and review stuff over and over again until you get the picture.

-Best Ways to Improve Soccer Skills – Skill Focusing

If you notice that there’s a certain area in your game that isn’t on par with your other skills, focus on it to get it on level terms. Having an unbalanced skill set is extremely damaging to your game. For example, you could be very fast and strong, but if you don’t have good ball control, you won’t be able to use your physical skills for anything.

Same goes with players that are extremely technical but very weak on their feet, so improving your soccer skills in a balanced way is best. Also, you could focus on your best skill not your worst one. Are you a good long range shooter? Make that your trademark. Practice long shots over and over again and your teammates will soon know that they need to create space for your shots and you’ll be able to score more often. You could also make a trademark of your heading, your passing, your set pieces and so forth.

-Best Ways to Improve Soccer Skills – Variation

Never allow a particular exercise or drill become boring routine, or you risk entering a stalemate with your soccer skills. Whatever you’re practicing, go for alternative techniques. For example, if you’re practicing dribbling, don’t just focus on a single type of dribble, effective as it may be. You will need to have a varied repertoire of dribbles if you want to stand up to your different adversaries.

In conclusion, you will probably want to combine these three methods, not just use them separately. Use a DVD program to cover the theoretical aspects of your practice and use the other two as practical methods of getting your skills up. You should be gaining an edge in no time!



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Basketball Hoop Dreams Hoopla

Monday
Mar 1,2010
Chris Campbell asked:




Basketball bears a distant resemblance to it’s early days, when the basketball net wasn’t a net at all but a peach basket. Apparently James Naismith the inventor of basketball, had a keen intuition for sports, but not quite so keen on physics. The obvious problem with the impromptu basketball net, was that there was no hole in the bottom for the basket ball to fall through. I sure we’ve all seen the commercial where one of the players has to climb up the ladder to retrieve the basketball after each score. The brilliant solution by Mr Naismith, was of course to cut a hole in the bottom of the basket. Seems like an obvious solution to those of us versed in the modern game of basketball, but wait the punch line is yet to come. The hole they cut, wasn’t big enough for the basketball to fall through. It was however, big enough for a person standing on the floor to poke a broom handle through and push the basketball ball back up through the top. Funny how the obvious is not always so obvious to those at the time. In spite of it’s somewhat comical beginnings, basketball has truly evolved to one of the premier sporting events in the world. I bet James would be thrilled to see his little game today. I hope.
Dusting Jack

Basketball had quite a few funny quirks along the road to success. One of the early interesting rules would have pretty hilarious consequences today. In today’s game of basketball, when a ball goes out of bounds, the last player to touch the basketball ball, is ruled to have been responsible for putting the ball out of play, and therefor his/her team loses possession of the ball. Things were a little different with the original basket rules. In the original game of basketball, the first player to retrieve a ball that had gone out of bounds, earned possession of the ball for his team. I suppose that makes sense when your first playing the game in a gymnasium, with one gym teacher, who doesn’t want to have to retrieve every out of bounds ball. Why don’t just let the players retrieve the basket balls. Ha! Could you imagine the melee that would occur in today’s professional games, if that was the rule. I can just see Kobe Bryant climbing over Jack Nicholson, spilling his drink, knocking his glasses all cock-eyed in a furiously desperate attempt to grab the loose ball before his opponent. Comical . . . yes. Hilarious . . . yes. Entertaining . . . yes. Likely to be adopted by the NBA . . . not frigging likely. We can always dream though.

Entertainment As Sport

Basketball certainly has to be one of the more successful forms of sports entertainment today. From all the pre-game theatrical dramatics (Ala the Micheal Jordan era Chicago Bulls) to the bad boys that seem to be prevalent in any sport, but especially basketball. In spite of the fact that most basketball games are decided in the last few minutes of play, it is truly an exciting game to watch and play. Especially if you get the opportunity to view a basketball game live. Highly recommended. Those guys make the television guys look like their moving in slow motion.



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Saturday
Feb 27,2010
Lydia Ramsey asked:




“You can’t shake hands with a clenched fist.”

- Indira Gandhi

The most significant gesture in business and in life is a handshake. In many cultures it is the unspoken message that accompanies our words. A handshake often takes place when you meet someone new, when you are greeting someone you haven’t seen in a while, when you leave a party or meeting, when you offer congratulations or when you agree on a contract or working arrangement.

Historians agree that the handshake was most likely developed several hundred years ago in England as a method to communicate that you were empty-handed and unarmed during a meeting. Weapons were often concealed in the left sleeve so shaking was done with the left hand. As more people began to travel without weapons it became common to shake with the right hand. Certain historical figures took liberty with shaking hands and created their own custom. George Washington decided that shaking hands was for the common people so he bowed when greeting people in public.

The intent in shaking hands is to make contact “web-to-web” with the other person’s hand. The web of your hand is that part between your thumb and forefinger. Extend your hand with your fingers together, in a vertical position, with the thumb up and slightly to the side. Once you make contact with the web of the other person’s hand, close your thumb over the back of the hand and give a slight squeeze with your fingertips. Here’s where so many people go wrong. Some move in for the kill and give a bone-crushing handshake that brings tears to the eyes of the other person. Then there are those who stop at the first hint of contact and never add the little squeeze that indicates there is life and energy in the body. The result is the “wimpy” or “limp” handshake, sometimes referred to as the “dead fish.”
Every country in the world has its own customs for meeting and greeting. Most cultures encourage handshaking more often than the United States. As always, you need to do your research on meeting and greeting before you embark on an overseas trip. If you are a woman, this is critically important since certain cultures do not allow women to touch a man who is not related to them.

Here are some of the most common handshaking rituals around the world:

* In Japan it is normal to shake hands frequently. Sometimes a bow is included or substituted.

* In Europe you shake hands whenever you meet someone even if you know them well.

* Russians tend to shake hands frequently but never while wearing gloves.

* A strong handshake and good grip are appreciated in South Africa.

* A vigorous, pumping handshake is normal for the Chinese.

* Men in Arabian cultures encourage a long and limp handshake along with a specific verbal greeting.

* People in Panama greet each other with eye contact combined with shaking hands.

* The French always shake hands in business meetings but all other greetings involve kissing the cheeks.

* In Kuwait shaking hands is only used for male strangers who meet the first time. Shaking hands with an unrelated female is considered inappropriate.

* Residents of Indian and Pakistan shake hands by grasping your hand in both of their hands and holding your hand briefly.

It is considered impolite to refuse to shake hands but be prepared in case you meet someone who says “No” to handshakes because of arthritis, joint problems or a communicable illness such as a cold. The person who is unable to shake hands should always offer an apology and a brief explanation so that the other person does not feel shunned.

You may occasionally encounter someone who does not respond in any way to your outstretched hand. When that happens, simply withdraw your hand and ignore the snub. It’s the other person’s problem, not yours.

Knowing when and how to shake hands is an important business skill whether you are working in your own office or if you are traveling to a meeting 5,000 miles away. Always give the impression of someone who is polite and confident by cultivating a firm, but not crushing, grip and always offer your hand when appropriate.

(c) 2007, Lydia Ramsey, Inc. All rights reserved. Reprint rights granted so long as article and by-line are published intact and with all links made live.



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Learn the Guitar – Learn the Lingo !

  • Filed under: Music
Wednesday
Feb 17,2010
Ian Williamson asked:




The guitar is one of the most sought-after musical instruments today. Its popularity is manifested through-out the radio stations and the music videos on MTV. Almost all types of music in modern pop culture have been influenced by the guitar in one way or another.

For people who would like to get their hands on a guitar, they must first learn the guitar lingo. The guitar lingo is made up of weird-sounding words that are unique to the guitar world.

The guitar lingo also applies to the guitar parts. You must be able to know the parts of a guitar to be able to know how to play it. Here are some of the guitar parts:

-Body

This is also referred to as the sound box. This is the largest guitar part and it comes in different shapes and sizes. The acoustic guitars usually have a hollow body, while electric guitars have solid or semi-solid bodies. Acoustic guitars have hollow bodies because they rely on the body structure for sound resonation and electric guitars use electronic pick-ups to amplify the sound.

-Headstock

The headstock is the part at the end of the guitar which holds the tuning keys. It is connected to the neck of the guitar.

-Nut

The nut is the piece between the guitar neck and the head. It is a small rod with indentations to hold the guitar strings in place.

-Neck

The neck is the long section which holds the fret board.

-Fret board

The fret board is divided into different notes by small metal rods. The number of frets in a fret board varies depending on the type of guitar and the brand. Modern electric guitars usually have 20-22 frets in the fret board.

-Bridge

It is a part of the guitar’s body and it is important for sound resonance. It gives elevation to the guitar strings so they can produce vibrations.

-Pick-up

The pick-up is an electronic device which acts like a microphone: it picks up the vibrations from the strings and converts the vibrations into electrical impulses. They are usually found in electric guitars

-Amp

The amplifier a speaker box from which the sounds of the electric guitar are magnified.

-Capo

This is a device which is attached to the fret board which allows a player to play the same chord structures but in a different key.

Listed below are some of the different words that you might encounter in learning how to play the guitar.

-Riff

Guitar riffs pertain to musical pieces which are parts of a song.

-Reverb

It is added to the sound of the guitar through an effects box or through amplifiers to make the sounds more natural.

-Tablature

Guitar tablatures or more commonly known as guitar tabs are written music for guitars. It is similar to musical pieces (with notes and other musical symbols) but the notes are translated into guitar frets. It’s a useful tool in learning how to play the guitar.

-Vibrato

It refers to a guitar technique where the string is slightly bent at a fast rate to Produce a longer resonating sound.

-Arpeggio

This refers to a technique where you remove notes from a specific chord. You can then use these to create an adlib lead technique or add to the rhythm of the song.

-Pick

This is the small device which guitar players use to strike the guitar strings and is usually made of plastic.

-Whammy bar

This is an attachment to the bridge of electric guitars that can be used to bend the pitch of the notes. You can pull the whammy bar to be able to make your guitar “cry.”

-Plucking

It’s a picking technique where a player does not strum the strings all at once but hits the strings one by one to attain a softer and more defined tone.

-Palm mute

This is a technique where a player uses his picking hand (usually the right hand) to mute the strings while strumming to be able to attain a distinct tone. It is very popular in the punk rock world.

The world of guitars is composed of many other new words and you must be able to master these or at least have an idea of what they are to be able do to appreciate the wonderful instrument that is the guitar..



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The Breakfast Club Movie Review

Wednesday
Feb 17,2010
Britt Gillette asked:




One of the defining movies of the 80’s decade, The Breakfast Club remains an entertaining film which evokes nostalgia among many viewers. Inevitably, any foray into the cinema blockbusters of the 1980s will evoke a number of titles, such as Back To The Future, Beverly Hills Cop, or The Goonies. The Breakfast Club is certainly one of those films, and it’s almost universally cited as one of the preeminent films from the era. If you enjoy relationship films, it’s easy to see why, because The Breakfast Club is a movie built solely on the strength of its characters and the conflict surrounding them.

Shermer High School principal Richard Vernon (Paul Gleason) oversees the Saturday morning detention of five high school students from differing backgrounds. Confining them to the library, he fails to relate to them as individuals with a future or a purpose. Making up the cast of misfit characters are Andy Clark (Emilio Estevez), Brian Ralph Johnson (Anthony Michael Hall), John Bender (Judd Nelson), Claire Standish (Molly Ringwold), and Allison Reynolds (Ally Sheedy). Forced to spend their Saturday together, the five students strike up a conversation (with the exception of the muted Allison). For the most part, their conversation consists of picking on each other and making jokes at each other’s expense.

Continually butting heads with Principal Vernon, the teens help pass the time by uniting against Vernon and by engaging in conversation with the infinitely wise janitor, Carl (John Kapelos). Eventually, each student (including Allison, who eventually opens up) comes to understand the plight of the other. The pretty princess Claire doesn’t have a perfect life. Neither does the popular wrestling champ Andy. Brian and Allison have their own problems just like anyone else, and John puts up a front to look tougher and more hardened than he really is. In the end, the five develop a lifelong bond – with Claire and John igniting a budding relationship.

Sporting a smash hit soundtrack headlined by Simple Minds’ “Don’t You (Forget About Me),” The Breakfast Club attained instant cult classic status. The ‘brat pack’ came to define a generation and made its mark in Hollywood. A light-hearted comedy, blended together with a series of relationships between different people, The Breakfast Club’s true strength lies with the ability of its audience to relate to the issues at hand. The characters recount stories from their lives that in one way or another are easily relatable to most every American who attended high school.

It’s this universal familiarity with the themes depicted by The Breakfast Club that make it a classic adored by millions. Despite the longings of teenagers throughout time to forge unique identities and set themselves aside as revolutionary, in the end, most high schools sport the same cast of characters, and those various roles have remained unchanged for most of the last several decades. As one of the most memorable films of the 80’s decade, The Breakfast Club is a definite must-see movie.



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Friday
Feb 5,2010
Krystyna Pritschmann asked:




Why do you think many prefer automatic espresso machine for preparing their tasty brew? Simple…it does everything automatically, that is, all by itself without any user intervention. Great…how much time is saved? What these automatic espresso machines do? Grinding of coffee beans, putting them in the hopper, filling and heating the necessary amount of water and finally giving you the best coffee each and every time is what these automatic espresso machines do. You need not worry about preparing coffee anymore. You just have to clean the dishes. How easy! Few automatic espresso machines even fill the hopper with coffee powder for you to use the next time.

It is always a good method to read the automatic espresso machine reviews before you buy them. However, don’t read the reviews that are available on the manufacturer’s website. In general, manufacturers try to pose that their product is only “the best” in the market. What you have to do is read automatic espresso machine reviews that are written by people who really own such a machine.

These manufacturers will have their own Internet websites where the customers will be allowed to post automatic espresso machine reviews. Here, a customer or a buyer can post both the advantage and disadvantage of owing an automatic espresso machine. This helps the manufacturer to know what really people want and at the same time gives the potential customers an edge about how the espresso machine really works. Merely reading an automatic espresso machine review is not going to help you. Understand the concept and make a thorough analysis based on the automatic espresso machine review that you read. This is what is going to help you in taking the decision.

Key element in any espresso is its grinder as this is what is going to determine the consistency of the coffee. This is the reason why some owners have a grinder separately for this purpose. However, if you have read automatic espresso machine review that is not biased, you would have understood that it is not the grinder that determines the taste of the brew.

Key features in an espresso machine:

Do not stop your research with the manufacturer’s website alone. There are other websites that deals with automatic espresso machine reviews. It is worth looking at automatic espresso machine reviews that are posted in different websites when you are going to invest your hard earned money on espresso machines. Make your decision depending on whether the machine has a facility to be connected directly to the water line or you will have to pour water manually or it is possible to do both. You can be well prepared if you know the pros and cons of the automatic espresso machine.

When reading through an automatic espresso machine review read it thoroughly and see if this is what you are looking for in your machine. No machine will have all positive reviews, which is for sure. Don’t go for a machine that has only negative reviews. If you are not familiar with various brands that are available in the market, reading through the automatic espresso machine review will give you an idea about various brands along with its pros and cons. This will help you in getting the machine that suits your need as well as fit your pocket.



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Wednesday
Feb 3,2010
Bipasha Chowdhury asked:






Abstract

Media has opened new dimensions in learning. Now education is no longer a constraint for anyone. Media has brought education to the doorstep of each and every individual. All forms of media- the newspaper, radio, television and the internet are equally important in imparting education. As the technology is progressing, the different educational modules are being channeled through certain community access centers like community radio system, televisions, internet, community multi-media centers etc. Media literacy or education does not only mean to be entertained by media but to learn something from it. As a major part of the learning process is concentrated on children, media plays a significant role to satisfy their intellectual curiosity. Children often learn important things through the media, which change their perspective to life. Moreover, radio has now started to enter into the educational sector commonly known as Community Radio System, which indirectly forms the part of e-learning process. Computer-based education has transformed the traditional offerings of distance learning. This medium of education converts the traditional static resources into interactive and interesting online modules for the learners. The primary motive of the Interactive Learning Modules is to create modular interactive learning materials for the development of education and to demonstrate their effectiveness in university curricula as well as industrial training programs. Interactive Learning Modules, which is another form of media, serves the purpose of both the technical and management corporate trainee people along with the people with learning disabilities. The main aim of this article is to focus on the positive effects of media on learning and how different forms of media have contributed to the development of mankind.

Media and learning: New dimensions

Author: Bipasha Chowdhury

Introduction:

Media is everywhere; it has become a part of our daily life. The media plays a dominant role in the learning process. Its impact is vast in shaping the life of an individual. Media has the potential to shape personalities, change the way we perceive and understand the world and our immediate reality. Though we know that all good things have both good and bad effects, likewise, media too have some positive and negative effects. Moreover, we have seen that a large number of people depend on the internet to collect information, read news, listen to music and download movies, play games and also for work. Newspaper, Radio, Television and the internet- all form part of the media and are important in imparting education. Media offers culture, sports, information, entertainment, current affairs and education. Sometimes the impact of media is very high. For example, children love to watch the superheroes and sometimes try to copy their actions while playing. On the other hand, the impact may not be so vast or immediate. It happens gradually as children see and hear certain messages repeatedly. Some of the devastating advertisements include: Fighting and unnecessary quarrel, cigarettes and alcohol being shown as the symbol of heroism, style and attractive, but not deadly and unhealthy. Moreover, violation of laws is shown as a means to gain justice and sexual action with no negative results, such as disease or unintended pregnancy. In recent years, the impact of media on teaching and learning has increased tremendously. New opportunities are being provided to give a techno-touch to the traditional educational process and system. As the society is becoming media-savvy day by day, the educational modules are being channeled through certain community access centers like community radio system, televisions, internet, community multi-media centers etc.

Media and Children:

Media Literacy: “the ability to access, analyze, evaluate and communicate information in a variety of formats.” —David Considine

The role of media in imparting education is increasingly on the rise. Media surrounds us and is present in everything. This phenomenon has made learning easier and interesting for children. Television, radio, and computers are gradually entering classrooms and changing the way of learning. With the onset of new technologies and the emerging trends in the global economy, the present day education is changing. Therefore, there is a need to educate ourselves with the emerging wave of technology. It is well known that by learning to read and write, we can be called literate. Similarly, in the 21st century, by gaining knowledge about the different aspects of media, we can also be called media literate, although there are both positive and negative sides of it. Therefore, as we are adopting the good from it, the bad should be avoided. The negative messages could be avoided by developing the skills of questioning, evaluating and analyzing them. This can be called media literacy or media education.

Media literacy or education does not mean to know about media but to learn something from it. Moreover, we find the subjects that we learn in our curricula are also found in media. They may be related to arts, science, different languages, social sciences and health. It also helps to develop critical thinking skills. The students can get a vast exposure to the pop-cultural references. They can get statistics and data from the news, which can be the basis for math and science learning. The teachers can also incorporate media analysis whenever the Internet, television or video are used in the classroom.

The impact of media is vast on children and even on the adults. The intellectual curiosity of a child is satisfied by media literacy. At present, in order to exist in the competitive market, there is always a need to equip oneself with better knowledge and analytical skill. Apart from books, television also helps to improve the Intelligent Quotient and General Knowledge of every section of the society, particularly the children. Media education skills develop the children’s thinking and analyzing power, which in turn, inspires them to make queries and think about the media messages they watch, hear and read. As a child tries to critically analyze the things he reads, likewise he tries to do the same with sounds, actions, moving pictures etc. There are numerous benefits of media on children. The first and foremost effect of media is definitely the accumulation of General knowledge, different dialects and cultures. Television boosts the social awareness of a child to a great extent. Sports channels develop the logical mindset of a child. Cartoon channels keep the children happy. News channels increase the vocabulary of the children and inform them about the positive and negative impacts on the society. It increases the concentration and retention power of a child, which benefits their studies to a great extent.

There are also negative effects of media on children. Children often learn certain things, which change their perspective towards life. For example, if they watch violent scenes on TV, their nature tends to be the same. There are many incidents where children try to imitate the super heroes and it results in death. Studies often get hampered and lapse of concentration occurs due to excessive watching of television. The advertisements shown in the media often captures the mood of the individuals. Generally, girls are very vulnerable and sensitive about their physical image. When an adolescent girl watches the ads that show unless we buy a product or carry the style statement or wash our hair with a specific shampoo and look smart like a slim model, we don’t get respect in the society or get a job. These messages attack our self-esteem and create a negative impact on a child. Two Studies conducted by the South Australia’s Flinders University have revealed that “television advertising featuring idealised thinness negatively affected both the mood and the body image of adolescent girls, with those in the 13 – 15 year age group being more affected”.

On the whole, media has made a tremendous impact on children. Compared to the positive impact, the negative impact is too negligible. The craze of media is such that no one can escape its vibe-be it the adult or youth.

Effect of Community Radio on Education:

Radio has now started to enter into the education sector with the name of Community Radio System. The term Community Radio signifies radio broadcasting with the objective of serving the community by involving members of the community in the broadcast of their programmes. It will help the students to hone their public speaking skills. Though the concept of teaching through radio or television is quite new, but some media or production companies have come forward with such kind of proposals.

Certain questions may crop up about the validity of the relation between radio and learning. The readers may also ask whether the community radio is performing any tasks of e-Learning. If learning is universal and ‘e’ is used for ‘electronic’, then why can’t the verbal knowledge spread through electronic media like community radio as a part of ‘e-Learning’? The advantage of a community radio is that any listener within the range of five to ten kilometers can tune in the radio channel. Community radio is helpful enough for people of the poor and developing countries and even for people living in rural areas without basic amenities like electricity, satellite television, internet etc.

In India, the non-commercial organizations were not allowed to run radio stations. The private organizations with good financial background like Radio Mirchi, Red FM, Big FM, Radio city and educational institutions only get broadcasting licenses. This distinction is little reduced with the Cabinet decision. This move has triggered modest celebrations among a number of community radio, NGOs and broadcast professionals. A number of broadcasting organizations have moved forward to introduce community radio in schools and colleges. With the introduction of this technology, quite a few civil society organizations have come forward to broadcast their educative radio programming over AIR.

Webel Mediatronics, a profit making company, engaged in the development, manufacturing and in the areas of Studio and Broadcasting Systems, Industrial Electronics, Information Technology Applications and various systems for the disabled has come up with the idea of introducing radio in schools. It has already given offers to two schools-Heritage school and GD Birla Center for Education. If the offer is accepted, Webel feels, the radio system can make teenagers conversant with public speaking. According to Gautam Burman, Chief Executive Officer of Webel Mediatronics, “Schools feel that perfection in public speaking can only be achieved through practice. The community radio system will give students the opportunity to develop their communication skills and expand their knowledge base”.

This community radio can also help to organize counseling sessions, prior to any board or entrance examinations. Moreover, this kind of radio will help students to revise their classroom teaching, which they may forget. The health and hygiene issues can be addressed; lifestyle problems can also be solved though these programmes and even an awareness campaign by experts on HIV/AIDS can be transmitted. CRS can also help to notify parents about important announcements of schools. Burman added that “Often after exams, students seek informations in scholarships and admissions in other universities or courses. All such queries can be clarified through community radio. Eminent educationists can be invited to the studio to deliver lectures. Radio browsing will soon become popular among Gen Y”. Any listener within the range of five to ten kilometers can tune into the radio channel of the schools. It can also familiarize the local students with the similar syllabus of the other schools. There are schools that have allocated a budget of Rs.1 crore for students’ development programmes in the next few years by incorporating Radio programmes.

The impact of community radio is massive and its impact is felt on every section of the society. With the passage of time everyone has learnt to acknowledge its positive impact on individuals.

Effects of Media Boom on distance education:

Distance education is often defined as “institution-based, formal education where the learning group is separate, and where interactive telecommunications systems are used to connect learners, resources, and instructors” (Schlosser and Simonson, 2002).

The original distance education by correspondence has been upgraded by twenty-first century technology. Distance education has vastly benefited from the media boom with telecasts and broadcasts limiting the dependence on the written word. In the past, distance education was primarily delivered through mail and was called correspondence courses. The medium of instruction was mainly through books, paper documents and other printed materials. Contrary to classroom learning, instructions provided by professors or teachers were delivered in print to the learners who didn’t have the opportunity to have interactive classes. Queries and notes were interchanged between teachers and students and vice versa. But now the trend is fully replaced by colourful computer-based graphic resources. Computer-based education has changed the traditional offerings of correspondence education. This medium of education converts the traditional static resources into interactive and interesting online modules for the learners. Moreover, online-learning retains most of the characteristics of the classical form of distance learning, while offering more sophisticated learning materials at a much reduced rate.

At present, the concept of distance education with the help of media has gained wide popularity. The media boom with telecasts and broadcasts has to a large extent limited the dependence on the written word. Moreover, with the emergence of the Internet as a global media, the concept of distance learning has been revolutionized. From the age old days, distance learning was mainly provided through correspondence. But the introduction of the internet has changed the concept of distance learning to a great extent. At present, distance learning programmes are increasingly being delivered through computer technologies but the traditional media is not totally obsolete as it helps in effective learning. We can define quality online education as a people-oriented, instructor-led activity, where the level of communication should be comparable with on-campus education. Due to the connectivity of the internet, distance education is often called online learning because the Internet-connected computers bring the teacher and learner face to face, which substitutes/replaces classroom learning. Moreover, the Internet has also facilitated the students to study online from any location and at any convenient time.

There are numerous factors which have contributed to the increasing popularity of the distance education through media. With the introduction of online learning in universities, distance learning has gained immense importance. Online learning has assumed the role of an important media for imparting distance education. It also went to the extent of providing quality online courses which have become almost comparable to the traditional classroom learning. Now students can get access to a broad spectrum of disciplines from any location. With the mingling of online learning and distance education, education is no longer a constraint for any class of the society.

Distance education can also be termed as Interactive Telecommunications system. Interactive telecommunications systems broadly mean that the instructors and the learners use a variety of technological resources while teaching and learning from a distance. Now-a-days, many universities have come up with the idea of transferring its on-campus learning into online learning.

Now-a-days, we see an excessive use of media in education. Media has made its presence felt everywhere, be it by television, radio or computers, the most popular medium of imparting education. Unlike the past, education and examination is no longer monotonous. With the introduction of media, education has assumed a different role. Now-a-days, we can see that before the board exams or any competitive exams, different medias like television, radio etc. come out with different education-related programmes to help students to deal with their study materials. These media channels rope in different intellectuals, professors and teachers of different institutions to guide the students with their valuable suggestions and give them necessary moral boost to cope up with their burden of studies.

The most important advantage of online distance education is to earn a degree from one’s home or workplace. In traditional distance learning, interaction is limited to a certain point and feedback from the other side is often delayed because of slow postal systems. It has helped a large number of people to pursue education, who don’t even have the time to enroll for regular courses. Moreover, it is usually easier and less competitive to obtain admission for the online courses. Moreover, in case of online distance courses, learning is more fun and interactive. It is also flexible. It is possible to incorporate charts, maps, graphs, moving images, slides, video clippings and even audio recordings with the course material. It helps to understand the entire syllabus without the help of a teacher. The students are able to interact with their peers through online class projects, e-mails and also with the help of online conferencing. This interaction with the help of media using e-mail, conference calls and chat makes learning easier and entertaining. It substitutes the face-to-face experiences of traditional learning. The availability of online libraries with their huge collection of books has also made the learning process easier and worthwhile. Speaking about the economic side of online distance learning, it is seen that most of the time, the expense of a regular course is much higher than the online courses. The media-related online distance learning is relatively economical than the traditional class-room learning. Nevertheless, keeping in mind its positive effects on individuals, these computer-based distance education continues to grow.

Role of Interactive Learning Module in Education:

Interactive Learning module is another form of online distance education. The main idea of interactive learning is to provide educational guide through on-line education. In this module, support learning is available on a 24/7 clock and delivered from class-room to anywhere and at anytime. The Interactive Learning module generally engages the learner and the teacher in effective instructional communication without disturbing the interaction. Interactive learning modules developed by corporate media companies are becoming increasingly popular. Now-a-days, the Interactive Learning Module materials are used in management courses, undergraduate and graduate engineering courses, as well as technical and management corporate training programs. The prime aim of the Interactive Learning Modules is to create modular interactive learning materials for the development of education and to demonstrate their effectiveness in university curricula as well as industrial training programs. Thus, the acquaintance of knowledge is maximized through the advent of Interactive Learning Module.

Now-a-days, we have seen that interactive learning modules developed by different corporate media companies are becoming increasingly popular. Witnessing the importance of Internet, innumerable training players are offering their training online. These modules are helpful to provide value-added services and equip professionals to work in a dynamic and competitive environment. Interactive design tools help the learners to explore the activities of product development and emphasize on the integration of design, manufacturing and marketing concepts. Moreover, interactive learning provides solutions for evaluating and monitoring of the learner’s progress.

Like most of the media houses, ZEE has also come up with the concept of online education, which they named as ZEE Interactive Learning Systems (ZILS). ZILS generally provides its online courses through a Learning Management System. According to Rajendra Raju, executive vice president, corporate services of ZEE Interactive Learning Systems, “this offering not only facilitates in Synchronous and Asynchronous learning but also provides Customized Training Solutions based on individual needs and access to rich resources and expert support”. Apart from ZEE, another company which came forward for making faster its training market is Xansa Websity (formerly known as IIS Websity). It planned to focus on the corporate IT training market through its Learning Management System called the ‘Quality Learning System’ (QLS). Apart from ZEE and Xansa, Oracle also thought of introducing an e-learning methodology for its existing and future courses through the Oracle Learning Network (OLN). According to SV Krishna, head-Asia Pacific division, Oracle OU, “The purpose is to disseminate information anytime, anywhere and help in providing to those who are really in need of it. On OLN, one is learning from Oracle and with Oracle. The corporates can choose their specialized module, rather than undertaking the whole course. And the whole offering becomes more customized”.

Interactive Learning Modules are designed not only for the technical and management corporate trainee people but also for the people with learning disabilities. With the advent of technology, physical barriers are no longer a constraint for leading a normal life. Technology can abate any learning disabilities. It can also make learning accessible for the people with disabilities. Interactive Learning Modules are particularly helpful to people with learning disabilities.

With the transformation of a new era, we have seen that the concept of E-learning, supported by the web-based learning environments. This could help people with learning disabilities or social difficulties to adjust with normal contemporary life and knowledge-based curricula. Till now, the society and the media have not thought about the impact of computers on the lives of the disabled in general and the visually-challenged in specific. Special schools were built for their education. But the federal ‘Individuals with Disabilities Education Act’ (IDEA) made it mandatory for the schools to educate children with disabilities in general classrooms.

The Interactive Learning Guide for the disabled, coupled with the application of technology in education provides better understanding of theories, their applications and identification of alternate solutions for them. This advanced type of learning for the disabled has helped them to get over their weaknesses and start a new life afresh with better knowledge as their strength. A teacher, principal, specialist or a paraprofessional can help a child with learning disability to achieve full potential by helping them to adapt the online interactive education guide. Therefore, education is no longer restricted to the normal persons, but it has crossed the barriers and enlightened the life of every individual irrespective of their disability.

From the above inferences, we can rightly conclude that the effect of media is vast on the life of each and every individual. With the on-going development of information and technology in the society, media has given particular attention to the need of education and cultural diversity and promoted media consciousness among individuals. Media has entered in every sections of our daily life- be it in education, news, entertainment, culture, sports, etc. Last but not the least, media has opened a new dimension and gave a new meaning to education. Education has become more entertaining like never before.



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Hair Care: Prevent Build Up!

Saturday
Jan 23,2010
Greg Haehl asked:




Hair Care: Deep Conditioning

All hair needs to be conditioned, but dry hair often requires deep conditioning. Condition dry hair each time you shampoo, and consider using a weekly oil treatment. Olive oil is wonderful for dry hair. Many salons and fancy brands of conditioner advertise deep hair conditioning, but you can deep condition dry hair simply by putting your favorite conditioner on your hair, covering it with a plastic cap, and leaving it in for at least 30 minutes. Rinse off, and air dry your hair.

For Frizzy Hair:

Frizzy hair, whether you have fine thin hair or thick course hair is usually due to a lack of moisture and lack of protein in the cortical layers of the hair. You can solve your problem with the frizzies with a silicone oil product made for frizzy hair, buy we prefer to solve the problem rather than treat the symptoms. One of the main prevention method is to avoid ever hot blow drying your hair. This will only make your hair become dryer and more frizzy! Always air dry your hair.

Product Build Up.

Once the hair is coated, your problems will commence. First of all, the moisture that our hair so desperately needs will not be able to permeate through the wall of product build. The moisture is then not able to find it’s way underneath the cuticle layer. The hair cannot then be conditioned. Also the oils will not diffuse. If you use any kind of hot styling tools such as blow dryers or hot irons, what will happen to your hair, is exactly what happens when you put an egg into a hot pan. It will fry. So, avoid hot drying your hair and always air dry your hair.

Flat Hair

To achieve flat hair, finish styling with a ceramic flat-iron designed for hair after following the steps above. Choose the heat setting for your hair type, and allow flat-iron to warm before using. Select portions of hair, as per blow-drying directions, and slide heated flat-iron along hair, beginning close to the roots and going past the ends of hair, repeating if needed to fully flatten hair.

Hair Care: Get Trimmings!

Get your hair trimmed. It sounds like a no-brainer, but it’s not always easy to fit more frequent haircuts into a busy schedule. Dryness starts from the ends. If you normally get your hair cut every 10 weeks, get it cut in eight weeks. If you usually trim your hair every six weeks, get it trimmed monthly. Month trimmings will always ensure that your hair does not have that ragged ends!

Home Hair Care Remedy

Use mayonnaise: Use a dollop of mayonnaise on the palm of the hand and massage it to the head and leave it on for five minutes before having the bath. The recommended time for the mayonnaise treatment is an hour. Rinse off after that and air dry.

Spray the beer: If you do not get any respite from using the mayonnaise, you can use beer as a good setting lotion that gives your hair the crisp, healthy and shiny look. You can pour some beer into an empty pump bottle and spray on the hair after shampooing and towel dry. Then you can style or blow-dry the hair. However, do air dry if possible and avoid using a hot air blower. Always take good care of your body too because your body is like an automation machine that runs 24 hours a day! Healthy Body will yield great hair!

We do urge you to find out more about Proper Hair Care at http://HairCare.hairlossfact.info. Also find out more about Hair Loss Fact at http://www.hairlossfact.info.



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Pumpkin Pie One Tasty Tradition

  • Filed under: Recipes
Wednesday
Jan 20,2010
Sandra Canfield asked:




The smell of homemade pumpkin pie conjures images of family and celebration, gently seasoned with love, comfort and good cheer. It is the ubiquitous dessert of fall and harvest. Whether served warm or cold, home crust or pre-made, pumpkin pie completes a hearty, fall meal.

Many cooks are afraid to try homemade pie crust recipes, but really, they are quite simple. The most important thing to consider is your liquid and the actual heat of your oven. It is a good idea to keep a thermometer in your oven so you can monitor how hot you are actually cooking. Below is one of the simplest pie crust recipes:

Makes: 1 9-inch (4-cup volume)

1 cup all-purpose flour (Unbleached flour is great)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup vegetable shortening or margarine

2 – 3 tablespoons cold water (cold is very important).

Combine flour and salt in a medium bowl; cut in vegetable shortening until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle with water a little at a time until just moist; blend until mixture holds together. Do not over mix or your crust will not be flaky.

Next, shape the dough into a ball; place on a lightly floured surface. Roll out to 1/8-inch thickness and line pie plate with crust. Trim the edges leaving a 1-inch overhang to fold under and crimp.

If you are making two pies, double all above ingredients, follow the recipe above but divide the dough in half.

To make a truly delicious pumpkin pie, make the batter ahead, if you need a little extra time on the day of your big meal, but pour the batter into the pie shell just before baking. This will keep the crust crisp. Add a dusting of cinnamon or nutmeg to the top of your pie, but be careful as these are very potent spices. Be sure you follow the directions that say to begin with a high baking temperature, then reduce the heat part way through the baking. Failure to follow this step will result in a soggy, underdone crust.

Even a store-bought crust can be given a made-at-home flair by using interesting, decorative crust crimping. One of my favorites is to take pieces of left-over crust (after trimming) and fashion them into fall leave to decorate the edges or center of the pie.

There are a variety of pumpkin pie recipes and it is even possible to make a pumpkin pie using fresh pumpkin, however, canned pumpkin often yields more reliable results with less work. Following is a very easy recipe for you to follow:

Simple Pumpkin Pie

8 servings

Ingredients

3/4 cup granulated sugar (you can substitute ½ cup sugar + ¼ cup brown sugar for a deeper flavor)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 large eggs

1 can (15 ounces) packed (canned) pumpkin

1 can (12 fluid ounces) evaporated milk

1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shell

Whipped cream or dessert topping.

1. Combine sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs in a separate bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Slowly stir in evaporated milk.

2. Pour mixture into prepared pie shell in pan.

Bake in preheated 425F oven 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350F; bake 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean.

3. Cool on wire rack 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate. Top with whipped cream before serving.

It is possible to substitute 1 ¼ teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice for the spices, but the taste is not quite the same.

If you choose to prepare homemade whipped cream (and you should), simply whip one small container of heavy whipping cream with ¼ cup of sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla until firm. If you like, you can even add a dash of cinnamon to your whipped cream for an extra special flavor. Vanilla and whole bean vanilla ice cream is also delicious with a freshly baked pumpkin pie.



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Tuesday
Jan 19,2010
Victoria Cochrane asked:




With their origins in the taper leg styled pants of fifties heart throbs such as Roy Rogers and Marilyn Monroe, skinny jeans are undoubtedly still imbued with a little of the rebellious glamour that typified such stars – especially as the style became inexorably linked with the birth of rock and roll when Elvis Presley adopted the style to the delight of swooning teenage girls everywhere.

Between country musicians and the new proponents or rock, a bad boy image was born and skinny jeans were the trousers of choice for these new stars. The image remains today, and despite some periods of time when the style fell out of favour, skinny jeans have always had a niche role in the fashion stakes with skinny jeans showing their musical roots at every turn.

Perhaps the toughest period for skinny jean lovers was in the late sixties, when flares where adopted by hippies and the wider the trouser leg the better the opinion of the jeans. However, the seventies brought a new wave of popularity for drainpipes and glam rock and rockabilly bands breathed new life into the fifties Teddy Boy look and skinny jeans were brought to the forefront again. The seventies also saw the punk scene adopt the figure hugging jeans and customising them to fit their wild and do-it-yourself aesthetic.

But the versatile nature of the skinny jean ensured that the style wasn’t pigeonholed and in the eighties many heavy metal bands also turned to these denim wonders to satisfy their desire to avoid the spandex popular elsewhere in the industry. While the grunge movement drew a number of music fans towards a trend for baggier jeans, the skinny ones remain the favourites of die-hard fans who were again rewarded with a resurgence in the noughties.

A fresh buzz was injected into the tight denim trousers in the UK in the early 2000s when bands such as The Strokes, and later The Libertines, chose them as their jeans of choice while supermodel Kate Moss is often credited with reintroducing the style to women.

Skinnies then made their way into more mainstream fashion and indie pop, while still retaining a niche core of fans within sub-culture genres such as emo, metal and post-punk. The new popularity of the tight trousers slowly made its way across to the US and with scenesters and indie rockers also claiming the style as their own, skinny jeans have become a must have item for anyone hoping to inject a little rock and rock into their wardrobe.



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