Dear readers,
Please read on my testimony. Hope it can be an encouragement to all of you.
After completing Form 6 in 2011, I had the desire to pursue my degree. I applied to various universities and one of them was Monash University Malaysia. Entry into Monash University is very competitive and challenging due to the procedures that need to be followed as it is also one of the most prestigious universities in the world.
I had to sit for an English test called “International English Language Testing System (IELTS) to ensure that I meet the average requirement for entry into Monash University. As this was my first time sitting for this test, I was filled with nervousness and lacked confidence. At times, I would burst into tears as I prepared or studied for the exam. However, I was determined to study harder in order to achieve the required band scores. I worked very diligently for this particular test. Taking the IELTS had been unfortunately, a harrowing experience for me due to repeated technical errors by Cambridge where my test was postponed for a month when the requested Braille exam question papers did not arrive and later, a mismatch in the question and answer sheet for the listening test which required me to once again, have the exam postponed.
I was supposed to undergo a degree program in Arts and Social Sciences for the February, 2013 intake. However, my application was being rejected because the one of the components in my IELTS results did not meet the Monash requirement for the entry into the course (requirement of at least 6 for each component). I had scored 5.5 for the reading component. However, my average band score was 6.5 and the average band score had met the Monash requirement. Therefore, I was advised by the Prospective Student Office to undergo the English Language Bridging Program (ELBP) in March 2013. The program lasted for 15 weeks and I had learned more about academic skills such as referencing style and essay writing. I managed to pass ELBP and managed to pursue my degree in Bachelor of Arts (Social Sciences) majoring in communications and minoring in psychology In July 2013.
I was awarded a scholarship from Shell for the degree program. I was the only visually impaired (blind) student in the whole of Monash University Malaysia. As a visually impaired student, I had to put in more effort and time in studies than the sighted. I normally had to record the lectures and tutorial sessions in order for me to re-listen when I got back to the residence. Also, since I relied on a screen reader called Job Access with Speech (JAWS), I had to listen attentively to what the software was reading. Therefore, speed reading, or scheming and scanning texts would not be possible. Going through the first semester had been a harrowing experience for me for about 7 weeks out of the 12 weeks of the semester due to some technical issues. I had difficulty reading pdf version of the lecture notes using the JAWS software as the pdf documents contained images and it took a long time for the Student Welfare to convert them into readable formats. I also had difficulties accessing the Monash library databases and finding journal articles for my assignments due to the interface of the webpage unsuitable for screen reader users.
Furthermore, when communicating with the lecturers, they were slow to respond. As for the introductory psychology unit, I was required to read two textbooks. I went through hard time getting the softcopy accessible textbooks after liaising with Australia and only managed to get them on weeks 7 and 8. Also, most of the assignments were very tough and I was not given extensions for certain assignments. Therefore, I would feel very stressful and burst into tears at times and found my first semester experiences frustrating.
Despite all those challenges, I remained patient and persevere in realizing my dream a successful one, unhampered by the physical constraint of blindness. I stayed in the Sunway Monash Residence when I did my degree in Monash University. Every semester, I needed support to bring me to classes and places I desired to go, as well as help with other practical needs. I struggled to search for help for the first few semesters. I had been looking from all sources to get help such as the Monash Confession group as well as the Sunway Monash Residence group on Facebook, as the university was not able and not ready to provide help for me in terms of practical needs. As I’m completely blind, I need a lot of support and assistance as there are things that I am unable to do by myself.
As the semester went by, things became easier at times and I was blessed with many supportive friends, especially during my final year. However, due to the heavy workload and difficulty to adapt to university life at the initial stage, I often felt homesick. I often fell sick physically during my university days. At one point, I fell sick almost every month. However, I thanked God for healing me and giving me strength to go through challenges and able to persevere during trials.
In semester 1 2015 which was from March-June, I took an intermission (break) as semester 2 2014 was challenging due to inability to cope with visual study of one of the communications units and a psychology unit. For the particular communications unit, I was required to watch a movie each week and write analysis or assignments. As for the particular psychology unit, the SPSS software used to research on statistics was not suitable for my JAWS software as the software was in image form. I cried really badly almost every week during that semester which led me to decide to take an intermission in semester 1 2015.
I made this decision so that I could recover emotionally as well as mentally. During the break, I worked part-time at Sarawak Society for the Blind, Kuching, teaching basic ICT, Braille and basic English lesson. I also tried another course at Open University, Kuching as I would like to try out online distance learning course.
However, I decided to continue my second year second sem in July 2015 at Monash. During my final year of studies, I often took time to do my revision and assignments in the library. I am really thankful to my friends who took turn to bring me to the library at 8am and walked me back to my residence in the evenings every weekday. I am also thankful to God for a very supportive lecturer, Dr Nicholas Chan. Dr Nicholas obtained his PHD from Oxford University and has been teaching me International Relations since mid of 2016. He is a unique lecturer and the only lecturer who had been very supportive of my needs (including personal needs). He used to walk me back to my residence, Sunway Monash Residence, to or fro classes or the library at least once or twice a week, if not trice a week at times. He would go the extra miles to help me, apart from studies. He would give me a listening ear even when I faced personal challenges. I am really thankful to Dr Nicholas for being so patiently taking care of me for three semesters, for his kindness and understanding as well as being very sensitive to my needs. I’m also thankful to him for constantly amending his lecture slides which contain images to words for me, and typing out assessment comments in MS Word so that my computer software is able to read to me.
All these, my other lecturers had never provided for me and I always had to rely on friends to read to me. I was really blessed to have such a kind and caring lecturer. I have never met such lecturer previously. I had the opportunity to study one of the Business Units as an elective during my final semester and an Australian exchange student was assigned to explain and type out images to Ms Word in the library to ease my studies.
I am also thankful to my other friends for accompanying me for walks to relief myself after hours of studying and thankful to them for bringing me out for meals. I also had numerous unpleasant experiences such as I was mistreated by one of the university counselors, the librarian staff and some students, as well as serious laptop issue which required me to send the laptop for repair a few times.
However, all these challenges had actually taught me to be stronger, wiser and more determined to face the long road ahead of me. Monash has given me good and bad memories and I really appreciate whatever experiences I faced throughout my journey. Truly, the journey of four and half years was not easy for me, but with God’s guidance and my perseverance, all my efforts and hard work have been worthwhile. Even with my disability, I had been determined to achieve my goal of finally being able to graduate from one of the most well-established universities. Praise the Lord for my determination to study though I had to go through much difficulties and challenges.
Finally, I would like to leave you all with this quote by Albert Einstein “I have tried and have failed 99 times, but on the 100th times came success."
I would like to continue to be an inspiration and encourager to others! I want to keep up the positive mindset instead of allowing negativity to take control of me! Thank you everyone for reading this.
Friday, April 06, 2018
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
My Journey and Experiences in Monash University
Dear readers,
Please read on my testimony. Hope it can be an encouragement to all of you.
After completing Form 6 in 2011, I had the desire to pursue my degree. I applied to various universities and one of them was Monash University Malaysia. Entry into Monash University is very competitive and challenging due to the procedures that need to be followed as it is also one of the most prestigious universities in the world. I had to sit for an English test called “International English Language Testing System (IELTS) to ensure that I meet the average requirement for entry into Monash University. As this was my first time sitting for this test, I was filled with nervousness and lacked confidence. At times, I would burst into tears as I prepared or studied for the exam. However, I was determined to study harder in order to achieve the required band scores. I worked very diligently for this particular test.
Taking the IELTS had been unfortunately, a harrowing experience for me due to repeated technical errors by Cambridge where my test was postponed for a month when the requested Braille exam question papers did not arrive and later, a mismatch in the question and answer sheet for the listening test which required me to once again, have the exam postponed. I was supposed to undergo a degree program in Arts and Social Sciences for the February, 2013 intake. However, my application was being rejected because the one of the components in my IELTS results did not meet the Monash requirement for the entry into the course (requirement of at least 6 for each component). I had scored 5.5 for the reading component. However, my average band score was 6.5 and the average band score had met the Monash requirement. Therefore, I was advised by the Prospective Student Office to undergo the English Language Bridging Program (ELBP) in March 2013. The program lasted for 15 weeks and I had learned more about academic skills such as referencing style and essay writing.
I managed to pass ELBP and managed to pursue my degree in Bachelor of Arts (Social Sciences) majoring in communications and minoring in psychology In July 2013. I was awarded a scholarship from Shell for the degree program. I was the only visually impaired (blind) student in the whole of Monash University Malaysia. As a visually impaired student, I had to put in more effort and time in studies than the sighted. I normally had to record the lectures and tutorial sessions in order for me to re-listen when I got back to the residence. Also, since I relied on a screen reader called Job Access with Speech (JAWS), I had to listen attentively to what the software was reading. Therefore, speed reading, or scheming and scanning texts would not be possible.
Going through the first semester had been a harrowing experience for me for about 7 weeks out of the 12 weeks of the semester due to some technical issues. I had difficulty reading pdf version of the lecture notes using the JAWS software as the pdf documents contained images and it took a long time for the Student Welfare to convert them into readable formats. I also had difficulties accessing the Monash library databases and finding journal articles for my assignments due to the interface of the webpage unsuitable for screen reader users. Furthermore, when communicating with the lecturers, they were slow to respond. As for the introductory psychology unit, I was required to read two textbooks. I went through hard time getting the softcopy accessible textbooks after liaising with Australia and only managed to get them on weeks 7 and 8. Also, most of the assignments were very tough and I was not given extensions for certain assignments. Therefore, I would feel very stressful and burst into tears at times and found my first semester experiences frustrating. Despite all those challenges, I remained patient and persevere in realizing my dream a successful one, unhampered by the physical constraint of blindness.
I stayed in the Sunway Monash Residence when I did my degree in Monash University. Every semester, I needed support to bring me to classes and places I desired to go, as well as help with other practical needs. I struggled to search for help for the first few semesters. I had been looking from all sources to get help such as the Monash Confession group as well as the Sunway Monash Residence group on Facebook, as the university was not able and not ready to provide help for me in terms of practical needs. As I’m completely blind, I need a lot of support and assistance as there are things that I am unable to do by myself.
As the semester went by, things became easier at times and I was blessed with many supportive friends, especially during my final year. However, due to the heavy workload and difficulty to adapt to university life at the initial stage, I often felt homesick. I often fell sick physically during my university days. At one point, I fell sick almost every month. However, I thanked God for healing me and giving me strength to go through challenges and able to persevere during trials.
In semester 1 2015 which was from March-June, I took an intermission (break) as semester 2 2014 was challenging due to inability to cope with visual study of one of the communications units and a psychology unit. For the particular communications unit, I was required to watch a movie each week and write analysis or assignments. As for the particular psychology unit, the SPSS software used to research on statistics was not suitable for my JAWS software as the software was in image form. I cried really badly almost every week during that semester which led me to decide to take an intermission in semester 1 2015. I made this decision so that I could recover emotionally as well as mentally.
During the break, I worked part-time at Sarawak Society for the Blind, Kuching, teaching basic ICT, Braille and basic English lesson. I also tried another course at Open University, Kuching as I would like to try out online distance learning course. However, I decided to continue my second year second sem in July 2015 at Monash.
During my final year of studies, I often took time to do my revision and assignments in the library. I am really thankful to my friends who took turn to bring me to the library at 8am and walked me back to my residence in the evenings every weekday. I am also thankful to God for a very supportive lecturer, Dr Nicholas Chan. Dr Nicholas obtained his PHD from Oxford University and has been teaching me International Relations since mid of 2016. He is a unique lecturer and the only lecturer who had been very supportive of my needs (including personal needs). He used to walk me back to my residence, Sunway Monash Residence, to or fro classes or the library at least once or twice a week, if not trice a week at times. He would go the extra miles to help me, apart from studies. He would give me a listening ear even when I faced personal challenges. I am really thankful to Dr Nicholas for being so patiently taking care of me for three semesters, for his kindness and understanding as well as being very sensitive to my needs. I’m also thankful to him for constantly amending his lecture slides which contain images to words for me, and typing out assessment comments in MS Word so that my computer software is able to read to me. All these, my other lecturers had never provided for me and I always had to rely on friends to read to me. I was really blessed to have such a kind and caring lecturer. I have never met such lecturer previously.
I had the opportunity to study one of the Business Units as an elective during my final semester and an Australian exchange student was assigned to explain and type out images to Ms Word in the library to ease my studies.
I am also thankful to my other friends for accompanying me for walks to relief myself after hours of studying and thankful to them for bringing me out for meals.
I also had numerous unpleasant experiences such as I was mistreated by one of the university counselors, the librarian staff and some students, as well as serious laptop issue which required me to send the laptop for repair a few times. However, all these challenges had actually taught me to be stronger, wiser and more determined to face the long road ahead of me. Monash has given me good and bad memories and I really appreciate whatever experiences I faced throughout my journey. Truly, the journey of four and half years was not easy for me, but with God’s guidance and my perseverance, all my efforts and hard work have been worthwhile. Even with my disability, I had been determined to achieve my goal of finally being able to graduate from one of the most well-established universities. Praise the Lord for my determination to study though I had to go through much difficulties and challenges.
Finally, I would like to leave you all with this quote by Albert Einstein “I have tried and have failed 99 times, but on the 100th times came success." I would like to continue to be an inspiration and encourager to others! I want to keep up the positive mindset instead of allowing negativity to take control of me!
Thank you everyone for reading this.
What is Management
Dear readers,
One of my notes for Management unit. Please read on:
• Definition of management: involves coordinating and overseeing work activities of others to achieve efficiency and effectiveness so work activities can be completed effectively and efficiently (Robbins & Coulter, 2014).
• Effectiveness = goals = doing the right things.
• Efficiency = getting the most output from the least amount of input = doing things right.
• Effectiveness and efficiency are related.
• Management strives for low resource waste and high goal achievement.
• Organisation is a group of people who work together to achieve a common purpose which provides goods/services to value society to satisfy customer needs.
Management as an integrating activity: integrated behavior on influences in work organisation. Individuals: personality, work and attribution, values, needs and expectation.
Groups: Structure and function, informal organisation, role relationship, group influence and pressure. Organisation: objectives, policy, technology and method of work, leadership style.
Environment: technical, scientific, social, economic, cultural and gov.
• Management levels: for typical business, people of top managers are board of directors, Chief Executive Director (CEO), Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer, president, vice president. These top managers comprises of executive team who reports to the board and responsible for performance of an organisation. Top managers make sure strategies are set and purpose and mission of organisation are achieved as well as pay attention to external environment and be alert to potential long-run problem and opportunities.
• People of middle managers include clinic directors in hospitals, deans in universities, division managers, plant managers and regional sales managers in businesses. The jobs of middle managers include working with top managers, coordinating with peers and providing support to lower managers to build and pursue action plans that implement organizational strategies to achieve main objectives.
• First-line managers/lower level managers people include department head, team leader and supervisor. Responsible for work that makes direct contribution to org output. For instance, retail manager, president and department supervisors of a local department stores all have line responsibilities.
• For typical non-profit, top managers are board of trustees, executive director, president administrator, vice president. For middle managers, they are division, regional and branch managers. For first-line managers, they are same as typical business.
• According to Henry Minzberg, manager is the most important job to society as they determine whether social institutions serve people well or vice versa.
• Organisation as an iceberg.
• Functions of management: Proposed by Henry Fayol. 4 functions: planning, organising, leading, controlling.
• Planning is the ability to set performance objectives and decide how to achieve them. Henry Fayol mentioned that planning is looking ahead to the future and drawing up a good plan of action is the most difficult task among the four functions of management as this requires an active participation of an organisation as a whole. With respect to time and implementation, planning must be linked to and coordinated on different levels. It must take organisation’s resource availability and flexibility of employees into consideration as this will ensure continuity. For example, if managers of an organisations would like to carry out a project, they must all come together to discuss on the plan of actions which will be time-consuming. Top managers such as the board directors must liaise with middle managers and first-line managers to divide the tasks to save time and ensure organisations run smoothly. Another example from the Mullins textbook for planning is that once upon a time, there was top management of Ernst & Young became concerned with the firm’s retention of female professionals. A Diversity Task Force was launched by Laskawy with the planning objective to decrease turnover rate for females.
• Organising/coordinating is the ability to arrange task, people and other resources to accomplish the work. An org must be well-organised in order to function well. This means that there must be sufficient capital, staff and raw materials to ensure organisation runs smoothly and develop a good working structure. An organisational structure with good division of functions and tasks is of crucial importance. When the amount of functions rises, the org will expand horizontally and vertically respectively. This requires a different type of leadership. Organising is also a significant function of the four functions of management. For instance, top managers must ensure that their middle managers an lower-level managers are capable to arrange tasks, allocate people to complete different tasks and allocate different resources of inputs to produce an output. This is an effective organising function. When every activity is harmonised, the organisation will function better. Positive influencing of employees’ behaviour is important for this. Coordination therefore aims at stimulating motivation and discipline within the group dynamics. Only through positive employee behaviour management can the intended objectives be achieved.
• Leading is the ability to inspire people to work hard to achieve high performance. Leading is also known as commanding. A leader, for example, must inspire the follower to work hard in the job that the follower is doing by showing a good example of his hard work and good attitude to his follower. When leaders give orders and clear working instructions, employees will know exactly what is required of them. Return from every employee will be optimised if they are given concrete instructions with respect to the activities that must be carried out by them. Successful managers have integrity, communicate clearly and base their decisions on regular audits. They are capable of motivating a team and encouraging employees to take initiative.
• Controlling is the ability to measure performance and take action to achieve desire outcomes. By verifying whether everything is going according to plan, the org knows exactly whether the activities are carried out in conformity with the plan. Control takes place in a four-step process. Firstly, it begins with the establishment of performance standards based on organisational objectives. Secondly, it measures and reports on actual performance. Thirdly, it compares results with performance and standards and fourthly, controlling takes corrective or preventive measures as needed.
• Managerial roles introduced by Henry Minzberg. Henry Minzberg proposed three roles which can be divided into 10 subroles. First role is informational role which is more prevalent in the middle level managers. The subroles under informational role are monitor, disseminator and spokesperson (MDS). The job of monitor is to seek and receive info, scan web periodicals, reports and maintain personal contacts. The job of a disseminator is to forward info to other organisational members, send memos and reports as well as make phone calls. The job of a spokesperson is to transmit infor to outsiders through speeches and reports.
• Interpersonal role is more prevalent at the top level management. People who perform interpersonal roles are figurehead, leader and liaison (FLL). The job of a figurehead is to perform ceremonial and symbolic duties such as greeting visitors and sign legal documents. The job of a leader is to direct and motivate subordinates, provide training and counseling to subordinates and communicate with subordinates. The duties of a liaison is to maintain info links inside and outside orgs, use emails, phones and meetings.
• Lastly, is decisional roles and people who use this role are resource allocator, disturbance handler, entrepreneur and negotiator (RA, DH, E, N). Decisional role is more prevalent at the lower level management position. The jobs of a resource allocator is to decide who gets resources, schedule, budget and set priorities. The duties of disturbance handler is to take corrective action during conflicts/crises and resolve disputes among subordinates. Entrepreneur initiates improvement projects, identify new ideas and delegate idea responsibility to others. Negotiator represents team/department interests and represents department during budget negotiation and purchase of unit contracts.
• Katz’s essential managerial skills. 3 skills. Conceptual, human and technical skills. Conceptual skill is the ability to tghink analytically to achieve integrative problem solving. This skill is more important at the top level management. For example, president requires conceptual skill to come up with solutions when conducting meetings or projects. President plays a significant role in determining whether the project being planned is successful.
• Human skill is the ability to work well in cooperation with others or called “emotional intelligence”. This skill is equally important for every top managerial level. Every field requires good human skill
• Technical skill is the ability to apply expertise and perform a special task with proficiency. This skill is more important at the lower level management position. For instance, when IT head of department desires to solve any hardware issue of the computer, it requires the ability to apply expertise and extraordinary task. This may be difficult tasks that need cooperation among team leaders, supervisors and all the departments of IT company.
• Changing nature of org and managerial work. Can be seen in structural changes. From rigid bureaucratic structures to flexible and respond to uncertain business environment. Use bottom-up approach in decision-making to be more responsive to market demands. Org culture that supports creativity and autonomy. In terms of changes in managerial work, it emphasises on more proactive and creative aspects of managerial roles, dynamic view of manager’s role in value creation which is context dependent rather than static view of what managers do which is based on their position or title. Key managerial processes in exercising judgment and the use of influence.
• Duties of top managers are to make sure org’s mission and strategies clear. Top managers support team leaders and managers by helping with the operating workers do their jobs and solve problems. Team leaders and managers support frontline operating workers who work directly by affecting customer/client satisfaction. Frontline operating customers serve customers and clients who are the ultimate beneficiaries of orgs efforts.
• Contemporary issues of management. There are 6 issues. Talent: People and their talents are the ultimate foundations of organisational performance. Technology: Leveraging on technology in work arrangements, operation management, customer service, etc. Globalisation: the worldwide interdependence of resource flows, product markets and business competition that characterise our economy. Ethics: preserving ethical leadership and integrity at all levels, social responsibility and sustainability. Diversity: workforce diversity reflects differences with respect to gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, presenting opportunities and challenges. Careers: emergence of free-agent economy where people change jobs more often and work on flexible contracts. The need of self-management in own careers.
Organisations can be distinguished by their nature and type, goods/services, size, aim and objectives and the people who work within in organisation. Common classification of organisation is major purpose –business –public sector –social enterprise –religious orgs –politics –education –voluntary and community services.
The Rohingya Refugee Crisis in Southeast Asia
Dear readers,
This is one of my assignments for Global Studies unit which I took in Monash.
Please read on:
The issue of refugee is prevalent in Malaysia. The Rohingyas are an ethnic minority who escaped to Bangladesh and Malaysia in the beginning of 1990s (Cheung, 2011). The term “Rohingya” is most commonly refer to Muslims who come from Northern Rakhine State which was once known as Arakan in Myanmar who structured a racial, lexical and an outnumbered groups of religious people who had been subjected to various times of affliction and were forced to displacement (Cheung, 2011). These historical displacement phases which began with the Burmese attack of Arakan and Arakanese’s banishment in 1784 and later superseded by arrival and armed trial in the age of British colonial from 1824 to 1948 as well as additional dislocation after independence. This has led to the argument for the Myanmar government to describe Rohingya as illegal immigrants and it is compulsory for them to leave the country on some occasions. Myanmar was once called “Burma” and today Myanmar is perceived as being at the stage of democracy, the latest Eldorado with Western contributions and visitors filling in the previous hermit kingdom (Singh, 2014). According to Ullah (2016), the term “Rohingya” is also a historical name for the Muslim Arakanese. The ancient name for Rakhine State was Rohang from which the concept of Rohingya was adopted and presently, the word “Rohingya” has become governmentally assessed (Ullah, 2016). This position paper will mostly take on the supporting viewpoints of why the Malaysian government should allow Rohingya refugees to stay in our country due to human rights as well as religious and moral aspects despite of the challenges Malaysia is facing when taking in boat people.
Firstly, the reason why Malaysia should care for the Rohingyas is because they have been in Malaysia for awhile (Daniel, 2016). As human beings, we need to care for one another especially the Rohingya refugees who have taken the efffort to spend large sums of money to come to Malaysia. They are seeking for protection from war which might endanger their lives and they have come so far. The Rohingyas are humans too. Therefore, as citizens of Malaysia, I strongly encourage Malaysia to take them in since we want to be a caring and loving society. This also determines our moral conducts as we empathise the Rohingyas and religions teach us to do good too. Rohingyas are an apparent and important part of undocumented immigrants in Malaysia (Daniel, 2016). They live in Malaysia with wider communities in and in the area of Kuala Lumpur as well as in other states such as Johor, Kedah, Penang, Kelantan and Terengganu. Majority of the Rohingyas have been in Malaysia for years and generations and are able to converse well in the national language and familiar with Malaysian cultures (Daniel, 2016). Figures from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) show there are at least 40,000 Rohingyas in Malaysia (Daniel, 2016). A rise in figure are families who ran away to escape from cruelty in Rakhine state. A 2014 report revealed that almost a quarter of Rohingyas in Malaysia are children and there are thousands more that the UNHCR, local aid organisations and governments have no information about (Daniel, 2016). Those Rohingyas play a role in Malaysia’s unofficial economy that relies profoundly on inexpensive job industry that communities avoid. Majority of females and children beg at walkways and traffic lights.
The second reason why Malaysia should accept Rohingyas is there will be more of them likely coming to settle in this country (Daniel, 2016). For majority of boat people escaping for economic or political reasons, Malaysia is a preferred place for both short and long period of times for settlement. Malaysia is so far a peaceful and harmonious country and most of the Rohingyas find our country a comfortable place to stay. Thus, not many of the Rohingyas have decided to resettle in the West. There are numerous reasons for this such as Malaysia is quite nearby, the people are friendly, Malaysia is a rich country with many resources, Malaysia’s reliance on inexpensive labour, having the company of families and societies and a trust that they would be accepted as fellow Muslims and able to consolidate with each other well (Daniel, 2016). Most of the approximate two million Rohingyas in Bangladesh and Myanmar who suffer outrageous situations are ready to endanger their lives to arrive Malaysia. They are not keen to proceed or stay anywhere else in the region. As neighbouring countries understand this issue, they have been taking the initiative to assist on boats bound for Malaysia, not desiring to deal with the duties and amount of detaining them. Malaysia provides at least some small chances for Rohingya immigrants (Buckley, 2015). Refugees from Myanmar who have arrived in Malaysia find life better than the affliction and marginalisation they escaped from. Determining by the difficulties the previous refugees face, it will be complicated for the recent wave to either set up a safe ledge or to obtain migration in another place (Buckley, 2015). According to Mohammed Noor, the managing director of Rohingya Vision Television, an online news service based in Kuala Lumpur, “From a country, we have become stateless, and as refugees, we have become stateless again.” “We’re a floating people now, floating everywhere without any hope, without any papers.” (Buckley, 2015).
Thirdly, caring for and determining the answer to the dilemma of Rohingyas is the correct actions to do (Daniel, 2016). The wickedness and dislocation are not occurring in a far corner of the world. This is occurring in our backyard and their affliction and shift are a sensitive, hurting physically as well as confusing point for Asean particularly as it shows progress onwards as a community. Thus far, it seems that not much is done. Even usage of the concept Rohingya is disputed in formal meetings. As an establishing nation and accountable Asean representative, Malaysians ought to be conscious of main social, political and economic matters striking other Asean members, particularly with such dimensions of humanitarian. Each individual should be aware that this is not Malaysia’s first post-independence experience with the groups’ coming of undocumented refugees. For the previous 40 years, Malaysia has become a place for refugees to look for either short-term or long-term shelter even though it is not a celebration to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol. Malaysia has worked with other countries to seek political solution at the beginning of the refugee issue. Rohingyas who came from Southern Philippines have stayed in Sabah which has contributed to the complicated racial, religious, governmental, communal, financial as well as safety condition. Malaysia as a nation is experiencing the course of nation development and regulating the relationships between ethnicity and religion. The flow of the recent racial particularly in large figures will have important and enduring economic, political, social, cultural and security impacts to Malaysia’s future make-up (Daniel, 2016).
This essay will not be complete without explaining the opposing view of the argument, which is the negative side of taking in the Rohingyas. Opposing views claim that Malaysia is unwilling to receive more Rohingyas due to crisis that deteriorates (Al Jazeera, 2015). Malaysia has been persistent in rejecting more immigrants who are abandoned on boats off Southeast Asia’s shores regardless of increasing international tension. The Southeast Asian nation was in prominent communications with its neighbours to rectify the refugee dilemma subsequently boats holding more than 2,000 immigrants, including majority Rohingya Muslims and Bangladeshis who arrived in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand (Al Jazeera, 2015). According to Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman, Malaysia does not have enough financial support to receive more refugees as many of them has been staying here and other countries are not willing to accept them (Al Jazeera, 2015). Aman also stated that we have to see our challenges such as social and safety problems and take into account to rectify the problems and has further requested for Myanmar to take part to come up with a solution (Al Jazeera, 2015). The UN has urged Southeast Asian nations to respect global laws during an increasing humanitarian pressure (the guardian, 2015). According to Malaysian deputy home minister Wan Junaidi Jafaar, Malaysians have been treating those refugees well with humanity but we cannot accept more and we have to transmit the correct message that they are not received here (the guardian, 2015). Thailand Prime Minister also mentioned that the government does not have resources to support refugees and if they are allowed to come, all the refugees will be free to come to Thailand and it is not fair for the residents (the guardian, 2015).
Furthermore, the Rohingya refugee crisis also causes domestic problems for Malaysia as the rising presence of them may deteriorate the economic, political and social challenges related to illegal migrants in Malaysia (Xiong, 2015). The Home Affairs Ministry has revealed that health and safety issues could increase as a consequence.
In conclusion, I strongly support the view that Malaysia should take in more Rohingyas given the reasons that has been explained. It is true that there are challenges when the government take this action. However, those challenges can be resolved if the government is willing to work cooperatively with the public. Refugees have their rights too and we need to understand the challenges they are going through.
(Word count: 1545)
Tuesday, March 20, 2018
Testing
Dear readers,
After a few years I have not been writing, I am finally back! Apologies for not writing for such a very long time as I was occupied with my uni life, studies, hanging out with friends, etc.
Also, another reason for not writing is due to the interface/design of blogger that does not match with screen readers such as JAWS and NVDA, hence making it difficult for visually-impaired blog writers to update/edit posts.
Here, I'm just testing whether this message will be successfully published. If so, I'll continue writing again soon.
Hopefully it works.
Thank you!
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Monday, February 13, 2012
The dignity of old age
This is about a man who tells how his booking an air ticket for his father, his first flight, brought emotions and
made him realize that how much we all take for granted when it comes to our parents.
My parents left for our native place on Thursday and we went to the airport to see them off. In fact, my father
had never traveled by air before, so I just took this opportunity to make him experience the same. In spite of
being asked to book tickets by train, I got them tickets on Lufthansa.
The moment I handed over the tickets to him, he was surprised to see that I had booked them by air.
The excitement was very apparent on his face, waiting for the time of travel. Just like a school boy, he was
preparing himself on that day and we all went to the airport, right from using the trolley for his luggage, the
baggage check-in and asking for window seat and waiting restlessly for the security check-in to happen.
He was thoroughly enjoying himself and I, too, was overcome with joy watching him experience all these things.
As they were about to go in for the security check-in, he walked up to me with tears in his eyes and thanked me.
He became very emotional and it was not as if I had done something great but the fact that this meant a great
deal to him. When he said thanks, I told him there was no need to thank me.
But later, thinking about the entire incident, I looked back at my life. As a child how many dreams our parents
have made come true. Without understanding the financial situation, we ask for football, dresses, toys, outings, etc.
Irrespective of their affordability, they have satisfied to all our needs. Did we ever think about the sacrifices they
had to make to accommodate many of our wishes? Did we ever say thanks for all that they have done for us?
Same way, today, when it comes to our children, we always think that we should put them in a good school.
Regardless of the amount of donation, we will ensure that we will have to give the child the best, theme parks,
toys, etc. But we tend to forget that our parents have sacrificed a lot for our sake to see us happy, so it is our
responsibility to ensure that their dreams are realized and what they failed to see when they were young,
it is our responsibility to ensure that they experience all those and their life is complete.
Many times, when my parents had asked me some questions, I have actually answered back without patience.
When my daughter asks me something, I have been very polite in answering. Now I realize how they would
have felt at those moments.
Let us realize that old age is a second childhood and just as we take care of our children, the same attention
and same care need to be given to our parents and elders.
Rather than my dad saying thank you to me, I would want to say sorry for making him wait so long for this
small dream. I do realize how much he has sacrificed for my sake and I will do my best to give the best possible
attention to all their wishes. Just because they are old does not mean that they will have to give up everything
and keep sacrificing for their grandchildren also. They have wishes, too.
Take care of our parents. Don't take them for granted and make them feel small and unwanted in their old age.
They too have feelings, dreams, hope, aspirations, wishes (and many broken/shattered ones) too while
sacrificing them to give us our needs and our wants.
made him realize that how much we all take for granted when it comes to our parents.
My parents left for our native place on Thursday and we went to the airport to see them off. In fact, my father
had never traveled by air before, so I just took this opportunity to make him experience the same. In spite of
being asked to book tickets by train, I got them tickets on Lufthansa.
The moment I handed over the tickets to him, he was surprised to see that I had booked them by air.
The excitement was very apparent on his face, waiting for the time of travel. Just like a school boy, he was
preparing himself on that day and we all went to the airport, right from using the trolley for his luggage, the
baggage check-in and asking for window seat and waiting restlessly for the security check-in to happen.
He was thoroughly enjoying himself and I, too, was overcome with joy watching him experience all these things.
As they were about to go in for the security check-in, he walked up to me with tears in his eyes and thanked me.
He became very emotional and it was not as if I had done something great but the fact that this meant a great
deal to him. When he said thanks, I told him there was no need to thank me.
But later, thinking about the entire incident, I looked back at my life. As a child how many dreams our parents
have made come true. Without understanding the financial situation, we ask for football, dresses, toys, outings, etc.
Irrespective of their affordability, they have satisfied to all our needs. Did we ever think about the sacrifices they
had to make to accommodate many of our wishes? Did we ever say thanks for all that they have done for us?
Same way, today, when it comes to our children, we always think that we should put them in a good school.
Regardless of the amount of donation, we will ensure that we will have to give the child the best, theme parks,
toys, etc. But we tend to forget that our parents have sacrificed a lot for our sake to see us happy, so it is our
responsibility to ensure that their dreams are realized and what they failed to see when they were young,
it is our responsibility to ensure that they experience all those and their life is complete.
Many times, when my parents had asked me some questions, I have actually answered back without patience.
When my daughter asks me something, I have been very polite in answering. Now I realize how they would
have felt at those moments.
Let us realize that old age is a second childhood and just as we take care of our children, the same attention
and same care need to be given to our parents and elders.
Rather than my dad saying thank you to me, I would want to say sorry for making him wait so long for this
small dream. I do realize how much he has sacrificed for my sake and I will do my best to give the best possible
attention to all their wishes. Just because they are old does not mean that they will have to give up everything
and keep sacrificing for their grandchildren also. They have wishes, too.
Take care of our parents. Don't take them for granted and make them feel small and unwanted in their old age.
They too have feelings, dreams, hope, aspirations, wishes (and many broken/shattered ones) too while
sacrificing them to give us our needs and our wants.
How to Tell When Someone is Lying
Watching body language in addition to what is spoken might just save you from being a victim of fraud, or it could help you figure out when somebody’s being genuine. The police do this during an interrogation.
You have to learn the little facial and body expressions that can help you distinguish a lie from the truth. Here are some steps and tips to do so.
Learn to recognize deflections. Usually when people are lying, they will tell stories that are true but are deliberately aimed at not answering the question you asked. If a person responds to the question “Did you ever hit your wife?” with an answer such as “I love my wife, why would I do that?”, the suspect is technically telling a truth, but they are avoiding answering your original question, which usually means they’re lying.
Mind exaggerated details. See if they are telling you too much, like “My mom is living in France, isn’t it nice there? Don’t you like the Eiffel tower? It’s so clean there.” Too many details may tip you off to their desperation to get you to believe them.
We have illustrators, and manipulators. Illustrators are a sign of telling the truth, this is when you are using your hand gestures to talk. moving your hands while you are talking is a sign of telling the truth. We also have manipulators. These, are the opposite of illustrators. An example of a manipulator can be playing with your wrist-watch, your jewelry, pulling on your ear lobe, etc. People who behave this way tend to be hiding something. The last, commonly unknown sign of hiding something is reptile tissue, most people have a reptile tissue in their nose, and it itches when you’re hiding something. But, before you assume that the person is hiding something, please establish a base line.
Base Line: A base line is what someone acts like when they are not lying. You have to get a base line before you proceed with anything. Imagine you have a itch on your nose ever since you got out of bed. And someone thinks you are hiding something because you scratch your nose when answering a question…oops. What the person should have done is establish a baseline. To establish a baseline, you need to see the person when they aren’t lying. Try asking what their name is, and what they do for a living.
Look out for micro-expressions. Micro-expressions are split second facial expressions that flash on a person’s face for a less than a 25th of a second and reveal the person’s true emotion underneath their facade. Some people may be naturally sensitive to them, but almost anybody can easily train to be able to detect microexpressions. Put focus to the upper and lower eyelids, the corner of the eyes, the mouth and the muscles surrounding the mouth, the eyebrows and forehead.
Shaking hands… When you meet the person who you think is deceiving you, shake their hand. Take note of the temperature. When you are sure they are lying to you, pretend to be leaving and quickly grab their hand for a “Good-Bye” Handshake. If the temperature is colder, they are fearful.
Notice the person’s eye movements. Contrary to popular belief, a liar does not always avoid eye contact. Humans naturally break eye contact and look at non-moving objects to help them focus and remember. Liars may deliberately make eye contact to seem more sincere. You can usually tell if a person is remembering something or making something up based on their eye’s movements. When someone is remembering details, their eyes move to the right (your right). When someone is making something up, their eyes move to the left. It’s usually reversed for lefties. (although not always true.)
Be aware of their emotional responses
Timing and duration tends to be off when someone is lying. If you ask someone a question and they respond directly after the question, there is a chance that the person is lying. This can be because they have rehearsed the answer, or they’re already thinking about the answer just to get it over with and move forward. A delayed answer can be a sign of lying. To tell the truth takes 2 parts of your brain at most, however to lie takes 6 parts of your brain. If the person has a long story then you can ask them to tell it backwards. Liars have trouble telling stories backwards, because in their mind they have rehearsed it forwards, but not backwards. And, as with smiling, facial expressions of a poor liar will be limited to the mouth area.
Pay close attention to the person’s reaction to your questions. A liar will often feel uncomfortable and turn their head or body away, or even subconsciously put an object between the two of you. Also, while an innocent person would go on the offensive (usually responding with anger, which will usually be revealed in a microexpression directly after you say you don’t believe them), a guilty person will often go immediately on the defensive (usually by saying something to reassure their facts, such as deflections).
Listen for a subtle delay in responses to questions. An honest answer comes quickly from memory. Lies require a quick mental review of what they have told others to avoid inconsistency and to make up new details as needed. However, when people look up to remember things, it does not necessarily mean that they are lying.
Be conscious of their usage of words. Verbal expression can give many clues as to whether a person is lying, such as:
Using/repeating your own exact words when answering a question
Not using contractions
Avoiding direct statements or answers (deflections)
Speaking excessively in an effort to convince
Speaking in a monotonous tone
Speaking in muddled sentences
Vocal pitch rising
Using classic qualifiers such as “I’m only going to say this once…”
Using humor and sarcasm to avoid the subject
Using Deflections (beating around the bush, not answering the question.)
Allow silence to enter the conversation.
If they’re lying, they will become uncomfortable if you stare at them for a while with a look of disbelief. If they’re telling the truth, they will usually become angry or just frustrated (lips pressed together, brows down, upper eyelid tensed and pulled down to glare).
Change the subject quickly. While an innocent person would be confused by the sudden shift in the conversation and may try to return to the previous subject, a liar will be relieved and welcome the change. You may see the person become more relaxed and less defensive.
Watch his or her throat. A person may constantly be either trying to lubricate their throat when he/she lies by swallowing or clearing their throat to relieve the tension built up. A person’s voice can also be a good lie indicator; they may suddenly start talking faster or slower than normal, or their tension may result in a higher-pitched speaking tone. See baseline info
Check the facts. If you have the means, check the validity of what the liar is saying. A skilled liar might give some reason why you shouldn’t talk to the person who could confirm or deny a story. Perhaps the liar will infer that the person is particularly favourable towards the liar, or that the person would have little time for you. These are probably lies themselves, so might be worthwhile overcoming your reluctance and to check with the person you’ve been warned against.
Judge the character. Most people tell the truth most of the time, and will cherish their reputation. Liars will ’sail close to the wind’ – they’ll artificially bolster their reputation so that they seem more credible or desirable than they actually are.
If you overhear a version of an anecdote that seems wrong, listen to those alarm bells – it might be a liar.
If someone takes the time out to ingratiate themselves with you out of the blue, it’s very flattering, but you have to ask, why are they doing that?
If John rubbishes or smears people more than normal, John is possibly putting in the groundwork so the audience are more receptive to John, and less receptive to the people who John has lied to – they’re discredited before they can say ‘John is a liar’.
Note -
Some people are extremely experienced or even professional liars. He or she has told their made up story so many times that they are actually believable, getting all their days, dates and times down perfectly! Sometimes, you may need to simply accept that you can’t catch every lie all the time.
If you do catch a lie, don’t reveal it to the liar; they will just adjust their story. Once you know one thing that is not true, you can use it to find more of the net of lies, and other nets of lies. Then decide which points you reveal and to whom
You have to learn the little facial and body expressions that can help you distinguish a lie from the truth. Here are some steps and tips to do so.
Learn to recognize deflections. Usually when people are lying, they will tell stories that are true but are deliberately aimed at not answering the question you asked. If a person responds to the question “Did you ever hit your wife?” with an answer such as “I love my wife, why would I do that?”, the suspect is technically telling a truth, but they are avoiding answering your original question, which usually means they’re lying.
Mind exaggerated details. See if they are telling you too much, like “My mom is living in France, isn’t it nice there? Don’t you like the Eiffel tower? It’s so clean there.” Too many details may tip you off to their desperation to get you to believe them.
We have illustrators, and manipulators. Illustrators are a sign of telling the truth, this is when you are using your hand gestures to talk. moving your hands while you are talking is a sign of telling the truth. We also have manipulators. These, are the opposite of illustrators. An example of a manipulator can be playing with your wrist-watch, your jewelry, pulling on your ear lobe, etc. People who behave this way tend to be hiding something. The last, commonly unknown sign of hiding something is reptile tissue, most people have a reptile tissue in their nose, and it itches when you’re hiding something. But, before you assume that the person is hiding something, please establish a base line.
Base Line: A base line is what someone acts like when they are not lying. You have to get a base line before you proceed with anything. Imagine you have a itch on your nose ever since you got out of bed. And someone thinks you are hiding something because you scratch your nose when answering a question…oops. What the person should have done is establish a baseline. To establish a baseline, you need to see the person when they aren’t lying. Try asking what their name is, and what they do for a living.
Look out for micro-expressions. Micro-expressions are split second facial expressions that flash on a person’s face for a less than a 25th of a second and reveal the person’s true emotion underneath their facade. Some people may be naturally sensitive to them, but almost anybody can easily train to be able to detect microexpressions. Put focus to the upper and lower eyelids, the corner of the eyes, the mouth and the muscles surrounding the mouth, the eyebrows and forehead.
Shaking hands… When you meet the person who you think is deceiving you, shake their hand. Take note of the temperature. When you are sure they are lying to you, pretend to be leaving and quickly grab their hand for a “Good-Bye” Handshake. If the temperature is colder, they are fearful.
Notice the person’s eye movements. Contrary to popular belief, a liar does not always avoid eye contact. Humans naturally break eye contact and look at non-moving objects to help them focus and remember. Liars may deliberately make eye contact to seem more sincere. You can usually tell if a person is remembering something or making something up based on their eye’s movements. When someone is remembering details, their eyes move to the right (your right). When someone is making something up, their eyes move to the left. It’s usually reversed for lefties. (although not always true.)
Be aware of their emotional responses
Timing and duration tends to be off when someone is lying. If you ask someone a question and they respond directly after the question, there is a chance that the person is lying. This can be because they have rehearsed the answer, or they’re already thinking about the answer just to get it over with and move forward. A delayed answer can be a sign of lying. To tell the truth takes 2 parts of your brain at most, however to lie takes 6 parts of your brain. If the person has a long story then you can ask them to tell it backwards. Liars have trouble telling stories backwards, because in their mind they have rehearsed it forwards, but not backwards. And, as with smiling, facial expressions of a poor liar will be limited to the mouth area.
Pay close attention to the person’s reaction to your questions. A liar will often feel uncomfortable and turn their head or body away, or even subconsciously put an object between the two of you. Also, while an innocent person would go on the offensive (usually responding with anger, which will usually be revealed in a microexpression directly after you say you don’t believe them), a guilty person will often go immediately on the defensive (usually by saying something to reassure their facts, such as deflections).
Listen for a subtle delay in responses to questions. An honest answer comes quickly from memory. Lies require a quick mental review of what they have told others to avoid inconsistency and to make up new details as needed. However, when people look up to remember things, it does not necessarily mean that they are lying.
Be conscious of their usage of words. Verbal expression can give many clues as to whether a person is lying, such as:
Using/repeating your own exact words when answering a question
Not using contractions
Avoiding direct statements or answers (deflections)
Speaking excessively in an effort to convince
Speaking in a monotonous tone
Speaking in muddled sentences
Vocal pitch rising
Using classic qualifiers such as “I’m only going to say this once…”
Using humor and sarcasm to avoid the subject
Using Deflections (beating around the bush, not answering the question.)
Allow silence to enter the conversation.
If they’re lying, they will become uncomfortable if you stare at them for a while with a look of disbelief. If they’re telling the truth, they will usually become angry or just frustrated (lips pressed together, brows down, upper eyelid tensed and pulled down to glare).
Change the subject quickly. While an innocent person would be confused by the sudden shift in the conversation and may try to return to the previous subject, a liar will be relieved and welcome the change. You may see the person become more relaxed and less defensive.
Watch his or her throat. A person may constantly be either trying to lubricate their throat when he/she lies by swallowing or clearing their throat to relieve the tension built up. A person’s voice can also be a good lie indicator; they may suddenly start talking faster or slower than normal, or their tension may result in a higher-pitched speaking tone. See baseline info
Check the facts. If you have the means, check the validity of what the liar is saying. A skilled liar might give some reason why you shouldn’t talk to the person who could confirm or deny a story. Perhaps the liar will infer that the person is particularly favourable towards the liar, or that the person would have little time for you. These are probably lies themselves, so might be worthwhile overcoming your reluctance and to check with the person you’ve been warned against.
Judge the character. Most people tell the truth most of the time, and will cherish their reputation. Liars will ’sail close to the wind’ – they’ll artificially bolster their reputation so that they seem more credible or desirable than they actually are.
If you overhear a version of an anecdote that seems wrong, listen to those alarm bells – it might be a liar.
If someone takes the time out to ingratiate themselves with you out of the blue, it’s very flattering, but you have to ask, why are they doing that?
If John rubbishes or smears people more than normal, John is possibly putting in the groundwork so the audience are more receptive to John, and less receptive to the people who John has lied to – they’re discredited before they can say ‘John is a liar’.
Note -
Some people are extremely experienced or even professional liars. He or she has told their made up story so many times that they are actually believable, getting all their days, dates and times down perfectly! Sometimes, you may need to simply accept that you can’t catch every lie all the time.
If you do catch a lie, don’t reveal it to the liar; they will just adjust their story. Once you know one thing that is not true, you can use it to find more of the net of lies, and other nets of lies. Then decide which points you reveal and to whom
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Epsom salt
EPSOM salts, or properly known as magnesium sulfate, derives its name
from the town of Epsom in Surrey, England.
In Epsom, the salt was distilled from the springs that arise where the
porous chalk of the North Downs meets non-porous London clay.
As such, the salts are made up of a naturally occurring mineral found in water.
The inexpensive and versatile salts used for a number of different
applications around the home are easily obtained at any pharmacy or
supermarket.
Many of the applications have to do with expediting healing, as well
as improving the quality of the skin and helping with basic grooming.
Epsom salt has been traditionally used as bath salts and is used as a
means of relieving stress at the end of a stressful day.
Two cups of Epsom salts in a tub of hot water can help to soothe tired
nerves and restore a sense of well being.
In modern times, the salts, which look like fine clear crystals with a
bitter taste, are diluted in water and consumed in liver detox
programmes.
Source: wikipedia.org, www.wisegeek.com
from the town of Epsom in Surrey, England.
In Epsom, the salt was distilled from the springs that arise where the
porous chalk of the North Downs meets non-porous London clay.
As such, the salts are made up of a naturally occurring mineral found in water.
The inexpensive and versatile salts used for a number of different
applications around the home are easily obtained at any pharmacy or
supermarket.
Many of the applications have to do with expediting healing, as well
as improving the quality of the skin and helping with basic grooming.
Epsom salt has been traditionally used as bath salts and is used as a
means of relieving stress at the end of a stressful day.
Two cups of Epsom salts in a tub of hot water can help to soothe tired
nerves and restore a sense of well being.
In modern times, the salts, which look like fine clear crystals with a
bitter taste, are diluted in water and consumed in liver detox
programmes.
Source: wikipedia.org, www.wisegeek.com
Exercise Triggers Stem Cells In Muscle
University of Illinois researchers determined that an adult stem cell present in muscle is responsive to exercise, a discovery that may provide a link between exercise and muscle health. The findings could lead to new therapeutic techniques using these cells to rehabilitate injured muscle and prevent or restore muscle loss with age.
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in skeletal muscle have been known to be important for muscle repair in response to non-physiological injury, predominantly in response to chemical injections that significantly damage muscle tissue and induce inflammation. The researchers, led by kinesiology and community health professor Marni Boppart, investigated whether MSCs also responded to strain during exercise, and if so, how.
Mesenchymal stem cells (green) accumulate in skeletal muscle following exercise and release growth factors to spur regeneration. (Credit: Photo by Marni Boppart)
“Since exercise can induce some injury as part of the remodeling process following mechanical strain, we wondered if MSC accumulation was a natural response to exercise and whether these cells contributed to the beneficial regeneration and growth process that occurs post-exercise,” said Boppart, who also is affiliated with the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the U. of I.
The researchers found that MSCs in muscle are very responsive to mechanical strain. They witnessed MSC accumulation in muscle of mice after vigorous exercise. Then, they determined that although MSCs don’t directly contribute to building new muscle fibers, they release growth factors that spur other cells in muscle to fuse and generate new muscle, providing the cellular basis for enhanced muscle health following exercise.
A key element to the Illinois team’s method was in exercising the mice before isolating the cells to trigger secretion of beneficial growth factors. Then, they dyed the cells with a fluorescent marker and injected them into other mice to see how MSCs coordinated with other muscle-building cells.
In addition to examining the cells in vivo, the researchers studied the cells’ response to strain on different substrates. They found that MSC response is very sensitive to the mechanical environment, indicating that conditions of muscle strain affect the cells’ activity.
“These findings are important because we’ve identified an adult stem cell in muscle that may provide the basis for muscle health with exercise and enhanced muscle healing with rehabilitation/movement therapy,” Boppart said. “The fact that MSCs in muscle have the potential to release high concentrations of growth factor into the circulatory system during exercise also makes us wonder if they provide a critical link between enhanced whole-body health and participation in routine physical activity.”
Next, the group hopes to determine whether these cells contribute to the decline in muscle mass over a person’s lifetime. Preliminary data suggest MSCs become deficient in muscle with age. The team hopes to develop a combinatorial therapy that utilizes molecular and stem-cell-based strategies to prevent age-related muscle loss.
“Although exercise is the best strategy for preserving muscle as we age, some individuals are just not able to effectively engage in physical activity,” Boppart said. “Disabilities can limit opportunities for muscle growth. We’re working hard to understand how we can best utilize these cells effectively to preserve muscle mass in the face of atrophy.”
The team published its findings in the journal PLoS One. The Illinois Regenerative Medicine Institute, the Ellison Medical Foundation and the Mary Jane Neer Foundation supported this work.
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in skeletal muscle have been known to be important for muscle repair in response to non-physiological injury, predominantly in response to chemical injections that significantly damage muscle tissue and induce inflammation. The researchers, led by kinesiology and community health professor Marni Boppart, investigated whether MSCs also responded to strain during exercise, and if so, how.
Mesenchymal stem cells (green) accumulate in skeletal muscle following exercise and release growth factors to spur regeneration. (Credit: Photo by Marni Boppart)
“Since exercise can induce some injury as part of the remodeling process following mechanical strain, we wondered if MSC accumulation was a natural response to exercise and whether these cells contributed to the beneficial regeneration and growth process that occurs post-exercise,” said Boppart, who also is affiliated with the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the U. of I.
The researchers found that MSCs in muscle are very responsive to mechanical strain. They witnessed MSC accumulation in muscle of mice after vigorous exercise. Then, they determined that although MSCs don’t directly contribute to building new muscle fibers, they release growth factors that spur other cells in muscle to fuse and generate new muscle, providing the cellular basis for enhanced muscle health following exercise.
A key element to the Illinois team’s method was in exercising the mice before isolating the cells to trigger secretion of beneficial growth factors. Then, they dyed the cells with a fluorescent marker and injected them into other mice to see how MSCs coordinated with other muscle-building cells.
In addition to examining the cells in vivo, the researchers studied the cells’ response to strain on different substrates. They found that MSC response is very sensitive to the mechanical environment, indicating that conditions of muscle strain affect the cells’ activity.
“These findings are important because we’ve identified an adult stem cell in muscle that may provide the basis for muscle health with exercise and enhanced muscle healing with rehabilitation/movement therapy,” Boppart said. “The fact that MSCs in muscle have the potential to release high concentrations of growth factor into the circulatory system during exercise also makes us wonder if they provide a critical link between enhanced whole-body health and participation in routine physical activity.”
Next, the group hopes to determine whether these cells contribute to the decline in muscle mass over a person’s lifetime. Preliminary data suggest MSCs become deficient in muscle with age. The team hopes to develop a combinatorial therapy that utilizes molecular and stem-cell-based strategies to prevent age-related muscle loss.
“Although exercise is the best strategy for preserving muscle as we age, some individuals are just not able to effectively engage in physical activity,” Boppart said. “Disabilities can limit opportunities for muscle growth. We’re working hard to understand how we can best utilize these cells effectively to preserve muscle mass in the face of atrophy.”
The team published its findings in the journal PLoS One. The Illinois Regenerative Medicine Institute, the Ellison Medical Foundation and the Mary Jane Neer Foundation supported this work.
New Zealand scientists discover how infection triggers blood stem cell growth
Research at The University of Auckland has shed light on an area of medicine which has intrigued the international scientific community for decades.
Scientists at the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences have identified a molecular mechanism which links infection to an increase in rare blood stem cells in an animal.
Their paper was published today in the prestigious Boston-based journal Cell Stem Cell. This high impact journal publishes novel results of unusual significance in the field of stem cell research.
The findings show blood stem and progenitor cells can directly react to inflammatory stress by proliferating and differentiating into the required mature blood cells.
The discovery opens up a field of study into stem cells and how the blood system is “fine-tuned” in response to stressors. This new understanding of exactly how microbes signal to the stem cells has important implications for the treatment of infections and many diseases that have an inflammatory component, including cancer.
“The longer term impact could be significant in terms of how stem cell growth and development can be manipulated therapeutically. There is an international effort aimed at identifying molecules that can be used to boost blood stem cell numbers,” says Professor Phil Crosier from the Department of Molecular Medicine and Pathology.
“People have, for a long time, speculated that there must be some connection between infection and blood stem cell function, yet how the infection communicates to stem cells has been poorly understood. We have identified a novel unexpected mechanism that functions as an important link between infection and stem cell behaviour.”
Lead researcher on the two-year study which was funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation, Dr Chris Hall, explains that the connection came about through a serendipitous observation: “It was just by chance that during an infection within a zebrafish embryo, we saw that the stem cells had increased. We wanted to understand the mechanism by which this occurred. By exploiting these two areas of research we have used infection as a window to gain unique insights into stem cell behaviour.”
The next step in the research process will be to validate the findings in mammals before scientists begin developing drugs which are able to mimic the signal pathways that take place between the infection microbes and the stem cells.
Scientists at the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences have identified a molecular mechanism which links infection to an increase in rare blood stem cells in an animal.
Their paper was published today in the prestigious Boston-based journal Cell Stem Cell. This high impact journal publishes novel results of unusual significance in the field of stem cell research.
The findings show blood stem and progenitor cells can directly react to inflammatory stress by proliferating and differentiating into the required mature blood cells.
The discovery opens up a field of study into stem cells and how the blood system is “fine-tuned” in response to stressors. This new understanding of exactly how microbes signal to the stem cells has important implications for the treatment of infections and many diseases that have an inflammatory component, including cancer.
“The longer term impact could be significant in terms of how stem cell growth and development can be manipulated therapeutically. There is an international effort aimed at identifying molecules that can be used to boost blood stem cell numbers,” says Professor Phil Crosier from the Department of Molecular Medicine and Pathology.
“People have, for a long time, speculated that there must be some connection between infection and blood stem cell function, yet how the infection communicates to stem cells has been poorly understood. We have identified a novel unexpected mechanism that functions as an important link between infection and stem cell behaviour.”
Lead researcher on the two-year study which was funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation, Dr Chris Hall, explains that the connection came about through a serendipitous observation: “It was just by chance that during an infection within a zebrafish embryo, we saw that the stem cells had increased. We wanted to understand the mechanism by which this occurred. By exploiting these two areas of research we have used infection as a window to gain unique insights into stem cell behaviour.”
The next step in the research process will be to validate the findings in mammals before scientists begin developing drugs which are able to mimic the signal pathways that take place between the infection microbes and the stem cells.
Stress Management - Excellent *
A young lady confidently walked around the room while reading and explaining stress management to an audience; with a raised glass of water, and everyone knew she was going to ask the ultimate question, 'half empty or half full?'..... She fooled them all..., "How heavy is this glass of water?" - she inquired with a smile.
Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. to 20 oz.
She replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance. In each case it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."
She continued, "and that's the way it is with stress. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on."
"As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden - holding stress longer and better each time practiced.
So, as early in the evening as you can, put all your burdens down. Don't carry them through the evening and into the night... pick them up tomorrow.
Whatever burdens you're carrying now, let them down for a moment. Relax, pick them up later, after you've rested. Life is short. Enjoy it and the now 'supposed' stress that you've conquered!"
REMEMBER, STRESS IS SOMETHING THAT
WE DO TO OURSELVES !!
1 * Accept the fact that some days you're the pigeon,
and some days you're the statue!
2 * Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.
3 * Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.
4 * Drive carefully... It's not only cars that can be recalled by their Maker..
5 * If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague
6 * If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it..
7 * It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.
8 * Never buy a car you can't push.
9 * Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on.
10 * Nobody cares if you can't dance well.
Just get up and dance.
11 * Since it's the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.
12 * The second mouse gets the cheese.
13 * When everything's coming your way,
you're in the wrong lane.
14 * Birthdays are good for you. The more
you have, the longer you live.
15 * You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.
16 * Some mistakes are too much fun to make only once.
17 * We could learn a lot from crayons.
Some are sharp, some are pretty and
some are dull. Some have weird
names and all are different colors,
but they all have to live in the same box.
18 * A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.
19 * Have an awesome day and know that
someone thought about you today.
20 * It was me, your friend!
*Save the earth..... It's the only planet with chocolate !*
Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. to 20 oz.
She replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance. In each case it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."
She continued, "and that's the way it is with stress. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on."
"As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden - holding stress longer and better each time practiced.
So, as early in the evening as you can, put all your burdens down. Don't carry them through the evening and into the night... pick them up tomorrow.
Whatever burdens you're carrying now, let them down for a moment. Relax, pick them up later, after you've rested. Life is short. Enjoy it and the now 'supposed' stress that you've conquered!"
REMEMBER, STRESS IS SOMETHING THAT
WE DO TO OURSELVES !!
1 * Accept the fact that some days you're the pigeon,
and some days you're the statue!
2 * Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.
3 * Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.
4 * Drive carefully... It's not only cars that can be recalled by their Maker..
5 * If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague
6 * If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it..
7 * It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.
8 * Never buy a car you can't push.
9 * Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on.
10 * Nobody cares if you can't dance well.
Just get up and dance.
11 * Since it's the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.
12 * The second mouse gets the cheese.
13 * When everything's coming your way,
you're in the wrong lane.
14 * Birthdays are good for you. The more
you have, the longer you live.
15 * You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.
16 * Some mistakes are too much fun to make only once.
17 * We could learn a lot from crayons.
Some are sharp, some are pretty and
some are dull. Some have weird
names and all are different colors,
but they all have to live in the same box.
18 * A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.
19 * Have an awesome day and know that
someone thought about you today.
20 * It was me, your friend!
*Save the earth..... It's the only planet with chocolate !*
Choosing a bride
A Mother was very concerned that her middle-aged son has not shown the
slightest indication of getting married. So one day she called him over
to her house.
The Son came home from work, grudgingly. Upon arriving, he found that his
mother had gathered a few beautiful ladies at the house for him to choose
as his future bride.
The FIRST one was a well-endowed Telephonist-cum-Receptionist. He
immediately commented: 'Aiyaa..... Mother, they always say..... PLEASE
HOLD ON, HOLD ON.........DD.'
The SECOND nominee was a leggy secretary. She was also rejected. Reason
being: 'Aiyaa.... Mother, this one aaa..., Secretary always fond of saying
'Please SLOW DOWN, SLOW DOWN......DD.'
By this time, the mother is nearing frustration. She called a sweet but
plain-looking Teacher. The Son suddenly agreed!!
The Mother was surprised and asked: 'Why this one? I thought the earlier
two were a lot better.
He replied: 'Teacher aaa..... Teacher very good, very patient, always say:
PLEASE REPEATED IT AGAIN, I want it done 10 times....
slightest indication of getting married. So one day she called him over
to her house.
The Son came home from work, grudgingly. Upon arriving, he found that his
mother had gathered a few beautiful ladies at the house for him to choose
as his future bride.
The FIRST one was a well-endowed Telephonist-cum-Receptionist. He
immediately commented: 'Aiyaa..... Mother, they always say..... PLEASE
HOLD ON, HOLD ON.........DD.'
The SECOND nominee was a leggy secretary. She was also rejected. Reason
being: 'Aiyaa.... Mother, this one aaa..., Secretary always fond of saying
'Please SLOW DOWN, SLOW DOWN......DD.'
By this time, the mother is nearing frustration. She called a sweet but
plain-looking Teacher. The Son suddenly agreed!!
The Mother was surprised and asked: 'Why this one? I thought the earlier
two were a lot better.
He replied: 'Teacher aaa..... Teacher very good, very patient, always say:
PLEASE REPEATED IT AGAIN, I want it done 10 times....
Friday, February 10, 2012
Yin Of Chengdu And Yang Of Kunming Chinese Feng Shui
When I arrived in Kunming, which is located in the Yunnan province of China, a curious thing happened; the city was Yang.
Now, why would anyone say that? Sure die in the woods, Feng Shui addicts like myself unfortunately view landscapes as expressions of Yin and Yang or a combination of both and their exhibition of Qi (Chi energy) in a Sheng (auspicious) or Sha (inauspicious) form. And as such, attaching myself to them as a place to be in or prefer not to be. Why can`t I just look at a landscape and learn to enjoy it for what it offers?
To someone like me, Kunming is missing out on the Qi auspicious stakes. I think so because I had been influenced by first impressions, waking up (after sleeping in a hard sleeper compartment) on a 20 hour train ride from Chengdu to Kunming. The 800 or so Kilometre journey partly taken up looking out of the train window, enthralled by the incredible productive and picturesque landscapes scattered along and drawing themselves away within misty hills into secluded valleys. Basically doing so until we left those fertile slopes and valleys and wound our way into torturous mountains, where slopes increased and the impact from the Chinese peasant and farmer becoming nonexistent. Soils barren, infertile and clinging to steep slopes resisting any intrusions by the Chinese to touch them in any way.
These were hostile places for mankind, yet beautiful in their natural grandeur and finally disappearing as the sun set and the train journeying into the night. As a bypass, China`s rail system is very proficient. Dual concrete sleeper tracks, some electrification present, rail tunneling through and around mountains, transcending ravines on suspended bridges, quiet and running on time. Hey, I`m jealous, why can`t we have something of China`s rail systems?
Coming back to Kunming and its Yang landscapes and the train passing through different countryside to that of Chengdu. Hills bare of vegetation, soils clayish grey and stony, stone outcroppings, rivers and streams dry and no rice to be seen. Kunming is in drought, waiting for summer rains, dusty, hot and dry in nature as all places become when relying on rainfall and the flush of new life in the natural landscapes.
These are Yang characteristics, yet I noticed the good people of Kunming were exhibiting something of the landscape`s nature. Kunming`s people, appeared (to a casual observer) to be not as friendly when compared to the Chengdu Chinese. They seemed more purposeful, direct and wanting to quell nature rather than transpose themselves within it. Kunming is a bustling city, but unblessed on our visit by the greenery and bounty of places such as Chengdu, which is more harmonised by naturalness and bountiful beauty.
It`s not to say don`t go down to Kunming. I`m sure the rains will come soon and green up the parched earth, fill the paddies for rice to become established and soften the air so Kunming`s people can breathe in vital Qi and restore harmony into their lives. As an aside, Kunming`s streets and boulevards are becoming lined with trees of the instant kind, so the day will arise when Kunming`s image of Yang will abate. Besides, Kunming`s food is delicious and so is their provincial tea.
Now, why would anyone say that? Sure die in the woods, Feng Shui addicts like myself unfortunately view landscapes as expressions of Yin and Yang or a combination of both and their exhibition of Qi (Chi energy) in a Sheng (auspicious) or Sha (inauspicious) form. And as such, attaching myself to them as a place to be in or prefer not to be. Why can`t I just look at a landscape and learn to enjoy it for what it offers?
To someone like me, Kunming is missing out on the Qi auspicious stakes. I think so because I had been influenced by first impressions, waking up (after sleeping in a hard sleeper compartment) on a 20 hour train ride from Chengdu to Kunming. The 800 or so Kilometre journey partly taken up looking out of the train window, enthralled by the incredible productive and picturesque landscapes scattered along and drawing themselves away within misty hills into secluded valleys. Basically doing so until we left those fertile slopes and valleys and wound our way into torturous mountains, where slopes increased and the impact from the Chinese peasant and farmer becoming nonexistent. Soils barren, infertile and clinging to steep slopes resisting any intrusions by the Chinese to touch them in any way.
These were hostile places for mankind, yet beautiful in their natural grandeur and finally disappearing as the sun set and the train journeying into the night. As a bypass, China`s rail system is very proficient. Dual concrete sleeper tracks, some electrification present, rail tunneling through and around mountains, transcending ravines on suspended bridges, quiet and running on time. Hey, I`m jealous, why can`t we have something of China`s rail systems?
Coming back to Kunming and its Yang landscapes and the train passing through different countryside to that of Chengdu. Hills bare of vegetation, soils clayish grey and stony, stone outcroppings, rivers and streams dry and no rice to be seen. Kunming is in drought, waiting for summer rains, dusty, hot and dry in nature as all places become when relying on rainfall and the flush of new life in the natural landscapes.
These are Yang characteristics, yet I noticed the good people of Kunming were exhibiting something of the landscape`s nature. Kunming`s people, appeared (to a casual observer) to be not as friendly when compared to the Chengdu Chinese. They seemed more purposeful, direct and wanting to quell nature rather than transpose themselves within it. Kunming is a bustling city, but unblessed on our visit by the greenery and bounty of places such as Chengdu, which is more harmonised by naturalness and bountiful beauty.
It`s not to say don`t go down to Kunming. I`m sure the rains will come soon and green up the parched earth, fill the paddies for rice to become established and soften the air so Kunming`s people can breathe in vital Qi and restore harmony into their lives. As an aside, Kunming`s streets and boulevards are becoming lined with trees of the instant kind, so the day will arise when Kunming`s image of Yang will abate. Besides, Kunming`s food is delicious and so is their provincial tea.
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