Who is superior white people or black people ?

This is a raging problem with the kind of perception people have in their mind. Still this kind of perception exists in the mind of people around us. If I’m white or black attractive or unattractive how does it make a difference if I still remain a human being. Right from my childhood I had been watching this happening around the world where white people are considered to be more superior or shall I say Perfect. How does anything make this statement true? We say we are liberalized and have broadened our thoughts however I still find that racism in people’s behavior...I want to know why...Whatever we are we all belong to one family that is being human beings which is very much different from animals. How can we change this perception?

Incident which I saw right in front of me in a public transport where a white woman just left her seat just because a black man sat close to her, this was something which happen in a developed country where people are considered to be educated and broad minded...So is it education makes us think this way or what..?

Let me share my perception... no matter what white or black we all are human beings we have the same color blood in our body and we all look like human being… I think that is more important than been black o white if god has made such a mistake should I say by creating man as white and black we do not have the right to discriminate by being superior just because you are white. It all goes by how capable you are... and how well you can prove yourself...let that be a black or a white...

Let’s see the scientific reason…

Scientists now believe that humans first appeared in Africa between 100,000 and 200,000 years ago. Dark skin helped protect against skin cancer that develops as a result of ultraviolet light radiation, causing mutations in the skin. Furthermore, dark skin prevents an essential B vitamin, folate, from being destroyed. Therefore, in the absence of modern medicine and diet, a person with dark skin in the tropics would live longer, be more healthy and more likely to reproduce than a person with light skin. Scientists point to the fact that white Australians have some of the highest rates of skin cancer as evidence of this expectation. Conversely, as dark skin prevents sunlight from penetrating the skin it hinders the production of vitamin D3. Hence when humans migrated to less sun-intensive regions in the north, low vitamin D3 levels became a problem and lighter skin colors started appearing. The people of Europe, who have low levels of melanin, naturally have almost colorless skin pigmentation, especially when untanned. This low level of pigmentation allows the blood vessels to become visible and gives the characteristic pale pink color of white people. The difference in skin color between black and whites is however a minor genetic difference accounting for just one letter in 3.1 billion letters of DNA.

If anybody has a better view lets share and change our perception...

Click on comments to add your Thoughts...

Paradise of Fatality

DRUGS a sensitive topic I guess, however I have some information and facts to show you, which will make you realize the consequence of how bad it can ever be…We live in a Society where Drugs has just been a part of our lives. Most of us use drugs every day, caffeine, nicotine and alcohol are just a few of the 'tend altering' drugs we like but they are just as much drugs as are heroin, cannabis and cocaine. All commonly used drugs are a mixture of some good and bad in them…they have both benefits and problems associated with them. Most of us manage to make the benefits of the drugs we use outweigh the problems.

Like…

Give us more energy when we need it, help us to feel good about ourselves, help us to socialize and give us "time out" when we want it.

The bad news about drug use involves everything from hangovers to permanent ill health, from public nuisance to violence and other serious crime.

Young people are using more drugs now than they have before both legal and illegal. Concern about the growth of recreational drug use is justified but while it is indeed worrying, we ought to remember that growing out of drug problems is normal. Anyone who takes drugs does it to get rid of some pain or unwanted feelings, including boredom to understand why someone takes drugs, you need to know what was wrong before he or she took them.

Drug addiction is a brain disease. Although initial drug use might be voluntary, drugs of abuse have been shown to alter gene expression and brain circuitry, which in turn affect human behavior. Once addiction develops, these brain changes interfere with an individual’s ability to make voluntary decisions, leading to compulsive drug craving, seeking and use. The impact of addiction can be far reaching. Cardiovascular disease, stroke, cancer, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, and lung disease can all be affected by drug abuse. Some of these effects occur when drugs are used at high doses or after prolonged use; however, some may occur after just one use.

Throughout much of the last century, scientists studying drug abuse labored in the shadows of powerful myths and misconceptions about the nature of addiction. When science began to study addictive behavior in the 1930s, people addicted to drugs were thought to be morally flawed and lacking in willpower. Those views shaped society's responses to drug abuse, treating it as a moral failing rather than a health problem, which led to an emphasis on punitive rather than preventative and therapeutic actions. Today, thanks to science, our views and our responses to drug abuse have changed dramatically. Groundbreaking discoveries about the brain have revolutionized our understanding of drug addiction, enabling us to respond effectively to the problem.

"I want every parent in the world to know and understand teenagers. If I can only stop one child taking drugs or help a parent to understand their child on drugs, I would be happy." - Gor (former drug addict) http://www.thaidrugaddict.com/

As a result of scientific research, we know that addiction is a disease that affects both brain and behavior. We have identified many of the biological and environmental factors and are beginning to search for the genetic variations that contribute to the development and progression of the disease. Scientists use this knowledge to develop effective prevention and treatment approaches that reduce the toll drug abuse takes on individuals, families, and communities.

Despite these advances, many people today do not understand why individuals become addicted to drugs or how drugs change the brain to foster compulsive drug abuse. This booklet aims to fill that knowledge gap by providing scientific information about the disease of drug addiction, including the many harmful consequences of drug abuse and the basic approaches that have been developed to prevent and treat the disease. At the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), we believe that increased understanding of the basics of addiction will empower people to make informed choices in their own lives, adopt science-based policies and programs that reduce drug abuse and addiction in their communities, and support scientific research that improves the Nation's well-being.

How do drugs work in the brain?

Drugs are chemicals. They work in the brain by tapping into the brain's communication system and interfering with the way nerve cells normally send, receive, and process information. Some drugs, such as marijuana and heroin, can activate neurons because their chemical structure mimics that of a natural neurotransmitter. This similarity in structure "fools" receptors and allows the drugs to lock onto and activate the nerve cells. Although these drugs mimic brain chemicals, they don't activate nerve cells in the same way as a natural neurotransmitter, and they lead to abnormal messages being transmitted through the network.

Other drugs, such as amphetamine or cocaine, can cause the nerve cells to release abnormally large amounts of natural neurotransmitters or prevent the normal recycling of these brain chemicals, which is needed to shut off the signal between neurons. This disruption produces a greatly amplified message, ultimately disrupting communication channels. The difference in effect can be described as the difference between someone whispering into your ear and someone shouting into a microphone.

All drugs of abuse directly or indirectly target the brain's reward system by flooding the circuit with dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter present in regions of the brain that regulate movement, emotion, cognition, motivation, and feelings of pleasure. The overstimulation of this system, which rewards our natural behaviors, produces the euphoric effects sought by people who abuse drugs and teaches them to repeat the behavior.

What happens to the brain if you keep taking drugs?

Our brains are wired to ensure that we will repeat life-sustaining activities by associating those activities with pleasure or reward. Whenever this reward circuit is activated, the brain notes that something important is happening that needs to be remembered, and teaches us to do it again and again, without thinking about it. Because drugs of abuse stimulate the same circuit, we learn to abuse drugs in the same way. When some drugs of abuse are taken, they can release 2 to 10 times the amount of dopamine that natural rewards do. In some cases, this occurs almost immediately (as when drugs are smoked or injected), and the effects can last much longer than those produced by natural rewards. The resulting effects on the brain's pleasure circuit dwarfs those produced by naturally rewarding behaviors such as eating and sex. The effect of such a powerful reward strongly motivates people to take drugs again and again. This is why scientists sometimes say that drug abuse is something we learn to do very, very well.

Just as we turn down the volume on a radio that is too loud, the brain adjusts to the overwhelming surges in dopamine (and other neurotransmitters) by producing less dopamine or by reducing the number of receptors that can receive and transmit signals. As a result, dopamine's impact on the reward circuit of a drug abuser's brain can become abnormally low, and the ability to experience any pleasure is reduced. This is why the abuser eventually feels flat, lifeless, and depressed, and is unable to enjoy things that previously brought them pleasure. Now, they need to take drugs just to bring their dopamine function back up to normal. And, they must take larger amounts of the drug than they first did to create the dopamine high - an effect known as tolerance.

What are the medical consequences of drug addiction?

Individuals who suffer from addiction often have one or more accompanying medical issues, including lung and cardiovascular disease, stroke, cancer, and mental disorders. Imaging scans, chest x-rays, and blood tests show the damaging effects of drug abuse throughout the body. For example, tests show that tobacco smoke causes cancer of the mouth, throat, larynx, blood, lungs, stomach, pancreas, kidney, bladder, and cervix. In addition, some drugs of abuse, such as inhalants, are toxic to nerve cells and may damage or destroy them either in the brain or the peripheral nervous system. Drug abuse and mental disorders often co-exist. In some cases, mental diseases may precede addiction; in other cases, drug abuse may trigger or exacerbate mental disorders, particularly in individuals with specific vulnerabilities.

"It is easy to start taking drugs, but it is very difficult to quit. Believe me I know it well. Your life will never be the same again. Please don't try it even one time. Don't ruin all your future by experimenting with drugs like me." - Gor (four months after first taking drugs) http://www.thaidrugaddict.com/

Can addiction be treated successfully?

Yes. Addiction is a treatable disease. Discoveries in the science of addiction have led to advances in drug abuse treatment that help people stop abusing drugs and start leading productive lives. Addiction need not be a life sentence. Like other chronic diseases, addiction can be managed successfully. Treatment enables people to counteract addiction's powerful disruptive effects on brain and behavior and regain control of their lives.

The chronic nature of the disease means that relapsing to drug abuse is not only possible, but likely, with relapse rates similar to those for other well-characterized chronic medical illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension, and asthma, which also have both physiological and behavioral components. Treatment of chronic diseases involves changing deeply imbedded behaviors, and relapse does not mean treatment failure. For the addicted patient, lapses back to drug abuse indicate that treatment needs to be reinstated or adjusted, or that alternate treatment is needed.

Research shows that combining treatment medications, where available, with behavioral therapy is the best way to ensure success for most patients. Treatment approaches must be tailored to address each patient's drug abuse patterns and drug-related medical, psychiatric, and social problems. Different types of medications may be useful at different stages of treatment to help a patient stop abusing drugs, stay in treatment, and avoid relapse.

Treating withdrawal: When patients first stop abusing drugs, they can experience a variety of physical and emotional symptoms, including depression, anxiety, and other mood disorders; restlessness; and sleeplessness. Certain treatment medications are designed to reduce these symptoms, which makes it easier to stop the abuse.

Staying in Treatment: Some treatment medications are used to help the brain adapt gradually to the absence of the abused drug. These medications act slowly to stave off drug cravings, and have a calming effect on body systems. They can help patients focus on counseling and other psychotherapies related to their drug treatment.

Preventing Relapse: Science has taught us that stress, cues linked to the drug experience (e.g., people, places, things, moods), and exposure to drugs are the most common triggers for relapse. Medications are being developed to interfere with these triggers to help patients sustain recovery.

Behavioral treatments help engage people in drug abuse treatment, modifying their attitudes and behaviors related to drug abuse and increasing their life skills to handle stressful circumstances and environmental cues that may trigger intense craving for drugs and prompt another cycle of compulsive abuse. Moreover, behavioral therapies can enhance the effectiveness of medications and help people remain in treatment longer.

Getting an addicted person to stop abusing drugs is just one part of a long and complex recovery process. When people enter treatment, addiction has literally taken over their lives. The compulsion to get drugs, take drugs, and experience the effects of drugs has dominated their every waking moment, and drug abuse has taken the place of all the things they used to enjoy doing. It has disrupted how they function in their family lives, at work, and in the community, and has made them more likely to suffer from other serious illnesses. Because addiction can affect so many aspects of a person's life, treatment must address the needs of the whole person to be successful. This is why the best programs incorporate a variety of rehabilitative services into their comprehensive treatment regimens. Treatment counselors select from a menu of services for meeting the individual medical, psychological, social, vocational, and legal needs of their patients to foster their recovery from addiction.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Seeks to help patients recognize, avoid, and cope with the situations in which they are most likely to abuse drugs.

Motivational Incentives. Uses positive reinforcement such as providing rewards or privileges for remaining drug free, for attending and participating in counseling sessions, or for taking treatment medications as prescribed.

Motivational Interviewing. Employs strategies to evoke rapid and internally motivated behavior change to stop drug use and facilitate treatment entry.

Group therapy helps patients face their drug abuse realistically, come to terms with its harmful consequences, and boost their motivation to stay drug free. Patients learn effective ways to solve their emotional and interpersonal problems without resorting to drugs.

How about a real life Experience from an Ex-Drug Addict…

I was 17-years-old when I first smoked heroin. The friend who introduced me to this died on Christmas Eve 1987 when he, and another nine people, accidentally shot up ajax.

It seemed so innocent to me at the time, many years before these things were to happen. It all seemed so friendly. I had never felt so good before - it was as if I didn't belong to this world any more, but had stepped into another. I felt so free, so alive, so in control, so happy and carefree, like a child again. I had met my partner for life, I thought. No-one or nothing would ever wrestle for my affection - for all my affection was lost in this.

My heart became detached from all human love; it was totally in love with heroin and how it treated me. It caressed my soul with gentle floods of warmth in an ecstatic union of love. I would run after it like honey, as one runs after the person one loves. It took all of my attention and I gave it the best years of my life.

In reality, my life was ruined as I became a relentless chaser of my own lost life. It had me completely in its fix by the age of 19 and then after that for another nine years. I felt as if I had lost my soul all of those years - as if I were dead. The only life I had in me was for that, and when I did not have that I had only deep, deep depression. A darkness would straightaway engulf me and leave me only what could alleviate my pain - heroin.

I began to see myself as a totally hopeless case. I would inject heroin twelve times a day from whatever time I awoke to about midnight every few hours. No-one's worries for me, no-one's good advice, no-one's sleepless nights could help or cure me.

During the last four years of my use of heroin, I used to pray to God every time I injected myself. With tears in my eyes I would ask God to forgive me and not let me die - for I knew I had lost my free will.

CONT…

Names of few Drugs…

4-MTA (4-methylthioamphetamine)

Alpha-ethyltryptamine

Amphetamine

Amyl nitrite

Benzocaine

Club Drugs

Cocaine

Crack Cocaine

Depressants

Designer Drugs

Dimethyltryptamine

Ecstasy (methylenedioxymethamphetamine; MDMA)

Fentanyl

Gamma Hydroxybutyrate (GHB)

GBL (Gamma butyrolactone)

GHB (Gamma Hydroxybutyrate)

Hallucinogens

Hashish

Heroin

Inhalants

Isobutyl nitrite

Ketamine

Lidocaine

LSD (Lysergic acid diethylamide)

Mannitol

Marijuana

MDMA (Methylenedioxymethamphetamine)

Mescaline

Methadone

Methamphetamine

Methaqualone

Methcathinone

Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)

Methylphenidate (ritalin)

Morphine

Narcotics

Nexus

Nicotine

Nitrous oxide

Opium

Oxycodone

OxyContin

PCP (phencyclidine)

Peyote

Phenobarbital

Procaine

Psilocybin

Psilocybin/psilocin

References

http://www.nida.nih.gov/NIDAHome.html

http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/drugfact/sources.html

http://www.ad2000.com.au/articles/2001/feb2001p12_125.html

Emotional Intelligence Path to Successful Career

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

“Emotional Intelligence can be defined as the capacity that you possess or obtain over a period of time to generate optimum results in your relationship with yourself and others”.

I personally believe that every baby that is brought to this world by his or her mother is born with a certain, unique potential for emotional sensitivity, emotional memory, emotional processing and emotional learning abilities. It is these four inborn components which I believe forms in to the core of one’s emotional intelligence.

So one can say that we tend to develop our emotional intelligence right from the day we are born. Of course all the segments involved in EI are not developed in a baby. For Instance, a baby can feel emotions, use emotions, communicate emotions, recognize emotions, remember emotions, learn from emotions and manage emotions. But a baby cannot understand emotions. This is probably reserved for the baby to learn in the later part of its life, when a child begins to develop its ability to reason.

The way a baby is raised, dramatically affects what happens to the babies potential in each of these areas. For example a baby may be born with a very high potential for music, but if that child’s potential is never recognized, nurtured and encouraged or if the child is never given the chance to develop the musical potential, they will never become a talented musician later in life. The result is pretty obvious; the world will miss out on this person’s special gift to humanity.

Components of Emotional Intelligence

In 1995 Daniel Goleman's book came out under the title "Emotional Intelligence." The book made it to the cover of Time Magazine in the USA. In the book he has mentioned all the information on brain emotions and behaviour.

Emotional intelligence can be very well explained by a person’s abilities to perceive, identify, understand, and successfully manage emotions in self and in others. It has been believed that Emotional understanding and skills have a great impact on our success and happiness in our personal lives as well as in our working life. Basically there are eight families of emotions, such as: love, surprise, sadness, disgust, fear, anger, enjoyment and shame. Our emotional intelligence is derived by the way we react to these set of emotions. When we compile all of these together, we can realize the competencies and abilities of emotional intelligence of a person. This can be again categorized in the four components of Emotional intelligence i.e. self awareness, social awareness, self management and relationship management.

Self awareness is the ability to recognize and understand ones own emotions and how they affect ones life and work.
Self management is the ability to control disruptive or harmful emotions.
Social awareness is one’s ability to understand and empathize with others.
Relationship management is the ability to connect with others and build positive relationships.

Every individual may differ with others on every component. For instance, a person may be very good in social awareness but he may not have good control over his self management. A person may respond to love positively but the same person does not give a heed if we show anger towards him or her.

I believe that a person with a high level of Emotional Intelligence can manage relationships in a very efficient manner. At a personal level I have experienced others dealing with me in differently in different situations. But once we relate our knowledge to that of the components of Emotional Intelligence, we will manage to relate instances happened in our life. Try doing it.

We all have learnt to react to situations from our childhood. As I explained earlier, every child that is born has some power of emotional intelligence which grows constantly over a period of time. We learn from our own experiences how to react to something good or bad. We tend to become happy when someone praises us. We become sad when someone discourages us. These all goes to show that we have control over our emotions.

The best part about Emotional Intelligence is that we are what we are! I.e. we behave in the same manner at work in the way we behave at home. But yes at work we are a little formal in our approach. Emotional Intelligence is all about managing our emotions. We all need time to practice it in our workplace to perfect it. It needs a constant effort from our part to understand and build upon our level of emotional intelligence.

Critical Self-reflection

I believe we all need to do critical self-reflection to increase our emotional intelligence. But we must understand that there is a difference between self-reflection and Critical Self-reflection. Most people would be familiar with reflection, which is nothing but the analysis of one’s beliefs. We also tend to have critical reflection, which is the analysis of the assumptions on which our beliefs are built.

But the area that interests me most is Critical Self-Reflection, which is the analysis of the way we pose our problems to ourselves and of our own structure of assumptions that we use as a reference for interpreting our experiences. Effective critical self-reflection requires you to question yourself and the assumptions you make on an ongoing basis.

But it is very sad to know that most of us do not spend time in doing this experiment which is real and happened with their lives. This will give us the perfect understanding of what is our own emotional intelligence.

Application of Emotional Intelligence in our personal lives

Once we do a good exercise of critical self-reflection, we can think of what we are currently. How much importance have we given to develop our emotional intelligence skills? How are we going to learn to develop these skills which will help us in our future workplace?

This is where we need to focus on our emotions. We need to practice Emotional Intelligence so that we don’t sour our relationship with others that we deal in our day to day life. But there is an order in which one can build his or her emotional intelligence skill. One must first understand his potential by way of realizing his self awareness and self management so that he can move to the next level of social awareness and relationship management.

Future Workplace

Future is quite unpredictable. At the workplace, we won’t be given a choice for sure to work with people that we want. We will have to understand that we have to deal with people with different set of emotions. Not only will we have to spend the largest portion of our waking time at work, but our identity, self-esteem, and well-being will be strongly affected by our work experiences. The key thing here will be how successfully we relate to them and respond to them in our day to day work.

I have drawn seven key concepts that will help me to reflect positively at my workplace. May be you can add a few.

Everyone is right. I may be wrong.

Everyone has emotions just like I have.

Everyone must take ownership of his or her emotions that includes me.

Everyone is driven by his or her attachments like love and hatred.

Everyone is primarily driven by fear.

Everyone has power to chose the way he or she responds to certain emotions.

Everyone has unlimited potential.

In order to excel at workplace, we need to have emotional competencies. This includes:

Personal Competencies – Self awareness, Self motivation, Self regulation.

Social Competencies – Compassion, Unity, Empathy and Sharing.

Social and personal competencies are essential for a healthy and productive life. Self-awareness, optimism, and empathy can enhance satisfaction level and productivity at work and in other aspects of life. The workplace also is an ideal place for promoting my social and emotional competencies because I believe it is going to be my workplace where I will need it the most. When people realize that social and emotional abilities hold the key to greater career success, they become eager to develop those abilities. At the same time, as a manager, I will need to recognize that my profit depends on the emotional intelligence of my employees; I will need to implement launching programs that will increase their level of Emotional Intelligence skills.

With the help of these two tools, I will be able to think about different options and incorporate anticipated reactions to others in order to improve my quality of decision making. I will have to take into consideration the relationship that I have with my employees. As an effective manager, I will have to assess each situations and personalities involved, rather then using my insightful response and techniques in making best decisions.

Many people who are book smart but lack Emotional Intelligence end up working for people who have lower level of IQs than them but who excel in Emotional Intelligence skills. I will have to continuously build my self awareness which I can do by practicing more control rather than reacting to situations which can provide negative signals resulting dissatisfied outcomes.

Conclusion

I believe in order to apply emotional intelligence in our day to day life. The first very essential thing is how better you know about yourself. Once we understand our pattern of looking at things based on the four components, then we need to understand others viewpoint. It is also very essential for me to undergo the critical self-reflection. I believe this is one method which will help me to understand my behavior and pattern of dealing with others and this will help me to strengthen my weakness that I do possess in terms of people management or relationship management.

I can also conclude that you may have people who are technically competent and who have very high IQ but if they are not very strong on emotional intelligence then they do not have the ability to relate their competencies with others as they are missing an important tool for overall development. Becoming emotionally intelligent is possible for everyone but it does require a high level of commitment and perseverance. A conceptual understanding of what it takes to be emotionally intelligent is just not enough to transform yourself; your way of thinking and behaving into an emotionally intelligent person is what needed for that transformation to take place. There is a world of difference between knowing what to do and actually doing it.

Want to research more on Emotional Intelligence and its values...

please refer to the Book "Working with Emotional intelligence"

or

Type emotional intelligence in the Google search box on top you will find a variety of information related to Emotional intelligence and its testimonial.

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Why Is Self-Esteem Important?

Do we believe in ourselves? Do we give ourselves the credit we deserve? Self-esteem is an integral part of personal happiness, fulfilling relationships and achievement. The group we work with has a level of self-esteem based on the composite self-esteem levels of the individuals in the group. This includes such things as our understanding of ourselves and others, our communication skills, our ability to have realistic expectations for ourselves and others, our degree of maintaining a positive attitude, and our ability to stay in present-time and not let past hurts be projected onto others. It also depends on taking responsibility for our own life, managing our feelings, our biases, and prejudices, and our ability to release and forgive childish behaviour and responses in others. One of the most important things we do is model and reflects to others how we value ourselves. Now let me reflect on what self esteem is all about and how it influences in our lives.


We all have a mental picture of what we are, how we look, what we're good at, and what our weaknesses might be. We develop this picture over time, starting when we're very young kids. The term self-esteem is used to refer to a person's mental picture of himself or herself. Lot of our self-image is based on interactions we have with other people and our life experiences. This mental picture contributes to our self-esteem.


Self-esteem is all about how much we feel valued, loved, accepted, and thought well of by others and how much we value, love, and accept ourselves. People with healthy self-esteem are able to feel good about them, appreciate their own worth, and take pride in their abilities, skills, and accomplishments. People with low self-esteem may feel as if no one will like them or accept them or that they can't do well in anything.


We all experience problems with self-esteem at certain times in our lives, especially during our teens when we're figuring out who we are and where we fit in the world. The good news is that, because everyone's self-image changes over time, self-esteem is not fixed for life. So if we feel that our self-esteem isn't all it could be, we can improve it.


How we feel about ourselves can influence how we live our lives. People who feel that they are likeable and lovable have better relationships. They are more likely to ask for help and support from friends and family when they need it. People who believe they can accomplish goals and solve problems are more likely to do well at workplace. Having good self-esteem allows you to accept yourself and live life to the fullest




Steps to Improving Self-Esteem
If we want to improve our self-esteem, here are some steps to start empowering ourselves:
Try to stop thinking negative thoughts about yourself.
Aim for accomplishments rather than perfection.
View mistakes as learning opportunities.
Recognize what you can change and what you can't.
Take pride in your opinions and ideas. Make a contribution. Exercise!


Self-esteem plays a role in almost everything we do. People with high self-esteem do better in Workplace and find it easier to make friends. They tend to have better relationships with peers and their managers, feel happier, find it easier to deal with mistakes, disappointments, and failures, and are more likely to stick with something until they succeed. It takes some work, but it's a skill we'll have for life.

If you have better suggestions to improve self-esteem please add it in the comments below.














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James Cook University Singapore

James Cook University takes its name from the eighteenth century British navigator and explorer Captain James Cook, whose epic voyages contributed significantly to the world of science.

The University was established in Townsville on 20 April 1970, two hundred years after Cook charted the eastern seaboard of Australia. JCU offers courses in a broad range of study areas and has a strong research focus, particularly in matters relating to life in the tropics. In a ranking of the world's top 500 universities, JCU was one of only 13 Australian universities listed (Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Academic Ranking of World Universities 2003).

JCU Singapore




In 2003, JCU opened its first offshore campus in Singapore, which is known as JCU Singapore. A comprehensive range of facilities is available at the campus lecture and tutorial rooms equipped with modern teaching technology, computer laboratories with broadband internet access, wireless internet-enabled floors, student lounge, cafeteria and library. Students studying at JCUS is assured of the same quality and enriching university education as their Australian peers.

Currently, JCU Singapore offers programs to students from all JCU Faculties, the Faculty of Law, Business and Creative Arts, the Faculty of Arts, Education and Social Sciences, the Faculty of Science, Engineering and Information Technology and the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Molecular Sciences to come.

The city campus is centrally located and easily accessible by both private and public transport. The community library, food centres and convenience stores are within easy walking distance.


Life in Singapore For Students Of JCU


“For Learning. For Life. For you.” This may seem to be three simple statements but this catchphrase of James Cook University, Singapore is more than statements. JCU deals with a number of courses to choose from which will help every student to excel in their lives. Its not only about leaning at JCU its about developing the art of implementing what you learned. Besides learning, Singapore offers a wide range of things to do for international students.

There are a number of things; students can do in Singapore during the leisure time. Foreign students will be able to learn at JCU and at the same time explore the place for its natural beauty. There are various tourist spots to visit such as Sentosa Island, Jurong Bird Park, Singapore Zoo, East Coast Beach, Chinese Gardens, Night Safari, Chinatown, Little India and many more. The many theatres, cinemas, video arcades and shopping centers offer a wide range of entertainment. Those more inclined towards outdoor activities will not be disappointed as there are many sporting facilities island wide that will cater to their needs. There are opportunities for sailing, wakeboarding, golf, canoeing, tennis, cricket, rugby, basketball, squash and many more.

As a centre of learning and research, Singapore’s numerous libraries, museums and bookshops are all easily accessible.

Management Lessons----Funny but very true

Lesson No.1

A crow was sitting on a tree, doing nothing all day.A small rabbit saw the crow, and asked him, "Can I also sit like you and do nothing all day long?"

The crow answered: " Sure, why not."

So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the crow, and rested. All of a sudden, a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate it.

Management Lesson: To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.

Lesson No.2

A turkey was chatting with a bull. "I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree," sighed the turkey, "but I haven't got the energy." "Well, why don't you nibble on some of my droppings?" replied the bull. "They're packed with nutrients." The turkey pecked at a lump of dung and found that it actually gave him enough strength to reach the first branch of the tree.The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch. Finally after a fortnight, there he was proudly perched at the top of the tree.

Soon he was promptly spotted by a farmer, who shot the turkey out of the tree.

Management Lesson: Bullshit might get you to the top, but it won't keep you there.

Lesson No.3

When the body was first made, all the parts wanted to be Boss. The brain said, "I should be Boss because I control the whole body's responses and functions." The feet said, " We should be Boss as we carry the brain about and get him to where he wants to go." The hands said, "We should be the Boss because we do all the work and earn all the money." And so it went on and on with the heart, the lungs and the eyes until finally the asshole spoke up. All the parts laughed at the idea of the asshole being the Boss. So the asshole went on strike, blocked itself up and refused to work. Within a short time the eyes became crossed, the hands clenched, the feet twitched, the heart and lungs began to panic and the brain fevered.Eventually they all decided that the asshole should be the Boss.

Management Lesson: You don't need brains to be a Boss - any asshole will do.

Lesson No.4

A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was so cold, the bird froze and fell to the ground in a large field. While it was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on it. As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung,it began to realize how warm it was. The dung was actually thawing him out! He lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy. A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate. Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung, and promptly dug him out and ate him!

Management Lesson:

1) Not everyone who drops shit on you is your enemy.

2) Not everyone who gets you out of shit is your friend.

3) And when you're in deep shit, keep your mouth shut!

Lesson No. 5

The boy rode on the donkey and the old man walked. As they went along, they passed some people who remarked "it was a shame the old man was walking and the boy was riding". The man and boy thought maybe the critics were right, so they changed positions. Later, they passed some people that remarked, "What a shame, he makes that little boy walk." They decided they both would walk! Soon they passed some more people who thought they were stupid to walk when they had a decent donkey to ride. So the both rode the donkey! Now they passed some people that shamed them by saying "how awful to put such a load on a poor donkey".The boy and man said they were probably right so they decided to carry the donkey.As they crossed a bridge, they lost their grip on the animal and he fell into the river and drowned.

Management Lesson:If you try to please everyone, you will eventually lose your ass.

For more such hilarious and interesting postings...

Gender Diversity at Workplace

ARTICLE ON GENDER DIVERSITY AT WORKPLACE

As you may have observed, women and men who work closely together often get tied up in communication knots, especially over issues that involve power, advocacy, and managing the troops.

That's because the sexes have distinct ways of communicating. They request action and advice differently. Their verbal responses and timing are different. And they have different styles for expressing workplace demands.

The result can be miscues and misunderstandings. In other words; lots of cross talk.

Today, nearly half of all privately owned companies are 50% or more owned by women, according to the Center for Women's Business Research. That means there are 11 million private enterprises at which women business owners must communicate their goals and operational needs to male and female customers, vendors, partners and employees. Women need to understand how men talk in business, and vice versa.

Mr. + Ms. Talk

But first, let's be clear on one thing. There's no such thing as an "absolute male" or "absolute female." People are individuals first and collections of cultural and biological traits after that. But "male" and "female" characteristics have now been documented by years of research. And when you look around your workplace, I'll bet you recognize many of the gender communications snafus that follow.

Mistaken assumptions fuel these misunderstandings. If you acknowledge those and reflect your understanding in work conversations with opposite sex team members, you can advance the workplace dialogue.

Here are six typical scenarios where communication between the sexes goes off the rails — and what you can do to get it back on track.

1. Power plays

Her way: Women tend to ask lots of questions before beginning work.
His way: Men simply roll up their sleeves.
The result: Men assume women aren't up to the job. If they were competent, reason men, then women wouldn't be asking so many questions. But in fact, women typically verify and validate data before starting tasks, sometimes to improve their performance. "Women gather information by asking questions, but men view question-asking as a sign of weakness," says Sandra Beckwith, author of "Why Can't a Man Be More Like a Woman?"

The reverse scenario is that men hate to ask for directions (big news, right?). But women assume that if men don't ask questions, they must know enough to complete a job. That's often not the case.

For women bosses, it's a good idea to verify that men have enough knowledge to complete a task. Oversee the work in the early phases or offer help without being asked. If you're male, listen to the questions being asked. Sometimes, these may add value.

2. Picture imperfect

Her way: Women frequently use anecdotes or illustrations about home or relationships.
His way: Men rely on metaphors about sports or war.
The result: Dialogue can hit a dead end. Women often do not follow the touchdown, full-court-press images and vice versa. Sherron Bienvenu, a communications consultant and co-author of "Business Communication: Discovering Strategy, Developing Skills," once hit just such a conversational wall during a sales pitch. She told a client that follow-up training would be "icing on the cake." "I envisioned icing as the finishing touch that completes the project and makes it most presentable to the receiver. His perception of icing was of sweet, unnecessary, junky stuff that you scrape off." She didn't nail the deal.

Don't simply gender-reverse images to communicate. Instead, consider your audience and use gender-neutral images (nature, movies or weather come to mind). Or use images you like, but with an explanation of what you mean.

3. Command conflicts

Her way: Growing up, girls tend to establish relationships.
His way: Boys usually vie for leadership.
The result: Men and women impose authority differently. "Women tend to be more collaborative in the workplace, putting relationships first," says Roz Usheroff, a business trainer and author of "Customize Your Career." "Men routinely challenge and expect to be challenged." Each often finds the other's style ineffective or insulting.

Women see men as ham-fisted or insecure when they come on so strong. Men think women lack confidence or conviction because they work hard to get buy-in. Neither, of course, is accurate. To jump the divide, borrow a bit from the other's style. Men can try a more collaborative approach. Women need to take over more often.

4. Detailed disputes

Her way: Women like to tell and hear stories, including the trials and errors, turnings and re-turnings. It's their way of connecting and building the relationship.
His way: Men cut to the chase. The route you travel is inconsequential. What matters is the destination.
The result: Each sex becomes too impatient to hear the other. "Women push for details generally for three reasons: to show concern, to vicariously participate in an experience or conversation, and to verify assumptions," says Dianna Booher, author of "Communicate with Confidence." "Men tend to gather details just long enough to get the big-picture message and then dump them as trivial."

Again, each sex can benefit from the other's behavior. Men ought to explain their thinking and not simply jump to conclusions. Women need to get to the bottom line more quickly.

5. Emotional exchanges

Her way: She tends to treat male colleagues like her husband or boyfriend.
His way: He often handles women associates like his wife or girlfriend.
The result: A subtle and tricky gender miscommunication. It's also one that people are loath to examine. Typically, men and women bring into the office some version of the sexual dynamics they have at home. We also gravitate to workplace confidants, mentors or employees who resemble the intimates in our personal lives, especially spouses, says Tina Tessina, psychotherapist and author of "It Ends With You: Grow Up and Out of Dysfunction." "You find quieter struggles in business of whatever the fights are at home, such as who's right and who's wrong or disagreements about money."

If you're in some kind of standoff or you feel like he or she "doesn't understand" you, take a break to think it through. Make sure you're not importing a personal issue into a business environment.

6. Decision drivers

Her way: Women are generally more comfortable talking about their feelings.
His way: Men prefer to dwell on the facts and skip the feelings.
The result: Communications trouble. Every communication has both an intellectual and an emotional component, says Kenneth Sole, a social psychologist based in Lee, N.H., with 30 years of experience in assisting organizations to change. Misunderstandings arise when we ignore one side of the two dimensions. "That's not to suggest that it needs to be fifty-fifty," Sole says. "The conversation can radically improve just by owning up to one aspect of feelings or intellect."

He offers these examples: A man might say: "I know this is a difficult conversation for you. It's difficult for me, too." A woman might dial down emotional intensity by analyzing the problem, saying: "I think there are three pieces to the issues we've been discussing." She then ticks off those issues, one by one. "That moment of analytic reflection encourages the dialogue to move into a thoughtful channel," says Sole.

The definition of a diverse work force, of course, is an environment where people accept differences rather than deny them. If we pay attention to gender differences, we just might untangle the gender communications knots — and get the job done faster, too.

“http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/resources/management/leadership_training/women_vs_men_6_tips_for_bridging_the_communication_gap.mspx”