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Faster, simpler Facebook Lite site available in India, US

September 12, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Sep 12 (ANI): Social networking site Facebook has launched a slimmed-down version of its site for people with slow or poor Internet connections, and it is currently available only in India and the US.

Facebook’s Lite site, which will be faster and simpler because it offers fewer services than the main site, had initially been meant to support users in developing countries, where bandwidth constraints make the current version too slow to use.

The company said around 70 percent of its more than 250 million users were from outside America, with countries in Southeast Asia and Europe seeing a massive increase in growth where fast Internet connections are more common.

News about Facebook testing the Lite site first leaked out in August, with its options said to be limited to letting users write on their wall, post photos and videos, view events and browse other people’s profiles.

“It appears, at a quick glance, to be a better site for Facebook newbies or for anyone who finds the current site overwhelming and noisy,” the BBC quoted Rafe Needleman at technology website Cnet as saying.

“The new layout feels almost Twitter-like,” he said.

Terence O’Brien at Switched.com gave the slimmed-down version of what he called “ol’ blue” the thumbs-up because it “strips away distractions”.

“The simple site loads noticeably faster, is easier to navigate, and is much easier on the eyes thanks to the lack of people sending you ‘virtual booze’ or asking you to join their ‘vampire fraternity’,” he said.

“The new layout seems like a direct challenge to Twitter, which can attribute much of its success to is simplicity and portability,” he stated.

Many industry watchers said they believed that even users with good Internet connections might well flock to Facebook Lite because of its new look and ease of use.

“That is what some US users are planning to do,” Eric Eldon of InsideFacebook.com said.

“Indeed the reaction from US users has prompted Facebook to release it intentionally for US users, something it hadn’t previously planned on doing,” he added.

Eldon also said he believed a “worldwide rollout doesn’t seem too far away”.

Facebook has acknowledged this is a possibility in a statement on the site, which said the firm was “working on translating Lite into other languages”.

Anyone who switches to Facebook Lite and does not like it can switch back to the fuller version of the site. (ANI)

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Oz bosses bringing back 1950s style of management

September 10, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Melbourne, Sep 10 (ANI): A survey has shown that bosses are cutting costs and dropping the collaborative management style of the early 2000s in favour of the 1950s-style.

Social researcher and leadership expert Avril Henry said that employers are doing everything from cutting out biscuits to banning hot food from the office.

They are also telling employees to snack on fruit outside in a bid to cut cleaning costs and cope with strained budgets, and are also micromanaging and bossing their staff around, rather than engaging with them.

“It sends a signal to employees that ‘I don’t trust you can do the job without being closely supervised’, it equates not seeking input from anybody below senior executive level,” News.com.au quoted Henry as saying.

The South African-born public speaker and author of Inspiring Tomorrow’s Leaders Today says examples of tight, bossy behaviour began emerging at the end of last year amid the deepening financial crisis.

“In the process of cutting costs we often do things that alienate the employees,” she said.

“You can cut the biscuits and you can tell people ‘we’re not providing tea and coffee, bring in your own’, but we still pay senior executives and CEOs huge bonuses,” she stated.

Henry says the leadership style is putting bosses on a direct collision course with Generation Y.

“Gen Y just go ‘I’m not working for a boss like that’,” she said of the generation born between 1980 and 1995.

“Gen Y will leave a job without another job to go to even in the current environment.

“They will do a job with less money, not necessarily in the same industry they were in, or equating to what they’re qualified to do, to work in environment where they are happy and they feel valued, not only as employees but as human beings,” she said.

Many generation X-ers (born 1965 to 1979), now in management roles, see this as “entitlement mentality”, but Henry thinks it’s a positive backlash to “toxic” workplace conditions.

“I think that (attitude is) what’s going to change workplace culture,” Henry, who is also a trained accountant, said.

“We have too many workplaces which are toxic, by toxic I mean people aren’t valued.

“Every organisation says ‘people are our greatest asset’ – my immediate response to that is then why do most organisations treat their employees like liabilities?” she stated.

“Bosses who cop a pay cut or ask their staff for thrifty suggestions show they’re ‘willing to share the pain’,” she added. (ANI)

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Poor money savers likely to be overeaters, smokers, love cheats

September 4, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Sept 4 (ANI): People who are poor at saving money are likely to have impulsive behaviour such as overeating, smoking and infidelity, according to a new study.

The study conducted through the BBC website measured people’s financial impulsivity by asking whether they would they prefer to receive 45 pounds in three days or 70 pounds in three months.

The findings revealed that nearly half of those who preferred the smaller-sooner sum of money were more likely to show a raft of other impulsive behaviours.

“One of the big questions about people’s financial planning is whether decisions to spend or save come from personal knowledge and experience of money matters or whether they reflect someone’s personality more generally,” said Dr Stian Reimers, ESRC Centre for Economic Learning and Social Evolution at UCL.

“Our research shows that people with an impulsive money-today attitude ignore the future in other ways.

“For example, they are more likely to smoke and more likely to be overweight, which may reflect a preference for immediate pleasure of nicotine and food over long-term good health,” Reimers added.

Moreover, people who chose to take the smaller-sooner amount of money were also more likely to admit to having had an affair in recent years.

The study also showed that those most likely to make impulsive financial choices were young, poorly educated, and on lower incomes.

“Learning to make decisions that lead to long-term happiness, not just instantaneous gratification, could benefit us all. Simple techniques can help reduce impulsivity: like imagining how you’d feel about your decision in a year’s time, or trying to avoid making decisions in the heat of the moment,” Reimers added.

The study appears in journal Personality and Individual Differences. (ANI)

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Oz Deputy PM opens International Centre for Muslim-non-Muslim Understanding

September 2, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Sep.2 (ANI): Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister, Ms Julia Gillard, today announced in New Delhi that the International Centre for Muslim and non-Muslim Understanding, located at the University of South Australia, will step up its cooperation with Indian partners.

Inspired by former Australian Prime Minister, Bob Hawke, the new research centre was announced at the University of South Australia (UniSA) in 2008 at a special ceremony attended by the former PM.

The Centre is dedicated to research that seeks to define, understand and transcend the divide between Muslim and non-Muslim cultures and has already attracted $10 million (Rs40 crore) in funding support from the Australian Government and the South Australian State Government.

Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the launch of the Centre in India would help to encourage more of the world’s top researchers and thinkers to engage with its important research agenda.

Ms Gillard said “faith and culture have been paramount in the development of India; one of the world’s largest and most linguistically and culturally diverse democracies. Holding the international launch of the Centre here in Delhi is appropriate because India is a nation that lives with difference on a grand scale and thrives.”

She said “There is expertise here and in many countries across the Asian region that we can learn from. The goal is to build a worldwide community of outstanding scholars with a commitment to understanding and exploring the cultural and sociological factors that influence Muslim and non-Muslim relationships,”

She said the Centre would emphasise international engagement, with an international Advisory Board and a Council of Distinguished Scholars (including Indian representatives). Former Australian PM the Honourable Bob Hawke is an ex-officio member of the board.

UNESCO Chair in Transnational Diasporas and Reconciliation Studies and UniSA Pro Vice Chancellor and Vice President for Education Arts and Social Sciences, Professor Pal Ahluwalia, who is leading the foundation of the Centre, said the research agenda goes far beyond religious differences.

“We also want to build the Centre as a place of engagement, so that the work we do is accessible to governments and societies. This supports a guiding principle of the research Centre – to analyse effective rapprochement between Muslim and non-Muslim communities informed by principles of social justice and reconciliation.”

Ahluwalia said the 10 international PhD scholarships, worth more than Australian dollars 26, 000 (Rs10 lakh) each plus relocation expenses would help to attract some of the brightest minds to the Centre.

“I am hoping to welcome strong applications from India that can build long lasting bilateral research relationships between Australia and India in this vital area.”

Ms Gillard is also Minister for Education, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and Minister for Social Inclusion. (ANI)

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N. Korean delegation visit to China may tackle nuke issue

September 2, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Sep 2 (ANI): A delegation from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) led by Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Yong-il has arrived in Beijing, China’s Foreign Ministry has confirmed.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement that positive signs were seen in August, suggesting tension had eased on the Korean Peninsula, the China Daily reported.

The DPRK has made a series of conciliatory gestures during the past month that analysts interpreted as an attempt to re-engage with the outside world.

But the ministry did not link the visit to the stalled Six-Party Talks, saying it was “part of regular exchanges to mark the 60th anniversary of the two countries formally establishing diplomatic ties.”

“The two sides will exchange views on bilateral ties and issues of common interest,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said at a media briefing.

Last Saturday, North Korea released four Republic of Korea (ROK) fishermen who were detained last month after their boat strayed into northern waters.

DPRK and ROK also agreed to hold reunions for families separated by the 1950-53 war, which was widely said to “be a new watershed in improving inter-Korean relations”.

“We hope that all sides concerned will grasp the opportunity so that the situation will develop with better prospects,” the statement said.

Last month, Chinese nuclear envoy, Wu Dawei, visited Pyongyang, a move that analysts thought was aimed at encouraging DPRK to return to the Six-Party Talks.

Fan Jishe, an expert on the DPRK at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said it was “very likely” that both China and the DPRK would exchange ideas about the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue during the delegation’s visit. (ANI)

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Major reshuffle of officials in J and K

August 30, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Srinagar, Aug 30 (ANI): In a major administrative reshuffle, Jammu and Kashmir Government has transferred 26 senior officers, including 12 IAS officers.

The decision to transfer the officers was taken on Saturday evening at a meeting of the state Cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.

A spokesman of the State Government released the details of the cabinet decision to media in a press conference on Sunday.

The cabinet decided to appoint a woman officer Naseema Lankar, as first Divisional Commissioner in Kashmir. She will replace Masood Samoon, who is retiring from the service on Monday.

B.B.Vyas, who was Principal Secretary to the state Governor, has been made Commissioner Secretary of Planning and Development. He will also hold the additional responsibility of Chief Executive Officer of Economic Reconstruction Agency.

Pramodh Jain, Commissioner Secretary of Social Welfare has been transferred to Higher Education Department in the same capacity.

Tashi Dorjee, Joint Financial Commissioner of Agrarian Reforms has been given the additional charge of Secretary, Home Department.

Deputy Commissioner of Poonch, Mohammad Afzal Bhat, has been moved to head the Pulwama district. He will replace Ishtiyaq Ahmad Ashai, who has been made additional Commissioner of Kashmir.

Kuldip Lal Khajuria, Additional District Development Commissioner, Samba has been posted as Deputy Commissioner, Poonch. (ANI)

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15pc preschoolers suffer from anxiety, depression: Canadian study

August 29, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Aug 29 (ANI): Almost 15 pct of the preschoolers suffer from high levels of depression and anxiety, according to a Canadian study.

The five-year investigation showed that children with atypically high depression and anxiety levels are more likely to have mothers with a history of depression.

“As early as the first year of life, there are indications that some children have more risks than others to develop high levels of depression and anxiety,” said first author Sylvana M. Cote, a professor at the Universite de Montreal’s Department of Social and Preventive Medicine.

“Difficult temperament at five months was the most important predictor of depression and anxiety in the children,” Cote added.

During the study, the researchers examined 1,758 children born in Quebec.

“We found that lifetime maternal depression was the second most important predictor of atypically high depressive and anxiety problems during preschool years,” said Cote.

“Our study is the first to show that infant temperament and lifetime maternal depression can lead to a high trajectory of depressive and anxiety problems before school entry.

“It is critical that preventive interventions be experimented with infants who risk developing depressive and anxiety disorders.

“Health professionals should target such high risk children at infancy, as well as their parents, to have a long-term impact on their well-being,” Cote added.

The study is published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. (ANI)

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Teach 5-year-olds about masturbation, advocates U.N. report

August 27, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Aug 27 (ANI): A June report from the United Nations Economic, Social and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has recommended that children as young as five should receive mandatory sexual education that would teach even pre-kindergarteners about masturbation and topics like gender violence.

The 98-page report offers a universal lesson plan for kids ranging in age from 5-18, an “informed approach to effective sex, relationships” and HIV education that they say is essential for “all young people.”

According to the U.N., the program is “age appropriate,” however, critics say it’s exposing kids to sex far too early.

“At that age they should be learning about … the proper name of certain parts of their bodies,” said Michelle Turner, president of Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum, “certainly not about masturbation.”

“This is absurd,” she told FOXNews.com.

The UNESCO report, called “International Guidelines for Sexuality Education,” separates children into four age groups: 5-to-8-year-olds, 9-to-12-year-olds, 12-to-15-year-olds and 15-to-18-year-olds.

As per the U.N.’s voluntary sex-education programme, kids just 5-8 years old will be told that “touching and rubbing one’s genitals is called masturbation” and that private parts “can feel pleasurable when touched by oneself.”

When they’re 9, they will know about “positive and negative effects of ‘aphrodisiacs,” and try to understand ideas of “homophobia, transphobia and abuse of power.”

At 12, they’ll learn the “reasons for” abortions. When they’re 15, they’ll be exposed to direct “advocacy to promote the right to and access to safe abortion.” (ANI)

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Homeless man earns $400 a day begging Down Under!

August 25, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Melbourne, August 24 (ANI): A homeless man in Sydney earns up to 50,000 dollars a year by begging.

According to reports, Ken Johnson, 52, makes his living at George and Market St, outside the Myer store in Sydney’s CBD, where he sits for up to 16 hours daily, seven days a week.

He says that he earns around 400 dollars from generous passers-by on a good day.

And even on slower days, he manages to pick up between 75 dollars and 150 dollars.

“I’d be really disappointed if I did a long Friday and I only had $250,” the Daily Telegraph quoted Johnson, who has been living on the streets “since the late ’90s”, as saying.

“I knock off when I feel like it, or if I’ve done brilliantly. But on those good days, you might be on such a high that you go for a few more hours and get a bit more money,” he added.

While Johnson did not reveal how much begging earned him last year, he did say that the donated money was stashed in a safe place, before being deposited in his bank account several times a week.

He said that some of the money was given to a friend.

The man who does not smoke, drink, or do drugs revealed that he was raising money to help the friend who needed a liver transplant.

He displays a sign that reads: “Needing support for major family exp(enses) including just heaps for medicine. Paying up is a big grind. Please leave me alone, if you are the abusive nasty sort.”

Johnson refuses to draw welfare because “it makes you feel like a cripple”.

An Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) spokeswoman said that many homeless people turned to begging because government welfare did not cover costs, and “for those who do receive income support, payments may be inadequate to meet the costs of temporary accommodation and food.”

“Of those who do sleep on the street, only a tiny minority choose to do so, as a lifestyle choice. For most people who are homeless, there is no choice,” she said. (ANI)

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Heather Mills ‘has a new man in her life’

August 22, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Aug 22 (ANI): It seems Heather Mills has finally moved on after her split with Paul McCartney, as she was recently spotted with a guy who is a rookie driver in the ARCA stock car series.

The former model came to Mercedes-Benz Polo Challenge at Blue Star Jets Field in New York’s Hamptons, where she evidently loved talking to Tim George, Jr.

“Now that Paul has moved on with his girlfriend, Nancy Shevell, Heather thinks it’s about time she moves on, too,” a source told FOX411.

The insider added: “She was so into Tim, chatting with him, smiling ear to ear and hanging on his every word. They posed for photos together and kind of watched the match, but they were busy talking up a storm.”

The two reportedly met once again the same night at Social Life Magazine party for the mag’s August issue, which features Tim on the cover.

The source briefed: “Heather was definitely into Tim, and it seemed he was into her, too, from how easily their conversation seemed to flow. They were inseparable!” (ANI)

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Appoint more Indians as directors in Malaysian firms, says social network

August 22, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Kuala Lumpur, Aug.22 (ANI): Government companies and government-linked companies (GLCs) in Malaysia have been urged to appoint more Indians as directors.

According to a Tamil Nesan report, the Social Entrepreneurs Network (SeNet) has issued this appeal.

The Star quoted its chairman Madhu Marimuthu as saying that it was disappointing to see only a handful of Indians occupying positions of directors in companies when the talent pool in the community was vast.

Marimuthu said SeNet would submit a memorandum to the Prime Minister’s Department urging that eight to ten percent from the Indian community must be given jobs in the government sectors.

Indian representation in the government sector must be at all levels, he added. (ANI)

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Social empowerment of women more important than Reservation Bill for them: Agatha Sangama

August 8, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Aug 8(ANI): Union Minister of State for Rural Development Agatha Sangama on Saturday said that social and economic empowerment of women is more essential than the Women’s Reservation Bill.

However, Agatha did not disapprove the Bill and said that it would be a medium, which would enable women to have equality in the society.

Sangama said this during a programme organised by the All India Women’s Conference (AIWC) to inaugurate a community college project in the national capital.

“I have always thought about empowerment (of women) in different ways. One always thinks about (women’s) reservation Bill, but that one is to get political empowerment. I think there are other forms of empowerment such as social and economic empowerment which are equally or much more crucial,” said Agatha Sangama, Union Minister of State for Rural Development.

The community college programme is being started by the AIWC in coordination with Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) to provide education and training to people who are unable to utilise the conventional avenues of education.

“It’s as a wonderful idea. Women will get opportunity to learn things, get empowered, and become independent, in order to live a very good life,” said Agatha, adding that it would pave way towards development for those women who actually needed to be economically and socially empowered. (ANI)

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Teen pregnancy ‘a symptom, not cause, of psychological stress’

July 29, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, July 28 (ANI): Teenage mothers suffer a lot of psychological stress in their lives, however, a new research has shown that the distress comes before the pregnancy, not because of it.

“Psychological distress does not appear to be caused by teen childbearing, nor does it cause teen childbearing, except apparently among girls from poor households,” said Stefanie Mollborn, Ph.D., an assistant professor of sociology at the Institute of Behavioral Science of the University of Colorado at Boulder.

The study has been published in the September issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior.

To reach the conclusion, researchers used data from two large long-term U.S. surveys that followed thousands of teen girls and women.

Participants responded to items on symptoms associated with depression, such as how often they found things that did not usually bother them to be bothersome, how easily they could shake off feeling blue or whether they had trouble concentrating.

The researchers did not use the term “depression,” which is a clinical diagnosis.

Only the combination of poverty and existing distress was a good predictor of teen pregnancy.

“Psychologically distressed girls are at risk for teen childbearing and vice versa, even if the two things usually do not cause each other,” Mollborn said.

“This could help educators and clinicians identify at-risk adolescents,” Mollborn added.

Looking for symptoms of depression or distress should be part of normal health screening for all teenagers, said Diane Merritt, M.D., director of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

“Talking to teenagers about their sexuality and responsible behavior is key,” she said.
ne of the best ways to prevent teen pregnancy is for teens to have long-term goals and good self-esteem, Merritt added. (ANI)

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Sympathetic, kind men unlikely to end up as bosses

July 15, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Melbourne, July 15 (ANI): Being sympathetic, kind, co-operative and warm may lower men’s likelihood of becoming bosses, according to a study.

The same may also apply to women to a certain extent, say the researchers behind the study.

According to reports, this study has provided firm evidence of the link between personality and job choice.

“People who aren’t very nice are more likely to become managers,” theage.com.au quoted study co-author Michelle Tan, a researcher in the economics program at the Research School of Social Science, at Australian National University, as saying.

The results further showed that men and women tended to enter different occupations, even when they had similar personality traits and skills.

The findings also revealed that despite having the same occupations, similar men and women took home widely different pay packets.

The study used a sample of 5397 men and women drawn from the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey, and sought to understand the extent to which personality determined occupation and whether this could explain the gender pay gap.

The authors say that women were found to report overall higher levels of extroversion, agreeableness, emotional stability, and conscientiousness than did men.

According to them, men reported higher levels of “openness to experience”, and there was no difference in men’s and women’s sense of being able to control the events in their life.

The study also revealed that men’s personality traits closely linked to some occupations: the more “agreeable” men rated themselves on a personality test, the less likely they were to be managers or business professionals; and the more “open to experience” men were, the more likely they were to be in business or education.

The extent to which women were “open to experience” was the main influence on the jobs they held.

Just like their male counterpart, the more agreeable women tended to be the less likely they were to be managers. However, unlike men, extroversion was associated with women entering managerial ranks.

While similar men and women often ended up in different occupations, this did not explain the gender pay gap. (ANI)

Filed Under: Entertainment News Tagged With: Agreeableness, ANI, Australia, australian, Author Michelle, business, Business Professionals, choice, co operative, co-author, com, Conscientiousness, counterpart, difference, Dynamics, Economics Program, Education, Emotional Stability, evidence, extent, extroversion, gap, gender, home, household, household income, income, influence, job, July, kind, Kind Men, labour, life, likelihood, link, Male Counterpart, Melbourne, men and women, Michelle Tan, national, occupation, occupations, openness, pay, personality, personality test, personality traits, program, Research, researcher, sample, school, Science, sense, social, social science, stability, study, study also revealed that, survey, Sympathetic, test, theage, University

Hominids’ last supper establishes the times they lived at archaeological sites

July 15, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, July 15 (ANI): An international team of scientists has analyzed the last food that the hominids consumed, in order to establish the length of their occupations at archaeological sites.

As part of the research, the scientists analyzed the dental wear of the fossils of herbivorous animals found in the French cave of Arago, which were hunted by Homo heidelbergensis.

It is the first time that an analytical method has allowed the establishment of the length of human occupations at archaeological sites.

The key is the last food that these hominids consumed.

For many years, the mobility of the groups of hominids and how long they spent in caves or outdoors has been a subject of discussion among scientists.

Now, an international team headed by researchers from the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES) in Tarragona has based its studies on the dental fossils of animals hunted by hominids in order to determine the vegetation in the environment and the way of life of Homo heidelbergensis.

“For the first time, a method has been put forward which allows us to establish the relative length of the human occupations at archaeological sites as, up until now, it was difficult to ascertain the difference between, for example, a single long-term occupation and a succession of shorter seasonal occupations in the same place”, said Florent Rivals, a researcher from ICREA.

In the study, the researchers analyze the dental wear of the ungulates (herbivorous mammals) caused by microscopic particles of opaline silica in plants.

These marks appear when eating takes place and erase the previous ones. This is why they are so useful.

Thanks to the “last supper phenomenon”, the scientists have been able to analyze the last food consumed by animals such as the Eurasian wild horse, the mouflon and the reindeer. “This method allows us to confirm the seasonal nature of the occupation”, Rivals added.

According to the team, the microwear of the teeth is sensitive to seasonal changes in the diet.

The application has allowed the researchers to estimate the length of the occupation of the site from the Lower Paleolithic Age in the cave of Arago (France) by the number of marks on the fossils and, therefore, the variation in the diet of several species of herbivores, as “each season presented food resources which were limited and different in the environment”, the paleontologist clarified.

“With this method, we were able to prove that at the site, which belonged to Homo heidelbergensis, there is evidence of differing mobility, as there were highly mobile groups and others with little mobility”, said Rivals. (ANI)

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MJ tops ‘Most Fans on Facebook’ list

July 10, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, July 9 (ANI): Michael Jackson features at the top when it comes to having most number of fans on the popular social networking site Facebook.

According to figures released by AllFacebook.com, the late King of Pop reigns the upper echelons of Facebook’s superstar culture, with more than 7 million devotees.

Nick O’Neill, founder of the Social Times Web site, told CNN that the number previously stood at 80,000, but had skyrocketed over the last couple weeks, creating what Facebook dubbed the largest crowd response ever on the site, reports Christian Science Monitor.

Nick also said that the late star was gaining about 20 fans per second, and “even more during peak traffic hours.”

Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama bagged the second spot followed by The Fast and the Furious actor Vin Diesel.

The “I love sleep” community bagged the fourth spot, and wrapping up the top five was the “Pizza” group.

Here’s the ‘Most Fans on Facebook’ list

1. Michael Jackson

2. Barack Obama

3. Vin Diesel

4. I love sleep

5. Pizza

6. I need a vacation

7. Dr. House

8. Facebook

9. R.I.P. Michael Jackson

10. Will Smith (ANI)

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Vin Diesel has more than 5 million fans on Facebook

July 10, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, July 9 (ANI): Those looking to challenge the popularity of Vin Diesel can take a back seat, for the actor has a staggering 5,149,734 fans on the popular social networking site Facebook.

According to figures released by AllFacebook.com, The Fast and the Furious star ranked third in the upper echelons of Facebook’s superstar culture.

Topping the list was late King of Pop Michael Jackson, followed by US President Barack Obama, reports Christian Science Monitor.

Nick O’Neill, founder of the Social Times Web site, told CNN that the late star was gaining about 20 fans per second, and “even more during peak traffic hours”.

The “I love sleep” community bagged the fourth spot, and wrapping up the top five was the “Pizza” group.

Here’s the roster:

1. Michael Jackson

2. Barack Obama

3. Vin Diesel

4. I love sleep

5. Pizza

6. I need a vacation

7. Dr. House

8. Facebook

9. R.I.P. Michael Jackson

10. Will Smith (ANI)

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Oz mums breeding a generation of ‘mummy’s boys’

July 8, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Melbourne, July 8 (ANI): Australia is full of men, who belong to the generation of “mummies’ boys”, according to new data

Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics have revealed that 27 per cent of men, aged between 20 and 34, are still living with their parents – which is double the proportion of women.

Social demographer Bernard Salt has said that the difference might be because men generally marry younger women.

But he claimed that the constant pampering of their mothers often make such men to have unrealistic expectations of their partners.

“Men are living at home well into their twenties because they get free meals, free board, free laundry, free access to the family car and you can have your girlfriend stay in your bedroom overnight, so why would you ever leave home?” News.com.au quoted Salt as saying.

“Plus the fact mum dotes on you and that leads to that we may well be raising this entire generation of men who are effectively mummie’s boys. The problem being that when they go out and form a meaningful relationship they expect their girlfriend to pick up where mum left off,” he added.

Earlier, men generally left home at 18 and were fending for themselves managing their own household and budgets.

“If you’ve got mummy picking up your dirty washing at 27 – you never actually learn those skills,” he said. (ANI)

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What makes good teachers even better

July 8, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, July 8 (ANI): The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) in the UK has made some findings as to what makes good teachers even better.

Professor Christopher Day, Professor Pam Sammons and Dr Alison Kington at the School of Education University of Nottingham carried out the two-year Effective Classroom Practice (ECP) at the School of Education University of Nottingham from 2006-2008.

Lead researcher Prof. Day believes that the research provides a unique picture of the more effective teacher.

“More effective teachers create a positive climate for learning by challenging pupils’ ideas, inspiring them, being more innovative in their practice and differentiating amongst pupils according to their abilities and interests where appropriate,” says Prof. Day.

That, according to the researcher, means: “Pupils have more control over and engagement in their learning and more opportunities for success.”

Based on their findings, the researchers have come to the conclusion that the best teachers are not necessarily those with the most experience.

They say that the best teachers are the ones with enthusiasm for their work, high aspirations for the success of every pupil, positive relations, high motivation, commitment and resilience.

They further say that combining good knowledge of their subject and teaching practice and providing support tailored to the individual needs of each child, these teachers focus on building self esteem, engendering trust and maintaining respect.

The two-year study involved 81 teachers (45 primary and 36 secondary), 38 head teachers and 3,000 pupils and included a series of teacher and pupil questionnaires, observations of classroom practice and post-observation tools to allow in-depth probing of issues relating to data strands, such as teacher effectiveness, leadership issues, teacher identity, professional life phase and teacher efficacy.

“By including the collection and analysis of different kinds of observational data it was possible to get below the surface to reveal the interactions between classroom practice, teacher characteristics, professional life phase, school contexts and effectiveness as defined by pupils’ context value added scores which take account of prior learning and a range of socio economic factors, together with teacher and pupil perceptions of effectiveness,” Prof. Day explained.

The main impact relating to teaching practice has been for training and development purposes. The research points to the importance of providing teachers in service with structured, regular opportunities to reflect on their roles and classroom practices and learn from examples of best practice in a variety of school and classroom settings.

It points to the value of classroom observation and feedback as part of this process. (ANI)

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Divorced men more prosperous but not happier

July 8, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Sydney, July 8 (ANI): Divorced men are significantly more prosperous than divorced women, but they are more likely to regard themselves as poor four years after a marriage break-up, suggests a study.

The study, headed by the Australian Institute of Family Studies, found the incomes of divorced fathers with kids under the age of 18 shot 24 per cent, adjusted for family size, while divorced mothers’ income rose on average 1.8 per cent.

The researchers observed that women suffered considerable financial penalty for years after divorce, yet many said that they were no worse off than before the split, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.

Nearly 13 per cent even said that they were better off, possibly, because they had better control over the finances.

And while the fathers reported being more better off than when married, 9.7 per cent cried poor or very poor four years after the divorce, compared with 4 per cent of the mothers.

Matthew Gray, the institute’s deputy director, and lead author of the study, said: “They might have more money but many used to have someone doing the cooking and cleaning and organising the social life, and some are alienated and angry because they don’t live with their children. And a lot of men really don’t want to pay child support.”

The paper was due to be presented at the Australian Social Policy conference at the University of NSW. (ANI)

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