Why Vocational and Career Education Are Important

There are three major reasons why every school district should offer strong vocational learning opportunities:

1. Vocational competence is critical to the economic health of our nation.

2. A significant number of students, both college-bound and non-college-bound, are experiential learners who will learn academic skills best from developing them in a career or application context.

3. Delaying the career or application context until after grade 12 lowers motivation and learning achievement for many experiential learners.

Consider these characteristics of experiential learners:

1. They are often as or even more capable of complex learning than traditional learners.

2. They learn academic skills best from concrete tasks and a focus on real-life problems.

3. They often do not work to their potential in the relatively abstract-linear environment of traditional classes.

So, not having vocational or career learning options is a major disservice to the many experiential learners in any school population.

Advantages of Career and Vocational Education

When strong vocational learning options are available in a school district, they present these advantages:

1. They help many experiential learners reach higher achievement levels. (Too few policymakers have given adequate attention to a major weakness of American public education – - lack of inclusion of a strong application component in learning programs. Refer to the work of Dr. William Daggett, president of the International Center for Leadership in Education, for solid research comparisons in this area. The Center’s web site is www.LeaderEd.com.)

2. Career path exploration helps many students make more information and dedicated choices on college enrollment. Students often discover the career path they love and are more motivated to pursue college study.

3. Career context makes subjects and courses more meaningful to students. Application adds to the strength of learning.

4. The career context makes it more feasible to teach and promote a continuous improvement culture in relation to the real world of work.

5. Strong secondary school vocational programs provide workplace skills to some students who do not plan to attend college immediately after graduation from high school. They also equip many college-bound students with skills useful in part-time work that helps in financing college study.

Evaluating Your Local Situation

Do you want to evaluate the strength of your local vocational and career options for students? Look for positive responses to these standards:

1. The local school mission statement recognizes career/vocational education as a valuable service to many college-bound and non-college-bound students.

2. The career focus is placed on all levels of the K-12 programs – -

a. Elementary schools using career-focused stories, readings, field trips.

b. Middle schools providing strong technical (applied) literacy learning opportunities, especially to encourage continued interest in science. Also, providing after-school career exploration options perhaps with the help of local or area vocational centers.

c. High schools providing a broad spectrum of both career exploration and initial skill development on different career paths. NOTE: The number of vocational programs should be adequate to serve students with different talents and interests. There should be technical or science-focused programs, people-focused programs, and traditional trade programs.

d. High school guidance providing help on preference matching between talents and careers.

e. High school vocational programs presenting beneficial articulation with both 2-year and 4-year college programs to reject completely the error of viewing vocational courses as something only for the non-college-bound. That latter stereotype was founded on ignorance of the value of different talent or intelligence areas.

f. High schools providing strong information on and articulated access to apprentice training programs as a viable and important option for graduation.

3. Fiscal support and facilities are maintained on modern and attractive levels for both classical and vocational programs, never allowing one area to play second-fiddle to the other.

4. Local educators and government leaders are working to correct any state and national inattention to the needs and talents of experiential and vocational learners. NOTE: That inattention is evidenced by over-emphasis on written high stakes tests and concurrent outright failure to provide performance evaluation options for highly talented experiential learners under initial implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act. Reasons given for this serious failure are nothing but outright rationalizations to provide excuses for avoiding the work of constructing comprehensive assessment programs. Narrow written tests alone are an “easier” even though cognitively weak option. Can you imagine riding in an airplane with a pilot who has passed a written test but never before actually successfully flown an airplane? At some point in the future a higher quality assessment program must be pursued for the good of students and the good of our nation.

5. Local educators and government leaders work actively to ensure three other realities for quality vocational programs:

a. Secondary vocational programs being protected against misuse such as referral of a disproportionate share of learning disadvantaged students (who often need more effective basic academic programs) or misbehaving students (who can be dangerous to themselves and others in shop situations). NOTE: The mission of vocational schools involves career path selection and preparation. They are not special education schools but, like all schools, can serve their share of special education students. If over-used for the special education purpose, the primary mission is subverted and many talented experiential learners are tragically excluded.

b. Business and industry representatives being kept deeply involved as advisors to and evaluators of all secondary vocational programs. NOTE: This is the path to keeping programs relevant to evolving careers and to having businesses provide special help (internships, equipment, etc.) to an important source of future employees.

c. Secondary vocational programs being given strong annual funding for modernization of teaching youngsters to use equipment no longer used in the real world of work.

If the response to any one of the above basic standards is negative, you have identified an area where corrective action should be taken.

Image taken on 2005-12-19 20:40:59. Image Source. (Used with permission)

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Fresher: Find your first job

April & May, the months where students come out fresh from Colleges and Universities, few may have already planned for further studies but most of them would aim to find a job and start their career. For all those fresher who want the career to kick start, first and foremost you have to prepare a winning CV/Resume that helps you get the interview call. The next stage is to perform well in your interview that will get your first job. All Fresher should remember to be a successful candidate you have to work hard and be committed in your work, which will take you to heights in your career.

Prepare a CV/Resume

First & foremost, you must prepare a CV/Resume. A curriculum vitae or CV is a short document that describes your personal details, key skills and experience. It is very important that you describe yourself in a positive way and the CV should match the job description. Don’t wait for your results to be announced to prepare your CV; you always can mention in the CV that you are waiting for your results. Get advice from your seniors, working professionals and you can search on the internet to prepare a great CV that earns you an interview call. Make sure that after you have prepared the CV, send it across to your friends and family who can give valuable comments on the CV. Once you feel confident that your CV looks good then start to apply for jobs.

Where to find your Job?

You should know where to look for your jobs. Vacancies can be found in,
-Your College and University Placement Office notice boards.
-Newspapers (Most of them advertise on Wednesdays and Sundays weekly)
-Job search websites e.g. someone like us www.chennaijobsite.com
-Job consultancies/Recruitment agencies
-Company websites

Applying for a Job

Companies have different ways to apply for jobs.
Covering letter & CV
When companies ask to send a CV, you will be asked to send a covering letter as well. It is always better to send a covering letter with the CV, as this can used as a tool to impress the HR personnel apart from the CV. Your covering letter should include the following:
-Job reference id or Job Title
-A clear cut explanation on how you fit the Job role and the contribution you can offer in achieving the company’s’ goals
-Ensure that the document is spell and grammar checked before you send it to the company.
Application/Online forms
Companies may also ask to fill up an application form either may be paper application or an online form. When you fill up these forms, please make sure that you read and understand the instructions on the form. If you have any doubts please feel free to get clarified. Do not send an incomplete form as the chances are high that your application may be unsuccessful. The form will have a separate section where you have to describe on how well your suit the job description. This is the most important section in the application form that will earn or reject an interview call.

Key skills

Highlighting the key skills and co-relating them to the job role will be the key to the success of your application. You must demonstrate that you have
*Excellent communication skills
*Good working relationships
*Ability to work in a team
*Computer literacy

Interview Call

If your application is successful i.e. the HR personnel of the company is impressed either with your CV or your application, you will be invited for an Interview. This is an opportunity for you to communicate directly and a chance for the company to asses whether you are suitable for the job.
You will end up with your first job after you have successfully managed the whole process.

Wishing you all the very best for your Job search!

Image taken on 2008-12-11 21:48:55. Image Source. (Used with permission)

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Musicians by nature are emotionally connected to the world in profound ways. They are able to see and feel things in a way that is unique to their views. Because of their strong emotional connection to the world they are drawn to helping others and making the world we live in a better place. To understand why the creative culture gets involved with certain causes, here are five key reasons that drive their passions.

Raising Visibility
Many musicians support a cause because they want to elevate awareness in society. Bono is one of the best examples of this. AIDS awareness and prevention in Africa is a major issue, but does not always take center-stage in developed nations. Bono spends a lot of his time sponsoring AIDS awareness with (RED).  Through various concerts and speaking engagements Bono works with (RED) to raise awareness and educate the developed world on the prevalence of AIDS in third world nations.

Sharing Values
Through profound personal experiences, some musicians are inspired to reach out and spread awareness. These musicians are often cancer survivors or recovering addicts. Melissa Etheridge is a great example of a musician that has reached out to support breast cancer awareness after surviving the disease. From performing at Hard Rock’s Pinktober Breast Cancer Awareness event to writing the song “Run for Life” for the Race for the Cure event, Etheridge is constantly promoting breast cancer research and awareness.

Educate
Sometimes, the general public are not informed of the cause or ways to volunteer. The Barenaked Ladies are constantly working with groups to increase awareness and educate their audiences.  One organization they are currently working with is ABC CANADA–a private-sector group that tries promote adult literacy in Canada. They recently teamed up with Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream and created the “If I had a Million Flavours” ice cream that helps raise awareness and the proceeds go to ABC CANADA.

To read more about what motivates cultural influencers to change, visit Sparxoo.com, a Marketing, Branding and Business Development Blog.

Image taken on 2008-04-18 10:26:38. Image Source. (Used with permission)

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Introduction

What follows is the text of a webinar I conducted on the subject of worksite wellness.

I’ve noticed a huge amount of information available on administrative matters, on recruiting employees, motivating them, coaching them, certifying the staff, measuring return on investment (ROI), assessing risks, reforming bad habits, coordinating this and getting support for that—and even connecting the mind with the body. Well, what will they think of next? All of this is, of course, well and good and quite appropriate, especially that last part about uniting the body with the brain. But, something’s missing. Whatever might that be?

I think it’s a foundation issue of a good life. We might begin addressing that by clarifying what we want to mean by the term wellness. This will lead to conversations about what topics to address in wellness education. How many times have you had occasion to assess, to brainstorm or otherwise ponder the most consequential agenda for wellness at the workplace? Ever? Can we entertain topics beyond lowering health risks, managing problems and saving money? Consider the kind of worksite wellness programs we have now and ask yourself—is that all there is? Can we do better? Can we seek more? Could we offer a richer agenda, topics that go to the heart of quality of life—matters that relate to living exuberantly, rather than surviving and coping? For instance, can we, employees in this case, be guided to understand the science of happiness in order to make better choices that lead to greater joy in life? Can work, and life itself, be more meaningful? Can we talk about and get some help pondering our purposes, our connections with each other, the larger world and ourselves? Can we be helped to think straight—to act with reason and to make the most of our liberties and freedoms? Also, what does it mean to be an ethical person—and what values of a secular nature inform our loyalties and commitments?

If these matters have appeal, you will probably enjoy exploring and developing a REAL wellness agenda.

The Format of the Webinar

To keep things interesting, I’ll ask you a few questions as I go along. I know you can’t answer, but the Q’s might help you put the ideas offered in a useful context.

There will be follow-up opportunities. I’ve also posted essays about REAL W at my website—SeekWellness.com/wellness. Of course, I’ll be in Stevens Point for the conference from July 17 to 22. My REAL wellness presentation is set for Monday afternoon.

So, let’s start with expectations: What are yours for this webinar?

My Objectives

I have five objectives:

To explain WELLNESS—what it was always intended to entail, starting in the 70’s when Jack Travis, Bob Allen, Bill Hettler and I gained a bit of traction for this concept introduced decades earlier by Dr. Halbert Dunn.

To provide you with enough of the basics about the nature of what I now call REAL wellness to enable you to decide if this approach deserves a closer look. IS IT the direction or the kind of evolution YOU want to see for worksite wellness? My objective is to persuade you that it is.

To inspire you to become a REAL wellness enthusiast, personally and as a worksite agent. A co-conspirator, perhaps but not an undercover mole. REAL wellness enthusiasts must come out of the closet and make their voices heard.

To convey enough about REAL wellness that you will attempt it at a worksite.

To prompt a transformed worksite agenda rich with positive educational elements that could lead many employees to quality of life advances.

Am I getting carried away already? Stop me before I go too far! I know I only have a half-hour, less than that now. Normally, I need a week for each of these objectives.

But, time is a luxury we can’t afford. Things are in a dreadful state.

I’ll start with a review of wellness, which is objective one. The term has been around more than half a century. It was intended to convey well-being toward a fulfilling life of consequence to self and others—positive ideas, healthy lifestyles and the embrace of personal responsibility. Alas, it has been used to promote all manner of medical programs, holistic remedies, professional services and a wide range of products.

Since there is no Wellness Supreme Court or Wellness Vatican or any other official sanctioning body, there is no consensus what is proper, sensible, sanctified or otherwise legitimate and appropriate about the use of the term. Not surprisingly, after so many years of a laissez faire, no-holds barred usage, wellness has come to mean whatever anyone wants it to mean.

Therefore, let’s think of wellness as a philosophy or mindset that, like our own species, is evolving. So far, the term has not always evolved in the best ways. It has not fared well, in my view, at the workplace. The word is popular, but what is offered at most worksites is not even close to being wellness.

I’m referring to the basic form of wellness, such as I described in my 1976 book High Level Wellness: An Alternative to Doctors, Drugs And Disease. 

Wellness should not be confused with risk reduction, medical testing or miscellaneous health education.

It’s been happening for 30 years, but never forget—the future lies ahead.

Let’s stop this limiting trend and move on toward genuine wellness programming. It can’t happen unless you and others currently working with companies choose to embrace a more ambitious agenda for worksite education.

If risk reduction, medical testing and similar disease detection/illness prevention efforts represent a middle school educational level, and I’m being generous here, REAL wellness would represent a university post-graduate level of continuous study.

The current medically focused programs are useful and good, essential for the physical health of employees, especially those who have not looked after themselves very well. Such health education based preventive efforts have provided a fair ROI for most companies and organizations. However, it ain’t wellness—it’s not even close.

And, without genuine wellness elements, worksite efforts in the context of current problems represent a modern-day form of fiddling while Rome burns, or the Titanic sinks or—pick your own imagery.

Do you agree?

Expectation for REAL Worksite Wellness

Before making a go/no go choice, consider what wellness programming would be like if the agenda featured REAL wellness elements.

Here are half a dozen or more expectations I have for REAL wellness, if companies and other organizations were to evolve their programming to take on, to introduce and to guide learning in REAL wellness skill areas. These projected outcomes contain the specifics about the nature of REAL wellness. Here we go.

If worksites offered REAL wellness, you could expect the following:

Employees would in time learn how to derive more satisfaction from both their work and their lives.

Employees would be supported and guided into an embrace of a much higher standard of personal responsibility, not just for their health, but for the overall quality of their lives.

Employees would develop a solid understanding of the nature of happiness, based on research in recent years from the field of Positive Psychology—and they would gain insights on ways to experience more of it, more often.

Employees would accept the idea that life can, on occasions, be positively exuberant, even without alcohol and drugs.

Employees would explore life’s eternal questions that affect ideas about meaning and purpose. Try not to assume that workers are too dumb, undereducated, close-minded or intimidated to express or to want to learn about existential matters, cosmic wonders and a rich library of varied wisdom available to 21st century humans that were out of bounds, unknowable to our ancestors.

Employees would learn proven principles of critical thinking in everyday life situations and practical ways to apply these principles. Examples include simple but highly effective concepts, such as Carl Sagan’s famous ten-point system for BS detection. A REAL wellness education might even lead to a better class of elected officials, as employees would be less likely to embrace charlatans, mountebanks, world class flakes and total bloviators to high office. I hope you will give me a little extra credit here for not identifying certain politicians who embody all or most of these just-noted qualities. It was not easy but this IS a non-partisan webinar.

With REAL wellness offerings, employees would gain new respect for the nature of science. The objective here is to promote both a better understanding and a higher appreciation for reason and evidence-based decision-making. (This wellness skill has profound implications for reshaping employee beliefs about everyday choices to be made, such as whether to spend money on lottery tickets, on unproven medical products or on alternative medical treatments, food supplements and the like. It also has consequences for how susceptible employees might be to claims from astrologers, Bigfoot investigators, clairvoyants, televangelists and other advocates for magical thinking. Two more examples of expected benefits from a REAL wellness worksite program that promotes scientific literacy would be an appreciation of the randomness of events and circumstances versus holding to such a Stone Age perspective as the idea that “there is a reason for everything.” And of course employees would be much less likely to cling to hopes for preposterously unlikely outcomes, like the Cubs ever playing in a World Series.)

Are you still with me? I’m just getting started with this listing of changes you could expect from REAL wellness programming as the thrust of worksite wellness. Let me mention a couple more that will help you appreciate how profoundly different REAL—that’s reason, exuberance and liberty—REAL wellness is from today’s so-called “wellness” at the worksite. 

Employees would develop greater comfort levels in thinking about values. They would be capable of talking about their ideas, as well as listening respectfully, to what others have to say about common decencies and ethical standards that should apply to work and other situations. This skill is an emotional discipline that promotes reflections about human values instrumental for democratic societies. The payoff of including such a skill area in worksite programming would be an increase in tolerance for differences, mutual understanding and advances in family, corporate and community harmony. Examples of common decencies, promoted by all religions but exclusive to none of them, are integrity, trustworthiness, benevolence and fairness.

We all toss around these four words—integrity, trustworthiness, benevolence and fairness, but what, exactly, do they mean? Do we need religions in order to embrace and honor such values? I think not. They are worthwhile in their own right—society works best when these values are shared and respected. A little detail on each of the four qualities might be in order.  

Integrity includes truthfulness, promise keeping, sincerity and honesty. Trustworthiness includes fidelity, loyalty and dependability.  Benevolence involves goodwill, refraining from harming others personally or their property.  Fairness encompasses gratitude, accountability, justice, tolerance and cooperation. 

Have you ever heard of these matters being brought forward and discussed as part of worksite wellness? Neither have I. Maybe that should change.

Assessing What to do Next

Three questions might come to your mind at this point: 

How to get started to do any or all of these Gow long might it take to transition to REAL wellness and What are the obstacles?

The answer to each of these questions is the same. You can quote me, if you wish. The answer is: I dunno. How could anyone profess to know such a thing, at this stage?

Of course we can study the issues and speculate. I’ve written essays about how this might be done. Contact me if you want them—and/or attend the REAL wellness sessions at the National Wellness Conference.

We would all benefit if your energies were channeled to thinking about and exploring ways to find best approaches to these challenges. Of course, if it were easy, we’d be doing it now.

I’ll finish this with a summary of an article in Wednesday’s WSJ about the worksite wellness program at AmeriGas which I think strongly supports the case for REAL wellness.

AmeriGas spent half a million dollars on WW screenings in 2008. Nothing remotely RW about this spending—it was pure medical testing. What did they gain from this investment? According to Anna Mathews, the WSJ reporter who wrote the article entitled, “When All Else Fails: Forcing Workers Into Healthy Habits,” not much. Health costs were at least 3 percent higher than they would have been without the program.

That’s a quote from the Amerigas executive in charge! He attributes the increased spending to the cost of additional exams and follow-up care from screenings. Many preventive health programs not only ignore REAL wellness education of any kind, let alone communicate principles related to reason, exuberance or liberty issues—they fail to deliver savings on medical costs! Ergo, it is a mistake to spend money on WW programs that offer workers only risk reduction, testing and omnibus H ed programming. Doing so might represent a form of worksite wellness malpractice.

Read this WSJ article. It shows conclusively that only those corporate wellness programs that resulted in participants making changes, such as losing weight or quitting smoking, have saved money.

And there’s the rub. Scaring people with evidence that poor habits have bad consequences does not lead to long-term, sustained exceptional lifestyle habits. The risk reduction approach only works if employees make changes, and negative messages (e.g., you must deal with this risk or die) give short-term results, if any at all. And, these low level efforts are expensive. Quality of life must be valued for intrinsic, positive reasons. And THAT goal is, as you might recall, the bottom line reward of a REAL wellness mindset.

Only REAL wellness education will give employees a realistic shot at developing their own commitments to quality of life—for life, for positive reasons that are intrinsically valued.

With that, I’ll close. Thanks again for attending. I hope this introduction invites further interest in worksite wellness for quality of life in addition to sound prevention. Be well. 

Image taken on 2007-08-27 02:44:12. Image Source. (Used with permission)

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Getting an Edge Over the Other Police Applicants 

If you’re aiming at a career in law enforcement, then you’ll need to brush up on your examination skills. Not only will you face an oral exam to test how you respond under pressure and what your reactions might be when faced with specific situations, but you’ll need to pass a written exam too. 

The job market is notoriously competitive, so if you want to be considered as the best candidate to be accepted into the police force, it’s important you give yourself an edge over the other applicants. 

Preparing For the Police Written Exam 

Did you know the person who answers every single question on a written test isn’t always the person who gets the highest test score? That applicant may have rushed through the exam in order to finish, but may also have gotten several answers incorrect in his or her haste. 

Your exam strategy can actually help to increase your final test score if you remember to slow down and take some time to read through all the questions before you begin. 

This will give you an overview of which questions you know you can answer easily and which ones will require more time and attention. You may also notice several ‘weighted’ questions included in your police written exam. 

These are questions that are worth more points on your score than several shorter questions combined. If you can, try to think through possible answers to these first as they will form a larger percentage of your total mark. 

What to Study Prior to Your Police Written Exam 

While there are plenty of literacy, numeracy, comprehension, memory and observation questions in your exam, you’ll also find plenty on police procedures, pursuits and other questions pertinent to your chosen career path. 

The majority of speed and accuracy questions are a matter of common sense. They’re designed to test your deductive skills and comprehension of various things. 

However, the police procedural questions are there to see how well you retain information about the laws and police performance traits. 

Increasing Your Police Written Exam Score 

Believe it or not, there is a certain skill behind successful test scores that goes a lot deeper than just knowing the answers. A big reason behind much of the testing is to see how well you handle instruction and to give the examiners an insight into your problem solving skills and your memory. 

These are all vital skills any good police officer will need in order to perform well in a law enforcement role. The exam compilers understand this and put together tests designed to specifically highlight these aspects within you. 

You’ll also find that common sense and judgment are a focal point within police written tests. You may find some police procedural questions included in your test that require you to display your sense of judgment and common sense in how you would potentially respond. Always remember that even though a lay-man’s description of what you would do might be the right answer, you will increase your score by answering using police language and terminology. 

These are aspects of your test you can study for so you have a much better chance of increasing your police written exam score. 

For more information about the police exam check out the Police Exam Digital Manual found at http://www.policepath.com which offers you police exam strategies & practice tests.

Image taken on 2006-09-24 13:18:03. Image Source. (Used with permission)

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We all use Energy for transportation, heating/cooling, and perhaps recreation.   And, at times there is much conversation about Peak Oil and high energy prices.  So we should all be dialed in to the issues and investment themes associated with energy.

Steve Forbes likes to say “ more financial education, and the resulting financial literacy and empowerment, will open our eyes to alternative investment opportunities and be the key to a recovery from this financial crisis.”

In that spirit, I am going to use this article to briefly introduce the Peak Oil concept as part of drilling down (no pun intended) on the Energy theme which is one of the 5 Es of the “5E-valuation framework”.

If we are at Peak Oil what happens next for Energy?

For background information, you can go to my blog for a summary and a pointer to my recent article “Consider using these 5 E-valuation factors to avoid a financial rip tide: learn to thrive, not just survive.”

Here is an excerpt straight from my previous article “1 – Energy is no longer cheap.  We have reached the point of Peak Oil … meaning the easy stuff to find and drill has occurred.  While more oil is being found, it will be very expensive to drill, pump, and distribute to customers so more and more of our budget will be used to pay for energy hence the interest in alternative energy sources and investment opportunities”.

Peak Oil is the easy stuff to find, drill, pump, and transport to customers.  With the easy stuff, we have seen in recent years oil prices that range from the mid teens to approx $150/barrel in 2008.

When we transition to the stuff harder to find, drill, pump, and transport to customers, just image where the prices will go … for sure much higher than the $50-$60-$70 avg price per barrel over the past few years.

Prices for gas at the pump could increase from an avg of $2.50 per gal to way past the $4.50 per gal we experienced in 2008.

If it is twice as hard to get the newer stuff, and everything else stays equal, we could see prices at the pump of $7 – $8 – $9 per gallon.

Many say it was last year’s $4.50 per gal ($150/barrel) that pushed the economy over the cliff and ignited the Great Recession we are now experiencing.

What happens to our economy, and way of life, when costs at the pump increase to the $7 – $8 – $9 per gal area?  It could get ugly … so consider alternative investment opportunities to thrive in a world of more expensive Energy.

Where are we with the “easy stuff?”

Work is underway at existing oil fields (in Saudi Arabia, Mexico, the North Sea, and Nigeria) to coax more oil out of these fields.  Progress is good however every little bit of more effort to get oil out of these fields adds a little bit more to the cost of the barrel of oil.

Many say that there is plenty of oil right now so why be concerned?

There are three reasons:

1)     Demand right now is significantly lower due to the worldwide slow down.  Once we get beyond this crisis, and when economic activity in the new growth areas kick back into gear, demand will skyrocket and quickly consume what many think is “plenty” of oil.

2)     The oil that is plentiful right now is what we see above ground in tankers at sea and storage tanks strategically located around the world.  However there are two other parts of the supply chain that occur prior to this storage activity – one is the exploration/drilling/pumping activity and the other activity is in transportation of oil to customers.  Due to the low cost of oil and lower profits right now, it is not economically feasible at this time to put a whole lot of investment in these two activity areas that occur prior to the storage activity.  If we don’t begin to ramp up investment in these two front end areas, which have 2-5 year lead times, and the demand dramatically increases, prices for the supply in storage, will skyrocket.

3)     Finally, there are two major countries, India and China that are building middle class populations.  Once people in those countries get jobs, one of the first things they want to do is buy a car and drive around.  When this increased mobility kicks-in, the demand for oil & gasoline will skyrocket.

So we need to continue to coax more oil out of existing fields, we need to make and ramp up investments in the first two parts of the supply chain, and we need to find more oil.

Here is a brief status as to the efforts underway to find more oil in 3 locations.

1)     Brazil – recently announced an oil find, the Tupi field, off the east coast of Brazil far out (up to 200 miles) in the Atlantic Ocean that provides reserves (estimated to be about 10 billion barrels) about equal to Saudi Arabia.  It will require wells in waters up to two miles deep and through four – five miles of rock and seabed floor.  Estimates are that $175B will be needed to build and buy dozens of new drill ships and seagoing platforms, along with many dozens of support and servicing vessels.  They will need to lay thousands of miles of pipelines on the seafloor, connecting massive complexes of subsea equipment that will sit atop hundreds of oil wells.  Most likely, it is a five year offshore development effort.  Since the traditional credit markets are not available, the Chinese have arrived to finance much of this effort, in return of course, for oil … which they will need a lot of as their middle class populations grow (as mentioned earlier in this article).

2)     Tiber site in the Gulf of Mexico was announced in early September and is a totally new find and different from the older, more mature fields of Pemex in Cantarell, Mexico.  It is expected to produce over 1 B barrels of oil but it will take many years and a lot of investment dollars (think alternative wealth creating strategies) … plus these wells are likely to be in water at a world record depth of 35,000 feet.  Next steps – it will take approximately two years to confirm and validate scope of potential; design and build an offshore platform at approx $1B; drill wells at $50M each; and approx $500M for an offshore floating facility to offload production storage to tankers.  Sources of financing have not yet been announced.

3)     Namibia – keep going east in the Atlantic from the find offshore of Brazil mentioned above and you will land on the shores of Namibia, a country on the Southwest Coast of Africa (just west of Botswana and just north of the country of South Africa) with a functioning democracy.  This find is in its very early stages and the scope of the find, nor development investment, has been calculated.  However scientists, geologists, and petroleum engineers working the area, are calling it a geologic analog to Brazil’s and expect investment and output to be at least equivalent.  Obviously, much more work is to be done in Namibia.

All of these areas represent significant alternative investment strategies for players, producers, and engineering services.

In previous articles, I wrote that examples of alternative wealth creating strategies included energy assets that are inherently useful like oil rigs … things hard to build, difficult to replace, and costly to substitute … definitely not financial stocks, definitely not retail stocks, definitely not commercial property.

I trust this article provides a little more insight as to why oil rigs, energy, and engineering services companies continue to represent alternative wealth creating strategies.

In addition, a good book to read would be “Twilight in the Desert” by Matthew Simmons.

I will continue to build upon the Energy theme, which is one of the 5 Es of the “5E-valuation framework” and the other Es in the framework (from west to East, Empire is shrinking, Experiment with paper money, and Economic cycle) in future articles and updates at my blog which is at http://aspenIbiz.blogspot.com.  

Image taken on 2006-01-15 11:50:31. Image Source. (Used with permission)

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Human Development Index and Gender Development Index of India

The human development index (HDI) compiled by the UNDP, is a summary measure of a country’s human development. It measures the average achievements in a country in three basic dimensions:

•  a long and healthy life, as measured by life expectancy at birth;

•  access to knowledge, as measured by the adult literacy rate and the combined gross enrolment (sic) ratio in education; and

•  a decent standard of living, as measured by GDP per capita in purchasing power parity(PPP) US dollars.

These three dimensions are standardized to values between 0 and 1, and the simple average is taken to arrive at the overall HDI value in the range 0 to 1. Countries are then ranked on the basis of this value with a rank of 1 representing the highest HDI value.

India ranks 134 among 182 countries and is classified as a medium HDI country. Between 1980 and 2007, India’s HDI increased by about 1.3% every year. Many African countries show even higher growth rates in HDI, reflecting the very low levels they were at in 1980. Most high income countries show growth rates between 0.25 to 0.5% per year over this period.

The ranking clearly showed India has slipped in comparative terms in ensuring a better quality of life for its citizens as in the previous index, compiled together for 2007 and 2008, it ranked 128, while the position the year before was 126.

Norway, Australia and Iceland top the HDI while Afghanistan, Sierra Leone and Niger are the bottom of the HDI.

Gender Development Index of India

In terms of the Gender Development Index, India ranks 113 out of 157 countries. Gender Development Index is calculated with the use of 3 variables:

•    Life Expectancy

•    Education

•    Estimated Earned Income

Government Expenditure in Social Sector

The government to improve these parameters that affect the HDI and GDI has increasingly been spending higher on social services as a proportion of total expenditure and was 22.5% for 2008. Expenditure on education and health care has also increased.

Poverty Index of India

There are concerns about vulnerability of people who have crossed the poverty line (PL) and are at present above it. Vulnerability is a relative term and could be gauged from the consumption pattern in the absence of a better available alternative.

The average per capita consumption expenditure for rural and urban population as per 61st Round (2004-05) is Rs. 558.78 and Rs.1052.36, respectively. NSSO data also reveals that rural population on an average spends about 55% of its consumption on food and the remaining 45% on non-food items.

Read more about the Socio-economic profile of India at http://www.india-reports.com/summary/socio.aspx

Image taken on 2008-07-20 00:43:15. Image Source. (Used with permission)

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The other night I was attending a seminar on “The Conspiracy For Your Money” and one of the topics discussed was fiat currency and the debasing or devaluing of the currency that is causing the value of the US Dollar to shrink.

 

In a previous article titled “Decades of Debt and Dollar Doubts”, the challenges being experienced at all levels of the economy related to King Dollar and the large government debt that is being generated beyond any reasonable understanding, were introduced.  Due to the growing debt and the resulting decrease in the value of the US Dollar, many are having Dollar Doubts which is related to the ability of the USD to be the world’s reserve currency.

 

Now that we are watching the meltdown of the US Dollar before our eyes, I was reminded of the meltdown of the Wicked Witch of the West in the movie “the Wizard of OZ” and how similar conditions were at the time the story was written, to conditions we are experiencing today.

 

Your author grew up in Kansas and as a child could relate to this story, especially the early part of the movie where a tornado picked up a farmhouse with Dorothy inside and deposited them in a field in the Land of Oz.  And now, a few years later, your author can relate to the “rest of the story” (as Paul Harvey used to say).

 

The book was published in 1900 by Lyman Frank Baum and was a representation about life, political populism in the US, and the gold and silver debate, as it related to the value of the US Dollar currency, in the 1890s.

 

Baum had a deep interest in the gold-silver debate, and fiat currency, because he was wealthy and heir to serious family money that came from the 19th-century oil fields of Pennsylvania.

 

The book title, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” (where Oz stands for “ounces”) highlights the interest in knowing how many US Dollars were required to purchase an ounce of gold, or an ounce of silver.

 

In the early part of the 20th century, it took $35 USDs to buy an oz of gold.  Almost 10 years into the 21st century, an oz of gold just had a closing price of $1,100.

 

In a little over a century, the purchasing power of the Baum family inheritance had been reduced by 30 times due to fiat currency and debasing of the currency.

 

Due to inflation and the resulting debasing, or devaluing, of the currency, what the Baum family could buy today that cost $30 USD, they could buy at the time that one of their ancestors who wrote “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” could buy for $1.

 

Let’s use baseball and the Yankees baseball team as an analogy  …  one general admission ticket purchased for a game today (approx $25 – $30) could be purchased for $1 at the time the Wizard of Oz was written.

 

Can you buy anything at the baseball park today for $1?

 

Since wages increase over time, the impact of inflation is less noticeable because we tend to make more money to pay the increased or inflated prices.  Where inflation and currency devaluation take their biggest toll is over a generation or two as the purchasing power, and resulting lifestyle, is significantly decreased.

 

Now let’s get back to the story to see the parallels between then and now.

 

In the real story, the “Emerald City” of Oz was a city of gold.  It became emerald when MGM Studios made the famous Depression-era movie in 1939.  The yellow brick road was a metaphor for gold. Dorothy’s slippers were silver in the book and changed to ruby in the movie.

The Tin Woodman (who had become rusted and had his movement restored by Dorothy, using an oilcan … wanted to get a heart from The Wizard in Emerald City) stood for the urban workers of America, who were left out in the cold and rain by the forces of banker capitalism.

 

The Scarecrow (who was freed from the pole he was hanging on …   wanted to go to the Emerald City to get a brain) stood for the farmers and recall that he had no brain because many East Coast snobs thought farmers were dumb hicks, ripe for the picking.

 

The Cowardly Lion (who was afraid of everything … was encouraged to go to Emerald City to get courage) was a dead ringer for William Jennings Bryan who made good speeches but could not stand up to the entrenched big guys.

The Wizard was all smoke and mirrors and he reflected a composite of the political classes that came across as a bunch of charlatans who promised much and delivered little.

While The Wizard of Oz is a children’s story and not a cookbook for what ails us today, there are parallels.  While things are not what they may at first appear to be, the common people, the workers, the farmers, and the entire middle class, are smarter and nobler than the elites think …   just remember the “town hall” meetings in August of this year (ie 2009).

 

Like Dorothy, who is going to stand up to today’s Wizard of Oz, political classes, and elites … and say they are not as smart as they think?

 

Who will convince them that their policies and the out-of-control spending at the federal level, is beyond any rational understanding?

 

It most likely will be someone who has so much on the line (ie family wealth and net-worth based in US Dollars, like the Baum family) that will undertake efforts to attempt to arrest the demise of the US Dollar.

 

Could it be someone like the Oracle of Omaha … with a net-worth of billions?  Or could it be someone like the American business magnate of the software company out in the state of Washington or one of his direct reports … each with a net-worth of billions?  Or could it be one of the co-founders of the world’s largest internet companies out in the Bay Area of Northern California … each with a net-worth of billions?  Or could it be a former governor of a state from a land far away who is “going rogue.”

 

Like Dorothy, who dreamed of a better place “somewhere over the rainbow,” it will be someone who can create conditions that will rebuild the basic economy and maintain a stable dollar.

 

As Steve Forbes likes to say, obtaining more financial education and the resulting increased financial literacy and empowerment, will open our eyes to alternative wealth creating strategies and this is the key to resolving our financial crisis.

 

I trust this article has provided you with some insight regarding the downside of fiat currency.  And, using the story of the Wizard of Oz, you can see that if government officials and elites are left unchecked, the tendency will be to over-spend and cause Decades of Debt that will likely lead to a devaluation of the currency and Dollar Doubts.

 

You can find out more about fiat currency, King Dollar, central banking and home-based businesses by reading updates that will be posted at Farrell’s blog over the next few weeks which is at http://aspenIbiz.blogspot.com .

Image taken on 2007-03-11 12:17:25. Image Source. (Used with permission)

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Our country is unfortunately slipping down in the deep ditch of unemployment, poverty, extremely pathetic medical facilities, unimaginably low literacy rate and above all facing the growing menace of terrorism. The compound impact of these problems is blowing the nerves of every Pakistani. Completely locked in mental tension due to ugly situation around us, seeing towards our Government shows that our President, Prime Minister and his unlimited Cabinet is quite happy about the situation. The ruling party and toothless opposition of Sharif Brothers is laughing at our helplessness because they have not missed a single opportunity to make money even in these testing conditions and we are not coming out of the trap of these politicians. .

Electricity Crisis, Wheat Crisis, Sugar Crisis, Petrol Crisis, Gas Crisis, Law and Order crisis and the list goes on. You can see crisis situation is strongly ruling our intellects. People of Pakistan are unable to understand that what our Government is doing and why it has not been able to control the deteriorating situation of the country. Not many got answer to this but because of most of our population is kept deliberately illiterate by our sincere leaders just to facilitate themselves in maneuvering the minds of ignorant people to the direction of their choice. Only 25% of educated Pakistanis know about the fact but they cannot convince the masses to observe and judge the performance of their leaders.

I have come to know about some shocking revelations related to our Ministers and their extensive spending from State’s Treasury. The money which they spend is the tax money which our Government takes from our valuable earnings against their liability to provide us basic necessities of life including the maintenance of Law & Order in the country. But we should know that why these Ministers would think about the safety of common people because their security convoys are growing day by day? Why would they think about us when they can block us for hours in traffic jams due to VIP movement and due to this act of barbarism many innocent people die in the ambulances? Well it is hard to understand about the mental level of our leaders who are not only sucking our blood like parasites but are also taking huge bribes from our enemies to push Pakistan to the edge of the ditch.

I would like everybody to know about the shameful acts of our Ministers who do not think us the people as human. They don’t care how responsible they should be in spending our tax money!! They don’t even care about what is their responsibility as the members of the government and its cabinet. We see pathetic condition in hospitals, sorry conditions of the Police Stations and the residential facilities of poor Policemen. The lives of our innocent people are at stake but the convoys of our death fearing leaders are increasing every day.

I just want all the people to look into the reality by reading the following shocking disclosures.

First let us know that who is in the Cabinet of the Kingdom’s Ministry!!

List of Federal Ministers

Source : http://www.infopak.gov.pk/ministers.aspx

• Makhdoom Amin Fahim – Commerce 
• Dr. Arbab Alamgir Khan – Communications 
• Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar – Defence 
• Abdul Qayyum Khan Jatoi – Defence Production 
• Mir Hazar Khan Bijrani – Education 
• Hameed Ullah Jan Afridi – Environment 
• Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi – Foreign Affairs 
• Nazar Muhammad Gondal – Food and Agriculture 
• Mir Aijaz Hussain Jakhrani – Health 
• Rehmatullah Kakar – Housing and Works 
• Syed Mumtaz Alam Gillani – Human Rights 
• Mian Manzoor Ahmad Wattoo – Industries and Production 
• Mian Raza Rabbani – Inter Provincial Coordination 
• Waqar Ahmed Khan – Investment 
• Qamar Zaman Kaira – Information and Broadcasting ,Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas 
• Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah – Labour and Manpower 
• Farooq H. Naek – Law and Justice 
• Humayun Aziz Kurd – Livestock and Dairy Development 
• Justice (R) Abdul Razzaq A. Thahim – Local Government and Rural Development 
• Shahbaz Bhatti – Minorities 
• Nawabzada Khawaja Muhammad Khan Hoti – Narcotic Control 
• Dr. Zaheeruddin Babar Awan – Parliamentary Affairs 
• Makhdoom Shahabuddin – Planning and Development 
• Dr.Firdous Ashiq Awan – Population Welfare 
• Mir Israrullah Zehri – Postal Services 
• Syed Naveed Qamar – Privatization 
• Haji Ghulam Ahmed Bilour – Railways 
• Syed Hamid Saeed Kazmi – Religious Affairs 
• Samina Khalid Ghurki – Social Welfare and Special Education 
• Pir Aftab Hussain Shah Gillani – Sports 
• Najamuddin Khan – SAFRON 
• Lal Muhammad Khan – Special Initiatives 
• Rana Muhammad Farooq Saeed Khan – Textile Industry
Raja Pervaiz Ashraf – Water and Power 
• Shahid Hussain Bhutto – Youth Affairs 
• Noorul Haq Qadari – Zakat and Ushr

Ministries of State

• Chaudhry Imtiaz Safdar Waraich – Communication 
• Arbab Muhammad Zahir – Defence 
• Sardar Salim Haider Khan – Defence Production 
• Ghulam Farid Kathia – Education 
• Hina Rabbani Khar – Finance and Economic Affairs 
• Rafique Ahmed Jamali – Food and Agriculture 
• Nawabzada Malik Amad Khan – Foreign Affairs 
• Muhammad Afzal Sandhu – Health 
• Mohammad Tariq Anis – Housing and Works 
• Dr.Ayat Ullah Durrani – Industries and Production 
• Syed Sumsam Ali S. Bukhari – Information and Broadcasting 
• Tasneem Ahmed Qureshi – Interior 
• Abdul Raziq – Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas 
• Masood Abbas – Local Government and Rural Development 
• Ms.Mehreen Anwar Raja – Parliamentary Affairs 
• Sardar Nabeel Ahmed Gabol – Ports and Shipping 
• Muhammad Jadam Mangrio – Railways 
• Ms.Shugafta Jumani – Religious Affairs

Following are eye opening and shocking revelations about our Ministers barbaric personal expenditures.

Source: http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=145404 Analysis by “Mr. Farrukh Saleem”

How much does a minister cost? Well, there’s the salary and then there are allowances, financial benefits, rights, privileges and concessions. There are ‘Equipment Allowances’, travelling expenses for the minister and his family, cost of transporting personal servants, cost of transporting house-hold effects, sumptuary allowances, a furnished residence, travelling allowances for touring in Pakistan, Business Class air fare for minister and his wife, travelling allowances for tours abroad, First Class air fare, unlimited medical allowances and reimbursements, police escorts, fuel expenses, security, personal staff, office staff, utilities, entertainment allowances, entitlements of staff and telephone allowances.

Amazingly, the Auditor General of Pakistan got hold of a medical bill submitted by a JUI-F male MNA that sought reimbursement for a pregnancy test. A federal minister for health, for instance, was found using a Toyota Land Cruiser from the National Institute of Health, a five-door Prado from the Expanded Programme for Immunisation, a double cabin 4X4 from the Global Alliance for Vaccine & Immunisation and a Suzuki car from the PIMS (July 2005 to June 2007).

To be certain, only some of the above allowances, privileges and concessions are regulated under ‘The Members of Parliament (Salaries and Allowances) (Amendment) Act, 2005 (Act No V of 2005)’. To be sure, most of what is spent by a minister, his family and his relatives is extracted out of a whole host of projects that are under the administrative control of the respective minister’s ministry (that’s where Prados, double cabins and Land Cruisers come from).

Based on the current strength of the federal cabinet, all the ambassadors-at-large, advisers and others with the status of a minister, their accumulated spending in the following 12 months will not be less than Rs 500 crore; Rs 500 crore that we must beg and then spend. That translates into an average of Rs 6 crore per minister per year. The poorest of all countries, the richest of all ministers.

Just look at Islamabad’s priorities: Rs 6 crore per minister per year; Rs 144 per Pakistani per year for health; and Rs 145 per Pakistani per year for education. What’s the solution? Monetise all allowances, financial benefits, rights, privileges and concessions.

Intriguingly, this was only the second cabinet expansion. There are certainly going to be more. Remember, all these ministers and individuals with the rank of a minister are for the Islamabad Capital Territory, which is 1,165 square km and of which the Islamabad city covers an area of 906 square km (or 350 square miles). In Lahore, the government of Punjab runs 80 departments and 29 autonomous bodies. The government of the NWFP has 53 ministers and the government of Sindh has 41. The last time I checked, Balochistan, the poorest of all our provinces, had 41 ministers.

After knowing the above reality, can we say that our leaders are worth to be followed and trusted??? I think they are the vultures and they are here only to loot and run.

Pakistan is reaching pathetically low sustainability level, but seeing the irresponsible attitude of our Leaders, we can well understand that somewhere back in their minds they are happy with their looting and taking that as a final opportunity before the curtain drops..

Image taken on 2008-04-18 10:26:38. Image Source. (Used with permission)

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As a movement educator, with an MA from Teachers College Columbia University, many people think that I teach children and adults how to dance.  That is the furthest thing from the truth.  What I do is educate parents and teachers about the importance of movement and how to pass this knowledge and movement possibilities on to children.  At first I usually get the head nodding from adults; yes, they agree physical exercise is important, but I am not sure they understand why.  They know for themselves about the health benefits of exercise, getting the heart rate up, keeping the muscles strong and for many weight management.  But I am talking about so much more for both kids and adults.  I am talking about body ownership, spatial awareness, balance, muscle control, creativity, and a healthy view of your body as well as developing a healthy body.

 So here is a challenge I present to you, the reader.  Everyday give the gift of movement to the children in your life as well as to yourself.  Integrate movement ideas into the lives of you and your children and see how your body image, control, self-confidence and muscle control develops.  Sounds hard?  It’s not and I will give you the tools to help. 

Movement is broken down into four basic elements: body, space, time and energy.  Let’s focus on the body.  It is important to understand how your body moves.  You may be thinking that you already know how your body moves but do this simple 1 minute challenge with the children in your life and see how you do!

 Answer these 5 simple questions:

How many body parts can rotate or circle?  Which are they?

How many can bend? Which are they? How many can bend in more than one direction? How many can swing? Which are they? How many can stretch? Which are they? How many can do more than one of these suggestions.  Which can do the most? Which body parts can do the least? 

 By completing these questions you are discovering your body’s range of motion!

 I am not going to tell you the answers but I hope it will be fun for you to figure it out with a child.  I call this body ownership.  What do you know about your body?  If you know how your body works, you can give it specific directions.  Have you ever tried to teach a child how to throw a ball?  Think about the last 5 questions and think about if you would articulate the directions differently or have them explore their arm’s movement potential to understand the mechanics of the task.

 It is important to move, to be physically active not just because it is healthy for your body, but for your mind, for self-confidence and to achieve success in physical tasks.

Here are some other fun ideas to interact with the children in your life.

Make a list of 5 action words (maybe pick them out of a book you are reading.)  Do each one of the action words and each time you do them see if you can make the movements bigger and bigger and bigger and then smaller and smaller and smaller.  With the same list of action words see how far you can travel in the space and then see how little you can travel. Finally with this list make a repeatable pattern.

 These 3 fun ideas not only help in understanding spatial awareness but develop gross motor skills and math skills.

Help children learn about their movement potential, learn about their bodies and the world around them.  There is no better way to learn then through the experience of the body! Enjoy!

Find out more movement possibilities, games and how movement ties into literacy and math at www.leapinglegs.com.

 

 

Image taken on 2007-07-31 12:06:52. Image Source. (Used with permission)

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