This article was taken from another site (see link below) and posted on this blog by the Leonardo santos for educational purposes.

http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/internacional/en/foreign/1074959-ethanol-can-bring-brazil-and-usa-closer.shtml

Barack Obama told Dilma Rousseff that he is expecting that the recovery of the U.S. economy will be “slower than seen so far” and showed great interest in Brazilian oil and ethanol, according to a report to Folha of the meeting between the presidents.

The two leaders, who spoke for 90 minutes in the Oval Office on Monday, talked excitedly about a partnership in biofuels to be announced soon.

The idea, according to meeting participants and information obtained by Folha previously from the U.S. State Department, is that the U.S. and Brazil produce alcohol together in other countries.

The plan would relieve bottlenecks for the leaders of ethanol: a limited number of plants and the struggle for space with sugar in Brazil; and the more production of efficient ethanol than from corn by the US.

Obama was also incisive, saying he wants to sell machinery for the pré-sal production, lamenting the case of the national reserve.

Dilma reassured him, stating that American companies that produce in the country are “domestic” and that there is room to import in the first three years.

The conversation was dominated by the crisis. Dilma blamed her colleague for the cheap dollar, and heard that the problem is China. He, in turn, showed great concern with the recovery in her country.

“The advance in the labor market in the coming months should be like in March,” he said. Before, more than 200,000 jobs a month had been created, and the decline to 120 thousand worries analysts.

This also concerned Obama, who made clear that his re-election in November depends on it. “I want us to continue working together,” said the Brazilian, ignoring protocol.

The two leaders discussed global politics and “agreed to disagree” about Syria, according to reports.

Dilma said that an intervention in the country, in a civil conflict, is risky and classified military action led by the United States in Libya as failed, due to the creation of a “huge number of armed groups.”

She reaffirmed the fear of a conflict in the region – an implicit reference to Iran – inflating the price of oil.

For one of those present, the presidents had a “great conversation”, but “without the personalities clicking”: they focused on work, “without saying anything amusing.”

This article was taken from another site (see link below) and posted on this blog by Leonardo Santos for EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES

http://www.english-magazine.com/wjhdy/tucms/&demo/articles/article10/article.html

The British are very bad at learning foreign languages. The situation is getting worse. Ten years ago, about 80% of children at secondary school studied a foreign language. Today, only 48% of children at secondary school study a foreign language. Why do the British dislike learning foreign languages?

One reason could be that English has become an international language. A lot of people in the world speak English very well. So British people can travel to other countries and speak to people without having to learn another language. British businessmen are also able to use English when they do business with foreign people.

Another problem is that British schoolchildren often don’t study the grammar of their own language. This fact makes it difficult for them to study the grammar of a foreign language. So instead of studying a foreign language, schoolchildren prefer to study an easier subject.

It’ not enough to know a few phrases

This way of thinking is not good. Learning foreign languages can be very interesting and there are a lot of practical advantages. For example, when you visit a foreign country you are isolated if you do not know the language. Some people think that is enough to be able to order a coffee or a beer. But there are many situations when you need to explain something important. Imagine if you are ill and you need a doctor, for example. If you don’t know the language you cannot explain anything.

Learning a foreign language is good for your general education. You can learn about other people and how they live and think. You need imagination to learn a foreign language. And this is always a good quality to develop. Another advantage is that when you know one foreign language, it is easier to learn others as well.

Some people have suggested that the study of languages should be made easier in Britain. In this way, more schoolchildren might decide to learn a foreign language. This idea seems good but it is not very practical. If the language course is easier, the students will learn less. Standards will be lowered. At the end of the course, the students probably won’t be able to communicate well in the language.

Language learning can be fun

Foreign languages are very important in business. Companies that do business abroad are more successful if they can talk to their foreign customers in their language. In that way it is easier to have closer personal contact and a good business relationship.

The British must improve their ability to speak foreign languages. If they don’t, they will become more isolated and British businesses will be less successful.

As the year-end holidays approach, people scheduling holiday events often face a dilemma — should they do things the way they always have or try something different? Should they serve the same homemade soup on a holiday eve that they have for the last decade or so? What about the tried-and-true holiday decorations — should they be retired? The holiday music whose CDs only see the light in the month of December?

The environmental psychology-based answer to all of these questions is simple: if it seemed like a good choice last year, don’t change it.

Being around and experiencing familiar things makes us comfortable. We can relax when we believe we can predict what’s coming next, and we’ve found whatever we know to be next up pleasant in the past. Physical things that are familiar can bring to mind all sorts of positive memories we associate with holidays past. But object-associated memories can be a reason to make a change as well. If something really negative happened during last year’s festivities — party-goers learned of an unexpected death, for example — changes in the holiday décor may be in order.

This article was taken from another site (see link below) and posted on this blog by the TEACHER for EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES.

Australian and global mineral exploration reached record highs in 2008 but dropped significantly in 2009 as a consequence of the Global Financial Crisis. Australian mineral exploration expenditure fell by 9.7% from a record $2461 million in 2007-08 to $2223 million in 2008-09 according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). In constant dollar terms this was a fall of 12.4% from the 2007-08 record . World-wide mineral exploration fell more sharply. World non-ferrous mineral (including base metals, precious metals, diamonds, uranium but not coal or iron ore) exploration budgets reported by the Metals Economics Group (MEG) fell from a record US$14.4 billion in 2008 to an estimated US$8.4 billion in 2009, a fall of 42%. This directly reflects the impact of the global economic downturn which resulted in reduced demand for most minerals, especially base metals, and consequent substantial price falls for many of those commodities. The fall in exploration in Australia has been less than that experienced globally because demand for Australia’s iron ore and coal resources has maintained both high levels of exports and exploration for these commodities.

Australian mineral exploration expenditure in constant 2008-09 dollars (Based on Australian Bureau of Statistics data deflated by Consumer Price Index).

Australian mineral exploration dips from peak

Australian mineral exploration (non-petroleum) expenditure in 2008-09 fell by 9.7% to $2223 million from its record high in 2007-08t of $2461.4 million. This was a smaller decline than anticipated as major reductions in expenditure on base metals ($519 million: down 33.8%), gold ($438 million: down 26.1%) and uranium ($185 million: down 20%) were to a large extent offset by spending on exploration for iron ore ($589 million: up 30.9%), coal ($297 million: up 26.6%) and ‘Others’ which includes commodities such as phosphate, manganese, tungsten and molybdenum ($154 million: up 39.6%).

The Northern Territory was the only Australian jurisdiction which recorded an increase in exploration in 2008-09 with spending rising by 10%. The fall in Western Australia was limited to 1% as iron ore exploration underpinned activity in that jurisdiction. High levels of coal exploration in New South Wales and Queensland limited the overall falls in mineral exploration expenditure in those states to 7.7% and 11.6% respectively. In the other states, with limited or no exploration for iron ore and/or coal, mineral exploration expenditure fell by more than 30%.

World mineral exploration retreats

World non-ferrous mineral exploration budgets (including uranium) in 2009 are estimated to be US$8.4 billion, according to the Canadian-based Metals Economics Group (MEG). This was down some 40 per cent from the US $14.4 billion in 2008. If uranium is excluded, world budgets fell to US$7.7 billion and it was the first reduction after six consecutive years of growth . MEG reported that this year’s drop represents the largest year-on-year decline in global exploration budgets (in both dollar and percentage terms) since they began their surveys in 1989.

World non-ferrous mineral exploration budgets (excluding uranium) and Australia’s estimated share as a percentage (Source: Metals Economics Group).

The number of companies in the MEG 2009 survey was down slightly on the number included in the 2008 survey. The 2009 survey is based on the planned non-ferrous exploration spending by 1846 companies (with budgets of at least US$100 000) which MEG estimates covers about 95% of worldwide commercially oriented non-ferrous exploration budgets. MEG reported that, despite the impact of the Global Financial Crisis, the number of junior companies planning active exploration programs fell by only 6% compared with the previous year. The 2009 survey also included a further 319 companies engaged in uranium exploration with exploration budgets of some $664 million. Of these, MEG reports that 152 were exploring solely for uranium.

Australia’s share of world non-ferrous mineral exploration has recovered slightly from a low of around 11 to 12% in recent MEG surveys after falling from around 20% in the 1990s . Australia has attracted the second highest proportion of non-ferrous mineral exploration budgets after Canada. In addition to the non-ferrous exploration Australia has also experienced high levels of iron ore, coal and uranium exploration over the past five years.

The downturn in mineral exploration in Australia and world-wide is a direct consequence of the Global Financial Crisis which precipitated a fall in metal demand and production cutbacks and closure of a number of base metal mines. The ABS data show that impact of the downturn in mineral exploration expenditure has been greatest in base metals exploration followed by gold.

Focus on brownfields exploration

Both global and Australian data show a continued focus on brownfields exploration at the expense of greenfields in recent years. In their 2008 briefing on world exploration trends MEG noted that the proportion of world non-ferrous mineral exploration budgets allocated to grassroots exploration has fallen progressively from more than 50% in the mid-1990s to 36% in 2008, with the decline in grassroots exploration taken up by increased advanced-stage and, to a lesser extent, mine-site exploration. MEG attributed this trend to a growth in the number of companies engaged in mining combined with increased efforts to prove up reserves and bring them into production during a time of high commodity prices.

Australian mineral exploration expenditure by commodity (source: ABS).

In Australia, the ABS data show growth in brownfields exploration in recent years, with the proportion of exploration expenditure allocated to exploration at existing deposits reaching a peak of 64% in 2006-07. ABS reported that 62% of exploration in 2008-09 was at existing deposits. The growth in brownfields exploration is mirrored by the strong growth in iron ore and coal exploration over the past five years, much of which is focused around known resources.

ABS data for 2008-09 shows that iron ore and coal combined attracted 40% of total tAustralian mineral exploration spending and gold accounted for a further 20% . This differs significantly from the exploration profile in 2003-04 where iron ore and coal accounted for only 18% of Australia’s exploration spending while gold accounted for half the total.

The drilling data confirm the continuing dominance of brownfields exploration. The ABS data confirm this focus with 38% of exploration expenditure allocated to the search for new deposits. Exploration drilling fell by 19% to 7.888 million metres in 2008–09. However, greenfields drilling fell by 30.6% to 2.720 million metres whereas brownfields drilling fell by only 11.5% to 6.167 million metres.

Exploration outlook

Australia’s diverse mineral endowment has helped mitigate the full impact of the adverse world economic conditions on mineral exploration. The collapse in base metal exploration (especially copper and zinc) was offset to a large part by increased iron ore and coal exploration. The overall impact was a reduction in total exploration expenditure of nearly 10% in 2008-09.

Continued strong interest in iron ore and coal has resulted in smaller price falls than for many other commodities. Gold prices have remained very strong and its sustained level above US$1000/oz is likely to encourage increased interest in gold exploration, at least in the short term. The prices of many of the other metals have recovered from the lows reached in late 2008-early 2009 and show further signs of increasing as the world economies recover. Iron ore exploration in particular is likely to remain at high levels in the face of strong demand especially from China. In contrast base metal exploration generally is unlikely to show strong growth until existing metal stockpiles are reduced and idle production capacity is brought back online as demand increases.

http://www.ga.gov.au/ausgeonews/ausgeonews200912/mineral.jsp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAS3Tcli53U

1) Be assertive. More than anything else, New Yorkers know what they want. Here are some examples:

• When you’re standing in line to order food, have your order finalized before you reach the counter; if the person ahead of you is dithering, talk over his or her head and start ordering anyway.
• Don’t be shy about ordering a taxi, crossing the street or getting onto the subway. All these things might require a bit of jostling, but if you want it done, you’ll push through.
• Know that “assertive” doesn’t equal “rude.” Don’t set out to do things with a stormy attitude, but do set out to get them done, no matter what.

2) Walk. Not only do the lack of traffic spaces make driving a car in New York impractical, but traffic sits in gridlock more often than not. Call a taxi as a last resort; otherwise, walk or take the subway.

• Navigate the subway system. Most stations will have maps posted, but you can always ask a fellow traveler for directions. Keep a loaded Metro Card in your pocket, and master the art of swiping it smoothly through the turnstile.

3) Know how to hail a taxi. Don’t just call a phone number for a cab – by the time it finds you, you probably could have walked to your destination. Instead, hail one off the street.

• Understand what the lights on top of the cab mean. No lights means the taxi is currently engaged. If the two outer lights are lit, the taxi is off duty. If only the center light is lit, the cab is available for service.
• Recognize the queue. Taxis will queue up in popular areas. Do not just grab any taxi in the middle of the line – walk to the front of the queue and hire that taxi. The drivers are all waiting their turn, and it’s your job to pick whoever’s next.
• Flag down a moving taxi. If you happen to see an available taxi driving down the street, flag it down by stepping off the curb, making eye contact with the driver, and raising your hand slightly (you don’t have to have your arm totally flapping out, here). When the cab stops, get in quickly.
• Give directions. New Yorkers don’t give exact addresses when they get into a cab. Instead, tell the driver which street you want, as well as the two cross streets you’d like to be between. For example, you could say “51st Street between 7th and 8th.” The cabbie will know exactly what you mean.

4) Treat sidewalks like freeways. Because there are so many people on a New York sidewalk during the day, the only way to keep some sort of order is to treat it like a freeway. In general, stay to the right side.

• If you’re walking slowly, move further to the right so that people in a hurry can pass you.
• If you’re planning on stopping altogether, find a place to “pull over” near a streetlight or awning.
• When you walk out of a building, don’t just step directly into the traffic. Look for an opening.

5) Avoid the tourist traps. Visiting these places will automatically mark you as a tourist. If you’re OK with that, then go; otherwise, steer clear.

• Times Square
• Southeast corner of Central Park
• Theme restaurants, such as Jekyll and Hyde’s or Bubba Gump Shrimp
• World Trade Center memorial
• The bull statue on Wall Street
• Certain Broadway shows, such as Wicked or The Phantom of the Opera
• The Port Authority (where you can get on a ferry to see the Statue of Liberty)
• Little Italy
• Rockefeller Plaza

6) Know how to treat your fellow New Yorkers. In general, it’s safe to assume that everyone you meet is in a hurry. Here are some more specific tips:

• If you need directions, most New Yorkers will probably help you. However, keep your question short and to the point.
• Don’t make eye contact and smile at everyone you pass on the sidewalk. You’re going to pass a lot of people, and friendliness will get tiring soon.
• Ignore street hassle. If someone catcalls or whistles at you, try to act like it didn’t even register with you. Above all, don’t look at your harassers.
• Know how to respond to people who ask for your attention. Don’t cheer for the subway buskers. Don’t give beggars money. Ignore people handing out fliers.

7) Don’t panic about the vermin. There’s an old saying that says you’ll be within 5 feet of a rat no matter where you go in New York. While the rat problem might not be that extreme, you will occasionally see rats in cockroaches in places such as subway platforms. In general, respond with non-chalance.

• The only exception to this rule is if the rat or cockroach is on your person or near your food. In that case, make an enormous fuss (as you might be naturally inclined to do) and demand that someone help you get rid of it immediately.

8) Don’t pull out a map. If you need directions, look them up discreetly on your phone or ask a somewhat friendly-looking New Yorker. Don’t pull out an enormous map.

9) Know the pronunciation. There are only a few of these rules, but they’re important.

• “Houston” Street is pronounced “HOW-stuhn,” not “HEW-ston.” SoHo, or south of Houston Street, is pronounced “SO-hoe”
• Know how to refer to the boroughs. There are five parts of New York City: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and the Bronx. Only the Bronx should be preceded by “the”; you would never say “the Staten Island,” for instance.
• “Staten” is pronounced “STAH-ten,” not “STATE-en.”

10) Dress appropriately. Most New Yorkers wouldn’t be caught dead wearing an “I <3 NY” T-shirt, or any item of clothing purchased on vacation (such as clothes from Disneyland). Your safest bet is to wear black, dark blue or some shade of grey. When the weather is warmer, white and beige are also acceptable.

• Pay attention to your footwear. Particularly in Manhattan, you won’t see people wearing sneakers (too casual) or flip-flops (because they bring your feet too close to the dirty sidewalk). Loafers, heels, boots, and heeled sandals are acceptable.

11) Don’t panic about crime. New York is significantly safer than it was in the ’70s and ’80s. However, there are still places you probably want to avoid. Here are a few:

• Hunters Point
• South Bronx (and the Bronx as a whole at night)
• Parts of Bedford-Stuyvesant
• Washington Heights
• Stapleton
• South Jamaica
• Crown Heights
• Learn the difference between a bad neighborhood and a neighborhood that just looks bad. You might see a lot of intimidating things in the East Village (such as hookers, drug addicts or graffiti), but you’re probably fine. Manhattan in general is well-policed.

12) Visit Central Park during the day. A lot of New Yorkers take their lunches to Central Park. Don’t go at night, though – crime might be down in New York, but Central Park after dark can still be sketchy.

13) Become a baseball fan. In the 1950s, when New York had 3 baseball teams, fans of each team were generally (but not entirely) based on demographics. For example, Yankee fans where white, Catholic, and from the Bronx, Manhattan, or Staten Island; Dodger fans were Jewish and from Brooklyn, Queens, or Staten Island; and Giants fans were African-Americans from any part of the city. The Met fans today are the former fans (and their children and grandchildren) of the displaced Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants.

• Even if you don’t actually like baseball, be prepared to talk about it. It’s a common topic of conversation between strangers or acquaintances.
• Don’t ever let it be known that you root for the Boston RedSox, the Chicago Cubs or the Philadelphia Phillies.

Source: http://www.wikihow.com/Be-Like-a-New-Yorker

And when we say ‘taste,’ we mean it.

Sampling foods of different countries is one of the best way to get to know the country, build great memories with friends new and old, and really feel like you are delving into the culture. So the question arises: When traveling abroad, how can you find restaurants? Not McDonalds or KFC; real restaurants with authentic local food.

There is no doubt that each country will be different, but you can rest assured that most cities in different nations have districts in which restaurants are more concentrated. It falls to you to use your imagination and wisdom to find those great sources of tasty culture. That being said, there are a few things that you can try to get a jump start on your search for groovy grub.

1. Ask Locals

You can start asking locals as soon as you get into the country. Ask your taxi or bus driver to recommend a place. Be sure to get the address and find out if you can hoof it or if you will need to get a lift from public transportation. Asking your drivers about finding a restaurant while traveling is often your best bet because they tend to have at least a little understanding of English and other languages.

In addition to asking your drivers for recommendations, you can find someone who looks reputable and ask them for recommendations. Try people who work at stores or other businesses that line the streets. If you have learned some of their language, that will go a long way in getting them to help.

2. Watch Patterns

As you meander between Notre Dame and the Seine, or around Trafalgar Square, you can often find out where restaurants are by keeping an eye on the locals, particularly around meal times. So watch the businessmen as they hurry through the streets of Tokyo, or Madrid, around lunch time.

Then follow them. You might want to wait until they’ve cleared out and gone back to work before you try to squeeze in.

3. Consult the Internet

If you hadn’t thought to check the Internet, repent; it’s the second decade of the 2000s. If you’re in a major city anywhere in the world, you will find plenty of listings for restaurants and that are full of advice and pro tips. For example, if you Google “restaurants in Salvador Bahia” you get a densely populated map of the city and a bunch of great restaurants at the top of your organic results, including Mama Bahia.

Tasty!

4. Plan Ahead

If you are a planner, you can plan your itinerary down to the restaurants you will visit. You can get information, of course, on the Internet for starters, but with some effort, you can find some locals with blogs. Contact them and get their thoughts!

Planning ahead also helps because you can get directions and thus lose less time as you search for food.

5. Use Guidebooks

Definitely avail yourself of the great guidebooks that are easily acquired online or at book stores. Lonely Planet is a great place to start. If the guidebook is worth its ink and paper, you should be able to get a solid idea of good restaurants in the city of your destination.

Don’t forget that when you arrive in your city, you can usually find good, locally produced guidebooks at airport and station newsstands. You can even try to find what you need in local newspapers.

6. Explore (Follow Your Nose)

Use your brain and travel savvy if you decide to simply explore. Keep your head up and make sure you don’t present an easy target for predators, and be sure to get out of an area if you have a bad feeling about it.

But all that aside, you can often find great gems if you go forth with no fear. For example, if you’re wandering through a town in the north of Japan, having visited one of the ancient temples in the area and hunger strikes, step into that noodle shop and just point at whatever you want on the menu. Then dig in!

Remember though, in Japan you don’t want to leave your chopsticks sticking straight up out of your bowl; that’s seriously rude!

The rule is that if it smells good, it probably is. So trust your nose, trust the locals and have fun finding tasty cultural experiences.

http://voices.yahoo.com/how-find-restaurants-while-traveling-7899596.html

My father died about 5 years after the marriage. The outcome of their union was 3 children: my big sister, my junior brother and me.

After my father died, my mother had to go back to where she was married from. It did not take more than 5 months and another husband was arranged for her. He was twice her age and an herbalist (he practiced herbal medicine for people for almost free and he was not rich).

Again, out of respect for her parents, she agreed to the marriage and it took place in no time. Even though it was an arranged marriage, my mother had a wonderful relationship with my stepfather and I respect my mom for that.

She later had 6 more children with my stepfather but 4 died and 2 lived. Last year in May, my stepfather also passed away after being together with my mom for about 20 years.

My point here is that my mother never had the opportunity to choose the kind of man she wanted for herself because her parents always made that choice for her. So committed, she never felt like leaving the marriage behind.

During her days as a teenager, many others would run away from home because of arranged, unwanted marriages but my mother told me she never had that in mind, even though she didn’t like the idea.

And you know the most fascinating part of this story? She was given out as a gift to both husbands and no penny was collected, no bride price, I mean nothing.

My mother showed strength in holding onto her arranged marriage. She could go more than a week without any money from my step dad and she understood that because she knew if he had more, he would have given it to her.

She showed patience and would use the little money she received from her petty trading to cook for the family, not only for our stepfather and us, but for his relatives as well because all were living in the same household.

Murjanah is a mother I am proud of and I will forever be proud of. We might have had some misunderstandings in the past but I love her for her.

My Mom is what I term the strong and true African woman; very dark in complexion and beautiful looking. Her hair is thick, dark and long but you would hardly ever see it unless you are in the room with her because she covers it with a veil when she goes outside.

Again her name is Murjanah and the meaning is SMALL PEARL. I will love her until the end of time.

http://www.motivateus.com/stories/My-Mother-Murjanah.htm

How can I manage my time more effectively and bring balance to my life in regard to work, family, friends, and social obligations?

With this in mind, I want to give us some thoughts to focus us in on the answer to that question.

I am convinced that the most important thing we must do is to be acutely aware of the reasons I should manage my time and bring balance to my life. In fact, most of us really know “how” to do it, don’t we? Then why don’t we? I think it comes to the issue of having a powerful motivating factor or reason. Below are two of mine that keep me motivated:

A life of accomplishment. When I am old and unable to get out with the young folks anymore, I want to be able to look back on my life and say that I accomplished much and that my life benefited others. That is why I do what I do now. It is what drives me to pursue what I pursue with a passion and vigor. It is why I bring my life into balance is many areas so I can achieve much in many areas.

A legacy. Here is a powerful motivating image that I picture with regularity: Picture a family gathering five years after your death. What will it look like? What will the people be talking about? How will they remember you? What will be the quality of their lives and how will you have been instrumental in that? These are questions that we can for the most part, answer now by how we live our lives (for better or for worse). Our lives make a difference in the lives of others! This is a tremendous reason to bring my life into balance! Once we answer the “Why” question, and root it firmly in our minds and hearts, we come to the “hows.”

First, we sit down and prioritize. Have you ever taken a couple of hours and listed everything that you are involved in or could be involved in and then prioritized it by importance? You may come up with a hundred items but that is okay. You will want to separate them into some categories as well, such as Work, Family, Health, Friends, Hobbies, Spiritual, Financial, Intellectual, Emotional, etc.

Now you have something to look at and see what is important. This will help you in the process of eliminating areas from your life that you are spending time on that you shouldn’t be. And that is an important part: Frustration comes when we get involved in something that isn’t a priority and we kick ourselves the whole time we do it. If we stick to priorities, we eliminate much of that.

The next step is to learn the most powerful word in the human language: No. Just look in the mirror and practice saying that word with a smile on your face. This may be the most important part -learning to decline opportunity. It all depends on whether or not it fits in with our priorities.

Here is the principle that drives this:

Good is the enemy of the best.

There are lots of good things we can spend our time on. But because they replace those things that would be the best things we could spend our time on, they become our enemy. They become counter-productive to a successful and balanced life.

So ask yourself: Is this good? Or is it the best? Do the best you can to stick to the best!

Schedule your time. The more we fly by the seat of our pants, the more apt we are to lose control of our time. If we schedule out our time, we can become a bit more objective and bring our lives into balance. For example, you may make it your goal to be home by six o’clock every night. In your schedule book, you write in that you have an appointment at six. You schedule to leave the office at five-thirty. Now when a co-worker comes in with an “opportunity” for you to work on, you say, “Sorry, I have an appointment at six that I can’t break. Let’s get together on it first thing in the morning.” Scheduling your time, coupled with saying “no,” will do wonders for bringing your life into balance!

Another aspect for us to look at is the area of external pressure that causes us to be out of balance. For example, financial obligations may be what keep us working too much. So we should look at those obligations and see if we can eliminate or reduce them.

The last thing I would challenge you with is to give some thought as to what the secret pleasures of being out of balance may be. For example, sometimes we let ourselves over commit because we don’t like conflict. Peace is our secret pleasure.

Sometimes we allow ourselves to become out of balance because we like it when people say, “Boy, she sure is a dynamo. Look how busy she is.” Admiration from others is our secret pleasure.

In review:

Find the right reasons Set priorities Learn to say “no” Understand that the good is the enemy of the best Schedule your time Manage External pressures Be aware of internal “secret pleasures” .

http://www.getmotivation.com/motivationblog/2012/03/time-is-yours-use-it-by-chris-widener-2/

http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/internacional/en/dailylife/1062194-usp-is-among-the-70-most-reputed-universities-in-the-world.shtml

USP has skyrocketed on the THE (Times Higher Education) rank released in London, and is among the 70 most reputed colleges in the world.

On last year’s rank, USP was not among the 100 best. Now it is between the 61st and 70th position. It is also the only Latin American country on the list.

THE is one of the most important college assessors in the world.

To draw up its reputation rank, THE interviewed 17,554 academics and researchers in 137 countries.

The interviewed could nominate up to 15 institutions they consider the best in the world in their field of study.

Phil Baty, who is in charge of the rank, says there is no doubt that research has improved at USP. He says, however, that USP benefited from Brazil’s favorable economic moment.

“There is great excitement around the world regarding Latin America and Brazil, especially at this moment, due to the improvement in the economy.”

“Foreign academics have become more interested in working with Brazilians and there is a feeling that excellent researches are being carried out in Brazil.”

Baty did not want to venture an explanation on why the same effect did not benefit other Brazilian colleges, such as Unicamp, which is not on the list.

USP ranked higher in reputation (following subjective criteria) than in THE’s rank that follows objective criteria.

On the general rank, released at the end of 2011, which involves 13 criteria (such as student/professor rate, number of foreign students and professors, number of scientific papers published, funds invested in research and others), USP ranked 178th. Unicamp was 286th.

A good reputation, as well as a good position on the objective criteria rank, can make it easier for colleges to obtain funding for research, attract more students and qualified foreign professors and researchers.

U.S. LEAD

The new rank shows that Brazil, with just one college among the 100 best, still has to improve much.

The U.S. is still the leader with 44 colleges among the 100 best.

The U.S also houses the leader (Harvard) and three other colleges among the top six.

Runner-up U.K. has 10 among the 100 best and two among the top 6 — Cambridge (3rd place) and Oxford (in 6th).

Japan is the first non-English speaker in the top positions (Tokyo University ranked 8th).

Despite the Anglo-Saxon dominance, Asia has advanced, especially due to China (with six colleges, including Hong Kong and Taiwan). There were five in 2011 and all rose in the rank.

Some American colleges dropped on the rank and two British ones were left out this year.

Baty says that is a consequence of the decline in public investment, especially in North American state universities, due to the economic crisis.

Colleges of two other so-called BRICs- India and Russia – did not appear on the 2012 list after ranking in the previous year.