April 5, 2019. One of our
graduates, Tadele Fayso, has
published an article titled,
“Aggressive Behaviour
in Secondary Schools
of Mesken Woreda:
Types, Magnitude and
Associated Factor” on
the Juniper Publishers
Psychology and Behavioral
Science International
Journal (PBSIJ).
Abstract: The objective
of this study was to explore
types, magnitude, and predictors
of aggression as well as
methods that teachers use to control aggressions in secondary
schools of Meskan woreda
of the Gurage zone. Concurrent
nested design was
used for the study. A
total of 352 secondary
school students, 18 secondary
school teachers
and 2 principals participated
in the study.
Stratified random sampling
technique was used to select
student participants whereas
purposive sampling technique
was used to select teachers
and principals. Questionnaire
that contained items on socio-demographic variables,
scales for aggression and
parenting styles were used
by the researcher to collect
information from the students.
Qualitative data were collected
from teachers and principals
through FGD. Descriptive
statistics, one sample T-test,
and step wise linear regression
analysis were conducted to
analyze the data.
You can read the complete
article here: https://juniperpublishers.
com/pbsij/pdf/PBSIJ.
MS.ID.555800.pdf
Tadele Fayso has completed
a Doctorate program in Sociology
at Atlantic International
University.
April 9, 2019. One of our
graduates, Guillermo
Sebastián Gómez
Verdejo, is Technology
Manager and
senior researcher of
the mining company
Quantum Matrix SpA.
Among his many
achievements, he invented an
environmental dust removal.
So far, the technique has
been tested on a pilot scale
with excellent results in
removing particulate matter
and working perfectly in
blocking it. Industrial pilottype
tests are currently under development. The blocking
of particulate matter
allows us today,
through two antennas,
to block an area that
prevents the passage
of particulate matter.
The mining company
is planning to use
this project so that, through
antennas, the passage of dust
products from its mining
operations to nearby locations
is impeded so that they are not
affected by the dust generated
by them. On the other
hand, a linear and circular
geometric configuration has
been arranged, so that all the
dust found within this area is
removed and blocked, that is,
the area does not come out.
Its application has a lot of
future, since this system can
be applied in localities, cities,
and always weighing in better
health when taking care of the
environment.
Guillermo Gómez Verdejo
completed a PhD program in
Chemistry at AIU.
April, 2019. This graduate
student completed the
majority of the requirements
to obtain honors,
which included a 4.0
GPA, published works,
recommendation from
his advisors, patent a
product, etc.
Congratulations!
March 27,
2019. One of our
students, Anika
Weinstein,
was diagnosed
with Celiac
disease shortly
before her 18th
birthday. Celiac
disease is an
immune disease
in which people can't eat
gluten because it will damage
their small intestine. She
had to replace many foods she
loved, and it was then that
she saw an opportunity to
live a healthy gluten-free life with delicious
gluten-free
foods. Which is
why she ended
up founding
“Pechu Free,
Gluten Free”, [@
pechufree_glutenfree],
a blog
dedicated to
promoting the
consumption of gluten-free
food. Soon after, her hobby
became a profession.
Anika is studying a Bachelor’s
program in Nutrition
at Atlantic International
University.
March 19, 2019. One of our
graduates, Dr. Sivarajasingam
Mahendran, wrote the article
“Learning English
through Active Participation
(LEAP)”, which
has been accepted for
publication in the International
Journal for
English Literature and
Social Sciences (IJELS) in their
February 2019 issue.
Abstract: The teaching of
English and workplace literacy
skills can be dry and often
very uneventful for the learners
and it takes a resourceful,
reflective and proactive
trainer/teacher to align
lessons to match the competency
levels of the learners, their aspirations and also their
keenness to learn. Traditional
and even blended learning
have seen run of the
mill teaching and
learning strategies
till now and there is
a need to fill the gaps
left behind by these
approaches to further
ignite the passion in learners,
to learn with a fire to assimilate
and enrich themselves
even more in their learning
journey. This is not to say we
need to replace the present
teaching/training styles but
to infuse more meat into the
learning process to make it
much more a fun activity than
a tedious ‘get-it-over-with’ experience for all in the language
learning environment
wherever it may be.
You can access his article
through the following link:
https://ijels.com/upload_document/
issue_files/27-IJELS-FEB-
2019-5-LearningEnglish.pdf
Also, Dr. Mahendran has
been invited to speak at the
#teachtechtalks theatre at
EduTECH Asia 2019, which
will take place on November
4-6 in Singapore. EduTECH
Asia is a three-day in-depth
conference and technology
exhibition.
#teachtechtalks are on-floor
lightning talk sessions running
alongside the main EduTECH
Asia conference. These are
specifically designed to give
teachers, lecturers and ed-tech
coaches the opportunity to
share best practices, practical
innovations and personal
insights into teaching with
technology. The lighting talk
presentations will run for
15min including Q&A. This
format ensures that speakers
stick closely to the topic and
that they can pack as many
presentations into a day as
possible.
Dr. Siva Mahendran has
completed a Doctorate program
in Education in Atlantic
International University.
Call for Papers
This Conference will be
held 23–24 April 2020 at the
University of the Aegean —
Rhodes Campus, in Rhodes,
Greece.
We invite proposals for paper
presentations, workshops/
interactive sessions, posters/
exhibits, colloquia, innovation
showcases, virtual posters, or
virtual lightning talks.
The conference features research
addressing the annual
themes, and the 2020 Special
Focus: There is No Scale: Distance
and Access in the Era of
Distributed Learning.
Theme 1: Pedagogies Theme 2: Institutions
Theme 3: Technologies
Theme 4: Social
Transformations
Become a Presenter:
1. Submit a proposal
2. Review timeline
3. Register
Early Registration Deadline
23 October 2019
Regular Registration Deadline
23 March 2020
Late Registration Deadline
23 April 2020
Visit the website:
https://ubi-learn.com
| André Gambôa Kieza Master of Science International Business Management Angola |
Patricia Irma Manzoni Doctor of History History Argentina |
Jorge Fenner Bachelor of Science Environmental Science Argentina |
Severino Bento Ferreira Junior Doctor of Philosophy Information Technology Brazil |
Muyamah Ermilindis Byakumi Bachelor of International Relations Business Management Cameroon |
Kenneth Kai Komba Master of Legal Studies Legal Studies Chad |
| Ivonne Astrid Cano Dominguez Bachelor of Science Architecture Colombia |
Juan Carlos Gomez Varon Bachelor of Arts Computer Animation Colombia |
Felipe Augusto Ferrero Villamizar Bachelor of Science Architecture Colombia |
Carlos Alberto Ortega Caro Bachelor of Science Civil Engineering Colombia |
Víctor U. Pereyra Guzman Bachelor of Legal Studies Legal Studies Dominican Republic |
Jaime Mora Guerra Bachelor of Science Information Systems Ecuador |
| Carlos Alberto Rossi Doctor of Philosophy Education Ecuador |
Ana María Sánchez Arbeláez Doctor of Philosophy Psychology Ecuador |
Ghoselen Mari Argudo Piedra Bachelor of Science English as a Second Language Ecuador |
Edward Akwetey Doctor of Business Administration Business Management Ghana |
Oswaldo Enrique Gil Barahona Master of Science Industrial Engineering Honduras |
Oscar Hernandez Starkman Bachelor of Arts Business Administration Honduras |
| Mamokotjo Francina Mokoteli Master of Project Management Project Management Les otho |
Theresa K. Gboluma Bachelor of Sociology Sociology Libe ria |
James M. Yarsiah, Sr. Bachelor of Science Political Science Libe ria |
Leyla Maya Cohen Bachelor of Business Administration Business Administration Mexico |
Leticia Rosa Moguel Díaz Doctor of Philology Languages Mexico |
Sandi Cho Thein Win Doctor of Business Administration Business Administration Myanmar |
| Anthony Friday Ubom Bachelor of Science Safety and Risk Management Nigeria |
Aleruchi Chuku Master of Science Microbiology Nigeria |
Jacqueline Umoren Master of Science Renewab le Energy Nigeria |
Marylu Denisse Stanbury Toledo Bachelor of Human Res ources Human Resources Peru |
Mohammed Hasan M. Al-Bakri Doctor of Business Administration and Mgmt Business Management Saudi Arabia |
John Patrick Buckley Master of Science Food Safety and Quality Management South Africa |
| Hans D. E. Karurnesh Manent Rockwood Bachelor of Political Sciences Politics Spain |
Boniface Ezeokeke Master of Science Clinical Psychology St. Vincent and the Grenadines |
Onyedinma Johnson Ndubuisi Master of Science Nutritional Science Sultanate of Oman |
Frank Chinweuba Tagbo Bachelor of Arts English Language Turkey |
Jamal S Assiamah Doctor of Business Administration Banking and Finance United Kingdom |
José Ramón Martínez Castillo Doctor of Business Administration Business Administration USA |
| Joseph Craft Steele Doctor of Philosophy Health Sciences USA |
Beharrel N. Nyanfor Master of Science Electrical Engineering USA |
Sharon Abigail Saravia Bachelor of Education Early Childhood Education USA |
Francis Malaika Bachelor of Accounting Accounting Zambia |
Kelvin Kayange Bachelor of Arts Project Management Zambia |
Karen Chama Master of Science Business Management Zambia |
Jeffery Emmanuel Egbadon
Emmanuel Abbey
Miguel Angel Perez Argueta
Boniface Ezeokeke
Background
“Accra is the capital of
Ghana, on the Atlantic coast of
West Africa” –(Google). “Accra
is the capital and largest city
of Ghana, covering an area of
225.67 km² (87.13 sq. miles)”.1
Accra lies 5.60 North of the
Equator, and 0.190 west of the
Greenwich Meridian which
passes through the city of
Tema, the harbor city of Ghana
which lies east of Accra2.
“The urban population of
Accra in 2017 was 2.27 million,
and the Greater Accra
Metropolitan Area that covers
both Accra and Tema and
their environs had a population
of 4.4 million inhabitants
that makes it the largest metro
area in Africa”.3 Currently, the
population of Ghana is 30.2
million as at 10th January,
20194, and Accra is the fastest
growing city in Ghana.
Accra is one of the fastest
growing cities in Africa. This
is so because of its location.
Lying close to the sea with
the harbor city of Tema just
close by, urbanization of Accra has been fast in growth. At
the local front, many people
flock into the city for various
reasons. Among these are:
1. Urban drift to do business in
the inner-city of Accra.
2. Frequent settling in the periurban
towns around Accra
by many who failed to dwell
in the city, and thereby travel
to and fro the inner-city daily
to complete unfinished business
before traveling back to
the rural areas.
3. As the capital city, internal
tourism flourishes from the
rural and other cities of the
regions.
4. Being the seat of government,
members of parliament
do business in Accra
at Parliament House on
behalf of the 275 constituencies
in the country. Since
these parliamentarians
dwell in the city of Accra
and occasionally visit their
constituencies at weekends,
they are usually visited by
their people on working
days and thus increase the
number of people that frequent
the city of Accra.
5. Market women and traders
in locally-produced farm
products in the rural communities
target the cities
especially Accra to do business
because of its population.
This is a daily affair.
Most of the popular market
areas in Accra are located
in the inner-city of Accra.
Some are the Makola Markets,
Kaneshie Market, Agbogbloshie
Market, Salaga
Market and London Market
in James Town, Mallam-Atta
Market in Kokomlemle, Osu
Market, etc. Thus, buyers
flock into these markets to
do business daily, some of
them arriving from the suburban
and peri-urban towns
and communities.
6. Most of the popular shopping
and trading centers
in Accra are located in the
inner-city of Accra. Some
of these are the Makola
Markets and many shopping
centers in the central
business district of Accra
–This covers an area of one
square mile, and stretches
from Tudu in the northern
side of the central business
district to the John Atta
Mills Street close to the sea;
and from the fringes of the
Ministries in the eastern
part of the central business
district to the Korle Lagoon
in the west. Almost everybody
comes to shop in this
area at least, once a week
and mostly on a daily basis
by buying and selling, Ghana
being primarily a buying
and selling economy. Other
such markets and shopping
areas are the Odawnaa
Market and the areas
close to Kwame Nkrumah interchange about 10 km
north of the sea (the Gulf
of Guinea in the Atlantic
Ocean), Kaneshie Market,
Kantamanto Market
near the Railway Station
headquarters which is
actually a part of the Accra
Central business district.
Madina markets and shopping
centers, Shops on the
Osu Oxford Street and the
surroundings, Kaneshie
shopping areas and Abbosey
Okai auto spare-parts
shopping centers covering
about 1 km square of shops
are all part of the trading
centers in the city.
7. Almost all the banks that
operate in Ghana have their
headquarters in the innercity
of Accra. So most of
the peri-urban people who
engage in banking transactions
end up going into
the inner-city of Accra to
conclude transactions that
are of national and international
concern.
8. Accra has all the ministries
for doing business with
government or doing business
that need government
support and endorsement.
Though these ministries
are decentralized in the
10 regions of Ghana, most
people would follow up their
transactions with government
by travelling to Accra
for expedited and satisfying
results.
9. Transportation of vehicles
from the regions and rural
communities to Accra all
end in the inner-city further
choking the city every
minute. Equally, almost all
transport companies that
travel outside Accra have
their transport stations
somewhere in the inner-city.
The major travel points are
Image: Tudu, Tema Station near
the Ministries and Agbogbloshie,
all in the central
business district of Accra.
Others are around the
Kwame Nkrumah Interchange
(Circle), Kaneshie
near the Market and the
main auto spare-parts
enclave, the Madina Lorry
Station which serves the
northern part of the metropolis
with vehicles travelling
to the Volta, Eastern,
Ashanti Regions, etc. and
other such stations in other
parts of Accra.
Thus, almost all who travel to
other parts of Ghana by road
begin their journeys from
inner Accra. They travel from
the peri-urban areas outside
inner Accra to catch these
buses and vehicles, and choke
the city in the process.
On the international front,
1. Most of the goods and
imports that are off-loaded
at the Tema harbour and
the Kotoka International
Airport in Accra find their
way into the markets and
shops that are located in
the areas mentioned in 6
above. Thus, almost all the
major businesses are done
in these business centers,
thus choking the city with
people.
2. Until recently when the Tamale
Airport in the Northern
Region of Ghana was
upgraded to international
status, the Kotoka International
Airport in Accra
has been the main airport
for international and local
air travels. Thus, Accra has
been further choked with
the air travel business.
3. International tourists and
those coming to do business
in West Africa prefer to do
so through Ghana and often
land in Accra before continuing
to their destinations
outside Ghana. Ghanaians
are said to be very friendly
and Accra, central to the
West Coast of Africa is said
to be the gateway to Africa
due to its history of being
the first country south of
the Sahara desert to gain
independence from foreign
colonial powers. Ghana is
the preferred entrance to
doing business in Africa.
The congestion
and its challenges
Consequent to the issues of
rapid urbanization of Accra
which has been raised above
are the attendant numerous
challenges emanating from the
resultant congestion of people
in Accra whether resident or
itinerant.
Since most of the activities
mentioned earlier take place
in the inner-city of Accra now
known as the Accra Metropolitan
Assembly and its many
adjoining Municipal Assemblies,
there is daily influx of
people into the metropolis.
Population Explosion
This results into population
explosion in Accra. Whereas
the annual population growth
rate of Ghana was 2.2% according
to World Bank report
in 20175, that of Accra was
2.17% in the same year.6 The
following have been the contribution
factors in the high
population rate of Accra.
1. On a daily basis, people
enter the city to visit, do
business, see someone at
the ministries, shop, market,
access goods and service
found mostly in the city, or
for any other reasons.
2. Some of these people
return to where they came
from –the outer suburbs of
Accra, rural areas, and other
regions.
3. Others remain in the city or
the outer city or suburbia,
stopping over with relatives,
friends or check into
guest houses and hotels
before leaving after doing
business. Some of these
remain or relocate in these
suburbs and finally become
temporary residents who
keep flocking into the inner
city on daily basis.
4. Some of those who could
not return perch with
friends in the slums of
the inner-city and gradually
become residents such
as the notorious slums of
‘Sodom and Gomorrah’ near
the Korle Lagoon. This slum
alone has a population that
runs into 60,000.
5. There are some who have
belief that once they are in
the city, they will lay hold
on some jobs to do; thus,
they are in the city to chase
unavailable jobs. Some of
these spend the night under overpasses, on street sides
and lanes, and in uncompleted
buildings.
6. Finally, these temporary
dwellers and perches, and
those who remain in the
suburbs find their way
around and become permanent
residents of the city.
Thus, the city of Accra becomes
congested because of
these activities.
Sanitation
and security issues
The population pressure
on the city comes along with
sanitation concerns.
1. Those itinerant travelers
and temporary dwellers
create and leave tons of
refuse or waste in the city
from the food and other
items they use.
2. The waste materials that
are left in the trail of these
persons become the bane
of the city authorities such
as the Accra Metropolitan
Assembly. The city authority
has to find ways to clear the
tons of waste created daily.
3. The Accra Metropolitan Assembly
is under-resourced
to be able to efficiently clear
the city of this debris.
4. Though it has the mandate
of the government to levy
and tax city dwellers and
traders, the task of meeting
other amenities in the
sprouting city makes it
impossible to extend these
services to cover an efficient
waste management.
5. Market women and traders
in the city equally leave
the waste they create on a
daily basis at their shopping
centers at the mercy of the
city authorities since they
claim they have been paying
levies at these markets.
6. Education to the public on
waste creation, disposal and
management at the individual
level is weak due to the
attitude of many that they
pay their taxes and thus, it
is the duty of government
to manage the waste they
create.
7. Packs of waste, are left along
some points along roads
hoping waste management
bodies form the city such as
Zoomlion would collect them
later. Sometimes these remain
there for days until the
authorities have solved the
recurrent challenge of landfill
sites to deposit the waste
and debris on a daily basis.
These and other obvious
reasons create sanitation and
insecurity problems in the
city whenever severe rains
fall in Accra.
1. The streets are littered with
waste and cleared at intervals
that do not match the
rate of the waste that are
created.
2. The waste find their way
into open gutters in Accra
and these gutters get choked
and cause floods whenever
it rains heavily in the city
and surroundings.
3. Accra is said to be a lowground
that absorbs most of
the water that flows through
the Densu and Odaw rivers
and other waterways from
the suburbs and hinterland.
4. Thus, there is perennial
flooding in certain parts of
Accra, especially around the
flow of the Odaw river in
places such as Alajo, Kwame
Nkrumah Interchange,
Kaneshie, Abossey Okai,
Odawnaa, Avenor and
Kokomlemle.
5. The debris and waste find
their way into rivers and
treated water pipes and
the resultant health hazard
emerges from time to time,
ending up with cholera
outbreaks in parts of Accra
at the onset of rainfalls.
The Director General of the
Ghana Health Service (GHS),
Dr. Anthony Nsiah-Asare
“warned of an imminent
cholera outbreak in Ghana
with far more devastating
consequences than what
was experienced in 2014
and 2015, if nothing was
done about the high level of
filth that has engulfed major
cities” and this includes
Accra. “He was addressing
a sanitation forum in Accra
organized by the Graphic
Communications Ghana
Limited (GCGL) in Accra on
Friday on the theme, ‘Managing
Sanitation: How to lift
the nation from filth’7.
6. On June 4, 2015, a combination
of such floods and the
explosion of a fuel filling
station caused over 100
deaths at the Kwame Nkrumah
Circle in Accra.8
To be continued
We are witnessing a social
change that seems
strange to us: the school,
the university every day has
more problems to develop its
activities in terms of its basic
objective: learning, because
students find the digital world
more attractive than doing
their knowledge activities.
Our digital civilization
seems to have to enter the
classrooms of all levels of
study: Universities including
virtual learning systems, to
motivate students.
At Atlantic International
University (AIU) we are always
looking for our students
to reach the knowledge that
allows them to develop their
activities efficiently: we seek
them to be “unique and unrepetible
human beings”,
hence our interest in entering
learning strategies applying
digital systems; the latest in
education: gamification.
Gamification is a way to
motivate and achieve learning
by integrating the digital
world, techniques of game
elements and knowledge.
The “game theory” is
another thing: it is to apply
algorithms and quantitative techniques for making
decision.
The word Gamification is a
concept, belongs to English,
comes from Gamification
and appeared in the Marketing
area to motivate people’s
behavior.
It is necessary to clarify that
when talking about Gamification
in education, it refers to
applying game strategies for
the achievement of learning.
In Gamification you can
use digital media and you can
Gamify a learning without
them.
When learning is gamified,
all the techniques that the
gamification has or only some
of them can be applied.
In the strategy of the game
there must be:
a) Objectives. What for.
b) Rules. What should be done.
c) Narrative. The explanation
of the event.
d) Freedom to choose. Whether
you want to play or not.
e) Freedom to make mistakes.
To be able to start at the
event.
f) Feedback. Indications of
whether they are pursuing
the goal.
g) Rewards. What they will
receive as a benefit.
h) Visible status. That others
can see those who reached
the goal.
i) Cooperation and competence.
Can be helped by
teams.
j) Progress. There may be
tutorials.
k) Surprises. There may be
unexpected activities.
l) Restriction of time. Determination
of the time for the
learning event.
Within the groups that
make up the game there are
differences:
a) The Explorers. Are those
who only observe and can
be motivated for other
activities.
b) Socializers. They motivate
themselves by interacting
with others.
c) The Thinkers. They look for
a way to solve the problem.
d) Philanthropists. They help
in the task.
e) The winners. They aim to
overcome all the challenges
f) The Revolutionaries. They
want to show the way to
continue overcoming rules.
When Gamification is required
in a digital way, there
are Platforms or LMS that
players can use.
LMS: software applied to a
web server: Learning Management
System.
LMS that you can find on
the web:
1. CEREBRITI. http://edu.cerebriti.
com/#crea Spanish
https://edu.cerebriti.com/
Spanish
2. JEOPARDY ROCKS.
https://www.playfactile.com/
English
3. JIGSAW PLANET.
http://www.jigsawplanet.
com/?rc=explore&tp=1
English
https://www.jigsawplanet.
com/?rc=signin English
4. PIXTON. https://alternativeto.
net/software/pixton/
English
5. KUBBU. https://www.youtestme.
com/learning-management-
system?cp=capterra
English
6. EDUCAPLAY. https://www.
educaplay.com/ English
https://es.educaplay.
com/?lang=es Spanish
7. PAPER.LI 7. http://paper.li/
Spanish
8. POPPLET. http://popplet.
com/ English
9. RANDOM NAME PICKER.
http://www.classtools.net/random-
name-picker/ English
10. MUSEUM BOX. https://
www.e2bn.org/cms/
index.php?option=com_
content&view=article&id=171
English
About terms of Gamification,
theorists of learning make
their criticisms.
The behaviorists, the stimulus
responses: they say that
people get used to the prize for
what they do.
Cognocitivism: they say that
the rewards in Gamification
eliminate the intrinsic motivation
because things are done
without thinking them; only
for the prize.
While the theories of
learning are being discussed,
we know that we must look
for solutions to the great
school drop-out at all levels of
learning.
We invite you to participate
in Gamification activities.
Yes, you will reach
to be: “unique and
irrepetible”.
BIBLIOGRAPHY. Gamificación en aulas universitarias. Retrieved from: http://incom.uab.cat/
download/eBook_incomuab_gamificacion.pdf | Gamification and the Future of Education. Retrieved
from: https://www.worldgovernmentsummit.org/api/publications/document?id=2b0d6ac4-e97c-6578-b2f8-
ff0000a7ddb6 | Principios de Gamificación aplicados a plataformas virtuales de aprendizaje de
Educación Superior. Retrieved from: http://congreso.investiga.fca.unam.mx/docs/xx/docs/8.13.
pdf | Teaching with Gamification. Retrieved from: https://www.ryerson.ca/content/dam/lt/resources/
handouts/gamification.pdf
You will be able to study and prepare
your assignments much better and
easier if you take care of yourself. Here are
some ways to take care of yourself:
• Drink water while you study.
• Eat a little food while you study to put
some sugar in your blood to support
brain activity.
• Sleep well. Go to sleep at a regular time
every night. This helps the brain be more
aware during the day.
• Do some physical exercise at least 5
minutes every day. This balances your
physiological activity so that your body
will be able to relax when you study.
• Don’t study late into the night. This interrupts
your sleep pattern and will actually
make you more tired.
• Avoid things that may give you stress.
• Turn off your phone while you study.
This allows you to concentrate and focus.
• When you study, don’t look at web sites
that will distract you.
• Take deep breaths to fill your blood with
oxygen. This enhances calm and energy
in order to study better.
When you take care of yourself, you will
have more focus and more energy. You will
be able to study effectively every day. You
will be in control of your knowledge.
The knowledge that you develop will
have more power when you are stronger
and healthier.
“There is no evidence that any
amount of homework improves the
academic performance of elementary
students.”
Yo-Yo Ma chose to play one of his
Bach Project concerts in the border
town of Laredo, Texas for a reason.
The Juarez-Lincoln International
Bridge, which stretches over the Rio
Grande to connect the sister cities
of Laredo, Texas and Nuevo Laredo,
Mexico, provided the backdrop for
Yo-Yo Ma as he played for a crowd of
people in Laredo (April 13). The bridge
served as the perfect symbol for the
renowned cellist’s message: “In culture,
we build bridges, not walls.”
For the past two years, 63-year-old
Ma has been traveling the world with
his “Bach Project” —an exploration
of the connections between cultures.
Performing Bach’s six suites for cello
in 36 locations around the world, Ma
hopes to share the composer’s “ability
to speak to our common humanity at a
time when our civic conversation is so
often focused on division.”
His concert at the border was followed
by a concert on the other side of
the bridge in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. ...
Yo-Yo Ma, who was born in Paris
to Chinese parents but lived most of
his life in the U.S., understands how
cultures intertwine more deeply than
most. “I’ve lived my life at the borders,”
Ma told the audience. “Between cultures.
Between disciplines. Between
musics. Between generations.” ...
Read full text:
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One of the ultimate goals of
modern physics is to unlock the
power of superconductivity, where
electricity flows with zero resistance at
room temperature.
Progress has been slow, but in 2018,
physicists have made an unexpected
breakthrough. They discovered a superconductor
that works in a way no
one’s ever seen before —and it opens
the door to a whole world of possibilities
not considered until now. In other
words, they identified a brand new
type of superconductivity. Why does
that matter? Well, when electricity
normally flows through a material ...
it’s fast, but surprisingly ineffective.
Electricity is carried by electrons,
which bump into atoms in the material
along the way, losing some of their
energy each time they have one of
these collisions. Known as resistance,
it’s the reason why electricity grids
lose up to 7 percent of their electricity.
But when some materials are chilled to
ridiculously cold temperatures, something
else happens —the electrons pair
up, and begin to flow orderly without
resistance. This is known as superconductivity,
and it has incredible
potential to revolutionise our world,
making our electronics unimaginably
more efficient.
The good news is we’ve found the
phenomenon in many materials so far.
In fact, superconductivity is already
used to create the strong magnetic
fields in MRI machines ...
Israeli researchers have produced
the “world’s first printed heart” out
of human tissue. The breakthrough
will hopefully make it possible for full
transplants to be performed without
requiring human hearts.
Tal Dvir from Tel Aviv University
tells The Jerusalem Post that this is
the first time anyone has engineered
and printed an entire heart complete
with cells, blood vessels, ventricles. In
the past, only simple tissues could be
printed without blood vessels.
Unfortunately, the technology to
create a full-sized heart might only
come about several years down the
road, as the 3D-printed heart is currently
only small enough for a rabbit.
However, this triumphant leap proves
that 3D print patches and full transplants
might be available in the future.
Dvir says the cells can currently contract,
but they will need to be developed
to simulate pumping.
Based on the findings of the team
reported in Advanced Science, it is
more likely for a transplant to be
successful if the heart is made of the
patient’s own cells.
To produce the heart, a “personalized
hydrogel” was created out of cellular
and a-cellular materials, standing
in as a printing ink of sorts. Stem cells
were also used to mimic heart cells.
The development, which has been ...
1 Actually try writing your thoughts
down. Venting is awesome for
a reason—it helps you get out your
frustrations.
2 When you're super stressed and
overwhelmed, see if there's any
way to put a positive spin on it.
3 Plan to take daily, low-key walks
(and actually do them). Sometimes
you just need to step away from what
you’re dealing with and get some air.
4 Counter negative thoughts with
positive ones. Negative thoughts ...
don’t have to consume you.
5 Make a list of “your people.” ... the
people you know you can always
call, text, or email when you need to
feel a connection ...
6 When you're stuck in a negative
thought spiral, write down two
good things. ... this exercise is mostly
about hitting pause and broadening
your focus.
7 Have a self-care arsenal. Maybe it's
taking a bath, watching that You-
Tube clip, putting on the sweatpants...
8 Talk back to your inner voice. ...
consider how you would talk to
your best friend in this situation.
9 Ask yourself “and then what?”
when you’re stuck on an anxious
thought. Ruminating over something ...
isn’t going to achieve anything.
10 Think about your alcohol
habits and whether you could
stand to cut back a little.
11 Have a bedtime ritual. ... do everything
you can to quiet your
thoughts before you get into bed.
Read full text:
Neuroscientist Sara Lazar, of Mass
General and Harvard Medical
School, started studying meditation by
accident. She sustained running injuries
training for the Boston Marathon,
and her physical therapist told her to
stretch. So Lazar took up yoga.
“The yoga teacher made all sorts of
claims, that yoga would increase your
compassion and open your heart,” said
Lazar. “And I’d think, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah,
I’m here to stretch.’ But I started noticing
that I was calmer. I was better able
to handle difficult situations. I was more
compassionate and open hearted, and
able to see things from others’ points
of view.” Eventually, she looked up the
scientific literature on mindfulness
meditation ... . She found the everincreasing
body of evidence that shows
that meditation decreases stress, depression,
and anxiety, reduces pain and
insomnia, and increases quality of life.
So she started doing some neuroscience
research of her own.
In her first study, she looked at longterm
meditators ... versus a control
group. The results showed that those
with a strong meditation background
had increased gray matter in several
areas of the brain, including the auditory
and sensory cortex, as well as
insula and sensory regions. ...
Read full text:
Read full text:
One of the most exciting scientific
findings of the past half century has
been the discovery of widespread trophic
cascades. A trophic cascade is an ecological
process which starts at the top of the
food chain and tumbles all the way down
to the bottom. And the classic example
is what happened in the Yellowstone
National Park in the United States when
wolves were reintroduced in 1995.
Now, we all know that wolves kill various
species of animals, but perhaps we're
slightly less aware that they give life to
many others. Before the wolves turned
up —they'd been absent for 70 years—
the numbers of deer (because there had
been nothing to hunt them) had built
up and built up in the Yellowstone Park
and despite efforts by humans to control
them they’d managed to reduce much
the vegitation there to almost nothing.
They had just grazed it away.
But as soon as the wolves arrived,
even though they were few in number
they started to have the most remarkable
effects. First, of course, they killed
some of the deer but that wasn’t the
major thing. Much more significantly,
they radically changed the behavior
of the deer. The deer started avoiding
certain parts of the park —the places
where they could be trapped most easily—
particularly the valleys and the
gorges and immediately those places
started to regenerate.
Watch video, with subtitles in plenty
of languages:
“Who needs biscuits?” a young man
with steely eyes says to a group of
roughly a dozen men gathered around
the fire. Some are crouching, others
kneeling. Some stand and stretch. Eggs
boil in a small kettle. Tiny cups of tea
pass between big men.
It is about 10 in the morning and the
sun peeks through the haze. The fire
smolders, and one man walks deeper
into the grove. ... “Hopefully we will
finish early today,” mutters Hasan
Mohammad. Like most of the men, he
is dressed in sturdy navy work clothes
and, like most of the men, his speech
is muffled by a baby-blue surgical face
mask. At his feet several white body
bags lie in a row on the dirt path abutting
the green grass. The field beyond
them is a chaos of choppy heaps of
earth that indicate makeshift graves. ...
Some graves hold a single body; one
held close to 1,500. They stipple Raqqa
and the surrounding countryside, and
as former residents return to their
damaged and destroyed homes, the
city government is working to exhume
and identify the bodies.
The men around this fire have been
hired as body pullers, and they have
been doing this work for more than a
year. Today they’ll work from 8 in the
morning until 3 in the afternoon ...
Sometimes the remains are released to
relatives who might be able to identify
their family member based on a tooth
or a sneaker. ...
Read full:
Weeks ago, 41 scientists published
the first worldwide analysis of
a fungal outbreak that’s been wiping
out frogs for decades. The devastation
turns out to be far worse than anyone
had previously realized.
Writing in the journal Science, the
researchers conclude that populations
of more than 500 species of amphibians
have declined significantly
because of the outbreak —including
at least 90 species presumed to have
gone extinct. The figure is more than
twice as large as earlier estimates.
“That’s fairly seismic,” said Wendy
Palen, a biologist at Simon Fraser
University who is a co-author of a
commentary accompanying the study. “It now earns the moniker of the most
deadly pathogen known to science.”
Scientists first noticed in the 1970s
that some frog populations were
declining quickly; by the 1980s, some
species appeared to be extinct. The
losses were puzzling, because the frogs
were living in pristine habitats, unharmed
by pollution or deforestation.
In the late 1990s, researchers discovered
that frogs in both Australia and
Panama were infected with a deadly
fungus, which they named Batrachochytrium
dendrobatidis —Bd, for short.
The fungus turned up in other countries,
but studies of its DNA suggest ...
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The Bachelor of Global Security
Management (BSc) program objective
is to allow students to address both
research and policy issues between
theory, research creating a foundation
in high level decision making responsibilities
and critical thinking skills that
can result in greater financial benefits.
The Bachelor of Global Security Management
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via distance learning. After evaluating
both academic record and life experience,
AIU staff working in conjunction
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will assist students in setting up a
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student needs is seldom found in other
distance learning programs. Our online
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Instead, the online Bachelor of Global
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is designed individually by the student
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It specifically addresses strengths
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AIU students can be found in over 180 countries,
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AIU graduation documents can include
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allows aspiring and practicing
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to complete a self paced distance
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The ultimate goal is to empower
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Degree programs are designed for
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The founding principles lie on the
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With access to a global catalog created and maintained collectively by more than
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