13th International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Call For Papers

The Humanities Conference will be held 17-19 June 2015 at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. We welcome submissions from a variety of disciplines and perspectives and encourage faculty and students to jointly submit proposals, discussing The Humanities through one of the following themes: Critical Cultural Studies
• Communication and Linguistic Studies
• Literary Humanities
• Civic, Political, and Community Studies
• Humanities Education
• “From ‘Digital Humanities’ to a Humanities of the Digital”

2015 Special Focus


In addition to the annual themes, the conference will address the special focus From ‘Digital Humanities’ to a Humanities of the Digital through keynote speakers, garden sessions, workshops, and parallel sessions that examine the following topics:

The ‘digital’ as a social imaginary: exploring historical continuities and ruptures in social and cultural practices in the era of digital cultures.

• The digital within the humanities: new methods and tools for documentation, research, and representation.
• The political economy of digital humanities: e-learning, e-publishing, and the reframing of disciplines and institutions.
• Big data and little data; negotiating the public and the private.
• Open access and open cultures: developing sustainable knowledge ecologies.
• Adapting methodologies and focus in the digital age: has the dust settled on the ‘digital humanities’?
• From the digital humanities, to a humanities of the digital; rebuilding the humanities in the shadow of the digital, and developing a humanities of the digital.

Proposal Submissions and Deadlines

The current review period closing date for the latest round of submissions to the Call for Papers (a title and short abstract) is 4 December 2014*. Please visit our website for more information on submitting your proposal, future deadlines, and registering for the conference.
If you are unable to attend the conference, you may still join the community and submit your article for peer review and possible publication, upload an online presentation, and enjoy subscriber access to The Humanities Journal Collection.
*Proposals are reviewed in rounds adhering to monthly deadlines. Check the website often to see the current review round. Visit the website:thehumanities.com

Thesis published

October 19, 2014. Margaret Ordóñez Smith de Danies wrote her thesis on Practical Guide for Clinical Bacteriology Laboratories and it has been published in the Pan-American Medical Editorial which has an excellent reputation for everything related to health in Spain, Central and Latin America. Her book aims to provide tools to standardize and be able to work optimally and reliably in the field of Clinical Bacteriology, systematized or manually because without an effective pre-analytical phase, there is no bacterial recovery. She describes simple, fast, and economical techniques and opportunities for the management of patients with bacterial infections. In addition, presents new techniques to prevent fast bacteria strength and help the patient recover quickly, avoiding unnecessary hospital days and costs in their diagnostic tests. Margaret completed a Doctorate program in Mircrobiology with Cum Laude honors at AIU.

Book published

October 28, 2014. Nadir Mohammad Sidiqi published a book titled Biodiversity Conservation: A Path to a Healthy Afghanistan. During his recent trip to Kabul, he participated in various events where he spoke of his book, including: Meeting the Deputy of Afghanistan Agriculture Ministry; Presentation for students at the Faculty of Science Kabul University; Dean of Faculty of Agriculture at Kabul University. Nadir has completed a Doctor of Philosophy program in Agricultural Science at AIU.

With Honors

November 16, 2014. These graduate students completed the majority of the requirements to obtain honors (4.0 GPA, published works, recommendation from their advisor, patent a product, etc). Sept 2014: Debra Charles-Rojas, Doctor of Science in Nutrition, CUM LAUDE. Manuel Alejandro Reategui Rios, Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, CUM LAUDE. Nov 2014: Hassan Ali Khan, Doctor of Philosophy PhD in Architecture, CUM LAUDE. Congra tulations !





Graduation Ceremony

November 2014 2014



Jose Mauricio Quintanilla Zapata
Bachelor of Science Information Systems
Australia
Willian Leonicio Rivadeneira Caldas
Doctor of Philosophy Education
Austria
Doreen Ngonda
Doctor of Management
Botswana
Mary Mogolo Mabotho
Doctor of Human Resources
Botswana
Michael Chengwi Neba
Master of Science Information Technology
Cameroon
Ndifor George Tala
Bachelor of Science Civil Engineering
Cameroon
Gilson Luiz Dos Santos Pinheiroz
Bachelor of Psychology
Liu HongZe
Bachelor of Business Administration
China
Eduardo Alcala Kwan o
Bachelor of Education Teaching and Learning
Columbia
Iván Rojas Ayalao
Doctor of Project Management Management Columbia
Julio Flórez Oses
Master of Science Mechanical Engineering
Columbia
Luz Marina Cano Molano
Master of Education Education
Columbia
Luz Marina Cano Molano
Doctor of Education Education
Columbia
Manuel Dario Carvajal Trillos
Bachelor of Psychology Clinical Psychology
Columbia
Rene Mora-Casalda
Doctor of Science Chemical Engineering
Costa Rica
Henry Marcelo Troya Alverca
Master of Science Public Health
Ecuador
Luis Roger Villamarin Coronel
Bachelor of Science Industrial Engineering
Ecuador
Luis Narváez-Ricaurte
Doctor of Science Political Science
El Salvador
Iob Techeste Imam
Doctor of Philosophy Business Administration
Eritrea
Zewdie Gebretsadik Beza
Doctor of Science Agronomy
Ethiopia
Carolina Isabel Velásquez Telón
Master of Science
Anthropology
Guatemala
Maria Angelina Reyes Fuentes
Doctor of Philosophy
Education
Honduras
Will Roberto Moncada
Doctor of Economics
Strategic Planning
Honduras
Mohammed El-Shaikh
Bachelor of Science
Sudan
Osbert Abraham Grey
Master of Engineering
Construction
Jamaica
Stephen Agbobli
Master of Science
Civil Engineering
Liberia
J. Antonio Tafoya Razo
Doctor of Science Agronomy
Mexico
Jorge Arturo Hernández
Bachelor of Science
Mexico
Marco Antonio Damián Garibay
Doctor of Education
Education
Mexico
Victor Fuentes Enríquez
Doctor of Business Administration
Mexico
Emiola Olawale Kolapo Steve
Doctor of Philosophy
Operations Research
Nigeria
Arlindo Bengui André
Doctor of Science
Telecommunications
Norway

Arnulfo Luis Franco Rodriguez
Doctor of Science
Fisheries and Environmenta
. Panama

David Moises Giraldo Cano
Bachelor of Science
Agronomy
Peru
Luis Francisco Vivanco Aldon
Master of Business Administration
Peru
Samir George Abudayeh Giha
Doctor of Philosophy
Political Science
Peru
Felix Bigabo Bizimana
Master of Counseling
Psychology
Rwanda
Ibrahim Othman Al-Saleh
Bachelor of Business Administration
Saudi Arabia
Thu Rein Ko Ko
Doctor of Philosophy
Industrial Engineering
Singapore
Juma Samuel Khamsin Walle
Bachelor of Arts
Public Administration
Sudan



Testimonial

Mohammad Gaber El Sayed
November 09, 2014
Doctor of Business Management

“It is not my first degree from AIU as I received a PhD before in English Literature, and my career has actually developed because of that degree. In addition, this kind of self-learning led me to be more dependant for further enhancement. Furthermore, I learned to write my thesis, assignments, and to check plagiarism (TurnItIn), which in turn taught me to be more professional in my essays. Fortunately, I was pleased to have a very cooperative adviser and tutor. All of the AIU staff and administrative are thanked for their great help. It will be very important for other students to understand better the true meaning of the AIU experience.”

Testimonial

Moustapha I. Sambo Diallo November 1, 2014
Doctor of Project Management

“I want to start by thanking all of the AIU staff for their efforts which helped me achieve my goal. The proactivity of AIU staff, the celerity through which they give responses to my query helped me a lot to continue my journey. Also, the freedom to choose and design my own curriculum which really matched with my professional goals is an important innovation. The flexibility of their policy which allows students to pay their tuition fees by installments helped me very much. I wish to take this opportunity to send special thanks to Dr Valcin, Junko and Kimberly Diaz for having being there for me. I am truly grateful to them.

Testimonial

Anthony Okon Etim PhD in Environmental Science
October 28, 2014 .

“My academic journey in AIU started as simple and unbelievable endeavors. Simple and unbelievable because after the completion of my M. Sc. programme I was looking for an opportunity to complete my doctorate degree in my field of specialization online. Looking at my work life and couple with other relative family activities I had in mind that such would not be achieved if such programme is undertaken in the conventional University structure. In order for me to fulfill my urge of pursuing a Doctorate degree as additional academic qualification in my field of study, I started looking forward to where such could be achieved and facilitated without conventional structure. The search in the internet for such programme then became the focus area in my internet world. The journey in the internet accessibility led me to the AIU sometimes in June, 2014. Proactive assessment of the AIU programme revealed that this probably might be the University where I could achieve my Doctorate programme without conventional interphase.

Then I started the admission process which was facilitated without any obstruction through the expert leadership of the admission official with the AIU. The encouragement provided to me on the platform during the intensive discussion with the admission official inspired me to start the programme in the University. The Gradual introduction to the University programme through the leading advisor allowed full integration into the university cardinal focus structure with an andragogy definition in which everything is done independently without the involvement of the third party. The singular opportunity provided to me to search the web and complete the relative assignment broaden my knowledge in my field of environmental toxicology and pollution control as I was able to discover new areas which invariably was very useful to me especially in completing my assignments. Furthermore, the timely evaluation of the relative assignment given in the classroom enhanced continuous development of the assignment focus area in order to meet the time line which was achieved successfully. In most cases the advisors were ready and always willing to provide useful advice and interaction where there were challenges.

Communication of assignment outcome was also timely which enable me plan for the next assignment without delay. The open examples and the video guidance provided for each of the assignment also provided clear direction towards completing the outlined assignment programme. Curriculum development was another focus area which took me to various great institutions. I was able to see new courses which added values to my field of study. I was also able to go beyond the required expectations which significantly influenced my level of understanding in the field of environmental management, pollution control and toxicology. The independent attributes as defined by the AIU in the course of fulfilling each course objectives has really influenced my level of preparation and re-align my perspectives towards achieving great fits in academic and educational development. The course objectives were well developed as the level of exposure was also great. Finally I appreciate all the directions and guidance provided by the AIU, which have really assisted in the completion of this programme without any alteration in my work and family life. AIU has enable me to complete my PhD programme on time without any delay and challenges as it is often experienced in the conventional University system. I am therefore proud of the AIU and I will continue to preach the benefits of AIU to my contemporaries within my area. It has really been worthwhile experience with limited uncertainty. I have no doubt as I will find all the learning objectives very useful in my professional activities and applied same where such is required. Really I can now regard my journey as believable and achievable because I was able to go pursue such in the AIU and made it not quite at old age as earlier envisaged, but timely as I expected.”






Remembering Michael Sata


Dear AIU Family,

It is with great regret we inform you that one of our Alumni and fifth president of Zambia, Michael Sata has passed away due to illness on October 28, 2014. Mr. Sata graduated with a Bachelors in Political Science with us 2011, same year he defeated Rupiah Banda after 10 years of opposition. From his time as a student with AIU, President Sata demonstrated his dedication and resilience. He exemplified the autonomy and leadership AIU envisions for all students. Mr. Sata believed in AIU’s visions and applied it to his life. His final thesis was on how to reach the presidency as opposition, few months later he won the presidency in Zambia. Today we remember him and embrace the legacy he leaves for his family, AIU, his country and the world. Let’s remember Mr. Sata and remember that vision and hard work can lead to change in the world. Rest in Peace Michael Sata. Regards, Ofelia Hernandez AIU Director



1. Michael Chilufya Sata was born on July 6, 1937 and died October 28, 2014, at the age of 77 after receiving treatment for an undisclosed illness at a hospital in London, England.

2. When he graduated from a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science at Atlantic International University he was 74 years old.

3. He was considered a man with humble origins and limited schooling, born as he was at Chitulika village in Mpika District, given a sendoff worth a king. Growing up in rural Zambia, not in his wildest dreams did he think one day he would become a president and determine the fate of 14 million people. Attending Catholic Catechists seminary schools, Katibunga, Kantensha, and Lubushi, his eyes were set on becoming a priest.

4. Michael Sata was the fifth President of Zambia and the second President who died in term.

5. He received the nickname of “King Cobra” for his sharp tongue.

6. He worked as a police officer, railway man, trade unionist and taxidermist before going to politcs.

7. In the decade of 1980’s Michael Sata was Governor of Lusaka.

8. His economic strategy had trhee sides: to increase Zambia’s trade with its neighbours, boost the country’s vibrant tourism sector and reduce the cost of doing business. The increase in copper prices since then –from around $3,000 a tonne to almost $10,000– and the friendly tax regime have drawn a rush of foreign investment to Zambia, particularly from China, during Sata’s Administration.

9. Sata knew when to move. He once belonged to the United National Independence Party (Unip), then led by Kenneth Kaunda, Zambia’s first President, but later switched to the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD). When the MMD thwarted his presidential ambitions, he broke away to form the Patriotic Front (PF) in 2001.

10. He was no diplomat. He told off George W. Bush, the former American president, for tardiness. Opposition leaders have been detained for public-order offences, including Mr. Sata’s predecessor, Rupiah Banda, whom he defeated in the election of 2011, was stripped of immunity from prosecution in March and was on trial for corruption.

Comments from A I U Students

Alex Bwalya
As a Zambian, I am proud that the late President went through AIU. It is a University which inspires its students to be world changers; firstly by changing their immediate society positively and then their continent and the world. AIU teach us through all your lectures, assignments and reports to bring out this fact clearly. We receive education to impact the world for it’s betterment. As an engineer, my role is to improve peoples lives through sound theoretical and experiential knowledge. To learn to think out of the box. To be sensitive to humanity and be practical about it . The late president tried to live this.

Kelvin Musonda Chisanga
We have lost a gallant leader who worked selfless in government and for the country of Zambia, the man worked tireless in difficult times and has left a lot of developmental projects which were to see Zambia sow greater and higher levels of economical heights. I liked his charisma and courage in achieving all his ambitions, he was a great man who conquered most challenges and won them all with much stamina. I was recommended to study at this university after seeing this man did it here and am grateful!

Kenneth Ngosa Chikwanda
I saw your letter about the passing on of our late president H.E Michael Chilufya Sata just a few minutes after body viewing at Mulungushi Conference Center. It is sad to loss a man of action, man of all people regardless of age and status in society. He respected and valued human life by taking free health services closer to the communities. A leader who was able to reduce corruption in the country within six months as a president. The Nation has lost a leader. MHSRIP

Bright Karikari-Brempong
To The Family of Pres. Michael Sata, We have lost a giant in politics. A leader and a kind loyal friend and father to the nation. ‘’We all ask ourselves, whether you are truly leaving us forever.’’ We will always remember your achievement. How enthusiastic you were and it is lost in our eyes. Oh Pres!, we are anguished within us. We cannot hold ourselves together since your death. AIU and all the Alumni and Alumnae say to our brother and a friend, Pres. Michael Sata, Rest In Perfect Peace.




Living or dying


By Dr. Rosa Hilda Lora M. / Advisor at Atlantic International University

The first concept that comes to mind when we think about life is being and even more about movement; the thought of beings from Biology. We are here, we go there, we eat, we rest, we have an activity, and we say we’re alive, unlike those in the cemeteries who have finished the above activities.



Life: a process involving development of what we are as beings, biological beings or members of a network system. Environment: the human, political and economic as elements of a deterministic system or as elements of a nonlinear system. We can explain many concepts in the context of what science is; but life is one of the most empirical we have because we assume that as it is usually with us, it does not need to be explained. Science we have learned is focused on measurement, it is centered on the object and we consider ourselves the subject that determines what we believe objects are, and we consider what we know as a copy of our reality. The science to which we refer is the deterministic one and as a closed system. In the tradition of questioning human existence we think about literary works we had to read, such as Erich Fromm1: To have or to be? (1976). In 1976 Erich Fromm said: “The living structures can exist only if they shift and change. Change and development are vital qualities inherent in the vital process.” (Fromm 2009, p. 41). We also have the proposal that comes from Rene Descartes2, in the seventeenth century, matter and spirit dichotomy: the thinking substance or res cogitans and the matter or res extensa. Today in the XXI century, science has come a long way and we have more explanations with supportive concepts: The Santiago theory of Humberto Maturana3 and Francisco Varela4 and Dissipative structures of Ilya Prigogine5. The Santiago theory is the scientific explanation that shows that life is a process of knowledge that comes from autogenesis and self-perpetuation of living networks. The process of autogenesis or autopoiesis is conservation of organizational pattern with ongoing structural changes. Structure changes are because of the development or the environment; what we do by knowing is to illuminate a world with the life process. “...as humans we only have the world we create with others.” (Maturana and Varela 2004, p. 163). Dissipative structures theory explains the dynamics of the chemicals that make up life. (Prigogine 2009). Dissipative structures are an open system that is always out of balance but at the same time preserves stability and maintains the overall structure. Increasing energy may cause a branch point creating a new state called emergency or self-organization. This property of living systems generates creativity. From the theories of Maturana and Varela and Prigogine we can establish that life is self-organization of what we are as originating a change or bifurcation, where chemistry is involved to find the lost balance and to create a new structure. For this new structure emerges creativity as the new equilibrium. From the above we can say that the world we know changes and we change internally as to what we say we know and as for our development as living networks or elements of a relationship system. “It is not only instability, but a succession of instabilities that have allowed crossing the no man’s land between life and non-life.” (Prigogine 2009, p. 324). What are we doing to create instabilities of what we are and then creativity arises and a new way to see and do for the environment and for us? What do we do for our development as living networks? We deal –as material resources allow– to eat well, to have holidays, to the use of all available technology and to accumulate assets. What do we do with the instabilities of our environment? We become blind to the knowledge society in which we live, we become blind to the rapid changes that are made in the communication society, we become blind to the poverty in our own country and even more of the one we do not see, we blind to the lack of health assistance to other human beings, we become blind to all the illiterates out there –even in our own home as to the people who give us domestic service, we become blind to what the state do, we become blind to the damage that is done to nature in the form of appropriating what it offers. We can go on blindness and say “Ah! All that we hear is said by the new crazy people we have as scientists”. Faced with such blindness we can ask: are we living or are we rather walking faster than, it looks towards death. Do we create life or do we generate death? What do you propose yourself for living? What you propose to do to create life? Every day in the globalized society whose fundamental bases are the development of knowledge and communication there are fewer opportunities for employment. It takes creativity, but it is a consequence of the instability in our being as living networks and of instability that should produce changes in the environment. What will you do today to create your own life? What are you doing tomorrow? What will you do in about a month? What are you going to do to in a year? What will you do for your environment? today, tomorrow, within a month within a year. What will you do? If we do not get to study each day, we will stay in a nonexistent world. Or do you want to end up like Grondin says: “Life can be a spring. But it can also be frighteningly Siberian”. (Grondin 2005, p. 91).

1. Erich Fromm. (1900-1980). Born in Frankfurt, Germany, founder of the Psychoanalytic Institute in his hometown, his doctorate in Germany where he worked until 1934; he moved to USA for lecturing at Columbia, Yale and Michigan State Universities. Main works: The Fear of Freedom, The Art of Loving, Having or Being? 2. Renatus Cartesius. (1596-1650). Born in The Hague, Touraine and died in Sweden. He is considered the founder of modern idealism. Main works: Discourse on Method and Metaphysics Meditations. 3. Humberto Maturana Romesín. (1928- ). Born in Chile where he studied Medicine and Biology. He is also a graduate of University College, London and PhD in Biology from Harvard University. He is the author with Francisco Varela of the work: The tree of knowledge and Machines and living things. Another work of great significance is Biology of cognition and epistemology. 4. Francisco Varela. (1946-2001). Born in Chile, where he studied Medicine and Biology; his doctorate at Harvard University. He worked with Humberto Maturana’s theory of autopoiesis. His most important works were written jointly with Maturana: The tree of knowledge and Machines and living things. 5. Ilya Prigogine. Born in Russia in 1917 and was nationalized Belgian; died in 2003. At the Free University of Brussels studied Chemistry and Physics. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1977 for his work on the theory of dissipative structures and thermodynamics. He wrote: An illusion? , Laws of Chaos, The end of certainty, among others.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Capra, F. (2003). Las conexiones ocultas. Anagrama: Barcelona. Fromm, E. (2009). ¿Tener o Ser?. FCE: Mexico. Grondin, J. (2005). Del sentido de la vida, un ensayo filosófico. Herder: Spain. Maturana, H. y Francisco Varela. (2004). El árbol del Conocimiento. Lumen: Argentina. Progogine, I. (2009). ¿Tan solo una ilusión?. Tusquest: Barcelona.













Homeschooling pros and cons

There are about two million children currently learning at home directed by their own parents in the US. Homeschooled kids do well on standardized tests, are welcome at colleges and universities, and as adults, have a reputation for being self-directed learners and reliable employees. This list is based on the experiences of dozens of families who’ve shared the ups and downs of their day-to-day homeschooling.



The Pros

Educational freedom Physical freedom Emotional freedom Religious freedom Closer family relationships Stability during difficult times Well-rested kids No busywork No homework

The Cons

Time restraints Financial restraints Being with your kids 24/7 Limited team sports Living outside the norm





Ideas from the future

At TED 2014, speakers and attendees were asked to riff off the conference’s theme (The Next Chapter) and tell what might radically change society, life, technology and so on in the next 30 years.



“... we’re going to ingest information. You’re going to swallow a pill and know English. You’re going to swallow a pill and know Shakespeare. The way to do it is through the bloodstream; once it’s in your bloodstream, it basically goes through and gets into the brain and when it knows it’s in the brain it deposits the information in the right places. ...” Nicholas Negroponte, founder, MIT Media Lab




“What will blow my mind in the next 30 years is the ability to diagnose a disease before you know that something is wrong with you, treat it with medicines designed specifically for you and eradicate it so it never happens again. The concept of connected health, wearable technology and ingested medicines are all pointing us in that direction. The ability for someone to tie it all together, tailored for the individual is mindblowing.” Doreen Lorenzo, president, Quirky




“... we will be able to listen to live music, at any hour, all around the world, wherever we are, through some innerear adapter not unlike what we have with today’s Google Glass. We will be able to hear street musicians from Ghana and live music in a bar from Reykjavik at lunchtime in San Francisco. Live music will bring the next generation closer together, with promises of global peace.” Gregory Miller, cofounder, Spacebar, former managing director, Google.org




“... If energy were clean, cheap and dense, we could lift everyone out of poverty ... We’d be able to leave large portions of the earth to nature and still live high quality, modern lives on an ecologically vibrant planet. Rachel Pritzker, president, Pritzker Innovation Fund



“I think what will blow our minds in the next 30 years will be watching the maturation and contributions of Generation Z. This is the first generation to grow up with wide access to advanced technology since their birth. I have seen kids like my godson –born in 2011– be able to navigate a tablet computer from before he was able to form complete sentences. I think that this type of exposure to super-computers, tablets, smartphones and social media since infancy makes their brains different, and as this generation comes of age and begins to take their place as leaders in society over the next 30 years, I think we will see mind-blowing advancements in every aspect of life that technology can affect.” Ryan Coogler, filmm




“Five to ten years from now, search engines will be based not just on looking for combinations of words and links but actually on reading for understanding the billions of pages on the web and in books. So you’ll be walking along, Google will pop up, and say, ‘Mary, you expressed concern to me a month ago that your glutathione supplement wasn’t getting past the blood/brain barrier. Well, new research came out 13 seconds ago that shows a whole new approach to taking glutathione; let me summarize it for you. ...” Marc Kushner, architect, partner HWKN







The neuroscience of free will

1. Marcus Du Sautoy, a professor of mathematics at the University of Oxford, underwent neural scans as part of this BBC special on the neuroscience of free will. Sautoy said: “Science has a problem with free will. Science likes one thing to cause another.” He was given the simple, spontaneous choice of pressing buttons with either his left hand or his right. Neural scans would answer the question, “Is it the conscious me, or the unconscious mass of grey matter [in the brain] that I have no control over [making the choice]?” Professor John-Dylan Haynes at the Bernstein Centre for Computational Neuroscience determined that 6 seconds before Sautoy’s conscious mind realized the decision, the brain had indicated what the decision would be. Certain regions of the brain were more active when Sautoy was about to choose the left hand, certain regions were more active when he was going to choose the right. It left Sautoy feeling he wasn’t in control. He felt hostage to some part of his brain that made the decision before he himself had a conscious inkling of it. Haynes, however, chimed in: “I wouldn’t call it a hostage situation.” “The conscious mind ... is realized by your brain activity,” he said. “And also the unconscious brain activity realizes certain aspects of you. It’s in harmony with your beliefs and desires.” Watch the video here: youtu.be/N6S9OidmNZM

2. In the first half of the 20th century, physicist Werner Heisenberg found that not everything in physics is as deterministic as Albert Einstein had adamantly stated. Famed theoretical physicist Michio Kaku explained in this Big Think video that, according to Einstein’s view, even a mass-murderer’s actions were already determined millions of years ago.

“Einstein was wrong,” Kaku said, and explained that Heisenberg taught us: “Every time we look at an electron, it moves. There’s uncertainty with regards to the position of the electron.” Humans are similarly indeterminate, he said. For example, when Kaku looks in the mirror, he doesn’t feel he’s looking at himself here and now. “It’s me a billionth of a second ago, because it takes a billionth of a second for light to go from me to the mirror and back.” He said, “No one can determine your future events given your past history.” Watch the video here: youtu.be/Jint5kjoy6I

3. Philosopher, writer, and cognitive scientist, Daniel Clement Dennett, noted in this interview that determinism is bound up with the concept of inevitability. But what exactly does the word “inevitable” mean? “Oddly enough, although the word slips off the tongue of everyone who writes about free will and determinism, hardly anybody’s looked at it,” he said. “What it means is ‘unavoidable.’” Is everything unavoidable? A person may be able to avoid a thrown brick or spear, but not a lightning bolt. When we partition things off into those that are inevitable and those that are “evitable,” we see that the “evitable” exists. Not everything is inevitable. Dennett noted the paradox inherent in the question of whether free will exists or whether the future is pre-determined: “What are you going to change the future [to]? From what to what? ... What on Earth do you mean that the future is inevitable?” Watch the video here: youtu.be/Utai74HjPJE Source: What Does Science Say About Free Will? by Tara MacIsaac. m.thepochtimes.com

The newest mineral

It’s purple and composed of cube-like crystals just 0.5 mm in size. But what really makes putnisite, the world’s newest mineral, truly unique is that nothing like it has ever been discovered before. “Most minerals belong to a family or small group of related minerals, or if they aren’t related to other minerals they often are to a synthetic compound, but putnisite is completely unique and unrelated to anything,” said Dr. Peter Elliott, lead author of a new study detailing the discovery in Mineralogical Magazine. The transluscent purple crystals with a pink streak through the middle were discovered by a mining company in the Polar Bear peninsula of Western Australia. What’s got scientists so intrigued by the mineral is its composition. It’s a rare combination of strontium, calcium, chromium, sulphur, carbon, oxygen and hydrogen that’s completely distinct from any of the other 4,000 known minerals in the world. It was found on volcanic rock and appears to have dark pink spots on a dark green and white rock when viewed under a microscope. Putnisite is named after German mineralogists Andrew and Christine Putnis for their contributions to mineralogy. Its commercial use has yet to be determined.

Source: Article by Sarah Wolfe. www.globalpost.com Image: Peter Elliott/Mineralogical Magazine Courtesy



Musical invention kit

Make music from anything with the Ototo, an all-in-one musical invention kit. Its flexible mix of touch-sensitive keys and sensor inputs let you create your own electronic sounds —just connect conductive objects to the keys to turn your kitchen into an orchestra and your plants into doorbells.

No coding knowledge or programming is needed: The keys on the Ototo are arranged like one octave of a musical keyboard and it comes with 50 preprogrammed sounds. When you connect an object to a key, you can trigger that note on your object. Three sensor inputs control the loudness, pitch, and timbre so that it’s easy to create a one-person band or an interactive sound installation from the ground up. With so many ways to use the Ototo, there’s a project for everyone! Features a 12-key capacitive touch keyboard (1 octave) with connectors; 3 sensors; built-in speaker and 3.5 mm headphone output; and 128 Mbit flash memory. Powered by 2 AA batteries (not included) or micro USB. Recommended for ages 13 and up. Made in Romania. The Ototo Musical Invention Kit is featured in the Kickstarter@ MoMA Design Store presentation, and was brought to life by 915 backers on Kickstarter. Source: www.momastore.com



The subject tonight is love


The subject tonight is love And for tomorrow night as well, As a matter of fact I know of no better topic For us to discuss Until we all Die! Hafiz Shirazi translated to English by Daniel Ladinsky


Why reading makes you a better person


1. On average, readers have better physical health, empathy and mental health.


2. Reading for as little as 6 minutes can reduce stress by 60%, slow heart beat, ease muscle tension and alter your state of mind.



3. Reading reduces stress 68% more than listening to music, 100% more than drinking a cup of tea, 300% more than going for a walk and 600% more than playing a video game.


4. Readers are more likely to help non-profit organizations. 82% of readers donate goods and money, while 66% of non-readers do. 42% readers use to volunteer, while only 25% of non-readers do.





Creative androgyny

Despite the immense canon of research on creativity —including its four stages, the cognitive science of the ideal creative routine, the role of memory, and the relationship between creativity and mental illness— very little has focused on one of life’s few givens that equally few of us can escape: gender and the genderedness of the mind. In Creativity: The Psychology of Discovery and Invention —one of the most important, insightful, and influential books on creativity ever written— pioneering psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi examines a curious, under-appreciated yet crucial aspect of the creative mindset: a predisposition to psychological androgyny. “In all cultures, men are brought up to be “masculine” and to disregard and repress those aspects of their temperament that the culture regards as “feminine,” whereas women are expected to do the opposite. Creative individuals to a certain extent escape this rigid gender role stereotyping. When tests of masculinity/ femininity are given to young people, over and over one finds that creative and talented girls are more dominant and tough than other girls, and creative boys are more sensitive and less aggressive than their male peers.” Csikszentmihalyi points out that this psychological tendency toward androgyny shouldn’t be confused with homosexuality —it deals not with sexual constitution but with a set of psychoemotional capacities: “Psychological androgyny is a much wider concept, referring to a person’s ability to be at the same time aggressive and nurturant, sensitive and rigid, dominant and submissive, regardless of gender. A psychologically androgynous person in effect doubles his or her repertoire of responses and can interact with the world in terms of a much richer and varied spectrum of opportunities. It is not surprising that creative individuals are more likely to have not only the strengths of their own gender but those of the other one, too.” Citing his team’s extensive interviews with 91 individuals who scored high on creativity in various fields —including pioneering astronomer Vera Rubin, legendary sociobiologist E.O. Wilson, philosopher and marginalia champion Mortimer Adler, universedisturber Madeleine L’Engle, social science titan John Gardner, poet extraordinaire Denise Levertov, and MacArthur genius Stephen Jay Gould— Csikszentmihalyi writes:

“It was obvious that the women artists and scientists tended to be much more assertive, self-confident, and openly aggressive than women are generally brought up to be in our society. Perhaps the most noticeable evidence for the “femininity” of the men in the sample was their great preoccupation with their family and their sensitivity to subtle aspects of the environment that other men are inclined to dismiss as unimportant. But despite having these traits that are not usual to their gender, they retained the usual gender-specific traits as well.” Creative androgyny Why reading makes you a better person Source: Why “Psychological Androgyny” Is Essential for Creativity, by Maria Popova. www.brainpickings.org




Understand yourself

One day a student from Chicago came to the Providence Zen Center and asked Seung Sahn Soen-Sa, “What is Zen?” Soen-sa held his Zen stick above his head and said, “Do you understand?” The student said, “I don’t know.” Soen-sa said, “This don’t know mind is you. Zen is understanding yourself.” “What do you understand about me? Teach me.” Soen-sa said, “In a cookie factory, different cookies are baked in the shape of animals, cars, people, and airplanes. They all have different names and forms, but they are all made from the same dough, and they all taste the same. “In the same way, all things in the universe –the sun, the moon, the stars, mountains, rivers, people, and so forth– have different names and forms, but they are all made from the same substance. The universe is organized into pairs of opposites: light and darkness, man and woman, sound and silence, good and bad. But all these opposites are mutual, because they are made from the same substance. Their names and their forms are different, but their substance is the same. Names and forms are made by your thinking. If you are not thinking and have no attachment to name and form, then all substance is one. Your don’t know mind cuts off all thinking. This is your substance. The substance of this Zen stick and your own substance are the same. You are this stick; this stick is you.” The student said, “Some philosophers say this substance is energy, or mind, or God, or matter. Which is the truth?” Soen-sa said, “Four blind men went to the zoo and visited the elephant. One blind man touched its side and said, ‘The elephant is like a wall.’ The next blind man touched its trunk and said, ‘The elephant is like a snake.’ The next blind man touched its leg and said, ‘The elephant is like a column.’ The last blind man touched its tail and said, ‘The elephant is like a broom.’ Then the four blind men started to fight, each one believing that his opinion was the right one. Each only understood the part he had touched; none of them understood the whole. “Substance has no name and no form. Energy, mind, God, and matter are all name and form. Substance is the Absolute. Having name and form is having opposites. So the whole world is like the blind men fighting among themselves. Not understanding yourself is not understanding the truth. That is why there is fighting among ourselves. If all the people in the world understood themselves, they would attain the Absolute. Then the world would be at peace. World peace is Zen.” The student said, “How can practicing Zen make world peace?” Soen-sa said, “People desire money, fame, sex, food, and rest. All this desire is thinking. Thinking is suffering. Suffering means no world peace. Not thinking is not suffering. Not suffering means world peace. World peace is the Absolute. The Absolute is I.” The student said, “How can I understand the Absolute?” Soen-sa said, “You must first understand yourself.” “How can I understand myself?” Soen-sa held up the Zen stick and said, “Do you see this?” He then quickly hit the table with the stick and said, “Do you hear this? This stick, this sound, your mind – are they the same or different?” The student said, “The same.” Soen-sa said, “If you say they are the same, I will hit you thirty times. If you say they are different, I will still hit you thirty times. Why?” The student was silent. Soen-sa shouted, “KATZ!!!” Then he said, “Spring comes, the grass grows by itself.” Source: Dropping Ashes On The Buddha: The Teaching of Zen Master Seung Sahn.



Self-filling H2O bottle

There is water in the air around us at every moment. This untapped resource could benefit people living in arid areas of the world. Taking a cue from the Namib Desert Beetle, scientists have developed a water bottle that can fill itself up by harvesting water from the atmosphere. The Namib Desert Beetle has a shell that is covered in bumps, which allows humidity in the air to gradually accumulate on its back until water droplets form. These droplets roll down the beetle’s back and directly into its mouth. Researchers have mimicked this shell to develop a bottle that utilizes the same water collecting effect. This technology can also be used on tent covers, roof tiles and other items. NBD Nano is taking advantage of this technology to create a water bottle that can continually fill itself up. The company hopes to have the water bottle on the market by 2014. “We see this being applicable to anything from marathon runners to people in third-world countries. Water is such a large issue in the world today, and we want to try to alleviate those problems with a cost-efficient solution,” says Deckard Sorensen, co-founder of NBD Nano. Source: Note by Kristine Lofgren. inhabitat.com



Mobile laundromat for the homeless

Two ingenious 20-year-old good Samaritans created a brilliant way to help the homeless –they’ve outfitted a van as a mobile laundromat to give the homeless the opportunity to clean their clothes safely. The two creators of the Orange Sky Laundry project, Lucas Patchett and Nicholas Marchesi, started with an old van and a generator. With the help of donations, they were able to secure two washing machines and driers, allowing their van to process 20kg of laundry an hour. The project was launched in July and is now in its trial period, during which the van will operate 5 days a week in Brisbane. If the van is successful, the organization might spread throughout Australia.

You can help them out by donating online –$6 will cover the cost of a cycle of washing for 1 person. “Have a look, we really appreciate it along with your continued support!” Visit their website: orangeskylaundry. com.au Source: www.boredpanda.com





Modern slavery

It is estimated that 35.8 million people are forced to live in slavery around the world today. But we can be the generation to end slavery –if we can mobilise a global movement, making it a priority for governments and business, and investing in the solutions of prevention, protection and prosecution. Walk Free is a movement of people everywhere, fighting to end one of the world’s greatest evils: modern slavery. Everywhere in the world, slavery means injustice, cruelty, and suffering. But in every country it wears a different face, it targets different families, it thrives on different pain. So in every country, in every community, the fight against slavery is unique. That’s why Walk Free works with a network of organisations based around the world. We amplify and extend their efforts, and we help put resources in the hands of people who can make the biggest difference. Visit walkfree.org and learn many ways to take action and support people all over the world. Send e-mails or make a donation. Every action, every gift makes a difference. This is how we will put an end to modern slavery. Nation by nation, community by community, person by person. Until we build the world we dream of, a world where everyone can walk free.










The creativity myth

In 1815, Germany’s General Music Journal published a letter in which Mozart described his creative process:

’ s be c rea tiv e In 1815, Germany’s General Music Journal published a letter in which Mozart described his creative process: When I am, as it were, completely myself, entirely alone, and of good cheer; say traveling in a carriage, or walking after a good meal, or during the night when I cannot sleep; it is on such occasions that my ideas flow best and most abundantly. All this fires my soul, and provided I am not disturbed, my subject enlarges itself, becomes methodized and defined, and the whole, though it be long, stands almost finished and complete in my mind, so that I can survey it, like a fine picture or a beautiful statue, at a glance. Nor do I hear in my imagination the parts successively, but I hear them, as it were, all at once. When I proceed to write down my ideas the committing to paper is done quickly enough, for everything is, as I said before, already finished; and it rarely differs on paper from what it was in my imagination.

phonies, concertos, and operas came to him complete when he was alone and in a good mood. He needed no tools to compose them. Once he had finished imagining his masterpieces, all he had to do was write them down. This letter has been used to explain creation many times. Parts of it appear in The Mathematician’s Mind, written by Jacques Hadamard in 1945; in Creativity: Selected Readings, edited by Philip Vernon in 1976; in Roger Penrose’s award-winning 1989 book, The Emperor’s New Mind; and it is alluded to in Jonah Lehrer’s 2012 bestseller Imagine. It influenced the poets Pushkin and Goethe and the playwright Peter Shaffer. Directly and indirectly, it helped shape common beliefs about creating. But there is a problem. Mozart did not write this letter. It is a forgery. This was first shown in 1856 by Mozart’s biographer Otto Jahn and has been confirmed by other scholars since. Mozart’s real letters — to his father, to his sister, and to others — reveal his true creative process. He was exceptionally talented, but he did not write by magic. He sketched his compositions, revised them, and sometimes got stuck. He could not work without a piano or harpsichord. He would set work aside and return to it later. He considered theory and craft while writing, and he thought a lot about rhythm, melody, and harmony. Even though his talent and a lifetime of practice made him fast and fluent, his work was exactly that: work. Masterpieces did not come to him complete in uninterrupted streams of imagination, nor without an instrument, nor did he write them down whole and unchanged. The letter is not only forged, it is false.

It lives on because it appeals to romantic prejudices about invention. There is a myth about how something new comes to be. Geniuses have dramatic moments of insight where great things and thoughts are born whole. Poems are written in dreams. Symphonies are composed complete. Science is accomplished with eureka shrieks. Businesses are built by magic touch. Something is not, then is. We do not see the road from nothing to new, and maybe we do not want to. Artistry must be misty magic, not sweat and grind. It dulls the luster to think that every elegant equation, beautiful painting, and brilliant machine is born of effort and error, the progeny of false starts and failures, and that each maker is as flawed, small, and mortal as the rest of us. It is seductive to conclude that great innovation is delivered to us by miracle via genius. And so the myth. The myth has shaped how we think about creating for as long as creating has been thought about. In ancient civilizations, people believed that things could be discovered but not created. For them, everything had already been created; they shared the perspective of Carl Sagan’s joke on this topic: “If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.” In the Middle Ages, creation was possible but was reserved for divinity and those with divine inspiration. In the Renaissance, humans were finally thought capable of creation, but they had to be great men — Leonardo, Michelangelo, Botticelli, and the like. As the nineteenth century turned into the twentieth, creating became a subject for philosophical, then psychological investigation. The question being investigated was “How do the great men do it?” and the answer had the residue of medieval divine intervention. A lot of the meat of the myth was added at this time, with the same few anecdotes about epiphanies and genius — including hoaxes like Mozart’s letter — being circulated and recirculated. In 1926, Alfred North Whitehead made a noun from a verb and gave the myth its name: creativity. The creativity myth implies that few people can be creative, that any successful creator will experience dramatic flashes of insight, and that creating is more like magic than work. A rare few have what it takes, and for them it comes easy. Anybody else’s creative efforts are doomed. How to Fly a Horse is about why the myth is wrong.






10 things to start doing

1. Drink a lot of water
2. Go for a walk /swim/bike ride.
3. Read a book... or 10.
4. Listen to beautiful music.
5. Enjoy little things in life.
6. Avoid judging or comparing yourself to others.
7. Stretch daily to increase flexibility. 8. Wear clothes that make you happy.
8. Wear clothes that make you happy.
9. Recicle and give away things you don’t need.
10. Remember that all the efforts you are making now, will pay in the end.




EcoFarm.

This aquaponics kit allows you to have a pet fish and grow your own herbs at the same time. Includes water tank, grow bed, water pump, hydro stones, 2 bottles to setup the ecosystem with bacteria, water clean and Dklor, and a quick guide. Ecofarm is currently sourcing for funds on Kickstarter. www.ecobird.eu

Minipresso.

The smallest, lightest and most versatile handheld espresso machine. Doesn’t require compressed air, N2O cartridges or electricity for its operation. www.wacaco.com



Bachelor of Accounting

School of business and economics

The Bachelor of Accounting program is offered online via distance learning. After evaluating both academic record and life experience, AIU staff working in conjunction with Faculty and Academic Advisors will assist students in setting up a custom-made program, designed on an individual basis. This flexibility to meet student needs is seldom found in other distance learning programs. Our online program does not require all students to take the same subjects/courses, use the same books, or learning materials. Instead, the online Bachelor of Accounting curriculum is designed individually by the student and academic advisor. It specifically addresses strengths and weaknesses with respect to market opportunities in the student’s major and intended field of work. Understanding that industry and geographic factors should influence the content of the curriculum instead of a standardized one-fits-all design is the hallmark of AIU’s unique approach to adult education. This philosophy addresses the dynamic and constantly changing environment of working professionals by helping adult students in reaching their professional and personal goals within the scope of the degree program.

Important:
Below is an example of the topics or areas you may develop and work on during your studies. By no means is it a complete or required list as AIU programs do not follow a standardized curriculum. It is meant solely as a reference point and example. Want to learn more about the curriculum design at AIU? Go ahead and visit our website, especially the Course and Curriculum section: www.aiu.edu/CourseCurriculum.htm






Orientation Courses

Communication & Investigation (Comprehensive Resume)
Organization Theory (Portfolio)
Experiential Learning (Autobiography)
Seminar Administrative Development (Book Summary)
Seminar Cultural Development (Practical Experience)
Seminar International Development (Publications)

Research Project
Bachelor Thesis Project
MBM300 Thesis Proposal
MBM302 Bachelor Thesis (5,000 word

Publication

Each Bachelor of Accounting graduate is encouraged to publish their research papers either online in the public domain or through professional journals and periodicals worldwide.

Core Courses and Topics

Financial Accounting
Management Accounting
Accounting theory
Accounting Information Systems
Income Tax Accounting
Cost Accounting
Governmental and Institutional
Accounting
Public Accounting
Non-public Accounting
Taxation of Corporations and Partnerships
International accounting
Auditing
Business ethics
Business Law
Business & Professional
Communication
Economics
Financial Management
International Business
Strategic Management

Job description

Accountants and auditors help to ensure that the Nation’s firms are run efficiently, its public records kept accurately, and its taxes paid properly and on time. They analyze and communicate financial information for various entities such as companies, individual clients, and government. Beyond carrying out the fundamental tasks of the occupation—preparing, analyzing, and verifying financial documents in order to provide information to clients—many accountants also offer budget analysis, financial and investment planning, information technology consulting, and limited legal services.








General Information

Atlantic International University offers distance learning degree programs for adult learners at the bachelors, masters, and doctoral level. With self paced program taken online, AIU lifts the obstacles that keep professional adults from completing their educational goals. Programs are available throughout a wide range of majors and areas of study. All of this with a philosophically holistic approach towards education fitting within the balance of your life and acknowledging the key role each individual can play in their community, country, and the world.

Accreditation

While National Accreditation is common for traditional U.S. institutions of higher learning utilizing standard teaching methods, every country has its own standards and accrediting organizations. Accreditation is a voluntary process and does not guarantee a worthy education. Rather, it means an institution has submitted its courses, programs, budget, and educational objectives for review. AIU’s Distance Learning Programs are unique, non-traditional and not accredited by the U.S. Department of Education. This may be a determining factor for those individuals interested in pursuing certain disciplines requiring State licensing, (such as law, teaching, or medicine). It is recommended that you consider the importance of National Accreditation for your specific field or profession. Although Atlantic International University’s individualized Distance Learning Degree Programs, are distinct from traditional educational institutions, we are convinced of their value and acceptance worldwide. Non-traditional programs are important because they recognize knowledge gained outside the classroom and incorporate a broader more comprehensive view of the learning experience. Many great institutions are unaccredited. We invite you to compare our programs and philosophy with traditional classroom-based programs to determine which is best suited to your needs and budget. AIU has chosen private accreditation through the Accrediting Commission International (ACI), obtained in 1999. ACI is not regulated or approved by the US Department of Education. ATLANTIC INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY IS NOT ACCREDITED BY AN ACCREDITING AGENCY RECOGNIZED BY THE UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF EDUCATION. Note: In the U.S., many licensing authorities require accredited degrees as the basis for eligibility for licensing. In some cases, accredited colleges may not accept for transfer courses and degrees completed at unaccredited colleges, and some employers may require an accredited degree as a basis for eligibility for employment. AIU is incorporated in the state of Hawaii. As a University based in the U.S., AIU meets all state and federal laws of

the United States. There is no distinction between the programs offered through AIU and those of traditional campus based programs with regards to the following: your degree, transcript and other graduation documents from AIU follow the same standard used by all U.S. colleges and universities. AIU graduation documents can include an apostille and authentication from the U.S. Department of State to facilitate their use internationally. Authentication from the U.S. Department of State is a process that will ultimately bind a letter signed by the U.S. Secretary of State (permanently with a metal ring) to your graduation documents.



The AIU Difference

It is acknowledged that the act of learning is endogenous, (from within), rather than exogenous. This fact is the underlying rationale for “Distance Learning”, in all of the programs offered by AIU. The combination of the underlying principles of student “self instruction”, (with guidance), collaborative development of curriculum unique to each student, and flexibility of time and place of study, provides the ideal learning environment to satisfy individual needs. AIU is an institution of experiential learning and nontraditional education at a distance. There are no classrooms and attendance is not required.



Mission & Vision

MISSION: To be a higher learning institution concerned about generating cultural development alternatives likely to be sustained in order to lead to a more efficient administration of the world village and its environment; exerting human and community rights through diversity with the ultimate goal of the satisfaction and evolution of the world.

VISION: The empowerment of the individual towards the convergence of the world through a sustainable educational design based on andragogy and omniology.



Organizational Structure
Dr. Franklin Valcin
President Academic Dean
Dr. Jose Mercado
Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Ricardo Gonzalez
Provost
Ricardo Gonzlez
Chief Operation Officer
Rosie Perez
Finance Coordinator
Monica Serrano
Registrar Office
Jaime Rotlewicz
Dean of Admissions
       
Linda Collazo
Student Services
Lee Robles
Student Services Supervisor
Clara Margalef
Director of International Relations
Kingsley Zelee
IT Coordinator
       
Laura Guillaume
Accounting Coordinator
Ofelia Hernandez
Director of AIU
Maria Serrano
Logistics Coordinator
Mario Cruz
Administrative Coordinator
       
Juan Pablo Moreno
Director of Operations
Amalia Aldrett
Admissions Coordinator
Yolanda Llorente
Administrative Assistant
Miqueas Virgile
IT Director
       
Alba Ochoa
Admissions Coordinator
Nadia Bailey
Academic Tutor
Edward Lambert
Academic Coordinator
Sandra Garcia
Admissions Coordinator
       
Silvia Stabio
Academic Tutor
Ariadna Romero
Academic Coordinator
Nadia Gabaldon
Registrar Office
Renata Da Silva
Academic Tutor
       
Carlos Aponte
Telecommunications
Coordinator
Junko Shimizu
Academic Tutor
   


School of Business and Economics

The School of Business and Economics allows aspiring and practicing professionals, managers, and entrepreneurs in the private and public sectors to complete a self paced distance learning degree program of the highest academic standard.
The ultimate goal is to empower learners and help them take advantage of the enormous array of resources from the world environment in order to eliminate the current continuum of poverty and limitations. Degree programs are designed for those students whose professional experience has been in business, marketing, administration, economics, finance and management.

Areas of study: Accounting, Advertising, Banking, Business Administration, Communications, Ecommerce, Finance, Foreign Affairs, Home Economics, Human Resources, International Business, International Finance, Investing, Globalization, Marketing, Management, Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, Public Administrations, Sustainable Development, Public Relations, Telecommunications, Tourism, Trade.



School of Social and Human Studies

The School of Social and Human Studies is focused on to the development of studies which instill a core commitment to building a society based on social and economic justice and enhancing opportunities for human well being. The founding principles lie on the basic right of education as outlined in the Declaration of Human Rights. We instill in our students a sense of confidence and self reliance in their ability to access the vast opportunities available through information channels, the world wide web, private, public, nonprofit, and nongovernmental organizations in an ever expanding global community. Degree programs are aimed towards those whose professional life has been related to social and human behavior, with the arts, or with cultural studies.

Areas of Study: Psychology, International Affairs, Sociology, Political Sciences, Architecture, Legal Studies, Public Administration, Literature and languages, Art History, Ministry, African Studies, Middle Eastern Studies, Asian Studies, European Studies, Islamic Studies, Religious Studies.



School of Science and Engineering

The School of Science and Engineering seeks to provide dynamic, integrated, and challenging degree programs designed for those whose experience is in industrial research, scientific production, engineering and the general sciences. Our system for research and education will keep us apace with the twenty-first century reach scientific advance in an environmentally and ecologically responsible manner to allow for the sustainability of the human population. We will foster among our students a demand for ethical behavior, an appreciation for diversity, an understanding of scientific investigation, knowledge of design innovation, a critical appreciation for the importance of technology and technological change for the advancement of humanity.

Areas of Study: Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics, Communications, Petroleum Science, Information Technology, Telecommunications, Nutrition Science, Agricultural Science, Computer Science, Sports Science, Renewable Energy, Geology, Urban Planning.

Online Library Resources

The AIU Online Library gives users instant access to more than 275 million records in 470 languages from 112 counties. The Library Resources include 130,000 books in e-format and over 15.9 million full text journals, articles, and periodicals. A new record is added very 10 seconds ensuring the research material available is at the cutting edge and keeping up our rapidly changing world.

With access to a worldwide union catalog created and maintained collectively by more than 9,000 member institutions, students are assured an excellent research tool for their study programs. The AIU Online Library contains 108 million quality records, over 29,000 e-books, dozens of databases and more than 15.9 million fulltext and full-image articles. Accessing over 60 databases and 2393 periodicals in full text you will be sure to find the information you need for your research project or assignment. Records exist for everything from stone tablets to electronic books, wax recordings to MP3s, DVDs and Web sites. Users will discover that many records are enriched with cover art, tables of contents, reviews, excerpts and other descriptive information. Records typically have library holdings information attached. Users can quickly evaluate relevance and decide if it’s the correct resource.





Education on the 21st century


AIU is striving to regain the significance of the concept of education, which is rooted into the Latin “educare”, meaning “to pull out”, breaking loose from the paradigm of most 21st century universities with their focus on “digging and placing information” into students’ heads rather than teaching them to think.

For AIU, the generation of “clones” that some traditional universities are spreading throughout the real world is one of the most salient reasons for today’s ills. In fact, students trained at those educational institutions never feel a desire to “change the world” or the current status quo; instead, they adjust to the environment, believe everything is fine, and are proud of it all. In a world where knowledge and mostly information expire just like milk, we must reinvent university as a whole in which each student, as the key player, is UNIQUE within an intertwined environment. This century’s university must generate new knowledge bits although this may entail its separation from both the administrative bureaucracy and the faculty that evolve there as well.

AIU thinks that a university should be increasingly integrated into the “real world”, society, the economy, and the holistic human being. As such, it should concentrate on its ultimate goal, which is the student, and get him/her deeply immersed into a daily praxis of paradigm shifts, along with the Internet and research, all these being presently accessible only to a small minority of the world community.

AIU students must accomplish their self-learning mission while conceptualizing it as the core of daily life values through the type of experiences that lead to a human being’s progress when information is converted into education.

The entire AIU family must think of the university as a setting that values diversity and talent in a way that trains mankind not only for the present but above all for a future that calls everyday for professionals who empower themselves in academic and professional areas highly in demand in our modern society. We shall not forget that, at AIU, students are responsible for discovering their own talents and potential, which they must auto-develop in such a way that the whole finish product opens up as a flower that blossoms every year more openly.

The AIU stance is against the idea of the campus as a getaway from day-to-day pressure since we believe reality is the best potential-enhancer ever; one truly learns through thinking, brainstorming ideas, which leads to new solutions, and ultimately the rebirth of a human being fully integrated in a sustainable world environment.

Self-learning is actualized more from within than a top-down vantage point, that is to say, to influence instead of requesting, ideas more than power. We need to create a society where solidarity, culture, life, not political or economic rationalism and more than techno structures, are prioritized.

In short, the characteristics of AIU students and alumni remain independence, creativity, self confidence, and ability to take risk towards new endeavors. This is about people’s worth based not on what they know but on what they do with what they know.