Discussion Subject of the Week 12th - 16th of May

THE EFFECTS OF SMILE!

From: http://www.thercg.org/youth/articles/0101-s.html

You have a very powerful tool of persuasion. This tool can make others feel liked, and can disarm others in times of conflict. Continue reading to learn how to better use this tool—your SMILE!

Philip has a very big problem. Whenever he enters a room, everyone ignores him! Every time he gets on the bus to go to school, the bus driver simply nods and looks away. Most of Philip's peers almost never have conversations with him, and the impression around school is that he is a grump who gets mad at just about anything. Even his teachers are edgy with him, and tell him that he has a "chip on his shoulder."

"Why does this always happen to me?" Philip asks himself. "Why does everyone treat me this way?"

Unaware that he is the source of the problem, Philip is unable to understand why others view him in an unpleasant manner. While he always has a lot to say, Philip's communication skills are lacking because he never learned to use one of the most powerful methods of communicating thoughts, moods, feelings and emotions.

Philip simply never smiles!

A Powerful Means of Communication
Most people understand that communication can be transmitted through written word and speech. Books, magazines, letters, satellite, television, videos, computers, radio, the Internet, email and cell phones are vital tools used to relay such communications.

However, the smile is one of the strongest communication tools, and many spend their entire lives not knowing how to properly use it.
Does this include you? Are you missing out on sharing your smile with family, friends and schoolmates, and, in turn, causing friction in your relationships with them?
If so, by practicing this one simple gesture, you can improve your communication skills, and begin helping others around you feel appreciated.
The desire to be liked actually drives many young people to do things they would not normally do. This sometimes causes them to give in to negative influences-peer pressure-often resulting in hurt feelings and emotions. However, it is natural for people to want others to care for them. Simply stated, everyone wants to be accepted-and a smile will help you help others feel this way.
A smile expresses joy, happiness and friendliness, and offers insight to the inner workings of the mind, such as intentions, emotions, feelings and attitudes, as well as demonstrating warmth, empathy and cooperation.

Smile-Everyone Is Watching!
Think back to all the miserable faces you see on the way to school or work each day. These hollow stares and "sour-puss" faces reflect dissatisfaction and unhappiness, almost as if they were headed to a torture chamber! These expressions reflect a negative and rebellious attitude, and many teens are trapped in this mentality!
Yet, when smiled at, these same people will often smile in return.

Notice the following facts about smiling:
• 72% of people think of those who smile frequently as being more confident and successful.
• 86% of people say that they are more likely to strike up conversations with strangers if they are smiling.
• Bosses are 12% more likely to promote people who smile a lot.
• Research shows that 65% of communication is non-verbal (many claim an even higher percentage).
• Non-verbal communication comprises facial expressions, eye movement, gestures, posture, and all other bodily signs-primarily facial expressions.
• The effects of a smile are so powerful that even a smile on the telephone produces positive results.
• When someone comes into a room, people are automatically drawn to their face, and a smile provides a warm greeting.
• Studies show that happiness is a by-product of smiling, not the other way around as most people assume.
• Research shows that when two people in conversation use the same kind of body movements and gestures (such as smiling), they will experience greater empathy for each other, which they may not even consciously notice.

The Value of Your Smile
Has anyone ever unexpectedly smiled at you when you were having a bad day or weren't in the best of moods? How did it make you feel? Didn't it make you feel better?
The following are a few points on why you should do the same, and share your smile with others:
(1) A picture is worth a thousand words. So also does a smile convey more emotion than words can.
(2) Smiling makes others feel welcome, special and appreciated.
(3) You can brighten up someone's day.
(4) A smile has the power of melting away insecurities and troubles people may have.
Try it out and see for yourself! You will find that almost every person you smile at will return the gesture. The hardest part is usually being the first person to smile.
Dale Carnegie, in his book How to Win Friends and Influence People, best summed up the lasting impacts of a smile: "It costs nothing, but creates much. It enriches those who receive, without impoverishing those who give. It happens in a flash and the memory of it sometimes lasts forever.

"None are so rich or mighty that they can get along without it, and none are so poor but are richer for its benefits. It creates happiness in the home, fosters good will in a business, and is the countersign of friends. It is rest to the weary, daylight to the discouraged, sunshine to the sad, and nature's best antidote for trouble. Yet it cannot be bought, begged, borrowed, or stolen, for it is something that is no earthly good to anybody till it is given away.
"Some people are too tired to give you a smile, may we ask that you leave them one of yours? For nobody needs a smile so much as those who have none left to give!"
With this knowledge, begin putting your smile to work! Make it a project to seek out at least one person who seems to be having a bad day and smile at him. The next day, smile at two individuals, then three, and so on. Learn to effectively use this communication tool. It will dramatically improve your relationship with others.
King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, wrote, "…he that wins souls is wise". Smiling will no doubt move you toward practicing the words of this wise king-and will help you win the affection and friendship of others!

Discussion Subject of the Week 5th - 9th of May

Causes of Brain Drain

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain_drain

A brain drain or human capital flight is an emigration of trained and talented individuals ("human capital") to other nations, due to conflicts, lack of opportunity, health hazards where they are living or other reasons. Brain drain can occur either when individuals who study abroad and complete their education do not return to their home country, or when individuals educated in their home country emigrate for higher wages or better opportunities. The second form is arguably worse, because it drains more resources from the home country.
This phenomenon is perhaps most problematic for developing nations, where it is widespread. In these countries, higher education and professional certification are often viewed as the surest path to escape from a troubled economy or difficult political situation.

"TURKEY DOES NOT HAVE THE LUXURY OF LOSING ITS QUALIFIED YOUNG PEOPLE"
From: http://www.elegans.com.tr/arsiv/55/mektup.html

Unemployment which is the most important problem created by the economic crisis in Turkey has started to threaten our future. The unemployed include not only unqualified workers but also many well-educated university graduates who come from especially finance and media and who are integrated with the world; theirs numbers increase significantly on a daily basis. This sad reality also makes it impossible for new university graduates to find jobs.

The world is undergoing a very rapid change due to globalization and technological developments. Not being a part of this change for even a day creates significant costs. Therefore, in this period when we need to seize the opportunities and positive effects created by these sweeping changes and to move along with these changes, the unemployment of university- educated, contemporary, experienced and qualified individuals who speak foreign languages is a great blow to the future of Turkey in that they are the main power to trigger change.

Another point to take into consideration is the fact that if these individuals continue to be unemployed for another two years due to the economic crisis, they will become unqualified workers because of the rapid changes around the world. Turkey does not have the luxury of making these individuals who were educated at great cost and with great sacrifices redundant in two years time, as it is the case with computers. Turkey has taken some saving measures in the financial aspects of the public and private sectors within the framework of the Program for Transition to a Strong Economy; likewise it should immediately take the necessary measures to save its qualified young people whom Turkey has always trusted and been proud of, who are very attractive for rapidly aging EU countries, and who represent Turkey's future.


BRAIN DRAIN HITS TURKEY HARD, Wednesday, June 6, 2007

From: http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=75014

Brain drain is becoming a problem not only for developing countries but also for developed ones. The increasing mobility of labor resulting from globalization and integration projects such as the European Union are possible cause for educated people to move from their home countries to other locations that offer better jobs and living conditions.

For instance, Canada, a developed country, loses many of its educated minds to the United States. However, Canada is able to compensate this lack with the immigrants that come from developing countries. However, developing countries do not have the option of attracting a qualified labor force to replace that which they lose to developed countries.

When compared to their overall population, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Australia are the top three OECD countries on the recipient end of the brain drain phenomenon. The United States comes in over the OECD average for the percentage of educated people born abroad. Specifically in the world of technology, in the United States more than 10 percent of engineers, one fourth of doctors and nearly half of information technology (IT) experts are immigrants.

Conversely, South Korea, Japan, Mexico, Finland, Slovakia, Hungary and Turkey are the countries with the most people emigrating to other OECD countries. Among the causes of brain drain (i.e. reasons for leaving one's own country) are high rates of unemployment, social inequality, lower incomes, high tax rates, political instability and lower standards of living.

Turkey is also behind the OECD average and below half the world's average in terms of the share of gross national product (GNP) allocated to education. Young people who choose to study abroad for a better education as a result of the low quality in education in Turkey are not returning.

Professor Melda Cinman Şimşek
Dean, Marmara University Faculty of Communication

"In our world of a global economy, lower incomes resulting from unemployment is the most important cause of brain drain. It is a major loss for countries when their educated labor force emigrates abroad, and therefore no longer contributes to the development of their respective countries. The responsibility for a solution lies not only on the shoulders of the governments but also on the businesses with the potential to provide convenient employment conditions. Turkey's big business has to stop depending on foreign capital and has to build large industrial facilities, factories, etc.

The government also has to fulfill its duty in order to secure future earnings. Our country needs strategic planning, new jobs and fair social policies. Not only the educated, but everyone has the right to live in humane conditions."

Professor Aysıt Tansel
Middle East Technical University, Economics Department

"Brain drain has very negative consequences for the Turkish economy and education system. Students who go abroad to study are settling in those countries and are not coming back, even though they are expected to return and contribute to Turkey's need for educated teaching staff. Turkey has a deep need for education staff in every region. If scholarships are given for short periods and the government provides a rich environment for research and development by subsidizing research and development projects, the loss of educated staff could be mitigated."

BRAIN DRAIN FROM TURKEY : THE CASE OF PROFESSIONALS ABROAD
Nil Demet Güngör and Aysıt Tansel, Feb, 2007
From: http://www.tek.org.tr/dosyalar/TANSEL-GUNGOR-TM.pdf

The demand for higher education partly reflects the value families place on university education as a means for achieving social mobility and prestige. As well, the expectation of greater monetary returns (greater job opportunities and higher pay) also provides a strong incentive for investing in university education.

Because of the inability of higher education system in Turkey to absorb the demand for higher education, many students choose to study abroad. A great majority are private students who go with their own means or are financed by their families. In addition, many students are sent overseas by the government on scholarships in order to train for positions in public institutions as well as both state and private universities. They are expected to return and contribute to the development of Turkey after completing their studies.

Unfortunately, even when there is a compulsory service requirement attached to the state scholarships, there is no guarantee of return; about 15 percent of those who have stopped receiving the Higher Education Council’s scholarships have not returned (YÖK, 2005).

Discussion Subject of the Week 28th of April - 2nd of May

CAUSES OF FOOD CRISIS IN THE WORLD

1. Global Warming

Crops feel the heat as the world warms http://thefraserdomain.typepad.com/energy/2007/03/global_warming__1.html

Stanford, Calif. – Over a span of two decades, warming temperatures have caused annual losses of roughly $5 billion for major food crops, according to a new study by researchers at the Carnegie Institution and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
From 1981-2002, warming reduced the combined production of wheat, corn, and barley—cereal grains that form the foundation of much of the world’s diet—by 40 million metric tons per year. The study, which will be published March 16 in the online journal Environmental Research Letters, demonstrates that this decline is due to human-caused increases in global temperatures.

"Most people tend to think of climate change as something that will impact the future,” said Christopher Field, co-author on the study and director of Carnegie’s Department of Global Ecology in Stanford, Calif. “But this study shows that warming over the past two decades has already had real effects on global food supply."

The study is the first to estimate how much global food production has already been affected by climate change. Field and David Lobell, lead author of the study and a researcher at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, compared yield figures from the Food and Agriculture Organization with average temperatures and precipitation in the major growing regions.
They found that, on average, global yields for several of the crops responded negatively to warmer temperatures, with yields dropping by about 3-5 percent for every 1 degree F increase. Average global temperatures increased by about 0.7 degrees F during the study period, with even larger changes in several regions.
“Though the impacts are relatively small compared to the technological yield gains over the same period, the results demonstrate that negative impacts are already occurring,” said Lobell.
The researchers focused on the six most widely grown crops in the world: wheat, rice, maize (corn), soybeans, barley and sorghum—a genus of about 30 species of grass raised for grain. These crops occupy more than 40 percent of the world’s cropland, and account for at least 55 percent of non-meat calories consumed by humans. They also contribute more than 70 percent of the world’s animal feed.
The main value of this study, the authors said, was that it demonstrates a clear and simple correlation between temperature increases and crop yields at the global scale. However, Field and Lobell also used this information to further investigate the relationship between observed warming trends and agriculture.


2. Impact of food for fuel

Food vs fuel concerns the competition between food and fuel on a global scale. Biofuel production has increased in recent years. Some commodities like maize or vegetable oil can be used either as food or to make fuel. Land that was also formerly used to grow other crops is now used to grow maize for biofuels. With global demand for biofuels on the increase many natural habitats are also being converted into farmland. This is a recent phenomenon and is considered to be one of the primary causes of 2007–2008 world food price crisis.
One systemic cause for the price rise is held to be the diversion of food crops (maize in particular) for making first-generation biofuels. An estimated 100 million tonnes of grain per year are being redirected from food to fuel. As farmers devoted larger parts of their crops to fuel production than in previous years, land and resources available for food production were reduced correspondingly. This has resulted in less food available for human consumption, especially in developing and least developed countries, where a family's daily allowances for food purchases are extremely limited. Filling a tank of an average car with biofuel, amounts to as much maize as an African person consumes in an entire year.

3. Population Growth (www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2007/aug/31/climatechange.food)

According to the UN's food and agriculture programme, 854 million people do not have sufficient food for an active and healthy life.
The global population has risen substantially in recent decades. Between 1980 and 2000 it rose from 4.4bn to 6.1bn and food production increased 50%. By 2050 the population is expected to reach 9bn.

KEY FINDINGS of FOOD CRISIS REPORT (www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/apr/15/food.unitednations)

Bio-energy

Millions of people depend on traditional bio-energy like wood fuels and the report urges improvements in this area. At the moment biofuels like bio-ethanol and biodiesel compete for land and water with food crops and are not very efficient. They can also often cause deforestation and damage soils and water.

Biotechnology

The report highlights the significant lack of communication in the current agricultural system. Information exchange is often anecdotal and contradictory and there is a great deal of uncertainty over which methods ensure the highest and best yields of food. The use of GM crops, where the technology is not contained, is contentious, the UN says. Data on some crops indicate highly variable yield gains of 10-33% in some places and declines in others. The report stresses that local expertise needs to be maintained and improved.

Climate change

This is causing irreversible damage to the natural resources on which agriculture depends. While modest temperature rises may increase food yields in some areas, a general warming of the world temperatures risks damaging all regions of the globe. As extreme weather becomes more frequent there will be serious potential for conflict over habitable land and resources like fresh water.

Water

The report highlights how large parts of central and western Asia and much of Africa are running out of water. About half of those regions' internal renewable water resources are already below the minimum threshold for development – 500 cubic metres per person per year. By 2020, the water available per person will probably be about one-third of the 1950 level, or even less. The IAASTD warns that a major challenge is ensuring there is enough water as well as food. The regions' crop yield increases are generally below the world average, leaving most of these poor countries as net food importers, even though they are rich in agricultural biodiversity.

Displacement

The east and south-east Asia-Pacific region accounts for the largest numbers of environmentally displaced people in the world - a consequence of natural hazards as well as some planned production-enhancing investments, including dams and plantations. In addition, 60% of the ecosystems are degraded or used unsustainably because of current agricultural policies. The report warns that without the commitment of governments to ensure secure agricultural development, displacement and the knock-on effects will quickly spiral towards socio-economic turmoil that could be irreversible. Pollution and over-exploitation are damaging the farming potential of poor areas and locals are also being scarred by social ills such as illiteracy, which for example affects 80% of rural Moroccan women. Good governance is also rare.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/08/06/opinion/edsimoes.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_vs_fuel#cite_note-0
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007-2008_world_food_price_crisis

Posted by Sezen Bayhan, English Instructor at İTÜ YDY

An Essay by Elif Taşal

What are the similarities and differences between public and private universities?

UNIVERSITIES

Education starts with primary school, and it lasts about 16-17 years, provided that it is continued for higher education. There are many universities in Türkiye, and our education system is mainly separated into two groups as private and state like in other countries. Therefore, students have two choices to study at university. Actually, both of them are same for many reasons, but of course there are differences between them which can’t be ignored.


Private and public universities instruct students for the same purpose: training qualified people. These universities have identical curriculum, there is no difference between their educational contents. Also, the students can find good jobs when they graduate from these schools. Thus, people have similar background and equal chance while they are looking for a job. In short, universities are only a way for education, so they aren’t different from each other when these reasons are taken into consideration.


In spite of their similarities, there are some differences between them. First of all, the students have many more facilities in the private universities. They have various social activities. Furthermore, at these universities, there are intimate affairs between students and teachers thanks to small classes. However, people must pay too much money to have this education, whereas others pay less money to the state universities. The people who take education in private universities have to pay a great quantity of money. Therefore, these reasons differentiate the universities from each other.


In conclusion, choosing a private university or public university depends on our wish. The importing thing is what we want from the education system. Both of them give a good education, and train us, but also they enable different opportunities about some issues. Both public and private universities are for education.

Written by Elif Taşal, C16