In the wake of the senseless murder of George Floyd (and countless others), thousands of people across America are taking to the streets in protest. These protests, which are happening in several cities, are the result of the rampant and unchecked police brutality that terrorizes people of color. One such riot took place in Louisville, KY, where protesters vandalized a statue of the citys namesake, Frances King Louis XVI.

Now, his self-proclaimed heir Louis Alphonse de Bourbon, the Duke of Anjou, is weighing in on Twitter to share his thoughts.

Ah yes, in this time of violence and collective anger, will no one think of the statues? The mindbogglingly tone deaf tweet could have only come from a self-styled royal whose lack of self-awareness rivals King Louis XVI himself.

If youre a little rusty on your history, King Louis XVI was the last king of France before the French Revolution. Louis XVI, while an ineffective and ill-suited ruler, did provide support to American colonists in their war for independence against Great Britain (in an effort to stick it to their long-time fellow European enemy.) In the ensuing revolution, Louis and his wife Marie Antoinette were convicted of treason and condemned to death via guillotine. That sort of thing tends to happen when your citizens are starving to death and desperate for equality.

Naturally, Twitter rallied together to tell Louis Alphonse exactly where he could stick his royal objections:

And heres the kicker: that statue of King Louis XVI was a notorious re-gift that bounced around France for decades because no one wanted it!

The statue ends up as an apt metaphor for royalty: stony, self-aggrandizing, and utterly useless. Topple white supremacy and decorative nonsense like this.

(via Twitter, image: Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)

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Twitter Unites to Roast an Heir of Louis XVI Who Weighed in on Americas Protests - The Mary Sue

Poker players are an interesting bunch.

As rational as they may think they are, they also tend to be quite superstitious.

This can be observed in all things they do to bring luck to their side. (Such as having a lucky charm, for example.)

Somewhere in between fact and superstition, there are things like personology, and pseudosciences in general.

Could they be of any use when playing poker? Or are they a total waste of ones time?

Pseudosciences are practices that havent been found legitimate by the scientific method.

Another way to say this is that theyre bodies of knowledge that havent been objectively verified. Or at least not yet.

Its interesting to observe how some popular forms of pseudoscience were, at one point, taken quite seriously.

The biggest example of this is astrology.

Many people today see it as total nonsense. But its status centuries ago was like that of astronomy today.

The same goes for alchemy. This was a legitimate form of chemistry in many peoples eyes.the

In fact, both practices are still highly regarded by many.

Its just that not everyone who practices astrology or alchemy today is worried about their scientific status. And why would they? So many other things have been called pseudosciences as well.

Theres a page on Wikipedia just for that, by the way. And its quite a surprising list if you ask me.

Sure, astrology and alchemy are there. But so are neuro-linguistic programming, psychoanalysis, and even the technical analysis in finances.

Ironically, one topic that its not on that Wikipedia page is physiognomy.

Although, nowadays, it usually goes by the name of personology.

Physiognomy, in whatever name its called, goes back at least to Ancient Greece.

In a nutshell, this is the belief that ones physical characteristics, especially ones face, say a lot about his/her personality.

According to those who study physiognomy, everything about your face means something.

Seriously, everything: the distance between your eyes, the shape of your nose, the size of your lips, the width of your face

As Ive said, people have studied this over centuries. And its come in and out of fashion countless times.

One of its most famous revivals came in the early 20th century.

Almost a century ago, American judge Edward Vincent Jones observed facial patterns in people charged with certain crimes.

He then set out to systematize his thoughts, eventually calling it personology.

It became quite a big deal, which led him to establish a personology foundation in California.

Today, one of the most prominent teachers of personology is a woman called Naomi Tickle. And shes adamant in saying that this is a science.

According to her, it can help you in countless ways.

One of the most important ones would be finding the right career for you.

Since I myself have never tried it, I dont know how accurate those analyses would be.

But I know of at least 2 things that give this new physiognomy revival at least some credibility.

In recent times, its been suggested that our hormones have an influence on certain physical traits.

Testosterone levels, in particular, seem to be noticeable in a mans whole body.

Those with a more squared jaw, for example, are said to have higher levels of this hormone. And the same would go for those whose ring finger is much larger than the index finger.

Apart from biology, another ally of personologists has been the development of face recognition systems.

The advances in this type of technology are making it easier to find patterns in peoples faces.

Consequently, its making it easier for personologists to test their theories.

But is it enough to make this body of knowledge more credible than others?

Those in the news media know that people are fascinated by the kind of stuff that personologists study.

Anything that has to do with ones personality is going to generate some attention. And this fascination will happen regardless of any type of scientific validation.

This is easier to observe when we take a look at how people react to some other pseudosciences.

One example here is graphology, which is the study of a person according to his/her handwriting.

Another is chiromancy, which is the study of ones hands.

For some, even your sleep position can mean something. (They havent invented a cool name for it yet.) But personology (or physiognomy) has an advantage over all those other studies.

Personologists dont need to ask anyone to write in cursive. (Many schools dont even teach kids how to do it anymore.)

They also dont need to have any prior information about someone.

In other words, it doesnt matter if you dont want to reveal your birthday or your sleep position.

Theyll be able to give their verdict about you just the same.

Ok, so whats the type of information we can get with the study of personology?rea

Basically, anything that has do with ones character.

This is an important distinction for poker pros to have in mind.

We all make guesses about others based on their ethnicity, clothes, gender, age, and so on.

These and other things are all considered types of cold reading. That is, they are broad generalizations based mostly on social constructs.

For example, if you see an older man at your poker table, your first reaction will be to think that hes less aggressive than a younger guy.

If youre up against a Scandinavian, you might think hes loose-aggressive.

When facing a guy from China, youre inclined to think that hes a math whizz.

The study of personology would lead you to make some of those kinds of inferences.

With the exception that, if what Tickle and others say is true, your level of accuracy would be much higher. And potentially quite lucrative, if we are to believe what she says about someones nose. According to her:

You have to really look at that from the side profile.

Ok. And then?

Well, heres an analysis of a particular type of nose:

The Roman-shaped nose is a bossy nose. It likes to be in charge. They are also very aware of costs.

And heres what she says about another, quite different type:

The ski-jump nose is a monetary carefree nose, one that likes to spend all their money without a care about saving for tomorrow.

Does it mean that, at first, itd be easier to bluff someone who has a nose like Tom Cruise?

I have no idea. Because, until now, I always thought those characteristics depended mostly on ones ethnicity.

In any case, theres at least 1 variable we should always bring to our analyses of other players. And itd be wise to at least talk about it before reaching any type of verdict on someone.

Body language is the type of information that depends on your perceptions about someones reactions.

At a poker table, we call those reactions tells.

Some tells can be faked, for sure. And some players are prone to do just that. (Theyre actors, as Mike Caro says.)

But, with practice, you learn to distinguish what reactions are more reliable. And sometimes one single tell you have on someone is enough for you to make a lot of money.

If youre a live poker player, I dont need to say much more about the importance of body language.

So, whats my point in mentioning it in this article?

If you know how to mix your knowledge of body language with cold reading, youll have quite an edge at poker.

The thing is: your cold reading must be based on solid principles. And its up to you to decide if thats the case of personology or any other pseudosciences.

Theres 1 last thing to be said about personology.

Even if it doesnt turn out to be a reliable source of information, its important to notice that its generated stereotypes. And, over thousands of years, people have internalized those stereotypes. (Consciously or not.)

Thats how people become racists, misogynists, and so on. In fact, even those who are the victims of stereotypes internalize them.

After all, they live in the same society as everyone else. So, studying any type of cold reading is an excellent way for you to raise your self-awareness.

Because you start to become aware of things youve been led to believe all your life.

Once you identify a certain pattern, you may feel that same reaction you always did.

The difference is that now youll be able to disidentify from it. As you see, it becomes a matter of choice.

Nelson Mandela once said that if you can be taught how to hate, you can be taught how to love.

In this second case, though, youll have to be your own teacher.

At least until youre able to find one whom you find to be trustworthy.

See the rest here:
How to Read Your Poker Opponents - Poker Tells and Body Language - BestUSCasinos.org

Reading about Brown v. Board of Education over Google Meet. Holding one-on-one Zooms with students struggling with their emotions. Planning lessons on criminal justice reform for the fall both in-person and remote, in case school buildings dont reopen.

Educators across the U.S. already adapting to remote teaching due to the coronavirus pandemic now find themselves facing another challenge: supporting, educating, and engaging students during waves of protest and unrest. The outrage stemming from the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and other recent police killings of black citizens has led to demonstrations, violent clashes with police, and curfews in numerous cities.

Navigating discussions about race relations, police brutality, and systemic racism can be challenging for teachers even during normal times. But grappling with these topics during a pandemic, when school communities cant learn together in person, is even more difficult.

Students who may have been willing to share fears for their safety in person might not open up over a classwide Zoom. Teachers who previously picked up on students emotions while watching them in hallways now have no window into their frames of mind. Some students may not even have reliable internet access to join live instruction.

Still, many educators know that its during these challenging moments that they are needed the most.

For many schools that serve predominantly black and brown low-income communities, moments like now are why we teach, said Leslie-Bernard Joseph, chief executive officer at Coney Island Preparatory charter schools in Brooklyn.

Chalkbeat spoke with educators across the country about how they are trying to meet the needs of their students, faculty, and parents during this challenging time. Their answers reveal struggle and frustration but also ingenuity and compassion. If youd like to join the conversation, tell us how your school community is handling this moment.

****

As protests continued late into Friday and Saturday nights across the country and the five boroughs, Principal Robert Michelin lesson planned. He and faculty stayed up until midnight both days, planning the next two weeks of school at Gotham Professional Arts Academy: check-ins with students, a town hall, compiling historical texts and video clips about race, and a Day of Action on June 12.

For some reason, George Floyds murder is hitting me really, really hard, Michelin said. And I think part of it is because Ive never been in a position where this has happened and I have almost 200 babies. And its this moment where you have to decide whether or not you want to keep their rose-colored glasses on or you want to share the truth. ... We have to give them something that gives them some power back.

Protests have taken place in all five boroughs of New York City over the past few days, some leading to violent confrontations with police and hundreds of arrests.

Gotham is part of the citys Performance Standards Consortium, a group of more than 30 schools that graduates students based on projects and portfolios. Last week, Michelin held an emergency faculty meeting after a freshman student, during a Zoom class discussion, typed in the chat box, What if gotham presented a zoom call to protest about racism?

On June 12, the school will host a Day of Action on Zoom and invite other consortium schools to attend. Students will spend the next two weeks designing activism projects to share that day, which could include music playlists, art work, or even Zoom-coordinated performance art. The final product will be up to students.

The beauty of this and the value of this is that were still committing to our values as a school, which is, we dont want to tell students how to demonstrate their mastery, he said.

On Monday, teachers will check in on students, some of whom are also processing the trauma of losing relatives to the coronavirus, Michelin said. The school will also host a town hall where staffers will talk about the news and the history of police brutality. Students will break into subgroups to talk about how theyre feeling. And if students feel prepared to watch, the school will show the video of Floyds death.

They need to understand that sometimes its better not to look away so they can actually hold on to the feeling, that raw feeling, so they can turn those feelings into actions, Michelin said, adding the school will offer links to news coverage if students dont want to watch the video.

Michelin is hoping that this helps fill in some of the gaps for students who want to participate in protests but cant.

I think the fear of being out in the streets is really real because theyre not trying to contract the virus, Michelin said.

*****

At Lawndale Community Academy on the west side of Chicago, Michael Bryant teaches middle school math and science but slips in a daily current events lesson. His students often say they dont read or watch the news, but he tells them its important to know whats happening around them and around the world. He wants to get them thinking.

On Monday, Bryant plans to post articles about the looting and destruction that spiraled out of some protests over the weekend and open up the topic for discussion: Do you think this is right?

He guides them through how to have respectful debates, how to identify when articles take different viewpoints, and how to evaluate facts without jumping to conclusions. Hes proud of them for asking questions, such as why former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin wasnt immediately arrested for Floyds death, or why the other officers involved havent faced charges.

Talking about current events also lets Bryant, who is black, open up a bigger dialogue about systemic racism and police brutality with his students, who are all African American. Reading about the coronavirus outbreak, for example, led to conversations about the disproportionate health care issues that African Americans face.

I feel it is my responsibility to inform the students of whats going on and how this education is going to help them better themselves, Bryant said. Education changes a lot of things. Look at the community we live in, health care, jobs. A lot of this stuff is going on because people are frustrated.

****

Last week marked the final week of the school year in Denver. At Manual High School, located in the historic heart of black Denver, those final days of remote learning time revolved around giving students time to make up missed work, with no time to introduce new material.

But that didnt mean that school leaders were not already working on how to incorporate frank discussions about policing, race relations, and racism into classes next fall.

William Anderson, who heads the social studies department, described heavy discussions among the social studies and humanities teachers he works with all of them black men.

Do we teach our students that the police are a terrorizing, occupying force within our communities? Anderson said. Do we teach them about what the police should be? Do we teach them about the origins of the police? Do we urge them to be the police?

That last question provoked a range of thought, he said, from hell no to the idea of graduating an entire class from the police academy to reform the institution from within.

Where we left off was being able to create a space for the conversation, said Anderson, 37.

With so much uncertainty about what school will look like in the fall Denver, like many school districts, is contemplating a mix of in-person and remote learning Anderson said he is urging teachers to avoid dwelling on logistical questions.

This is the time to be dialed into the content we want to teach. Use this time not to worry about whether its remote or not, in class or not Screw all of that. Dont worry about any of that til we are in August.

He said hes confident that teachers can teach these tough issues regardless of what school looks like, in part because remote learning will no longer be new or different after the last two-plus months.

Yes, 100%, these kinds of conversations can take place, he said. Its just going to be slightly different. If anything, it might allow us a broader and bigger opportunity to have these kinds of conversations.

****

Leaders at Coney Island Preparatory charter schools where 74% of students are black and Hispanic and where nearly 83% of students are from low-income families view this as a pivotal teaching moment. The network has an elementary, middle, and high school that together serve about 1,000 students.

This is what were preparing our students for and so we have a responsibility to help our kids process this moment, Joseph said.

The Brooklyn school is first focusing on staff. This week, the school will host several optional group discussions for teachers about the recent turmoil. There are specific discussions planned for educators who are black, Asian, white, and specifically, white women. (White teachers make up 44% of the staff, while 31% are black, 6% are Asian, and nearly 6% are Hispanic, according to data Joseph provided.)

I think theres a desire from leaders of color within our organization to both protect our own mental sanity and our kids, Joseph said. I think there is a desire from white leaders in our organization to do more, personally reflect on whether they are the Amy Coopers of the world, he added, referring to the white woman who gained infamy for calling 911 on a black birdwatcher who asked her to follow Central Park rules and leash her dog.

Leaders at the school are creating lessons focused on recent events for student advisory periods and sent tips to teachers for weaving recent news into their daily lessons. This includes anti-racist guidance for teachers that suggests books and articles to read, television series to watch, and social media sources to follow. Teachers were also sent information how to teach about racism, race, and police violence from the group Teaching Tolerance.

One of the challenges staff will face, he said, is explaining to students how they can safely advocate for change when we know there is a danger and that theyre at risk just by virtue of being black or brown.

The other challenge is tailoring lessons for students in different grades. Talking about systemic racism looks different with their high school students, who have read Michelle Alexanders The New Jim Crow, versus chatting with second graders, he said.

Our kids know they are entering a world that is deeply unfair, deeply inequitable and the generations before have failed them, he said. While our kids are excited about the opportunities ahead of them to go to college, theyre also deeply skeptical.

******

It didnt take long for Kay Palmer to hear from a worried student. She was logging into Google Meet Thursday morning to teach language arts and math to her fourth grade class in Trenton, N.J., when a student asked, Did you see the news?

Palmer asked her class for time to prepare. She came ready during live instruction on Friday, armed with several articles about Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark Supreme Court decision that ruled state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional. She hopes her students would read them and see the power of one person speaking up about injustice and enlisting others to create lasting change.

The conversation ran two and a half hours, covering the Black Lives Matter movement and running into their math lesson. But for Palmer, that was OK.

From a teacher standpoint, the goal is not to teach and say this is how you have to do it, but show this is one way to do something, she said. If I could teach the kids nothing else from this moment, thats what I want.

As a white educator teaching mostly students of color, Palmer was glad her students asked her to talk through the violence they were seeing, particularly during remote learning. But she said the fact that theyve been meeting virtually for several months made the conversations less awkward than they might have been.

I dont know if we could have had that dialogue if we werent seeing each others faces, live over Google, every day for the past weeks, she said. I feel some may be less likely to say something online moving forward than if we were meeting in person, but I want to keep the dialogue open to see what happens.

****

For Sabrina Anfossi Kareem, one-on-one conversations with her students at a Chicago charter school are happening through email, a platform called Remind, and over the phone. But the high school English teacher began that relationship building in person months ago in the classroom.

Students are being honest with me only because we spent time at the beginning of the year going over that I want honesty, to see the students humanity, and then develop that relationship over time, she said, adding she worries about building that closeness if schools start remotely next year.

Kareem reached out to her black students in recent days to ask, How are you holding up? Do you need an ear? And the answer from some was yes but they wanted to talk more than they needed a lecture. Im not talking a lot during these conversations, she said.

Aside from listening to students, Kareem believes she needs to use what she hears to influence change at her school. This includes ensuring administrators know black students dont always feel their concerns are heard, as well as advocating for high-quality anti-bias and anti-racism training.

I dont want to attend another peace circle led by an untrained adult who thinks theyre being restorative when theyre really harming everyone in the room with their lack of self-awareness or ability, she said. There are plenty of quality organizations doing this work. Schools should not be spending out the nose for instructional or testing products while making it up as they go when it comes to [anti-bias and anti-racism] work.

****

Classes are out at Westerville North High School in Ohio, but history teacher John Sands is still thinking about how he and other white teachers should approach educating students about events like Floyds death and its aftermath.

Sands and his students grapple with these tragedies in a contemporary world issues class at his suburban Columbus school, which is predominantly white with a growing black student population. He said he is sensitive to the issues that come from a white teacher tackling these topics in classes with black students. I always tell my kids, Im the white middle-class guy ... that to many of them represents a lot of whats wrong, he said.

In the class, Sands and students discuss identity, read the works of Malcolm X and James Baldwin, then eventually work up to discussing systemic racism and its role in their lives.

Some students choose to open up about experiences from their lives, making racism tangible and personal and not just an abstract concept for classmates. Its much more powerful when it comes from their friends and their classmates, he said.

Sands and English teacher Cat Stathulis are launching the schools first African-American studies program in the fall. He hasnt started considering how hed have these discussions remotely, but his instinct is that discussion board posts wont be enough. I think I would want to be live with everybody, in some format, to have the discussion, he said.

Carrie Melago and Eric Gorski contributed to this report.

Read the original:
Moments like now are why we teach: Educators tackle tough conversations about race and violence this time - Chalkbeat Colorado

Philippine energy developer turned global sustainability banker, but also an island girl who teaches yoga.

Hometown: Manila, Philippines

Fun fact about yourself: I am a certified yoga instructor. I took a short hiatus from work to pursue one of my lifelong dreams of taking an intensive 200-hour yoga teacher training. I teach yoga not because of profit, but because I believe in the benefits that the practice has for the mind and body. I want to help people who need healing both mentally and physically.

I am also a florist. I founded a floral styling and online delivery business back in the Philippines which made a 54% net profit margin in my first year of operations.

Undergraduate School and Degree: University of the Philippines Diliman Bachelor of Science in Business Economics

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? Energy Development Corporation (EDC), Head of Strategic Planning & Budget

Where did you intern during the summer of 2019? Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale (NORD/LB) under Structured Finance, Singapore

Where will you be working after graduation? Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale (NORD/LB) as a Structured Finance Associate for renewable energy & infrastructure investments

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School:

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? I was selected to lead 10 other MBA peers as Head of the Assistant Facilitators for The NUS MBAs flagship Launch Your Transformation program. The compulsory program was an intensive five-day management communications boot camp for the new intake of MBA candidates. What we made them do was not easy, as we pushed the students out of their comfort zones in a safe and supportive environment.

In my section, I remember one Japanese student who was very quiet and reserved. He really struggled to deliver a short speech in front of an audience as he often forgot his words and felt so nervous. As his facilitator, I asked him to deliver his entire speech again but this time in his native language. Although the majority of the audience did not understand Japanese, his energy level and his presentation delivery changed immediately! He was confident and expressive, and everyone in the room could feel the sudden change in how he communicated. Throughout the week, he worked on his communication skills. We trained him to deliver in English but with the same confidence as he would deliver in his own mother tongue. It was so fulfilling to see my fellow MBAs, whom I mentored, become more confident and outspoken after participating in this five-day boot camp.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? At NORD/LB, I helped to close a 100MW solar portfolio deal (50MW refinancing and 50MW plant to be constructed) in Australia. The transaction is the largest certified green loan by an Australian renewable energy company and its combined portfolio is expected to generate renewable energy sufficient to power ~49,000 homes, or an equivalent of ~225,000 tonnes of C02 per year.

This deal is close to my heart because this was my first finance deal since I took a leap of faith to make a career switch, which also involved a move to Singapore and a change in the industry. I was so accustomed to building energy projects from a developers perspective. This time around, it was very refreshing and insightful to be working from the other side of the fence as a financier. This experience allows me to move closer towards my goal of contributing to sustainability and growing clean energy investments, particularly in developing markets.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? Assistant Professor Joel Goh was my professor for Managerial Operations and Analytics. Apart from his impressive credentials, I am amazed by the high energy he brings to every single class. I will always remember the practical and valuable lessons he taught through case studies and his own personal experience. Through him, I stretched my thinking and developed a rigorous framework of approaching a business problem. I can truly say that taking his class alone made my experience at The NUS MBA worthwhile!

What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school? The annual MBA Olympics is easily my favourite tradition. The Olympics is a great opportunity to come together as one NUS MBA family in friendly sports matches with the other five MBA schools in Singapore. The competitive spirit and camaraderie of the NUS MBA students come alive during this period, as we spend days (and nights!) practising and preparing for the different sporting events in order to maintain our title as the defending champion for three consecutive years! It shows that the NUS MBA students are not only intellectually gifted but well-rounded and athletic too!

Why did you choose this business school? I chose the NUS MBA because I knew this was the place to be if I wanted to advance my career with a particular focus on the fast-growing economies in Asia. Born and raised in the Philippines, I understand the struggles and challenges faced by developing countries. I know in my heart I wanted to serve my country. First, I needed to learn from more progressive economies like Singapore. This beautiful country is a melting pot of diverse cultures with very efficient systems and disciplined society. As we can see with all the developments today, the opportunities in Singapore are endless and The NUS MBA in Asias best business school is a clear pathway for me to tap into the richness of what the Lion City has to offer.

What is your best advice to an applicant hoping to get into your schools MBA program? Understand yourself and your motivations for applying to a B-school. Once you have created a deeper self-awareness, you can now set your intentions and goals. NUS Business School looks beyond academic qualifications or achievements to focus more on your aspirations and your potential. Since The NUS MBA has a great student/faculty ratios with accessible interaction with the faculty, the school carefully handpicks each unique individual based on the diversity he or she can bring to the table. If your authentic self is clearly reflected in your application and manifested during the interview, then your chances of getting in can increase!

What is the biggest myth about your school? Many people perceive the NUS MBA program as heavy on theories as opposed to actual application. The first semester may be more focused on knowledge and hard skills as core modules are introduced to strengthen our fundamentals. However, through club activities and access to the larger communities at NUS, I was exposed to numerous networking and industry learning opportunities. I also had the chance to participate in several case competitions and a global immersion program to London.

By the second semester, I was able to leverage the foundation established in the earlier semester and really dive deep into areas I found most interesting. This was through the myriad of elective modules and the experiential learning component which provided me with additional practical experience. For example, through the MBA Consulting Project, I spent five months guiding a non-profit organisation (NPO) to develop its long-term strategic plan. My consulting team and I conducted intensive research and analysis and presented our findings and recommendations to the NPOs board members.

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing youd do differently and why? If I could repeat my MBA experience all over again, I would take the opportunity to immerse myself even more in the extracurricular activities and events the MBA clubs offered. There is never an uneventful weekend throughout the program and before I knew it, the 17 months just flew by so fast! Looking back, I would have attended more industry talks, participated in more interactive workshops, and joined more networking events even if it was not my targeted industry or area of interest. There was so much to learn by just being there.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? I admire Shikha Malhotra because of her strong passion and proactive advocacy for gender balance and women empowerment. This is not just among peers but throughout the entire school. She is a natural leader and influencer who has made a strong impact to the school in so many ways, including connecting people together, moderating external panel discussions, and representing the NUS MBA across the globe.

Who most influenced your decision to pursue business in college? Growing up, my father was a huge influence in my education and career choices. His extensive experience in clean energy solutions and passion for addressing climate change inspired me to also pursue an energy and sustainability track. My father spent close to two decades in the clean energy industry working in at least 12 Asian markets. He shared with me the challenges and roadblocks he often encountered, as well as creative business approaches to address these issues. He once told me that he was working towards creating a sustainable future which he may not even be a part. This is what inspired me to keep learning, keep solving problems in ways I can, and keep sustaining what we have for future generations.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list? First, I want to lead the closing of a large clean energy investment project in Asia. Second, I want to grow my own business venture to support climate and sustainable investments in developing markets, particularly for my home country, the Philippines.

In one sentence, how would you like your peers to remember you? I would like to be remembered as a person who helps others, a person who leads by example, and a person who makes things happen.

Hobbies? When Im not on my desk, you can find me practicing yoga on the mat, cooking in the kitchen, or swimming in the sea (as a born and raised island girl on the beautiful beaches of the Philippines).

What made Corinne Mae M. Ablaza such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2020?

Corinne has been an influential and effective student leader in her MBA cohort and has continued to be a well-liked and respected member and contributor of the NUS MBA community. During her MBA candidature, Corinne integrated well into our diverse cohort with students from more than 20 cities, actively contributing to numerous group assignments and case studies and securing good grades.

Corinne also struck a good balance between academics and active participation in the programs experiential learning and extra-curricular school activities. Most notably, she was one of the student leaders responsible for organising numerous student-led initiatives and impact projects. Corinne has been an excellent ambassador of MBAs in general and the NUS MBA in particular. I am confident that she will continue her strong contributions and make the NUS MBA proud of her accomplishments as an alumna.

Associate Professor Nitin Pangarkar Academic Director, The NUS MBA Program National University of Singapore Business School

DONT MISS: THE ENTIRE 2020 MBAS TO WATCH or THE BEST & BRIGHTEST MBAS OF 2020

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2020 MBAs To Watch: Corinne Mae M. Ablaza, National University of Singapore - Poets&Quants

(1) Science and Christ
https://www.consciousevolution.tv/pdfs/Science_and_Christ.pdf

(2) Appearance Of Man
https://www.consciousevolution.tv/pdfs/Appearance_of_Man.pdf

(3) Christianity and Evolution
https://www.consciousevolution.tv/pdfs/Christianity_and_Evolution.pdf

(4) Let Me Explain
https://www.consciousevolution.tv/pdfs/Let_Me_Explain.pdf

(5) The Phenomenon of Man
https://www.consciousevolution.tv/pdfs/phenomenon-of-man.pdf

(6) The Future of Man
https://www.consciousevolution.tv/pdfs/Future_of_Man.pdf

(7) Toward the Future
https://www.consciousevolution.tv/pdfs/Toward_the_Future.pdf

(8) Heart of Matter
https://www.consciousevolution.tv/pdfs/Heart_of_Matter.pdf

(9) Letters to Two Friends
https://www.consciousevolution.tv/pdfs/Letters_to_Two_Friends.pdf

(10) The Divine Milieu
https://www.consciousevolution.tv/pdfs/The_Divine_Milieu.pdf

(11) Writings in Time of War
https://www.consciousevolution.tv/pdfs/Writings_in_Time_of_War.pdf

(12) Letters From A Traveler
https://www.consciousevolution.tv/pdfs/Letters_from_a_Traveller.pdf

(13) Human Energy
https://www.consciousevolution.tv/pdfs/Human_Energy.pdf

(14) Hymn of the Universe
https://www.consciousevolution.tv/pdfs/Hymn_of_the_Universe.pdf

(15) Man's Place in Nature
https://www.consciousevolution.tv/pdfs/Mans_Place_in_Nature.pdf

(16) On Love and Happiness
https://www.consciousevolution.tv/pdfs/on_love_happiness.pdf

(17) Vision of the Past
https://www.consciousevolution.tv/pdfs/Vision_of_the_Past.pdf

(18) Letters to Lucile Swan
https://www.consciousevolution.tv/pdfs/Letters_to_Lucile_Swan.pdf

(19) Letters to Leontine Zanta
https://www.consciousevolution.tv/pdfs/Letters_to_Leontine_Zanta.pdf

(20) Activation of Energy
https://www.consciousevolution.tv/pdfs/Activation_of_Energy.pdf

(21) The Making of a Mind
https://www.consciousevolution.tv/pdfs/Teilhard_de_Chardin_Pierre_-_The_Making_of_a_Mind.pdf

In the absence of theatres, many film-centric organizations have been finding creative ways to show moviesand, moreover, to get movies seen. In the process, theyre overcoming one of the long-standing woes of moviegoingthe extremely limited and localized release of many of the best films. Its a constant frustration to see great movies playing, say, one week at one New York venue, knowing that theyll then drop into oblivion until, months or even years later, they come out streaming. The BBC has taken a bold step to help: on Thursday, they launched LongShots, an online film festival of seven international documentaries, all available to view for the next month, free of charge (viewers can vote to determine the winner).

Id read an enthusiastic review of one of these films, Sad Song, directed by Louise Narboni, so thats the one I started with. Its an intricate and painful docu-fiction thats as audacious in its concept as it is troubling in its substance. Elodie Fonnard, a classical-music singer (specializing in Baroque repertory), lives in Paris and is providing a temporary home to Ahmad Shinwari, a young man from Afghanistan. He has arrived in France as a refugee, seeking asylum there, and is awaiting an official answer to his application. Narboni films Fonnard and Shinwari in Fonnards comfortable home (a house with a garden) as they re-create, for the camera, real experiences that they shared.

The action is simple, staged by Narboni in spare, largely static compositionsbut its narrated by Elodie, in voice-over, and her perspective on the action is itself a crucial part of the drama. She explains that, following a personal tragedy, she became active with an organization that assists refugees; there, she met Ahmad and decided to work with him, tutoring him in French, acclimating him to life in France, getting him needed medical care, and helping him assemble his dossier to apply for asylum. Ahmad had worked on his familys small farm in Afghanistan but, under threat from the Taliban, fled first to Kabul and then, after an arduous journey on foot, eventually reached France.

Ahmad is also an accomplished musician and poet; he and Elodie bonded through their love of music and lyrics, and their artistic collaborations and mutual admiration is displayed in action. Yet it has no practical or professional outlet; Elodie is busily pursuing her career, preparing for a recital involving a varied repertory (including songs by Duparc and Szymanowski), and Ahmad, while waiting for the French bureaucracy to take up his case, is in a holding pattern, doing household chores, studying with Elodie, and thinking about his family at home. He has long suspected that, during his absence from home, his mother has been concealing from him the death of his sister; when he eventually gets confirmation of this news (which leaves him his mothers sole source of support), it complicates his plans to stay in France. Yet the greatest complication involves the possibility (no spoilers) of a romance between Ahmad and Elodie.

Sad Song is both a straightforward drama and an elaborate reconstruction that reflects, with aesthetic self-awareness, the troubling complexity of its own attempt to tell Ahmads story through the double framework of Elodies personal perspective and Narbonis cinematic one. What the movie presents of Ahmads life is largely based on what he told Elodie, and what, working with him, she carefully pieced together and then translated into French for official presentation in his dossier to apply for asylum. (Their common language is English; they speak French together only rarely, whereas Elodies copious voice-over is in French.) Ahmad acknowledges that his renactment of his life with Elodie at the time of the administrative bottleneck is itself therapeutic. Still, no less than Ahmad is subject to French authority, hes also subject to Elodies gaze, Elodies interpretation, Elodies domestic regimeand to Narbonis cinematic reconstitution of his life by way of Elodies perspective.

Sad Songs subject is subjectivity, the very possibility of presenting Ahmad as a subject who expresses himself, and the fact that every mediating presenceElodie, the French state, and Narboni herselffails in some way to render Ahmads story in his own voice. (Theres even a noteworthy, seemingly unintended pun on the soundtrack, when Elodie hopes that hell find sa voiehis waywhich is a homonym for sa voix, his voice.) The films representation and dramatization of this failure is key to its severe and anguished success; its a story of the camera as an unseeing eye, of vision as a mode of overlooking. It is more than a crucial tale of the dire personal, physical, emotional, and political circumstances that refugees are now facing in their effort to seek safe haven. Its an artistic way of thinking about the very difficulty that outsiders face in even thinking about refugees and in trying to help.

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What to Stream: Sad Song, an Audacious French Documentary from the BBCs Online Film Festival - The New Yorker

The #FeedTheNation social campaign helps raise awareness by sharing farmers views on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to reassure the public at large that the farming community is doing the best it can to keep the country going.

Despite being classed as very high risk to coronavirus, 86-year-old Devonshire farmer Alec Burrough, is working every day to keep Britain farming and help #FeedTheNation.

What farmers do today will most likely stay in the publics mind for a generation. However, with farmers humility and self-awareness, they are not describing themselves as heroes but simply declaring their willingness to help in any way they can and be as supportive and welcoming as safely and realistically possible.

Farmers are helping to feed the nation during the coronavirus pandemic by setting up makeshift drive-through shops. Manor Farm Fruits, near Hints, Staffordshire, is growing 22 hectares of strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, gooseberries, redcurrants, blackcurrants and blackberries, and is offering its first-ever Strawberry Drive-thru.

Key players in agriculture have got behind the #FeedTheNation campaign to back UK farmers working flat out to produce safe, affordable and sustainable food to feed the nation. It has never been more important to show the British public the effort that goes into putting food on their tables.

The campaign is raising public awareness by highlighting the actions farmers are taking to keep the nation going during difficult times.

Response to the campaign has been both surprising and outstanding, but most of all, the comments have been heart-warming.

As part of the #FeedTheNation campaign, Farmers Weekly has created the Farmers Army initiative. The Farmers Army was created in the spirit of the 1941 competition published in Farmers Weeklys Home Section that asked for ideas about how the thousands of women and children evacuated from towns might be brought into a useful relationship with country and farming life.

In the 1940s the Land Army helped win a war through resilience and sheer stubbornness and now 80 years later Farmers Weekly is once again asking the general public to come and help farmers that need domestic seasonal workers to tackle the harvest labour shortage and be able to #FeedTheNation.

Karl Schneider, Editor of Farmers Weekly, said:

Britain's farmers are playing a vital role in this crisis. It falls to all of us to work together to do everything we can to keep our farms - and our nation - going.

Farmers Weekly is now taking the #FeedTheNation campaign a step forward and are asking all media outlets to help and work together to connect farmers that would like to donate part of their harvest with charities such as feeding low income families and our NHS heroes in cities, towns and villages across the UK.

Help with suggestions and contacts of charities all over the UK that would like to get involved and share the good work that farmers and the supply chain are doing to keep the nation fed. Use the hashtag #FeedTheNation and join the conversion on social media.

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#FeedTheNation campaign showcases the best in British farming - The Pig Site

The ability to stay strong is about learning how to keep hardship in perspective, and taking active steps to adjust to the circumstances.

MONTREAL, Quebec (PRWEB) May 30, 2020

During a crisis, the platitude stay strong is well-intended, but difficult to put into practice. Resilience is not an inherent trait - it is developed and strengthened through hardship. Recent research conducted by PsychTests.com reveals that mentally tough people nurture a specific type of mindset, and engage in certain practices in order to stay strong in the face of adversity. It seems that resilience isnt just a state of mind; its also a state of action.

Analyzing data from 12,259 people who took the Emotional Intelligence Test, PsychTests researchers focused their analysis on two distinct groups: Those who are highly resilient (in the 90th percentile and higher), and those who are not. Heres where the two groups differed:

RESILIENT PEOPLE BELIEVE IN THEMSELVES, AND HAVE A STRONG SENSE OF SELF-WORTH

RESILIENT PEOPLE ARE ALWAYS WORKING ON THEMSELVES

RESILIENT PEOPLE ACTIVELY PRACTICE SPECIFIC COPING METHODS TO DEAL WITH STRESS

RESILIENT PEOPLE STRIVE TO MAINTAIN A POSITIVE OUTLOOK

RESILIENT PEOPLE DEVELOP THEIR SELF-AWARENESS, AND STAY IN TOUCH WITH THEIR INNER WORLD

Resilience is an elusive trait, because were never really taught how to be strong, either by our parents or in school, explains Dr. Jerabek, president of PsychTests. Were told to toughen up, man up, stay positive, or that things will get better eventually, but are not told how to do that. And so we learn to simply ride out storms in our life by hanging on for dear life, or drowning out the pain, neither of which develops our resilience very much. This is because resilience is an active process. Tough people dont sit back and let adversity wash over them like a tidal wave; they take action. They consciously monitor their thoughts and feelings, summon up various coping techniques, stay in the moment rather than ruminating about the future or the what-ifs, and they face their problems head-on. So when a proverbial storm comes, resilient people become the captains of their ship. They take charge, and take steps to improve their situation, or their attitude."

"This is what we need to be doing during the pandemic," suggests Dr. Jerabek. "Dont just sit at home obsessively watching the news and worrying about what is to come. Accept what is going on, and then take steps to adapt. Ask yourself what you can do right now to make things better, even just a little. Find soothing activities, learning new coping techniques, practice mindfulness and meditation, keep yourself busy, and then at the end of the day, count every single one of your blessings. This is what it means to be resilient.

To schedule an interview with Dr. Jerabek, go here: https://calendly.com/ilonajerabek/30-min-meeting-with-dr-ilona-jerabek

Want to assess your EQ? Check out our Emotional Intelligence Test at: https://testyourself.psychtests.com/testid/3979

Or take the free Pandemic Resilience Test here: https://testyourself.psychtests.com/testid/4106

Professional users, such as HR managers, coaches, and therapists, can request a free demo for Emotional Intelligence Test or other assessments from ARCH Profiles extensive battery: http://hrtests.archprofile.com/testdrive_gen_1

The Pandemic Resilience Test is available free of charge to all ARCH Profile clients (employers/companies), coaches, and therapists) who can offer it as a screening and personal development tool to employees and clients. Businesses can request a free demo for this or other assessments from ARCH Profiles extensive battery here: http://hrtests.archprofile.com/testdrive_gen_1

To learn more about psychological testing, download this free eBook: http://hrtests.archprofile.com/personality-tests-in-hr

About PsychTests AIM Inc. PsychTests AIM Inc. originally appeared on the internet scene in 1996. Since its inception, it has become a pre-eminent provider of psychological assessment products and services to human resource personnel, therapists, academics, researchers and a host of other professionals around the world. PsychTests AIM Inc. staff is comprised of a dedicated team of psychologists, test developers, researchers, statisticians, writers, and artificial intelligence experts (see ARCHProfile.com).

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Staying Strong: New study sheds light on the characteristics of resilient people - PR Web

A nifty little low-budget retro-UFO feature, The Vast of Night lands on Amazon Prime after first touching down at Slamdance and Toronto in 2019, leaving behind some impressive crop circles (so to speak). Its the directorial debut of Andrew Patterson, whos been labeled a newcomer to keep your eyeballs on; he seems as inspired by Richard Linklater as he is by J.J. Abrams, and recently got a stamp of approval from Steven Soderbergh. So does the movie match the hype, or should we tamp down our expectations a bit before pressing play?

The Gist: Cayuga, New Mexico is a small town so small, when its 1950-something and theres a high school basketball game, its deserted to the point that a flying saucer or two could stop by to top off the tank and grab a Mountain Dew and hardly anybody would notice. But Everett (Jake Horowitz) is a radio man and Fay (Sierra McCormick) is a switchboard operator, and their jobs never sleep, so theyre gonna miss the game. They dont seem bummed about that at all. These platonic teenage pals would rather break in Fays nifty new tape recorder, and banter about gee-whiz-bang gizmos of the future, like electric roads that pilot cars while drivers sleep, or tubes that whoosh people quickly across long distances, or the least plausible of them all, miniature wireless TV-phones that people will carry with them everywhere. Ridiculous!

But the movie fades in on an old tube TV set framing what were about to see as a grainy episode of Paradox Theater complete with an eerie Twilight Zoned-out musical theme so we know this isnt going to be your typical night of spinning tunes and patching in callers dedications. Fay jabs a quarter-inch plug into a socket with a resounding tactile snap and hears a strange noise, a thrumming oscillation that sounds oddly like a Tralfamadorian P-920 warp drive or something thereabouts. So she plays it for Everett, who soon shares it on the radio waves, promising a piece of Elvis carpet for any caller who might identify it.

And the phone jingles and jangles as era-specific phones do. One call is from an ex-soldier who was selected for a crazy military coverup project because hes black and nobody would listen to his wild story; hes very sick now. Another is from an old woman with a more haunting tale that nobody likely believed because a female voice was telling it. And theres no doubt Fay and Everetts little saga is about to get much weirder.

Performance Worth Watching: McCormicks performance brims with confidence. The movie wholly pivots on her axis in a long, one-take scene that steadily alters the movies tone from upbeat to eerie: Fay navigates her switchboard like a pro, popping and plugging cables and chattering like the old-timey operator she is and slowly realizing this night isnt a normal night, not at all.

Memorable Dialogue: When Fay assuredly pushes back that Everett is a bit of an overbearing jerk sometimes, he replies, You are on a stick with me tonight! (You go, girl? You go, girl!)

Sex and Skin: None.

Our Take: McCormicks assured work represents The Vast of Night perfectly its a thoroughly tenacious and engaging film, clever but never gimmicky, detailed but never mired down in its bobbysoxers and horned-rimmers. I went into it with zero expectations (I read up on the buzz after watching), and was caught off guard by its tenacious pace, buzzing energy and eerie atmosphere.

Its full of long takes not to flash for flashiness sake, but to draw us in, establish character and setting and elongate suspense. Listen to how its lengthy monologues hypnotize and tease us, make us a little bit tense. Notice how exterior sequences are lit by streetlights suspended across roads, hovering on cables, or the ghostly glow of a water tower in the corner of the frame. It concludes not sensationally, but with spooky and awesome visual poetry.

Our Call: The Vast of Night is a stunner on many fronts. STREAM IT!

John Serba is a freelance writer and film critic based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Read more of his work at johnserbaatlarge.com or follow him on Twitter: @johnserba.

Stream The Vast of Night on Amazon Prime

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Stream It Or Skip It: 'The Vast of Night' on Amazon Prime, an Earnestly Clever Neo-Throwback UFO Thriller - Decider

The coronavirus pandemic has put leadership the good and the bad into the spotlight.

But throughout the crisis, executives from around the world have pointed out that empathy, vulnerability, and honesty is the key for being a great leader and colleague. Above all, when this crisis is over, executives say that these will be key attributes for when they look for the next generation of the workforce.

Emotional intelligence, or emotional quotient, is vital to our success in the workplace and it is something employers are on the lookout for when hiring.Essentially, IQ is knowing things and EQ is knowing people.

Ranked one of the top 10 skills that employees need to possess to thrive at work by theWorld Economic Forum, EQ affects our self-awareness, how we interact with colleagues, bosses and clients and impacts how we make personal decisions.

Gathering for a DIAL Global Digital Summit, where Verizon Media is a strategic partner, leaders at the worlds largest organisations discussed how companies can lead and win through inclusion and how organisations can craft better inclusion strategies for a competitive edge.

In the fifth session, entitled Future-proofing the workplace and shaping the new and better normal withpeople at its core, executive leaders explained how theyre preparing for the future, however uncertain that may be, and tell us about their perception and challenges ahead in our new world of work.

READ MORE: Why employers want to hire people with 'emotional intelligence'

Ann Pickering, Former CHRO &Chief of Staff, O2 (Telefonica UK) (TEF) said that going forward, trustful and empathetic leadership will continue to be the key to unlocking productivity at a company. She said that employers need to keep up with employees and regardless of what the new normal looks like, it always comes down to the culture.

She said that I have always said, working at company should be like a hotel, not a prison. Staff should choose to want to stay, not just work here because it pays the bills. Pickering added that by fostering an inclusive and empathetic culture ultimately has led to huge amounts of discretionary effort when it comes to work.

Board effectiveness has never been more critical. Boards may not understand that they need to change or the way they lead needs to change, but thats what required going forward, she said.

Pickerings thoughts were supported by a range of executives from previous sessions at the DIAL Global Digital Summit. Bosses at Siemens (SIE.DE), Just Eat (JET.L), and Verizon Media(VZ) said that the crisis has actually turbo-charged some positives changes and presented opportunities to make the world of work a better place such as empathetic leadership.

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Coronavirus: Why concept of 'EQ' is the key leadership quality firms will seek out - Yahoo Finance UK