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			<title><![CDATA[[Education] Where to Get the Best Free Education Online]]></title>
			<link>http://www.pakvisions.com/forum/education-books-reviews/25572-where-get-best-free-education-online.html</link>
			<pubDate>Wed, 01 Sep 2010 14:40:52 GMT</pubDate>
			<description>*Where to Get the Best Free Education Online* 
 
        Image: http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/17/2010/08/500x_2942485348_7a02893570.jpg...</description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><font face="Arial"><b><font size="6"><font color="Green">Where to Get the Best Free Education Online</font></font></b></font><br />
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        <div align="center"><img src="http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/17/2010/08/500x_2942485348_7a02893570.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></div><br />
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Whether you're a student looking for supplemental learning or you're  in the workforce but thirsty for knowledge, you don't have to drop  thousands of dollars in tuition to enjoy a top-notch education from some  of the best schools in the world.        <i>Computer photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcopako/2942485348/" target="_blank">marcopako</a>; university building photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/j-a-x/118380110/" target="_blank">J-a-x</a></i>.<br />
 While most online resources won't grant you a college degree, there's  a lot more to the internet than Wikipedia when it comes to learning.  Whether you learn best through video or text, want to take a year-long  course or just to touch up on a few topics, there are more than a few  places online that can give you the full experience. In fact, there are  enough that it can get quite overwhelming, so we've rounded up the best  resources to make it all a bit more manageable. Here are some of the  best places to get an education without ever leaving your computer.<br />
 <b><font color="Green"><br />
Video Courses and Lectures</font></b><br />
You won't really notice much of a difference between sitting in front  of a screen watching a lecture and sitting in on a lecture in  person—apart from the fact that if you do have a burning question, you  can't raise your hand to get it answered. These video sites host  lectures and full courses from some of the best schools on the planet.<br />
 <b>First Stop: The OpenCourseWare Consortium</b><br />
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 <br />
<div align="center"><img src="http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/17/2010/08/500x_owcconsortium.jpg" border="0" alt="" /><br />
<br />
</div> MIT began their OpenCourseWare initiative and published their first batch of courses online in 2002. In 2005, they formed the <a href="http://www.ocwconsortium.org/" target="_blank">OpenCourseWare Consortium</a>,  which partnered with other universities to bring free education to the  masses via the internet. Most courses offered on OpenCourseWare are  available as free audio or video lectures for free, and under open  licenses. The easiest way to find a course you're interested in is to  search the <a href="http://www.ocwconsortium.org/" target="_blank">OpenCourseWare Consortium</a>  site, which aggregates courses from over 22 universities in the US  alone, including MIT, Johns Hopkins, Tufts, and the University of  Michigan, and features courses on tons of different subjects, from  business and economics to architecture and physics. Most universities  have their specialties, of course (MIT, for example, has a bounty of  resources in engineering), but between them all, you should be able to  find pretty much anything you want. It doesn't include every university  participating in the movement—for example, Yale seems strangely absent  from the list, despite their <a href="http://oyc.yale.edu/" target="_blank">open course initiative</a> (which is, of course, yet another option)—but it's more than enough to get you started.<br />
 <b><font color="Green"><br />
The Khan Academy</font></b><br />
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 <br />
<div align="center"><img src="http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/17/2010/08/500x_khanacademy.jpg" border="0" alt="" /><br />
</div> The <a href="http://www.khanacademy.org/" target="_blank">Khan Academy</a> is a bit more  narrow than the others; as it isn't an aggregator, it's mostly the work  of one man, an electronic chalkboard, and YouTube. It focuses mostly on  math, from basic arithmetic to calculus, as well as a bit of science.  It has a great reputation for teaching them in an understandable manner,  though, so if you're in the market for those particular subjects, the  Khan Academy is a great place to start (and, of course, it's open source  too).<br />
 <b><font color="Green"><br />
Academic Earth</font></b><br />
<br />
 <div align="center"><a href="http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/17/2010/08/academicearth.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/17/2010/08/500x_academicearth.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />
</div> <a href="http://lifehacker.com/5182253/academic-earth-aggregates-lectures-from-mit-harvard-yale-and-others" target="_blank">Previously mentioned</a> <a href="http://www.academicearth.org/" target="_blank">Academic Earth</a>  aggregates lectures from 19 different universities on a variety of  subjects. The idea is similar to that of the OpenCourseWare Consortium,  although it's slightly smaller and organized differently—they host all  of the material on their site instead of merely linking you to other  universities' pages. Its search engine also allows for slightly more  specific searching—that is, instead of just searching for courses (such  as Calculus II) you can search for a specific topic or class (such as  limits). You can also browse by subject, such as Computer Science,  Environmental Studies, Literature, or Philosophy and Religion, as well  as check out their featured courses and lectures. Each lecture is rated  by users of the site, so you know which ones are good sources and which  few you might want to steer clear of. Academic Earth also contains some  of the universities not listed in the OpenCourseWare Consortium, so  while it isn't necessarily better, it is another good resource to  broaden your search a bit.<br />
 <b><font color="Green"><br />
iTunes U</font></b><br />
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 <br />
<div align="center"><img src="http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/17/2010/08/500x_itunesu.jpg" border="0" alt="" /><br />
</div> The last video resource is the ever-growing <a href="http://www.apple.com/education/itunes-u/" target="_blank">iTunes U</a>  (accessible through the iTunes Store at the bottom of the front page).  If you're an iPod, iPhone, or iPad user, iTunes U is fantastic because  you can download these lectures right to your device and take them with  you. Furthermore, like Academic Earth, iTunes U allows for searching by  specific topic or lecture, not just full courses. It also has a huge  database, so if you're searching for something a bit more niche (like a  course on <a href="http://deimos3.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/Browse/gilderlehrman.org.1452980520.01452980522" target="_blank">American Presidents</a> or <a href="http://deimos3.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/Browse/ucl.ac.uk.4278080303.04278080305" target="_blank">Dead Media</a>),  you're likely to find it—the only problem is that it can get a bit  overwhelming if you just want to browse courses. If you're looking for  something more general, you're probably best off going through  OpenCourseWare Consortium or Academic Earth, finding the course you  want, and then looking it up on iTunes to download to your mobile  device. That said, if you're looking to broaden your knowledge beyond  the more traditional college courses, spending some time browsing iTunes  U might yield some very interesting results.<br />
 <b><font color="Green"><br />
Text-Based Learning</font></b><br />
<br />
 <div align="center"><a href="http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/17/2010/08/wikiversity.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/17/2010/08/500x_wikiversity.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a></div> If you find it easier to learn reading at your own pace (rather than  watch a professor drone on in front of you), there are a few sites that  provide more text-based learning. In addition, if you find yourself  getting lost in one of the above video or audio courses, you may find it  easier to reference back to a text source. Unfortunately, probably  since it's much easier to just videotape your lectures and put them up  on YouTube than it is to write a book, you'll find less selection in  this area—but we've still found several sites that can lead you through a  number of subjects.<br />
 <b>Wikiversity</b><br />
<br />
 <br />
<div align="center"><img src="http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/17/2010/08/500x_wikibooks.jpg" border="0" alt="" /><br />
</div> <a href="http://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Wikiversity:Main_Page" target="_blank">Wikiversity</a> (and its sister site, <a href="http://en.wikibooks.org/" target="_blank">Wikibooks</a>)  is a fantastic resource for all kinds of information. Users can  contribute their own projects or research to the wiki, and it hosts a  ton of textbook-like resources, organized in a tree—for example, at the  top level you have categories such as Humanities, Life Sciences,  Mathematics, or Computer Science. Going to the Humanities portal allows  you to choose from subjects like Art &amp; Design, Law, and Language,  which then breaks down further into specific courses. Courses can  provide you with anything from links to a Wikibook for that subject  (which is a very well-done online textbook), courses on other sites  (including some of the sites mentioned above), and online textbooks from  other universities. If you're looking for text-based courses, <i>this</i> is the place to go.<br />
 <b><font color="Green"><br />
Textbook Revolution</font></b><br />
<br />
 <br />
<div align="center"><img src="http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/17/2010/08/500x_textbookrevolution.jpg" border="0" alt="" /><br />
</div> We've also <a href="http://lifehacker.com/software/top/get-free-etextbooks-from-textbook-revolution-140044.php" target="_blank">mentioned</a> <a href="http://www.textbookrevolution.org/index.php/Main_Page" target="_blank">Textbook Revolution</a>  before, and it deserves a little more attention. Textbook Revolution's  goal is to bring together as many free textbooks on the net as they can.  They've got a fairly good database too, which is searchable or  browsable by subject (such as Biology, Economics, or Health Sciences)  and license. Some of the books are pretty good, but it's a bit of a  crapshoot at times—I, for example, only found one statistics book on the  site and it left quite a bit to be desired. Other subjects had a few  different books of varying quality, so you may find something that  works—it's just not the first site I would go to.<br />
 <b><font color="Green"><br />
Straight from Universities</font></b><br />
<br />
 <br />
<div align="center"><img src="http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/17/2010/08/500x_mitsupplemental.jpg" border="0" alt="" /><br />
</div> It's also worth noting that a few other universities offer online textbooks, such as Carnegie Mellon's <a href="http://oli.web.cmu.edu/openlearning/" target="_blank">Open Learning Initiative</a> and the <a href="http://ocw.mit.edu/resources/" target="_blank">Supplemental Resources</a>  section of MIT's aforementioned OpenCourseWare (in fact, while  OpenCourseWare focuses on video, they have a ton of other resources like  online textbooks, lecture notes, and assignments for many of their  classes—especially the aforementioned engineering classes they are known  for). There doesn't seem to be a large database of which universities  offer this, so you may have to search through universities manually (or  see whether your chosen video course comes with an online textbook).<br />
 <b><font color="Green"><br />
Your Friendly Neighborhood Search Engine</font></b><br />
We'd be remiss not to mention that, if all else fails, Google is a  great portal to finding other sources and putting together your own  education.  you should be able to find pretty much anything you're looking for just  by doing an internet-wide search. Again, it isn't the first place I  would go—it can get pretty overwhelming—but if you're looking for  something really specific or can't find what you're looking for on the  above sites, you may be able to find it on Google.</div>

 ]]></content:encoded>
			<category domain="http://www.pakvisions.com/forum/education-books-reviews/">Education | Books | Reviews</category>
			<dc:creator>dilnawaz</dc:creator>
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			<title>Parents need to learn art of play with kids</title>
			<link>http://www.pakvisions.com/forum/education-books-reviews/25452-parents-need-learn-art-play-kids.html</link>
			<pubDate>Tue, 31 Aug 2010 23:23:34 GMT</pubDate>
			<description>LONDON: Lack of time and a shortage of inspiration were cited as the main reasons, while one in three parents said they found playtime boring. More...</description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div>LONDON: Lack of time and a shortage of inspiration were cited as the main reasons, while one in three parents said they found playtime boring. More than half of the children surveyed said they would like to spend more time playing with their parents. <br />
<br />
The State of Play: Back to Basics survey of 2,000 parents and 2,000 children concluded that play is in danger of becoming a &quot;lost art&quot; for British families. <br />
<br />
Professor Tanya Byron, the clinical psychologist and television presenter who carried out the research, said play was crucial to a child's development and advised parents to hark back to simple games from their own childhoods such as dressing up, drawing and 'let's pretend'. <br />
<br />
She said: &quot;There are four key ingredients to a successful playtime between parents and children: education, inspiration, integration and communication. Parents need to take a step back and think back to how their own childhood games used these four pillars and how they can implement them now.&quot; <br />
<br />
Sibling rivalry was the biggest cause of tension in family play, according to the research commissioned by Disneyland Paris, with girls feeling it more acutely than boys. One 12 per cent of children cited siblings as their favourite playtime partners.</div>

 ]]></content:encoded>
			<category domain="http://www.pakvisions.com/forum/education-books-reviews/">Education | Books | Reviews</category>
			<dc:creator>--B@b@ Ki Guriy@--</dc:creator>
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			<title><![CDATA[[Education] Five Best Places to Buy Cheap Textbooks]]></title>
			<link>http://www.pakvisions.com/forum/education-books-reviews/25136-five-best-places-buy-cheap-textbooks.html</link>
			<pubDate>Sun, 29 Aug 2010 21:18:22 GMT</pubDate>
			<description><![CDATA[*Five Best Places to Buy Cheap Textbooks* 
 
 
As if college weren't an expensive enough endeavor, textbook prices  tend to range from shocking to...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><font size="5"><b><font color="Green">Five Best Places to Buy Cheap Textbooks</font></b></font><br />
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<br />
As if college weren't an expensive enough endeavor, textbook prices  tend to range from shocking to outrageous. Save on your textbooks with  these five great places to buy cheap textbooks.<br />
 <b><a href="http://www.chegg.com/" target="_blank">Chegg</a></b><br />
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 <a href="http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/17/2010/08/2010-08-22_094710.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/17/2010/08/500x_2010-08-22_094710.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />
Chegg offers a nice compromise between buying the overpriced textbooks  at your local bookstore and shopping for iffy-quality used books online.  At Chegg you don't purchase your books; you rent them for a semester.  The Chegg discount, compared to retail prices, is anywhere from 30%-80%  off, with most book rentals falling around the 50% mark. You rent them a  semester, a quarter, or a 60-day rental window and then ship them back  for free with a prepaid UPS label. You won't be able to find books at  pennies on the dollar like you can by scrounging for used or  out-of-print editions elsewhere, but you do get a 30-day &quot;any reason&quot;  return policy and free return shipping.<br />
<br />
<br />
 <b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/New-Used-Textbooks-Books/b?ie=UTF8&amp;node=465600&amp;tag=gmgamzn-20" target="_blank">Amazon</a></b><br />
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 <a href="http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/17/2010/08/2010-08-22_095709.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/17/2010/08/500x_2010-08-22_095709.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />
No one should be surprised to find out that Amazon has their hand in the  textbook business. The book superstore originally offered textbooks  mixed in with the rest of their book offerings, both new and discounted  through their third-party marketplace. Now Amazon has a dedicated  student/textbook section with enhanced textbook search and  student-centric features. They even <a href="http://lifehacker.com/5585629/get-a-free-year-of-amazon-prime-with-an-edu-address" target="_blank">offer a free Amazon Prime membership</a>  to anyone with a valid student email address (even if you have an  Amazon Prime account already, they will refund you the remaining balance  and extend your Prime membership a year into the future). With careful  shopping you can find textbooks anywhere from new with a slight discount  to heavily-used and extremely discounted.<br />
 <b><a href="http://www.abebooks.com/" target="_blank">AbeBooks</a></b><br />
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 <a href="http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/17/2010/08/2010-08-22_095834.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/17/2010/08/500x_2010-08-22_095834.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />
AbeBooks is a massive online marketplace for new, used, and rare books.  They have a bustling textbook section with new and used books that  average 50% off retail—we found quite a few books in our test searches  that crept up in the 75-90% range, however. AbeBooks has a 30-day return  policy and an easy-to-use sell-back program—plug in the ISBNs, print  off a free mailing label, and ship them back for cash in your pocket.<br />
<br />
<br />
 <b><a href="http://half.com/" target="_blank">Half.com</a></b><br />
<br />
 <a href="http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/17/2010/08/2010-08-22_100700.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/17/2010/08/500x_2010-08-22_100700.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />
Half.com, an eBay subsidiary, offers cheap media and books including  textbooks. Like a giant used bookstore/record store equivalent of eBay,  Half.com is a great place to find cheap textbooks. Low prices aside, one  of the strong selling points for textbook shopping at Half.com is their  <a href="http://www.half.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?HalfBuyingWizard" target="_blank">Buying Wizard</a>.  Using the Buying Wizard you can search for the books you need and the  wizard will search all the deals on Half.com to find you the best  combination of prices and combined shipping to get your textbooks faster  and cheaper.<br />
<br />
<br />
 <b><a href="http://bigwords.com/" target="_blank">BIGWORDS</a></b><br />
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 <a href="http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/17/2010/08/2010-08-22_101412.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/17/2010/08/500x_2010-08-22_101412.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />
BIGWORDS is the textbook website that put seller/shipping optimization  on the map with their Multi-Item Price Optimization services. When you  search for textbooks at BIGWORDS, they scan dozens of other textbook  retailers and resellers to find you the absolute bargain basement  prices. When the semester is over you can use the BIGWORDS engine in  reverse to sell them all back or donate your textbooks through Better  World Books to help fight illiteracy in developing nations.</div>

 ]]></content:encoded>
			<category domain="http://www.pakvisions.com/forum/education-books-reviews/">Education | Books | Reviews</category>
			<dc:creator>dilnawaz</dc:creator>
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			<title>Watch that anger</title>
			<link>http://www.pakvisions.com/forum/education-books-reviews/25091-watch-anger.html</link>
			<pubDate>Sun, 29 Aug 2010 01:15:28 GMT</pubDate>
			<description>Anger is a natural human emotion, no doubt. At times, venting out your frustration is good, but knowing how to control it is equally crucial. How you...</description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div>Anger is a natural human emotion, no doubt. At times, venting out your frustration is good, but knowing how to control it is equally crucial. How you react to a certain situation mirrors your level of maturity and problem-solving skills. Psychologist Alina Philip tells you why you must control those unwanted bouts of rage. <br />
<br />
The immediate effects: When you lose control, your body is the first to bear the brunt. Your blood pressure shoots up and your breathing becomes faster. It’s almost as if you were gearing up for a physical fight. In some cases, the high BP also leads to sudden headaches. And in the long run, the elevated blood pressure can lead to increase in the chances of heart attack. As the body temperature goes up, one may also experience sweating. <br />
<br />
Tiredness: Expression of anger needs energy. As a result, it saps up your reserves and you feel tired. In the process, the level of stress hormone shoots up, further aggravating that ‘down and out’ feeling. You may feel ‘in control’ while expressing anger, but spend some time in that state and the depleting energy levels will hit you. As a result, your productivity takes a nose-dive and work suffers. <br />
<br />
You cannot sleep: With so much negativity in your head and some riled up souls around you, getting a good night’s sleep is almost impossible. And even if you manage to fall asleep out of sheer exhaustion, the quality of it will be nowhere close to what your body (and mind) needs. Lack of sleep and anger works in a cyclical fashion. When you are angry, you don’t sleep well. And lack of sleep leads to a foul state of mind which can trigger anger. Insomnia and other sleep disorders come with their own share of health problems. <br />
<br />
Depression: Being in a constant ‘worked up’ state can lead to depression. And that can set off a series of potentially harmful behavioral patterns such as smoking and excess drinking. Sometimes, people prone to anger use it to fight that feeling of depression and helplessness. Anger is not your natural and healthy state of mind, and when it turns into a regular phenomenon, ill effects are bound to follow. <br />
<br />
Alienation: Losing your cool occasionally is one thing, but flare-ups become an everyday phenomenon, the ones on the receiving end will start distancing themselves. You are then in the danger of becoming socially ostracized. In the office environment, you will lose respect of your subordinates and your boss will view you as someone who has no control over his/her emotions. <br />
<br />
Wrong decisions: Anger sends rationality for a toss. You are too caught up reacting to the immediate and lose focus of the true nature of the problem. In fact, when one ought to be channelizing energies towards solving the problem, you will be doing just the opposite. You cannot see the issue from a different perspective and there are high chances that you may end up taking the wrong decision. <br />
<br />
Even studies say so… Researchers from the National Institute on Ageing (NIA) in Baltimore have found that people who are angry and aggressive face a greater risk for heart attack and stroke. These people showed a greater thickness of the carotid arteries in the neck, a key risk factor for heart attack or stroke, compared with people who were more easygoing. The researchers write that “when the Type-A behavioral pattern was dissected into its constituent parts, hostility and anger emerged as the dominant predictor of coronary artery disease.”</div>

 ]]></content:encoded>
			<category domain="http://www.pakvisions.com/forum/education-books-reviews/">Education | Books | Reviews</category>
			<dc:creator>--B@b@ Ki Guriy@--</dc:creator>
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			<title>Feeling SAD?</title>
			<link>http://www.pakvisions.com/forum/education-books-reviews/25090-feeling-sad.html</link>
			<pubDate>Sun, 29 Aug 2010 01:13:28 GMT</pubDate>
			<description>Ever wondered why certain days make you weepy, irritable, sad or angry?  
 
Whether you know it or not, but the weather plays a big role in deciding...</description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div>Ever wondered why certain days make you weepy, irritable, sad or angry? <br />
<br />
Whether you know it or not, but the weather plays a big role in deciding your mood. Affecting thousands around the globe, this disorder is called Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D), which is a type of clinical depression, that follows a seasonal pattern. Some people experience a serious mood change when seasons change. <br />
<br />
A Clinical Psychologists says that this mostly occurs during the winter or rainy season. “Some experts think it’s a lack of sunlight during these seasons, when days are shorter. Insufficient exposure to sunlight has been associated with low levels of melatonin and serotonin, two neurotransmitters in the brain. Serotonin has a soothing, calming effect on a person and its absence can bring on feelings of depression. As seasons change, there is a shift in our biological internal clocks, partly due to changes in sunlight patterns. Like all forms of depressive illness, SAD can vary greatly in severity and can be a severely debilitating condition. Many patients can be perfectly healthy during spring and summer but unable to function during winter. This leads to obvious problems with work and family life,” says she. <br />
<br />
According to a Psychiatrist, this disorder is a cyclic, seasonal condition, which means that symptoms come back and go away at the same time every year. “Problems may start out mild and become more severe as the season progresses. The sudden onset of symptoms in an otherwise well-adjusted individual and the regularity of the pattern is usually difficult to be understood by family members and employers. This makes the situation worse for the sufferer,” she says. <br />
<br />
Symptoms Feelings of hopelessness, helplessness and worthlessness, anxiety, loss of energy, social withdrawal, oversleeping or difficulty in initiating and maintaining sleep, loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed, appetite changes, especially a craving for foods high in carbohydrates maybe even leading to weight gain or the other extreme of severe loss of appetite leading to weight loss. The former is more common, difficulty concentrating and processing information, irritability and agitation. <br />
<br />
Psychologist Shah says that the specific cause of this disorder remains unknown. “It may affect adults, teens and children. About 6 in 100 people experience SAD. Many factors may be responsible, including our genes. A person’s behaviour changes significantly from the way they normally feel and act. They may become more sensitive and self critical, get upset and cry easily, lose interest in activities which they used to like and be unable to enjoy themselves as before. They may lose interest in friends and social activities, and thus isolate themselves,” she says. <br />
<br />
Treatment: - Cognitive therapy is based on the idea that certain ways of thinking can trigger certain mental health problems such as depression. A therapist helps you understand your thought patterns – particularly to identify any harmful, unhelpful, and ‘false’ ideas or thoughts, which you have that depress you. <br />
<br />
- Natural sunlight, even on an overcast day, will help alleviate symptoms. Going for a walk outside every day for an hour during the daytime may ease symptoms. <br />
<br />
- Eat a well-balanced diet and include sufficient amounts of vitamins and minerals. This helps you get more energy even though your body is craving starchy and sweet foods. <br />
<br />
- Stay involved with your social circle and regular activities. Social support is extremely important for those with mood disorders. Seek professional counselling, if needed, during these months. <br />
<br />
- Severe cases may require medication, usually mood stabilisers or antidepressants. Yoga, meditation and exercise also help.</div>

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			<category domain="http://www.pakvisions.com/forum/education-books-reviews/">Education | Books | Reviews</category>
			<dc:creator>--B@b@ Ki Guriy@--</dc:creator>
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			<title><![CDATA[Scientists crack wheat's genetic code]]></title>
			<link>http://www.pakvisions.com/forum/education-books-reviews/25089-scientists-crack-wheats-genetic-code.html</link>
			<pubDate>Sun, 29 Aug 2010 01:12:08 GMT</pubDate>
			<description><![CDATA[LONDON: British scientists have decoded the genetic sequence of wheat — one of the world's oldest and most important crops — a development they hope...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div>LONDON: British scientists have decoded the genetic sequence of wheat — one of the world's oldest and most important crops — a development they hope could help breed better strains of the global food staple. <br />
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Wheat is grown across more of the world's farmland than any other cereal, and researchers said Friday they're posting its genetic code on the Internet in the hope that farmers can use it as a tool to improve their harvests. The discovery could also prove handy to genetic engineers. <br />
<br />
University of Liverpool scientist Neil Hall said that the code would serve as &quot;the reference — the starting point that new technology and new science can be built upon.&quot; <br />
<br />
He said that, for example, the information could help farmers better identify genetic variations responsible for disease resistance, drought tolerance and yield. Although the genetic sequence being published Friday remains a rough draft, and additional strains of wheat need to be analyzed for the work to be truly useful, Hall predicted it wouldn't take long for his work to make an impact in the field. <br />
<br />
&quot;Hopefully the benefit of this work will come through in the next five years,&quot; he said. <br />
<br />
Among the potential benefits of tougher strains of wheat: Lower prices for bread and greater food security for the world's poor. <br />
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Wheat is a relative latecomer to the world of DNA mapping. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the date the human genome was laid bare. Other crops have had their genetic codes unscrambled within the past few years — rice in 2005, corn in 2009, and soybeans earlier this year. <br />
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The reason for the delay in analyzing wheat's genetic code, Hall said, was that the code is so massive — far larger than corn or rice and five times the length of the one carried by humans. One reason for the size is that strains such as the Chinese spring wheat analyzed by Hall's team carry six copies of the same gene (most creatures carry two.) Another is that wheat has a tangled ancestry, tracing its descent from three different species of wild grass. <br />
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But sequencing techniques have improved dramatically over the past decade, and scientists were able to draw up their draft of the code in about a year. <br />
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Although the code may yet see use by genetic engineers hoping to craft pesticide-resistant strains of wheat, Hall was at pains to stress the conventional applications of his work. Until now, breeders seeking to combine the best traits of two strains of wheat would cross pollinate the pair, grow the hybrid crop and hope for the best. <br />
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Once they know which genetic markers to look for, Hall said, new forms of wheat could be rolled out far faster. <br />
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The cracking of wheat's code comes at a time when prices have shot up in the wake of crop failures in Russia, highlighting how the vagaries of world food production can hit import-dependent countries such as Egypt. <br />
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Concerns over climate change, water shortages and population growth have loomed in the background for years. New risks include a destructive mutant form of stem rust. The reddish, wind-borne fungus — known to scientists as Ug99 — has devastated wheat crops in places such as Kenya, where up to 80 percent of the wheat in afflicted farmers' fields have been ruined. <br />
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Alexander Evans, an expert in resource scarcity issues at New York University, welcomed the announcement as something that would be &quot;really helpful in helping farmers producing food that will meet those challenges.&quot; <br />
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But, as one British paper hailed the announcement as the most significant breakthrough in wheat farming for 10,000 years, Evans warned against putting too much faith in genetics, saying that reforming the politics and economics of food distribution was easily as important. <br />
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&quot;We have to be very careful about saying that science will feed the world,&quot; he said.</div>

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			<category domain="http://www.pakvisions.com/forum/education-books-reviews/">Education | Books | Reviews</category>
			<dc:creator>--B@b@ Ki Guriy@--</dc:creator>
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			<title>Does Hope Have a Dark Side?</title>
			<link>http://www.pakvisions.com/forum/education-books-reviews/25085-does-hope-have-dark-side.html</link>
			<pubDate>Sun, 29 Aug 2010 01:08:08 GMT</pubDate>
			<description>You have aches and pains, difficulty getting around and sometimes suffer from surprising decreases in energy. You take fistfuls of medication for...</description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div>You have aches and pains, difficulty getting around and sometimes suffer from surprising decreases in energy. You take fistfuls of medication for relief and endure countless medical procedures to keep the illness from progressing. <br />
<br />
The illness might be physical, such as diabetes, chronic fatigue syndrome or arthritis. Or it might be emotional or psychological, such as anxiety or depression. <br />
<br />
Either way, might your life be better if you stopped hoping to cure your condition and simply accepted things as they are? <br />
<br />
“Sometimes knowing the adversity you face is permanent makes it easier to face that adversity,” said Dr. Peter A. Ubel, a professor of medicine and psychology at the University of Michigan and director of the university’s Center for Behavioral and Decision Sciences in Medicine. <br />
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Ubel co-authored a study that found that people who’d had a colostomy — surgery that creates an opening in the abdomen for stool to drain from the body — but could have the procedure reversed in the future experienced no improvement in life satisfaction over time. But, people who had irreversible colostomies reported increased satisfaction with their quality of life. <br />
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It’s not a conclusion that’s been universally embraced, however. Dr. Ann Berger, chief of pain and palliative care at the U.S. National Institutes of Health Clinical Center in Bethesda, Md., said she believes the finding from the colostomy study only scrapes the surface of what a patient needs to undergo to experience healing from a chronic illness. <br />
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“Acceptance is only a very small part of ultimately developing a sense of wholeness in healing from a chronic illness,” Berger said. <br />
<br />
The study involved 71 colostomy patients, including 30 people with permanent procedures and 41 with reversible procedures. They were all quizzed about their quality of life one week after their release from the hospital and again one month and six months later. <br />
<br />
Even though both groups of people had the same disability, those who knew their condition was permanent adapted better to their situation over time, Ubel found. <br />
<br />
He believes a couple of factors are probably at work here. First, people who hope for a cure that may never come will grow frustrated over time when there is no improvement in their situation. <br />
<br />
“Happiness is not just a matter of circumstances, but also how circumstances compare to your experiences,” Ubel said. “If you continue to hold out hope that things will get better, you will feel more frustrated.” <br />
<br />
Also, Ubel explained, people holding out hope will experience a great deal of “Weltschmerz,” a German expression referring to the pain people feel when comparing how life is to how life should be. <br />
<br />
“If I’m hoping for something better, then I continually compare my current lot in life to what it could be, and the contrast hurts,” Ubel said. “People who have a temporary condition think, ‘Why do I have to live with this? I want to be better.’ People with a permanent condition think, ‘Things aren’t perfect, but these are the cards I’ve been dealt.’” <br />
<br />
Berger, on the other hand, thinks people should view the findings from the colostomy patients’ experiences “with a grain of salt,” in part because the results stem from a small group of study participants. <br />
<br />
But in addition, a range of life factors can affect how people deal with a chronic illness, including their psychological state before the illness, their social networks and support systems, and their sense of spirituality, Berger said, and none of those factors were considered in the study. <br />
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“A lot of it has to do with people’s sense of: ‘I have a place and worth in the world. I’m safe and taken care of. I have plans and expectations for my life. I have control over things in my life. I have some kind of secure inner peace,’” she said. “These are things that go on in someone’s inner psyche and help in the healing process.” <br />
<br />
If people have support and a sense of spirituality, she said, they may not be cured but they can be healed. “You need to look at curing versus healing,” Berger said. “Cure is cure of an illness. Healing is a feeling of wholeness of an individual.” <br />
<br />
And the notion of “giving up hope” is flawed, she said. <br />
<br />
“I don’t think that you necessarily give up hope,” Berger said. “When you are chronically ill, you may hope for other things. Hope just changes so that rather than hoping for a cure, you hope to get to somebody’s wedding or you hope to see the sunset the following day. You don’t hope for the same things as hoping for a cure. That’s not losing hope. It’s very different, and they can still feel healed.”</div>

 ]]></content:encoded>
			<category domain="http://www.pakvisions.com/forum/education-books-reviews/">Education | Books | Reviews</category>
			<dc:creator>--B@b@ Ki Guriy@--</dc:creator>
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			<title><![CDATA[[Education] The 90/10 Principle (It change life or way to React) by Stephen R Covey]]></title>
			<link>http://www.pakvisions.com/forum/education-books-reviews/23911-90-10-principle-change-life-way-react-stephen-r-covey.html</link>
			<pubDate>Wed, 18 Aug 2010 21:29:52 GMT</pubDate>
			<description>The 90/10 Principle 
It will change your life or at least, the way you to react situation  
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IQQ4srYhPs</description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><font size="4"><font color="Green">The 90/10 Principle<br />
It will change your life or at least, the way you to react situation</font></font> <br />
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 ]]></content:encoded>
			<category domain="http://www.pakvisions.com/forum/education-books-reviews/">Education | Books | Reviews</category>
			<dc:creator>dilnawaz</dc:creator>
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			<title><![CDATA[[Review] آؤ مدینے چلیں ۔۔۔۔ (مستنصر حسین تارڑ)]]></title>
			<link>http://www.pakvisions.com/forum/education-books-reviews/22681-o-o-u-o-uoeu-u-u-u-uoeu-u-u-u-u-u-o-o-u-ouo-o-o-uoeu-o-o-o-u.html</link>
			<pubDate>Thu, 12 Aug 2010 17:11:54 GMT</pubDate>
			<description>آؤ مدینے چلیں  ۔۔۔۔  (مستنصر حسین تارڑ) 
 
بدھ اگست 26, 2009   
 میں نے اپنے گزشتہ کالم میں عرض کیا تھا کہ ان دنوں بینکوں کے باہر ’’یہاں  حج کی...</description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div><font size="6">آؤ مدینے چلیں  ۔۔۔۔  (مستنصر حسین تارڑ)<br />
<br />
بدھ اگست 26, 2009 </font> <br />
<div align="right"><b><font size="6"><br />
<font size="7"><br />
</font> </font></b> میں نے اپنے گزشتہ کالم میں عرض کیا تھا کہ ان دنوں بینکوں کے باہر ’’یہاں  حج کی درخواستیں وصول کی جاتی ہیں ‘‘ کہ جو بینر آویزاں ہیں انہیں دیکھ کر  میں ایک عجیب اضطراب میں مبتلا ہوجاتا ہوں کہ وہ کیسے نصیب والے ہیں جو  یہاں درخواستیں دیں گے اور حج پر جانے کے حقدار ٹھہریںگے۔ میں نے یہ بھی  تذکرہ کیا تھا کہ کیفیت تب سے ہے جب سے میں نے حج کیا ہے ورنہ اس سے پیشتر  یہ بینر مجھ پر کچھ اثر نہ کرتے تھے یعنی ایک بار اگر حج کی سعادت حاصل  ہوجائے تو دوبارہ پھر سے جانے کی خواہش ہر برس اضطراب میں مبتلا کردیتی ہے  ایسا کیوں ہوتا ہے؟ بے شک خانہ کعبہ کے گرد طواف، منیٰ کے دن اور منیٰ کی  راتیں، مزدلفہ کے کھلے آسمان تلے ایک رات اور عرفات کی جانب لبیک لبیک  پکارتا لاکھوں کا ہجوم اثر انگیز تجربے ہیں لیکن میرے نزدیک حج پر دوبارہ  جانے میں سب سے بڑی اور آبدیدہ کردینے والی کشش اس سبز گنبد کی ہے جس کے  سامنے دنیا بھر کی عمارتیں حکومتیں اور خزانے ہیچ ہیں۔ حج سے واپسی پر مجھ  سے کسی دوست نے پوچھا کہ کیا حج کرنے سے تم میں کچھ تبدیلی واقع ہوئی ہے یا  جیسے گئے تھے ویسے ہی واپس آگئے تو میں نے کہا تھا کہ آخری وقت میں کیا  خاک مسلمان ہوں گے لیکن شاید اب میں کسی حد تک اپنے غصے کو قابو کرلیتا  ہوں۔ فرائض کی ادائیگی میں کوتاہی پراپنے آپ کو مجرم محسوس کرتا ہوں اور  مجھے تو وہاں سے یہ انعام ملا ہے کہ میں اپنے رسول ؐ سے پہلے کی نسبت کہیں  قربت میں محسوس کرتا ہوں ان کے لیے چاہت میں عجیب شدت پیدا ہوگئی ہے اور جب  کبھی سبزگبند کا خیال آتا ہے تو دل ان کی محبت سے لبریز ہوجاتا ہے اور میں  ایک خوش نصیب انسان محسوس کرنے لگتا ہوں بس اتنا فرق پڑا ہے حج پر جانے سے  کہ رسول اللہ ؐ کا خیال مسلسل بدن میں گردش کرتا ہے اور یوں میں بہت سارے  توہمات سے آزاد ہوگیا ہوں ایک روز ایک دوست کہنے لگے کہ آؤ فلاں بزرگ کے  مزار پر چلتے ہیں وہاں سے بہت کچھ ملتا ہے تو میں نے عرض کیا کہ میں تو اس  سبز گنبد والے سے ہی فارغ نہیں ہوتا ادھر سے فرصت ملے تو کہیں اور جاؤں اور  جاؤں ہی کیوں کہ مجھے تو سب کچھ ادھر سے مل جاتا ہے جھولی بھر چکی ہے اور  پھر ملتا چلا جاتا ہے۔ <br />
<font size="6"> میرا ایمان ہے کہ آپ حیات رسول ؐ کا مطالعہ کریں تو پھر آپ کو کسی بکھیڑے  میں نہیں پڑنا پڑتا۔ رسول اللہ ؐ کے شب وروز آپ کی مکمل رہنمائی کرتے ہیں  آپ کو حاجت ہی نہیں ہے کسی اور شخص سے رجوع کرنے کی چاہے وہ کتنا بڑا عالم  ہو آپ کے سارے سوالوں کے سادہ اور قابل فہم جواب حضور ؐ کی حیات مبارکہ سے  مل جاتے ہیں کوئی الجھن باقی نہیں رہتی۔</font><br />
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<font size="6"> جب آپ جدہ سے نکلتے ہیں تو کچھ فاصلہ طے کرنے کے بعد</font> <font size="6"><font color="Blue">  ایک دوراہا آتا ہے ایک شاہراہ مکہ معظہ کی جانب جاتی ہے اور دوسری کی منزل  مدینہ منورہ ہے۔اس دوراہے پر پہنچ کر جی ادھر کو کھینچتا چلا جاتا ہے جدھر  مدینہ منورہ ہے۔ اپنے آپ کو روکنا پڑتا ہے</font></font><font size="6"> سمجھانا پڑتا ہے کہ نہیں  پہلے خدا کے گھر میں حاضری دو اور ادھر جاؤ اور خانہ کعبہ میں بھی حاضری اس  لئے پہلے دینی ہے کہ جدھر سے تمہیں سبز گنبد والے کی مہک آتی ہے اس کے  مکین نے ہی یہ ہدایت کی تھی اگر یہ ہدایت نہ ہوتی تو پھر ہر کوئی ادھر کا  رخ ہی کرلیتا۔</font><br />
<font size="6"> میرا بڑا بیٹا سلجوق تقریباً ڈھائی برس تک جدہ کے سفارتخانے میں وائس کونسل  تعینات رہا اور آج بھی جب کہ وہ یو این او نیویارک میں ہے وہ ان دنوں کو  بہت یاد کرتا ہے کہ جب اس کے مزے تھے ذرا وقت ملا تو خانہ کعبہ میں نماز  جاپڑھی عمرہ کرلیا اور ذرا زیادہ وقت ملا تو روضہ رسول ؐ پر حاضر ہوگئے اس  کا ایک اردنی سفارتکار دوست تھا اور وہ دونوں ہر ویک اینڈ پر نکل جاتے وہ  اردنی ہمیشہ کہتا کہ یار مدینے چلتے ہیں ایک بار سلجوق نے اس سے پوچھا کہ  تم ہمیشہ مدینہ منورہ جانے کے لئے بے چین رہتے ہو خانہ کعبہ بھی تو پاس ہی  ہے تو وہ کہنے لگا کہ دیکھو وہ خدا کا گھر تو ہے لیکن وہ صرف وہاں نہیں ہے  ہر جگہ ہے جب کہ وہ جو سبز گنبد والا ہے وہ صرف مدینے میں ہے اسے تو جب  چاہا محسوس کرلیا کہ وہ تمہارے پاس ہے لیکن اس کے رسول ؐ کو تو ملنے جانا  پڑتا ہے تب ملاقات ہوتی ہے تو آؤ مدینے چلیں ایک بار سلجوق سفارتخانے کی  جانب سے مدینہ منورہ گیا تاکہ وہاں آباد پاکستانیوں کے لیے پاسپورٹوں اور  ویزہ عمرہ کے مسائل حل کرسکے اس کے پاس ایک بوڑھا شخص آیا جو کئی برس سے  مدینہ میں قیام پذیر تھا لیکن اب اس کے پاسپورٹ پر کچھ گنجائش نہ تھی کہ وہ  وہاں مزید قیام کرسکے۔ سلجوق نے پوچھا کہ </font><font size="6"><font color="blue">بابا جی آپ  مدینہ میں کرتے کیا ہیں تو وہ بوڑھا کہنے لگا۔ بیٹا کرنا کیا ہے روضہ رسول ؐ  پر پڑا رہتاہوں اس کی دیوار سے لگ کر بیٹھا رہتا ہوں </font></font><font size="6">اس پر سلجوق نے اپنے اختیارات سے تجاوز کرکے اس کے پاسپورٹ کی مزید توسیع کردی اور وہ بوڑھا دعائیں دیتا چلا گیا۔</font><br />
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 <font size="6"><font color="DarkGreen">میں نے بہت سے خطرے مول لے کر ایک  مضبوط الحواس شخص کی مانند بہت کوشش کرکے اگر غار حرا میں پوری ایک رات بسر  کی تو وہ بھی صرف اس لئے کہ میں وہاں اپنے رسول ؐ کی قربت محسوس کرسکوں ان  پتھروں کو چھو سکوں جنہیں کبھی میرے رسول ؐ کی ہتھیلیوں کے بوسے لینے کی  سعادت حاصل ہوئی تھی میں آج بھی اس رات کو یاد کرتا ہوں تو میرے بدن کے ہر  عضو سے ایک عجیب خوشبو پھوٹنے لگتی ہے اور میں یقین نہیں کرسکتا کہ میں  کبھی وہاں تھا میں نے ان ہواؤں کو اپنے رخساروں پر محسوس کیا تھا جو چودہ  سو برس بیشتر اسی مقام پر رسول اللہ ؐ کے رخساروں کو چھوتی تھیں اور ان  نظاروں کو دیکھتا تھا جنہوں نے رسول اللہ ؐ کو اس غار میں عبادت کرتے دیکھا  تھا عجیب بات ہے کہ شب بھر مجھے حضرت جبرائیل کا خیال نہ آیا کہ وہ بھی تو  یہیں اترے تھے بس رسول اللہ ؐ کے خیال نے ہر شے سے غافل کردیا۔</font></font><br />
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