Winners of the Greener Festival Award 2009 at the UKFA

The UK Festival Awards took place on Thursday November 19th at the Indigo at the O2 in London and winners from Bestival, Camp Bestival, The Cambridge Folk Festival, Croissant Neuf Summer Party, Download, Hard Rock Calling, Isle of Wight, Standon Calling and Wireless celebrated picking up their Greener Festival 2009 Awards with Sangita Ladwa from Award sponsors Roberston Taylor and with Claire from AGreenerFestival. Thanks to everyone for turning up, it was a great evening and many thanks to the event organising team, especially Chris , Dan and Steve, for making this all happen.

Here are the AGF team at the Awards Dinner – from left to right it’s Teresa Moore from Bucks New University who runs the green courses and new annual conference with AGF, Claire, the lovely Helen and the lovely Cass (environmental assessors) and Luke.

The Croissant Neuf Summer Party green team pick up their outstanding award from Ben and Sangita - they went on to win the overall Greener Festival Award 2009 – and  it has to be said that it was a tough battle for the ultimate ‘Greener Festival’ Award for 2009. We assessed 37 festivals this year and there were some really excellent entries – with six outstanding awards in the UK and seven outside the UK. Very close to the top in the UK were the Isle of Wight Festival, Workhouse, Bestival, Big Tent and Waveform but the ultimate gong went to the Croissant Neuf Summer Party – a festival that that really goes back to the rootsy feel of days gone by yet remains modern and fresh. All of the power used on site is provided by renewable energy – either wind or solar power, driving one of the most eclectic music line-ups of the year. All caterers use fair trade and organic produce where available, locally brewed beers are prioritised and the organisers of Croissant Neuf positively encourage people to use public transport to get to and from the event – and if they can’t do that, the festival promotes car sharing to reduce fan’s carbon footprints. For good measure the festival decided to plant three trees on the estate where the event is held for ever car that comes to the festival and the organisers do as much as they can to maximise the recycling and minimise the waste produced on site to provide a low impact, friendly and fun festival.

Other winners on the night included Glastonbury for Best Major Festival, Bestival for Best Medium Sized Festival,  Beach Break Live for Best Small Festival, Camp Bestival for Best Family Festival, Blur at Glastonbury for Best Headline, Sex on Fire from the Kings of Lyon for Anthem of the Summer, Sonisphere for Best New Festival (which was dedicated to the much missed Maurice Jones) and T-in-the-Park for Best Toilets.

Photos by Sarah Moore. Additional photos by Ben Challis. (C) 2009. Please email us if you want any press photos - agreenerfestival@aol.com .

In my last post (Top 5 AIF Development Tips and Tricks) I mentioned how you can use the AIF to transform external messages into the format that AX expects. This post elaborates upon that tip with a more detailed example.

Suppose you want to import currency exchange rates.

AX has an action for this out of the box – createListExchangeRates, and will happily accept a message similar to this:

<ExchangeRates xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/dynamics/2006/02/documents/ExchangeRates">
    <DocPurpose>Original>/DocPurpose>
    <ExchRates>
        <CurrencyCode>GBP</CurrencyCode>
        <ExchRate>1.71</ExchRate>
        <FromDate>2009-09-21<FromDate>
        <ToDate>2009-09-22</ToDate>
    </ExchRates>
</ExchangeRates>

Thats all well and good if you have control over the schemas of any inbound messages.
Most likely this is not the case, say for example you want to import the exchange rates for the euro from the european central banks daily published list (http://www.ecb.europa.eu/stats/eurofxref/eurofxref-daily.xml).

If you try and receive this it will fail on two counts:
1) It is not wrapped in an envelope (which is used by the AIF to identify the message sender and destiation) and
2) the format of the exchange rate does not match AX schema.

To solve problem 1) you can make use of the ’Wrap XML in AIF envlope’ program available from axaptapedia here:www.axaptapedia.com/AIFEnvelopeTool

To solve 2) you can use the pipeline to specify an XSLT to transform the message, the XSLT to perform the transformation for this example is:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<xsl:stylesheet version="1.0" xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform"
  xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
  xmlns:ax="http://schemas.microsoft.com/dynamics/2006/02/documents/ExchangeRates"
  xmlns:ext="http://www.ecb.int/vocabulary/2002-08-01/eurofxref"
  xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"
  xmlns:gesmes="http://www.gesmes.org/xml/2002-08-01"
  exclude-result-prefixes="ext xs xsi xsl gesmes"
  xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/dynamics/2006/02/documents/ExchangeRates">
  <xsl:namespace-alias stylesheet-prefix="ax" result-prefix="#default" />
    <xsl:output method="xml" encoding="UTF-8" indent="yes" />
    <xsl:template match="gesmes:Envelope">
      <ax:ExchangeRates>
          <xsl:variable name="root" select="." />
          <xsl:for-each select="$root/ext:Cube/ext:Cube">
            <xsl:variable name="xrateDate" select="$root/ext:Cube/ext:Cube/@time" />
              <xsl:for-each select="$root/ext:Cube/ext:Cube/ext:Cube">
              <ax:ExchRates>
                <xsl:attribute name="class">
                  <xsl:value-of select="'entity'" />
                </xsl:attribute>
                <ax:CurrencyCode>
                  <xsl:value-of select="@currency" />
                </ax:CurrencyCode>
                <ax:ExchRate>
                  <xsl:value-of select="@rate" />
                </ax:ExchRate>
                <ax:FromDate>
                  <xsl:value-of select="$xrateDate" />
                </ax:FromDate>
                <ax:ToDate>
                  <xsl:value-of select="$xrateDate" />
                </ax:ToDate>
              </ax:ExchRates>
            </xsl:for-each>
          </xsl:for-each>
      </ax:ExchangeRates>
    </xsl:template>
</xsl:stylesheet>

After running the AIF inbound service upon last weeks exchange rates it results in the following data being created (US Dollar highlighted):

Exchange rates AX form

With Bestival, The End of the Road and Fitz Fest 09 pretty much signaling the end of the UK’s festival season, the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) have published the results of a survey of people who attended their members’ festivals and have crunched some numbers to show just exactly what a huge contribution to both the UK and local economies festivals make. The survey of over three thousand festival goers includes some eye catching stats: In 2009 AIF member festivals (which include Big Chill, WOMAD, Bestival and Glade) attracted 340,000 people, who spent in excess of £139 million (ticket, travel, food, drink), £16.3 million of which was spent in local towns and cities; the non camping festival Evolution is estimated to boost the economy of the twin cities of Newcastle and Gateshead by £2.9 million and Bestival generates around £600,00 0 in extra revenue for Ferry companies every year as 30,000 revelers travel to and from the Isle of Wight. A similar survey carried out by South Mendip District Council in 2008 found that Glastonbury, with its 177,500 capacity, turns over £25 million itself and contributes a further £75 million into Somerset’s economy. AIF member festivals, who range is size from 1,000 at Glasgowbury to 40,000 at Creamfields, generate on average £1 million for local economies; Hugh Phillimore, founder of the Cornbury Festival said “Not only do we fill every B&B, pub and hotel within a 10 mile radius; lots of local shops stay open to benefit from the extra custom. Cornbury not only makes a huge contribution to the local economy but also supports fundraising for local schools, brownies, and scouts”.   The AIF survey also looked at the diversity of entertainment on offer at festivals and discovered that for many punters, music is just a small part of the festival experience and in the case of the Secret Garden Party, 70% spend less than half their time watching bands! Finally the survey looked at the environmental impact of festivals, and looks at how better use of public transport and greater car sharing should be encouraged to further reduce festival s’ carbon footprint.  With audience travel being the greatest source of festivals’ greenhouse gas emissions, attention was also paid to the modes of transport used by festival goers. 60% of respondents travelled by car, of which 44% were travelling with three or more sharing the car journey - a figure festival’s are keen to improve on. Claire O’Neill, AIF general manager and co-founder of A Greener Festival said: “It is clear that independent festivals make a significant contribution not only culturally, but also to the local and UK economy” reinforcing the point that with over 300 festivals taking place in the UK each summer, the economic impact on areas of the UK that might otherwise miss out is immense, especially in the current economic climate.    www.aiforg.com

It’s that time of year again! The new school year is about to begin and what is there to greet us all? It’s Welcome Week! Usually referred to as Week 0, Welcome Week starts on Monday September 21st and ends on Friday September 25th. It is a great opportunity for all UCI students to get to know UCI just a little bit better – especially the clubs and organizations available on campus!

Many clubs & organizations are going to be tabling this whole week – on Monday 9/21 at the Anteater Involvement Fair in Aldrich Park and throughout the rest of the week (9/22 – 9/25) on Ring Road! PBL will be tabling at the Anteater Involvement Fair near the location of the bbq for new student/freshmen from 11AM – 3PM. We will also be tabling only on Thursday and Friday on Aldrich Ring from 8AM – 4PM! Drop by our table for more information on how to become involve in PBL or to just simply say hi! We are just normal college students – we don’t bite!

We hope to see you all during Welcome Week! Have fun & good luck with the beginning of a new school year! ♥

Asif Arif – Digest the Web -Top 5 sites for healthy eating

The journal of Cyberpyschology and behaviour report that nearly five pc of all web traffic is for health related info. How are we able to be sure the info that we receive is reliable healthy and practical. In my work as a nutritionist to some of the state’s leading media and sporting stars I am continually asked for top tips and shortcuts to a fit body and mind. After I have answered that there are no shortcuts I regularly refer my clients to my top five sites to gain more information before our next consultation.
When selecting these sites I fastidiously checked nutritional values and philosophy as you might expect but also made certain that I searched the web with a critical eye on sponsorship, the background of the writers and when it was posted.

OK here we go my top five ;

At number one I have chosen www.eatwell.gov.uk . This is the official presidency agency internet site of the Food Standards Agency in the UK and as such has no commercial message to push and is an invaluable source of info. It has got a handy section for those wanting to shed some excess pounds that has a BMI ( Body Mass Index ) calculator as well as a actually great activity calculator that allows users to keep a record of your daily calorie usage. The body shape comparison section allows you to compare with others without the employment of binoculars or the danger of arrest!

At number 2 I’d place the May clinics site www.mayoclinic.com A great site for weight loss recipes, low sodium, and healthy heart diets and absolutely stuffed with all demeanour of useful nutritional sound info. It has a useful tool that lets you calculate your daily calorie obligation based on age, activity level gender and current weight. Don’t try dieting without this calculator – it will keep you safe and in the longterm help you keep off the weight and avoid YoYo diet syndrome.

At number three in my top 5 is www.allrecipies.com . This site does exactly what it purports to do and stands above other recipe sites due to its various range of dishes and in depth search feature that allows you to search dependant on your preparation time, nutritional content and meal type. It is also the best and simple to use site i have found partly to its Iphone application DinnerSpinner that provides unrestricted access to its complete and wonderfully exciting recipe database.

Number four is the Canadian site www.eatcracker.ca designed and written by the country’s leading health executives it allows you to conduct a fast yet comprehensive on line assessment and then provides tailored recommendation on improving eating habits and health. Registered users can monitor their progress toward a healthy diet and lifestyle and share tips with others.

My last choice isn’t quite to do with nourishment weight loss or health of the individual but rather the condition of our planet and how our diet contributes toward this ; www.eatlowcarbon.org In the UK where I worked for a number of years, a longitudinal study of middle income house holds in Manchester concluded that nearly a third of food acquired was disposed of and supermarkets in the North West of England ( mainly the two gigantic towns of Liverpool and Manchester ) dumped over a{ half| half of| twelve their veggies before they even reached the shelves due to unattractive shape or uneven coloring. I recommend that everyone spend at least fifteen mins on this site and drag and drop some of you favorite food s into the frying pan and be amazed at the carbon footprint that you are creating. I was shocked at the diary and meat figures and they provide another reason for maintaining a lean primarily plant based diet for healthy living. So now eating healthy is helping to save the planet aswell as reducing your waistline.

Asif Arif is a well-known lecturer and advisor at the school of Lahore and has worked and lectured across Europe. He has attended courses primarily in the UK in London, Bristol and Manchester and worked for some of the country’s top health clinics. He has re-designed the scholar canteen menu and introduced a fitness plan to instill sound nutritional values for Pakistan’s future leaders. Asif Arif has been a guest presenter at meetings in Newcastle, Glasgow, Manchester, as well as at the Stockholm Institute and several other Scandinavian nutritional universities.
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Asif Arif – Digest the Web -Top 5 sites for eating sensibly

The journal of Cyberpyschology and behavior report that almost five pc of all Internet traffic is for health-related information. How are we able to be sure the data that we receive is trustworthy healthy and practical. In my work as a nutritionist to some of the state’s leading media and sporting heros I’m continually asked for top tips and shortcuts to a healthy body and mind. After I have answered that there are no shortcuts I frequently refer my clients to my top 5 sites to gain more info before our next consultation.
When selecting these sites I thoroughly checked nutritional values and philosophy as you might expect but also made sure that I searched the web with a critical eye on Sponsorship, the background of the writers and when it was posted.

OK here we go my top 5 ;

At number one I have selected www.eatwell.gov.uk . This is the official regime agency web site of the Food Standards Agency in the UK and as such has no commercial message to bump and is an invaluable source of info. It’s got a handy section for those wanting to shed some excess pounds that has a BMI ( Body Mass Index ) calculator as well as a actually great activity calculator that allows users to keep track of your daily calorie usage. The body shape comparison section allows you to compare with others without the employment of binoculars or the chance of arrest!

At number two I might place the May clinics site www.mayoclinic.com A great site for weight reduction recipes, low sodium, and healthy heart diets and totally stuffed with all manner of useful nutritive sound info. It has a useful tool letting you figure out your daily calorie duty primarily based on age, activity level gender and current weight. Don’t try dieting without using this calculator – it’ll keep you safe and in the longterm help you keep off the weight and avoid YoYo diet syndrome.

At number three in my top 5 is www.allrecipies.com . This site does exactly what it alleges to do and stands above other recipe sites due to its diverse range of dishes and intensive search feature that allows you to search dependant on your preparation time, nutritive content and meal type. It’s also the best and simple to use site i have found in part to its Iphone application DinnerSpinner that provides unrestricted access to its entire and splendidly exciting recipe database.

Number 4 is the Canadian site www.eatcracker.ca designed and written by a number of the nation’s leading health professionals it allows you to conduct a quick yet complete on line assessment and then provides tailored advice on improving eating habits and health. Registered users can monitor their progress toward a healthy diet and lifestyle and share tips with others.

My last choice is not quite to do with nourishment weight loss or health of the individual but rather the healthiness of our planet and how our diet contributes toward this ; www.eatlowcarbon.org In the UK where I worked for many years, a longitudinal study of middle income house holds in Manchester concluded that just about a third of food acquired was thrown away and supermarkets in the North West of Britain ( mainly the 2 gigantic towns of Liverpool and Manchester ) dumped over a{ half| half of| twelve their vegetables before they even reached the shelves due to unattractive shape or uneven coloring. I like to recommend that everybody spend at least fifteen mins on this site and drag and drop some of you favorite food s into the frying pan and be dazzled at the carbon footprint that you are making. I was surprised at the diary and meat figures and they supply one more reason for maintaining a lean primarily plant based diet for healthy living. So now eating healthy is helping to save the planet aswell as reducing your waistline.

Asif Arif is a widely known lecturer and advisor at the university of Lahore and has worked and lectured across Europe. He has attended courses basically in the UK in London, Bristol and Manchester and worked for some of the country’s top health clinics. He has re-designed the student canteen menu and introduced a fitness program to instill sound nutritive values for Pakistan’s future leaders. Asif Arif has been a guest speaker at meetings in Newcastle, Glasgow, Manchester, as well as at the Stockholm Institute and several Scandinavian nutritive universities.
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Dear reader thanks for clicking onto my Asif Arif’s blog – today I visit a massage parlour in central Mumbai.
I went for an Indian massage and steam bath at a little barbers shop in chawdi chok today and they also did my monthly trim up as is my habit so I am keeping well groomed and clean. Asif Arif like to be well groomed. My driver had found the spot for me last year because I had been complaining about a bad shoulder and when I first went I had been kind of surprised and takenaback. I was led into a little back room behind the barbers chairs and handed a plastic packet which when I looked conscientiously contained a pair blue fighter shorts. What sort of place is this I had thought when the man asserted’off, all’ and left the room.
I asked him to rub hard and he declined and pushed into my back and neck. I had been well and truly basted and oil was all over the giant leather covered massage table. Another dose of the steam, a wash and then I got modified. The final session concerned a quick rub down with a facial cleanser and a generous and rough application of fair and lovely all over my face. With a flourish of his fabric he brushed me down and I left to sit on the hard wooden bench with the other consumers. My driver arrived and having paid my $55’s I left.
It seemed to be a game we played out at the end of every month with him knowing that I was ever nearer to purchasing his hair tonic, accepting my fate and counting on the placenta to salvage the impact of big city life. Asif Arif’s ham am was always followed by a visit to the chai walla next door and the cardom tea helped sooth by sour speculation of my bodies betrayal in the same way the masseuse had soothed my aching shoulders and spine.
Mumbai is totally full of tiny little treats on every corner and the old adage that the more that you look the more that you see could have been coined for this engaging town home to millions who each manage who each manage to eek out a symbiotic living either being exploited or servicing each others needs depending on your view of this very unique style of capitalism where shocked buffalo still roam among the shining towers of steel and glass in the monetary district.

My hairline notes the time moving nearer to the day that I must don my dhoti and leave behind this material existence and prepare my soul for the final quarter of my life.

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Dear reader thanks for clicking onto my Asif Arif’s blog – today I visit a massage parlour in central Mumbai.
I went for an Indian massage and steam bath at a little barbers shop in chawdi chok today and they also did my monthly trim up as is my habit so I am keeping well groomed and clean.
The guy was an Auyerverdic spcialist from Calcutta. I was led into a little back room behind the barbers chairs and handed a plastic packet which when I looked carefully contained a pair blue fighter shorts. What sort of place is this I had thought when the guy declared’off, all’ and left the room. He then did the backs of my legs whilst occasionally tugging my ankles and bending my heels to my ass. An identical program was awaiting my front and he finished by my sitting up on the bench and him fiercely rubbing my neck..
Just when I could take no more a man in a dhoti entered and proceeded to rub me with a smelly Vaseline like substance that he said was’zetune’ I had not got any idea what this car grease like substance was but did worry that is was some type of tuna by product I was again motioned to lay down and on came the steam for another 5 minutes. Another dose of the steam, a wash and then I got modified. As I came out a third man gestured for to sit in the barbers chair where I was given a head massage and my head and neck squeezed and pummelled. He then shaved the back of my neck, tided my sideburns, trimmed my fuzzy eyebrows and snapped away in my ear cavity. With a flourish of his fabric he brushed me down and I left to sit on the hard wooden bench with the other consumers. My driver arrived and having paid my $55’s I left.
My now regular monthly treat was complete. As normal the third guy soured my mood by offering to sell me ten vials of a placenta based hair tonic for $25’s that I dropped whilst I attempted unconvincingly to comb my thinning hair over my receding hairline. I had managed to reach 49 without alopecia and the sudden thinning had taken me by surprise and my ritual my declining his placenta treatment had become my last try to fool myself into believing I had the thick and wavy hair of my youth. Asif Arif’s ham am was always followed by a visit to the chai walla next door and the cardom tea helped sooth by bitter contemplation of my bodies betrayal in the same way the masseuse had eased my aching shoulders and spine.
My hairline notes the time moving nearer to the day that I must don my dhoti and leave behind this material existence and prepare my soul for the final quarter of my life.

.

Dear reader thanks for clicking onto my Asif Arif’s blog – today I visit a massage parlour in central Mumbai.
I went for an Indian massage and steam bath at a little barbers shop in chawdi chok today and they also did my monthly trim up as is my habit so I am keeping well groomed and clean. Asif Arif like to be well groomed.
The guy was an Auyerverdic spcialist from Calcutta. What type of place is this I had thought when the man said’off, all’ and left the room. I drank the robust sweet mixture and listened to his Gulf urdu as he proceeded to tell me he was trained in this kind of method and that 2 or three visits would deal with my shoulder issues. He then motioned for me to lay face down and proceeded to ladle buckets of his oily potion on my back and neck. I asked him to rub hard and he declined and pushed into my back and neck. He then did the backs of my legs while occasionally tugging my ankles and bending my heels to my bum. An identical program was awaiting my front and he finished by my sitting up on the bench and him aggressively rubbing my neck.. Another dose of the steam, a rinse and then I got changed. As I came out a third man gestured for to sit in the barbers chair where I was given a head massage and my head and neck squeezed and pummelled. The final session involved a fast rub down with a facial cleanser and a generous and rough application of fair and beautiful all over my face. With a flourish of his fabric he brushed me down and I left to sit on the hard wooden bench with the other consumers. My driver arrived and having paid my $55’s I left.
My now regular monthly treat was complete. I had managed to reach 49 without baldness and the sudden thinning had taken me by surprise and my ritual my declining his placenta treatment had become my last attempt to fool myself into assuming I had the thick and wavy hair of my youth.
I Asif Arif say Mumbai is a town of lost souls each looking to carve out a place for themselves if it is in the Malabar hill or the slums we Indians strive to boost our lot in this life in preparation for the next. My hairline notes the time moving nearer to the day that I must don my dhoti and leave behind this material existence and prepare my soul for the final quarter of my life.

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Leaders at the top of organizations need to share psychological models and structures, be prepared to challenge assumptions and fundamentally learn form each other. Neutral theoretical eventualities force chiefs to embrace the possibility of un certainty and consider ways they’d take a competitive advantage form it. The big issue is how we apply this theory to our own work practices. Being prepared may very well become a corporations single biggest advantage as latest events involving large global banks have shown that present position actually is no definite predictor of future market position – just ask anyone at Lehman brother’s where they believed they might be 12 months ago and you can safely bet it would not have been where they’re now. Northen rock in the UK is another good example it and plenty of other major banks had been planning completely on the continued high expansion option and clearly did not consider the choice drawbacks and were totally unprepared for the big changes brought on by the US housing collapse and ensuing effect on lending markets. We will see that in both markets consumer confidence starts to return for the prescribed financier at least and it is those firms that kept a surplus that enabled them to broaden into the commercial property markets that are now positioned to take most market advantage form the current recession. Grand mother’s old proverb to’keep a little in the bank for a rainy day’ is certainly paying down for those firms that had the bravery to be patient and did not over leverage themselves when the market was at its most frenetic. The slow and steady approach to finance embodied by the reserve of the traditional 1950’s bank manager is now back in style – unfortunately for some its too late and because of poor eventuality planning there is little or no liquidity in reserves for banks to invest there way out of crisis. In the bigger developments in UK cities like Leeds, Nottingham Bristol and Manchester unused cranes litter the skyline and knock down costs are going to be had in refinancing property but too few firms are positioned effectively to take advantage so further increasing the market dominance of those that did scenario plan beyond continued capital expansion models. In my next blog I’ll consider the impact of Quantitive easing and is it actually the cure that some believe it too be.
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I, Asif Arif Basit say that change is the sole certainty that remains recurring and although decision-making process’ in most associations react to events not enough prepare detailed plans to be active in the event of the uncertain commercial and social times in which we live.
eventuality planning is the way that both the Wharton college’s Mack Centre at the school of Pennsylvania for creativity and Manchester Business school in the UK are preparing middle management for their roles as business leaders. The best firms are the ones that know they key principles they’ll use when responding to change and will even have modeled responses for that terribly eventuality. Eventuality planning permits all functions in an organization to explore a variety of possible replies, be sure of their key associates anticipated reply and capability to react to circumstance. I’m going to try to work this into a more coherent view on the’what if’ eventuality in my next article. This is Asif Arif signing off for the day. BTW I will try and post more continually on this topic. A chum of mine by the name of Asif Arif is also interested in writing on this issue and has ordered me to link to him when he is prepared.

I Asif Arif Basit Say that the “what if” tool for structured debate is a key way for leadership groups to prepare for the anticipated changes and by preparing for the anticipated changes lay down principles and systems that will help them deal with the unexpected.

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Straightforward Guide to Job Application Forms by Asif Arif

Gather all your material first. Ensure your time allocation doesn’t disappoint you.
Make multiple copies of the form and keep a copy of anything you send off – you could need to reference it when preparing for interview.

you’ll be shocked at how long applications take – always find a quiet place to work – working on the Metro to Manchester city centre won’t produce your best offering.
take a note of the application cut off point and plan drafting time as well as final form filling into your work schedule.
But a high quality black pen for applications – black photocopies best. Top quality paper is essential for your letter of application. Word process the envelope – a pro approach gives a good first impression.

Organise your applications into separate folders. Use tabs to distinguish the job announcement, the job description, the Person blueprint. Research on the company is valuable and attempts to include this in your letter.
your resume may need updating to incorporate latest work experience or voluntary work. For a CV that will stand out from the group see my booklet CV clinic by Asif Arif.

Read the form carefully and follow directions – generally forms are filled in BLOCK CAPITALS in black ink.

two referees will sometimes be needed – one from your latest employer – or college in this situation and someone that knows you personally but not a relative. Make sure you have asked their authorization. Also check you have up to date contact data – inspire your referee to incorporate a work email address and telephone number.

Fill the form in sequential order. Always include predicted grades for qualifications if you are applying before your results come out – confirm these can be backed up by your faculty referee. If you have work experience make sure you include this under previous job section and say how long you worked there.
Always include hobbies such as membership of clubs and societies – it gives the employer an idea of you personally.

The letter of application is the most critical part of the form and should follow the Person design really meticulously. Sell yourself. Ensure everything you include is related to this actual job. Break your letter into controllable paragraphs and always back up proof of skills or abilities with an example such as referring to your school reports when saying you are punctual and have a good attendance record. Help is available in school with drafting your letter of application – please ask.

Check and check again get a relative or pal to read what you have written before you copy onto the first form and make any changes necessary.

Very punctiliously copy all of the information onto the original form – do not use correction liquid as it photocopies gray and looks messy.

make sure you have the proper contact data of the person receiving the form and employ a large enough envelope to avoid folding your form. Check that you have included your letter of application and any other documents asked for like recent qualifications or a picture.

Good luck and do not worry if you are not successful this time.

Asif Arif.
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Easy Guide to Job Application Forms by Asif Arif

Gather all of your material first. Confirm your time allocation doesn’t let you down.
Make multiple copies of the form and keep a copy of anything you send off – you might need to reference it when preparing for interview.

you’ll be stunned at how long applications take – always find a quiet place to work – working on the Metro to Manchester town centre will not produce your best offering.
take a note of the application cut-off point and plan drafting time as well as final form filling into your work schedule.
But a top quality black pen for applications – black photocopies best. Good quality paper is vital for your letter of application. Word process the envelope – a pro approach gives a good first impression.

Organise your applications into separate folders. Use tabs to set apart the job advertisement, the job description, the Person blueprint. Research on the company is valuable and makes an attempt to include this in your letter.
your resume may need updating to incorporate recent work experience or voluntary work. For a CV that may stand out from the crowd see my pamphlet CV hospital by Asif Arif.

Read the form carefully and follow the instructions – generally forms are filled in BLOCK CAPITALS in black ink.

two referees will usually be required – one from your latest employer – or school in this situation and someone who knows you personally but not a relative. Make sure you have asked their permission. Also check you have recent contact data – inspire your referee to incorporate a work e-mail and phonephone number.

Fill the form in chronological order. Always include anticipated grades for qualifications if you’re applying before your results come out – confirm these can be backed up by your school referee. If you have work experience make sure you include this under prior job section and say how long you worked there.
Always include hobbies such as membership of clubs and societies – it gives the employer an idea of you personally.

The letter of application is the most critical part of the form and should follow the Person blueprint extraordinarily meticulously. Sell yourself. Make sure everything you include is related to this particular job. Break your letter into manageable paragraphs and always back up evidence of skills or capabilities with an example such as referring to your school reports when saying you are punctual and have an excellent attendance record. Help is available in school with drafting your letter of application – please ask.

Check and check again get a relative or friend to read what you have written before you copy onto the first form and make any changes necessary.

Very carefully copy all the information onto the original form – don’t use correction liquid as it photocopies gray and looks messy.

make sure you have the correct contact data of the person receiving the form and use a large enough envelope to avoid folding your form. Check that you have included your letter of application and any other documents asked for like current qualifications or a picture.

Good luck and don’t worry if you’re not successful this time.

Asif Arif.
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Since coming back to the US on June 25, I’ve been meaning to write a few wrap-up entries to close out my year in India. As this blog became an unexpectedly central part of my fellowship experience, I thought it fitting to create a word cloud built from all of its text. I’m hoping a few other final India posts will follow. For now:

Alberta, Canada will soon be home to a new research and product development centre for nanotechnology called Hitachi Electron Microscopy Products Development Centre (HEMiC) at the National Institute for Nanotechnology (NINT) in Edmonton. The centre will house three new electron microscopes valued at $7 million. The $14 million project is supported by the Western Economic Partnership Agreement between the Governments of Canada and Alberta and to contributions from Hitachi High-Technologies. The HEMiC is made possible by a wider collaboration of the Alberta Ingenuity Fund’s nanoWorks program, the National Institute for Nanotechnology of the National Research Council, the University of Alberta and Hitachi High Technologies Canada Inc. One of the centre’s first projects will evaluate and test the world’s sharpest electron emitter, developed by the Molecular Scale Devices group at NINT for use as an electron source in electron microscopes.
www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca

AIF è un’associazione professionale, associazione dei formatori italiani che operano per la formazione.
l’AIF ha elaborato, nel corso dell’ultimo triennio, una proposta di certificazione professionale che fornisce a tutti i formatori italiani l’opportunità di dimostrare il possesso dei requisiti ritenuti essenziali per un formatore qualificato, tali requisiti vengono stabiliti in base ad una griglia di valutazione.
Le certificazioni disponibili riguardano l’ambito della formazione degli adulti e tra i diversi profili troviamo anche quello del “Tutor per l’e-learning”.

Tale profilo è suddiviso in quattro opzioni:
• e-tutor profilo di base
• e- tutor specializzato in ambito contenutistico-disciplinare
• e-tutor specializzato in management didattico
• e-tutor specializzato in management di community.

Ogni profilo è corredato da una tabella descrittiva in cui sono riportati i dettagli relativi a:
- indicatori per la certificazione professionale
- livello minimo richiesto
- documentazione probatoria.

Una volta ottenuta la certificazione ha una validità di 5 anni, con possibilità di rinnovo.

Mi interesserebbe conoscere la vostra opinione su diversi aspetti:
1. la scelta degli indicatori per la valutazione
2. la spendibilità di tale certificazione
3. la presenza di certificazioni simili amministrate da diverse associazioni/istituzioni

“Imparare ad imparare è l’abilità di perseverare nell’apprendimento, di organizzare il proprio apprendimento anche mediante una gestione efficace del tempo e delle informazioni, sia a livello individuale che in gruppo. Questa competenza comprende la consapevolezza del proprio processo di apprendimento e dei propri bisogni, l’identificazione delle opportunità disponibili e la capacità di sormontare gli ostacoli per apprendere in modo efficace”.

E’ a partire da questa Raccomandazione del Parlamento Europeo e del Consiglio relativa alle competenze chiave per l’apprendimento permanente (2006) e alle priorità ad essa connesse che si sviluppa il discorso del libro di Giulio Beronia, Autoformazione, che sarà presentato il prossimo 14 luglio all’AIF (Associazione Italiana Formatori).

L’Autore, Giulio Beronia, è un giovane esperto di formazione che da diversi anni si occupa di progettazione, ricerca e sperimentazione educativa e formazione dei formatori. Il suo volume rappresenta lo stato dell’arte dell’autoformazione, ripercorrendo le diverse definizioni e valenze del concetto, con una puntuale analisi della letteratura e una serie di interviste a testimoni privilegiati che dell’autoformazione hanno fatto il loro campo di studio e indagine o che ne hanno avuto diretta esperienza in quanto fruitori.

L’autoformazione non è soltanto una forma autonoma di apprendimento, bensì un modo complesso di imparare in cui entrano in gioco meditazioni autoriflessive, autobiografiche e autovalutative. Nell’autoformazione il soggetto mette in atto strategie di autodirezione attraverso il supporto di dinamiche di autorealizzazione e automotivazione; in tal senso essa rappresenta l’apice di un processo formativo in una  progressività di acquisizione dei saperi, dove la dimensione collettiva non è esclusa ma valorizzata e integrata.

La presentazione del libro, organizzata dall’AIF,  si svolgerà a Roma il 14 luglio 2009 presso la sede di FS Formazione in via Savoia, 19, a partire dalle ore 17.00.

Interverranno Amarildo Arzuffi (Fondimpresa), Marco Guspini (dirigente scolastico), Paolino Serreri (Università degli studi Roma Tre) e Giovanna Spagnuolo (Isfol); l’incontro, moderato da Myriam Ines Giangiacomo (Ferservizi) si inserisce nel ciclo di incontri coordinato da Paolo Viel, vice presidente AIF.

Un’occasione preziosa per confrontarsi sull’autoformazione e per incontrare il brillante autore di un testo che completa il panorama della letteratura su questi temi.

If there’s one song that’s defined this year for us AIF fellows, it’s been the Bollywood favorite, “Desi Girl.” Not much explanation is necessary except for the fact that the song is obnoxious, catchy, and somehow has had a bonding effect on the AIF crew. Listened to on repeat, it inspires some of the best (worst?) dance parties. Song and video below.

done

(For context, desi means “of the homeland,” i.e., a pure Indian. The song is from a recent Bollywood movie, Dostana.)

Eccoci arrivati al secondo evento ufficiale del nostro gruppo…

Questa volta lanciamo una nuova idea.. una cena particolare.. un momento per conoscere nuove persone divertendosi!

Abbiamo deciso di proporre ai nostri 360 iscritti (già perchè in poco più di un mese siamo cresciuti tanto!) un’occasione diversa dal solito: una cena con delitto… Tutti usciremo sani e salvi… ma sicuramente in tanti usciranno divertiti e con qualche spunto inatteso anche su di sè e sui propri compagni di gioco.

Basta solo dire che tra il pubblico avremo formatori esperti che alla fine del nostro gioco ci daranno una chiave di lettura delle dinamiche emotive che saranno entrate in gioco… un regalo per tutti noi.. l’opportunità di imparare qualcosa in più su sè stessi e non solo!

E ancora una volta ci toglieremo i ruoli “di dosso” per essere semplicemente uomini e donne che hanno voglia di conoscersi, scambiarsi qualche aneddoto o qualche esperienza.. e perchè no qualche bigliettino da visita!

L’evento si terrà il 29 maggio a partire dalle 19,00 presso l’Hotel Baia del Re (uscita Modena sud).

Come sempre la prenotazione è obbligatoria su http://giallodellerelazioni.eventbrite.com/.

Vi aspettiamo numerosi… e curiosi per i prossimi eventi di giugno!