New club/society being formed!

I am going to form a theatre club. We can regularly go to the Theatre, read plays maybe even write one.

Who would be interested?

Spoonface Steinburg Nuffield Theatre Co Submit review

From the writer of Billy Elliot, the story of a 9-year old girl affected by autism, and her take on the world around her.
7.30pm, £8/ £6
Burton Taylor Studio , Gloucester St; Tel. 305305.

Noises Off

Michael Frayn's play: one farce is performed on stage while quite another unfolds behind it! With Colin Baker. £14.50 - £26.
8pm
Oxford Playhouse , Beaumont Street; Tel. 305305; Fax: 793748.
Go if you can, although I suspect it will be sold out. Great night of laughter and splendid performances by the whole cast. The... read more

The Muse Sneezes Submit review

Three characters, a stack of handkerchiefs, a bottle of wine, slapstick and repartee - a serious, heart-warming comedy.
7.30pm, £10 (£8 conc)
OFS Studio , 40 George Street, OX1 2AQ; Tel. 0844 847 2360 new Oct08!.

Steve Coogan Submit review

BAFTA and British Comedy Award winning comedy legend.
7.30pm
New Theatre, Oxford , George Street; Tel. 0844 8471585.

How can we help Beavis?

This very sad post was seen by me last night:

"And the biggest problem ...is my roommate.Every night he snores very loudly...I can't sleep...and it's not good for my study...I always wake up at 3 or 4 o'clock morning...and I can't close my eyes!!!!It's so terrible...I don't know what to do now!Every day i just sleep 4 hours....(~_~)I ask Residence office to change the room and they told me there's no free rooms now...And I must wait....but I don't know how long it would be...And I can't stand for it...He has just arrived here 2 days....and i hasn't slept 2 nights already...And he will be here for 6 months...How can I study...How can I live!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"


OKOKOKOK let us not comment on the English.

Let us look at the problem.

The problem is the loud noises from his snoring room-mate.

What can be done to help Beavis to not be disturbed by Butthead?

The answer is to help Butthead because by helping him to stop snoring then we help beavis!

To help Butthead we need to carry out research - no point in suggesting a cure if we do not know the type of snoring.

So we must do some tests:

Looking in a mirror, press the side of one nostril to close it. With your mouth closed, breathe in through your other nostril. If the nostril tends to collapse, try propping it open with the clean end of a matchstick. If breathing is easier with the nostril propped open, nasal dilators may solve your snoring problem. Test both nostrils.

Try :

• Nozovent
• Kleerway Nasal Strips
• Snore-No-More
• Breathe Right Nasal Strips

Now, with your mouth closed, try breathing in through your nose. If you cannot breathe well through your nose you may be suffering from nasal stuffiness caused by allergy. You may wish to consider the following causes: Feather pillows & bedding, pet hair, house dust mite, allergic rhinitis, seasonal allergies, perfumes & body sprays, household cleansers such as bleach.

Try :

• Rhynil

Butthead should try the Mouth Breathing test:

Open your mouth and make a snoring noise. Now close your mouth and try to make the same noise. If you can only snore with your mouth open then you are a 'mouth breather'.

Try :

• Snore Calm Chin-Up Strips which will keep your mouth closed
• Somni Snore Guard which will encourage you to breathe correctly through your nose

Try also :

• Rhynil

Now Butthead should try the tongue test:

Stick your tongue out as far as it will go and grip it between your teeth. Now try to make a snoring noise. If the snoring noise is reduced with your tongue in this forward position then you are probably what is known as a 'tongue base snorer'. The most appropriate control for this type of snoring is a Mandibular Advancement Device.

Try :

• Tomed SomnoGuard AP

If those don't work then maybe Butthead should do the 90 day snore-no-more plan:

The 90 day snore-no-more plan is a comprehensive guide to help you on your journey to stop snoring. It is a procedural driven flowchart to help you follow the correct route for problem diagnosis and the seeking of treatment. You may find that your snoring is not confined to one area alone but is multifactoral. This means that your snoring problems may have more than one cause.

The 90 Day Snore-No-More Plan (PDF - 50k)

The 90 day snore-no-more plan focuses on the following causes.

• Obesity Are you overweight?
• Smoking Do you smoke & want to stop?
• Alcohol & Sedatives Will cause excessive muscle relaxation.
• Nasal Based Snoring Can you breathe clearly through your nose?
• Mouth Breather Commonly associated with nasal stuffiness.
• Tongue Base Snorer A common cause.
• Sleeping Position Do you sleep on your back?
• Pregnancy Often transient but could persist.
• Children Can result in failure to thrive.
• The Menopause Consider your hormones.
• Sleep Apnoea Loud snoring. Excessive daytime sleepiness?

Maybe some exercises:

or

Perhaps Beavis should buy some special earplugs?

Whatever happens - good luck!

Unhappy with your grades?

If you are unhappy with your grades (for any subject) then you should see the teacher as soon as possible and establish areas where you can improve.

If you are unhappy with the grades I have given you then here are some questions you should consider:

1. Do you speak English all the time in class?
2. Are you taking steps to improve your English?
3. Are you doing the Business English exercises I have listed in the blog?
4. Do you post detailed posts to your blog every single day? Each post should take 30 minutes MINIMUM to create.
5. Do you write comments on other blogs?
6. Have you listed everyone's blogs on your blogs I told you to? If you don't know how to do this have you asked anyone for help?
7. When you evaluate a product do you actually EVALUATE it and look at its competitors, the price, how the product works, what use it would be to the consumer?
8. I have given a lot of products to evaluate - have you done this?
9. For Economics, in the discussion list and here in the blog I listed questions for every day of the week. Have you done them and what have you done with your answers? I have not seen them.
10. In class do you participate?
11. Do your actions in class help the class to learn or are your actions disruptive?
12. Do you prepare lessons i.e. read ahead for your subject?
13. Have you learned the mind map software?
14. Have you mind mapped some key topics and put them in your blog?
15. For Business Studies did you do the work on setting up in business - and did you come up with a business idea (question 3) and then comment on it (question 4)
16. Have you been listing key words in your vocabulary books and then expanding on the explanations later?
17. Do you read an English newspaper in English every day? (Especially the business/economics section)
18. Have you joined the Stock Market investment team?
19. Have you played the business games - any of them especially the Investment one?
20. Have you been watching Dragons Den (on the internet)?
21. Have you entered the Business Plan competition (optional)?
22. For Economics have you started mind mapping those chapters i sent round and then putting the maps in your blogs?

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You can participate in as many classes as you wish, from the comfort of your home and the convenience of your telephone. Classes are limited in size, so all we ask is that you don’t register for a class that you are not sure you can attend. It's simple. Just click on Free TeleClasses and register for the classes that interest you. You will receive an email confirmation with class details.

Now, just sit back, relax, take notes and learn from those who have already walked the path you are starting to walk yourself.

Source: http://www.trainingu.com/index.html

This looks like it would be good for your English provided you can listen over the web...

10 tips to improve blog design

1. Make your purpose clear.

Your blog banner should have a title and subtitle that make it clear who you are and what you write about. First-time visitors to your blog will leave in a hurry if they can't quickly determine what you're about.

2. Keep it simple.

There are so many different options you can integrate into your blog, from colors to widgets, that it is often tempting to pile on too many. The result is a cluttered blog that is frustrating to navigate and visually chaotic. Review your blog every few months to determine whether any of the elements have become outdated or no longer relevant, and remove them.

3. Discover whitespace.

Graphic designers use the term "whitespace" to describe spacing between elements on a page that adds a sense of refinement to the design. Space out the graphic elements on your blog on your banner, in your posts, in your sidebar and readers will enjoy a heightened sense of readability and lightness as they browse your blog.

4. Use complimentary colors.

Be judicious in choosing your color scheme; too many colors, or colors that are too bright, can turn off readers and cause them to click away sooner than they might otherwise.

5. Place key information "above the fold."

Place important information such as more about you, your e-mail, search functions, RSS feed subscription link, and any calls to action on the top half of your blog page, where readers will be able to see it as soon as the page loads into their browser window.

6. Create a custom banner.

If you are running a small business, or want to promote an existing logo or graphic identity, you'll want to create your own banner to match your brand. TypePad makes it easy for you to upload your own custom banner. Learn how to customize your blog banner.

7. Check your copy size.

Is your copy too large? Too small? Copy that is too large can immediately turn viewers off, while copy that is too small will discourage older viewers from reading your content. Choose a copy size that is easy to read.

8. Add visual interest with photos.

Humans are visually stimulated, and let's face it: reading is much more fun when supplemented with pretty pictures. Even if you don't fancy yourself a photographer, it is a good idea to include images now and then in your blog posts to help up the "good-looking" factor.

9. Do a usability check.

Borrow a trick from the pros and do a usability check by enlisting several friends or colleagues to poke around your blog. This is most effective if you're sitting beside them, listening to their feedback with a notebook in hand. You might be surprised what valuable information you receive when you ask for it.

10. Check your blog in several different browsers.

Every browser has quirks that display pages slightly differently, so it is always a good idea to look at your blog in different browsers to make sure that it looks the way you want it to.

Command words in Economics and Business

Account for

Asks students to explain a particular situation or a particular outcome. Students are expected to present a reasoned case for the existence of something. For example: Account for the rise in unemployment shown in the table of data.

Analyse

Here you are being asked to provide a comparison in detail of the causes and any possible effects of how the thing under consideration has developed or happened. Wherever it is possible ,try to give examples, this is especially true if the material offered has examples within it. If the term “critically" is prior to the term analyse. This is telling you that you need to make suggestions as to possibly why or why not something may or may not, in your own opinion, be appropriate considering the issue or event being analysed. Always try to offer support to your findings and/or opinions. For example: Analyse the extent to which foreign aid promotes economic development.

Apply

This as the word suggests is asking you to apply your knowledge of a particular thing, say the monetary or fiscal policy, to a given situation. It is asking you to relate your own specific knowledge of the issue from the syllabus area to the particular situation that has been given to you.

Assess

Asks students to measure and judge the magnitude or quality of something. Students may offer differing assessments as they present the reasoning for their conclusion. For example: Assess the economic implications of the movement of many eastern and central European countries from planned economies to market economies.

Calculate

This type of question is normally asking you to use specific knowledge' that you should have i.e. a formula. When doing a question like this it is important to show each step or stage of an calculation used. For example: Calculate the PED for a price change of $4.00 to $4.40.

Comment

A comment question requires you to draw some conclusions about the issue under consideration. This is often from the result of your considerations, workings and/or calculations have told you about the problem that you have been given.

Compare/Compare and contrast

Asks students to describe two situations and present the similarities and differences between them. A description of the two situations does not on its own meet the requirements of this key term. For example: Compare the effectiveness of demand-side policies to supply-side policies in reducing the level of unemployment.

Consider

A consider question is asking for reflections on the different options/alternatives that may exist to resolve / solve / defeat or possibly correct the problem that has been posed.

Define

When asked to define it is essential that a very clear and correct definition is given of a specific word or concept. For example: Define what is meant by a free-trade area.

Describe

Asks students to provide a description of a given situation. It is a neutral request to present a detailed picture. For example: Describe the main roles of the IMF and the World Bank.

Discuss

Asks students to consider a statement or to offer a considered review of or balanced argument about a particular topic. For example: Discus the view that trade is more effective than aid in promoting economic development.

Distinguish

Asks students to make clear their understanding of similar terms. For example: Distinguish between normal and supernormal profit.

Evaluate

Invites students to make an appraisal of a situation. Students should weigh the nature of the evidence available and discuss the convincing aspects of an argument as well as its implications and limitations, and the less convincing elements within an argument. For example: Evaluate alternative policies designed to reduce inflation.

Evaluation occurs when a judgment is made. It is the weighing or measuring of factors followed by an attempt to give relative weight to those factors. Questions that begin "evaluate", "assess", "critically assess", "discuss" or "to what extent" require students to show their skills of evaluation in order to reach the highest achievement levels.

There are many ways that students can be encouraged to improve their skills of evaluation.

• When factors such as causes, consequences or remedies are asked for, students should attempt to identify the most important ones and then to justify the reason for the choice.

• When advantages and disadvantages are asked for, students should attempt to identify the most important advantage (or disadvantage) and then justify the reason for the choice.

• When strategies are asked for, students should attempt to assess the short term and long term implications.

• When data is offered, students may question its validity, in terms of whether it is appropriate, whether it is reliable, or whether it is still relevant

• When summarizing a theory, students may question its validity, in terms of whether it is appropriate, whether it is reliable, or whether it is still relevant.

Explain

Directs students to describe clearly, make intelligible and give reasons for a concept or idea. For example: Explain why a monopolist may charge different prices to different customers for the same service.

How

A how question requires the details be explained about how something is achieved or has been stopped or whatever other exercise the question is asking you to perform.

Justify

A justify question is asking a student to explain the reasons why or for what reason something is happening or maybe not happening.

Outline

Outline really only requires the main features relating to the issue to be given. Try to say the reason why a thing may or may not happen.

To what extent

Asks students to evaluate the success or otherwise of one argument or concept over another. Students should present a conclusion, supported by arguments. For example: To what extent should LDCs adopt outward-oriented strategies rather than inward-oriented strategies to promote economic development?

What

Asks students to clarify the nature of something, in contrast to either a temporal dimension (when?) or a spatial dimension (where?) For example: What is the difference between a tariff and a quota? .

What is

This question calls for the student to give an explanation about something. It should be fairly obvious as to what is the central theme or part of a question and the topic you are being asked to address.

Which

This question is asking you to make a decision from the range of choices, decisions or methods etc. You must offer reasons as to why you chose to support the decision that you did.

Why

Invites students to present reasons for the existence of something. This command word implies a powerful requirement to present a judgment. It is similar to the Invitation "account for". For example: Why do prices tend to be stable in an oligopolistic industry?

Source: http://www.tuition.com.hk/dictionary/essay.htm

41 tips and strategies to get an A grade

Podcasts for Business students

Try these:

http://www.smallbizpod.co.uk/

http://www.myobpod.com/the_podcasts.aspx

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/news/inbusiness/inbusiness.shtml

Many others