Group Work - University Students gift and curse

As much as it may be fun to get to know people from different cultures and societies or even get the chance to conveniently speech to that person you admire in class cause you are to shy, group allows you to have all these possibilities expect that students HATE it.

Group work essential to students to get a gasp of working it peers or groups especially for those anti social people or ones from single parent homes with no siblings to have interact with. Teaches you team work which you may need for your pursuit into the job market after graduation, or even have person's entering entrepreneurship as you may need or team or know how to run a group in other to get the job done.

With all this said if I were to conduct a survey on the UWI Mona campus I am certain and would bet my tuition on it that 1 out of ever 5 students i ask my actually like group work. The other 4 may have the same output that I may have of group work which makes it a problem. First of all some people are childish and immature which may be a difficult characteristic to cope with if you act or consider yourself a mature person. Some others are lazy and don't participate or help out and more than less of the time get the same grade as you do even if your effort was far greater than theirs. To many cooks can spoil a broff and head Chef's I should add, meaning that the number of person's in a group may be difficult to work with and to many people want to lead and not assist or follow.

My advice to someone who really hates group work and need to cope, here's the run down. Attend all the meetings, don't choose to lead, give input where you see the project is going wrong or may fail as it involves your grade, and if the groups is large 8-10 members chose to speak when spoken to if not just smile and nod your head in agreement to everything the members agree on.

Energy Drinks - University Students Dangerous Consumption

The consumption of energy drinks maybe the highest at a gym and even more on a university campus. As exam time draws near and the work load starts to become more evident students consume high volumes of energy drinks to give them that extra boost to burn the midnight oil. But is it only the midnight oil that's being burnt?

The pressure to succeed in university studies maybe doing more harm to our bodies than good, as students dose themselves in high volumes of caffeine to overcome sleep. The following article gives some insight into the unseen risk of energy drink.

Ian Sample
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 24 September 2008 12.19 BST 



Performance-enhancing energy drinks should carry prominent health warnings to protect young people from overdosing on caffeine, doctors said yesterday.


The warning follows research in the US into 28 energy drinks that found some contained up to 14 times as much caffeine as a can of cola, or the equivalent of seven cups of strong coffee.


The market for caffeine-rich energy drinks has exploded in recent years, causing some doctors concern at the lack of regulations to ensure they are consumed safely.


In the UK, drinks containing more than 150mg caffeine per litre must be labelled as "high caffeine content", but there is no upper limit on the amount of caffeine, nor do drinks need to carry warnings about the potential risks of caffeine overdose.


The Food Standards Agency advises pregnant women not to exceed 300mg of caffeine a day.


Roland Griffiths at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland surveyed caffeine levels in energy drinks widely available in the US and found they varied from 50mg for a drink called "Whoop Ass" to 505mg in a drink called "Wired X505". A can of cola contains around 35mg and a cup of coffee around 75mg.




Some of the drinks are not available in the UK, but one brand, called Cocaine Energy Drink, was launched in Britain last month. It contains 280mg caffeine, or eight times as much caffeine as a can of cola. One of the best-selling energy drinks in the UK, Red Bull, contains 80mg caffeine.


"What we've seen since the first energy drinks arrived on the shelves is a sea change in how caffeine is being marketed," said Prof Griffiths. "These drinks are being very aggressively marketed, often to kids interested in extreme sports, and some of them are making overt appeals to the illicit drug culture. You can easily imagine people consuming a couple of these drinks and running smack into caffeine intoxication. People can end up not only feeling lousy, but in ER thinking they're having a heart attack."


People who drink tea and coffee regularly build up a tolerance to caffeine, but Griffiths says younger people are at risk of overdosing if they consume highly caffeinated energy drinks at an early age.


Writing in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, Griffiths calls for energy drinks to carry the same kinds of warnings as caffeine pills, which can be bought over the counter at chemists to alleviate drowsiness. Those labels highlight the risks of having too much caffeine, including anxiety attacks, nervousness, rapid heart beat and nausea.


"There's no reason to have a drink on the market that is so caffeinated that if you consume it, the majority of the population is going to experience caffeine toxicity," he said. "For someone who's sensitive to caffeine, 200mg is enough for them to have many of the symptoms of caffeine intoxication."


In the study, Griffiths highlights the cases of nine patients treated by a US poisons unit after having an energy drink called Redline, which contains 250mg caffeine. Eight of the nine were boys, with the youngest aged 13. Their symptoms ranged from nausea and vomiting to tremors, chest pain and a racing pulse.


Earlier this month, the anti-drugs advisory group Drug Education UK warned that schoolchildren are becoming dependent on energy drinks to boost their performance.


Jamey Kirby of Redux Beverages in Las Vegas, which makes Cocaine Energy Drink, said the drinks are labelled with their caffeine content to help children and adults consume them safely.


"Energy drinks are coming under attack because of the branding and marketing strategies. If we were hurting people, we'd be having our ass sued off by now. If you look at the demographic we are going for, it's great news to have these people coming out and saying ban them."

The Newspaper and Social Media

CEO's of newspaper companies may still be feel the effect of the internet and social media that they may have ultimately become immune to the sour taste it left in they mouth. Would it be fair to put the sole blame on social media for what it did to traditional media when there are other suspects charged with the same offense?

Look what Iphone did to Blackberry, look at what Blue Ray is doing to High Definition, a common case of what Torrents did to the sales of newly released films and music albums. Christians may even argue for what Judus did to Jesus, but which ever the case it may be the newspaper has still sorta manage to survive this saga.

The newspaper has been marginalized for many reason including the ease of access to information over the internet, the global financial crisis-why buy newspapers when you can read your news online "SAVE"!!
In 2008 the internet took over the newspaper for many reasons including viewing of porn which was number 1 on the internet before the like of Facebook came along. Free subscriptions to online newspapers, which persons like myself stay updated with the world around.

Despite the threat of social media some newspaper have still managed to survive by restructuring their operations by venturing into other areas within the media (comglormerate), using social media to their advantage by setting up networks on its platform. The Newspaper is still one of the most trusted and respected source of getting news and other information because of its long history stretching back to AD when it was first circulated on news sheets called tipao. 

Obama signs Jobs Act

On April 5th the President of the United States Barack Obama signed a legislation which wold benefit the likes of an entrepreneur. The Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act reduces many of the regulatory barriers that have, up to this point, made it nearly impossible for young startups to raise much-needed capital from investors.

 Generally most U.S. small business owners end up in credit card debt and bank loans instead, or they give up so much equity up-front that they can’t fuel the growth — and therefore, the hiring — that actually drives the economic engine of this country. Up to this point 88% of Americans age 16-39 felt that the government did not support them. The signing of this Act would now give them renewed hope as the government may have realized the young people are the ones who are going to bring this country forward in the up coming years.

Where's the Water?

On Monday April 2nd to Tuesday April 3rd 2012 the University of the West Indies Mona Campus experienced a water shortage. On Rex Nettleford Hall students scrambled to gather whatever water to could from tanks on the hall in order to be able to cook and have a dissent shower. Water was absent from the shelves of the Rex mini mart as resident bought out all drinking water they could. Students like myself complained about the high housing fees you pay for to live on the most expense hall when you can even get a cup full of water to brush your teeth.

Not long after the tanks began to dry up as the 800 or so residents used up all the water in them and a water trunk had to be called in to supply and refill some of the tanks. It was a difficult situation for a student as this all happen during a week there where life moves very fast with classes and assignments. Not having water in the mist of all that and having to carry buckets or whatever container you can find to fill up takes up alot of time from that schedule.

My observations during this ordeal are as followers - if i were selling water i would have made alot of money, in the absence of water the fool is thirsty and ironically when there is water some people don't bath but in a shortage or absence everyone want to bath.

Poker - Game or Real Life

Forget Monopoly the real game of life is poker. Minus the the banker giving you start up capital, minus the car, dog, iron or cruise which represents you and other stuff you may never own, minus the houses, hotels and land space you may never reach the financial capacity to purchase them-without the roll of a dice poker is the real entrepreneur game and can give a reflection of one's character in the handling of life's challenges.

Poker is a game of patient, and if you don't this attribute whether in the game or in life it will be difficult for you to ever accomplish anything. We've all heard the saying "I play the hand that I'm dealt", this occurs in poker and it real life when we are put in circumstances beyond our control and we have the task of dealing with it. In poker you may not like the cards you given so you have the option of folding them or playing with them to see if anything comes of them. Those who fold may lose their patient of constantly getting bad cards and some may continue playing waiting for that chance to be dealt with winning cards. That is life in a nutshell for you, somethings its wise to have a card or two up your sleeve.

An entrepreneur chips is his investment what he starts life with, the amount of money you have determines the amount of chips you have. The two cards you dealt with is your goals, your plans - the dealer deals 3 cards, then a 4th, and then a 5th and final in "Texas holdem". These are different stages in life and your challenges, with your cards and being able to manage your chips you will win the game of life. Patient is needed and be able to rise after taking loses and your chips are down is vital in surviving.

"it's a bad joke, dropped at the first sign of trouble. They're only as good as the world allows them to be. I'll show you. When the chips are down, these uh, these "civilized people", they'll eat each other." (The Dark Knight)

Money - An Entrepreneur's Dream

In a world were we are told money isn't everything and is the root of all evil, why is it still the money common and widely used medium of exchange then. We need money for almost everything, the education we want to pursue we need money to pay for it, the house we live in whether be rented or owned we need money to maintain it.Unfortunately not all of us are bless to be born with a silver spoon it our mouth and we the less privileged really have to work hard to makes ends meat.

The most important thing for an entrepreneur with an idea is start up capital, nothing else gets your plans of the ground like a good financial investment. Rupert Murdoch whose net worth is in the billions started his pursuit with a Newspaper inherited from his father, with this small business he expanded to the media conglomerate know as News Corporation. Unfortunately not everyone has a daddy to leave a business for us, our opt is to gain funding from outside sources which may be a task. Getting persons to believe in your vision when they don't see it profitable especially when they are the ones who suppose to finance it.

As an entrepreneur you some stay on course if you believe in your project, sometimes using your own finances as start up helps. If that doesn't help you need to get a 9-5 job to be able to invest in yourself and have that other option of employment if all else fails. At the end of the day we cant escape the fact that we need money to survive, what we use it for whether good or bad determines our character. Money makes the world go round.

Why "break a leg"?

Goodluck! Thank you, why not just use these polite word commonly know to people in all walks of life old and young, rich and poor. A more popular word is used to substitute this meaning of well wishes towards performing artist whether theater or musicians or even in sports play. "Break a leg". Do we really know what to tell our 10 year old daughter "break a leg" just before she goes to perform a dance or act in a musical infront of her school. These words are said to mean goodluck in these context when use, but we must very becareful in the sense that - the thing about history is  that we were not around when these words and other events happened. We are lead by often a third person viewer prospective or historians where messages could have been filtered down or even changed.

Regardless the word "break a leg" may just have been opposite of to the meaning we know today.

People in theatre consider it bad luck to wish an actor good luck, so instead they wish the opposite, by saying "break a leg!"

On October 1, 1921 in the New Statesman, a British liberal political and cultural magazine, an article was published, "A Defence of Superstition", written by urbane Irish nationalist Robert Wilson Lynd. Lynd said that the theatre was the second-most superstitious institution in England, after horse racing. In horse racing, Lynd asserted, to wish a man luck is considered unlucky, so "You should say something insulting such as, 'May you break your leg!'" Lynd did not attribute the phrase in any way to theatre people, though he was familiar with many of them.

So next time you tell somebody break a leg make sure is not someone you care about or just replace the 3 worded sentence with goodluck.

An Entrepreneur Needs Faith

My pick for best entrepreneur movie goes to "the PURSUIT of HAPPYNESS" starring Will Smith. No other movie provides for me a more real life touching story and attributes that an entrepreneur must possess to succeed in business. What sells this movie the most is the fact that this salesman turned homeless most important resource was himself. The challenges that Chris Gardner (Will Smith) was faced with would have destroyed the moral of many men. The aspect of FAITH is rarely mention as an attribute in developing a successful entrepreneur. Chris faith "'the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen"-- propelled him to succeed. An attribute which all of mankind may have the capability to display/achieve it, but life has its ways of erasing such ambitions.

Stop It Already - We don't Want to be Entrepreneurs (COMM3248)

Well at least in the Caribbean we don't. How many of us go to school because we want to become an ENTREPRENEUR, really? Lets be honest majority go to school, Universities that is to further our already gain secondary level of  education. In hope of being more marketable for employment, getting an increase salary depending on the level of our degree and even because everyone else is doing it. The harsh realities of life make it difficult for us to even fund upward education due to financial situation or lack of scholarships in certain areas. Not drifting anymore from the point at hand, if you ask anyone person employed in the work force or a university student about career goals--a good percentage will answer if the line "I want to be my own boss"

Do we go to school if that logic in mind, if so why even bother to go to a university spend thousands of dollars to fund your education and then at the end go sit in a 9-5 job earning just above average wage. No we don't want to be entrepreneurs, why would we want to have the "focus" and "determination" skills it would take to be a successful entrepreneur. Why? When we can let someone else employ us and worry about the headaches of "problem solving" and "risk management". Lets face it the environment we live in the Caribbean doesn't make it easy for us to drown into entrepreneurship, as small as we are how many veterinarian hospitals can one mass of land have. What amount of space we have for ever private medical practitioner coming of university, law firms-every law student dream to have their own but realistic is in.

When we do come out of university life we get integrated into the labour force so quickly we sometimes don't even realise it, well that's if you can get a job with your newly gain qualifications. Pressures of having to pay back on average a student loan of 100 000 dollars make us hungry like sharks awaiting the smell of blood in water. Sometimes we have to bite a surf board or two for survival, whatever we get we take. Another reality of entrepreneurship with all respect to do who started with they own finances, how will you with the idea get a financial institution to fund your business or vision without even showing evidence of testing the market because of lack of funds. Being an ENTREPRENEUR takes many attributes that we may not all find in one person and the hard work it takes in being successful some persons might rather opt out and work for an employer rather than themselves. Unless you become lucky and get a break, but you not Jeremy Lin are you?

LIN-trepreneur

New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin could all teach us a lesson about entrepreneurial skills when he went from sleeping on the couch of his brother's one bedroom apartment just earlier in 2012 to now having his own condo in White Plains, New York.

This all started when the undrafted Harvard College graduate led the New York Knicks to a winning streak coming off the bench while their two star players were out with injures. This gain wide media coverage and a rise in popularity to his cinderella.  The Asian American gave rise to an era called "Linsanity" and it was everywhere. Lin's jersey became the best selling in the NBA from February 4th, New York stores couldn't keep up with the supply-demand that brought now Knicks hero into the lime light. From broadcast news to magazines was all about Jeremy Lin.

Now adays the hype surrounding the now starting Knicks point guard has simmered down now that his win streak has ended and his numbers/stats during the streak has fallen. It has also led Nike to hold back the production of a sneaker which was in the making during the rise Jeremy Lin. One important entrepreneur skill absent in all is seems to be "Adaptability"

Adaptability is the willingness and ability to change and improve in order to meet the needs of different industry
swings, market circumstances, and dynamic business needs. Adaptability allows the entrepreneur to remain
pliable and composed throughout unpredictable situations and market anomalies, while becoming stronger
through the necessitated and improvisational change.

We can all use Lin example as a model and motivator for our own success in the future.

Caribbean Film Industry - Facing the facts

Are we really serious about a Film Industry in the Caribbean, or are we just as usual copying culture like everything else in this fast moving globalised world. The effects of globalisation can be seen all across the Caricom region, from advances in technology, business markets and even infrastructure developing countries may have had to hold the shorter end of the stick to survive in the global economy. Tourism and Agriculture provide the major earnings for most Caribbean countries. Barely stable after the 2008 collapse of the financial sector in the United States which caused less people to travel and having no more preferential treatment on agricultural markets in the EU these sectors are taking huge losses.

Maintaining a Film Industry in the Caribbean as a whole on in one island may deem to be impossible in the near future. Are we serious about making films in the Caribbean and marketing them for export into local or foreign markets. First of all most Caribbean government are not yet on the ball or may never be when it comes to film. Pirates of the Caribbean was said to be turned down by a few government of the Caribbean before finally being filmed in Dominica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The money involved in the production of Film may not be something a government may see as a profitable investment especially when it involves sometimes millions of dollars. Example Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl had a budget of 140 million dollars and had a gross revenue of over 600 million dollars. So where else can you get funding for your film? The banks and private sector as being done in the United States and else where. Impossible! Picture your Film like a student loan, and how difficult it is to get finance for your education. That should answer your question on what the banks or any private firm in the Caribbean may think of your film.

Training for young aspiring film-makers in the Caribbean at the University level can only be done presently in Trinidad and Tobago which UWI Campus offers a BA in Film. More avenues for film education and even from the secondary school level would be needed if this is to become a successful industry. Having a filming school could be less costly for a student and more concentrated for training to enter the movie making world. Imports of equipment for Television/Film bought from overseas is extremely expensive for the buyer and may sometimes deter a young entrepreneur from investing in this field. Government would have to decrease taxation on all equipment needed for Television or Film production. In the near future our mindset and implementation of certain aspects needed for the development of an industry which would support Film in the Caribbean has to be on the agenda if we are to move forward. As some of the larger islands like Jamaica and Trinidad may be making some progress some of the other island have not yet started.