As snug as a hygge: The Danish art of embracing the life-enhancing little things | Daily Mail

Check out what's the Meaning of the Danish Word "Hygge", the Danish ritual of enjoying life’s simple pleasures.

"It’s the latest import in our obsession with all things Scandi, but what is hygge (pronounced hue-gah) all about?" insist John Koski.

Photo: Getty Images

Think cosy nights in front of a roaring fire, a cup of tea with a good book, a winter walk along a beach… And say hello to the way of life that’s been keeping the Danes happy for years.

What have the Danes ever given us? Lego, obviously – and the resulting agony for parents of inadvertently stepping barefoot on a misplaced brick in the middle of the night; unmissable Nordic noir television series such as The Killing and Borgen; posh Bang & Olufsen audiovisual equipment, and Danepak bacon. Actually, not a bad record for a country of 5.7 million people, who for several months of the year have just eight hours of daylight.

But a new and potentially more pervasive Danish export is about to hit the UK: something called hygge. At the last count, no fewer than seven books with the word ‘hygge’ in the title were due to be published between now and October, so there will be no hiding from what has been described as a ‘Scand-wagon’. There has been nothing like it since the Vikings invaded, but this time the outcome promises to be more benign and life-enhancing.

So what is hygge (pronounced hue-gah, who-guh or heurgha depending on which expert you talk to, but all benefiting from the addition of a guttural Nordic flourish) about? There isn’t really a direct translation, but ‘cosiness with knobs on’ is a reasonable starting point. It is an approach to living that encompasses warmth, togetherness, safety, intimacy, familiarity, peacefulness, simplicity, enjoyment and contentment...

The book of Hygge:
The Danish art of living well

Louisa Thomsen Brits, author of The Book of Hygge: The Danish Art of Living Well, says: ‘I hygger [yes, it’s a verb as well] when I make risotto, make love, make tea or read in bed. I find it at the heart of the dancefloor, when I walk through our local town, camp at small festivals or meet a friend for coffee.’ Meik’s favourite shorthand definition of hygge is ‘cocoa by candlelight’...

Hygge: A Celebration of Simple Pleasures.
Living the Danish Way.

British writer Charlotte Abrahams, whose own contribution to the debate, Hygge: A Celebration of Simple Pleasures; Living the Danish Way, is scheduled for publication next month, says: ‘I’ve always been deeply suspicious of all these lifestyle philosophies, but hygge isn’t like that. It is linked to mindfulness and happiness science, but in a lovely, gentle way. It has no rules and it does seem very achievable.’
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Source: Daily Mail

Don't miss out this Free eBook - What Ethical Leaders Believe: The Leading in Context Manifesto | TradePub.com

Check out how the eBook will help you and your team understand the mindset of the ethical leader of the future.

Download Your Free eBook

Photo: Linda Fisher Thornton

Linda Fisher Thornton, Founder and CEO of Leading in Context, and author of the award-winning book 7 Lenses. She teaches as Adjunct Assoc. Prof. for University of Richmond SPCS writes, "Our daily choices define us. They show just how far beyond ourselves we’re thinking, how broadly we imagine our constituents, and how we see ourselves in the world."

As we navigate the turbulence of today’s workplace, there is power in asking ourselves, 
“What is it that I repeatedly do?” It gets us thinking about other important questions like:

• Would someone shadowing me on a busy day at work be able to tell that I am trying to be an ethical leader?
• Do I demonstrate an awareness of the ripple effect that my choices generate?
• Do my choices—both big and small—show a sense of moral commitment to thinking beyond myself?

There is power in asking ourselves “What is it that I repeatedly do? “

To learn more about Leading In Context, you can visit their website. 
Download Your Free eBook

Thornton offered a few thoughts on her experience teaching at SPCS, being involved in AFAC, and being engaged in researching and presenting the recent Innovations in Teaching report.

Enjoy your reading! 

Source: TradePub

Competency-based Education (CBE) - 5 Key Questions (and Answers) About CBE | D2L

D2L has developed this eBook and Guide, who are just getting started with CBE and are looking for help on how to begin to plan.

Competency-based education is gaining new momentum as a learning model. This eBook explains the five most important things you’ll need to know about it.

Download the eBook

In Learners Become Masters: Answering Five Key Questions About Competency-based Education, we take an in-depth look at CBE that starts with the basics:

• What is competency-based education (CBE)?
• Who is CBE for?
• Where is it gaining traction?
• How does it work?
• When (are you ready for CBE)?

Download the eBook

Additional resources

Getting Started with Competency-Based Education - A guide to help you plan and execute a
competency-based education pilot program
Download the guide…

Enjoy your reading!

Source: D2L  

Does an ‘anti-bloke’ bias exist in academia? | Times Higher Education

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Follow on Twitter as @jgro_the

"Is it possible for men to experience gender discrimination in academia?" summarizes Jack Grove, reporter covering teaching and learning, quality assurance, student affairs and access to higher education for Times Higher Education.
 

Man standing in road holding No Entry sign over face.
Photo: Alamy

To even ask the question risks raising the hackles of many who still see sexism as a huge problem faced by women in the academy. Others might justifiably point out that claims for anti-male bias ignore oceans of research on sexism in science, while cynics may simply dismiss the idea as deliberately provocative, reactionary or self-serving (perhaps the result of losing out to a better-qualified female colleague).

However, conversations about potential bias faced by men are taking place in quiet corners of university departments, even if it largely remains a taboo subject for public discussion, some suggest.

In a recent report commissioned by the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education, one academic said he felt that universities tended to promote women over men whenever possible, often at the expense of more suitable male candidates for top jobs.

“Departments have some kind of fear of some men – that’s why I have been held back,” said the academic, quoted anonymously in the study, whose main focus was on support for ethnic minority staff in academia.

"Universities are in [a] structural rut where blokes in universities are seen as more of a threat,” he continued, adding that “blokes who…answer back without fear of reprisal” were passed over for promotion in favour of women, whom he said were generally seen as more amenable to management demands.

“Females will tend not to apply for promotion because of confidence issues, but at the same time, if they do apply the institutions will promote [them],” he added.

While claims of anti-male bias were made by just one of 15 senior academics interviewed for the report, several male academics have raised the issue at other points, said one of the report’s authors, Kalwant Bhopal, professor of education and social justice at the University of Southampton.
 
“Male academics have said, in private conversations, that they feel disadvantaged by what they see as universities wanting to tick boxes around diversity and equality,” said Professor Bhopal.

“It is particularly true in the STEM subjects, where women are seen to be in an advantageous position thanks to universities’ need to get the Athena SWAN charter, which is now a condition of receiving some types of research funding,” she added.

Some men may feel doubly disadvantaged by efforts around Athena SWAN if they are from an ethnic minority or less affluent social background, two areas less well served by sector initiatives, Professor Bhopal said.

She is so far unconvinced that the anecdotal evidence indicates a wider trend of anti-male bias, given the huge wealth of data indicating that it is women who are discriminated against in academia.

“Nearly all the statistics show women do not do as well as men in many areas, so I think we really need some more research to see if there is anything in it,” she added.

However, a report published in Science in July into hiring patterns in French universities appears to show a significant pro-women bias in male-dominated disciplines.
Read more... 

Source: Times Higher Education 

Meet the parents who won’t let their children study literature | Washington Post

Photo: Steven Pearlstein

Steven Pearlstein, Post business and economics writer, and also Robinson Professor of Public Affairs at George Mason University notes, "Forcing college kids to ignore the liberal arts won’t help them in a competitive economy."
 

Photo: Daniel Fishel for The Washington Post

When I assigned an 800-page biography of Andrew Carnegie for a new undergraduate course on wealth and poverty at George Mason University a few years ago, I wasn’t sure the students would actually read it. Not only did most of them make it to the end, however, but many thanked me for giving them the chance to read a popular work of history. Curious, I inquired how many were history majors. Of the 24 honors students in the seminar, there were none. English? Philosophy? Fine arts? 

Only one. How was this possible? I asked. Almost in unison, half a dozen replied: “Our parents wouldn’t let us.” 

The results were similar when I surveyed freshmen in another honors seminar this spring. This time, I asked how many would have been humanities majors if the only criteria were what they were interested in and what they were good at. Ten of the 24 raised their hands.

I was aware, of course, of the drift toward pre-professionalism on college campuses, of widespread concern over student debt, of stories about college-educated baristas living in basements, of governors threatening to cut off state funding for French literature and anthropology. Even so, I found it shocking that some of the brightest students in Virginia had been misled — by parents, the media, politicians and, alas, each other — into thinking that choosing English or history as a major would doom them to lives as impecunious schoolteachers. 

And it’s not just at state schools like Mason. Harvard University professor Jill Lepore recalled hosting an information session at her home for undergraduates interested in a program she directs on history and literature. One student who attended, Lepore told the New York Times, kept getting text messages from her parents ordering her to leave the meeting immediately. 

“I have heard from many different colleges that there is now a considerable — and disturbing — amount of parental pressure against the liberal arts,” reports Debra Humphreys, a senior vice president at the Association of American Colleges and Universities. One reason for the “explosion” of double majors — as high as 40 percent of students at some elite schools — is that students want one major to satisfy Mom and Dad and another to satisfy their own interests, she says. 

Parents are becoming more deeply engaged in nearly every aspect of their children’s lives, and it’s carrying over even to their choice of major. “A lot of our students feel parental pressure to go into business, economics, medicine,” says Christy Buchanan, who heads the office of academic advising at North Carolina’s Wake Forest University, a traditional liberal arts college that recently announced new programs in biomedical sciences and engineering.  

Photo: Christy Buchanan

Buchanan, a psychology professor who studies the role of families in adolescent development, says this is what “helicopter parenting” has come to.
Read more...

Source: Washington Post

Anthrobotics: Where The Human Ends and the Robot Begins | Futurism

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Follow on Twitter as @sciencejolene

"Technology is accelerating at an ever increasing rate. Each year, we develop smaller and smarter systems… systems that allow us to interact with information in ways that previous eras only dreamed about." according to Jolene Creighton, Editor in Chief at Futurism.
 

Photo: Getty

In fact, given their ability to process, identify, and categorize information—and their uncanny ability to synthesize information and make judgments—many of our systems seem to be developing a true form of intelligence. In this respect, it seems that the dawning age of AI is truly upon us.

But what does this mean?

In order to make this determination, it is necessary to, first, locate the human and the robot. Where does one end and the other begin? In order to try and answer this question and develop a way of figuring humans, robots, and intelligent systems alongside one another, Luis de Miranda and his colleagues at the University of Edinburgh have created the Anthrobotics Cluster. It is a a platform of cross-disciplinary research that seeks to investigate some of the biggest questions that will need to be answered as our technology progresses and we continue to advance into the next age.

In a recent interview, he spoke with me about why the relationship between humans and robots (and having an accurate understanding of it) is so very important.

Anthrobotics at the University of Edinburgh 2016-2017
 

Read more... 

Source: Futurism and THE CRAG Channel [YouTube]

The deteriorating state of internet freedom in Africa | IDG Connect

Vincent Matinde, international IT Journalist writes, "Africa might be increasingly progressing in internet coverage but it is also slipping into a deeper state of social media and internet censorship."

Photo: IDG Connect

With the progress of internet coverage, Africa seems to be slipping into a deeper state of social media and internet censorship. Just recently, the Ethiopian government shut down social media outlets during school exam time, not to distract students.

“It’s blocked. It’s a temporary measure until Wednesday. Social media have proven to be a distraction for students,” government spokesman Getachew Reda told AFP.

Uganda blocked social media during its national elections back in February this year. The country also said that the shutdown was for security purposes. Access Now, an organisation that defends internet freedoms, estimated the cost of the shut down to the millions of dollars.

“Internet shutdowns do not restore order, protect rights, or keep people safe. They also come at a significant financial cost. Our conservative estimate for the last shutdown in Uganda comes in at around USD$25 million lost per day for e-banking services alone,” the organisation wrote in its report.

In a 2015 survey, State of Internet Freedom in East Africa 2015 [PDF] by CIPESA gave a damning report of the East African states and their incidences of preventing internet freedom.

“In Kenya, Rwanda and Burundi, hate speech content regulations pose a threat to internet freedom. Kenya’s National Cohesion and Integration Commission formed in the aftermath of the 2007-2008 post-election violence, which was partly fuelled via ICT tools (notably by SMS) remains at the forefront of bringing social media ‘abusers’ to prosecution,” the report said.

It continued that: “Meanwhile, although findings indicate that there are high perceptions that surveillance is taking place in the region, the extent of surveillance is not known. But even without evidence, these perceptions have created fear within the region, with a large number of citizens practicing self-censorship, or choosing to remain silent in online platforms for fear of reprisals.”
Read more... 

Source: IDG Connect   

Music mentoring available through Norwalk Public Library website | Thehour.com

Photo: Mike Horyczun

Mike Horyczun inform, "Local residents now have a small army of world-class musicians at the ready to serve as their personal music mentors because of a newly announced program being offered by the Norwalk Public Library." 

Photo: Contributed Photo

ArtistWorks for Libraries is a free, online resource that has just been made available to anyone with a Norwalk Public Library card. The self-teaching programs deliver instruction in music, voice and even fine arts, with topics ranging from bluegrass banjo lessons from Grammy-winner Tony Trischka to deejay scratching lessons from DJ Qbert. There are 30 music courses in total, with one fine arts lesson also in the series, and they are all part of a special ArtistWorks group available through the Norwalk Public Library website in partnership with RBdigital from Recorded Books, Inc.

“We offer other RB Digital Database offerings,” said Cynde Bloom Lahey, director of library information services at the Norwalk Public Library. “When we became aware of ArtistWorks, we thought it would be a unique resource for the community. We have many people looking for an independent method of learning to play an instrument or to create art but are either too shy or can't afford to take lessons from an instructor. We, as a public library, can provide the access to our community for these kinds of opportunities via a free and convenient method that they can connect to from their homes.”

ArtistWorks is accessible through the library’s website (norwalklib.org) by going first to the Research tab, located on the buttons across the top of the homepage, then going to Databases and Internet Resources. The Databases are alphabetical, and ArtistsWorks pops up in this list.

The Norwalk Public Library’s other RB Digital database offerings include digital magazines through Zinio, over 500 online continuing education courses through Universal Class, Bestselling eAudio and eBook titles through OneClickdigital and many bestselling books on CD.

The ArtistWorks for Libraries program is a slightly modified version of the paid-subscription series available at ArtistWorks.com, as it does not include a Video Exchange component or a few other courses. However, in case they want to upgrade, Norwalk Public Library cardholders are eligible for a discount, according to Mike Daecher, chief marketing officer at ArtistWorks.

“They just use the promo code LIBRARY20, and they automatically get 20 percent reduced from any price they pay at ArtistWorks.com,” he said, adding that the library’s free series will be including more instruments in the weeks ahead.

“Ukulele and Classical Mandolin will become available to the libraries in September,” said Daecher, followed by jazz drums and country vocals in November of 2016. “We wanted to offer the full breadth of the instruments we offer, but more importantly, we hand selected lessons that would cater to the needs of library members,” he said. “Recorded Books helped us to understand their library patrons' needs so that we could make the most appropriate and helpful selections of music lessons for them.”

Other online lesson in the free library series include Jazz Bass with John Patitucci, Bluegrass Mandolin with Mike Marshall, Fiddle with Darol Anger, Fingerstyle Guitar with Martin Taylor, Jazz Guitar with Chuck Loeb, Harmonica with Howard Levy, and Voice with Jeannie Dava. 
Read more...

Source: Thehour.com

Reimagining the Modern Classroom | The Atlantic

This is the fifth installment in our series about school in a perfect world. Read previous entries on calendars, content, homework, and teachers.

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"The seats, space, and stuff that idyllic learning environments are made of" reports Hayley Glatter, editorial fellow, Emily DeRuy, senior associate editor and Alia Wong, associate editor.

Photo: Guillermo del Olmo / PinkPueblo / Shutterstock / Zak Bickel / The Atlantic

We asked prominent voices in education—from policy makers and teachers to activists and parents—to look beyond laws, politics, and funding and imagine a utopian system of learning. They went back to the drawing board—and the chalkboard—to build an educational Garden of Eden. We’re publishing their answers to one question each day this week. Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.

Today’s assignment: The Space. Describe the perfect classroom.
Read more... 

Source: The Atlantic

This video perfectly nails the ridiculousness of learning to read sheet music | Classic FM

Please, take a look at this very funny guide to reading sheet music as shown below.

Photo: Classic FM

"Perfect for anyone who’s weary of learning when it’s OK to call the notes by their real names." summarizes Daniel Ross, Journalist, writer etc.

Learning to read music is not a task for the fainthearted. Like any foreign language, it has rules aplenty, except when it doesn’t, in which case you just have to guess. And that’s the basis of this hilarious video:

How to Read Sheet Music
 

Additional resources

A choral arrangement of the tune David Cameron hummed outside Downing Street, sung by members of NZ Youth Choir

A simple 10-step guide to writing an amazing fugue | By Kyle Macdonald & William Godfree.
 

How To Read Sheet Music - The Basics  - Thomandy Piano

Source: Classic FM and Julian Cianciolo Channel (YouTube)