Wednesday, February 10, 2010

“Measat study awards in space studies (MalaysiaNews.net)” plus 2 more

“Measat study awards in space studies (MalaysiaNews.net)” plus 2 more

Measat study awards in space studies (MalaysiaNews.net)

Posted: 10 Feb 2010 01:03 AM PST

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Printer Friendly Kuala Lumpur: Measat Satellite Systems Sdn Bhd (Measat) is offering a fully-paid scholarship for a Masters Degree in Space studies or Space Management at the International Space Unive...

International Baccalaureate program offers challenges to R-7 students (Lee's Summit Journal)

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 03:57 PM PST

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With all the challenges that come with high school balancing a social life with studies, extra circular activities, picking a college and deciding on a career why would a group of Lees Summit high school students add an extra challenge to that list by participating in the International Baccalaureate program?

I like a challenge, said Tom Mason, a junior at Lees Summit North High School. Thats really why I joined.

Liking a challenge was the answer most frequently given when asked about the IB program. And challenging it is.

In addition to completing all the regular graduation requirements, IB students take specialized IB courses throughout high school, especially in their junior and senior years. At the end of their studies, students either receive an IB certificate or an IB diploma.

You absolutely have to be intellectually motivated to be in the IB program, said Anna Schuler, a senior at LSN. But its good to be challenged. I think the program prepares us that much more for college.

Diane Weeda, IB coordinator at LSN, said the IB program started in Europe as a way to standardize the curriculum from country to country.

In the U.S., a lot of magnet schools started using the program but it hadnt really made its way into the Midwest yet, she said. Lees Summit was one of, if not the first, schools in Missouri to offer it.

The IB program got its start at Lees Summit High School the only high school in Lees Summit at the time in 1987. The program could not have gotten its start without the influence of Carl Chinnery, who was on the R-7 Board of Education at the time.

The board was presented with the program a year or two before it actually got its start in the high school, Chinnery said. A group of teachers proposed to start offering this program in the district. I thought it was the greatest idea.

Chinnery said Stan Magady, interim superintendent at the time, took on the project of getting the IB program into LSHS.

At the time, it was very controversial to start the program, Chinnery said. Finances were very short and we were really struggling to make ends meet. We didnt know whether or not wed have the funds to support the program. I look at it now and wonder, how could we not have started to offer it?

The IB program allows high school students to take advanced studies while earning college credits, Weeda explained. Unlike a regular AP course schedule however, at the end of the program, students will take a specific test and when they graduate theyll receive two diplomas a high school diploma and an IB diploma.

We start when the students are in seventh or eighth grade, she said. Because one of the requirements is five years of a modern language, we want them to start early. But at the end of the program, theyve earned so many college credits, many times theyll walk into school on the first day as a second semester freshmen or even a sophomore.

I first got involved in the program because I really wanted to go to an east coast school, Schuler said. I thought an IB diploma could help my chances. But what I really love about the program is that (the students) get to study subjects on a deeper level.

We talk about things more and discuss as a class what we think of whatever it is were learning.

Senior Jordan Glassgow added that in many classes, the subjects arent limited.

For example in history, were not just learning U.S. history, were learning its impact on the world and how it affects every country.

Im taking a philosophy course right now where were really encouraged to think and analyze, Mason added. Instead of being told this is what the correct answer is we decide and consider the answer for ourselves.

While many IB program students say college is a main reason for being involved in the program, they arent all focused solely on academics.

Its not just all about studying, she said. We have students who are cheerleaders, drum majors, on the student senate. Part of the IB program includes service whether thats actual service projects or being involved in school organizations.

Im a drum major so Im pretty active in the music program, Glassgow said. And really, it was hard to balance at first. The classes are pretty challenging, but you get used to it as time goes on. I think thats going to be really helpful once I get to college time management.

Its very important students find a balance between their studies and the rest of their life, Weeda said. Im especially excited about the group projects that the junior candidates have done this year. They have constantly looked for places where they can make a difference here locally and around the world.

Chinnery said he is proud of what the IB program has become in the past 20 or so years.

Im glad the district took on the program and its been such a success, he said. I was really surprised at the number of students who elected to join the program. Im proud of them.

For more information about the International Baccalaureate program, call 816-986-3061.

To reach Journal reporter Emily Jarrett, call 816-282-7018 e-mail ejarrett@lsjournal.com.

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Palin likens global warming studies to 'snake oil' (San Francisco Chronicle)

Posted: 09 Feb 2010 03:24 PM PST

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Palin spoke before a logging conference in Redding, a town of 90,000 about 160 miles north of the state capital. The media were barred from the event, but The Associated Press bought a $74 ticket to attend.

Palin said California's heavy regulatory environment makes it difficult for businesses to succeed, a point that is shared by many business leaders in the state.

She criticized what she said were heavy-handed environmental laws. As Alaska governor, for example, she said she sued the federal government to overturn the listing of polar bears as a threatened species.

As Alaska North Slope wells dry up, the state is examining offshore drilling for oil and natural gas reserves. Protections for polar bears under the Endangered Species Act could thwart those explorations, according to Palin and her successor, Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell, who has picked up the cause.

Palin told the audience that filled the 2,000-seat Redding Convention Center that she disagreed with the science the government used to support the listing.

"We knew the bottom line ... was ultimately to shut down a lot of our development," she said during her 40-minute speech, which was followed by a 20-minute question-and-answer session. "And it didn't make any sense because it was based on these global warming studies that now we're seeing (is) a bunch of snake oil science."

Palin urged the federal government to allow states to make such decisions for themselves.

Her comments were well-received by the audience members, many of whom brought copies of her book, "Going Rogue," in hopes of getting Palin's signature. A second Palin speech in Redding scheduled for the evening was sold out.

The events were hosted by the Sierra-Cascade Logging Conference.

Palin made her appearance in a state that often has led the nation on environmental regulations, from restricting automobile pollution to greenhouse gas emissions.

The state's Global Warming Solutions Act, which passed in 2006 and has been championed by Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, requires greenhouse gas emissions statewide to be cut to 1990 levels by 2020.

But that and other state environmental laws have come under increasing attack from Republican state lawmakers.

Last week, the secretary of state cleared the sponsors of a ballot petition seeking to suspend the 2006 law until the state unemployment rate falls to 5.5 percent and stays there for a year. Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman has criticized the law as being too much of an economic burden while businesses are trying to recover from the recession.

Palin also weighed in on the Obama administration's efforts to secure a climate change treaty during the international conference held recently in Copenhagen.

"Yeah, I don't think much of it," Palin said.

She said it was "providential" that President Barack Obama did not return from Denmark with a clear victory after questions arose about figures used in the scientific studies to promote conservation.

"The weather will not change with the proposals," she said.

Palin struck a sympathetic tone with the crowd, saying she shares the timber industry's worries of cumbersome lawsuits by environmental groups.

"California is tough in this respect," Palin said. "Man, it is expensive to do business here and to get anything done ... I do think there's hope though, because more Americans are becoming aware of the absurdity of such a situation. Maybe California is just a little behind the times."

Palin said she believes there's a way to harvest timber without damaging the environment but has grown frustrated by environmental activists who want to "lock up the land."

"We sought to protect the diversity of our forests and our wildlife while sustaining jobs and subsistence for residents of our state," Palin said of her efforts as governor in trying to develop a vision statement for the Tongass National Forest in Alaska. Conservation groups and the U.S. Forest Service have fought for decades over management of the country's largest national forest.

She defended herself as a conservationist.

"We really do love our trees," Palin said. "I named my daughter Willow. Isn't that granola enough for them?"

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