Social Media is about Social Science not Technology

In 2007, Brian Solis wrote an article entitled, “Social Media is About Sociology Not Technology.” It’s a statement that after five years, He thankfully continue to see shared every day on Twitter. As time passed and experience matured, He amended that statement to now read, “Social media is about social science not technology.”

Why did He change such a powerful statement? He believe that it is not only stronger now, it is also truer.

See, sociology is just one part of the equation. Social science is the study of society and human behaviors. As an umbrella term, we should think about social media and mobile behavior as it’s related to psychology, anthropology, communication, economics, human geography, ethnography, et al. After all, everything comes down to people.

Unfortunately in new media, we tend to put technology ahead of people. Think about your current social media, mobile, or web strategy for a moment. Do you even know who you’re trying to reach? Do you know what customers or stakeholders expect or the challenges they face? Are you familiar with how they connect and communicate and why? Lastly, do you understand the journey they take to make decisions?

Whether we do or we don’t isn’t stopping us from embracing social and mobile technologies to reach the new generation of connected consumers.

Excerpt from BrianSolis.com

What is Social Science ?

Check out Education Go Abroad Facebook to watch an interesting video on ” What is Social Science?”

People in the social science field study all aspects of society, from past events and achievements of human behaviour and relationships among groups.

The term social science itself is very wide as it touches on all areas related to “soft sciences”, that is, the scientific perspective of human behaviour. Students can major in various fields and gain employment as anthropologists, archaeologists, geographers, historians, political scientists, social scientists, sociologists and even economists and market/survey researchers. Psychologists are also ‘made’ from the study of one discipline of social science.

Depending on their type of jobs, people in social science may need a wide range of personal characteristics. Intellectual curiosity and creativity are fundamental personal traits for social scientists as they are constantly seeking new information about people, things and ideas. The ability to think logically and methodically is very important, especially for those in political science who must compare the merits of various forms of government, among other duties. Objectivity, open-mindedness and systematic work habits are important in all kinds of social science research.

A career in social science requires one to have excellent written and oral communication skills.

So, what exactly does the work entail?
Research work is a major activity for many of them and their researches are very valuable. They study, analyse and through their research and analysis, they suggest solutions to social, business, personal, governmental and environmental problems. Their research also help people to understand different ways in which individuals and groups make decisions, exercise power and respond to change.

Interviews and surveys are some of the methods used to collect facts, opinions and other information. It may even involve living and working among the population being studied. Other methods of collection of data include performing field investigations; analysing historical records and documents; experimenting with human or animal subjects in a laboratory; administering standardised tests and questionnaires; preparing and interpreting maps and computer graphics; etc. Although the specialisation in social science varies greatly, there may be occasions where specialists in one field may find their researches overlap work being conducted in another discipline.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Employment and places of work

Most careers in social science require the person to work regular hours, behind a desk and normally alone or in teams of other social science workers or social scientists. They also read and write research articles / reports. In situations where deadlines and tight schedules must be met, social scientists may find themselves pressured and working overtime.

A social science worker is normally an integral part of a research team. Travel may be necessary to collect information or attend meetings. Social science workers who do fieldwork like anthropologist assistants, anthropologists, archaeologist assistants and archaeologists must also adjust to unfamiliar cultures, climates and languages as part of their job may involve living among the people they are studying or staying for a long period at the site of their investigations. In such cases, social science workers may work under rugged conditions or be involved in strenuous physical exertion.

On the contrary, those working in colleges and universities like lecturers or assistants, have flexible work schedules, often dividing their time among teaching, research, writing, consulting, or administrative responsibilities.

Meanwhile, those working in higher positions in colleges and universities as well as top-level non-academic research and administrative positions will require Ph.D or equivalent degree. Master’s Degree holders may find themselves in teaching capacities in community colleges or other teaching positions.

Areas Covered By Programmes
Social science courses normally expose students to tools for analyzing human actions, enabling them to understand and apply a scientific approach in the study of contemporary individual and social issues, problems as well as their own lives. The curriculum will instill critical thinking and understanding of human action and interaction with other humans and their environment.

Programmes will expose students to the fast changing environment, current events and issues, ways to attune to and influence lifestyles to current issues and literature relevant to the particular social science discipline. Students will develop critical thinking and writing skills as well as apply scientific methods and theories to analyse human actions.

Local and international courses cover areas like Behavioral Science; Addiction Counseling; Counseling; Marriage and Family Services; Professional Counseling; Rehabilitative Science; School Counseling; Economics; History; Human Services; Communications; Journalism; Linguistics; International Affairs; Political Science; Social Sciences; Sociology; Women’s Studies; etc.

Taken from StudyMalaysia

More school leavers plan to study abroad

A QUARTER of school leavers plan to study abroad, a new survey has found.

Studying overseas is becoming a popular choice for students and undergraduates, according to Graduate Prospects.

A survey of 500 school leavers and students found 24% plan to study abroad, 73% are strongly interested or considering it and only 4% would rule it out.

The main motivations a desire for adventure or to build an international career (33% and 26% respectively).

Almost one in 10 (8%) said they were unsatisfied with UK study, while nearly one in five (18%) thought getting educated overseas would be cheaper and 16% had considered it because of an institution’s reputation.

When asked where they would consider studying, the most popular destinations were the USA and Canada (34%), while 28% cited Europe.

Graduate Prospects, which offers careers support to students in the UK, also asked school leavers if there was anything that would deter their decision to study abroad.

A third said finance, 27% were worried about not having adequate language skills and 14% thought a qualification from an institution overseas may not be widely recognised by employers.

Mike Hill, chief executive of Graduate Prospects, said: “There has been a lot of speculation around whether increased fees will provoke people to look further afield for their education, but what this study shows is that wanderlust is the biggest motivator and only a small number of people are looking overseas because they have become discontented with what’s on offer in the UK.

“It’s clear that while there is considerable interest in studying overseas, there is limited awareness about what a first degree or postgraduate qualification from a country outside the UK really entails.”

Graduate Prospects surveyed 500 school leavers and undergraduates about study abroad in March

by Gareth Evans, Western Mail

Ten great free education apps for the iPad

 There are now more than 200,000 education apps available to download on the app store. If you laid them all end-to-end, they wouldn’t reach very far, because in physical terms they’re nothing more than electronic patterns on tiny little magnets in your iPad – but there are still a huge amount with variety to suit every taste.

Most of them cost money, however, and if you laid all that end-to-end, you’d have several million pounds in a long line. Not everyone wants to pay for their apps, so we’re having a look at our favourite free ones currently available. We can’t pretend in any objective way that these apps are the ‘best’ free apps, but they’re all interesting and fun in their own ways.

As it happens, free apps are relatively few and far between, and most of these use a ‘freemium’ model – free to download, but you have to pay for full functionality. It’s actually quite tricky to find many truly free, truly useful apps in fact, but that’s capitalism for you.

iTunes U

This is the best free education app currently available. It has frightening potential for such a simple idea, and will in all likelihood revolutionise how education even happens at university-level – but you don’t have to be a student to get tons of utility out of it.

In the simplest terms, it’s iBooks, but for textbooks, but that description doesn’t do it remote justice. Any educational institution in the world can upload anything it likes, and leave it there for anyone in the world to find it. At the moment, for instance, you can get free podcasts on all sorts of esoteric subjects from Oxford University experts, you can get a free subscription to a comprehensive Yale course on the American Revolution, or you can enjoy a ten-part multimedia course on writing plays from the Open University. And as soon as people start getting wise to it, the sky is the limit for iTunes U – a free resource of learning on everything, perhaps.

Any lecturer at any university could upload her course notes for you to read, if she wanted. Or she could upload them for the benefit of her class alone. Or she could sell them if she wanted. Schoolteachers can do just the same, harnessing the capacity of the iPad to force their lesson plans down their pupils’ throats in all sorts of innovative multimedia ways.

This app demonstrates exactly why Apple is so awesomely rich.

Leafsnap

Moving from the universal to the specific, Leafsnap is much more specialised app, but it’s such a wonderful realisation of the teaching power of tablet computing that it’s been included at number two in the list.

As you might guess from the title, it’s an app that teaches you about leaves. That’s not all it does, though; it has a massive database of plants from around the world, with lovely hi-res images of their leaves, branches, fruits, cones, bark and so on, and plenty of written information, too.

The really clever bits, though, are yet to come. First of these is the ‘snap’: Leafsnap actually lets you photograph a leaf with the iPad’s onboard camera, and will then endeavour to identify its species. You can then tag where you found this species using GPS, so other leafsnappers can see, thereby building up a database of local flora all over the world. It’s fascinating, even if you never thought you liked leaves all that much.

Exoplanet

This wouldn’t have been possible even a few years ago, because we didn’t know of enough exoplanets – planets, that is, that exist outside of our solar system. These days, people are finding them all the time, like wads of change behind a galaxy-sized sofa. They’re finding them so often, in fact, that this morning my exoplanet app downloaded the details of 26 more justannounced by NASA.

This is a lovely little app: little more than a database of planets and what we know about them, and a whacking great zoomable map of the Milky Way to show you where they all sit in space. As a consequence, the first thing I learned is quite how mind-bogglingly huge our galaxy is. The second thing is that astronomers are not good at picking snappy names for planets, unless, say, HD 20794 d is your idea of a grand name from the Final Frontier.

3D Brain

Human biology this time, with an absolutely exhaustive pictographic guide to all the many parts of the human brain. You can see, in the obligatory 3D, all the different structures of our most complex organ, and get comprehensive but easy-to-comprehend information explaining what they do.

Fight the temptation to lick the screen and pretend to be a zombie.

Merck PSE HD

You wouldn’t know it from the name, but this is the best free periodic table app around. It’s perhaps a little more drab than some of the flashier, paid-for periodic table apps on the market, but it’s hardly a meagre package in itself.

There’s a wealth of information on all the elements, with all the chemical detail you could hope for (I’m assuming, with my A in Chemistry GCSE…), as well as a potted history, some information on whoever discovered it, and plenty of pictures.

I’ve found myself amazed about quite how many metals there really are that we never see or use.

TED

The TED talks (Technology Entertainment and Design) are a must-watch series of in-depth talks given by experts in all sorts of fields imaginable. Mere mortals like ourselves are far from able to afford the thousands of dollars required to attend the talks in person, but they’ve been available to view for free since 2006 – amassing more than 500m views.

This app will let you watch them all. There is plenty of material, anything from tech giants on futurology and social networking to medical researchers discussing cutting-edge surgery techniques. There’s material on gene therapy, on art, on music and even on the psychology of humour. Basically, there is something serious and mind-expandingly meaty for everyone, and it’s all well tagged, meaning you can explore surrounding concepts and watch related videos with disgusting ease.

Your best bet is to download your favourite videos, pack some headphones, and while away the hours on a long journey by filling yourself with arcane knowledge.

Mindsnacks

While your iPad probably isn’t the best tool to teach you to read the works of Baudelaire or Goethe from scratch, it does provide a platform for learner-linguists to grasp the basics of a foreign language. Mindsnacks’ simple series of word games is a particularly fine example.

They have apps for students of French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Chinese, with more on the way. They’re very much for beginners, but the games are fun, and you really can learn while doing. It’s best for vocab and phrases, rather than learning grammar, but languages are speaking, aren’t they?

This is another of those freemium apps – you’ll get a basic package for nothing, but full access costs a very reasonable £2.99.

Groupboard

‘Free online shared whiteboard software’ is not the sexiest of the educational concepts, but it is a potentially transformative idea. If a class divides into groups for a project, a collaborative whiteboard space means they can get all sorts of things done together without having to crowd around a paper. With wi-fi access, they won’t even need to be on the same continent (though they’ll probably be limited to remaining on Earth; space Internet isn’t cheap). Chat functions are included, too. We’ll leave you to work out the possibilities for this one.

Evernote

Hands-down the best note-taking app out there, Evernote is the epitome of everything cloud computing stands for. One account can sync with virtually every mobile device that exists, and sharing and transmitting your data couldn’t be easier.

This is perfect for, say, taking notes in a lecture and then accessing them at home on your desktop, or sending them to friends who haven’t quite made it in that morning, or making to-do lists, or just about anything text-related really.

Color Uncovered

If you’ll excuse the American spelling in the name, this is a gorgeous little app teaching you about the basics of colour science, through the medium of smart, interactive optical illusions.

It gets its polychromatic hooks into you with its sumptuous design and elegant tricks, and then takes the time to teach you exactly how and why your brain has let you down in that particular instance.

This is another of those apps that really showcases the unique powers of the iPad, and while it may not be especially heavyweight, it’s a lovely diversion and you will come away from it with your life enriched.

And that is that.

Source from The Independent, UK

MP promoting Canadian education abroad; Weston named chair of Canada-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group

Whistler’s MP, John Weston, left, shakes hands with Dr. Lee, director general of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, last week after Weston was elected to chair the Canada-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group.

According to a press release issued by Weston’s staff, the MP is working in cooperation with local schools and post-secondary institutions to promote Canadian education opportunities to Taiwanese officials. During his trip, Weston is also hoping to meet with Taiwanese families that would like their children to experience a Canadian education.

Before leaving for Taiwan late last week, Weston was also elected as the chair of the Canada-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group.

Weston was traveling with other Canadian MPs and the group was also there to attend the swearing-in ceremony as Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou began his second term in office. The Sea to Sky MP said he first met the president when he lived in Taiwan for 10 years.

“I believe the warmth of our friendship aptly reflects the relationship between Canada and Taiwan, a connection that will only grow stronger as we develop our mutual economic and educational interests,” Weston said in the release.

Taken from The Whistler Question 

Congratulate to all the 68 applicants; realize your Education Go Abroad’s dream !

Education Go Abroad would like to congratulate all the 68 candidates that have enjoyed our promotion that would end on 10th, this weekend.

We are glad the you have trusted in our service to help your Education Abroad’s dream realized.

As for the 68 candidates, we would like to gently remind you that the application process takes between 8 to10 weeks.We will surely notify you as soon as your application approval issued out from the Ministry of Education in Romania.

Please note that all successful applicant must report to their respective universities on 20 of September 2012 and register at the University latest on by 01 October 2012. A departure briefing will be organize at different country start from 13th September 2012.

Please check your email frequently for latest update.

International Education: So Much More Than Study Abroad

picture from Austin Peay State University

As high school seniors evaluate colleges and universities across the country, I’ve met many who are looking to identify programs that offer an “international education.” For most, this simply means looking for opportunities to study abroad for all or part of a year. However, thinking about global education in terms of simply studying abroad is an approach that is far too shortsighted.

In addition to overseas experiences, a true international education constantly exposes students to ideas and issues that define today’s world. This should happen when students are studying on campus as well as when they’re studying abroad, and it should be taking place no matter what a student happens to be studying.

There are many ways students can attain a global education, whether based at a rural campus in the Midwest such as Grinnell’s or at an urban institution. By considering factors such as the international diversity of students on campus, opportunities to hear from visiting foreign scholars and the number of interdisciplinary courses and programs offered at a school, prospective students have other criteria through which to thoughtfully evaluate the international scope of an institution.

For prospective students and parents looking for the most international education possible, I recommend considering the following areas:

• Look beyond specific majors and departments — Find out how different courses fit together to give a fuller understanding of a particular region of the world or an important topic: for example, is a history course on China tied to an economics course on China (say, through an East Asian Studies program)? Global citizens know how to bring together different skills and disciplines (for example: how chemistry, economics and political science all contribute to a comprehensive understanding of global climate change). Instead of focusing solely on majors, prospective students should evaluate the availability of interdisciplinary courses and programs within the curriculum. College graduates need to use a variety of skills and perspectives to make their way in the world.

 

• Identify the international elements of different majors — When selecting a college or major, it is important to identify which courses include topics or material from outside the U.S. Some areas of study such as French or history have inherent global relevance, but almost all other courses do as well. For example, majoring in music encourages students to discuss theories and musicians from around the globe, and students studying natural sciences may have an opportunity to study research papers authored by foreign scientists as well as work in laboratories outside the U.S. Does the college or university showcase the international dimension of all its areas of study? Is the word “international” used only to describe certain areas of the curriculum?

 

• Gauge how passionate students are about international issues — Before deciding on a college, students should know what recent campus events have included global themes. The campus newspaper and calendar offer great insights into what current students are passionate about. Are the conversations limited to the campus bubble, or is there an active dialogue about world events?

 

• Think about the study abroad opportunity that’s right for you — Nearly every college has a study abroad program, but it shouldn’t be a ‘one size fits all’ approach. Students should research how they will be guided to select an international program that complements their areas of interest. Find out where the college’s or university’s students currently go and what the students do at those sites: in addition to taking classes, are students living with local families? Are they taking field trips, doing internships or completing research projects abroad? How much do faculty (and not just study abroad administrators) work with students to help them determine their options for study abroad? You know that study abroad is really important when it’s the professors who talk about it, not just the students and the administrators.

 

No matter where they may be located, colleges and universities that meet these criteria can provide a deeply international education. As our lives become more and more international, we need to educate individuals on the place that they have and how their actions can impact the world.

Taken from HuffPost, The Internet Newspaper

What engineering is all about?

Engineering is a fantastic career choice. It is a genuine profession and with that comes respect. It is well paid, and with a need for more engineers, there are loads of great jobs on offer.Many will involve international travel, high level business negotiations, and leadership skills in those that take them on.

But engineering is a bit of a hidden gem. When The Royal Academy of Engineering and the Engineering Technology Board asked 1,000 adults recently, very few really knew what 21st century engineering was about. Too often, engineering was limited in people’s minds to building bridges, maintaining the family car or repairing a central heating boiler. All these are valid examples of engineering, of course, but the profession is so much wider.

Food is an engineered product (for better or worse) and the problems caused by our overcrowded cities will need engineered solutions. As will the problems faced by a rapidly ageing population (the number of 18-year-olds in the UK will reach a peak in 2010 and then fall away rapidly).None of this mentions the much-talked-about subjects of climate change and sustainable energy. If the engineers don’t find technological solutions to these, what will our politicians do about it?

Excerpt from The Independent, UK

Romanian American University

Since its establishment in 1991, the Romanian American University (RAU) has focused on providing an alternative and complementary program to Romania’s higher education system. The university, located in Bucharest, is composed of six faculties—five economic and one juridical—through which over 12,000 students have passed since its beginnings.

Within the context of the Bologna Process reform of 1999, RAU has pursued an increasing comparability and compatibility of its academic degree standards with those of the rest of Europe, including adoption of the integrated degree, master’s and Ph.D. scale.

RAU provides a quality program centered on connecting education with business. Students benefit from close ties with the private sector (90% international, including such companies as Toyota) and leave the university well equipped with the practical skills to face today’s labor market.

” RAU provides a quality program centered on connecting education with business.”

Internationality is another of the pillars on which RAU’s educational offerings are based. RAU enjoys strong links with several U.S. higher education institutions, including a long-term agreement with James Madison University, which enhances students’ learning through visits from American professors, academic material and scholarships. In partnership with another U.S. establishment, DeSales University in Pennsylvania, RAU has launched an innovative M.B.A. program in the Romanian market (project management).

Looking forward, RAU intends to increase partnerships with U.S. universities, as well as with the private sector.

Excerpt and source from ForbesCustom.com and RAU website

Romania : Road To Recovery and Eastern Promise

 

Investment in Romania’s economy is expected to pick up this year, now that the country is beginning to recover from its worst recession in 22 years.
Putting the country on the path to recovery has required some strong medicine in the form of strict austerity measures. Public sector wages have been cut by a fifth, value-added tax increased by 5% to 24%, and the retirement age rose to 63 for women and 65 for men.

These actions have not endeared the government to the voting public, who, until the global crisis, had enjoyed the rewards of nearly a decade of economic growth. But the tough measures have persuaded the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to approve a series of loans to keep the economy running smoothly. The new fiscal discipline has also helped reassure potential investors of the Bucharest government’s determination to turn the economy around.

Last year there was foreign direct investment worth $4.6 billion—considerably less than in previous years, but it took the total amount invested in the economy to almost $68.7 billion. Financial analysts believe there is more to come as the world recovery intensifies.

Mugur Isarescu, governor of the National Bank of Romania, highlights four areas that offer great potential for investment: rural development, infrastructure, the environment and education.

There has been fierce competition in the education sector since the end of the state monopoly, and today more than half of the country’s 112 universities are privately run.

“The market will decide whether 100 universities is too many,” says Dr. Ovidiu Folcut, the rector of the Romanian American University (RAU). “It will come down to a question of quality.”

As its name implies, a central aspect of RAU’s mission is to cultivate a mutually rewarding collaboration with American universities while at the same time increasing its compatibility with the European education system.

Several U.S. universities have reached long-term agreements with RAU. As a result, it benefits from the presence of American academics within its faculty, and students from both countries profit from exchange programs.

“My trip to Romania was an eye-opening experience that has provided me with a global outlook that I could never have achieved in a classroom at home,” wrote one U.S. student.

As it celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, RAU has launched Romania’s first M.B.A. program in project management. Over the past two decades, it has graduated more than 12,000 students, and it continues to foster relationships with other universities in the U.S., Europe and South America.

Location, Location

One of Romania’s competitive advantages, according to bank governor Isarescu, is its location as the easternmost country in the European Union.

“Being a border country has positive aspects, because it offers us a door to new markets,” he says. Therefore, Romania needs to present itself as a gateway for trade to and from the EU. Its port in Constanta on the Black Sea connects Europe to Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Turkey and beyond to Central Asia.

The Alexandrion Group—the country’s largest distributor of wines and spirits, both domestically and internationally—can vouch for the value of the location. In addition to its exports within the EU—Greece, Italy, Spain and Germany—it has extended its market to Ukraine, Serbia, China and Brazil.

The Alexandrion Group is looking to expand and is open to new projects even outside the alcohol industry. “Our target is to expand geographically and invest in logistics,” says George Christoforidis, the company’s founder and managing director. “We are continuously looking for free markets.

“There are opportunities here in Romania, but only for those that have a serious business plan,” says Christoforidis. “There are a lot of sectors that need to be developed, such as healthcare, IT and energy systems.”

He concedes that the environment for new investors is now harder than it once was and emphasizes the importance of maintaining high standards of quality within affordable prices for consumers.

 Excerpt from ForbesCustom.com