Google's investors look for next big thing

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc made its fortune on Internet search ads, but Wall Street is increasingly eager for signs that the company's other money-making bets will pay off.

"Even though paid search is 95 percent of the business, I think everybody's looking for that next trick," said John Lutz, a senior research analyst at Frost Investment Advisors, which owns Google shares.

Google will brief investors in a Webcast on Wednesday about search and monetization, though Google spokeswoman Jane Penner said the event will focus more on the monetization of search than on businesses like YouTube.

The Internet giant has myriad initiatives, including a display ad business, mobile Internet products and YouTube, the world's top video Web site.

But none have demonstrated the kind of financial horsepower typically associated with Google, which generated nearly $22 billion in revenue last year.

The Mountain View, California company has been tight-lipped when it comes to the financials of non-search businesses, though there are signs it is opening up a little.

In July, Google lifted the covers slightly on YouTube, revealing that YouTube is monetizing billions of video views every month and that it expects YouTube to become a profitable business in the not-too-distant future. Executives wanted to dispel reports that YouTube, which it acquired for $1.65 billion in 2006, does not have a credible business model.

NEW FORMATS

Brigantine Advisors analyst Colin Gillis said new ad formats that incorporate videos and graphics could prove key to Google's future growth, as the company courts advertisers like Johnson & Johnson and Procter & Gamble.

"Google's got to give them a good format to convey emotion. This is going to be the next major area," said Gillis.

Google sought to bolster its display ad business with the 2008 acquisition of ad network DoubleClick for $3.1 billion. But rivals Yahoo Inc, Microsoft and Time Warner Inc's AOL still dominate that market.

Analysts also point to Google's mobile efforts, such as specialized search applications for smartphones, as a natural extension of its business. The price of each ad should be higher, because Google can display fewer paid search links on a phone's screen, Sanford Bernstein analyst Jeff Lindsay said.

Moreover, mobile content has the potential to incorporate a user's geographic location, making the ad more specific and relevant, which could also drive up pricing.

"The hypothesis was that mobile search would deliver much higher revenue per search," said Lindsay, but it is unclear whether that is the case.

Analysts estimate that mobile search ads now yield less than 5 percent of Google's revenue. The question is when mobile could become a more significant source of revenue.

"It's not really this year. It's the next three to four years," said Lindsay.

Near-term, search is still what moves the needle.

"The most important thing that everybody wants to figure out is what does a recovery scenario look like for search," said RBC Capital Markets' Ross Sandler. "Once you get beyond that, and that starts to get priced-in and well-understood, that's when Act 2 or Act 3 becomes important."

source :www.reuters.com

Technology Plus

In virtually every aspect of our society, our economy and our personal lives, technology is having a profound impact on the way people live, work, learn and do business. It seems that rarely a day goes by without some new development in technology, whether it's converging multimedia, new ways to communicate and explore ideas, or the availability of goods and services - including learning programs and digital content - anywhere, anytime.

As we noted in the early sections of our report, the explosion of new technologies and multimedia is expected to continue. Technology will be pervasive and a "given" in most children's lives, in their homes, their entertainment and their communication with friends and family. They will come to school with expectations that the same kinds of technology and multimedia will also be pervasive in their schools. Most, if not all, jobs and careers will require young people to have a range of skills in using technology and to continue learning new technology skills in the workplace. All Albertans, as lifelong learners, will use technology to develop skills and relationships, to gain, construct and share knowledge, to think critically, solve problems, and make decisions. The definition of literacy in the future is likely to include not just the ability to read and write, but also basic technological, visual and information literacy. With the rapid expansion of knowledge, students will need to be able to find, sort, assess, make decisions, and apply knowledge and information to a variety of problems and situations.

Schools have taken steps to expand students' access to computers and the Internet. On average, in 2001-02, there was one computer for just over every six students in schools across the province. An Information and Communications Technology curriculum also is in place for Alberta's schools, with a focus on ensuring that students are prepared to understand, use and apply information and communications technology in effective, efficient and ethical ways.

SuperNet will open up a world of opportunities for networkenabled classrooms, schools and school jurisdictions.

With the establishment of SuperNet, the provincial government will make Alberta a world-wide leader in access to high-speed broadband Internet connections. By 2004, SuperNet will be expanded to virtually every community in the province. The Commission commends the provincial government for its vision and foresight in developing SuperNet. It will open up a world of opportunities for networkenabled classrooms, schools and school jurisdictions.

In May 2003, a proposed Learning and Technology Policy Framework was released for discussion by Alberta Learning. The proposed framework indicates that "Technology can provide greater access to resources, expose students to real-world problems and authentic contexts for learning, and provide alternative methods of representing and communicating knowledge. It fosters innovation, facilitates dialogue and offers potential for developing new practices among the education and research communities."⁷⁹

Specifically, technology offers the potential to:

• Increase access to learning opportunities
• Adapt teaching to different learning styles, preferences and paces
• Customize learning materials and services
• Provide access to interactive educational resources
• Expand research and knowledge creation
• Individualize the tracking and recording of students' progress
• Develop new learning communities for the sharing of knowledge and best practices
• Improve information management and administrative processes.

The Commission supports the overall goals and policy direction outlined in the proposed framework and encourages government to move ahead with implementation.

It's important to recognize that we are certainly not starting from scratch when it comes to the use and integration of technology. A number of important world-class initiatives currently are underway in the province.⁸⁰

• Through LearnAlberta.ca, work is underway to provide online digital video, animations, lab demonstrations, simulations, interactive discovery tools, and reference materials that support what is taught in Alberta classrooms.
• The Alberta Online Consortium supports online course development and involves over 100 school jurisdictions across the province.
• About 4,700 full-time and 4,000 part-time students are enrolled in online learning through virtual schools operated in 20 school jurisdictions.
• The TELUS Learning Connection (Telus2Learn) works with teachers in the use of technology, providing professional support, curriculum and information and communications technology (ICT) support, opportunities for collaborative project development, and interactive online learning tools.
• Through the National Geographic Science Center, Alberta Learning and the National Geographic Society have signed an agreement to digitize selected National Geographic videos, GeoKits, teacher support materials, student activities and glossaries and correlate them with Alberta's science curriculum.
• The Galileo Educational Network provides leadership in the identification of effective strategies for ICT implementation and professional development.
• An e-textbook pilot project is underway to develop an electronic version of grade 9 science textbooks.
• Many of the projects supported under the Alberta Initiative for School Improvement relate to the integration of technology in the classroom.

In addition to these province-wide initiatives, a number of school jurisdictions have taken the lead in establishing virtual schools and providing support to their teachers and schools in the integration of technology. For example, the Calgary Board of Education's ICT Cyberspace provides webbased support for teachers to assist in integrating technology in their classrooms. Through the Rural Advanced Community of Learners (RACOL) initiative, the Ft. Vermilion School Division, in partnership with the University of Alberta, is able to connect students and teachers who may be great distances apart using a high speed broadband network to provide real time teaching and learning. With a Virtual Presence Learning Environment in place, students and teachers have access to broadcast quality video and audio, interactive whiteboards, and expert systems to manage the environment. The Learning Live project in the Red Deer Catholic School Division involves the delivery of curriculum from the Red Deer Notre Dame High School in Red Deer to the St. Matthew School in Rocky Mountain House.

Alberta is certainly not alone in exploring and adapting technologies to expand access, provide innovative approaches, and improve students' learning and critical thinking skills. In the US, the CEO Forum - a five-year partnership between business and education leaders - examined the use of technology in schools. Their report concluded that, instead of teaching technology for its own sake, technology should be integrated into all areas of the curriculum to make content more challenging and engaging for the student. In their view, we need to stop wondering if we should implement technology into schools and start wondering how to implement it to best attain educational objectives.⁸¹

This need to get on with it and do it right is a key message in our report. From the Commission's perspective, we've called this section "Technology Plus" for several important reasons.

First, we're not looking at technology as a replacement for teachers. Technology is a tool that, if used appropriately, can improve teachers' teaching and students' learning. We also are not advocating wholesale self-directed learning where technology replaces teacher-led classroom experiences. This may be the preference for a number of students involved in virtual schools, but it is unlikely to ever be the norm for the vast majority of students and, even in virtual schools, the guidance of and connection to teachers is critical to students' success.

We envision classrooms in the future where technology is fully integrated as a teaching and learning tool. Teachers become designers, coordinators, facilitators, guides, learners, and knowledge builders in their students' ongoing learning. Students in the future are expected to be knowledge-builders and "cognitive apprentices" - able to think, organize and analyze information and ideas, generate questions, investigate and do research, invent new ideas, and solve problems. Rather than simply receiving information, they will be expected to become "infotectives" - investigating and seeking information and using that information to uncover solutions.

Second, it's not good enough to simply add more computers to schools. Unless technology is integrated throughout the classroom experience and teachers are provided with adequate support to make it work and work well, the full potential of using technology to improve learning will not be achieved.

Third, technology has the potential to give students access to hands-on, real-life projects to expand their learning and connect them to experts anywhere around the world. Research suggests that students learn better through project-based learning where they are actively engaged in projects that make sense to them and involve seeking information, solving problems and building knowledge. The objective, then, is not just to use technology for drills and practice but to fundamentally change how curriculum is delivered and to improve students' achievement.⁸²

Fourth, technology has the potential for improving access to first-class learning opportunities, especially in rural communities. Throughout its consultations, the Commission heard concerns about the challenges small schools in rural Alberta face in trying to provide a comprehensive range of programs and courses for their students, especially at the high school level. There also are challenges in providing counselling and other specialized services for students, ongoing professional development for teachers, and effective administration. The Commission believes that technology has the potential to help address each of these challenges and improve education in rural communities.

Goals

• Technology is used effectively as a powerful tool for improving the achievement of students. Students improve their learning with technology, not their learning about technology.
• All students have access to computers and information and communications technology as tools for learning, including doing research, seeking and analyzing information, creating new insights and ideas, and applying what they learn.
• Technology provides an opportunity for teachers and principals to share best practices, participate in professional development, and continuously improve their students' outcomes.
• Technology is used to improve access to quality education in rural and remote communities.
• Integrated technology and information systems are in place to support improvements in efficiency, effectiveness and accountability in the education system.
• Alberta plays a leadership role in Canada in the effective use of technology to improve teaching and learning.

⁷⁹ Alberta Learning (2003g, p. 1).
⁸⁰ For a complete list of the various projects and initiatives underway, check the Learning and Technology Policy Framework available online at the Alberta Learning website.
⁸¹ CEO Forum (2001).
⁸² Laferrière (2003) Presentation to the Commission.

source :education.alberta.ca

What Microhoo means to you

The deal Microsoft and Yahoo made today to combine their ad and search efforts has its roots in the mid-1990s, near the dawn of the Web.

It was then Yahoo CEO Tim Koogle who made the decision that Yahoo would become a “portal,” a gateway to an internal Web world. All the smart guys in New York and in the mainstream media were urging this. Search, they said, was limited, it was techie, it was obscure. The real growth was in media.

Around the same time Microsoft decided it must “embrace and extend” its monopoly from Windows to Office to the Web, through Internet Explorer. Rather than selling what it made, it would bundle its monopoly products with its browser and dominate that way. This led to its antitrust case, and it has embraced, even extended itself into, the legal profession ever since.

So it was mistakes made long ago that created the new Microhoo. Yahoo will become the salesman and public face for Microsoft’s technology. The hope is this will slowly eliminate the technology, legal, and marketing mistakes both are known for, relying on the two firms’ complementary strengths.

That’s the theory. Many remain skeptical.

But there’s a more important lesson for you here. This lies in the nature of scaling, where Moore’s Law meets what some call Moore’s Second Law, the idea that as technology grows and scales it forces consolidation, and leads to limits on competition.

We see this in the chip market, where the number of viable companies declines as the cost to fabricate chips goes up. And we’re seeing it in search, where the increased complexity of the task means fewer-and-fewer search firms are viable.

This is not peculiar to technology. It’s true with any complex, mass-marketed product. The failures of Preston Tucker and, more recently, John DeLorean, show that the problems of scaling eventually snuff-out start-ups in the car market as well. At some point only government support can get a newcomer into the game.

In technology, however, this happens at Internet speeds.

Google, which picked up Yahoo’s rejected business plan in 1998, went in less than a decade from being a feisty start-up to one of the largest, and wealthiest, companies on the face of the globe. Now it has just one scaled competitor, along with small fry and regional competitors.

This pace is only accelerating. Any start-up must be ready for explosive growth, and hyper-evolution of the competitive environment, corporate lives measured in dog years.

Most people in the tech business understand this intellectually, but expecting it, planning for it, embracing it, those are challenges not just for entrepreneurs, but for customers and government as well.

Microhoo, uniting companies with a combined age less than my own 54 years, will now face months of scrutiny by U.S. and international regulators. When they’re finally finished, will the resulting company even be viable? Or will the growth of Baidu have made such scrutiny irrelevant?


source :www.smartplanet.com

The Association for Information Technology in Teacher Education

"ITTE aims to promote the education and professional development of teachers in order to improve the quality of teaching and learning with ICT in all phases of education."

Since ITTE was formed in 1986 it has supported the initial teacher training departments of universities and colleges of education in the United Kingdom with respect to the permeation of information communication technology (ICT) throughout all aspects of the learning process. ITTE pursues its aims by:

- encouraging and supporting networking and collaboration;
- raising the profile of IT in pre-service teacher education;
- promoting the continual professional development of teachers in ICT;
- enhancing research and its dissemination.

ITTE is run by a committee of enthusiastic volunteers elected from the membership. The committee comprises members from England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to ensure that the whole of the UK is covered and their interests represented. ITTE has a national profile and is continuing to develop as an international force. The association is unique in the position of having a central and complete overview of all aspects of ICT in education. ITTE actively represents the membership's views at a national level.

source: www.itte.org.uk

Information Technology in Wal-Mart

Careers in Information Technology

Is It Worth It? Plus- Showcase Presents- Batman Vol. 1

We talk a lot about how kids comics help stores grow tomorrow’s full time comic book readers, otherwise known as customers. But, is it worth the time and the effort for comic shops to do all this extra work? Well seeing something the other week sparked a through on how it might be more worth it more than ever.

It might take a minute or two to get to the point this week, but there is a point.
Took a friend to the Apple store to help her pick out a new Mac computer. Having to be able to work both PC and Mac at Archie Comics HQ and for years having one of each at home (thought I was so cool) it was a good excuse to head over to the mall and look at some of the new things Mac has to offer. The line was massive. The help in the store was great. One glaring thing popped out, a lot of adults were there picking up Macs, but a ton of college bound students were there. Why?


Then I happened to stumble upon an Amazon review:

Macintosh in high schools. (Apple microcomputers) (Macintosh Special Issue supplement): An article from: T H E Journal (Technological Horizons In Education) Macintosh in High Schools
In 1984, when the Mac was first introduced, industry pundits questioned for whom it was developed. Its memory (then 128K) and power were, at the time, considered insufficient for business users, and there was little software available.
Others recognized early on that its simplicity made it ideally suited to education, and even to relatively young computer users. In fact, it was rumored that one member of the original Mac development team wanted to make the machine easy enough for his 13-year-old brother to use.

They focused on tomorrow’s customers.

Growing up every school seemed to be getting Mac computers for their computer labs. Parents were complaining for lot of reasons but most common was that most homes had PC’s. Fast-forward a few decades later and the computer of choice; the cool computer is the Mac. Granted the i-Pod didn’t hurt put Mac in demand.

After becoming accustomed to using a Mac every day, it becomes the norm and preferred computer. So how does that relate to comics?

Schools and Libraries are for the first time in history openly and in large numbers going after comics and Graphic Novels to feed the shelves and minds of kids. Seeing the point develop?

We have an opportunity now for the first time in comics to have some real support in the mainstream. How do we capitalize on this?

A lot of this falls on the comic book store. With their support and efforts the industry benefits and the comic shops will really benefit.

The first and most important plan should be to hit these kids up with comics fast and early. The standard thinking here works:

• Place the kids comics and graphic novels near the front of the store

• This way the kids stay in one spot and don’t wreck the place. The hardcore comic readers like yours truly don’t mind traipsing through the store. We are there every week anyway we know where everything is.

• All the kids’ stuff should be in one section. Graphic Novels and comics all together. Most kids and their parents have no clue of the difference. They may think a graphic is too expensive and opt for the $2.25 comic instead. Which is fine, the kid will probably want more and they will be back later.

• FORGET Alphabetical order! Think like Blockbuster Video stores, you know those little signs “If you like this movie you like this movie” Sonic X and Teen Titans Go! should be together. Amelia Rules! and WJHC next to each other and so on.

• Remember “think: LOW!”. Kids have historically been shorter than most adults through history. Keep stuff for kids below 4 feet! Use that upper wall space for a “Hey, Kids Comics” or “Free Comic Book Day” poster. Or even better, toys that kids would love and you would love to sell.

Another great idea by Mike Bullock, a comic’s writer and creator of the All Ages smash hit Lions, Tigers and Bears; (Review: CLICK HERE) had come up with a great program to encourage interaction between comic shops and libraries. The same program would work with schools or camps. CLICK HERE

Is it worth it? If you want to comics to be around stronger than ever in 20 years, then yes. Is it a lot of work for the local comic stores? Yes.

However if you comic shop people don’t have the time to do the work, bribe some kids to do it. They volunteer if you offer free comics!

If you are a comic storeowner or employee, drop an email. It would be great to hear your thoughts on this!

Another thing in life that I’ve always felt was worth it, is marriage. My fellow Archie co-worker and all around great guy Stephen Oswald just tied the not. Congratulations!


source : www.comicsbulletin.com

Recycling scheme likely to be given the go-ahead

PLASTIC and cardboard recycling for everyone in Bridgwater has been given the go-ahead.

At its executive meeting this morning, Sedgemoor District Council approved the start of the Sort It Plus programme across the district.

The scheme will begin to be rolled out in November and be fully in place for 2010/11.

Sort It Plus see weekly collections of food waste, dry recyclables (glass, paper, cans, clothes, foils, shoes, car batteries), plastics and cardboard from wheeled bins by one vehicle.

If Taunton Deane Borough Council also go-ahead with Sort It Plus, the scheme will cost Sedgemoor £455,300 a year. However, the cost will drop to £389,300 if all the Somerset districts adopted Sort It Plus.

The capital costs of buying new wheeled bins will be £1,394,700, of which Somerset County Council will pay two-thirds with a grant, subject to approval. Sedgemoor will pay the remaining £297,800.

A downturn in prices for some materials like plastic bottles and cardboard in November led to Somerset Waste Partnership contractor, May Gurney, not willing to collect these items unless collection prices were revised.

However, demand of the materials has since satisfied the contractor and others and with no stockpiling of recyclables.

Sedgemoor's executive committee were recommended to approve rolling out Sort It Plus by the council's environment officer.

source : www.thisissomerset.co.uk

Use of ICT, only way to solve farmer problems

The only option for easily solving the problems faced by the farming community is the appropriate use of ICT.

This was stated by Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) Re-engineering Government Programme Director Wasantha Deshapriya.

He asserted so during his address at the inaugural session of the Agricultural Extension Conference 2009 held at the Plant Genetic Resources Centre, Gannoruwa, Peradeniya.

Addressing the opening session of a two-day event under the theme "Agricultural extension conference – 2009: experience and challenges in agricultural extension: meeting farmers need", Deshapriya stated: "ICTA having realised that the only option for solving most farmer problems lies in the appropriate use of ICT, has launched a variety of programmes targeting the farming community.

source : www.itpro.lk

Singapore Informatics gearing to be an IT-Plus Institute

So far Informatics has produced more than 30,000 graduates globally and the Sri Lankan counterpart contribution is a hefty 5,000 so far. Jayalath said “Per year we train about 2,000 students. He said the major plus point has been that all their graduates are highly employable and reiterated that their potential in obtaining employment has been so great that by the end of the first year itself most students are employed.

The Singapore Informatics Computer Institute (Pvt) Ltd (SICI), a wholly owned subsidiary of Informatics Education Ltd, Singapore which was established in 1994 has been providing yeomen service to the youth of this country, especially those who fail to get university admission.
Singapore Informatics is in 23 countries around the globe and imparts vital Information Technology (IT) education through their 123 centers in these countries.

In continuing their vital educational service SICI is providing education to prepare them for global employment and their vision is to provide education on par with all the universities in the world, so that those who get their qualifications are readily employable anywhere in the world and of course their slot in Sri Lanka is also assured. What is noteworthy here is that those under-graduates in their first year or second year would get employment and once they complete their degree or diploma they are well established in their respective employments.

The present situation in Sri Lanka seems to be that the national universities in the country are unable to adequately provide the much needed skills for the country. Therefore, private educational institutions like the SICI is shouldering a big responsibility in assisting to provide this much needed vocational and tertiary training. In the case of SICI they provide IT skills that are vitally required in our country as well as globally.

Mahen Jayalath, Director, Sri Lanka Territory Corporate Office, SICI said “In fact we have our five core-values and our main objective is to become an IT-Plus Institute. When we say IT-Plus though our core-education is IT we have Business Administration Education too. But of course our core-competence lies in IT.”
They call IT-Plus because of the uniqueness they have achieved wherein they have become an Informatics Virtual Campus with IT enabled learning experience. The students could access their study material on-line. The student can get his or her examination results on-line or though SMS into their mobile telephone.

The second core-value is being truly global which is the educational system in Singapore Informatics targets to make global citizens without restriction of geographical or national boundaries. Students who are involved in learning in Sri Lanka has the option to continue the same course in other countries like China, Malaysia, Singapore or United Kingdom - an opportunity that other such educational institutions would fail to offer.

Mr. Jayalath said that this is because their curricula prepared by academics and distinguished professors drawn from many universities in the world are the same in all these countries. They make sure it is a globally accepted curriculua, so that the students who learn at SICI are globally employable. Even though they have started bestowing diploma education initially, since then they have grown into an institution which now provide degree plus post-graduate education.
At graduate level they impart education to achieve BSc in Computer Science, Computing and Technology Management and also Bachelor of Business Administration. At Master’s level they offer MBA from University of Wales and MSc in Strategic IT from University of Portsmouth UK

So far Informatics has produced more than 30,000 graduates globally and the Sri Lankan counterpart contribution is a hefty 5,000 so far. Jayalath said “Per year we train about 2,000 students. He said the major plus point has been that all their graduates are highly employable and reiterated that their potential in obtaining employment has been so great that by the end of the first year itself most students are employed.

The reason for this employability potential has been that they not only impart their students tertiary education, but also give them soft-skills necessary to obtain jobs and with their Professional Development Centre most of their students are able to obtain their professional skills while doing their degree studies. SICI also provides global employment services.
Once a Sri Lankan obtains his degree from SICI he becomes a member of the Singapore Informatics Global Alumni and then he becomes a part of the 30,000 strong alumni membership. One of the services offered by this Global Alumni is global employment service and the graduate would be able to apply for this service on-line. Also SICI work very closely with big IT Companies and with these links, once students complete their study course, there is no difficulty of obtaining jobs locally.
In addition to their main Centre in Colombo, SICI also has centres in Kandy, Nugegoda, Kolonnawa, Anuradhapura and Ratnapura which are called franchise centres.

What is unique has been that there would not arise any language barrier because, those applicants who fulfill entry qualifications to study in SICI, if they are weak in their English, they will be provided with an intensive English Training before the students embark on their degree courses.

The study course offered by SICI are very popular and they have felt that there is a high potential for their study courses and now they are planning to expand, specially in the rural Sri Lanka to tap this high potential. They are planning to expand their franchise centres and also are planning to start a system of licensing – to offer license to educational institutions in the provinces. This is a practiced in Singapore and in other countries.

Their e-learning system is the largest outside United States. In Sri Lanka, there is a dearth of quality trainers and with e-learning their students can learn directly from university lecturers in those universities for which the students are following courses. For instance if a student is following a degree course from Portsmouth University, the student would be able to directly communicate with the lecturers involved through

e- learning service.
Earlier they were just a training institute for Informatics confined to Colombo but with time the Sri Lankan Institute has registered an immense improvement and expansion and now it has developed into Sri Lanka Territorial Corporate Office (SLTCO) making Sri Lanka as the Informatics Educational Hub for South-East Asia. In fact they have already expanded to Maldives and also countries like India and even Mauritius
SICI now prepares to reap their harvest as on November 2, their annual convocation would be held at the BMICH where 50 students are to receive their degrees.

source by : www.itpro.lk

Tamgha-e-Imtiaz award conferred on Dr Farhat Abbas

Karachi, Pakistan

Dr Farhat Abbas, Interim Dean, Aga Khan University Medical College, was conferred the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz (medal of excellence) for his achievements in the field of medicine by Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari. The announcement was made on Independence Day, August 14, 2009, and the award will be presented to Dr Abbas in a special investiture ceremony on Pakistan Day in March 2010. Tamgha-e-Imtiaz is the fourth highest honour given by the Government of Pakistan to civilians and military personnel. 

Dr Farhat Abbas has been associated with the University since 1985, when he joined as a resident after graduating from Dow Medical College, Karachi. He has made significant contributions to the development of AKU’s Medical College, having served as a faculty member, Associate Dean, Postgraduate Medical Education and twice as Interim Dean, Medical College. Dr Abbas has also been a leader in health care administration, having served as the University’s Medical Director & Associate Dean, Clinical Affairs and subsequently as the Chief Operating Officer.

Dr Abbas has also contributed to broader medical education in Pakistan as an examiner in urology for the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan. In the social sector, he continues to play a key role in public education related to cancer. He has provided support and guidance to AKU during its rescue/relief efforts for the earthquake victims of 2006, as well as to current relief efforts for internally displaced persons in Pakistan.  

Throughout his career, Dr Abbas has given freely of his time and talents to colleagues, students, policy makers and citizens. In parallel with all his other important activities, he has maintained a strong commitment to care for patients, to mentor and develop students and to contribute to building Aga Khan University into a premier quality institution.
 

SOURCE: www.aku.edu

The Review of Higher Education

In its field, The Review of Higher Education enjoys, deservedly, an excellent reputation. It consistently provides high quality scholarship that probes crucial topics." 

-Jack H. Schuster 
Professor of Education and Public Policy 
Claremont Graduate School 

". . . As centers of learning, colleges and universities still spend precious little time and resources in the serious study of our purposes, accomplishments, efficiencies and failures. The Review of Higher Education is more important than ever." 

-Stanley O. Ikenberry 
President, American Council on Education

SOURCE : www.press.jhu.edu

ERO Handbooks of Contractual Obligations and Undertakings

The Education Review Office produces two Handbooks of Contractual Obligations and Undertakings, one for early childhood services and the other for schools. These have been compiled as a reference to the relevant legislation and other legal requirements of early childhood services and schools that exist as at the date of publication. They are regularly updated.

SOURCE ; www.ero.govt.nz

The Higher Education Information Management System (HEIMS)

On 13 May 2003, the then Commonwealth Minister for Education, Science and Training announced the then Government’s comprehensive Higher Education Reform package, Our Universities: Backing Australia’s Future. 

The reform package announced the establishment of a new web-based information management system called the Higher Education Information Management System (HEIMS) to assist in the management of the new reform arrangements for students, higher education providers (HEPs) and DEEWR.

HEIMS will be developed and implemented by DEEWR in consultation with HEPs and other relevant stakeholders. It will be a web-based system comprising of student, financial, programme management, and data modules and a mix of public and private information to be used mainly by HEPs, students and DEEWR staff.

SOURCE : www.dest.gov.au/sectors