Ditch the Mobile!
Posted on | May 22, 2013 | No Comments
So, do you think you would be more productive in the workplace if you didn’t have that old mobile available during working hours?
Funny, a good portion of the people we spoke to on Nightline actually thought the old personal mobile being used during work hours isn’t a bad thing at all.
Can you imagine a manager telling you to hand over your phone when you rocked up to the office?
Well, in Abu Dhabi according to the Gulf News this is absolutely happening.
We asked you for your thoughts and this is what came in over the sms line.
- SMS Message Cell phone…no, social media … Yes. I couldn’t stop my self logging in every now and then & left my office with piles of work undone.
- SMS Message Facebook etc banned yes, mobile phones no, what if there is a family emergency? There must be other ways to monitor phone use.
- SMS phone Only use your phone during your breaks. But it can get out
Others are not so sure this is a topic worth entertaining.
- SMS message Don’t be ridiculous…we’re not children. Use both freely but if it interferes evidently with your work then fine there is an issue.
Here is a solution.
- SMS message You shud restrict mobile phones and divert the mobile calls to each ones land line or carry the mobile phones and switch off and divert to the land line. Rgds/Ahmed
Equality?
- SMS Message Depends who wants to implement this. I use it, my subordinates do, my boss and boss’ boss and his boss all do so who wants it. Btw I’m in an mnc bank. Bashir
- SMS message Banning mobiles at work would be contradictory to any 21st century company doing business in a connected world.
- SMS message It depends on the job. I took a number and sat infront of bank teller when called. The staff member continued used his mobile phone to text infront of me. I stood up and left as he obviously wasn’t focused on the customer. Then he started to apologise!!!
I love this little bit of a call.
Well here is the entire show, what do you think?
Thin Complex?
Posted on | May 20, 2013 | No Comments
Is it possible that with all the talk of healthy living and healthy diet we have lost track of what healthy means?
Take a look a the images of ‘healthy’ people in magazines, on TV and even in the papers.
Does healthy mean uber thin, maybe?
It would seem, given the conversation on Nightline that the pendulum has swung a little far to each extreme.
One caller pointed out that everyone, even the toothpicks, in the office are on a diet of some sort, odd.
Another caller spoke about how obesity seems to be the mantra of tourists to the UAE, odd.
Maybe neither are odd, maybe people just have unrealistic expectations and when they give up they give up big!
Here are some of the SMS messages fromt he show.
- SMS MESSAGE I think this refers more to some of western society, I dont see women here in dubai from some of the nationalities caring at all about being thin. What annoys me the most are seeing parents letting their kids be overweight, As an adult you could control your kids eating habits. Please parents why pass onyour overeating to your kids uuuuuurrrggg
- SMS MESSAGE Its the 5th most obese country in the world. So by no stretch of imagination cud v be concerned about losing weith and being thin
- SMS MESSAGE Hi James,models get paid to look thin unlike the rest of us. For the most part, these media hyped images are very unactrative on the regular Joe & Jane.Thanks,Tee.
- SMS MESSAGE I think there is an obsession with looking good, especially in some expat circles. Part of looking good is looking fit and this goes along with looking lean or thin.
The reality and answer to the question, as always, is someplace in the middle.
Give the podcast a listen the callers were particularly interesting.
MicroVideo
Posted on | May 16, 2013 | No Comments
Are you a fan of microvideo?
Do you even know what microvideo is?
Check out www.tout.com, 15 second videos, microvideo from a smartphone.
What is interesting is that some of the worlds leading media is jumping onto this idea.
As always the question becomes are we as educators keeping our students up to date?
Here is a great little podcast to bring you up to speed on the idea of microvideo.
I think this is another tool in the mobile journalism array and to not be at least talking about microvideo is doing our students a disservice.
Check this out!
And what I really love is the random nature of the tout view!
Now imagine the possibility if someone is thinking of framing the image, sound and light!
Love these guys!
Posted on | May 16, 2013 | No Comments
Last night I had a chance to talk with 2 of the members of Beat Antenna, very cool.
What always amazes me is how we can always find the time for the things we love and the things we love are more often than not the things we do best.
There is a message to educators here.
Here is a piece of the conversation that I found particularly interesting with a bit of world premier music.
www.beatantenna.com is where you can find more of these guys and the full show podcast is here.
Give Me Sugar!
Posted on | May 15, 2013 | No Comments
Do you have any idea how much sugar you are consuming?
Nightline asked the question and what was surprising was the response.
It would seem that many people do not realize that 1 tsp of sugar equals 4.2 grams of sugar.
And how much time do you spend scrutinising the labels of the food you eat?
Like most people you probably don’t spend that much time.
Check out these numbers.
1. Chocolate Milk: 30 grams of sugar per cup
2. Energy Bars: 30 to 50 grams of sugar
3. Sports Drinks: 55 grams of sugar
4. Nonfat Fruit Flavored Yogurt: 47 grams of sugar
5. Granola: 14 grams of added sugar in half a cup
6. Bottled Fat-Free Salad Dressings: 2 to 6 grams of sugar per two-tablespoon serving (if you’re a heavy salad dresser, you might use more than that)
7. Ketchup and Barbeque Sauce: 6 grams of sugar per ounce (about four squeeze-packets’ worth)
8. Fruit Juice: 22 to 36 grams of sugar in one cup
http://www.youbeauty.com/health/columns/beauty-equals-health/healthy-foods-with-high-sugar
How is it that those food stuffs that are supposed to be healthy are so full of sugar?
The question then becomes what are you personally doing about the amount of sugar you consume?
Karim joined us for a conversation and this is what he said.
So the simple reality of sugar and our diet is that if we do not look out for ourselves nobody is going to.
Double Standards?
Posted on | May 14, 2013 | No Comments
So when it comes to medical check-ups for drivers, professional or recreational, shouldn’t we all be lumped together?
Here is the article that our question came from.
We had a discussion about the new medical check-up regulations that Dubai is bringing into effect, with a 1 year grace period, and while I put up my hand for rolling this out for all drivers it seems many people felt this was simply another inconvenience and a tax on our earnings.
Hmmmm safety 1st or what?
Fortunately a few people agreed with me, but not as many as I would have thought.
Here are some of the SMS messages as they came into the studio.
- Hi James, Yes we must all be tested, atlest then we will know our health condition. I support this 100%. LUWELLYN
- Hi James I completely agree with the idea of “All motorists being medically tested”… This idea should not require any cerebral activity and should be implemented immediately. However the process could be merged with visa renewals which is every two years with a minimum eye test on an annual basis. Believe the “local” drivers should also be tested for their psychological health ANNUALLY without exceptions particularly those under 25 – they drive like maniacs. While health is one of the factors better driving culture needs to be cultivated in this part of the part.
There are always the skeptics!
- I agree with FAISAL. RTA has come up with smart way to make more money linking it with safety. Medical is done for Visa. Emirates I’d was supposed to belinking this So why do it again. In another way hidden tax.
Maybe what we really need is yearly driver testing!
- It is not about periodic general health check-up or yearly driving test. It is all about us… Working towards better driving culture and responsibilityon the roads! pinktank
There is also the question of general driving awareness and sleep!
- How do you test for tiredness on an annual basis? I bet that kills more than health issues.
There must be an easier way, maybe we can link a few of the services already out there?
- Most if not all professional drivers are expats on 2 year visas so why not integrate this with visa medicals. Why create extra monetary burdens for the poor drivers here. Faisal Siddique
How do we value safety?
- If your paying I’ll be doing it
- Here’s an awkward topic: fasting taxi / bus drivers in Ramadan. 12 hour shifts, dehydration, low sugar levels, extreme fatigue… Jon
And then there are the questions about why we are even talking about these health tests.
- RAJESH here, out of all crashes, what is the percentage of crashes caused by epilepsy, diabetes etc? Is it a practise worldwide?
- I agree, despite the fact that I might lose my license for bad night sight, however I suggest a psychological test as well, accidents arent only because of bad sight &/or training but also psychological reasons too – Tamashi
Again I ask what value are you placing on road safety and is the cost of a yearly medical a small price to pay for peace of mind?
Here is the podcast tell me what you think.
Sabbatical from Work? Nahhhh
Posted on | May 14, 2013 | No Comments
Nightline asked if you could take a sabbatical from your job what would you do?
The follow-up question was does your employer facilitate sabbaticals?
(below are a series of the SMS messages as I receive them without the contact details)
One of the 1st sms messages to come in was from a guy who had one starting very soon.
- Im about to take sabatical .try out a business idea.
I love the honesty about what people would do with the new found time!
- I would become a sports writer! Covering sporting events!
- If I could get sabatical from my company, there’s an opportunity to do many things and to start with the basics, meet up and connect with family (mom, dad, siblings, uncles etc)
- You could enhance your skills by taking a course where you can dedicate your full time to those studies i.e. if you’re PM you can take PMP course and commit and be relaxed. In my case, I would like to go to school and teach just to share experience and understand where the youth is going
- Charity .. Helping the needy and community for a change. Spent the whole life for self . A few days for others. Salman
- Become a transcendental meditation teacher Omar
And then there are the people who don’t see this ever happening.
- This topic is incomprehensible to me. I try to take more than a weeks leave and my company starts screaming. And I think thats fairly normal in dubai.
And then there are the students who are looking at the adults in the rat race and saying that this is simply not going to work!
- Although I’m still in high school, this is not even a question for me.. I’d DEFINITELY go take a sevastical thing or whatever it’s called and go travel.Travelling is such a useful thing! We can get so much experience & a lot of excitement! If we Just kept going with our lives with no change, we would bemuch less enthusiastic & much less productive in our work! Also,, what’s the point of a tasteless life? Change for a little bit is ESSENTIAL! Take a short break guys! It will do you good?
It is great to read that a sabbatical is not a myth.
- Our co gives 1 mth every 5 yrs unpaid leave,rgds neeraj
There are logistics to work through and those come to the top.
- Problem here is that if you even get a sabattical of 6 months or more, they may never take you back, u may already have a replacement. Saad Xafar
And then we had a great caller who told us about his story and the happy ending.
So the real question must be why are more employers not looking to sabbaticals as a way to motivate their workforce?
Why School?
Posted on | May 13, 2013 | No Comments
I sit in my COM200 class, well I stand, but the same question is written all over the faces of my students, why does it matter?
Why come to school?
What are we really learning?
Does it matter?
YES and this is why.
The most important realities are the hardest to see and talk about!
Education is about providing context to see the realities in the fog.
Embrace our environment and make the situations we find ourselves in work!
Is it easy to embrace our reality, no, but we must.
By embracing our reality we open the door to many options!
No Explanation Needed
Posted on | May 12, 2013 | No Comments
Multi Channel Communication
Posted on | May 10, 2013 | No Comments
I know, you are thinking what I have reduced myself to putting my class lectures into this space.
Not yet.
But I have been thinking a lot about the ways we send the intended message to our audience.
As a public speaking coach I spend as much time talking about the visual delivery of the speaker as the content.
We seem to get caught up in the content and not the way we look!
Maybe the look of the speaker is more important than what is being said?
Check this conversation about hair out.
The person as much as the content is important when making a public presentation.
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