Sunday, July 11, 2010

“Online depression education for Chinese-Australians” plus 3 more

“Online depression education for Chinese-Australians” plus 3 more

Online depression education for Chinese-Australians

Posted: 11 Jul 2010 07:58 PM PDT

Online depression education for Chinese-Australians


12 July 2010

University of Sydney researchers are pilot-testing an Internet-based education program for Chinese-Australian adults with depression and are seeking participants.

The program, Brighten Your Mood, is based on a successful program used by Australian adults.

Isabella Choi, a postgraduate research student from the School of Psychology, is developing the program in collaboration with the University of New South Wales and St Vincent's Hospital.

She said depression was a common psychological condition affecting Chinese-Australians.

"Less than half of Chinese-Australian people with depression seek treatment, and only a small percentage of them actually receive treatments that prove to be effective," she said.

"The rest suffer from their condition alone or suffer because of language, access, and cultural barriers to treatment. Many people can't access good education or treatment and can be affected for years by these symptoms - the inability to feel happy, maintain relationships, or even employment."

The online Chinese program allows people to log on to a secure website and complete an education program about depression at convenient times which suit them.

"Internet programs can improve access to evidence-based education and treatment," Isabella said.

"Our research team has built many similar programs for depression and other anxiety disorders for use by Australian adults with encouraging results and we are hoping to create a program for Chinese-Australians as well."

Depression is characterised by lack of energy and low mood for at least two weeks and can involve problems with sleep and appetite, irritability, and loss of self-esteem.

The program will encourage people to recognise and gain control over the symptoms of depression.

All of the materials are written in both Chinese and English and the staff are fluent in English, Mandarin, and Cantonese.

There are six lessons over an eight-week period and participants also have access to Isabella, who will monitor their progress and be available for phone and email support.

Isabella is undertaking her Doctor of Clinical Psychology/Master of Science degree at the University of Sydney, and is supervised by Associate Professor Caroline Hunt.

Her work is also being supervised by Dr Nick Titov and Professor Gavin Andrews of the Clinical Research Unit for Anxiety and Depression (CRUfAD), and St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney.

For more information, visit Virtual Clinic.


Media enquiries: Rachel Gleeson, 0403 067 342, 9351 4312, rachel.gleeson@sydney.edu.au


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'Credibility crisis' forces elite to update CVs

Posted: 11 Jul 2010 06:27 PM PDT

Dozens of Chinese high-level professionals are reportedly scrambling to revise their online resumes following a recent row over the diploma authenticity of a renowned Chinese entrepreneur, creating a chilling effect that what analysts are calling a "credibility crisis" in the country.

Tang Jun, former president of Microsoft China, had been accused of faking his academic credentials in his autobiography, in which he claims to hold a doctorate diploma in computer science from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) from 1990.

Criticizing Tang was Fang Zhouzi, who is well known as a staunch opponent of academic misconduct. Fang claimed that Tang's name wasn't on the list of CaltTech graduates that year.

Tang responded by saying that he actually graduated from Pacific Western University (PWU), not CalTech, in 1995, and the official custodian of academic records for PWU from 1997 to 2005, Dr. S. Foster, confirmed Sunday to the Global Times by e-mail the authenticity of Tang's diploma.

"In regards to Jun Tang, we can confirm that he earned and received his PhD degree in electrical engineering from Pacific Western University in 1993," Foster said.

But Fang hit back, noting that US authorities closed down PWU in 2006 for being a diploma mill.

PWU sold its assets in 2005 to a new ownership group that opened California Miramar University (CMU) in San Diego, California, in November 2005, according to Foster.

Neither PWU nor CMU were on California's list of qualified higher education institutions that was updated by the Chinese Ministry of Education on June 1.

And US education authorities don't recognize diplomas from either PWU or CMU.

Richard Bensberg, managing director of the Beijing-based Red Flag Screening Company, which specializes in checking the authenticity of CVs that job applicants submit to their prospective companies, also told the Global Times Sunday that PWU was considered a diploma mill in the US.

"Some of our clients used to authorize us to check the authority of PWU, and based on our research, the university is not approved by the US Department of Education, and it was sued by the government of Hawaii earlier for issuing illegal education degrees," Bensberg said.

The credential controversy heated up Saturday when a list of PWU graduates appeared online, listing the names and jobs of more than 100 graduates, almost half of whom are mainland business executives who claim doctorial degrees from PWU.

A man on the list, who is the general manager of a prominent investment company based in Beijing, and who asked to remain anonymous, defended Tang.

"Fang didn't even try to understand how the university system works in the US before he threw all this criticism on us," he said.

The man told the Global Times Sunday that he went to the US in 2001 and spent $10,000 in tuition fees on 16 business administration classes organized by PWU, and he was awarded a doctorate in business administration by the university in 2003.

"I wrote a thesis before graduation, and my degree was authorized by the Ministry of Education after I came back to China," the man said.

The accuracy of the list could be also questioned since many of the graduates on the list cannot be found in the companies they reportedly work for.

"All these are false accusations," Tang told China National Radio on Tuesday. Tang's secretary, Li Xin, confirmed on Wednesday that Tang was planning to sue Fang, though no timetable was given.

Source:Global Times

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Global Outsourcing Firms Have Competitive Advantage According To Top Ranked J.P. Morgan Equity Analyst: Profits ...

Posted: 11 Jul 2010 08:20 PM PDT

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67 WALL STREET, New York - July 10, 2010 - The Wall Street Transcript has just published its Staffing and Outsourcing Services Report offering a timely review of the sector to serious investors and industry executives. This special feature contains expert industry commentary through in-depth interviews with public company CEOs, Equity Analysts and Money Managers. The full issue is available by calling (212) 952-7433 or via The Wall Street Transcript Online.

Topics covered: Secular Trend Toward Temporary Staffing - Bifurcation Between Lesser- and Higher-Skilled Worker Demand - Strong Demand For IT Staffing - Economy Uncertainty and Hiring Forecasts - Outsourcing Exposure To Europe - Cyclical Staffing Trends - Relocation of Outsourcing Centers

Companies include: ADP (ADP); Accenture (ACN); Adecco (ADEN); Amdocs (DOX); American Reprographics (ARP); Bank of America (BAC); Boeing (BA); Cognizant (CTSH); Convergys (CVG); CoreLogic (CLGX); Dice Holdings (DHX); EXL Services (EXLS); FTI Consulting (FCN); Genpact (G); HP (HPQ); Heidrick & Struggles (HSII); Hewitt (HEW); IBM (IBM); Infosys (INFY); Iron Mountain (IRM); Kelly (KELYA); Kforce (KFRC); Korn/Ferry (KFY); Longtop (LFT); MPS (MPS); Manpower (MAN); Monster (MWW); On Assignment (ASGN); Patni (PTI); Paychex (PAYX); Randstad (RAND); Resources Connection (RECN); Robert Half (RHI); Sephrion (SFN); Syntel (SYNT); Taleo (TLEO); TrueBlue (TBI); Ultimate Software (ULTI); Wipro (WIT).

In the following brief excerpt from just one of the in depth interviews in this Special Report, a top ranked equity analyst discusses the outlook for the sector for investors.

Andrew Steinerman has covered services stocks since 1995. He joined J.P. Morgan in 2008 and is currently a Managing Director who covers the business and education services sectors. Mr. Steinerman previously worked for a decade at Bear Stearns in a similar role, researching services companies. He has been top-ranked by the Institutional Investor poll every year since 1999 and was designated number one for the five most recent years.

Prior to joining Bear Stearns, Mr. Steinerman worked in Salomon Brothers' equity research department. He also worked in Big Four public accounting, and he holds a CPA certificate. Mr. Steinerman received an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and an undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan.

TWST: What sectors are especially strong right now?

Mr. Steinerman: Cyclically, light industrial staffing and manual staffing picks up first, and that is still the best growth areas in the sector right now. But in no way do we consider either light industrial or manual staffing to possess the best growth through the cycle; this staffing horizontal is earlier cycle.

Next we would say a surprising positive area of the temporary help recovery has been IT staffing, which, in the last economic recovery, took a long time to recover. One segment of temporary help which probably should have picked up cyclically and has not yet is clerical staffing, which has some legitimate structural challenges.

Then lastly, accounting staffing is now at an inflection point of growth and is next-in-line cyclically and has great secular trends.

TWST: What attributes within the staffing segments provide a competitive advantage to the vendor?

Mr. Steinerman: We think that niche players and global players have the best advantages over more national commercial staffing vendors. Robert Half (RHI), which is the King Kong of accounting staffing, from low-end accounting staffing to high-end accounting services, is in an enviable place to be. We definitely see the value of niche players, especially when they are addressing a large niche.

Robert Half has a tremendous dominance in accounting staffing, far surpassing the second and third players in terms of size and recognition from both the candidate as well as the end user. We also think the global vendors such as Manpower (MAN) and Adecco (ADEN) have competitive advantages over individual national players, such as SFN Group (SFN).

The Wall Street Transcript is a unique service for investors and industry researchers - providing fresh commentary and insight through verbatim interviews with CEOs and research analysts. This 35 page special issue is available by calling (212) 952-7433 or via The Wall Street Transcript Online .

The Wall Street Transcript does not endorse the views of any interviewees nor does it make stock recommendations.

For Information on subscribing to The Wall Street Transcript, please call 800/246-7673

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Teacher gets an education

Posted: 11 Jul 2010 12:06 AM PDT

By ROCHELLE RISERVATO
Correspondent

Click to enlarge

Daniel J.Fiore Jr. (Photo provided)

Usually it's the teacher that delivers the lessons. In the case of 39-year old Daniel J. Fiore Jr., however, he said he feels he has been enriched with an education his students have given him over the years.

In fact, the lessons he learned as a third-grade elementary school teacher were so insightful, he wanted to share them with other teachers and parents. The result was a book he wrote, titled "What They Have Taught Me: Biblical Life Lessons from an Elementary School Classroom."

According to Fiore, the book shares personal and heartfelt stories of his students that have actually opened his eyes to things he never realized. Although he said he's very grateful to all his teachers from elementary school through college, "this book focuses on what I have learned from my elementary school students."

"I believe teachers and parents can best relate to this book because they know the heart of a child and how blessed we are to have children in our lives daily," he said.

Fiore, who grew up in Stone Ridge, was schooled in Kingston. He is a 1985 graduate of St. Joseph School and a 1989 graduate of what is now John A. Coleman Catholic High School graduate.

At Coleman, Fiore maintained an excellent grade point average, was involved in extracurricular activities and strived to be responsible leader.

"I led by example," he said.

It's easy to understand why the student body voted for Fiore as Student Council president. In that office, he worked with several class officers to implement policies and procedures to help better the student experience at Coleman.

"We also planned and organized fundraisers and special events such as proms and school dances," he said. "We even worked with others high schools, like Kingston High School, to conduct student exchanges to learn about the similarities and differences of each school and to promote school spirit."

Fiore then went on to obtain a Bachelor's degree in communications and a Master's degree in education at The College of St. Rose in Albany. "I loved it," he said of his college experiences.

After getting his undergraduate degree, Fiore worked at the college as an assistant director of alumni relations while pursuing his Master's degree.

An elementary school teacher for six years, Fiore was first an account executive for a fundraising company upon his move to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., where he resides. As an executive fundraiser, he was involved with helping elementary and high school students raise funds. He then was promoted to director of sales and training. Fiore spent more than eight years managing the South Florida and Puerto Rico market.

"I loved working with schools and being in the educational environment," he said.

And, because his Master's degree was in education, he decided to pursue a career in teaching.

"It was a major life change for me, but I'm so grateful I followed my heart," he said. "As a child, I always thought that one day I might want to be a teacher since I loved school."

Fiore loved teaching so much that, after only three years as a third-grade educator, he was nominated by his peers and won the honor of "Teacher of the Year"

One thing he never thought he would do, however, is write a book.

"My interest in writing and my writing skills blossomed as I began teaching," he said.

Often finding himself keeping a journal about his classroom experiences, he said that, about two years ago, his family and friends encouraged him to compile what he found so interesting and write a book about it.

"It has taken two years to complete," he said. The book was published last year by Winepress Publishing.

Is there another book in his future?

"I have thought about writing another book about my teaching experiences," he said, adding that hewas brought up with God as the center of his home life. "I will pray about it and see what the future holds."

Fiore's book is described on his website as "an insightful look into the spiritual education of a public school teacher, whose students continually challenge him to put into practice what he teaches in the classroom. When reading the lessons taught to him on patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and more, you'll find yourself being challenged by God to develop these traits in your life as well."

It also stated that those who have read the book gain insights from the creative minds of Fiore's students through innovative classroom tools such as Class Court, Slam Dunks and Behavior Bucks. These are programs and projects that he said were motivated by creative imaginings from his students.

"They've helped to make me a better teacher," he said.

He described some of the creative methods. "During my first year of teaching, my students inspired me to create a classroom rewards system entitled "Behavior Bucks," which allowed me to reward students for desired behaviors while teaching them valuable economic principles."

Another program he utilizes is Class Court, which was also devised by one of his students to help solve student disputes while incorporating social studies lessons on government into the classroom.

Fiore's book is filled with life lessons he's learned from his students. He also said the book also offers "a reflection of my spiritual experiences in the classroom and how God has used my students to teach me lessons He wanted me to learn."

Citing an example, Fiore described a chapter on maintaining a joyful spirit when teaching.

"I share a story about Michael, a boy with cerebral palsy, who taught me how to look beyond the outward appearance to what lies within each of us — our spirit," he said. "He taught me how God can use any situation for good if we trust in His plan and timing."

Comparing teaching when he went to school with the present, Fiore said, "I believe teachers are being forced to be more creative in their teaching style to be able to balance the curriculum expectations along with the family and social issues facing our students."

Due to state tests and all the requirements currently placed on educators, a teacher has to be more focused, he added.

"I also feel there are more family and social issues facing students these days, compared to when I was going to school," he said. He also said teachers are being challenged to find ways to keep students engaged in daily learning, despite the challenges and struggles many of them face in their home lives.

A "Type-A" personality, such as Fiore possesses, often has aspirations for higher goals. When asked if he entertained the idea of becoming a school principal, thought, he replied, "At this time I do not aspire to be a principal. I enjoy working directly with children and watching them grow both academically and personally. I also enjoy having my summers off."

Fiore's book is a spiritual guide, as well as an instructional one. It provides insight on how to continue to grow as an educator and parent. His website offers a one-minute video preview of his book. It also includes retailer links to purchase the book from Winepress Publishing, Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble Online and Christian Books Online for $10. In addition, Fiore's website has links to teacher resources, spiritual resources and a blog for sharing experiences.

Fiore plans on donating a portion of every book sale to establish educational student scholarships. "Currently, I'm depositing a certain percentage of each book sale to an educational scholarship account. Hopefully, as more books are sold, I will be able to establish an official scholarship fund to assist deserving students with college expenses."

His goal is to travel back to the Hudson Valley for a possible book signing at one of the local and bookstore chains in the area.

"My hope and prayer is that the lessons I have learned from my students on patience, kindness, self-control, faithfulness, peacefulness and more will open the hearts and minds of others to God's power and presence in their lives."

For more information on Daniel Fiore and information on where to purchase "What They Have Taught Me: Biblical Life Lessons from an Elementary School Classroom", go online to www.whattheyhavetaughtme.com or call 877-421-READ (7323).

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