Higher Administration Study Guide

Pupils in Higher Administration this year have been set the task of creating an e-book on the Theory elements of the course.

We were inspired by the Higher Still Revision Notes created by pupils some years ago. I have been wanting to do it for quite some time, but this year we have 6 periods and I think we can donate 1 a week to this revision task.

I also think changing the order of the course is working. Moving Spreadsheet and Database skills up to the start of the course and moving Word Processing back is a good move. Plus doing ITFM first and leaving Administrative Services until now is also a good idea.

So the Higher Administration eBook Team are already underway creating the ITFM element of their ebook. Everything must be original and this will include images, diagrams and photographs. A big challenge, but worthwhile all the same.

James Cameron's Avatar

With Hamilton Grammar School working on our greenscreen it is quite appropriate that the next step in motion picture evolution is being pioneered at the same time by legendary Oscar winning director James Cameron. His movie Avatar is shot in 3-D and almost everything is computer generated.

The heroes of the movie, the Na'vi are ten foot tall blue aliens who are not cartoons but an ever better generation of CGI from Gollum.

The film is about the human colonisation and exploitation of a small planet called Pandora. And the planet is so hostile that humans use clones of the Na'vi to roam the planet... the avatars of the title. The avatars are created but have a human mind implanted into it. For the hero of the movie, Jake Sully - a crippled war veteran - it offers him a new life.

Using CGI and greenscren technology really fires the imagination, so hopefully we can come up with some great projects of our own!

For more information about this movie go to:

http://www2.avatarmovie.com/

Divided States of America?

It seems that not everyone is being nice to each other during this time of recession. In the United States the 50 States are all competing hard against each other for new businesses to locate in their state and also the good old tourist dollar.

One state in particular, Indiana, seems to be poaching more than its fair share of custom! Indiana is relying on negative advertising, slagging off some other States and an aggressive sales visit task force to nearby states such as Ohio and Michigan.

Read more here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8273664.stm

Tourism is in the Service Sector, the Tertiary Sector. As Developed nations become less industrialised services such as Tourism, Retail and Banking are becoming more and more important. We have also witnessed this in Dubai with their attempts to move away from their oil rich past and present. They are preparing for an oil-lite future!

Michael Palin - A Salute!

Who is my favourite Travel writer/presenter? Some go for the comedians such as Billy Connolly, Paul Merton or Griff Rhys Jones; others for the flamboyant Italian Francesco Da Mosta, while QI egghead Stephen Fry is gaining more fans by the minute with his very interesting series America and his Last Chance to See programmes.

But... "I didn't want to be a Business Teacher. Oh no. I wanted to be ... a LUMBERJACK!"

No I haven't lost it. Michael Palin is not only one sixth of Monty Python, but he is the most genial and interesting travel guide anyone could have. Palin roughs it whether in the burning Sahara or the high peaks of the Himalayas. He converses with the locals with skill few can match. He genuinely likes people and can laugh with people of different ethnicities and religions, as well as learn from them and also teach them bits of our own culture. I think part of Michael Palin's wanderlust has rubbed off on me as I have a lot of places that I want to visit. Many are not very touristy and some are downright dangerous!

There was a scene on the Volta Ferry in Ghana when an incredible amount of people spilled off a tiny boat (resembling the Western Ferry) and cars and trucks went past in a puff of black smoke. Mr Bowen commented: "It's like a Michael Palin travelogue!" Too true!

From his original Jules Verne Around the World in 80 Days, to his Pole to Pole adventure and then to my personal favourite Full Circle, where he circumnavigated the Pacific Rim, Michael Palin gets you excited about travel.

Travel broadens the mind and perhaps that's why I am so interested in what happens in other cities, countries and cultures. I love looking at what is similar and different among peoples and nations. Diversity is what makes life worthwhile. How boring it would be if we were all the same!

My experience in Ghana means that South America is the only continent I have not yet travelled to, but I aim to go sometime within the next 2 years. Brazil and Peru are high up my list. Brazil even more so with Rio de Janeiro being announced as the host city for the Olympics in 2016!

To any students past or present reading this I would encourage you to travel the world either before or after university as it is something I do regret. But hey, I have plenty of interesting places to visit before I retire!

Rio is the winner!

Yesterday it was announced that the 2016 Olympics will be going to South America for the very first time.

I read that Rio had bid before in 1936, 2004 and 2012, and failed on all three previous occassions. I did predict Rio to win for many reasons, but I do feel that for the Olympics to be truly international every part of the world deserves a turn. So South America this time and perhaps somewhere in Africa in 2020?

What will the Olympics bring to Rio and to Brazil?

Not only will there be an upsurge in Tourism, it will lead to better infrastructure within the city and the region. Also the sports stadia that will be built for the games will be a lasting legacy for the young people of Brazil to aspire to perform in.

The economic cost is great but a good games actually makes money... or does it? That is something I want my students to investigate as you do read contrary reports.

The one good thing for Brazil is that Rio is now a focal point again for the world... starting now and for the next seven or so years. Mind you they do have the small matter of the FIFA World Cup to worry about in 2014! So interesting times ahead for Brazil.

G20

The leaders of the Group of 20, or G20, of the world's most powerful countries met in the US city of Pittsburgh, to discuss how to tackle the economic crisis which threatens the world!

On the BBC website there are details of each of the countries problems and responses to the crisis.

Argentina
Australia
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Indonesia
Italy
Japan
Mexico
Russia
Saudi Arabia
South Africa
South Korea
Turkey
United Kingdom
United States
European Union

Linked to the business and economic problems faced by these nations, it is also important to recognise that many of the current Governments in these countries will face elections, which may end up with the existing leaders ousted and replaced with new Presidents or Premiers... assuming they are democracies!

Angela Merkel recently held onto power in Germany. But will Gordon Brown be able to win over the voters when the General Election occurs in the UK in 2009-2010?

Higher Administration: Workflow and ICT

One question that seems to be giving candidates a problem is the one about the impact ICT has on workflow in an organisation.

Workflow is the way information is recived, processed and delivered by an organisation.

Input, Process and Output

INPUT
email can be used to recieve information from customers instantly. This can also come from internal or external sources.

Data capture forms can also be used to collect information from external sources.

Online registration/order forms can collect information from customers, such as orders, quantity, products bought and the customer's contact/delivery details

PROCESS
Spreadsheets, Word Processing and Databses packages are used to process information.

Spreadsheets can be used to calculate and create charts;

Word Processing can be used to create letters, memos and reports;

Databases can be used to create customer and/or employee records.

OUTPUT
For effective and efficient communication, transmission and presentation of information, PowerPoint, the Internet, e-Diaries can be used.

Olympics 2016 City to be announced

Today the host city for the 2016 Olympics is due to be announced.

The candidate cities are:

Chicago, USA

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Madrid, Spain

Tokyo, Japan

Each city has its own unique benefits and disadvantages.

CHICAGO - the hometown of President Obama and a great location on the shores of Lake Michigan. However the USA have held the Olympics a few times before and it may be that someone else deserves a turn. The favourite with the bookies and a city I have visited and was very impressed with. But I have a feeling it won't be The Windy City's turn.

RIO DE JANEIRO - the most 'friendly' South American City which could lead to a massive party if successful. Already has tourism doing well, but there are issues over construction, national debt, and crime rates in this most famous Latin American metropolis. South America has never hosted the Olympics, yet they have hosted several FIFA World Cups, so perhaps they are overdue one. My personal tip for the Olympics 2016.

MADRID - the Spanish capital, and Europe's highest capital city. Madrid is a fine city but could it outdo their bitter rivals Barcelona - the 1992 host city? Possibly not. Europe has held the Olympics the most of any continent and with London hosting in 2012 I doubt the Spaniards will get the nod.

TOKYO - hosts of the 1964 Olympics, and the dark horse in this race. The infrastructure of Tokyo and the whole cultural experience would be incredible. But Beijing hosted in 2008 and perhaps going back to Asia too soon counts against such a fabulous and modern city.

Which one do you think you would like to see becoming the host city for 2016?

Please vote in the poll and leave comments here why you voted!

In the News...

INTERNET ADS BEAT TV!

Online advertising spending in the UK has overtaken television expenditure for the first time, a report has said.

Online spending grew 4.6% to £1.752bn in the first half of 2009, while TV spending shrank 16.1% to £1.639bn.

Overall advertising fell 16% compared with the same period in 2008, said the study by the Internet Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

E-mail campaigns, classified adverts, display ads and search marketing are all classed as online advertising.

JAPAN UNEMPLOYMENT DOWN

Japan's jobless rate unexpectedly fell to 5.5% in August from July's record high of 5.7%, official figures showed.

But the number of people unemployed hit a six-year high of 3.61 million in August, a figure which was up 32.7% on the same month of 2008.

Official figures also showed that household spending rose 2.6% in August from a year earlier.
The markets will also be focusing on unemployment figures from the US, which are due out later on Friday.

Analysts had been expecting the Japanese jobless rate to rise again in August.

UK HOUSE PRICES BACK TO 2008?

UK house prices have now recovered to the same level as a year ago, according to the latest Nationwide figures.

The average price of a home last month rose by 0.9% to £161,816, almost identical to September 2008.

The building society said house prices had now risen for the fifth month in a row.

However, the nation's homeowners continued to pay off more of their mortgages between April and June, according to the Bank of England.

A further £7bn was added to people's equity in the country's housing stock, as homeowners accelerated the repayment of their home loans, or put down bigger deposits when taking out a new mortgage.


EU INVESTIGATES AIRLINE MONOPOLIES
The European Commission's competition authorities have raised concerns about the transatlantic plans of British Airways, American Airlines and Iberia.

The Oneworld alliance members want to operate as a joint business on flights between the EU and North America.

If they are to go ahead they will also need approval from US regulators.

The Commission has sent its Statement of Objections to the airlines, and they now have the chance to respond before a competition decision is reached.

The Commission confirmed that it was still looking into similar plans for co-operation by Star Alliance members Lufthansa, Continental, United and Air Canada and between Skyteam members Air France/KLM and Delta/Northwest.

Source: BBC News

Asian Tiger Economies

The boom in Asian markets over the last 15 years or so is hopefully an inspiration for the economies of Africa and Latin America.

India is also beginning to take off in quite dramatic fashion, following to some extent the rapid boom in China.

However, historically the 'Tiger' Economies refers to Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Singapore.

Hong Kong was the model that has been duplicated by the rest. It is interesting to note that in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia, Britain governed them before independence. The trade links and contacts utilised by the UK is probably the main reason for this and not some old Imperialist propaganda! It is also important to recognise the large Chinese populations in these nations or the influence China has had on their indigenous culture.

The reasons for the growth of these nations have been many. It is often reckoned that:

• low Government spending has also encouraged high investment from overseas
• an emphasis on creating skilled workers in place of a reliance on natural resources
• excellent labour relations between employees and owners
• having a 'can-do' philosophy
• focusing on emerging markets and technologies
• adopting Japanese Production Methods

They have specialised in either Financial Investment or Information Technology.

South Korea is the world's largest shipbuilder and from the ashes of the Korean War they have created global multinationals such as Samsung, Hyundai and Daewoo, all permanent rivals of their more illustrious Japanese counterparts.


What are the future implications for the EU? Or for the USA? Or even Japan, who for so long has been the Asian economic superpower, but after the 90s and deflation, Japan may find it hard to regain its omnipotence.

These traditional Asian Tigers along with the likes of Thailand, rely heavily on exports. With the world currently in recession, fewer goods are being shipped abroad to the Western consumers who buy these goods due to their technical brilliance, and more often than not, their low price.

Many of the Tigers relied on Tourism also, but again more and more people are staying at home (incidentally, this factor is reported as having boosted our own Halfords company in the UK as more people bought camping equipment and bikes rather than jetsetting off across the globe), but where does it leave the Tiger economies?

It will be fascinating to watch African and Latin American nations who do not have vast natural resources trying to emulate the Asian Tigers. Whereas the other developing nations who do have vast natural resources may opt for the route that the likes of Dubai are going down by using their current wealth to prepare for the days when the oil runs out.

If we are to summarise the emergence of the Tigers it really is down to their committment to low cost and good quality.

Johnnie Walker in Kilmarnock - Diageo and Stakeholders

Read this article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/8248348.stm


 Identify
 Interest
 Influence
 Conflict of Stakeholders

DEFINE STAKEHOLDERS

Stakeholders are a group of individuals with a key interest in a business or organisation.

INTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS

 Owners/Shareholders
 Johnnie Walker Managers in Kilmarnock
 Johnnie Walker Employees in Kilmarnock

EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS

 Kilmarnock Residents
 East Ayrshire Council
 SNP - The Scottish Government
 The UK Government
 Banks
 Johnnie Walker Customers


POTENTIAL EXAM QUESTIONS

Describe how 5 different stakeholders of Diageo could influence the
organisation.

Stakeholders are groups of people with a key interest in an organisation.

At Diageo's Johnnie Walker plant in Kilmarnock internal stakeholders would be:

 Managers
 Employees
 Shareholders/Owners

Managers can influence the organisation by making important decisions on the running of the firm for example what products to manufacture.

Employees can affect the quality of a product or service by how hard they work to produce the finished article.

Shareholder/Owners can change many things in the firm, for example they can buy more shares or vote at the AGM to replace the Board of Directors if results are not to their liking.

External Stakeholders would be:

 Customers
 Local Community
 Government
 Banks
 Suppliers

Customers can influence Diageo by deciding whether or not to purchase the product or service.

Local Community - in this case the Kilmarnock residents may decide to petition the organisation to make a change to their policies (eg their environmental policies), or in this specific case to keep jobs in Kilmarnock.

Government (in this example it could be Scottish Government, the UK Government or even East Ayrshire Council) can change or alter legislation which can affect production of a product or the working conditions of the employees (health & safety laws for example).

Banks can influence a firm by approving a much needed loan to keep a firm afloat in times of recession

Suppliers to Diageo can affect the firm quite drastically. They can alter the price of raw materials which in turn will affect Diageo's profit margin.

Cooperative Learning and Curriculum for Excellence

Some years ago I benefited greatly from a 3 day inservice delivered by Canadians Norm and Cath Green to the staff of Jordanhill School.

The 3 day inservice was all about cooperative learning, which was seen as another learning and teaching aid along with AiFL. It is now clear to me that Jordanhill were ahead of the game in that they knew such concepts (along with Critical Skills) were the foundations for Curriculum for Excellence.

Cooperative learning is not just collaborative learning or groupwork - this was a salient point from the outset.

There are 5 key elements to cooperative learning:

Face to Face Interaction - group memebers promote each other's success, social skills improved and needed

Positive Interdependence - the group's performance depends on everyone. Groups will sink or swim together!

Group Processing - group reflects on how they are and have worked as a team

Interpersonal Skills - social skills taught and developed such as: leadership, trust, decision-making, communication, managing conflict

Individual and Group Accountability - to avoid social loafers group sizes are kept small and everyone has a clearly defined role in the task (ie researcher, reader, designer, project leader etc)


Group Forming

When it comes to presenting their findings, using a little bit of randomness like drawing names ensures they all have to be aware they can be asked to perform!

When forming groups mixed ability is normally the best.

Cooperative Learning Tools that I use:
Appointments - pupils have an appointments card which they have to fill with other pupils names. In doing so they are creating a whole list of teams they can be asked to form. i.e. 10am partners work together one week, then 2pm the next. Helps breakout of friendship groups.

Jigsaw - pupils are divided into home groups where they are then sub-divided into expert groups. The expert groups go and meet up to learn part of a topic and then later return to their home groups to teach the rest of the home group the topic. eg Home group is told topic is HRM. The expert groups are: Recruitment, Training, and Legislation. So the Home group splits and sends members to each of the 3 subtopics. So member A learns about Training along with the other experts from other home groups, and then returns later to teach his/her own home group Training.

T-Chart - a piece of paper that is divided into a T. It is useful to organise information such as advantages and disadvantages etc.

Benefits of cooperative learning

 less academic pupils learn skills from the more academic pupils
 increases self-esteem among pupils
 develops social skills
 increases knowledge retention
 develops oral communication

Further Reading

Here is an excellent video on You Tube with some tips for cooperative learning:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LWE2HF1v1Y

More You Tube information on Cooperative Learning
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxHJEmiDCKY&feature=related

Please share you ideas and opinions with me here on the blog.

Famous Products - 3M Post-it Note

The Post-it note came about by a bit of chance and being aimed at the wrong target market!

In 1968, the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company (3M) developed a sticky, re-usable adhesive. A scientist called Spencer Silver was the inventor and he tried to gain recognition and support for the product within 3M.

Six years later, with success eluding Silver, a co-worker called Art Fry ised the sticky adhesive as a hymnbook bookmark! Fry - who was not the inventor but was certainly an innovator - developed the product and helped lead the commercialization process. After an unsuccessful launch in 1977 due to poor customer trials, a better trial resulted in a full product launch within 12 months to North America and Europe.

The Post-it then became a must have for every office stationery supply!

Think of such a simple idea and product and how it has totally transformed the way we operate in our daily lives.

Students no longer highlight their textbooks; they use post-its to mark important sections, meaning they get more money back when they sell on their pricey textbooks.

Office staff can disseminate work to colleagues via a handy post-it on top of a circular or memo.

The list is endless and another example of a great product that found it's market by serendipity.

Sears Tower (1973-2009)

It is now called the Willis Tower, but I reckon it will revert back to its original and more famous name of the Sears Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

At 1450 feet it is the tallest building in the USA and in July 2007 I even visited this amazing feat of engineering myself! This was a picture I took on what was a glorious summer day that then turned into a thunder and lightening storm!

The tower was the brainchild of Sears and Roebuck who in the 1960s were the world's largest retailers. The idea to house many of their employees under such an impressive roof was implemented and from 1973 until 1998 the Sears Tower was the world's tallest building, eclipsed by the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The CN Tower in Toronto is taller but different categories place the CN Tower as the largest freestanding structure in the Americas.

I am fascinated by such skyscrapers as not only are they an amazing feat of construction and engineering but they represent man's ambition to be faster, longer, taller in all such weird manner of feats!

I am lucky enough to have stood on the skydeck of the Sears Tower (as it was called then) and also the Petronas Towers. I'll have some work to do to visit both the Tapei 101 and the Burj Dubai before new buildings in Shanghai and Chicago outstrip the current number 1 and 2 tallest buildings!

International Business News

DUBAI METRO OPENS!

In Dubai, the long awaited Dubai Metro opened some seven days ago and so far over 323,000 people have used the new transport system.

However there are still another 10 of 20 stations to be finalised and opened for commuters. How will it impact on Dubai? That remains to be seen as Dubai attempts to become the Las Vegas for the 21st Century or indeed the Entertainment Capital of the World (outside the United States at least!)

GLASGOW RAIL LINK AXED

Scottish ministers have been accused of being "anti-Glasgow" over the decision to axe the Glasgow Airport Rail Link amid concerns about spending cuts.

The city council said the move was "a dagger in the heart" of the west of Scotland economy.

Ministers highlighted significant investment in the city's transport, health and housing.

Up to £182m had been earmarked for improving the line between Glasgow and Paisley, with £47m already spent.

RECORD SALES FOR IKEA

Swedish furniture giant Ikea enjoyed record sales of 21.5bn euros ($30bn; £19.1bn), despite slowing growth.

Ikea said sales for the year to 31 August rose by 1.4%, down from 7% growth in the previous year.

"It has been a challenging year in which we have had to adapt to changed market conditions," said Ikea's new chief executive Mikael Ohlsson.

His predecessor slashed 5,000 jobs to cope with the drop in demand due to the financial crisis.

The company said it had opened 15 new stores worldwide since last September.


AIRLINE RAISES BILLIONS!

AMR, the parent of American Airlines, has raised $2.9bn (£1.8bn) of new financing to help it through the global downturn in air travel.

The group said $1bn of the total came from advanced sales of frequent flyer miles to Citigroup bank.

A further $1.6bn came from a sale and leaseback arrangement with General Electric's aviation division for planes it had already ordered.

The airline also said it would add capacity at key US airports.

Shares in AMR jumped 18% on the back of the news.

AFRICA ONLINE
A new high-speed undersea cable connecting East Africa with the rest of the world is poised to go live. The launch of the government-backed East African Marine System (Teams) comes as providers face a backlash over slow connection speeds and high prices.

Internet providers have increased speeds and lowered costs since the Seacom cable went live in August.

But users say services still remain too expensive for most ordinary Kenyans.

Senior government official Bitange Ndemo said there was evidence that some internet service providers (ISPs) were "fleecing the public".

Almost two months after the first high-speed cable made landfall, the highest residential internet speed offered by Kenya's largest ISP remains capped at one megabit per second (Mbps).

That speed is available only at night and at weekends, for an annual cost of $1,440 (£860). The average Kenyan annual wage is about $800, the UN estimates.

End of the i-Pod?

The new Sony A-Series Walkman is being launched and is quite clearly the thinnest personal music player yet. How will this affect the market leader, Apple's i-Pod?

The Japanese corporation famous for the original personal music player seems to be finally hitting back at the mp3 players and i-pods that have killed firstly their tape deck walkman and then the CD diskman.

For more information read these articles:

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/opinion/1533918/the-ipod-age

http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/blog/eyeonasia/archives/2009/09/_walkman_vs_ipo.html

Keith Floyd

As a keen traveller myself, I was saddened to hear of the passing of the flamboyant Bon Vivant, Keith Floyd.

Keith Floyd was famous for his excellent cookery programmes - long before Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver I might add - but also for his wit and love of travel.

Along with Michael Palin and Francesco Da Mosto, Floyd was my favourite Travel Show host. He would cook in some of the oddest or most familiar places! For example one moment he'd be cooking near the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, or then cooking meat in the middle of a Spanish desert for Iberian cowboys.

A remarkable man, who will be much missed for his knowledge and enthusiasm.

Carl Sagan and Cosmos

I am often asked by the pupils and students in class about events or people that inspired me. Sometimes I struggle to think on my feet as I do not wish to give a glib answer! For example, in the world of sport, I have always been fascinated by the effect football managers have. Brian Clough, Jock Stein and Alex Ferguson and the 3 men I would say stand out from the crowd. In Business, Donald Trump has always been someone I thought is incredible because he knows the importance of good PR. In many ways he is like a politician. And being an avid movie fan, I have always been inspired by the likes of George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and James Cameron (I can't wait to see Avatar!).

However, one remarkable person from my childhood is not from the world of sport, movies, or business. That man is Carl Sagan.

Carl Sagan was a scientist who, when I was very young, made an epic TV show called Cosmos. Now that may not seem to amazing, but back in the early 1980s special effects and the power of imagination was limited to programmes like Star Trek, Doctor Who, Twilight Zone, and the underrated The Outer Limits.

Cosmos was a serious attempt at mainstream science. Now we have David Attenborough and his fantastic natural world programmes, but apart from The Sky at Night (which I still watch!!!), and Open University programmes science was absent from TV.

Carl Sagan took us on a voyage of discovery. He showed us the insides of great stars, speculated about life on other planets, enlightened us about the plight of scientists from history, educated me and others on what a Googol was and it's big, BIG brother, the Googolplex!

We saw comets, asteroids, planetary rings, supernovas, Red Giants and White Dwarfs, pulsars, quasars, black holes, galaxies, and even speculation on multi-universies... basically the meaning of life, the universe and everything, as Douglas Adams would say. (42, by the way.)

The one episode I recall stronger than the rest was the Italian kid on his scooter who sets off for a journey around town and the countryside while his brother waits on a park bench. But the scooter kid travels at the speed of light. He wizzes around the beautiful scenery, while his brother waits. When his trip was over he goes to the bench to meet his brother... who is an old man! Time stood still for the speed of light traveller, but not for the brother waiting.

Mind blowing stuff when you are 7 or 8 years old. In fact it is still mind blowing.

I bought the book some years ago but only this summer, when I returned from Ghana, did I find that Cosmos was available on DVD at long, long last. I made the purchase and spent a lot of my free time in the holidays recapturing my youth and expanding my mind once again.

Truly inspiring stuff. So Carl Sagan is one of the real heroes of my life. He was also an early pioneer of conservationism, and an ardent critic of the wastefulness of the Cold War. Billions of dollars and roubles were spent on creating death and destruction instead of building tools for peace.

I would like to think that in the next Great Library at Alexandria there will be a copy of Cosmos (book or DVD?) safely stored forever for future generations to travel in the 'starship of the imagination' and be blown across space and time in that dandelion.

African Friends

Our visitors from Ghana, Robert Forsson and Emmnuel Boateng have enjoyed themselves so far in Scotland. The weather hasn't been too bad to them! Our VIPs have spent a lot of time in Hamilton Grammar and have seen many lessons in different subjects. Not yet, however in my own class! That is something we aim to rectify very soon.

The partnership, the friendship that has grown between the two communities is special. I hope that it has a lasting legacy and again as I have mentioned previously, the opportunity of young Ghanian and young Scottish minds to have their experiences broadened by a trip to another world... well that is Curriculum for Excellence!

I look forward to going back to Donkorkrom and visiting the Orphanage, as well as actually teaching at DASHS. It would be a privilege and another fantastic experience.

CEIS Conference at Radisson SAS Hotel

Hamilton Grammar School were invited by Kirsty Blair (Determined to Succeed) and Claire Fraser (the Social Enterprise Academy) to showcase our good practice in terms of Social Enterprise initiatives. Our school is particulary fortunate to have Frozoz - the Smoothie Maker, and the Eco Group/Ghana Project.

My role was a small one, the marketing of Carbon Offset certificates to local companies who sponsored acres of Ghanian Mango farm.

Our pupils were Jamie Hendry, Rebecca Irvine (of Frozoz) and two former pupils, Stuart Bence (Eco Group), and Fraser Porteous (Young Enterprise). They manned the stand well and were excited to hear the Key Speaker, Kevin Lynch of Rebuild Resources Inc, who as well as co-authoring Mission Inc, he helps chronic addicts and alcoholics become clean through a programme of work and recovery.

We were priviledged and honoured to be invited. It was a worthwhile day for our pupils and we gained some interesting contacts which we aim to develop further.

Ghana July 2009 - My Real Life African Adventure

What started out as a small action point in a rather large working document created and edited by pupils of Mr Dyer's Eco Group ended up with myself, Mr Dyer and Mr Bowen flying over the incredible red-brown of the Sahara desert to arrive in Accra, the capital city of Ghana.

We were met by one of Kwahu Province Ministers, Alex, who on the first night took us to a rather swanky hotel in Accra. So upmarket was this hotel that we decided against using our mosquito nets and indeed using DEET.

The next day we travelled on some concrete roads (built as part of the 50th anniversary of Ghanian independence) and some red road (though the word road is a misnomer). Red road is like the waltzers. Up and down you go with a few rockings from side to side.

Our destination was the mountain village of Abetifi. The climate was cool and rather appealing to the milky white Scots in our party. There we met Emmanuel, who was acting Moderator of the Church of Ghana, no mean feat!

During our stay in Abetifi we visited the large Mango Farm, the one that is the template for the smaller farm in Donkorkrom. We even got to see the £15,000 tractor, bought by donations raised by Mr Dyer's church and our school, Hamilton Grammar. The tractor cuts down the manual work and increases production!

The mangos were planted for two reasons. To help offset in a small way the carbon pollution created by organisations in Scotland, and secondly to offer a regular income to the local people.

From Abetifi off we went to catch the Ferry to Donkorkrom, over the world's biggest man made lake, Lake Volta! The scene we witnessed was one of the most memorable I have ever been a part of. Indeed Mr Bowen commented that it looked like something just out of a Michael Palin travelogue. Perhaps, but at least Michael Palin had a professional film crew with him!

The ferry was packed full of people, some in African garb and others wearing discarded Western clothes. People carrying goods on their head were commonplace, and quite a few merchants were selling some rather odd looking fish!

The ferry looked like the Western Ferry one takes to cross over from Gourock to Dunoon, a journey I have taken a few times, and one Mrs Munro (another member of our group) had taken a zillion times! Indeed she wondered whether our ferry was Clydebuilt.

After the ferry we had more red road to avoid being travel sick on, before we reached the beautiful rural area of Donkorkrom.

Our mission in Donkorkrom was a big one.

My role was to help in the school (Donkorkrom Agric Senior High School - DASHS for short), Mr Bowen and Mr Dyer were writing a partnership agreement between DASHS and Hamilton Grammar, while trainee doctor Kim Dyer (Mr Dyer's daughter) was leading the charge to the Spartanburg Orphanage, the beneficiaries of the majority of our fundraising.

The orphans usually had one parent alive, but they had been abandoned. There were House Mothers who looked after them, and an incredible man called Papa Anaba who ferried the kids to and from school and just about did everything for them. Oh and he could also seem to sort any vehicle problems with a little bit of TLC!

The orphans represented the side of Africa which is common on our TV screens. They were the emotional heart of our visit. The long term dream of Mr Dyer is to see the kids in the orphanage go to Nursery (which they do) then on to Primary, Middle School and then DASHS.

At DASHS we met Mr Robert Forsson, the Headmaster of the school. Some of us were also lucky enough to stay at the Headmaster's residence, where we were looked after very well, as we had in Abetifi.

We also met Victor 'Obama', the Head Boy. He was quite a character and indeed was DASHS's version of our own Stuart Bence!

We also were introduced to Chris and Tammi Martin, American Peace Corps Volunteers who were just a year into their own adventure. Chris is a Professor of Woodwork at Iowa State University, and Tammi is teaching ICT in DASHS. You can read their African Odyssey here: http://www.chrismartinfurniture.blogspot.com/

We also met the Chief of Donkorkrom and indeed the Afram Plains. It was an unusual ceremony because the Chief did not speak, but one of his sub-chiefs did. We were made very welcome and they were very happy with our mission.

At DASHS, we installed laptops donated by a college and thanks to Elorm aka Sunshine, we got the internet connection up and running. Pupils did a little PowerPoint (all kids love PowerPoint!) and also we did some Podcasting!

I also created a blog for Hamilton Grammar and DASHS to hopefully continue the partnership.

Papa Anaba took us to the Donkorkrom Mango Farm and we took some Thank You photographs for our kind sponsors.

There was also a football match between DASHS and the village. Mr Bowen and myself went on for a small part of the game, but the boys were fitter, stronger, faster. Mr Bowen played for about 30 minutes, but I am afraid to report I only went on for the last 5. I do have dodgy knees, but even so if Mr Bowen could pass the ball square in the 6 yard box I would have been celebrating my first goal outwith the British Isles!

The orphanage is not a sad place. Indeed the kids are well looked after and they have a ball. It is great to see a place were kids who are in need of love and attention receiving just that. It also hit home to me that perhaps many of our own pupils in Hamilton and in Scotland do not always received the emotional support that young people need. In that regards, I was very fortunate to have such a loving and compassionate Mum and Dad.

As a Teacher, I think being compassionate is a major part of the job. Yes we do have to be firm and fair, but we also must have empathy. Children are vulnerable and need on occassion someone to stick up for them, be kind to them, and make them laugh. That is the part of the job many people do not realise I feel. Teachers are people, we are not robots programmed to "EDUCATE!" like some Pedagological (is that a word?!) Dalek!

Kumasi is the second largest city in Ghana and we were treated to an incredible day and night there. Kumasi is more typically African (even though I know that there is no real Africa at all... Africa is so huge and so wildly different and diverse!) than the more Westernised Accra.

Kumasi was home to some beautiful wood carvings, where we had to haggle with the sculptors like something out of the Apprentice! I can safely say that I purchased two Lions, a giraffe, and an elephant for a few quid! Even though we would like to pay more, we risked creating jealousy and perhaps a bit of trouble for the vendors who were lucky to receive our Cedis (the Ghanian currency).

In Kumasi we visited the Palace of the Big, BIG Chief. Our guide reminded me of Frankie Howerd and his jokes and routine were quite superb. I have been to Verseille, the Louvre, Grand Canyon and a few other places in between with cracking Tour Guides, but our dear friend in Kumasi is the hands down champ.

The weather in Ghana was rather wet, which suited me because the heat could really have ruined a good sleep every night. Another plus is that Ghana is the same time zone as the UK!

The food consisted mainly of rice and free range chicken, though we did eat some meat. There were some little sausage things that I have to admit I really liked. The heat killed our appetites though, and I am not always one for a breakfast, lunch and dinner back home. In fact I rarely ever eat lunch, dating back to my uni days in the 1990s. Though since I have returned from Ghana I have been attending our school canteen for some health grub!

Ghanians do like their customs and meetings! It is required when visiting somewhere new to declare your intentions individually! And you give presents when you arrive and receive gifts when you leave! Poor old Santa must sweat when heading for West Africa!

Another interesting highlight was the historic visit of President Barack Obama to Ghana, his first visit to Sub-Saharan Africa. It was a controversial visit in that he rebuked the land of his ancestors (Kenya) to visit Ghana. Our Peace Corps friends Chris and Tammi were invited along with the other US Volunteers to wave Obama off at Accra airport. President John F. Kennedy formed the Peace Corps in 1961, and Ghana was the first destination of the Volunteers. Perhaps there was symbolism in Obama selecting Ghana?

Obama-mania was widespread. His speech was probably like Neil Armstrong landing on the moon. Every man, woman and child were glued to the TV set. Obama was rather straight forward in his speech and it was by no means a whitewash. He spoke freely of the corruption and civil fighting that had and was occurring in several African Nations. It was a brave, if well needed speech.

Obama also visited Cape Coast, which was a port and final call for many West Africans before they were shipped off as slaves to the New World. I would love to return to visit the museum and have time to reflect on the enormity of what happened to innocent people. In a way it must be similar in some aspects for Black people of West African descent to go to places like Cape Coast as it would be for Jewish Europeans to visit Auschwitz or Dachau.

An interesting fact was learned just after our visit. In Athletics, most of the world's top sprinters can trace their ancestory to West Africa due to their physical strength and bulky physiques. However, East Africa, with more slender frames and more mountainous regions are built for distance running! So no wonder Sir Chris Hoy took up cycling.

This incredible story is not yet over. In less than a week we will welcome Emmanuel and Robert Forsson to sunny Scotland and show them what life is like for us here.

And there is a development that Hamilton and Donkorkrom may end up as Twin Towns. If this did happen, then what an incredible legacy for Sinclair Dyer and Kim Dyer.

Kim is a medical student and she needed some extra experience. Sinclair wasn't sure what to do, but a Ghanian who had received some help from a relative for Mr Dyer told him to take Kim to Ghana. Against perhaps his better judgement he did. It seemed at first a strange and perhaps trouble-laden trip... but all the fears any father would have taking his little girl out to a strange new world was proven to be unfounded. The Ghanians treated Sinclair and Kim like their own.

And do you know what? They treated everyone of us like their own. They are a hard act to follow, that is for sure!

Donkorkrom, Afram Plains, Ghana

Here are some pics of my adventures in Ghana. Here is some pics from Donkorkrom Agric Senior High School (DASHS)

Real Life African Adventure!

Well here we are on the eve of our visit to Donkorkrom, Afram Plains, Ghana! Hamilton Grammar Staff are off to visit our colleagues in Africa!

All the medications have been taken or packed... mosquito net purchased and DEET also (industrial strength).

Now all to do is to get ourselves to Accra and then meet up with our companions who will take us up north into the Volta region.

I aim to upload some videos and put them on YouTube and TeacherTube while we are out there, and also to create some podcasts by the local students.

Perhaps next year I can create my own African Adventure entry for our S1 competition for Ghana!

We will also get to visit the Mango plantation which many people have sponsored. And we may even get to see the Tractor which is being bought with the money raised by Mr Dyer, the Eco Group, and the school.

I will be thinking a lot about what we can do to embed this experience into our curriculum, particularly for Technologies and Social Subjects relating to Business and Computing.

If I have the opportunity I will post blog updates from Ghana also... not that anyone will be reading as you will all be off on your holidays to Cyprus, Magaluf, Mexico, Penang or somewhere exotic.

Billionaire Surrenders!

DALLAS -- Texas billionaire R. Allen Stanford, chairman of the troubled Stanford Financial Group, surrendered to FBI agents in Virginia Thursday afternoon, his attorney said.
Law enforcement officials said Stanford is in custody after surrendering in Stafford, Virginia. Authorities plan to unseal an indictment charging Stanford on Friday, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case.

Source: Associated Press

Stanford first came to prominence when he sponsored English Cricket's Super Series match where players received a million dollars per man for winning and nothing for losing.

It seems more and more of businesses that fall into financial trouble will have huge effects and implications for sport. Sport, finance and business are nto happy bedfellows. Some of the Corinthian spirit of sport has been lost. Money is more important than achievement.

How do you feel about this?

Scotland's Top Tourist Destinations

As part of the SG Administration Course I asked one of my classes to come up with their favourite top ten of places of interest in Scotland.

1. Loch Ness
2. Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh
3. Loch Lomond
4. Wallace Monument, Stirling
5. David Livingstone Centre, Blantyre
6. Hampden Park, Glasgow
7. Stirling Castle
8. Cairngorms
9. Blair Drummond Safari Park
10. St Andrew's Old Course

I was quite surprised with some of the landmarks, though it has to be remembered that perhaps pupils in Hamilton would have a different perspective on things than pupils in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Stirling, Dundee, Aberdeen, Ayr, Inverness etc. For example, the David Livingstone Centre in Blantyre may not get as high a placing from pupils in Thurso, Ullapool, Stranraer or Dumfries.

I suppose it was inevitable that Loch Ness would come up as number one!

If you can think of any omissions please post a comment. I will try and discover the real top ten in terms of official visitors.

SLL Golf Festival 2009

I was fortunate enough to take part in this year's SLL Golf Festival held at Hollandbush Golf Course in Lesmahagow.

Hamilton Grammar were represented by Cameron Graham, Jack Neiland, and Dean Johnstone. We took part in a fun Texas Scramble, but sadly the weather was terrible. It rained all day and it was incredible that the course held up so well.

Jack and Cameron were booming drives down the fairway, while myself and Dean struggled to match them. Our contributions were really in putting, though Dean did strike the shot of the day with his 3 wood onto one of the par5s. We worked well as a team, even though there were a few holes I didn't even drive off due to not being able to hold the club in the wet.

Our good scoring was let down by 3 bogeys, but even so we shot a 66. Sadly we were just pipped by a very strong Lesmahagow side who naturally had local knowledge.

Our lads did the school proud and hopefully we will be back next year to have another run at the title.

Social Enterprise Award

The pupils of Hamilton Grammar received the Social Enterprise Award given by the Social Enterprise Academy. The ceremony was held at the Centre for Contemporary Arts in Glasgow yesterday.

Our pupils received the award for the excellent work by Mr Dyer and the Eco Group for all their work for Ghana, Mrs Breen and the Frozoz smoothie company, and Mr McGowan and Young Enterprise's Carbon Offset initiative.

The certificates were presented by Sandra Ewen, MBE, of Determined to Succeed. Hamilton Grammar were the only High School in South Lanarkshire to receive an award this year - another great achievement by our pupils.

One of the guest speakers included Rachael Arnold, who was formerly part of the Virgin Group but who now runs Impact Arts - which aims to help develop young bands. Rachael's speech was truly uplifting and inspirational.

Once again we are all very proud of the pupils for all their hard work and we are just a bit sad that not everyone could attend the event due to the South Lanarkshire Sports Day!

We would like to thank everyone at the Social Enterprise Academy and in particular Claire Fraser for all her hard work in organising the event.

Yasmina is the Apprentice 2009

Well don't say I told you so. Yasmina was declared the Apprentice tonight, after narrowly beating Kate into the runner-up position.

The final task was to create a new chocolate brand with the two finalists getting help from some of the other contestants.

Kate went for Choc D'Amour which had pretty naff packaging and her pricing was way out. However the product was tasty, her pitch was excellent and the idea of chocolates for him, for her, and to share, was innovative. And their video was quite good.

Yasmina went for Cocoa Electric and came up with some hideous flavours. Strawberry and Basil seemed to be the one that turned the most stomachs. However Yasmina got her packaging spot on, and her pricing was in the right ballpark. The product itself would probably not get many repeat sales, and her presentation was stilted to be kind.

When it came to Sir Alan's decision I knew he'd go for Yasmina. Why? Because Kate was such a fantastic and obvious winner it would make bad TV. The same happened the other week when Susan Boyle lost the final of Britain's Got Talent when we all know she was without question a unique talent that was the best there has ever been in the history of any Simon Cowell production.

It was too obvious.

It seems these days true talent is often being overlooked for the unpredictable option. That only works every so often, but if things go wrong then people will line up and say "Was that a good decision?".

Kate should have won.

Yasmina was solid, but lacked personality and came across quite dour. However she would probably follow Sir Alan's orders without question. She would manage, but would she lead? Is Yasmina capable of taking whatever he threw at her to the next level?

Kate on the other hand is bright, bubbly, self-controlled and sharp as a tack. Her communication and presentation skills are second to none. She held it together in interview (unlike Yasmina, thereby making a mockery of the whole process) and she also displayed excellent team working and sales skills. She also showed she has a creative side and displayed leadership for example telling Ben off that he had overstepped the decency line with his rude name for the chocs, or taking over from Kimberly in the advert shoot.

Kate was the all rounder and like Alex last year, the best candidate.

Oh well, will we ever hear from Yasmina again? Unlikely. But I am sure Kate has a bright future ahead of her and she will get over this setback, because at the end of the day if someone can't notice your talent then would you really want to work for them anyway?

And it brings to mind the best piece of advice I have ever been given, by Professor Brian Carlisle: "Never stay where you're not appreciated."

So good luck to Kate and Yasmina. But as so often is the case in this unfair and not always upfront world, the best 'man' did not win!

Social Enterprise Award

Our school, Hamilton Grammar, will pick up a Social Enterprise Award this Tuesday at the Glasgow Centre for Contemporary Art.

This celebrates the achievements of our pupils who in different ventures have raised money for good causes through an entrepreneurial event.

Our incredible Eco Group lead the way - 3 Green Flags! - and I am delighted their hard work is being recognised yet again. Young Enterprise are also involved since they worked with the Eco Group with gaining sponsors for the Mango plantation in Donkorkrom, Ghana.

Last but certainly not least is Frozoz. This was a venture led by Mrs Brown which had S3 and S4 pupils creating smoothies. The promotional material the pupils made was particularly impressive!

The Social Enterprise inspectors came to visit our school and seemed impressed, so we were invited to the awards ceremony.

It should be a great experience and yet more recognition for our fantastic young people. It will be bittersweet since many of the ones involved are leaving to go to university. But they go with all of our best wishes.

The Apprentice - Final

Tomorrow is the final of this year's Apprentice. In the running for the £100k job from Alan Sugar is Kate and Yasmina.

The two fiesty females won through the interview round which saw the really quite silly James dispatched, along with the lacking in confidence Lorraine, and the rather unlucky Debra.

James made a series of mistakes and came across as to flippant and trivial. He was quite frankly not serious enough.

Lorraine didn't have the CV and skills to compete against her rivals, and I think she knew she was doomed from the off. Lorraine also made a few errors in her CV, but unlike Lee McQueen from last year she could not engineer an escape.

Debra was aggressive and bullish but she did show emotion when James got the sack, but her faux pas was in her choice of referees. They slated her! What chance do you have if you pick a poor referee?

But Kate and Yasmina may count themselves lucky to have went through also.

Kate was accused of lacking passion and being too robotic. I would say she came across a bit false. She knows all the answers to interview questions but lacked the enthusiasm needed. She kept her cool - no bad thing - but perhaps she is too much of an ice maiden.

How Yasmina got through I do not know. She may well be an entrepreneur, but when Claude - one of the interviewers - grilled her over her restaurant's accounts, she was clueless. She didn't know her accounts were filed at Company House and therefore public, nor did she know the difference between gross and net profit! I cannot believe she got through after making such mistakes! In fact if she was on Dragons' Den she would have been shown the door.

Alan Sugar has recently been made Enterprise Czar by the Labour Government, which I am also a bit worried about! Alan chose Lee over Alex last year when Alex was clearly the best candidate and in fact even Kristina was a better candidate that Simon the year before (he was a bit like James!).

I would have taken Debra to the final and in fact I think she is the most capable of all the candidates though she does have to learn how to respect her colleagues, but she will learn I feel.

In saying that in the final it looks like a canter for Kate, but the way Alan Sugar seems to play to the entertainment side of the programme rather than the business side that means Yasmina will win!