Thursday, March 26, 2020

Northwest Chemistry Research - Professors Give Their Take on Why Science Has Been So Important

Northwest Chemistry Research - Professors Give Their Take on Why Science Has Been So ImportantNorthwest science and Northwest chemistry research are the key to resolving the challenges of the future. These two fields have been at the forefront of scientific discovery and innovation for the past century. The Northwest field of chemistry has helped forge the path towards a more sustainable and environmentally-friendly world, but, despite the popularity of these two disciplines, very few individuals are familiar with them or have a solid understanding of the dynamic process of science and its importance in our society.Recently, some popular conversation seems to be centering on the importance of math in everyday life. Even some scholars have started to speak about the correlation between math and success, and many find the idea of success at some level influenced by math in their daily lives. While math and statistics may not be directly associated with Northwest chemistry research, the y certainly are important parts of the life of a scientist.Northwest chemistry research involves the exploration of the possibilities and challenges facing us today. Many Northwestern chemists have explored the vast, inhospitable areas of the globe in search of the unknown, as well as the potential of new chemical substances that could potentially impact the course of humankind.The truth is that this exploration is continually spurred by the current problem that the scientific community is faced with, and the geographic area where this occurs is even more relevant to Northwest chemistry research. The study of the Earth is almost always aided by the atmosphere. Northwest chemists deal with the subtleties of the environmental characteristics of our planet, as well as the problems that those attributes create.Atmospheric science is often called the study of the atmosphere. Though the topic may seem a bit obscure, it has always been considered to be one of the core components of most So uthwest Chemistry research programs. The earth's atmosphere is constantly changing and without understanding this change, scientists often times cannot do much about it.Southwest Chemistry research usually focuses on the discovery of new chemical compounds and their interactions with each other, with one another, and with the environment. The data that this new science gives us helps to answer questions such as: is it safe to breathe the air we are breathing?These are just a few of the important research areas that have been important in West Coast chemistry research. Once you have heard about them, you can take action by checking out a Northwest Chemistry Research course.

Friday, March 6, 2020

6 Ways to Boost Creativity

6 Ways to Boost Creativity Are you looking for ways to improve your creative writing, drawing, musical composition,  or even analytical problem solving skills? Creativity is often seen as an innate talent, an ability reserved for artists. But  like most things, we believe creativity is  a skill that can be learned, practiced and nurtured. Imaginative thinking, original ideas and innovation are all incredibly useful skills for any of us to posses. How to boost creativity? How to  boost creative thought? We explore 6 different techniques that can help you or your child boost creativity. We hope you take away some practical tips and try applying some of these techniques to your own creative projects. 1. Reconceptualise The Problem Einstein once said, “If I had an hour to solve a problem I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about solutions.” Researchers have found that creative people exhibit this discovery-orientated behaviour, and reconceptualise the problem before starting a creative task. When starting an art project for example, instead of thinking “I need to create a beautiful art piece to impress the class”, try re-visualising the problem from other angles first. Who are my audience? What inspires them? What feelings do I want to evoke? Try it yourself; you may end up with a more creative idea. This exercise is useful for a variety of different creative tasks, from statistical analysis, web design, musical composition to sculpture or creative writing. 2. Counterfactual Thinking Counterfactual thinking is when we think, “What might have been?” and practicing this has been shown to increase short-term creativity. I find this technique particularly useful as a creative writing exercise, or even as a reflective exercise - as it really helps to get your creative juices flowing! A funny example of this was seen on the TV show, The Big Bang Theory, where one character asks the other “In a world where Rhinoceroses are domesticated pets, who wins the Second World War?” Experiment with this technique yourself by thinking of a past event and re-imagining the outcome. You can employ an “additive mindset” by adding details to the event, or use a “subtractive mindset” by taking away details and thinking about how that changes the outcome. This technique is also useful for creative problem solving, adding or subtracting “what if?” scenarios and thinking about how this might affect the outcome. 3. Positive Thinking First of all, a negative mood can of course spur on creativity, for example think about the countless break-up songs that dominate our music charts. But for cognitive tasks such as decision-making, hypothesis testing etc. research  has found that a positive mood can improve creativity, as well as affect the approach we take when problem solving. Thinking happy thoughts/memories, smiling, laughing or exercise (although sounds clichéd), can boost activity in your prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex - the areas of the brain associated with complex cognition and emotion. 4. Create Psychological Distance Do you find that it always seems easier to solve someone else’s problem, than it is to tackle your own? It turns out that there’s an explanation for that. Research shows physiological distance occurs when you experience something as not happening here, now, to yourself. In other words, the further away a problem seems, the easier it is to solve. This psychological distance makes the problem less concrete, and more abstract to you. This distance makes it easier for you to form “unusual connections” and free yourself from assumed limitations. You can create psychological distance by changing your perspective, and look at the problem from another person’s perspective. I also came across another interesting study, which found that participants, who thought someone else would later use their work, came up with more creative ideas. In one experiment they told participants that their drawings would later be used by someone else to create a story. Consequently, the participants came up with much more “creative” drawings versus those who weren’t told this. When approaching a creative project, try thinking about how someone else might enjoy using or repurposing your creation! 5. Try Something New Approaching tasks out of habit can stunt our creative thought; the idiom, “creature of habit” comes to mind. But, I came across a really great article in the New York Times (I highly recommend the read!), which details the benefits of possessing “novelty seeking” traits, and how it is closely associated with creativity and overall well-being. These findings can be applied in many ways (as well as be considered with a pinch of salt.) I personally think if you are looking for an injection of creative thought, step out of your comfort zone and stretch yourself by trying something new. It could be anything from trying life drawing for the first time, exploring a new cycle route or experimenting with a recipe. Our life experiences contribute to our creative thinking and exposure to new things helps us to unlock a different side to ourselves. 6. Use Restrictions Creatively Did you know that Dr. Seuss wrote Green Eggs and Ham after betting that he couldn’t write a story using less than 50 words? Research shows that most of us take the path of “least resistance”. We tend to build off of existing concepts when brainstorming ideas, which could lead to less creativity as we rely on our past successes. Avoid becoming a “one trick pony” by restricting yourself, and send your brain into overdrive! For expert essay writers set yourself the challenge and try to write a short story in just 300 words? For artists try restricting yourself to two colours? For musicians why not write a melody using only a few chords? This limiting task could help you to discover a new approach or technique - which brings out your creative side. There are countless tips and studies out there, these are just a few that we found useful. Please share your own practical tips to boost creativity, in the comments below! We’d love to hear from you.

Phrasal Verbs and the Continuous Forms

Phrasal Verbs and the Continuous Forms Todays grammar video is about how to use phrasal verbs in the continuous forms (with -ing). In English we use present continuous to say something is happening now, at this moment. We use past continuous when a longer action in the past is interrupted by a shorter action. This weeks exercise is a good way to see if you can use the continuous tenses properly and introduces you to some new phrasal verbs.Watch the video and try the exercises below:Here is a list of the phrasal verbs to choose from: pay for, go after, look up, cheat on, point to, wrap upChoose the correct phrasal verb and put the verb in the correct tense in the sentences below.1. He is _____ ___ our dinner tonight, so I didnt bring my wallet.2. The evidence in the murder case ______ __ a political motive.3. I am _____ __ Christmas presents today.4. Did he ____ __ how much plane tickets to Hawaii are?5.  The companies new strategy is _______  _____ markets in China and Russia.6. We will _____ __ the meeting around 4PM.7 . The police are _____ ___ the lead suspect in the drug ring.8. You should not ____ __ an English exam.9. Have you already ______ ___ lunch?10. Everything in the article ______ __ poverty as the cause for crime.Thanks everyone! Yuri Manzhos 1. paying for 2. point to 3. wrapping up 4. look up 5. going after 6. go after 7. going after 8. cheat on 9. wrapped up 10. point to LOIEnglish Yuri, thanks for answering. Question #2: pointS to-be sure to add the s to the verb when it is in third person (he, she, and it) Question #6: wrap up-it means to finish or end Question #9: I think paid for is a better choice here. Wrapped up does make sense but usually it is specifically for things like meetings, negotiations, details, etc. Question #10. You had the same problem here as question #2. You forgot the s at the end of point. POINTS to.Thanks! LOIEnglish Rafayou are correct you can use wrap up in the literal meaning to cover something with paper or cloth. They wrapped the baby up in warm bla nkets before going outside. We are going to wrap up our Christmas presents today. The difference is that the preposition isnt necessary. It means the same to say, They wrapped the baby in warm blankets before going outside. We are going to wrap our Christmas presents today. LOIEnglish Rafa..good work. Question #3 can also be wrapping up. susana gonzalez 1. He is PAYING FOR our dinner tonight, so I didn’t bring my wallet.2. The evidence in the murder case POINTS TO a political motive.3. I am WRAPPING UP Christmas presents today.4. Did he LOOK UP how much plane tickets to Hawaii are?5. The companies new strategy is GOES AFTER markets in China and Russia.6. We will GO AFTER the meeting around 4PM.7. The police are GOING AFTER the lead suspect in the drug ring.8. You should not CHEAD ON an English exam.9. Have you already PAID FOR lunch?10. Everything in the article POINTS TO poverty as the cause for crime. LOIEnglish Susana you had a problem with question #5: is GOING AFTER it i s the present continuous form.

Thursday, March 5, 2020

Be Lazy in the Right Way!

Be Lazy in the Right Way! Laziness one of the most interesting phenomenons in the human condition. Although laziness is associated with negative connotation, and is often observed when parents look at their school aged kids, laziness demonstrates has substantial positive benefits. Laziness actually has a quite positive influence. Psychologist, teachers and even historians belief that laziness has served as one of the contributing factors in the  scientific and technical progress.  For example when the famous English physicist Isaac Newton idled underneath that proverbial apple tree he came up with the concept of gravity.  Similarly, Archimedes relaxed often in bath houses.  This laziness gave rise to the his understanding of the volume of irregularity shaped objects, such as the kings crown. Laziness acts as a defense mechanism against stress.  It is no secret that modern  life can be extremely busy filled with all kinds of activities, constant problems and nuisances. In these situation, we humans developed a natural school defensive reaction to the stress on the body overload:  laziness. The nerves calm, the blood pressure falls and after a deep sigh the problems of this world appear to be less daunting. Our children have to cope with pressure from many sides: the teachers, the piers and, lets face it, from the parents too.  Isnt it the desire to idle  understandable?  Psychology R. Keith Sawyer, Ph.D. at    Washington University  says laziness protects us people from  moral and psychological pressure. Laziness indirectly helps to improve the quality of work. A person who is rested and grounded typically works has at a higher level of efficiency and precision. This translates into less errors, less accidents and more satisfaction for everyone involved. There has been ample research in the field of creativity. It unmistakably shows that at state of centered (a.k.a laziness) is an important prerequisite of conceiving creative solutions. “Idle time allows people to think of their problems in new ways,” says Sawyer, author of  Explaining Creativity: The Science of Human Innovation, a seminal overview of the history of creativity and of research into traits that highly creative people all share. “People talk about the ‘aha’ moment emerging when you are doing something else.” The message of this article is this: It is better to allocate downtime filled with making paper planes and sleep than pretending we are busy. Much effort and time wasted when we are trying to do something to which we have neither the capacity nor the desire to do. In summary, laziness is an often misunderstood concept.  Laziness it beneficial to the degree that it resources our body and soul, makes us more productive, creative and satisfied.

Quiz Whats the best place to teach English abroad with a TEFL certification in 2020 [+ job postings]

Quiz Whats the best place to teach English abroad with a TEFL certification in 2020 [+ job postings] So you’ve decided you want to pack up your life and find the perfect job teaching abroad, but there’s only one problem: you don’t know where you want to go! With so many options before you, it's no wonder this decision takes lots of contemplating. That’s why we’ve whipped up a short quiz to help make that life-changing decision a little bit easier for you. No matter where you are with your decision, this quiz will help match you up with the best places to teach abroad in 2020. It kind of works like a relationship matchmaker by finding your perfect match based on things like your personality, values and goals, except there are no awkward dates involved (thank goodness). Now go find your perfect match and when you’re done, scroll down below for a list of current job postings by region, so you can get started on your teaching abroad adventure! Where should you teach abroad this year? Take our quick, 10-question quiz and discover your ideal teaching destination in 2020! Don’t forget to head on over to the Teach Away job board. There are hundreds of great teaching job openings right now, across all levels, subjects and experience levels, at top schools and programs all around the world. If you're not already TEFL certified, there's still time to get your certification so you can qualify for your dream teaching job overseas. Ready to see what's out there? Here's a quick teaser of featured jobs available to help jump-start your 2020 teach abroad job search: Teach in Asia in 2020 English teaching jobs in China for certified teachers, ESL instructors and new grads: Disney English English First Explore Program English teaching jobs in Japan for certified teachers, ESL instructors and new grads: GABA Corporation Nova Benesse BE Studio Inc. English teaching jobs in Thailand for ESL instructors and new grads: Mediakids Academy Sign up to Teach Away today for access to the latest teaching jobs around the world. Teach in the Middle East in 2020 Teaching jobs in the UAE for certified teachers and English teachers: UAE Government Schools (accepts new grads with a relevant degree) Emirates National Schools Teach English online in 2020 Online English teaching jobs for certified teachers, ESL instructors and new grads: Gogokid DaDa VIPKID Teach all around the world in 2020 Make 2020 the yearthe world becomes yourclassroom. With so many great teaching jobs available, there is no reason you can't start your adventure today. Still not TEFL certified? No worries! You can easily finish your TEFL certification online with one of our university-backed TEFL programs, so you can qualify for all your dream teaching jobs abroad. Our online job fairs are the perfect first step towards finding a great-paying teaching job you’ll love. Interested? Spots are limited so get that application in.Apply to attend an online job fair!

TutorZ.com Secures the Users Personal Data by Using SSL Protocol

TutorZ.com Secures the Users Personal Data by Using SSL Protocol Los Angeles, California, July 26th, 2012 TutorZ.com, a leading nation-wide tutoring referral service now uses SSL encryption to protect the users data. Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is a security technology that establishes an encrypted link between a web server and a browser and maintains the privacy of the communication and  guarantees the  safety  of the visitors data. TutorZ.com takes the safety and security of the personal information of its students and tutors very seriously.  In an ongoing effort do keep all client information safe from hackers TutorZ.com has deployed SSL certificates enabling the encryption of data sent between browsers and TutorZ secure server.  This communication is also known as https. The encryption is high-grade (AES-256 using 256 bit keys). The SSL certificates are issued by GoDaddy, Inc. â€"  a widely trusted certificate issuer. For example, when tutors now log into their respective accounts login the user name and password cannot be intercepted by violator. The same is true for all personal information from within the accounts.  As a visual indicator of entering the secure region most browsers display  in the address bar a lock and/or highlight in green the secure protocol, that is https. We want to make our customers feel confident as they trust us with their personal information and use their credit cards to purchase credit. says Dirk Wagner, CEO of TutorZ.com. ABOUT Tutorz â€" Founded in July of 2006 and launched at the beginning of 2007  by Dirk Wagner, TutorZ.com  is an online tutoring referral service. Currently Tutorz is based out of Los Angeles  and is a privately owned limited liability corporation (LLC) with four employees. TutorZ.com is designed to help students and parents freely and easily network to find a private tutor over the Internet. The search engine maintains a simple and clean construction â€"  site users looking for tutoring help have the option to search by keyword or subject (Algebra, English, Science, Accounting etc) and area (Seattle, New York, Taxes).  The  TutorZ.com  site provides listings of over 55,000 private tutors nationwide  and this number is expanding daily. Tutors data is organized into easy to use profiles that include tutoring subjects, education background, professional experience, awards, degrees, references, pictures and location. Integrated relevance ranking algorithm and filters allow students to select the perfect tutor  quickly  and easily. Tutors listed on TutorZ.com directory embrace  academic studies including math, English, languages, business, accounting,  physics,  biology, chemistry, history and many more. For additional information on TutorZ.com contact Dirk Wagner (CEO Founder) at dirk@tutorz.com or Dariya Lopukhina (Director of Marketing) at dariya@tutorz.com. Visit  TutorZ.com to find an online or an in-person private tutor for you or your child.

I Cannot Change the Direction of the Wind

I Cannot Change the Direction of the Wind I cant change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination. Jimmy Dean Jimmy Dean was the creative and multifaceted personality. He was an actor, television host, musician and entrepreneur. Dean was instrumental in making country music popular. For that he  was nominated to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2010. James Dean actor career began when he was a cast in the 1971 James Bond movie Diamonds Are Forever. Dean called  Richmond, Virginia his home.