Follow on Twitter as @LeeMeixianBTLee Meixian writes, "Aon Hewitt's global CEO of consulting, Yvan Legris, is in the business of predictions - predicting risks, human behaviour, organisational needs and industry shifts in human resource." 'You need to have a mix between short-term incentives for achievements of objectives in one year, versus longer-term performance which tends to be delivered through share awards.' Photo: THE BUSINESS TIMES  YOU can take a man out of Mauritius, but perhaps you can never take Mauritius out of the man.Aon Hewitt's global CEO of consulting, Yvan Legris, left his birthplace on the African island-nation when he was 19 on a bond-free government scholarship to study economics and actuarial science in London.Actuarial science was, and still is, his passion, and pensions would later become his specialisation. Mr Legris wanted to be an actuary - someone who evaluates risks and designs ways to control their likelihood of happening and eventual impact - because at that time, there were no actuaries where he came from."I wanted to be the first actuary (in Mauritius) and I remember feeling a little bit cheated when someone qualified before me," he says with a chuckle.His strong interest in pension programmes is plain as he discusses them. Specifically, this has to do with the art and science of financial modelling to project how much money a company needs to put into a pension pot in order to pay its retirees to maintain a certain standard of living for as long as they live."There are all sorts of unknowns such as life expectancies, interest rates, asset returns. That is really what fascinated me: how to use financial tools to manage and predict those things."You don't know what the exact answer is. You've done an approximation and you track things as they progress and as the pension plans mature, how they are doing versus what needs to be paid out. And then you make recommendations on whether companies should put more money in, or whether they should change how they invest the money."In most countries, actuarial graduates have to join a professional institute and take exams for the next six years, on average.Mr Legris doesn't have a practising certificate as an actuary any more because in his client-facing consultancy role today, he is not doing enough technical work to maintain that qualification. But he finds that the discipline has continued to help him in developing strategies and gives him credibility with his teams and clients.Aon Hewitt designs and executes people programmes - such as for compensation, engagement, retirement and health benefits - for big organisations. The company, along with Mercer and Towers Watson, form the so-called "Big Three" in the human capital consulting world.And Mr Legris' forte in pensions fits right into human resource (HR) programmes as people are living longer and want to retire better.Read more... Source: THE BUSINESS TIMES 

"A local business is giving the gift of music to organizations in need through a piano give-away program." continues WSIL TV.http://www.wsiltv.com/news/unsung-hero/Baldwin-Piano-and-Organ-Center-315825201.htmlTurning notes on paper, into a tune we hear is an art that takes dedication.Playing the piano can sometimes be expensive too. That's where Baldwin Piano and Organ Center in Herrin comes in. "We have kids who know how to play the piano and don't have one," said Marketing and Sales Director at Baldwin Piano Tammy Gwaltney, "Or kids who have always wanted to play the piano and just don't have access to that. So It was a pretty easy marriage. We had the product, they had the need, and we put them together."When Tammy Gwaltney started working at the piano store in April, she asked owner Bruce Steh if she could start a give away with some of the used pianos at the store.  Bruce was eager to help others and told Tammy to go ahead with her idea.In just a couple of months, they've donated more than a dozen pianos to various organizations in need such as T.M.A.D. youth center in Herrin."They were very excited," remembers T.M.A.D. Executive Director Julia Jordan, "Immediately the ones that have that gift of being able to play the piano or being interested in playing the piano were drawn to it they went to it they sat down they started playing it. It was great." Tammy says the response has been overwhelming from churches, senior centers, schools and even day cares.."We know that kids who learn to play music or sing, often perform better academically in school in all other subject areas. So we're happy to be a small part of keeping that going."Read more...  Source: WSIL TV

Follow on Twitter as @DearestDevineJacqueline Devine reports, "New way to learn: Space history museum introduces small-scale replicas of craft, meteors."New Mexico School for the Blind and Visually Impaired campers Kaden Calahan, 15, and Marisa Pierce, 12, use braille to interpret photographs from space at the New Mexico Museum of Space History Thursday morning. (photos by Jacqueline Devine — Daily News)Having five senses is something most people take for granted, but for the blind and visually impaired lacking the sense of vision is what keeps them from really understanding the world and beyond. It's why the New Mexico Museum of Space History has begun introducing small scale models and replicas of spacecraft, rockets and meteors to help them visualize the magnitude of the universe. The New Mexico School for the Blind and Visually Impaired hosted a week long camp for visually impaired students from across the state to learn important life skills and astronomy among many other activities. NMSBVI science teacher Jeffery Killebrew said the campers traveled from Clovis, Gallup, Albuquerque and Santa Fe to participate. "We've been doing other activities this week and we ended it with a fun trip to the space museum so they can experience things they have not been able to experience before. They got to hear and feel models that helped them learn about astronomy," Killebrew said. "The activities we offered involved science, math, assisted technology, mobility and life skills. We split them up during the day and students got to experience certain learning environments. They cooked their own meals, and for some it was the first time they've been able to cook by themselves."He said the models help students understand space better because it was concrete and not abstract, learning by touching and hearing helps them conceptualize how big the universe really is."We can talk about size but to a visually impaired person who has never experienced sight before in life, distance and length is very arbitrary. Being able to see the down scale size of the models lets them see the different size differentials," Killebrew said. "The 3-D models of the Eta Carinae was really cool for the students because they got to be able to feel something that's in outer space and a representation of that is great."Read more... Source: Alamogordo Daily News

"Roffey Park is a charitable trust based in Singapore and the UK, recognised for developing innovative learning approaches. Photo: Gary MilesWe catch-up with Gary Miles, Director of International Operations and Associate Relations to discover his view on the future of robots." according to Kathryn Cave, Editor at IDG Connect.Photo: IDG Connect What are the most interesting uses of robots you’ve seen in the current workplace?In the caring profession. In the East, China and Japan, robots are being seen as a potential blessing with family members regarding this kind of automation as serving to help caring for elderly and sick relatives and removing the monotony from many menial and dissatisfying tasks.In the West, in contrast, the main use of robots is still in industry such as highly advanced manufacturing facilities or high volume assembly lines. Other interesting uses of robots are in aerospace industry for outer space exploration enabling scientists to explore in outer space without putting themselves in danger, and Healthcare Delivery in robotic surgery, even if the patient is located in remote areas.How do you think they’ll be used in the future workplace? We will see a continuation of the use of robots in manufacturing, aerospace, and defence industries in the short-term, but in the medium-term a greater proportion will be used in medical and caring professions and delivering helping/waiting functions, as can be seen in some restaurants in China.Longer term we will move to a situation where robots are taking on human behaviour and emotions. Cynthia Breazeal from MIT, for example, has created Kismet, an autonomous robot designed for social interactions with humans.Kismet the AI Robot Kismet apparently has a repertoire of responses driven by emotive and behavioural systems. Crucial to its drives are behaviours it uses to keep its emotional balance so when there are no visual cues to stimulate it, such as a face or a toy, it will become increasingly sad and lonely and look for people to play with. This is just one example of a robotics project that in the long-term will lead to improvements and innovations in the application of robotics to medicine, personal service as well as space and underwater exploration.Read more... Source: IDG Connect

"How to get instruments into the hands of more high school students was the dilemma on Yuba City High Principal Martin Ramirez's mind." continues Appeal-Democrat.Photo: Appeal-DemocratYCHS offered orchestra and band classes, both classes better suited for students with previous experience playing and reading music. "Typically, if you haven't had a music class and been learning music in elementary school, you're already done by the time you get to high school," Ramirez said.Ramirez brought the problem to band director Ted Zalkind, who is starting his third year at the school, and they devised a plan to reach musical novices through a guitar class. They hoped to get 25 students interested, enough to have one class period — 58 signed up.Zalkind will teach two classes of guitar when school begins Aug. 12, but there is a problem: He needs more instruments.So far, Zalkind has 10 guitars for the class, but he needs at least 25 for a full classroom set and hopes to have enough so each student can be assigned his or her own guitar."We want the students to be able to check out their guitar, take it home and practice," Zalkind said. "If we only have one set, we can maybe send one home on the weekend."Zalkind is looking into possible funding sources to purchase some guitars, but he hopes people with unused guitars will donate to the program.Read more... Source: Appeal-Democrat

Photo: Merisenda AlatorreMerisenda Alatorre, award-winning educator and Interactive Media Producer at KQED writes, "KQED will be hosting Make Cycle 5 for CLMOOC on Monday, July 20 through Friday, July 24."Photo: KQED (blog) CLMOOC stands for Connected Learning MOOC - a massively open online collaboration. CLMOOC is an open space for educators of all backgrounds to connect with each other and engage with new tools. Each week there is a make cycle, which is an open invitation to make, play, learn, and connect.Here are the events to look out for:Monday, July 20: A CLMOOC newsletter will announce the make cycle theme on the CLMOOC website Tuesday, July 21: KQED will host a "Make With Me" live broadcast and synchronous chat at 1 PM PST Thursday, July 23: KQED will host a Twitter chat at 1 PM PST. Follow #clmooc to follow the conversation.You can participate in CLMOOC on Google +, Facebook, and Twitter.Source: KQED (blog) 

by ChiWei Ranck, Udacity Our mission at Udacity is to help you succeed in your career and ultimately transform your life. Even as we’ve evolved from providing free content to now providing both free and paid learning options, our core values remain the same. We work with industry leaders like Google to provide you with the [...]

by Kia Kokalitcheva, Fortune In early April, professional social network LinkedIn shelled out $1.5 billion to acquire Lynda.com, one of the largest and oldest online learning marketplaces, with the goal of becoming the professional enrichment destination of choice. But Pluralsight, a Farmington, Utah-based online learning company that provides education in technical topics, is not worried. Instead, [...]

Everyone’s heard that body language is important - it really does affect how others perceive you. But did you know your own body language can affect how you feel? Your posture can have a surprising effect on self-confidence and performance. By now, you may have heard of power posing. If not, here’s a brief primer: A joint study from researchers at Columbia and Harvard University found that certain "power poses" cause changes in hormone levels that lead to higher confidence and overall better performance. People in positions that were more open, relaxed, and expansive had these positive changes. More precisely, striking power poses increased testosterone (linked to increased self-esteem and confidence) and decreased cortisol (linked to stress). People in more closed off or slouched positions were found to have lower confidence, decreased feelings of power, and less likely to take risks. So just how do you do these power poses? Generally, you should try to take up more space, but also remain relaxed. When sitting, lean back in your chair, raise your arms with your hands laced behind your head, and prop your legs up on a table. Alternatively, stand with your legs apart and your arms resting on your hips or on a table in front of you. You should avoid hunching over a smartphone or crossing your arms. So what does all of this mean for you? Being more aware of your own posture and body language could help you improve your performance at work. Before or during a big presentation, strike a power pose to boost your confidence and lower your stress levels. Stand up tall with a power pose. If you feel better, you will perform better. Have an important meeting at work? Remain relaxed, open, and confident with a power pose. Changing your body language is a simple and quick way to help yourself. It doesn’t take long -- holding the pose for just one minute can lead to these positive effects. So before your next big presentation take a minute just to collect yourself, strike a pose, and empower yourself! Business Skills PostsProductivity PostsView the discussion thread.

Photo: Professor Frank Wilczek We all know that numbers can help us understand the beauty of nature. But in this excerpt from the new book A Beautiful Question: Finding Nature’s Deep Design by Nobel Prize-winning physicist Frank Wilczek, he shows how it goes a lot deeper than that. Did the ancient mathematician Pythagoras know something we don’t?ALL THINGS ARE NUMBERMost of us first heard the name "Pythagoras" when we were in high school geometry class, but few recall that there was an actual person named Pythagoras who lived and died around 570-495 BCE. Very little is known about the real Pythagoras, or rather a lot is "known" about him, but most of it is surely wrong. The documentary trail is littered with contradictions. It combines the sublime, the ridiculous, the unbelievable, and the just plain weird.Pythagoras was said to be the son of Apollo, to have a golden thigh, and to glow. He may or may not have advocated vegetarianism. Among his most notorious sayings is an injunction not to eat beans, because "beans have a soul." Yet several early sources explicitly deny that Pythagoras said or believed anything of the sort. More reliably, Pythagoras believed in, and taught, reincarnation. Several stories—each dubious, to be sure—corroborate this...A few things seem clear. The historical Pythagoras was born on the Greek island of Samos, traveled widely, and became the founder of and inspiration for an unusual religious movement. His cult flourished briefly in Crotone, in southern Italy, and developed chapters in several other places before being everywhere suppressed. The Pythagoreans formed secret societies, on which the initiates’ lives centered. These communities, which included both men and women, promoted a kind of intellectual mysticism that seemed marvelous, yet strange and threatening, to most of their contemporaries. Their worldview centered on worshipful admiration of numbers and musical harmony, which they saw as reflecting the deep structure of reality. (As the next two thousand years have shown, they were on to something.)...Photo: io9Thanks to Raphael, we know what the real Pythagoras looked like. In Raphael’s famous painting he is captured deep in concentration as he writes in a great book, surrounded by admirers. It is difficult to make out what this Pythagoras is writing, but I like to pretend it is some version of his most fundamental credo:All Things Are NumberIt is also difficult to know, at this separation in time and space, exactly what Pythagoras meant by that. So we get to use our imagination. Read more... Additional resourcesA Beautiful Question: Finding Nature's Deep DesignArtists as well as scientists throughout human history have pondered this "beautiful question." With Nobel laureate Frank Wilczek as your guide, embark on a voyage of related discoveries, from Plato and Pythagoras up to the present.Penguin Press (July 14, 2015).  Source: io9