Leadership & Education Myths

There are two myths that I keep running into, so I decided to do a quick post about them, not only to keep track of the meta-studies which evaluated these theories, but also to refer others to so I don't have to keep repeating myself.

Those myths are Learning Styles theory and Generational theory.

Learning styles theory (Fleming & Mills, 1992) is sometimes known as VAK or VARK, standing for whether a person prefers learning material to be delivered in a visual, audial or kinaesthetic way. The theory proposes that we are either watchers, listeners, or doers. Later versions of this theory suggested a "D" for digital interaction, completely forgetting that we would still get our learning via watching, listening, or doing (how inconvenient). Hmm. VAKD has a bit of a ring to it. I vakd yesterday...

So how do we find out about our learning style and what do we do with that knowledge? "Proponents of learning-style assessment contend that optimal instruction requires diagnosing individuals learning style and tailoring instruction accordingly" (Pashler, McDaniel, Rohrer, & Bjork, 2008, p. 105)... which means we do a quiz to find out. There are more than 70 quizzes, so that has been quite good business (Newton & Miah, 2017). Then teachers have to do lots of planning to ensure that all teaching was delivered in four ways. Sooo... not difficult for educators at all, really!

This idea completely ignores whether learning is equally sticky in all delivery styles (i.e. effective or efficient). Liking does not equal good learning, regardless of whether the learner enjoys a particular delivery channel. It also pigeon-holes students, and may limit their exploration of other styles, to the student's detriment. None of the studies researching the learning styles theory has withstood the test of time and replicability to satisfactorily prove that the theory exists or has validity (Cuevas, 2015; Newton & Miah, 2017).

Generational theory is another neat little pigeon-holing theory. A generation is the thirty year gap which lies between population groups (a definition to be extended at some stage due to the slowing birth rate and the ageing of first mothers?). Generational theory is the idea that people born at a certain time will have certain characteristics, so theoreticians have helpfully clustered generations into groups which 'possess' certain attributes. What I have been noting for some time is that how 'Gen X' used to be spoken of (i.e. the 'characteristics' they displayed) over time became how 'Millennials' were spoken of... and now this seems to be how 'iGen' is spoken of. Hmm: the inexorable force of time, perhaps? The amazing ability of humankind to over-generalise and stereotype?

At present, up to five generations may conceivably be currently in the workforce. Those generations are (and yes, this is a little tongue-in-cheek):

1. Traditionalists (1915-1944): Also called the silent generation. Should have retired long ago. Use a computer as a hammer. Entitled because they won WWII and starved in the Great Depression.
2. Baby Boomers (1945-1964): committed, motivated, confident, diligent. Ride Harleys. Entitled, want it all, including cosmetic surgery to stay young forever.
3. Generation X (1965-1981): want lots of benefits, cynical, autonomous and self-reliant. Except for those inconvenient children who turned up, dammit. Oh, and entitled.
4. Generation Y/Millennials (1982-2000): roving, disloyal, flibberty-gibbets who may be 'digital natives' if their family was affluent enough (and if digital natives were really a 'thing'). Eeek: now getting married! Totally entitled.
5. iGen (2000+): 'digital natives' (that other myth), want it all, supposedly too hip to operate machinery if it doesn't swipe... and of course, entitled.

Last year I had two students wanting to study generational theory. I showed them a study from the IBM Institute for Business Value which showed that differences were negligable between the generations, or went against current assumptions. While I managed to persuade one to use two theories as a cross-comparison, the other student stuck to Generational theory <sigh>. Earlier this year, I was reading the New Zealand Institute of Director's Boardroom magazine, and was confronted by the article asking "What do the different generations want?". At the same time, a meta-study by Rudolph, Rauvola, and Zacher (2018) crossed my desk from the Leadership Quarterly debunking generational theory. At last, I thought! We can now fold our generational tents and follow along with Super's Life Stage theory instead, which actually does have some evidence. I emailed the IOD and suggested they stop publishing on Generational theory. I have yet to hear back.

Debunking. Pushing out human ignorance one person at a time :-)


Sam

References:

• Cuevas, J. (2015). Is learning styles-based instruction effective? A comprehensive analysis of recent research on learning styles. Theory and Research in Education, 13(3), 308-333. https://doi.org/10.1177/1477878515606621
• Fleming, N. D., & Mills, C. (1992). Not another in ventory, rather a catalyst for reflection. To Improve the Academy, 11, 137-143. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2334-4822.1992.tb00213.x
• IBM Institute for Business Value (2015). Myths, exaggerations and uncomfortable truths: The real story behind Millennials in the workplace. Retrieved 12 April 2016 from http://www-01.ibm.com/common/ssi/cgi-bin/ssialias?subtype=WH&infotype=SA&appname=GBSE_GB_TI_USEN&htmlfid=GBL03032USEN&attachment=GBL03032USEN.PDF
• Kirschner, P. A. (2017). Stop propagating the learning styles myth. Computers & Education, 106, 166-171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2016.12.006
• Newton, P. M., & Miah, M. (2017). Evidence-Based Higher Education – Is the Learning Styles ‘Myth’Important? Frontiers in Psychology, 8(444), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00444
• Pashler, H., McDaniel, M., Rohrer, D., & Bjork, R. (2008). Learning styles: Concepts and evidence. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 9(3), 105-119. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1539-6053.2009.01038.x
• Rudolph, C. W., Rauvola, R. S., & Zacher, H. (2018). Leadership and generations at work: a critical review. The Leadership Quarterly, 29(1), 44-57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2017.09.004

read more "Leadership & Education Myths"

The more things change...

(Careers New Zealand, n.d.)

That old adage, the more things change, the more they stay the same, was brought to mind recently when a student of mine decided to study Gen Y. Gen Y - or Milliennials, iGen or Generation Me - were born during the 1980s and 1990s, and are supposed to be tech-savvy, marketing literate and 'digital natives'. Impatient, selfish, lazy, job-jumpers, yada, yada, yada.

There is a growing body of research out there that says that these artificial barriers that we like to slap on each generation may not actually exist. What is possibly more likely is that as we age, we move from one pattern of interests and focii to another set. When we are first out in the world on our own, we seek out others like ourselves, and do things that are largely incomprehensible to other age groups. When we get a bit older, we partner up. Then bit later we think about having families which suddenly brings us face to face with having to provide for them. Then we raise them. Then we are empty nesters and enjoy causing friction with the grandkids. Then we go on cruises and complain about the food (:-D). Then we die.

Roughly in that order, though some people are different ages, or cycle through some stages a few times. Older generations whinge about the younger generation and how "things aren't the same as it was in my day".

This is not new thinking. Apparently, Peter the Hermit preached in a 1274 sermon that "The world is passing through troublous times. The young people of today think of nothing but themselves. They have no reverence for parents or old age. They are impatient of all restraint. They talk as if they knew everything, and what passes for wisdom with us is foolishness with them. As for the girls, they are forward, immodest and unladylike in speech, behavior and dress" (Google Answers, 2004). While whether Peter the Hermit actually preached this or not, we will run with his example of older people grumbling about the fecklessness of youth and how we were all going to hell in a handcart.

Interestingly, after five months of study, my student felt they had proved to their own satisfaction that Gen Y as a concept was largely hot air, but that Super's life stages model - image of the life rainbow shown above - had something darned useful going for it.


Sam

References:

• Google Answers. (2004). The trouble with youngsters today. http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=408989
• Careers New Zealand. (n.d.). Super’s Theory. https://www.careers.govt.nz/practitioners/career-practice/career-theory-models/supers-theory/

read more "The more things change..."

Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

Les Pickett, the CE of the Pacific Rim Consulting Group, posted on a LinkedIn group I participate in recently, an interesting response to a question. The question asked the group for opinions as to whether Gen Y were talented or felt they were 'entitled'. Les posted six quick quotes, as follows:

• "Millennials are a generation mostly of teens and 20 somethings known for constantly holding up cameras, taking pictures of themselves and posting them online. They are narcissistic, overconfident, entitled and lazy. Their self-centredness could bring about the end of civilization as we know it …. Or they’re the new greatest generation". Joel Stein, Time Magazine, 20 May 2013
• "This is the Y generation, the most self absorbed, opinionated, pampered, cocksure group ever let loose on God’s earth”. Melbourne Herald, Sunday 24 February 2013
• "The world is passing through troublous times. The young people of today think of nothing but themselves. They have no reverence for parents or old age. They are impatient on all restraint. They talk as if they know everything and what passes for wisdom with us is foolishness with them. As for the girls they are forward, immodest and unladylike in speech, behaviour and dress". Attributed to a sermon by Peter The Hermit 1274AD
• "What is happening to our young people? They disrespect their elders, they disobey their parents. They ignore the law. They riot in the streets inflamed with wild notions. Their morals are decaying. What is to become of them?" Plato, 429-347BC
• "Our youth now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up the dainties at the table and terrorize their teachers". Attributed to Socrates, 469-399BC
• "I see no hope for the future of our people if they are dependent on the frivolous youth of today, for certainly all youth are reckless beyond words. When I was young we were taught to be discreet and respectful of elders but the present youth are exceedingly disrespectful and impatient of restraint". Hesiod, circa 750-650BC

What a lovely collection of views! While I am sure that many of you will have seen the Socrates and Peter quotes before via email, we should take note. The difference between youth & age is sometimes not wisdom, but merely the perspective of seeing patterns repeat, and a lack of attention to history.

With each generation we think we are discovering the 'truth', yet - unless we deliberately study history - we are destined to parrot the same ideas, again and again. The trick is to give ourselves a new narrative, and remember that as "we stand on the shoulders of giants" (John of Salisbury, citing Bernard of Chartres, 1159 - and made famous first by Newton and secondly by Google Scholar), so each successive generation should see further than the one before. I believe that strange and mythical beast goes by the name of 'progress'.

I lecture young people, and I think they are as much seekers of purpose as I was at the same age. Trying their best, making their way, looking for some method to contribute and be worthy. Yes, they are a bit more self-absorbed than older people: it is pretty much where we were at the same age. But they also will collectively accomplish great things, and they will stand on the shoulders of giants. If they study the patterns of history, they, as their perspective lengthens, won't be hoisted by their own petard in making generalisations about youth.

Hopefully each time we read bumpf in the media about how narcissistic young people are, we will all remember these age-old statements and read media 'drama' for what it is - sensationalism. Then ignore it, and enjoy the wonders yet to come.

Sam

• Reference: Pickett, L. (29 May 2013). LinkedIn Collaborative Conversations Group: Gen Y: entitled or talented? What's your opinion? http://www.linkedin.com/groupItem?view=&gid=3017817&type=member&item=244513338&commentID=140524814&report.success=8ULbKyXO6NDvmoK7o030UNOYGZKrvdhBhypZ_w8EpQrrQI-BBjkmxwkEOwBjLE28YyDIxcyEO7_TA_giuRN#commentID_140524814

read more "Standing on the Shoulders of Giants"

Newsletter Issue 235, May 2013

Sam Young Newsletter

Issue 235, May 2013

Hi guys,

Are 'the youth of today' any different than 'the youth of yesterday'? Check out Standing on the Shoulders of Giants below.

Apparently there is an agreed time to spend doing things that make us happy. Read what Happiness is.... 

Top Tips for Using MS Office   TLAs for SMEs        Tips, Short & Hot Keys        Hot Linx

Don't forget, if you want to be taken off my mailing list, click here to send me a reply e-mail and I will remove your name.

 

Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

Les Pickett, the CE of the Pacific Rim Consulting Group, posted on a LinkedIn group I participate in recently, an interesting response to a question. The question asked the group for opinions as to whether Gen Y were talented or felt they were 'entitled'. Les posted four quick quotes, as follows:

• "Millennials are a generation mostly of teens and 20 somethings known for constantly holding up cameras, taking pictures of themselves and posting them online. They are narcissistic, overconfident, entitled and lazy. Their self-centredness could bring about the end of civilization as we know it …. Or they’re the new greatest generation". Joel Stein, Time Magazine, 20 May 2013
• “This is the Y generation, the most self absorbed, opinionated, pampered, cocksure group ever let loose on God’s earth”. Melbourne Herald, Sunday 24 February 2013
• "The world is passing through troublous times. The young people of today think of nothing but themselves. They have no reverence for parents or old age. They are impatient on all restraint. They talk as if they know everything and what passes for wisdom with us is foolishness with them. As for the girls they are forward, immodest and unladylike in speech, behaviour and dress". From a sermon by Peter The Hermit 1274AD
• "What is happening to our young people? They disrespect their elders, they disobey their parents. They ignore the law. They riot in the streets inflamed with wild notions. Their morals are decaying. What is to become of them?" Plato, 429-347BC
• "Our youth now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up the dainties at the table and terrorize their teachers". Attributed to Socrates, 469-399BC
• "I see no hope for the future of our people if they are dependent on the frivolous youth of today, for certainly all youth are reckless beyond words.
  When I was young we were taught to be discreet and respectful of elders but the present youth are exceedingly disrespectful and impatient of restraint". Hesiod, circa 750-650BC

What a lovely collection of views!  While I am sure that many of you will have seen the Socrates and Peter quotes before via email, we should take note. The difference between youth & age is sometimes not wisdom, but merely the perspective of seeing patterns repeat, and a lack of attention to history.

With each generation we think we are discovering the 'truth', yet - unless we deliberately study history - we are destined to parrot the same ideas, again and again. The trick is to give ourselves a new narrative, and remember that as "we stand on the shoulders of giants" (John of Salisbury, citing Bernard of Chartres, 1159 - and made famous first by Newton and secondly by Google Scholar), so each successive generation should see further than the one before. I believe that strange and mythical beast goes by the name of 'progress'. 

I lecture young people, and I think they are as much seekers of purpose as I was at the same age. Trying their best, making their way, looking for some method to contribute and be worthy. Yes, they are a bit more self-absorbed than older people: it is pretty much where we were at the same age. But they also will collectively accomplish great things, and they will stand on the shoulders of giants. If they study the patterns of history, they, as their perspective lengthens, won't be hoisted by their own petard in making generalisations about youth.

Hopefully each time we read bumpf in the media about how narcissistic young people are, we will all remember these age-old statements and read media 'drama' for what it is - sensationalism. Then ignore it, and enjoy the wonders yet to come.

 

Pickett, Les (29 May 2013) LinkedIn Collaborative Conversations Group: Gen Y: entitled or talented? What's your opinion? Retrieved 29 May 2013 from http://www.linkedin.com/groupItem?view=&gid=3017817&type=member&item=244513338&commentID=140524814&report.success=8ULbKyXO6NDvmoK7o030UNOYGZKrvdhBhypZ_w8EpQrrQI-BBjkmxwkEOwBjLE28YyDIxcyEO7_TA_giuRN#commentID_140524814 

Happiness is...

How to be happier: spend less time driving to and from work, AND less time working, AND more time in 'intimate relations'.

Christian Kroll (Jacobs University, Germany) and Sebastian Pokutta (Georgia Tech, USA) analysed a swag of surveys, and while allowing that certain activities appeal only because of their rarity, they found that a day organised for maximum happiness would include the following: 

• 106 minutes of intimate relations
• 82 minutes of socializing
• 78 minutes of relaxing
• 75 minutes of eating
• 73 minutes of praying or meditating
• 68 minutes of exercising
• 57 minutes of phone conversations
• 56 minutes of shopping
• 55 minutes of watching TV
• 50 minutes of preparing food
• 48 minutes of computer use
• 47 minutes of housework
• 46 minutes of napping
• 46 minutes of child-care
• 36 minutes of work
• 33 minutes of commuting.
• Totalling 16 hours (presumably we spend the other 8 hours sleeping)

References:

• Kroll, Christian & Pokutta, Sebastian (2013). Just a perfect day? Developing a happiness optimised day schedule. Journal of Economic Psychology, February 2013, Volume 34 (pp.  210-217).
• Harvard (1 April 2013). The Daily Stat: For Greater Happiness, Spend Less Time Working and Commuting. USA: Author [Personal Email]. Online at http://web.hbr.org/email/archive/dailystat.php?date=040113 

Top Tips for Using MS Office

PC Magazine has a great list of 'have to have' tips at http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2387115,00.asp, which detail lots of top tip lists for beginners through to power users in Office in general, or in Excel, Word, Outlook, PowerPoint and Access.

A very useful list to mine!

 

Reference: 

• Duffy, Jill & Mendelson, Edward (16 June 2011). 100 Essential Tips for Microsoft Office 2010. USA: PC Magazine. Retrieved 20 May 2013 from http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2387115,00.asp%C2%A0 

TLAs for SMEs

Here are this newsletter's TLAs (Three Letter Acronyms) for you:

• STEM, Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics. Fields of study with perceived skill shortages or inadequate educational standards amongst graduates, commonplace in education discussions.

Please feel free to email me with any TLAs that you want to get the bottom (meaning!) of.

Tips, Short+Hot Keys

In this newsletter, we look at all you can do with Shift and Enter:

• Access "Add a control to a section, or save changes to the current record, or Add a control to a section (Report & Form Design only)" Shift & Enter 
• Excel "Complete a cell entry and move up in the selection or move to the first field in the previous record or move from bottom to top within the selection (up), or move opposite to the direction that is selected on the Edit tab" Shift & Enter 
• Excel "Enter a formula as an array formula" Ctrl & Shift & Enter 
• Excel "Extend the selection to the last cell in the current row. This keystroke is unavailable if you selected the Transition navigation keys check box on the Transition tab (Tools menu, Options command) (with End mode on)" End & Shift & Enter 
• Frontpage "Insert a line break" Shift & Enter Outlook "Move to the previous field without leaving the active card" Shift & Enter 
• Publisher "End one column of text and begin a new column" Ctrl & Shift & Enter 
• Publisher "End one line and begin another without starting a new paragraph or insert an object (Once the menu bar is highlighted)" Shift & Enter 
• Windows "Switch view from current application window to next open application window, including minimized windows on the taskbar in the reverse direction; press ESC more than once to switch through successive windows" Alt & Shift & Enter 
• Word "Insert a column break" Ctrl & Shift & Enter 
• Word "Insert a line break into a document at this position" Shift & Enter

Hot Linx

If you haven't explored the work of Lester Hall, a follower of Dick Frizzell, it might be time to check out his artwork. Provocative, detailed and creatively iconic, view his offerings at http://www.lesterhall.com/index.htm 

See what Gismodo have come up with as their top 9 transport designs from cars to signage at http://gizmodo.com/5992573/the-9-best-transport-designs-of-2013?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pulsenews

What you wear to work does matter – not only to other’s perceptions, but to your own. Read what Dr Christian Jarrett has to say at http://99u.com/articles/14510/the-smart-creatives-guide-to-dressing-for-work

TechRepublic’s Susan Harkins has posted a timesheet Excel “how to” which covers just about everything you would ever need to factor in at http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/window-on-windows/build-a-simple-timesheet-in-excel/7629?tag=nl.e064&s_cid=e064&ttag=e064

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                                Catch you again soon!! E-mail your suggestions to me here

read more "Newsletter Issue 235, May 2013"

Newsletter Issue 159, December 2008

Sam Young Newsletter

Issue 159, December 2008

Hi guys,

To understand why your younger and older workers sometimes appear to be from different planets, read Boomers & the XY Generation below.

Watch out for a dilly of a trojan called Mebroot. Get your defences in place now.

Registry Patch for Old Office Files   TLAs for SMEs        Tips, Short & Hot Keys        Hot Linx

Don't forget, if you want to be taken off my mailing list, click here to send me a reply e-mail and I will remove your name.

Boomers & the XY Generation

Australian company Expr3ss! recently published the following article on CEO Online (http://www.ceoonline.com/). They have kindly given permission for me to reproduce it for you.

Working with the über-cool X and Y generations is often an insurmountable challenge for the older manager. Boomer bosses complaints about X / Y workers are legendary, the stuff of many indignant long-lunch conversations.

Now a new study sheds light on the reason and offers hope of a solution. The study shows that the stereotypical outgoing, open and socially-networked younger worker is not necessarily all that they seem. The results of the study showed that, with X / Y's levels of friendship and help-seeking behaviours more than 20% higher than average, and Boomers 15% lower than average, younger workers outscore their Boomer equivalents by 300%.

The study also showed that this hides a level of distrust in younger workers that is nearly three times that of those they typically work under, along with significant levels of oppositional behaviour that peak in 24 - 29 year olds.

The generational trend identified by the study highlights why older supervisors and managers struggle to work productively with younger employees, and explains why the typical Boomer struggles to manage effectively and to understand why. Boomers on average are 55% more trusting than they are friendship and help-seeking, whereas their younger colleagues are much more friendship and help-seeking than they are trusting, to the extent of a massive 400%.

"A fatal dislocation in relationships and communication exists between the younger and older worker", says Dr Glyn Brokensha, Joint Managing Director of Expr3ss!. "This dislocation means that each will respond in their own preferred style, which is exactly the opposite of what the other expects and needs. Boomer managers mistakenly assume that the strong friendship and help-seeking behaviours of younger employees are evidence of high trust, whereas exactly the reverse is true."

Brokensha says from the younger worker's perspective, the relative lack of friendship-seeking and help-seeking behaviours in their seniors is taken as evidence of lack of trust and, worse, lack of trustworthiness. Boomer managers fail to work at building trust in their relationships with younger workers because they mistakenly believe it already exists. Younger employees fail to communicate their intrinsic levels of distrust because their natural friendship-seeking and help-seeking behaviours obscure the true picture.

"Boomer managers and X / Y employees enter a deadly interlock where each assumes that what they see in the other is evidence of that which does not actually exist", states Brokensha. "Boomers assume that X / Ys have levels of trust even higher than their own, because of their friendship-seeking and help-seeking natures. And X / Ys assume that Boomers are untrusting and, worse, untrustworthy because they lack those very same friendship and help-seeking characteristics. Unlocking that struggle is the key."

Expr3ss!® is a web-based applicant management solution enabling employers to prioritise candidate job applications and communicate with applicants easily and quickly, improving time-efficiency and reducing costs through "better people intelligence®". Expr3ss! For more information visit Expr3ss! at www.expr3ss.com

Mebroot

Those of you have the sneaking suspicion that there is something wrong with your PC, yet your AV programme is showing nothing amiss, you may well be right.

There is a Trojan called Mebroot (formerly Sinowal) that drops and loads a password stealing component on your system and steals account information. It also tries to steal information that is required to access certain online banks' and online payment systems' websites. It flies under the radar of most firewalls, AV software and Malware checkers. It is a very stealthy little application that does all sorts of trickery to fool your operating system and normal defences (read more at http://www.f-secure.com/v-descs/trojan-psw_w32_sinowal_cp.shtml).

How you can prevent getting it is by going to http://secunia.com/vulnerability_scanning/personal/ and downloading the free, personal use scanning application and running that each month.

How you can get rid of it once you have it is to isolate the PC from your network as soon as the problem is detected, reformat your PC's hard drive and any external hard drives (eg memory sticks or back ups) and reinstall all your software and clean data. General consensus is to be very, very careful about copying any files off an infected PC; you are probably better to dump them.

Prevention is better than cure with this little beauty.

Registry Patch for Old Office Files

If any of you have downloaded Service Pack 3 for XP recently, you may suddenly have found that your old versions of MS Office documents no longer open.

There is a very easy work-around for this (although it took me a long time to find it!):

• Go to http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;938810
• Click on "Method 1"
• Then click on the executable file hyperlink for the appropriate Office software patch you wish to download
• When you have finished downloading, double click on the downloaded executable file to load the fix into your registry.

Easy, isn't it!

TLAs for SMEs

Here are this newsletter's TLAs for you:

• eCRM, electronic Customer Relationship Management. Web-based applications added to customer relationship management systems. Moving management of customers up to the enterprise level and away from individual departments.

Please feel free to email me with any TLAs that you want to get the bottom (meaning!) of.

Tips, Short+Hot Keys

Over the next few newsletters, we are going to look at all you can do with Alt and letters. This time it's one lonely V:

• Word "Auto Text" Alt & Ctrl & V

Hot Linx

A quick reminder about when to use 'who' and when to use 'which' at http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/writing-for-business/quiz-writing-for-business-who-or-that/

To discover the best of New Zealand television and film, check out NZ On Air's new foray into an online, publicly accessible film archive at http://www.nzonscreen.com/

The World Bank has a page charting youth action, to encourage young people to make a difference in their community; viewable at http://www.youthink.worldbank.org/

Tech Republic has distributed a pdf showing how to create your own training presentation using PowerPoint's Photo Album feature. I have downloaded the pdf and it is available at http://www.samyoung.co.nz/TechRepublic_ppt_training_presentation.pdf

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                                Catch you again soon!! E-mail your suggestions to me here

read more "Newsletter Issue 159, December 2008"