OSLO (AFP) — Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad said Sunday he was hopeful US President Barack Obama's landmark address to the world's Muslims in Cairo had opened up a new era in relations.
"There's a great deal in that speech that gives us reason for hope," Fayyad, a US-educated economist widely respected in the West but reviled by the Hamas rulers of Gaza, said during a visit to Oslo.
"We are impressed by the sincere tone of the speech and the substance of it. It is our hope actually it will in that respect have marked a new beginning."
On Wednesday, in what may be one of the defining moments of his presidency, Obama laid out a new blueprint for US Middle East policy, pledging to end mistrust, forge a state for Palestinians and defuse a nuclear showdown with Iran.
Part of Obama's motivation appeared to be to cleanse the US image in the Muslim world, which has been tarnished by events like the Iraq war, the Abu Ghraib abuse scandal and the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.
Targeting young Muslims, Obama said: "I know there are many -- Muslim and non-Muslim -- who question whether we can forge this new beginning.
"There is so much fear, so much mistrust. But if we choose to be bound by the past, we will never move forward."
Fayyad was in Oslo for a meeting of Palestinian donors.
The Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip, who gave a luke-warm response to Obama's speech, have never recognised Fayyad's authority, continuing instead to recognise their own prime minister, Ismail Haniya.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Friday, February 6, 2009
Obama has already laid out a comprehensive vision for ed
Obama proposes creating a $500 million matching Technology Investment Fund that would build on existing federal ed-tech programs to help ensure that technology is fully integrated throughout U.S. schools.
According to the Obama campaign, this fund would:
- Help integrate technology throughout classrooms, so innovative learning technologies such as simulations, interactive games, and intelligent tutors can help improve the quality of instruction;
- Develop better student assessments that allow teachers and parents to identify and focus on students' individual needs and talents throughout the school year;
- Create new technology-based curricula with leaders in the technology industry, so schools can create courses that develop students' technology skills through project-based learning; and
- Use technology to help teachers work collaboratively with their peers across the country and provide more personalized assistance to students.
National ed-tech organizations declined to compare the Obama and McCain education plans, citing their need to remain nonpartisan as a result of their nonprofit 501(c)(3) tax status.
But Mary Ann Wolf, executive director of the State Educational Technology Directors Association, said she was "very pleased to see Obama's plan highlight ed tech."
"We look forward to discussing [with both candidates] the potential for technology ... to serve as a catalyst for transforming our schools for the 21st century," Wolf said.
Do you think education should rely on state funding? as proposed by obama
According to the Obama campaign, this fund would:
- Help integrate technology throughout classrooms, so innovative learning technologies such as simulations, interactive games, and intelligent tutors can help improve the quality of instruction;
- Develop better student assessments that allow teachers and parents to identify and focus on students' individual needs and talents throughout the school year;
- Create new technology-based curricula with leaders in the technology industry, so schools can create courses that develop students' technology skills through project-based learning; and
- Use technology to help teachers work collaboratively with their peers across the country and provide more personalized assistance to students.
National ed-tech organizations declined to compare the Obama and McCain education plans, citing their need to remain nonpartisan as a result of their nonprofit 501(c)(3) tax status.
But Mary Ann Wolf, executive director of the State Educational Technology Directors Association, said she was "very pleased to see Obama's plan highlight ed tech."
"We look forward to discussing [with both candidates] the potential for technology ... to serve as a catalyst for transforming our schools for the 21st century," Wolf said.
Do you think education should rely on state funding? as proposed by obama
Soft Skill Classes To Fight Placement Blues
YQworld-Students are finding new avenues to fight the placement blues. With fewer job opportunities in the market and companies shying away from conducting placement drives at many colleges, students are now concentrating on honing their personality skills. To help them, UT education department has come up with a bouquet of short-term certificate courses in office management, soft skills development, spoken English, personality and grooming, among others.
The department is in the last stage of finalizing modalities of introducing these programmes, which would reportedly begin from mid-January. These courses would be run in collaboration with various government colleges and at the end, UT administration-approved certificates would be provided to students. The duration of courses is around three months.
According to information, courses will be run in the evening after college hours. A senior official from education department said the initiative is in tandem with suggestions made by National Knowledge Commission over optimally utilizing college infrastructure and resources.
The department is in the last stage of finalizing modalities of introducing these programmes, which would reportedly begin from mid-January. These courses would be run in collaboration with various government colleges and at the end, UT administration-approved certificates would be provided to students. The duration of courses is around three months.
According to information, courses will be run in the evening after college hours. A senior official from education department said the initiative is in tandem with suggestions made by National Knowledge Commission over optimally utilizing college infrastructure and resources.
Monday, January 19, 2009
How Java Technology Evolves
Java technology evolves through the Java Community Process (JCP) program. The JCP is an open, community-based standards organization with a formal process for defining and revising Java technology specifications. JCP program members are individuals and organizations that share a common interest in seeing Java technology continue to evolve to meet market needs successfully. Even though the JCP is an open, community-based process, Sun Microsystems retains all Java technology-related trademarks and remains the ultimate authority for the Java platform.
The JCP process is straightforward: JCP members who want to extend the Java platform submit a formal proposal called a Java Specification Request (JSR), which then proceeds through a well-defined life cycle of drafts, reviews, and approval ballots. You can subscribe to the JCP mailing list to receive regular updates on JSRs and on JCP procedures, participate in public reviews by responding to requests for public comment, or even become a member of an expert group that shepherds a JSR through the development process.
To stay current with Java ME developments, keep up with the relevant JSRs. To start, read this Introduction to Mobility Java Technology and visit the JCP Java ME technology page. The JCP page lists more than 80 relevant JSRs, both those that have earned final approval and those that are still in process. Your contributions help ensure that Java technology continues to satisfy market needs.
The JCP process is straightforward: JCP members who want to extend the Java platform submit a formal proposal called a Java Specification Request (JSR), which then proceeds through a well-defined life cycle of drafts, reviews, and approval ballots. You can subscribe to the JCP mailing list to receive regular updates on JSRs and on JCP procedures, participate in public reviews by responding to requests for public comment, or even become a member of an expert group that shepherds a JSR through the development process.
To stay current with Java ME developments, keep up with the relevant JSRs. To start, read this Introduction to Mobility Java Technology and visit the JCP Java ME technology page. The JCP page lists more than 80 relevant JSRs, both those that have earned final approval and those that are still in process. Your contributions help ensure that Java technology continues to satisfy market needs.
A Brief History of Java Technology
The Java programming language was originally developed for programming consumer electronic devices, but over the years it evolved into a set of technologies used primarily to develop desktop- and server-based applications. In many ways, today's Java ME platform is a return to the origins of Java technology.
It all started in the early 1990s with the Green Project and the Oak programming language, later renamed Java. Today's Java ME is the descendant of earlier platforms for small devices created by Sun Microsystems: the Oak part of the Green Project (early 1990s), Java Card (1996), PersonalJava (1997), EmbeddedJava (1998), and more recently, the Spotless System (PDF) and the K virtual machine (1999).
Today, the Java ME platform targets high- and low-end electronic devices with a single Java platform. Java Card, described later in this article, remains an important independent Java platform, distinct from Java ME, based on smart cards.
Java Technology Editions
Java ME is one of three technology editions of the Java platform.* Each edition packages and licenses Java technology differently and provides an appropriate runtime environment to meet the needs of specific application developers:
* Java Platform, Standard Edition (Java SE) provides a runtime environment and a complete set of APIs for desktop applications. It also defines a core set of functionality for the other editions.
* Java Platform, Enterprise Edition (Java EE) is a superset of Java SE that supports scalable, transaction-oriented, and database-centered enterprise programming.
* Java Platform, Micro Edition (Java ME) defines a set of runtime environments and APIs for embedded and consumer devices, such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), TV set-top boxes, and other devices that are constrained from supporting a full Java SE or Java EE implementation.
A typical enterprise application may well take advantage of all three editions, with Java EE technology-based applications on the server side providing services to applications based on Java SE and Java ME technology on the client side. Separating the Java platform into these editions allows for sharper focus on the varying needs of developers working in different target environments, and it enables the editions to evolve in different yet complementary directions.
It all started in the early 1990s with the Green Project and the Oak programming language, later renamed Java. Today's Java ME is the descendant of earlier platforms for small devices created by Sun Microsystems: the Oak part of the Green Project (early 1990s), Java Card (1996), PersonalJava (1997), EmbeddedJava (1998), and more recently, the Spotless System (PDF) and the K virtual machine (1999).
Today, the Java ME platform targets high- and low-end electronic devices with a single Java platform. Java Card, described later in this article, remains an important independent Java platform, distinct from Java ME, based on smart cards.
Java Technology Editions
Java ME is one of three technology editions of the Java platform.* Each edition packages and licenses Java technology differently and provides an appropriate runtime environment to meet the needs of specific application developers:
* Java Platform, Standard Edition (Java SE) provides a runtime environment and a complete set of APIs for desktop applications. It also defines a core set of functionality for the other editions.
* Java Platform, Enterprise Edition (Java EE) is a superset of Java SE that supports scalable, transaction-oriented, and database-centered enterprise programming.
* Java Platform, Micro Edition (Java ME) defines a set of runtime environments and APIs for embedded and consumer devices, such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), TV set-top boxes, and other devices that are constrained from supporting a full Java SE or Java EE implementation.
A typical enterprise application may well take advantage of all three editions, with Java EE technology-based applications on the server side providing services to applications based on Java SE and Java ME technology on the client side. Separating the Java platform into these editions allows for sharper focus on the varying needs of developers working in different target environments, and it enables the editions to evolve in different yet complementary directions.
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