Learning by example

"Example is not the main thing in influencing others, it is the only thing." Schweitzer
http://residency.kp.org/ncal/current_residents/courses_and_workshops/leadership_primer/module06.html

Academic persona, persona creation, the nature of academic life, change in the movement of idea and knowlege, knowledge formation,
The academic peprsona, like other persona (identity), also has to connect authentically to one's professional work - it is not hype or spin, but more an elaboration of what one is conceptuaising or thingking about, what one is developing, and also what one has achieved.

http://deakin.academia.edu/KimBarbour/Papers/438495/Persona_and_the_Academy_making_decisions_distinctions_and_profiles_in_the_era_of_presentational_media

On mentoring
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1296318/pdf/jrsocmed00039-0053.pdf






Leadershing is about coping with change.

First-class Brain

So it is not that because one person is belonging to the worker class and another person is becoming the first class, there is differentiation. No. Everyone is important. Just like in this body the head is very important. That is a fact. If the head is cut off, then whole body is finished. But that does not mean that head is simply required without leg. Leg is also required; the hand is also required; the belly is also required. Similarly, the first-class man, the second-class man, the third-class man and the fourth-class man, all of them are equal provided they are adjusted for the higher aim of life, the higher aim of life—the brain. The brain means... First-class brain means to realize self, to understand God, and do accordingly. This is required. This is called varṇāśrama-dharma. So unless one takes to the varṇāśrama-dharma as they are prescribed, it is not human society. It is cats' and dogs' society, and you cannot be happy, however you may adjust, in a society who is filled up with cats and dogs. That is not possible.




For which And actually we do not require very much to work for meeting the necessities of life, because from the śāstras we can understand that our necessities of life are already there. They are. Tasyaiva hetoḥ prayateta kovido (SB 1.5.18). The śāstra says that "Don't bother yourself about the necessities of life. This is already there, settled. You will get it. Depend on the supplier of the necessities of life. The supplier of necessities, life, is God.


If God is providing food for the lower animals, why not for us if we become God conscious?

Burst Fracture L1

http://www.spineuniverse.com/professional/case-studies/sekhon/l1-burst-fracture-bracing-or-surgery

http://www.wheelessonline.com/ortho/frankel_grade_function

http://www.wheelessonline.com/ortho/burst_frx_of_spine

www.boneandspine.com

From apartment therapy

Mario Testino's Gorgeously, Fearlessly Eclectic Living Room

I see photos of beautiful rooms every day — it's my job, I love it and no matter how many I see, it never gets old. Yet, every now and then, I come across an image of a space that stops me in my tracks because in addition to being an interesting interior, it's a place I have the immediate desire to occupy.

I want to be sitting on one of the banquettes NOW, drinking in the atmosphere (and, let's see, a glass of champagne looks good for this room, too).

There are so many interesting things to see in this one photo, it's a bit like a "Where's Waldo" of good design ideas. Here are the important ingredients that go into this particular style recipe:

• The room, while wildly eclectic in other ways, has a very strict color palette — white, black/charcoal, brown, rust and blue. There's plenty going on, but it all hangs together thanks to the simple color story.

• No fewer than five rugs create style and use zones throughout the room. They are very different patterns and sizes, but all work together to visually divide the space, add tons of gorgeous texture and help anchor the furniture groupings.

• It's a mix of formal and casual, clearly a room influenced by living a visually creative life. Case in point: a straight backed settee meets huge pottery dragon andirons. Say no more.

• Oversized decorative details are everywhere — big floral arrangements, big sculptures, big lamps with big lampshades, big pots and the aforementioned big dragons. The uniformity of size of these details helps tie the room together for your eye, making a very full space feel calm and somewhat regulated, instead of frenetic.

• The super dark floors and bright white walls form the perfect backdrop for the collection of things. The simplicity of the dark/light space highlights the amazing architecture of the home, and allows the objects, artwork and furniture to shine instead of competing for your attention.

• Repeating patterns create interest. Two examples: The thin black framed bookshelf echoes the thin black framed window and french doors that flank it and the repeating white on black artwork display that runs above the window matches the general scale and dimensions of the individual window frames.

• The design relies on symmetry to help maintain the visual balance, including: pairs of lamps and pillows at each end of the settee, the two blue and white pots, the matching blue velvet chairs, the dragons and the banquette cushions.

According to the article in Vogue, the interior design (as well as the photo) was done by Testino himself. It's a testament to his creativity and strong visual sense, as well as to what appears to be a lighthearted outlook. This is a beautiful room that also has a sense of humor and happiness that shines through. I'm sure I'll be coming back to this post often to visit it again and again...

See the rest of the home: Vogue

Mario Testino from Vogue

Channeling his Peruvian roots, the iconic lensman transformed a Los Angeles hacienda into a vibrant showcase for his aesthetic—and now captures the results with his own camera.

Mario Testino grew up in Lima, Peru, an endlessly intriguing city of brooding conquistador-era palaces and leafy suburbs surrounded by hills and lapped by the crashing Pacific. Here he disported himself with fellow gilded youths and partied in the grand, sequestered houses of the well-to-do. In these sprawling homes he absorbed the uniquely Peruvian approach to decor, reflective of the country’s layered history, with naïf seventeenth- and eighteenth-century portraits of los arcángeles peering down on roomscapes crowded with colonial silver plates, the huacos artifacts of the Incas, and a jostle of imposing dark Spanish-inspired furniture and sleek mid-century design statements.

This giddy eclecticism has continued to inform Testino’s own adventures in decorating. At the turn of the eighties he moved to London, fell in with a group of fledgling English tastemakers, and abandoned the study of economics and law (which left him cold) to take up photography. The world of insouciant aristocratic British style would have a profound impact on his aesthetic. But on a fashion shoot in Peru a decade after his move to England, Testino realized that he “had the right amount of detachment to go back and really appreciate what I had grown up with. There’s a particular style that is very Peru that you don’t see anywhere else; it’s got so many different imprints. When you mix Incan minimalism with the heavy, ornate Spanish Baroque, it is very interesting.”

In the first London apartment that he decorated himself, his proposed color scheme—a staircase painted melon, lime green, duck-egg blue, and black, and bookcases in gray and puce against bottle-green walls, for instance—set his friends “on the floor laughing at the bad taste,” Testino admits. However, these color mixes proved unexpectedly successful, evocative of the turn-of-the-century houses on the outskirts of Lima that seem settings for a Mario Vargas Llosa novel.

Testino’s idiosyncratic journey continued in Paris, where he turned a shoe box into a jewel box glittering with gold starred paper, and then, as his career blossomed, graduated to an expansive aerie above the Canal St.-Martin, where the mix included a dining room hung with antique gold damask curtains and painted the pink of a matador’s cape in honor of a visit by Madonna, and a collection of Indian maharajah photographs gathered on a trip to Rajasthan (framed in gaily colored papers and wood beading that Testino hauled back from Jaipur expressly for the purpose). “I was more baroque then,” he says, laughing. In London, more recently, he transformed the drawing room of an apartment in a Holland Park villa into a symphony of green-on-green tones. He hung the walls, salon style, with contemporary art, an endlessly growing collection that he began amassing fifteen years ago following an introduction to the prescient dealer Sadie Coles.

“The art came at a very interesting time in my career because I needed to be excited by something other than fashion,” says Testino. “It showed me that these artists had a certain freedom—it opened a lot of possibilities in my own work. Fine artists reflect and then they act. Fashion photographers—we act and then we reflect.”

Three decades after his arrival in London, Testino felt that he was “of an age when I wanted to have a proper house in Peru.” But fate intervened when his friend Erick Jussen, a Los Angeles–based locations maestro, found a house that might tempt Testino from the Chateau Marmont bungalow that had become virtually a home from home. High in the Hollywood hills, the house provided commanding views of the city—a view dappled by the branches of towering eucalyptus trees in the canyon below. Built in 1933 in the Spanish style, the house was shrouded in bougainvillea and painted in vivid Mexican hues. “It looked like a Peruvian house!” says Testino. “I loved its energy from the moment I walked in.”

Testino didn’t work with an architect or decorator; he enjoys the creative process too much to cede it. “I’m so obsessed with it,” he says. “I have no real training in the history of fine art or furniture; my eye just works by proportions. I react intuitively.” During a yearlong renovation, Testino banished any fiesta colors. “In London, it’s all about color because the weather is so gray and in that cold light they look beautiful,” he explains. “Coming here, I was inspired by rusts and browns and greens and ochers. The light is so bright, all of a sudden bright colors become garish; they look like bubble gum.”

So Testino let the light in. He had spent years looking at California locations with Jussen, so they shared a visual language, and together they rationalized the floor plan. Today, the front door opens directly to a picture window framing the view, and Testino’s master bathroom and sitting room, with their own broad windows and glass doors, invite the gardens in. Inside and out the rough-plastered walls were whitewashed, while the amber glass in the leaded windows was replaced with clear, as were the stable doors, with metal-framed French windows.

Testino also revised the garden’s plantings. “It’s semi-arid desert here—similar to Peru,” he says. “I wanted the garden to be something real to this area.” So he looked to plants that would thrive in the dry Californian climate, pines, olives, and oleanders among them.

Following his habitual pattern, Testino shopped for the house wherever he found himself. “I’m really in no one city more than two months during the year,” he admits. “I’m constantly having to readapt my eye to new locations. When you’re doing a house, your mind is on it all the time. You might need door handles but you’re not in L.A., so you find them in Venice!” His living room is carpeted with a patchwork of Mauritanian leather–stitched straw mats and sheep-colored carpets latticed with giant black lozenges from the Middle Atlas, both found in Marrakech during downtime from a shoot.

In Peru, Testino had always admired the handwoven ponchos favored by riders of paso horses, though he would never have worn them. Instead, he used the fabric to upholster banquettes he’d built in the living room, flanking a fireplace that he reconstructed after designs by Cliff May, maestro of mid-century California ranch-house architecture. As pre-Columbian artifacts cannot be removed from Peru, Testino began collecting glazed-terra-cotta jugs made in that vernacular in the fifties and sixties, and huacos-inspired sculptured pieces by the contemporary artist Juan Javier Salazar. In his native country he also found a craftsman who made furniture inspired by colonial originals, often incorporating antique elements—the dining-table top, for instance, is a solid eighteenth-century door. “What I wanted to do was to mix the periods that I like,” says Testino, “the Spanish mixed with the Indian, with the Inca. But then I wanted a seventies element. Really, it’s just a backdrop for the art.”

In place of those arcángeles the walls are hung with pieces from his own collection, many of them acquired from Los Angeles’s own lively art scene—Friedrich Kunath and Walead Beshty among them. “I try to display it in a way that is respectful to the artists but at the same time pleasing to my eye.”

The results set up a multitude of unexpected dialogues—between the art and the objects and furnishings. “I like the idea of things that show your travels around the world—show your life,” says Testino. “And I enjoy the idea of all the different cultures meeting here. Japan meets Peru, Peru meets America, America meets England, England meets Denmark, Denmark meets France, you know. Total integration of cultures. I guess it’s the future, no?”

Dress for Succes

When Phoebe Philo reemerged at Céline a few years ago, she had made a breathtaking aesthetic 180. She had pared away the sweetness and frills of her Chloé days for concise and clean clothes that meant business. Women, particularly those multitasking Amazons who need smart clothes for a smart job, cheered. Here was a work wardrobe that did the work for you.

So it came as no surprise that, in her recent prefall collection, Philo showed a pantsuit that would seem to turn an office-bound notion on its head. Its chalk stripes said Wall Street, but its slouchy-chic cut said cool customer. All of a sudden, wearing a fully matched suit to the office feels exactly right.

In the wake of all the economic turmoil, there's been a sea change in fashion. Where three years ago, women wanted to look pretty and sparkly, now they want to look smart and polished. Suits are back, hemlines are longer, button-down shirts are de rigueur. The minimal arc has even extended to accessories — sensible shoes have supplanted their unwieldy predecessors. Now it's about pumps and loafers. As for handbags? Well, they mean business too. Envelope clutches and flat, zippered portfolios that fit an iPad, and smaller pouches that tuck into bigger totes, make for streamlined, and stylish, compartmentalization.

The new workwear dress code reflects the sartorial temperature of the country at large, notes Stefani Greenfield, who recently took over as chief creative officer of fashion conglomerate the Jones Group, which includes the Jones New York labels that countless American women turn to for office attire. "When Sidney Kimmel started this company 40 years ago, women were more suited, much more androgynous," Greenfield says. "Now they go day to date, desk to dinner. You'll see a more casual element, but it's always sophisticated."

Though the nouveau pantsuit telegraphs "I mean business," it doesn't have to convey the message that you're trying to be a man. "I think if it's cut beautifully, there's a way of being really feminine in a suit," says Tory Burch. Numerous female designers have gone all-out to create versions that are real head turners. Along with Burch, consider Stella McCartney's and Diane von Furstenberg's deftly rendered interpretations.

The pantsuit is just one pillar in the new workwear construct, but it isn't right for everyone. Novelist, TV presenter, and Newsweek contributor Rula Jebreal recalls a style metamorphosis from her early days in Italy a decade ago. "I was the first foreign anchorwoman in the country, so I was very concerned about being taken seriously," she says. "Now, instead of a suit, I wear dresses. Girly dresses are 80 percent of my wardrobe." Jebreal's look revolves around a rotation of frocks by such designers as Jason Wu, Sophie Theallet, and Rachel Roy — and her well-groomed colleagues share similar inclinations.

"The perception of women has changed," Jebreal says. "I go to Newsweek, and my boss Tina Brown is wearing Alaïa. And she is a serious woman. We talk in meetings about trade with Libya, about Iran, and after, about clothes. Even when you meet Christine Lagarde, she has her Louboutin shoes and her Chanel dresses. It's not a contradiction."

Conversely, this new freedom comes with a downside: exponentially increased opportunities for making faux pas. Having to select a personal uniform from the staggering array of options available to working women (Hermès to Helmut Lang and everything in between) may make some professionals long for the days of requisite nude hose and shoulder pads. Aside from the obvious rules (nothing too sexy or too "weekend"), today's guidelines aren't as concrete as those of yesteryear. So how do we synthesize?

"Make sure that your clothes convey the message of how you want to be perceived," explains Greenfield. "If you walk into a room, be honest: What impression are you giving?" Getting it right means asking these questions for your particular role and industry. Carol Greene, who owns the Greene Naftali gallery in Chelsea, says, "I have a pretty powerful position in the New York art world, and I like to communicate a sense of seriousness but also a kind of cutting-edge sensibility. I'm in a visual field, so my fashion has to communicate." Greene's strategy has involved streamlining her wardrobe to four avant-garde labels — Bless, Threeasfour, Boudicca, and Martin Margiela.

There are also myriad suiting alternatives that preserve the polished spirit of the classic look. Greenfield favors the jacket-over-a-dress approach, while Rachel Roy turns to a fitted pencil skirt, a crisp white or cornflower blue button-down (she swears by Jones New York's no-iron versions), and a long cardigan in a rich color. Roy's go-to shirt is one of those perennially chic pieces that you can never have enough of. There's nothing better to ground a festive skirt, a pair of tailored shorts, or a bright cardigan.

The most modern styling tip is to freshen up serious staples with a panorama of colors, be they neon twinsets, brightly hued pumps, or oversize clutches in rainbow shades. These imbue any look with a certain amount of bravado, which lends an air of confidence — a necessary weapon in any boardroom.

For the color-averse, there's a way to keep monochrome from looking dull. A beautiful white silk blouse tucked into a black skirt always works, but adding something personal, like an interesting shoe or a great pair of earrings, really takes it to the next level. And these days, personality counts. "To me, a boring outfit shows a lack of creativity," Roy says. "It's 2012 — a woman doesn't need to look like a robot."

Read more: How to Dress for Success - Stylish Work Clothes - Harper's BAZAAR 

Critical Appraisal Tools

All study designs
http://www.unisa.edu.au/cahe/resources/cat/default.asp

Prospective cohort study wth practical example
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3134011/

Cohort study
http://www.hello.nhs.uk/documents/CAT2-Cohort_Study.pdf

Study designs, critical appraisal sheets, level of evidence
http://www.cebm.net/index.aspx?o=1039

Critical Appraisal for Quantitative Research
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/library/nhs/training/quantitative.pdf

Critical Appraisal of Health Care Literature
http://www.cf.ac.uk/insrv/resources/guides/inf083.pdf

Guide for online CA tools
http://www.health.gov.on.ca/english/providers/program/pubhealth/oph_standards/ophs/progstds/pdfs/caore.pdf

Webofscience, webofnowledge from MIT
Elsevier.com
Libraries.mit.edu

Busy mind

Now let me ask you a question. What was Henry Fords IQ? Who cares! The man was one of the most innovative people of the last century, and he did what he did by surrounding himself with intelligent people.

That practice alone has to be worth more than 20 IQ points in terms of real life results.

Real life results are what you want, right? So if you want to be more creative, learn to use creative problem solving techniques. If you want to concentrate better, there are techniques for that. Learn to speed-read and you'll have double the knowledge in the same time.


Believe you are smarter, and you'll become smarter.


Find others that are creative, intelligent, or very productive. Do what they do, and think what they think. This is a key principle of neuro-linguistic programming. Be careful about taking their advice, though. Successful people often don't really understand why they are successful. Do what they do, not what they say.


Stimulating the brain causes measurable changes in the structure of the brain. New connections are made and new brain cells are grown. Intellectual play, as well as any playing that involves hand-eye coordination stimulates the brain.


Self awareness. This may not seem important to brain power, but it is. When you know yourself better, you can avoid the usual effects of ego and emotion in your seemingly "rational" thinking. Or you can at least take it into account. Watch yourself, especially as you explain things or argue.


Ask questions. This is a great way to keep your brain in shape. Just get in the habit of asking questions often, even if it is only in your own mind. Why are taller buildings better? what is the purpose of curbs? Ask anything that comes to mind, and ponder the possible answers.