Third Anniversary Special : Winds of Change

http://thedailystar.net/campus/2009/08/05/camspotlight_power.htm

Photo: Md Akhlas Uddin

ONE of the major drawbacks that has been holding us back as a nation is our inability to think on a collective scale; most of us tend to be self-centred, if not selfish, and fail to understand the power of WE and concentrate in our personal gains instead. All the problems, it seems, have the root in the mindset of ours, which, I believe, is desperately in need of a change.

Corruption, one of the most talked about problems on talk shows, newspaper articles and in high profile seminars, can hardly be solved with new laws and drastic actions unless we are able to come out of the box of ME. Those of us in power, the power to make important decisions on a national, or even a smaller scale, tend to think of our personal benefits that can be derived while making those decisions. We tend to assign the contract of making a bridge or a road not to the lowest bidder or one who can assure the best quality, as it ideally should have been, but to someone who has taken advantage of our low morale and has bribed us into believing that he would be the best person for the job. Little do we understand that in doing so, often enough, we bring about our own doom, with underquality constructions often resulting into dire consequences that can hardly be prevented.

In the job market, nepotism seems to be prevalent as an overwhelming number of employers seem to think that their shalas and bhaginas are more aptly fitted for a certain job compared to someone who truly has the merits and the required skills for the job. In hiring someone less able, the organization loses the brightest of minds who had a higher probability of performing better and thus taking it forward. Here too, ME seems to be the predominant factor.

Many streets in Dhaka, and in other parts of the country are made dirty mostly by its local inhabitants rather than from outsiders. If we cannot keep the streets in front of our homes clean, how can we really expect the city to be clean and spotless? All of us should play our individual roles in the society to bring about the collective change that we so desperately need!

Examples like the above seem to be countless and unending but I believe my message has been well explained already so this article would no longer be prolonged. It is high time that we change our mindsets in order to take the country forward or lag behind everyone else in this fast paced world. Change, as they say, seems to be the only constant!

mahdin@thedailystar.net

What exactly is a ‘Jakaater Shari’?

http://www.thedailystar.net/magazine/2009/08/04/perceptions.htm

Come Ramadan and you will be able to see good old Dhaka with a festive look. Shopping malls getting all decorated with lights, the vast majority of the people attending the Jumma prayers in huge congregations and thousands of Iftar Shops springing up, all of them equipped with the ‘authentic’ recipes of Bombay Jilapi, Shahi Haleem and Doi-bara. But among all these festivities, there is an enigmatic label in some banners which is seen all across the city. ‘Ekhaney Jakaater Shari O Lungi Pawa Jai’(Sarees and Lungis for Zakaat are available here) is what it says. Perhaps because of my ignorance in such matters, I fail to comprehend what exactly this means!

So I went forward and did a little research on ‘Zakaat’. Here is the summary :

Zakaat is one of the five pillars of Islam. It has been mentioned, along with daily Prayers (Salaat), over seventy times in the Holy Qur’an. Linguistically, Zakaat has two meanings: purification and growth. Technically, it means to purify one’s possession of wealth by distributing a prescribed amount to the poor, the indigent, the slaves or captives, and the wayfarer. Zakaat has many benefits on the socio-economic scenario but I’ll try to highlight the two key features. Firstly, it functions as a social security for all. Those who have enough money today pay for what they have. If they need money tomorrow they will get what is necessary to help them live decently.

Secondly, and more importantly, Zakaat is the best check against hoarding. Those who do not invest their wealth but prefer to save or hoard it would see their wealth dwindling year after year at the rate of the payable Zakaat. This helps increase production and stimulates supply because it is a redistribution of income that enhances the demand by putting more real purchasing power in the hands of poor. Zakaat becomes obligatory for a Muslim for a minimum amount of money or other assets he/she possesses. After adding up the cash values of the assets, a 2.5% /year Zakaat has been prescribed for all the able Muslims.

Now, coming back to the original question, what could probably describe a ‘Jakater Shari’? Something which is of such a low quality that we cannot give to our mothers, sisters or daughters? Something which won’t even last till the next year’s Eid? Why do we tend to discriminate the poor even while donating? If our sister wears a sari worth 6000 Taka, why can’t we give someone poor the same Sari instead of getting 30 low quality, unwearable Saris worth 200 Taka each?

On second thoughts, we the so called privileged classes of the society deserve to wear those cheap lungis and Sari more than the underprivileged. Might sound like a crazy thought at first, but digging a little deep, this idea becomes quite comprehensible. Firstly, we have a closet full of clothes, so if one of them (the Jakater Shari or Lungi) becomes unusable soon, we can always look for alternatives. Secondly, the people who are on the receiving end of these clothes are usually day-labourers and maid-servants which involves strenuous hard work and thus demands strong, long lasting clothes.

We have seen quite a few times in newspapers on how poor people have died in stampedes after going to collect their lungi or Sari for Zakaat. We tend to forget such loss of lives very easily, and the number of deaths become nothing more than a statistic! There should be dependable government and non government organisations involved in this. The floods last year have shown how government organisations like the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund and non government organisations like BRAC and a newspaper Prothom Alo have efficiently collected and distributed huge amounts of money and relief goods. This can well be applied to Zakaat as well. It is said that if everyone gave their Zakaat in a proper, systematic way, there would be no poverty left in the country. We are taking different steps in poverty reduction. So let us try to attain a Bangladesh free of poverty through Zakaat.

[StarTech] TechViews: Budget 2009-10 (What’s in for IT, telecom and science?)

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=93173

On June 11, Finance Minister AMA Muhith unveiled the proposed budget for fiscal 2009-2010. In addition to the pressure of having to meet demands of different key sectors with limited resources and great expectations, the minister also had to take into account the demands of the people from ICT industry, and anyone and everyone remotely or directly connected to it.

The promise of a digital Bangladesh by the year 2021 made the expectations even higher from this year’s budget. In this issue of StarTech, we have looked into the pros and cons of the proposed budget and what experts are thinking about it.

The proposed budget for fiscal 2009-10 aims at making technology accessible to all and this was sharply reflected by the allocation of Tk 563 crore in ICT and telecommunication sectors, which is a giant leap from the Tk 265 crore in the revised budget for fiscal 2008-09. The allocation includes Tk 142 crore in Annual Developed Programme for science and ICT ministry, Tk 221 crore for post and telecommunication ministry, a special allocation of Tk 100 crore for ICT development and Tk 200 crore for equity and entrepreneurship fund for ICT promotion.

The finance minister also said that automated system would be introduced in the administration, educational institutions, land and health sectors and tax administration phase by the phase within a few years. If successfully implemented, an automated system would increase transparency and reduce corruption and hence fulfill the government’s pledge of a digital Bangladesh.

The commitment to connect the country with the second submarine cable for providing internet service to more people is likely to give ICT a major boost.

“We have to use information and communication technology extensively for accelerated development. Therefore, we are moving ahead with a dream of establishing digital Bangladesh by 2021. The transition to digitisation process will, on one hand, help accelerate production and on the other hand, facilitate curbing corruption,” said Muhith. The minister was also hopeful that the employment in ICT sector will rank second only to textile sector by 2021.

Mustafa Jabbar, president of Bangladesh Computer Samity, has termed the proposed budget a milestone — a great achievement of Bangladesh for being able to leap from the ‘Agricultural Age’ to the ‘Digital Age’, bypassing the ‘Industrial Age’. He was particularly impressed by the government’s massive plans for power sector, the current state of which many consider to be the single largest obstacle to bringing about digital Bangladesh. The finance minister informed the government’s decision to increase power generation by 950 MW this year and 2810 MW more by 2013 under different public and private initiatives. Jabbar appreciated the decision of withdrawing tax from internet usage at educational institutions but failed to understand why it did not apply for home users. The increased taxes on monitor, printer, toner and refill have also worried him and he suggested that they should immediately be withdrawn.

The proposed tax on mobile handsets and non withdrawal of tax on SIM cards is likely to hinder the growth of the fast growing telecommunications industry in Bangladesh, fear industry people and experts. In the proposed budget, a whopping 25 percent customs duty has been imposed on the import value of each set, scrapping the existing flat import duty of Tk 300 on each set. Bangladesh Mobile Phone Importers’ Association (BMPIA) has opposed the new duty structure saying they will have to pay at least Tk 800 for import of each low-priced handset. This decision will make a new handset and connection more expensive and perhaps deter first time buyers availing this service, people who need it the most.

Habibullah N Karim, president of Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services, has welcomed the allocation of Taka 500 crore for ICT development but hoped to see the allocation of more Tk 500 crore in the revised budget.

“We are happy to see that the finance minister has rightfully emphasised the use of indigenous software and IT enabled services for the sustainable development of this sector. We also hope that the government will undertake all possible e-government projects in line with the action plan given in the ICT Policy 2009,” says Karim.

Although highly applauded by ICT people, Prof Haseena Khan of the department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of the University of Dhaka has described the proposed budget by saying “Our frustration stems from the fact that to our policymakers ICT is the only science and technology worth pursuing” and like to see specific allocations in the biotechnology research sector in the revised budget. She said it was high time to grow this promising technology which could improve the quality of human life by leaps and bounds.

All in all, the proposed budget for fiscal 2009-2010 has had a mixed bag of responses from people related to ICT and other scientific fields and industry. With recommendations and suggested changes from the experts and people the final budget is expected to bring about positive change in the country.

mahdin@thedailystar.net

Spotlight: Earn While You Learn

http://www.thedailystar.net/campus/2009/05/03/camspotlight.htm

Photo: Wasama Doja

Sarah Z H, Tanzina Rahman, Mahdin Mahboob, Tawsif Saleheen, Nazia Ahmed, Tabassum Mokhduma, Fariha Ishrat Khandaker & Ridwan Karim

Part time jobs have always attracted university and college level students for more reasons than one. We have heard from our fathers and grandfathers about lodging-masters, brilliant students who used to stay in the houses of well-off people in big cities and teach their children while pursuing their own studies in colleges and universities. This practice started in this region in the British era and survived through the Pakistani rule and continued after the independence as well. For many of them, choosing to be the full time home tutor was not an option, but a necessity.

Today, in the twenty first century, many other avenues of part time jobs have opened up for the students of colleges and universities. Starting from good old home tuition to teaching in schools and coaching centres, to becoming call centre executives and to the more recent trends of becoming online bloggers and radio jockeys, opportunities seem to be unlimited and ever growing.

Photo: Tanzina Rahman

LOOKING into most popular part-time jobs among the university students, private tuitions have taken its stand to attract significant amount of individuals. To some it is the flexible timing, while to others it’s the notion of the profession that appears to be the most convenient way of earning money.

“It’s easier for a university student to get these tuitions and manage them rather than to get fixed part-time jobs. We arrange the timing with the students according to our timetable. And there are other reasons as well, I feel independent and I can also bear my expenses rather than being a pain for my parents” explained Nazia Sultana, 21, student of Independent University Bangladesh, School of Business.

While Z Z Khan, a 3rd year student at North South University said she has been teaching students of different age groups since the days of her A levels. “Teaching is all about learning how to deal with different kinds of people. By getting a chance to interact with students of different age groups, one can learn about the psychology of students and how they react to certain situations. If someone is interested in taking up teaching as a profession in the future then part time tutoring gives you a great opportunity to guide other people and master a sense of responsibility. One can tutor up to 20 to 30 students in a batch depending on his or her capacity. For much younger kids, one mustn’t try to tutor more than 6 at a time. Khan believes teaching makes her a better person and is a fun job at the end of the day. The amount of money that is earned through part time teaching is fairly decent. The only drawback about this job would be at times it could make you tired and not want to do your own studies!”

Furthermore, female university students tend to take junior level classes at private English medium schools as well. It appears that, for most of them it is a more convenient way of earning money, since the timing of their work is more suited with their university schedules. The pay is not so bad either.

According to the school administration, university students can relate more to the classes they teach. When asked, a bunch of fifth graders seemed pretty excited to have a teacher who was not so old and taught them with more enthusiasm. From the perspective of these part-time teachers, it’s an easy and fun way to make money, gain experience, and add another line on their resume.

Thus, it seems that there is a well-balanced symbiosis.
Teaching Assistantship in universities is another such profession. During the course of their studies, high CGPA holder students secure employment as TAs. The profession enhances their comprehensive reading skills as well as adds value to teaching profession if they consider pursuing in the related field.

After completing his A Levels, Azeezur Rahman Khan joined Chittagong Grammar School, Chittagong (CGS) as an Assistant Physics Trainee Teacher last August, the school from where he completed his A Levels. Now enrolled in Physics in University College London (UCL), he firmly believes that what he learned all these days while teaching actually helped him a lot to increase his knowledge and go in-depth about Physics. He said, “My classes will start within a couple of months and I am happy that because of my job I have learned a lot which will help me in my undergraduate programme. Moreover, because of this job I got both economic independence and experience, which is priceless as this experience will boost my chances of getting scholarships in future”.

Call Centre is another field that is becoming one of the most progressive industries in Bangladesh. It’s also an industry that relies heavily on part timers. Many private Call Centres in Bangladesh are staffed by university students and in some cases fresh A level/ HSC graduates. While it gives the students an exposure to the international market, due to the late working hours in a call centre it also acts as an added stress.

Nur-Us Shams who is associated with Orbit Communications, one of the leading call centres in Bangladesh has talked about the reason why many call centres prefer recruiting part timers.

“One of the major problems faced by the call centre industry of our country is that we don’t have well trained man power. As a result the industry has to depend on part timers. Due to time difference with the western world, students employed in the call centres have to work in the night shift. This might create imbalance in the student’s life. As a result, call centres that employ students as part timers should adopt practices that reduce their work stress,” he said.

Thanks to the steady growth of private television and radio channels in Bangladesh, opportunities are now opening up for students as newscasters and radio jockeys.

Frizea Talukdar is an MBA student who works as a part time newsreader at Bangladesh Television. She said it’s a lot of pressure when she has exams and a news reading schedule at the same time. Her job is otherwise rewarding as she can learn about what is happening around the world and from such a reliable source. She has been working for two years and sometimes had to miss classes because she had schedules set earlier for the day. However, Frizea is not satisfied with the amount of money she earns from her job.

Nafeez Karim studies BBA at Independent University Bangladesh. He said, “I’m working as a part time Radio Jockey for the last six months. After a rigorous 25 days of training from the producers and the more experienced RJs, I joined Radio Aamar as a part time Radio Jockey. I have my own show on air and have to work 2 hours a week. My employers are very understanding if I can’t make it to the office due to exams.”

Sometimes the part timers have a chance to work extra in shifts. Nafeez stresses on the fact that the working environment is worthy. Although they are given a basic guideline on how to make things work the RJs are always encouraged to explore creativity and bring in new ideas to transform the programs into something better. When asked whether he is satisfied with the amount of money he earns from his job, he said the level of his satisfaction waivers somewhere in between.

Omer Nashaad a private university student shared his views on his part time job as a DJ and studying at the same time.

“I started off as a mobile DJ back in Canada at Windsor. When I came back, I continued being a DJ beside my studies. The key is to keep yourself updated on the latest as well as the old music as much as you can. Once you have that rolling, you’re a hit!

“From the financial point of view, being a DJ brings in fast money. As for bridging between studies and the job, frankly, it all depends on how you divide your time. I, for example, chose weekends to do DJ shows, which never clashed with my classes,” he added.

Photo: Tanzina Rahman

Sabhanaz Rashid has been working as a part time photographer for the last 8/9 months. Most of her works are assignment based. She has worked for a popular English teen magazine called Rising Stars and Cotton Bangladesh group. Sometimes she sells her photos, which give her an opening as an aspiring artist. She sells them depending on the usage of the photo and the level of copyright. Photography for her is about exercising a level of creativity with much fun and excitement. She proudly pronounced that her part time job as a photographer hasn’t affected her studies as she carefully kept the two things separate. She likes to call her job surprisingly refreshing and exciting in a very positive way.

Nowadays many of the students go into the field of event management. According to Saif of Game Theory (A new age innovative media solutions company): this particular field is not suitable for students who want to achieve a good grade and graduate in time. This is because of the long hours and tedious workload. It mainly includes organizing events, making sure the banners, caterers, MCs, and decorations are in place to run a successful event.

Meanwhile, many students from Computer Science background, and others from non-technical backgrounds who have trained themselves in different web-developing software are finding web-development projects and making good money out of it. Some students are writing articles and taking pictures for different websites while some students have even gone onto the entrepreneurial level by opening local ISPs (Internet Service Providers) themselves.

Hussain M. Elius has been web designing for sometime now. It started out as a hobby but when he realized that he was growing a very keen interest in the job, he decided to make it his part time source of earning. He is a first year student at a private university in Dhaka and has already worked for One Degree Initiative, The Daily New Age, Business Report and a Norwegian cosmetic company. Hussain thinks web designing is particularly linked with personal development. It requires a certain kind of mental skill and a great deal of patience. It’s true that at times he got carried away by the huge amount of money this job offered him and as a result flunked in his studies; he also became conscious about not overworking himself. He has promised to himself that he will not work on more than one website in a month.

While, Rajiv Ashrafi loves writing and is currently enrolled at a well known private university of the country. He has been working as a part time blogger for the last 2 years. He works for two sites, Digital Battle and Screenhead which regularly offers reviews, news and interviews on games and movies. He believes, it is worth it because you can sit at home and stay connected doing exactly what you’re required to do. This experience will earn him acceptance later in life when he wants to move into something more serious. The only difference is, working for an online magazine or a site doesn’t allow you to meet the people physically. So far it hasn’t affected his studies since he can do it all without having to travel anywhere and the payment he says is quite good. Md. Sarfaraz Khan is a student at the Jahangirnagar University. Since last October he coupled with some of his friends has been working part time as Internet Service Providers in Uttara.Some parts of the outskirts of Uttara had no access to Internet services and Sarfaraz thought it would be great if he could make arrangements by providing broadband Internet services especially to the students who lived in that particular area. So he went on with his plan and now successfully runs Clicknet online services. He has divided his time with his other friends to look after their venture. He mostly works 2 to 3 days a week and enjoys it very much. The amount of money he makes from his job is quite enough to keep him going for the month. He gladly shares that his job has only helped him in his studies as he can learn more about business and other practicalities from his experience.

On a different note, between the past few years, many foreign franchises such as KFC, Pizza Hut and A&W have started their business in Bangladesh. Restaurant business, which is also considered as one of the promising business here, continues to thrive as well. However, working at fast-food chains and restaurants is somewhat a taboo in this country. It is unlikely to find high school or university students working in fast-food chains, which is a usual custom in western countries. During summer vacations and semester breaks, fast-food and restaurants opens temporary employment positions. Since students tend to seek for temporary job placements, these positions stand as the perfect match. “I chose to serve in a restaurant because I knew it was fast money, I can make large amounts of cash tips in a few hours to help pay for bills, tuition and my lifestyle,” said Danielle Renee Jones, 21, a student of paediatrics in Ohio State University (US). “The hours aren’t typically too bad, and I can have a flexible schedule for the most part. I can earn what some people make working 20-40 hours a week, in only three days!” she added. Unlike United States, society here downgrades these jobs plus swingeing unemployment makes it difficult to get into such placements.

Shama Zainab Ali of BRAC University a professor of Architecture said, “In my department I see students working in firms as part timers helping out in making models, drafts and drawings. This not only enhances their capabilities as architecture students but also provokes them to take up responsibility in their own works.

A few days ago I saw an undergrad student of Titumeer college (as she said) selling encyclopaedia at my door. I really appreciated such efforts by these young people who are eager to help their parents support their education. I hope to see that someday this country, like India and other developing countries of the subcontinent cater students to work in bookshops, restaurants, coffee shops and so many other places where we normally expect to see uneducated or middle aged people from underprivileged backgrounds.”

Few students can now deny the self-dependence that comes with being able to earn their own pocket money and not having to take it from their parents. For many, the work experience gained while they are still students make their résumé stand out while applying for jobs at the end of their studies. However, some seem to get indulged in their work a bit too much, which at times result in falling grades at the cost of earning more.

Globalisation – The Bangladesh Scenario

http://www.thedailystar.net/campus/2009/04/03/feature_globalisation.htm

JUST the other day, I was browsing through the newspaper and I came across this interesting advertisement for a job in a managerial position in a certain company. One of the requirements was ‘the incumbent must be a foreign national’. Thought-provoking to say the least! Why a foreign national is a must (and not any particular skills) for any job continues to baffle me, but one thing is for sure; globalisation has started to make its presence known in Bangladesh.

Towards the end of last year, US President Barack Obama was speaking about how an American university graduate from Boston today has to compete for a job with someone from Bangalore. Thanks to jobs being outsourced and most finished goods being imported rather than being produced in US, an acute shortage of jobs has been created and this has gradually pulled down the economy. Although this has come as a form of blessing for countries like India or Vietnam (which has benefited most from the outsourcing) and China or Mexico (which has benefited from the overwhelming imports), it still remains to be found where this leaves a country like Bangladesh.

The world wide web, once designed by the American Defence to ensure smooth, uninterrupted and secure communication between US military personnel spread out all over the world has today become the tool of communication for business, news, academics, research and anything and everything between heaven and earth. Using a computer or internet is no longer considered rocket science and from villages like Ta Van in Vietnam or Shagatha in Bangladesh, people are using the easily available information for many different purposes.

Bidding for a book or a musical accessory is now possible over the Internet, no matter where you are or what nationality you belong to. Job hunters in Chittagong are looking for available job opportunities in Dhaka, or elsewhere in the country simply by logging onto their bdjobs or prothom-alo jobs accounts online. No longer do we have to wait for the weekend show on TV for the US or UK movie or music Top 10. Everything, it seems, is just a click away, in the truest sense of the word. Communications and the free flow of information is now no longer a luxury, but a necessity.

The fact that many Bangladeshi students are going to different countries in the world for higher studies are also influencing the global culture that we seem to have today. The USA and UK were always places sought after for university education, but today, you will hear people going for their Bachelors, Masters or PhD to Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, Finland, Netherlands, Germany, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia, China and even Thailand and South Africa for that matter! Although many opt to stay back after their studies, the majority of these people come back to Bangladesh, and with them, brings back not only their education, but a rich cultural experience.

In addition to the students, there are Non Resident Bangladeshis who keep coming and going in and out of the country are also slowly and decisively shaping the cultural pattern of the country. Although the demand for skilled professionals will always remain high in the developed countries, this has also led to certain individuals taking advantage of the situation and fooling the less privileged and educated classes of the society into complete doom with offers of lucrative dream jobs in Malaysia, UAE and other middle eastern countries. These people, who contribute to the bulk of our foreign currency income, get minimal importance and priority and the government should take stern actions to stop the human traffickers and cheats who rob the common people of all their belongings.

Add to that are all the foreign nationals that reside in this country because of many sorts of different jobs and business in the development field, foreign missions and many other purposes. Dhaka, if not the whole country, has truly become a melting pot of people of all different nationalities and races. This has effected the demand pattern of Bangladeshis as well; demand for different international branded cars, clothes, shoes, lighters and perfumes is thus high paving the way for bulk imports of such products. This comes at the cost of hard earned foreign currency essential to buy important products like powdered milk, fruits, fuel and different other raw materials required for our factories and industries.

Whether we see a glass of water to be half full or half empty depends on our perception and attitude. The effects of globalization can have equally positive and negative impacts. We as a nation should try to make best use of the situation like our neighbouring countries of India and China and not delve into the luxuries that come with globalization.

Spotlight: Thoughts on Independence Day

http://www.thedailystar.net/campus/2009/03/04/camspotlight.htm

http://www.thedailystar.net/campus/2009/03/04/camspotlight_better.htm

in·de·pen·dence (nd-pndns)
n.
1. The state or quality of being independent.
2. Archaic Sufficient income for comfortable self-support; a competence.

26th March, 2009 would mark the 38th year of our independence. On this day in 1971, we as a nation finally found our identity after having been ruled by foreign invaders for hundreds of years.

The early traces of civilization here in Bengal date back to four thousand years, and the first settlers included the Dravidian, Tibeto-Burman and Austro-Asiatic peoples. Although the exact origin of the words ‘Bangla’ or ‘Bengal’ is unknown, it is widely believed to have been derived from Bang, the Dravidian-speaking tribe that settled in the area around the year 1000 BC. Since then, Bengal has seen itself being ruled by many foreign forces.

After being ruled by Hindu and Buddhist kings, Muslim invaders, the Mughals, the British and finally the Pakistanis, we finally managed to have our true identity in 1971 as Bangladeshis. But after thirty-eight years of being independent, one may ask how much of the values of the War of Liberation have truly been fulfilled? How much have we truly progressed?

Perhaps it is easy to make excuses about the many problems we face as a small country with a staggeringly high population and very few natural resources. Perhaps we would still like to be called a young nation. But how logical would these claims be? Let’s have a look at another Asian country, similar to us in many aspects, but yet so different!

Singapore, a small island city-state in South Asia, with a land mass two hundred times smaller than that of our country, gained its full sovereignty in 1965, not long before our independence.

Starting off with problems including mass unemployment, housing shortages, and a dearth of land and natural resources, Singapore today has not only overcome all these problems, but has grown to be the fifth most economically solvent country in the world with a per capita income of over $50,000/yr, just about fifty times of what we earn! In spite of having a population density of 6814/km2 (six and a half times that of our country), Singapore today has to import manpower from different countries across Asia, including Bangladesh.

So, did the government in Singapore have a magic wand? They definitely did not; what they had was consistency and long term plans, which sadly, we always fail to achieve. In spite of the huge human resource available in our country we have failed to truly achieve according to our potentials. What are the things that have been holding us back as a nation?

Lack of long term planning: A couple of months back, Prothom Alo, a leading Bengali newspaper of Bangladesh, published a four-page special supplement about the hundreds of unfinished bridges that can be seen all across the country, a glaring example of how much we fail in our long term plans. The story of course is same; if one government starts a bridge or a road, the construction work goes on till that government is in power. As soon as there is a change of government, the bridge/road/project is left stranded, just like that!

Power Shortage: The buzzword today seems to be of a Digital Bangladesh, promised to be delivered by the year 2021 by the current government. Although an ambitious plan, it is still doable given that certain prerequisites are met first. The government should make the production of electrical energy a first priority since the country simply cannot prosper with a power shortage of 2000 MW every day!

Fighting amongst ourselves: Why do we tend to fight amongst ourselves? Between political parties? Between different faiths? Between different ideologies? It’s time that all of us should start behaving like responsible citizens in order to take our country forward.

Student Politics: Student Politics in Bangladesh have gone drastically wrong and it must be stopped in all institutions at once. Students of colleges and universities are meant to study and not have armed fights between themselves!

Corruption: I personally believe the single most important factor that has been holding us back is corruption. Corruption truly is the root of all evil. It is easy to remain oblivious about it and think that it is something done only by politicians and government servants only. Very wrong; we are all corrupt in our own different ways. To avoid being fined after violating a traffic law, we offer bribes to the policeman; we do that to make things work faster. Guess what? That makes us equally corrupt and hence the practice continues. It’s high time that all of us change our ways.

But amidst all these obstacles, we are still moving forward because there are certain things that bind us as a nation. First and foremost is the sovereignty of the land that our forefathers fought for.

We are all one when it comes to that. Simple things like a game of cricket between Bangladesh and any other team in the world or the Pahela Boishakh celebrations show our oneness as a nation. So on the occasion of the thirty-eighth year of our independence, let us all promise to overcome these problems and build a better and beautiful Bangladesh.

The cynics would still ask, can we really overcome all these hurdles and march forward? The answer of course is, Yes we can!

University of Southampton

http://thedailystar.net/campus/2009/02/01/abroad.htm

SITUATED in the south coast of England in the city of Southampton, the University of Southampton has today grown to be one of the finest institutions for higher study in UK and Europe, specially known for its Enginnering schools. Established in 1862 as the Hartley Institution, it was upgraded to the status of a university college in 1902, and by a Royal Charter in 1952, was turned into a public research-intensive university. Today, with world class research and hundreds of students studying for their PhD, Masters and Undergraduate Degrees, the university truly lives up to its motto of Strenuis Ardua Cedunt (The Heights Yield to Endeavour).

The University of Southampton is a member of the Russell Group and of the Worldwide Universities Network. It has constantly been ranked as one of the best research universities in UK by its RAE (Research Assessment Exercise) assessments, and according to The Times Higher Education Supplement, the University has the second largest research income among British universities for the physical sciences and mathematics, and the third largest research income for engineering and technology. The University places great emphasis on inter-disciplinary cooperation and on collaboration with industry.

Before 1952, the University of London gave the degrees at Southampton and in a Royal Charter that year, the Queen granted the university of Southampton a right to award degrees in its own right. This conferred full university status and made Southampton independent of the University of London. It grew rapidly and gained a reputation for a strong academic approach.

The University’s main buildings are situated on a large site on the campus in Highfield, but the University has other campuses elsewhere around the city: at Boldrewood (biomedical sciences), Southampton General Hospital and on the waterfront at the National Oceanography Centre.

It also has a campus in the nearby city of Winchester which is the home of the University’s School of Art, known as the Winchester School of Art. The Avenue Campus houses most of the Humanities subjects taught at the University, including History, English, Film, Philosophy and Modern Languages. The Centre for Language Study is based at Avenue Campus. Archaeology is also located there in a series of purpose-designed buildings (the most modern archaeology facilities of any British university). Music is taught on the Highfield Campus, near the Turner Sims Concert Hall.

The University of Southampton and the MIT recently announced the launch of a long-term research collaboration, the Web Science Research Initiative (WSRI), that aims to produce the fundamental scientific advances necessary to guide the future design and use of the World Wide Web.

The School of Electronics and Computer Science, generally abbreviated “ECS”, is regarded by the IET (Institution of Engineering and Technology) as having the “biggest and strongest academic unit in the country in Electrical and Electronic Engineering” and has been at the forefront of the Open Access movement. Its research has achieved the top 5* rating in the last two Research Assessment Exercises, and in 2003 it was awarded the prestigious ‘best 5*’ rating by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).

Chaired by Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the school is regarded as one of the best in the UK for both computer science and electronics, scoring 5th and 1st for the subjects respectively in the Guardian Unlimited University Guide 2008 and 5th and 2nd respectively by both the Times Online Good University Guide and the Good University Guide.

ECS was the first academic institution in the world to adopt a self-archiving mandate (2001) and since then much of its published research has been freely available on the Web. It created the first and most widely used archiving software (EPrints) which is used worldwide by 213 known archives and continues to be evolved and supported from the School.

The University of Southampton did particularly well (25th) on the G-factor metric, which uses Google links to measure the influence of universities’ research. Southampton came third among British universities, behind Cambridge and Oxford.

The University of Southampton Students’ Union (SUSU), is sited in three buildings opposite the main Library.The multiple award winning student radio station, Surge, broadcasts from new studios in the main Union building. The award winning website SUSU.org was created and run by students at the university. The student newspaper, originally Wessex News, is now published once every three weeks as Wessex Scene following a name change in 1996.

The University provides accommodation for all first year students who require it. Places in halls are also available for international and postgraduate students. Accommodation may be catered or self catered.

Notable academics to work at the university include Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, Erich Zepler who made leading contributions to radio receiver development, Professor David N. Payne who invented EDFA for use in fibre optics cables.

List of Faculties, Schools and Centres

The Tizard Building, home of the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research
National Oceanography Centre, Southampton

* Faculty of Engineering, Science and Mathematics

o School of Chemistry
o School of Civil Engineering and the Environment (includes the centre for Environmental Sciences)
o School of Electronics and Computer Science (ECS)
o School of Engineering Sciences (includes Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Ship Science)
o School of Geography
o School of Mathematics
o School of Ocean and Earth Science (SOES)
o School of Physics and Astronomy
o Institute of Sound and Vibration Research (ISVR)
o Optoelectronics Research Centre
o Transportation Research Group (TRG)
o National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (home of the School of Ocean and Earth Science) (NOCS)
o Southampton E-Science Centre

* Faculty of Law, Arts and Social Sciences

o School of Social Sciences
o School of Management – see below
o School of Education
o School of Law
o School of Art (based at Winchester School of Art)
o School of Humanities
o Parkes Institute
* Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
o School of Biological Sciences
o School of Health Professions and Rehabilitation Sciences
o School of Medicine
o School of Nursing and Midwifery
o School of Psychology
o Health Care Innovation Unit

* Southampton Statistical Sciences Research Institute
ESRC National Centre for Research Methods
The university has 24,735 students, 17,120 of whom are undergraduates and 7,615 postgraduates. Acceptance rates are low, which make it one of the most competitive universities in UK to get into. If you are planning to start classes in the upcoming Septemeber Session, its high time that you should start the application process. More information can be found in the university website: http://www.soton.ac.uk/

Information Source: Internet

Spotlight: Expectations from the New Government

http://thedailystar.net/campus/2008/12/03/camspotlight_expectation.htm

Photo: Iqbal Ahmed/ Driknews

Welcome to the 21st century! A time when it is possible to have an African-American man to be the president of the United States, to abolish the age old monarchy in Nepal and to hold parliamentary elections in the secluded Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan. A Bangladesh where there hasn’t been a Hartal/Strike/Oborodh for two long years!

Yes, everything is possible today, but it will only happen if all of us believe that we will be able to do it. In this election, a lot of change has been promised and expected but there are speculations as to how much change actually will happen when the new government takes power in a couple of weeks time!

In recent times, there has been a growing demand for not electing the marked collaborators of the Pakistani Army in 1971 (Razakars). I personally believe that as much as it is important not to put the Razakars back to power, it is also equally important not to put today’s Razakars back to power. And who would today’s Razakars be? They are the corrupts, the loan defaulters and the terrorists and any other people for whom getting elected was meant to be an opportunity to fulfil all their personal whims and wishes, rather than an opportunity to serve the nation!

My expectations from the new government would be to minimize corruption and to improvise the communication systems. I believe corruption has been the root of all evil in Bangladesh and minimizing it, if not completely eliminating it, should be the first priority. According to a New York Times report, over 30 billion US Dollars have been poured into this state as foreign aid from 1971 to 2005 and we still continue to have a huge number of people living below the poverty line!

Communication systems between the different cities and townships (and inside them) in Bangladesh has much room for improvement and it is high time that it is done now. A divided expressway between Dhaka and Chittagong is a must and so are a number of flyovers in different locations across Dhaka city.

And lastly, I would want the opposition party not to call any strikes/hartals and oborodhs and think of other peaceful means of protest instead. Both the party in power and the one in opposition should work together to make a beautiful and prosperous Bangladesh that our forefathers had fought for 37 years back.

On a concluding note, I would like to point out that the upcoming election will have a record 31 percent of first time voters, on which we had previously published another cover story (http://www.thedailystar.net/campus/2008/02/03/camspotlight.htm). This week’s cover is all about the different expectations young people have, whose votes are likely to have a major impact in shaping up the new government.

So, on Election Day tomorrow (29th December, 2008), go and cast your vote for someone who is most likely to benefit your area the most. This is your chance to play a role in shaping up the new government so do not waste it!

[StarTech] TechViews – Microwave Remote Sensing (Prediction and monitoring of disasters in Bangladesh)

http://thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=67694

Satellite Image of Bangladesh (taken in October 2001, by Google Earth ) showing the low elevation and the main rivers, top left, and standard beam mode RADARSAT-1 images (25m resolution) acquired on October, 21, 2001 and May 7, 2008 following Cyclone Nargis.

Microwave remote sensing technologies have been successfully used in different disaster management and risk assessment schemes in different countries of the world for quite some time now. Bangladesh, because of its unique geographical location, is prone to natural disasters such as flash floods, cyclones and storm surges, tornadoes, drought, hailstorm and lightning, erosion, landslide and earthquake. These disasters cost a huge loss in lives and property. Proper monitoring and accurate forecast can save many lives and huge amount of money. It is high time that microwave remote sensing technologies, which provide a much better alternative to existing technologies in use, are used more extensively than they are being done now.

The microwaves are part of the electromagnetic spectrum and their wavelengths range from 1 mm to 1m. The range of frequencies this covers is between 3000 to 30,000 MHz (3-30 GHz). The microwaves exhibit unique capabilities in remote sensing and they have a number of stand-alone applications. The fact that microwave observational facility works equally well in all weathers as well as in both day and night time helps in using microwave sensors for different land based, atmospheric and oceanography applications including disaster management. Remote sensing technologies, being used by different countries including the neighbouring country of India, provide a much better alternative compared to existing technologies in use.

Microwaves are specially suited for Remote Sensing because of several reasons: they can penetrate clouds, they are independent of the sun as a source and can hence be used in day as well as night and lastly, they can penetrate deeper into vegetation compared to optical waves. Furthermore, microwaves are capable of penetrating into the ground itself.

The potential of using satellite based microwave observations of soil moisture to improve flood predictability is a concept that is being explored in different parts of the world today. Remote sensing observations could add skill to predictions of flood peak timing and magnitude. The inundated land surface conditions displayed are a detectable precursor to subsequent downstream flooding. The use of remotely sensed passive microwave observations improves the forecasting skill for regional scale flooding. In Bangladesh, where flooding is a regular problem because of its unique geographical location, microwave remote sensing maybe a good tool to accurately forecast flooding patterns and hence would help the government to take steps accordingly.

Microwave remote sensing also helps to monitor and forecast other natural disasters common to Bangladesh including cyclones, earthquakes, landslide, erosion and droughts. The process uses active and passive sensors placed in satellites, aeroplanes or helicopters to achieve this task.

Bangladesh is located in the low-lying Ganges-Brahmaputra River Delta or Ganges Delta. This unique geographical location makes the country subject to many forms of natural disasters on a frequent basis, and the nine major types are listed below:

The table below shows the major types of natural disasters in Bangladesh and the areas they usually affect and the impact they cause. This was found in a research published in the Bangladesh State of the Environment Report 2001.

The following images of Yangon, Myanmar, taken using the RADARSAT before and after Cyclone Nargis (which also partially affected the southernmost coast of Bangladesh) show microwave satellite images of the city [12]:

The following image shows the trackchart of that cyclone recorded using the AMSR-E. The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer – EOS (AMSR-E) is a one of the six sensors (passive microwave radiometer) aboard the Aqua Satellite which was launched by NASA in 2002.

It is quite evident that it is high time Bangladesh uses microwave remote sensing technologies more to accurately monitor and forecast natural disasters (including cyclones, earthquakes, floods, etc.) and take steps accordingly.

The use of Microwave Remote Sensing will provide a faster, more reliable and timely methodology for prediction and monitoring of natural disasters which will help in saving men and materials and lives of the common people of Bangladesh. It is suggested that the steps are taken immediately to initiate work in use of Microwave Remote Sensing for this purpose.

Information Source: Paper titled ‘Microwave Remote Sensing for Prediction and Monitoring of Disasters in Bangladesh’ [Mahdin Mahboob, Prof O P N Calla]  published in the InCMARS-2008 (Indian Conference on Microwave Antenna Propagation and Remote Sensing) held in the International Centre for Radio Science, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India between 9-11 December, 2008

Spotlight: James P Grant @ BRACU – A School of Excellence in Public Health

http://thedailystar.net/campus/2008/11/01/camspotlight.htm

James P Grant School of Public Health @ BRAC University

With a vision of ‘A world where everyone enjoys the maximum potential of health’, the James P Grant School of Public Health at BRAC University has made a significant mark in public health education in Bangladesh and in South Asia in general.

In South Asia, one of the first public health institutions was the school of Tropical Medicine, which was set up in Kolkata in 1922. After that, similar institutions soon began to appear in the region, but according to a WHO report, most of these schools in India and other South Asian countries failed to create major impact due to ‘neglect, assignment of lowest priority, low prestige, poor quality of staff, and inadequate facilities such as transport and field practice areas’.

To integrate community experiences in public health education, the Rockefeller Foundation helped set up a few schools of public health in Uganda, Kenya, Ghana, Zimbabwe and Vietnam. However, the number of such types of schools were much less compared to the demands.

To address the many problems that public health is facing, and to test new teaching/learning methodologies, BRAC, one of the largest development organizations in the world, set up a school of Public Health in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Named after the late executive director of UNICEF, the James P Grant School of Public Health is today breaking new ground in innovative teaching and in creating leaders for public health in developing countries.

During the formation of the school, BRAC collaborated with prestigious public health schools in developed countries including Johns Hopkins and Columbia Universities to develop the curriculum. Guest Professors from those schools also teach in some of the school’s courses. “The idea of setting up the school grew from BRAC’s continued effort in alleviating poverty in disadvantaged parts of the world,” says Professor AMR Choudhury, Dean of the school.

The Program
Since its commencement in 2005, three batches of 77 participants from 14 countries have now graduated from the school through its Master of Public Health (MPH) programme. In the current acadmeic year, there are 12 students from 11 countries of Asia, Africa, Europe and North America and 18 students from Bangladesh. While some of the students from the earlier batches have continued on to doctoral-level studies, most are now back in their own countries and have taken up jobs in various government, donor agencies, media and non-governmental organizations.

Uniqueness of the program
The James P Grant School has several features which makes it stand apart from its counterparts.

1) It emphasises on both the art and science of public health. Apart from the MPH and the several other short courses that the school offers, the faculty members are involved in research on important issues that Bangladesh and other low-income countries face.

2) The location of the school is in a developing country, thus providing a ’social laboratory’ for teaching and learning.

3) The fact that it is placed in a development organisation like BRAC which has total commitment to help the poor and the disadvantaged and which tries to blur the artificial divide between health and development and its vast human, material and infrastructural resources.

In the December 2007 issue of the widely circulated Bulletin of the World Health Organization, the school has been featured and the article states that, “[The school] is one of a new breed of public health institutions based in a developing country. It offers courses relevant to Bangladesh as well as international public health issues, and attracts students from both developing and developed countries.”

In 2006, the school organized the launching of Bangladesh Health Watch Report and Professor Amartya Sen, Nobel Laureate was present as the Chief Guest in the occasion. Speaking on the occasion, he emphasized that increased slogan of privatization cannot provide health services to all citizens and basic public sector services are essential to provide health security. He drew upon his experiences in China and India and noted that in China, privatization worked for agriculture and industry but not for health. He cautioned that in the name of privatization, we should not be quick to accept and legitimize quacks and fraudulent practitioners. He also emphasized the importance of democracy and the right to information and strengthening of citizen’s voices, which create pressure for better health and services for all citizens.

Also present in that occasion was Mr. Fazle Hasan Abed, Founder and Chairperson of BRAC who emphasized the role of proper management in solving the nation’s health problems. He assured that this initiative would, in the future, investigate focused issues through grassroots level investigations.

Faculty Members
The faculty members in this school comprise of core faculty members and others from BRAC, ICDDR,B and foreign partner institutions. For each course there is a foreign faculty member and one or more local counterparts. The school plans to gradually reduce dependence on foreign faculty through induction of more core faculty.

Research
* Research is a core function of any vibrant academic institution and this school is no exception. Current research projects of the school include:

* Monitoring Equity in the Bangladesh health system (with ICDDR,B and MoH).

* Study on sexual and reproductive health and rights (with IDS/Sussex, Indepth Network, Engender Health, etc.)

* Global Health Equity Project (The World Bank).

The Centre for Health Systems Studies of the school has the potential of strengthening the health system in Bangladesh by informing, guiding and systematically evaluating policies of the health sector and to promote population health. In addition to the launching of the Health Watch Report, the centre has undertaken a number of research activities. Currently, a study is being done on the public private partnership service delivery models in Bangladesh. Dr. Mushtaque Chowdhury oversees the Centre as Director while Dr. Sabina Faiz Rashid serves as the Coordinator of the Centre.

The Centre for Gender, Sexuality and HIV/AIDS, established in collaboration with UNAIDS is designated for research, policy, advocacy and training activities utilizing the state-of-the-art methods and technologies of teaching/learning and providing unique opportunities in hands-on field experience in dealing with gender, sexuality, and HIV/AIDS in Bangladesh and other developing countries.

Modern healthcare is about disease control and MPH is about learning methods and techniques to control disease in the grassroots levels in developing countries including Bangladesh. James P Grant School of Public Health, through its continued quest for success, should serve as a model for similar institutions in Bangladesh and in other South Asian countries.

(mahdin.mahboob@gmail.com)

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Interview of Mushtaque Chowdhury

Dean of the James P Grant School of Public Health

Mushtaque Chowdhury, PhD is the Dean of the BRAC University James P Grant School of Public Health. He is the Deputy Executive Director of BRAC where he oversees the health programs, which include maternal, newborn and child health, tuberculosis control, water, sanitation and hygiene, HIV/AIDS prevention, and nutrition.

Dr. Chowdhury is also a Professor of Population and Family Health at the Mailman School of Public Health of Columbia University in New York, and serves on the boards of many international initiatives and journals. He was a co-coordinator of the Millennium Task Force on Child Health and Maternal Health and of the Joint Learning Initiative Working group on Priority Diseases. He is the co-recipient of the ‘Innovator of the Year 2006′ award given by the Marriott Business School of Brigham Young University in USA for his work in making reading glasses available to the poor for improved livelihood.

In an interview with Mahdin Mahboob of Star Campus, Dr Chowdhury has spoken about the various aspects of the MPH program at BRAC University.

Star Campus (SC): The MPH Program at BRAC University is known to be the first of its kind (among private universities) in the country and one of the world’s best. Please tell us in details how this program has ranked compared to other such schools worldwide and in Bangladesh?
Dr. Mushtaque Chowdhury (DMC): The BRAC School of Public Health was set up in 2004. The flagship programme of the School is the Master of Public Health (MPH), which opened its door to students in early 2005. Afterwards, many other universities in the private sector have also started MPH programmes. This proves two things: one is that the BRAC School is a pioneer and the second is that there is a demand for such a degree in Bangladesh. Globally, the BRAC School has earned a name for itself already. In any meeting on public health education, we are invited to share our experiences. The US universities implementing global health programmes have recently started a consortium and we were invited to speak at its launching at the University of California in San Francisco. The Bulletin of the World Health Organization, a most prestigious journal published by WHO, show-cased six schools in the world as examples of innovation and the BRAC School was one of them.

SC: Who are the students that study for this program? Are there scholarship opportunities for meritorious Bangladeshi / International students?
DMC: We take 30 students every year for the MPH. Diversity is an important aspect of any educational programme and that’s why we ensure that half of our students are women, half are non-physicians (meaning half are doctors) and half are international. In the current batch the students come from 12 countries of Asia, Africa, Europe and North America. To attract the best students, we do offer scholarships. However, students coming from the first world have to pay the full tuition.

SC: What are the biggest achievements of this program?
DMC: The School has already made a mark for itself in the world of public health education. It is a young institution but we already have graduated 77 students through the MPH programme. Hundreds of others have attended short courses that we offer on various public health issues. All the graduates are now employed in governments, NGOs, universities, research organizations, media and donor agencies and are contributing to improving the health of the population, which is our ultimate aim. The School is also contributing to many current debates in public health. It works as the Secretariat for the Bangladesh Health Watch, a civil society initiative. In the most recent report of the Watch, the issue of the human resources in health was highlighted. It sparked a lot of attention among different stakeholders. There are a number of ways through which a higher education programme is evaluated. One robust indicator is how the reputed universities in the North (and South) recognize the degrees offered by BRAC School. As of now, several of our graduates have been accepted for PhD programmes at Harvard, Columbia, George Washington, University of California and London. These are indications of the high esteem that these universities treat our graduates with. Also, the Asia Pacific Academic Consortium for Public Health (APACPH), a prestigious regional organization has accorded recognition to the BRAC School by electing it as a member. In addition, the school has attracted donor attention. For example, the European Commission recently awarded the BRAC School over five million Euros to carry out a Food Security and Nutritional Surveillance Project (FSNSP) for the next five years.

SC: What are the research facilities for students of this program?
DMC: In the MPH programme, the students are required to do an original research work. In this they are supervised by accomplished researchers based in Bangladesh. Students get only about 10 weeks to complete this thesis work but they have shown how much useful work can be accomplished in this short period. Many students have published their thesis in reputed journals.

SC: What makes the BRACU MPH program unique?
DMC: The BRAC School is unique in many ways. The first is its location in Bangladesh and hosting by BRAC and its wide network. This provides a social laboratory accessible to its students which no other institution in the world can offer. The second is the partnership we have with many institutions in Bangladesh and abroad, both for teaching and research. The ICDDR,B is the most important partner with its world-class scientists, research facilities and libraries. The third is the emphasis that we attach to both the art and science of public health. Research is an integral part of life at the School. Advocacy for health is also equally emphasized. The fourth is the emphasis on community-based experiential learning. The first six months of the MPH is conducted in a rural site where the students reside and regularly interact with villagers through exercises illustrating public health in practice. In the Dhaka semester the students continue their community learning by interacting with urban residents particularly the slum dwellers. The fifth is the diversity. Our student body is diverse and so is the faculty. The faculty who come from within and outside Bangladesh bring wide experiences from around the world. You get the best of Harvard, Columbia, Hopkins, Amsterdam, London, Karolinska, Kerala, ICDDR,B and BRAC in one place!