Thursday, July 24, 2014

FUNNY SHORT JOKES

FUNNY   SHORT   JOKES.

Dad: Shame on you, Peter. Why did you hit your little sister?
Peter: Well, Daddy, we were playing Adam and Eve with the apple and all. Well, instead of tempting me with that apple, she ate the thing herself!

“Mary, why did you kick your brother in the stomach?! exclaimed the angry mother.
“It was pure accident, Mama. He turned around.”

“Mama, there’s a man at the door,” said little Johnny.
“He says he’s collecting for senior citizens. Do you think we should hide Grandpa?”

Mrs. Peterson went to the doctor: “I’m terribly worried about my boy. He thinks he’s a chicken.”
The doctor asked, “And how long has this been going on?”
“Almost a year,” Mrs. Peterson replied.
“Well for goodness sakes! Why didn’t you bring him to see me sooner?”
“Because we needed the eggs!”

It was the end of the school year and Joey’s mother asked: “And were the exam questions difficult?”
“They weren’t bad at all,” her son replied. “It was the answers that gave me all the trouble.”

A family took a trip to Disney World. After three exhausting days, they headed home. As they drove away, the son waved and said, “Goodbye, Mickey.”
The daughter waved and said, “Goodbye, Minnie.”
The husband waved, rather weakly, and said, “Goodbye, Money.”

One night a policewoman pulls over a drunk driver.
She politely asks him to step out of his car. He willingly does so.
She says, “Anything you say can and will be held against you.”
He replies “BREASTS.”

A Chinese man rings his boss, “Me no work I sick.”
Boss says, “When I’m sick, I make love with my wife. Try that.”
Two hours later the Chinese man rings back, “Me better, you got nice house.”

The following text messages were exchanged on a cold winters day.
Wife: “Windows frozen.”
Husband: “Pour some warm water over them.”
Wife: “Computer completely screwed up now.”

A doctor says to his patient, “I have a bad news and a worse news”.
“Oh dear, what’s the bad news?” – asks the patient.
The doctor replies, “You only have 24 hours to live.”
“That’s terrible,” said the patient. “How can the news possibly be worse?”
The doctor replies, “I’ve been trying to contact you since yesterday.”

Cousin Elly, who happens to be blonde, is the world’s worst at getting instructions mixed up. When she got married her husband bought her one of those fancy, electric coffee makers. It had all the latest gadgets on it.
Salesman Riley carefully explained how everything worked; how to plug it in, set the timer, go back to bed, and upon rising, the coffee is ready.
A few weeks later Elly was back in the store and Riley asked her how she liked the coffee maker.
“Wonderful!” she replied, “However, there’s one thing I don’t understand. Why do I have to go to bed every time I want to make a pot of coffee?”

Grandma and her little grandson were in the park picking up ripe walnuts on a beautiful fall day. “These are the kind of nuts your Daddy loves best,” she said.
The little boy replied, “Maybe he likes these things best but the nuts I like are doughnuts!”

“Did God make you, Papa?”
“Yep! He certainly did.”
“And did He make me too?”
“Of course, He did.”
“Well, He’s certainly doing better as He goes along, isn’t He?”

Little Emma returned from the birthday party and her mother asked: “Did you say ‘thank you’?”
“Well, no,” replied the little girl. “Y’see, the girl ahead of me thanked her and she said, ‘Don’t mention it!’ so I didn’t.”

Mom was preparing the two children for bed and was telling bedtime stories. She remarked that God made eyes to see, ears to hear, noses to smell and feet to run.
The little girl sat up and said, “But, Momma, I guess God got kinda mixed up with Tom, here, because Tom’s nose runs and his feet smell!”

With a frown wrinkling his forehead, little Johnny was working hard at his father’s desk scratching a pen along a page of his paper. His mother asked, “Are you writing a letter to your little girlfriend, Son?”
“Nope,” he grunted, “It’s a letter to myself.”
“Well,” she smiled, “What are you going to write about?”
“How should I know?” he squeaked, “I haven’t received it yet.”

A man called his friend’s house and a small voice greeted him.
“Is your Daddy there?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Could I speak with him?”
“He’s busy,” the little voice replied.
“Well, can I speak to your mother?”
“Nope, she is busy, too.”
“Well then, let me talk with your brother.”
“He’s busy, too.”
“For goodness sakes, what are they so busy doing?”
“They are looking for me!”

What can you put in your right hand but not your left?
Your left elbow.

Why do cows wear bells?
Their horns don’t honk.

TEACHER JOKES --- FUNNY JOKES

TEACHER   JOKES

Describing his teacher to his mother, Jimmy called her “mean but fair.”
“Just what do you mean by that?” – his mother asked.
“She is mean to everybody.” – Jimmy replied.

Pupil (on phone): My son has a bad cold and won’t be able to come to school today.
School Secretary: Who is this?
Pupil: This is my father speaking!

Mother: How do you like your new teacher?
Son: I don’t. She told me to sit up the front for the present and then she didn’t give me one!

Son: I can’t go to school today.
Father: Why not?
Son: I don’t feel well
Father: Where don’t you feel well?
Son: In school!

Teacher: You missed school yesterday didn’t you?
Pupil: Not very much!

“Johnny, where’s your homework?” Miss Martin said sternly to the little boy while holding out her hand.
“My dog ate it,” was his solemn response.
“Johnny, I’ve been a teacher for eighteen years. Do you really expect me to believe that?”
“It’s true, Miss Martin, I swear it is,” insisted Johnny. “I had to smear it with honey, but I finally got him to eat it.”

What would happen if you took the school bus home?
The police would make you bring it back!

A teacher of the earth science class was lecturing on map reading.
After explaining about latitude, longitude, degrees and minutes the teacher asked, “Suppose I asked you to meet me for lunch at 23 degrees, 4 minutes north latitude and 45 degrees, 15 minutes east longitude…?”
After a confused silence, a voice volunteered, “I guess you’d be eating alone.”

Pupil: I don’t think I deserved zero on this test!
Teacher: I agree, but that’s the lowest mark I could give you!

The little boy wasn’t getting good marks in school. One day he made the teacher quite surprised.
He tapped her on the shoulder and said…. “I don’t want to scare you, but my daddy says if I don’t get better grades….. somebody is going to get a spanking…”

Teacher: How can you make so many mistakes in just one day?
Pupil: I get up early!

“An abstract noun,” the teacher said, “is something you can think of, but you can’t touch it. Can you give me an example of one?”
“Sure,” a teenage boy replied. “My father’s new car.”

Teacher: I told you to stand at the end of the line?
Pupil: I tried, but there was someone already there!

A little girl had just finished her first week of school. “I’m wasting my time,” she said to her mother. “I can’t read, I can’t write – and they won’t let me talk!”

Teacher: “Isn’t it remarkable how quickly the kids learn to drive the car?”
Parent: “Yes, especially considering how slowly they catch on to running the lawnmower and vacuum cleaner.”

Teacher: You aren’t paying attention to me. Are you having trouble hearing?
Pupil: No, teacher I’m having trouble listening!

The new family in the neighborhood overslept and their six-year-old daughter missed her school bus.
The father, though late for work himself, had to drive her. Since he did not know the way, he said that she would have to direct him to the school.
They rode several blocks before she told him to turn the first time, several more before she indicated another turn. This went on for 20 minutes – but when they finally reached the school, it proved to be only a short distance from their home.
The father, much annoyed, asked his daughter why she’d led him around in such a circle.
The child explained, “That’s the way the school bus goes, Daddy. It’s the only way I know.”

Teacher: Class, we will have only half a day of school this morning.
Class: Hooray
Teacher: We will have the other half this afternoon!

College student: “Hey, Dad! I’ve got some great news for you!”
Father: “What, son?”
College student: “Remember that $500 you promised me if I made the Dean’s list?”
Father: “I certainly do.”
College student: “Well, you get to keep it.”

Teacher: Why can’t you ever answer any of my questions?
Pupil: Well if I could there wouldn’t be much point in me being here!

Father: How do you like going to school?
Son: The going bit is fine, as is the coming home bit too, but I’m not too keen on the time in-between!

Student: Can you hold on to my wallet for me while we take the exam? There may or may not be money in it.
Teacher: I can’t be bought!
Student: Yes, but can you be rented for a little while?

Teacher: Why are you late?
Webster: Because of the sign.
Teacher: What sign?
Webster: The one that says, “School Ahead, Go Slow.”

Teacher: Cindy, why are you doing your maths sums on the floor?
Cindy: You told me to do it without using tables!

“If there are any idiots in the room, will they please stand up.” said the sarcastic teacher.
After a long silence, one freshman rose to his feet.”Now then mister, why do you consider yourself an idiot?” enquired the teacher with a sneer.
“Well, actually I don’t,” said the student, “but I hate to see you standing up there all by yourself.”

A little girl came home from school and said to her mother, “Mommy, today in school I was punished for something that I didn’t do.”
The mother exclaimed, “But that’s terrible! I’m going to have a talk with your teacher about this … by the way, what was it that you didn’t do?”The little girl replied, “My homework.”

“Isn’t the principal a dummy!” said a boy to a girl.
“Well, do you know who I am?” asked the girl.
“No.” replied the boy.
“I’m the principal’s daughter.” said the girl.
“And do you know who I am?” asked the boy
“No,” she replied.
“Thank goodness!” said the boy with a sign of relief.

Teacher asked George: how can you prove the earth is round?
George replied: I can’t. Besides, I never said it was.

Q: Why did the teacher wear sunglasses?
A: Because his class was so bright!

Q: Why were the teacher’s eyes crossed?
A: She couldn’t control her pupils!

Q: How is an English teacher like a judge?
A: They both give out sentences.

Q: Teacher: If I had 6 oranges in one hand and 7 apples in the other, what would I have?
A: Student: Big hands!

Q: Teacher: If you got $20 from 5 people, what you get?
A: Student: A new bike.

Q: Teacher: I hope I didn’t see you looking at John’s exam?
A: Student: I hope you didn’t either.

Q: Teacher: What is the shortest month?
A: Student: May, it only has three letters.

Q: Why did the teacher write on the window?
A: Because she wanted the lesson to be very clear!

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL FOR OPEN AND DISTANCE EDUCATION / ICDE

International Council for Open and Distance Education

The International Council for Open and Distance Education, or ICDE, is a global membership organisation in the field of open and distance education,[1] and in formal consultative relations with UNESCO.[2] It was founded in 1938 in Canada as the International Council for Correspondence Education.[2] ICDE conducts world conferences on open and distance education on alternate years. Regional conferences are held more frequently.[2] ICDE does not provide educational accreditation to its members. Its website states: "Claims that ICDE provides institutional accreditation or the unauthorized use of the ICDE logo on websites or marketing materials is strictly prohibited and will result in withdrawal of membership."[3] ICDE includes national organizations, such as the University Continuing Education Association (UCEA) in the United States, which provides "cross-disciplinary perspectives and strategies" related to adults and non-traditional students looking for continuous learning opportunities.[4]

References

  1. Associations and Professional Organizations, Distance Education Professional Development Center, University of Wisconsin–Madison
  2. History, ICDE website
  3. Membership criteria, ICDE website
  4. icde.org

External links



THE CONCEPT OF CAPACITY BUILDING

THE   CONCEPT  OF   CAPACITY  BUILDING

History of Capacity Building

Since the early 1970's, the lead within the UN system for action and thinking on what was then called Institution Building was given to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and it has offered guidance to its staff and member governments. This involved building-up the ability of basic national organisations, in areas such as civil aviation, meteorology, agriculture, health, nutrition to allow them to perform their tasks in the best way possible. All UN specialised agencies were supposed to actively support capacity building in the areas for which they were technically qualified e.g. FAO in the rural sector and agriculture, WHO in health etc, but they achieved mixed results. By 1991 the term had evolved and had transformed into Capacity Building.
UNDP defined Capacity Building as "the creation of an enabling environment with appropriate policy and legal frameworks, institutional development, including community participation (of women in particular), human resources development and strengthening of managerial systems, adding that, UNDP recognizes that capacity building is a long-term, continuing process, in which all stakeholders participate (ministries, local authorities, non-governmental organizations and water user groups, professional associations, academics and others".(citation: UNDP).
By 1992, Capacity Building became a central concept in Agenda 21 and in other United Nation Conference on Environmental and Development(UNCED) agreements. By 1998 the UN General Assembly had commissioned and received evaluations of the impact of the UN system's support for capacity building. These evaluations were carried out by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs as part of the UNGA's triennial policy review during which it looks at all UN system development activities (see UN Publications section). Since then, the issue of capacity building has become a major priority within the global conventions, the Global Environmental Facility(GEF) and the international communities.
In the year 2000, UNDP through its Strategic Partnership with the GEF Secretariat, launched the Capacity Development Initiative (CDI), a consultative process involving extensive outreach and dialogue to identify countries’ priorities issues in capacity development needs, and based on these findings, to develop a strategy and action plan that addresses identified needs to meet the challenges of global environmental action.
In 2002, the World Summit in Sustainable Development (WSSD) and the Second GEF Assembly reaffirmed the priority of building the capacity of developing countries. the WSSD recommended that GEF resources be used to provide financial resources to developing countries to meet their capacity needs for training, technical know how and strengthening national institutions.
Capacity Building is, however, not limited to international aid work. More recently, the term is being used by governments to transform community and industry approaches to social and environmental problems.

What is Capacity Building today?

Over the past five years, a broad common conceptual framework has emerged. This approach is increasingly being adopted by the development cooperation community. It involves a System Perspective that addresses various levels of environmental management capacities (i.e. capacities of institutions, individuals, overall countries and regions)[1]. This approach puts greater emphasis on the Capacity Development process itself, on local ownership of its process and on equal partnership in its support[2].
Capacity Building involves human resource development, the development of organizations and promoting the emergence of an overall policy environment, conductive to the generation of appropriate responses to emerging needs[3].
The concept of Capacity Building includes the following:
  • Human resource development, the process of equipping individuals with the understanding, skills and access to information, knowledge and training that enables them to perform effectively.
  • Organizational development, the elaboration of management structures, processes and procedures, not only within organizations but also the management of relationships between the different organizations and sectors (public, private and community).
  • Institutional and legal framework development, making legal and regulatory changes to enable organizations, institutions and agencies at all levels and in all sectors to enhance their capacities (citation: Urban Capacity Building Network).
Levels of Capacity Building
  • Individual: refers to the process of changing attitudes and behaviours-imparting knowledge and developing skills while maximizing the benefits of participation, knowledge exchange and ownership.
  • Institutional: focuses on the overall organizational performance and functioning capabilities, as well as the ability of an organization to adapt to change.
  • Systemic: emphasizes the overall policy framework in which individuals and organizations operate and interact with the external environment.

Definitions of Capacity Building

See also Capacity Building definition
See also Capacity Building
According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP):
In the global context, capacity refers to the ability of individuals and institutions to make and implement decisions and perform functions in an effective, efficient and sustainable manner. At the individual level, capacity building refers to the process of changing attitudes and behaviours-imparting knowledge and developing skills while maximizing the benefits of participation, knowledge exchange and ownership. At the institutional level it focuses on the overall organizational performance and functioning capabilities, as well as the ability of an organization to adapt to change. It aims to develop the institution as a total system, including individuals groups and the organization itself.
Traditionally, interventions at the systemic level were simply termed institutional strengthening. This reflected a concern with human resource development as well as assisting in the emergence and improvement of organizations. However, capacity development further emphasizes the overall policy framework in which individuals and organizations operate and interact with the external environment, as well as the formal and informal relationships of institutions. Capacity is not the mere existence of potential but rather existing potential must be harnessed and utilized to identify and solve problems in order to be considered as capacity. (citation: UNDP).

Capacity Building and Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM)

Over the past 30 years, there has been an enormous investment in Capacity Building for Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) worldwide. Major actors in Capacity Building worldwide include international organizations (e.g. United Nations Environment Programme, United Nations), national ICZM programmes (e.g. Brazil, Sri Lanka), and numerous efforts at the project level.
The concept of Capacity Building has evolved. New institutional frameworks have been created in many countries to attend the specific needs of an ICZM project and/or programme. Additionally, a very large number of individuals have been trained in the concept and the technical and scientific basis for ICZM, as well as the skills required for effective practice of cross-disciplinary and cross-sectoral approaches.
ICZM is nowadays considered as the most appropriate tool to achieve sustainable coastal development by many EU coastal related policies[4]. This new approach to coastal management requires coastal practitioners and their institutions to be adequately equipped to deal with emerging implementation challenges. In fact, in the last two decades in Europe, the increasing number of ICZM projects at the local, national and trans-national levels, triggered by an ICZM Demonstration Programme (1996-1999), along with the increase of university degree programmes in the field, has resulted in a wide array of efforts dedicated to build capacities inside and outside academia. However, they remain as ad-hoc efforts without replication for the benefit of other potential contexts/users through networking and transfer of good practices and know-how.

Further reading

UN publications available on line:

References

  1. Jump up Vallejo, S.M., 2006, Are we meeting the challenges for capacity building for managing ocean and coasts?, Balboa, Panama, November 13-14, 2006
  2. Jump up Lafontaine, A., Assessment of Capacity Development Efforts of Other Development Cooperation Agencies. Capacity Development Initiative, GEF-UNDP Strategic Partnership, July 2000
  3. Jump up UNDP/UNDOALOS, 1994, Report on the Consultative Meeting on Training in Integrated Management of Coastal and Marine Areas for Sustainable Development, Sassari, Sardinia, Italy, 21-23 June, 1993. United Nations Development Programme and Division for Ocean Affairs, United Nations, New York.
  4. Jump up Insert reference material


The main author of this article is Garriga, Maica
Please note that others may also have edited the contents of this article.

Roadmap for Capacity Building for ICZM

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