Middle age dreaming

Posted to Monash Weekly (27/5/2013) on 30/5/2013 at 10:21 PM
Commenting on "Middle age dreaming"
http://www.monashweekly.com.au/story/1525014/middle-age-dreaming/

Don't change for the sake of change. If you need your present job to bring home the bacon, make sure you secure a new one first before resigning. The more senior you are in position or in age, the more difficult for you to find another one. The job market is diminishing rapidly recently.

You may have years of experience and a string of degrees, but so have many people. There is no guarantee that after leaving an unhappy workplace and those workmates you can't get along with, you will land in Xanadu. Every workplace has its own culture and does things differently. You may still turn out to be a square peg for a round hole.

If you are unemployed or thinking of taking that great leap, do not just enrol in a course and hope that the piece of paper you get at the end can fulfil your dream. You may be disappointed, disillusioned and regretted to have wasted days of useless training.

When choosing a course, make sure the skill and qualification gained WILL BE useful and relevant to the job you WILL BE seeking. Scoring top marks are not prerequisites for suitability of a job. Australia is very short of tradespeople, and a vocational qualification may be worth more than a degree at present.

Forward step on domestic violence

Posted to Monash Weekly (20/5/2013) on 20/5/2013 at 12:22 PM
Commenting on "Forward step on domestic violence"
http://www.monashweekly.com.au/story/1508854/forward-step-on-domestic-violence/

Cr Drieberg, why are showing your face in this report? it does not convey any useful message except that you are showing off again.

I was at the launch of the GEAR program, sitting at the last row at the auditorium. A lady was trying to calm down a happy, playful young boy, hopping up and down the chair in the second last row. Later I realised that the lady was Kristine.

I listened attentively to the brave lady Kristine addressing the audience. On one hand, I felt for her torturous experience, but one the other, I was very pleased to see that she was no longer living in fear but with a happy child, presumably hers.

Many program tackle the damage. Repeat offenders seldom get the punishments they deserve. However, in my opinion, the biggest culprits are not the physical offenders, but the providers of items that cause such evils and sometimes irreparable damages.


Edited by Monash Weekly

I was at the launch of the GEAR program. I listened attentively to the brave lady Kristine addressing the audience. I felt for her torturous experience and was very pleased to see that she was no longer living in fear.

Klisaris rips into Zographos

Posted to Monash Weekly (6/5/2013) on 12/5/2013 at 11:32 AM
Comment on "Monash Council: Klisaris rips into Zographos"
http://www.monashweekly.com.au/story/1476470/monash-council-klisaris-rips-into-zographos/

Grow up Paul and stop using such flowery language! Whether it is the Council chamber or the Parliament House, we have witnessed the behavioural and character degradation of the members, here and overseas.

Guttenberg was revoked of his doctoral thesis due to plagiarism and led to his resignation as the Minister of Defence in Germany on 1 March 2011.

Annette Schavan offered to resign and was accepted as the Minister of Education in Germany on 9 February 2013 after a university stripped her of her doctorate for plagiarism.

Is this a case of public plagiarism?


Edited by Monash Weekly

Whether it is in council chambers in general or Parliament House, we have witnessed a lessening in the behaviour standards of representatives here and overseas.

German defence minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg was revoked of his doctoral thesis due to plagiarism and this led to his resignation on March 1, 2011.

German education minister Annette Schavan offered to resign and was accepted on February 9, 2013 after a university stripped her of her doctorate for plagiarism.

Turning point on drink-drive culture

Posted to Monash Weekly (10/5/2013) AT 17/5/2013 AT 12:41 pm
Commenting on "Turning point on drink-drive culture"
http://www.monashweekly.com.au/story/1492934/turning-point-on-drink-drive-culture/

Whoever turns up to the meeting are likely to be "converts". The messages delivered are just reaffirmation of what they believe in already.

To educate the societal offenders, such as hoons, bullies, drunk drivers, rapists, burglars, etc. not to reoffend is a waste of public money, time and effort. In short, the soft approach is inefficient and ineffective. Most of these offenders build mental blockages to receive external messages; may be with a slight chance that they will listen to their reformed mates, if any. They need to be sent to boot camps to receive very harsh training and disciplines. They need to work on useful and productive community projects to repay their wrongs.

It is extremely difficult to deprogram or change one’s behaviour once it is fully entrenched. The individuals have to change themselves willingly. At the end of the day, the individuals will ask the question, "What's in it for me?"

Education on societal obligations and responsibilities should start from early childhood. The children's minds are like a blank piece of paper; the writing will influence their future behaviour and development. I do not mean that Australia should start another campaign of stolen generation or forced adoption, but I do evocate certain rights may have to be taken away from some parents when childhood education and development are concerned. Concepts of reward and punishment must be introduced at this point in time so that they can distinguish between the good and bad or right and wrong.


Edited by Monash Weekly

To educate societal offenders, such as hoons, bullies, drunk drivers, rapists, burglars and others not to re-offend is a waste of public money, time and effort. In short, the soft approach is inefficient and ineffective. Most of these offenders build mental blockages to external messages; maybe there is a slight chance that they will listen to their reformed mates, if any. They need to be sent to boot camps to receive very harsh training and disciplines. They need to work on useful and productive community projects to repay their wrongs.

It is extremely difficult to de-program or change one’s behaviour once it is fully entrenched. The individuals have to change themselves willingly. At the end of the day, the individuals will ask the question: ‘‘What's in it for me?’’

Education on societal obligations and responsibilities should start from early childhood. The children’s minds are like a blank piece of paper; the writing will influence their future behaviour and development. I do not mean that Australia should start another campaign of stolen generation or forced adoption, but I do advocate that certain rights may have to be taken away from some parents when childhood education and development are concerned. Concepts of reward and punishment must be introduced at this point so that they can distinguish between the good and bad or right and wrong

Dandenong Hospital security staff call to use 'reasonable force'

Posted to Monash Weekly (7/5/2013) on 7/5/2013 at 12:27 PM
Commenting on "Dandenong Hospital security staff call to use 'reasonable force'"
http://www.monashweekly.com.au/story/1475877/dandenong-hospital-security-staff-call-to-use-reasonable-force/

It is understood that the role of any security guard carries risks higher than many other employees, but their safety must NOT be compromised due to the indifferent attitude of the employer.

Under Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004, section 20(1)(b) "if it is not reasonably practicable to eliminate risks to health and safety, to reduce those risks so far as is reasonably practicable", and under section 21(1) "An employer must, so far as is reasonably practicable, provide and maintain for employees of the employer a working environment that is safe and without risks to health."

As a reader of this article and an outsider, the requests of the security guards are not unreasonable, as handcuffs, batons and capsicum spray can hardly be considered as lethal or life threatening items. The cost of providing these may be far less than future court case or compensation should a security guard is injured seriously or dies of unprovoked attack by people under the influence of hard drugs.


Edited by Monash Weekly

It is understood that the role of any security guard carries risks higher than many other employees, but their safety must not be compromised due to the indifferent attitude of the employer.

As a reader of this article and an outsider, the requests of the security guards are not unreasonable, as handcuffs, batons and capsicum spray can hardly be considered as lethal or life-threatening items. The cost of providing these may be far less than future court case or compensation should a security guard be injured seriously or dies of an unprovoked attack by people under the influence of hard drugs.