Taylor Swift Calls Work On 'Lorax' 'Completely Different'

Doing voice-over 'very different from when you're singing songs that you wrote,' Swift tells MTV News.
By Matt Goodhue, with reporting by Kara Warner

Taylor Swift
Photo: MTV News

From the recording studio to the stage, it's certainly clear that Taylor Swift has a knack for expressing her emotions and skills. While the singer/songwriter has graced the silver screen only once, she's taken her talents to the sound booth for her portrayal of Audrey, a tree-loving daydreamer in the upcoming film "Dr. Seuss' The Lorax."

MTV News sat down with Swift recently as she prepared for Friday's release of the famous Dr. Seuss tale, which follows the journey of a young boy who must save endangered trees in hopes of winning a girl's heart. While making music and characterizing an animated girl are two quite-different tasks, if anyone can do it, and do it well, there's no doubt it is Taylor Swift.

"It's a completely different space that you go to in your head," Swift explained about voice-over work. "It's very different from when you're singing songs that you wrote. ...With this, you're sitting there in a booth by yourself having conversations with no one."

Having scripted conversations by yourself and answering questions to a voice you can't even see might seem like a lonely gig, but, as with any of her work, the Grammy-winner found meaning and excitement in her role. Even though Audrey and Swift might not exactly resemble one another physically (Audrey has red hair), the blonde singer/songwriter connected with the character on a deeper level.

"She's heavenly. She's such a day dreamer, and she cares so much about the past," Taylor said. "To some degree, you have to have a priority based on the past and the future as well as the present."

As seen in the trailer, the character of Audrey is fun, bubbly, curious and a big fan of trees. Swift certainly fits all of these traits, and we're looking forward to seeing what she does with the character when "The Lorax" is released Friday.

Oh, and does Taylor dig trees as much as her animated counterpart? "I grew up on a Christmas tree farm, and she's obsessed with trees," she shared.

Do you think Taylor's voice will work well onscreen? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Check out everything we've got on "Dr. Seuss' The Lorax."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

Related Videos

• MTV Rough Cut: 'The Lorax'

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1680099/taylor-swift-lorax.jhtml

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Subterfuge vs. propaganda in global warming debate

Peter Gleick is about the last person you'd expect to put himself in the position to be labeled a thief, a faker, and a crook.

The recipient of a MacArthur "genius" grant in 2003, as co-founder and president of the Oakland-based Pacific Institute he's been one of our most sober and thoughtful environmental advocates and an indispensable voice for rational water policy in California and nationwide. I've seen him withstand a most obnoxious and fatuous interrogation by a brain-dead congressman with absolute equanimity.

So it was rather a surprise to read his recent confession to having obtained, by subterfuge, a sheaf of internal documents belonging to the Chicago-based Heartland Institute, a nest of global warming deniers and corporate anti-regulators, and making them public. The documents include a memo outlining Heartland's plan to fight global warming policies, which the organization says is a forgery, and papers detailing its 2012 budget and fundraising plans, whose authenticity Heartland doesn't dispute.

It's a sign of the emotions wrapped up in the global warming debate that Gleick should be apologizing for his actions today while the Heartland Institute stakes out the moral high ground.

Gleick has thrown himself at the mercy of the court of public opinion ? he explained his action partially by his frustration with "often anonymous, well-funded, and coordinated" attacks on climate science and scientists and has stepped down, at least temporarily, from the Pacific Institute.

But it's Heartland, which has tagged Gleick with the epithets above, that should be answering for its nearly three-decade history of corporate shilldom. In that time it has fought health and safety regulations on tobacco (with the financial assistance of Philip Morris), attacked evidence about acid rain as "flimflam" and the case against DDT as "scientific fraud." The theme of its 2009 environmental conference was "Global Warming: Was It Ever Really a Crisis?"

Over the years its backers have included Exxon Mobil and the foundations of the Koch family and Richard Mellon Scaife. Its current agenda encompasses lobbying against insurance regulation, with funding from such insurance industry pillars as State Farm; cable and Internet regulation (support from Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and other such companies); and healthcare reform (contributors have included Pfizer and Eli Lilly). It identifies its mission as promoting "free-market solutions to social and economic problems." You are free to interpret this theme as getting government off the backs of the people, so that big business can saddle up.

Global warming is one of those issues in which the natural complexity of the underlying science is exploited by well-funded, commercially self-interested obfuscators such as the oil and gas industry, the latters' goal being to discredit in the public mind what are in fact robust scientific conclusions. There can be few fields where more is at stake, given the likely impact on all of us of documented climate trends.

So let's take a look at what light is shed on the global warming debate by l'affaire Gleick.

To begin with, Gleick's disclosures have cornered Heartland into committing an act of spectacular hypocrisy. Ever since personal emails among climate scientists were abstracted from computers at Britain's University of East Anglia and made public in 2009 and 2011, Heartland has celebrated the breach, contending that the emails show the scientists conspiring to hide or misrepresent doubts about global warming. Yet the institute labels the release of its own internal documents "a flagrant violation of ethics."

Heartland tries to paper over this contradiction by tying the email releases to "a whistle-blower inside the University of East Anglia." The problem is that no one has ever identified the leaker, whether a whistle-blower or otherwise.

The school says its computers were hacked, and a police investigation is continuing in Britain. When I asked Heartland to defend its characterization, its spokesman remarked on the length of the police investigation and the absence of any charges or a confession. "If that doesn't point strongly to a legitimate internal whistle-blower, I don't know what does," he wrote me. Is this typical of the logical consistency of all Heartland's work?

The claim that the leaked emails showed scientists conspiring or misrepresenting their findings has been refuted by numerous official investigations, including a British parliamentary inquiry. The study by climate expert Michael Mann that was the topic of many of the emails, and which documented a sharp rise in global temperature in recent decades, was scrutinized in 2006 by the National Academy of Sciences, which endorsed its basic findings and the broader scientific consensus that the global warmth of the late 20th century was unprecedented over the previous millennium. In a nutshell, there's no scientific controversy that global warming exists and that human activities are irrefutably a leading cause of it.

That brings us back to the Heartland documents. It would be tragic if Gleick's effectiveness as an environmental advocate were sacrificed for what is, in truth, a meager haul. "There's not that much in the documents that we didn't already know or suspect," says Naomi Oreskes, a historian of science at UC San Diego and coauthor of "Merchants of Doubt," a 2010 book documenting the efforts of Heartland and other sources to undermine scientific findings on environmental issues.

Much of the outrage over the Heartland documents has focused on their disclosure of the organization's plan to produce a grade-school curriculum casting doubt on the scientific consensus on global warming. A Heartland spokesman defended this project to me as an effort "to put more science into public schools, not less."

Yet criticizing Heartland for this strikes me as a waste of time. Propaganda is what Heartland does for a living; our obloquy should be reserved for any school board ignorant enough to accept a science curriculum from an industry-funded advocacy group.

Gleick's greatest gift to Heartland may be that the controversy has made it appear more relevant to the global warming debate than it really is. The documents themselves show Heartland struggling to raise money from conservative donors.

Heartland's biggest donor, an anonymous contributor whose millions have sometimes represented as much as 63% of its annual revenue, has advanced smaller amounts every year since 2008, falling below $1 million in 2011. (This is according to the fundraising document, the authenticity of which the institute doesn't dispute.) Heartland hopes to jack that up to $1.25 million this year, but it's unclear from its internal documents whether that number represents the donor's firm commitment or Heartland's wishful thinking. This year, for the first time, Heartland will mount a direct mail fundraising campaign, but the internal documents show that the campaign will cost more than $500,000 and operate at a loss for at least the first year.

The institute's total revenue has been dwindling since 2008, falling from $7.8 million that year to $4.6 million in 2011, according to annual tax returns it files publicly and to its internal budget document. The documents say Heartland plans to restore revenue all the way to $7.7 million this year, but they forecast success in its fundraising with a childlike optimism that makes your average high school pep rally sound like the last rites.

The ethics of Gleick's actions are a subject properly left to his organization's board and his God, not the sinners who have publicly weighed in on the matter, pro or con. If there's lasting damage from this episode, it comes from giving Oreskes' "merchants of doubt" another means of distracting policymakers from basing their work on firm scientific evidence rather than Heartland-style malarkey. To paraphrase the late novelist William Gaddis, obfuscation is "the one weapon stupidity's got against intelligence." The last thing the world needed was to give stupidity an opportunity to reload.

Michael Hiltzik's column appears Sundays and Wednesdays. Reach him at mhiltzik@latimes.com, read past columns at latimes.com/hiltzik, check out facebook.com/hiltzik and follow @latimeshiltzik on Twitter.

Source: http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/latimes/news/science/~3/E_BtoiIs1ag/la-fi-hiltzik-20120229,0,3167477.column

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Estate Planning During a Late Life Divorce | Palm Beach County ...

Posted on February 28, 2012 by admin

Plenty of mature residents from Stuart to Boca Raton enjoy life in a beautiful area of the country, have good friends, lovely homes and satisfying work. Growing a family takes years and plenty of energy but conscientious couples also find time to think about and prepare for retirement and end of life issues. Once children are on their own, couples tend to use their financial resources in new ways. Maybe it?s time for travel, to get that special car, or to downsize a home, who knows?

Sometimes, older couples decide to divorce and one or both spouses may feel confused regarding how to plan for their future. This is not a time to go it alone. The issues surrounding estate planning and divorce are quite technical, so hiring a qualified attorney is critical.

Once a decision about an attorney is made, plan to tackle two major issues with late life divorce:

Will: Discussing one?s will, can be intimidating but is critical when a divorce is occurring. An attorney can assure that the document combines what the law requires and what a client desires. ?Many states have an ?elective share statute? which provides that your spouse (whether estranged or not) will automatically be entitled to a certain percentage of your estate.? (for source click here)? Florida is among these states.? A thorough review of your will provides an opportunity to make important changes.

Retirement Benefits: An attorney can help a divorcing spouse find the best manner for dividing various retirement moneys. Two possible options are: The employed spouse buys out the other or gives a portion of the benefits when he or she retires or is eligible to retire. (for?source?click here)?Other issues to discuss can include, but are not limited to, how to deal with defined benefit plans. Remember, timing can be everything. Doing research on the plan will be critical to finding the best financial path.

There will be many more issues to discuss with an attorney if one is divorcing later in life, but having clarity with these two issues will provide a foundation for a more predictable future.

?

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Click the orange RSS Feed icon and copy the Feed URL to your RSS Reader to receive updates each time we publish a new post to the Palm Beach County Divorce and Family Law Blog.

Source: http://blog.cjamiesonlaw.com/2012/02/28/estate-planning-during-a-late-life-divorce/

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Where to Invest Your Retirement life Years ? Understand Everything ...

Long Island is mostly a large area of southeast New york city, USA. Coming from continuing care and attention to 44+ smaller communities, there are a lot of options for helping seniors, it doesn?t matter what they?re seeking out. Situated about the West Region of South carolina, Suncoast smaller communities are dotted under the West coast of florida. They wouldn?t want not to lose a considerable house any further when a bunch of their children have cultivated and migrated out, and possibly even trimming the lawn is mostly a chore they desire to leave regarding. They are able to enjoy the space, by having a little increased room designed for visiting grandchildren, not having maintenance nightmares. Someone else satisfies all of their for all of them.

But over 55 communities in Delaware syllabus are not too a lot of. In a new retirement society, the folks are having to pay about $2,000 (estimate) on a monthly basis. It may be that you will find simply a multitude of baby boomers crave the probability to live inside a place where they may play the game or tennis all the time and always be around those that speak an identical language.

?When preparation out your web marketing strategy you will additionally have take into consideration your budget all of which will first really need to establish your customers,? talented Times journalist Alissa Lambert emphasized. Without denoting your customers all your labour will get wasted. You must first work the primary details before starting planning away your selling so you will be able to ascertain a defined base for your personal marketing results. There is a downturn in employment during the midwest and even more storms.

Of course Delaware adult communities always evaluate the larger community outside the retirement family home park. Most residents inside a retirement constructed park want a cost-effective city which can be fully efficient at catering on their needs with the help of great medical-related facilities and even entertainment solutions, from superior quality restaurants to a lot of recreational things to do. Another type retirement communities in Delaware supportive retiring community. What had been the price for one home inside a community ?off the particular beaten path? is currently the price for one luxury home in numerous retirement communities found in prime sites around South carolina. Home that?s overly close collectively feels healthier, but will be agoraphobic.

Homes for one comfortable retiring in Puerto Vallarta can be purchased in all price tags. What will do this signify? In common, it shows that pets can be o. t. When fascinated with nationwide retiring solutions it is usually important to consider what really your common monthly net gain or tremendous cost plan will be.

Source: http://alamogordoapplianceelectronics.com/where-to-invest-your-retirement-life-years/1869/

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United India Insurance-Health Insurance coverage

United India Insurance is considered one of leading general insurance companies throughout India, offering a various insurance coverage solutions to the customers. It gives a range of exclusive medical health insurance for individuals, families and communities. It includes Family Medicare, Gold, Platinum, Senior Citizen, Super Leading-up, Top-up, etc.

Family Medicare- A family health insurance plan which covers all family members under a single sum covered by insurance. It covers all individual outdated between 18 years and 4 decades. Dependent children above 3 several weeks and up to 18 a long time can be covered, if considered one of parents is covered concurrently. The particular minimum sum insured is Urs.50,000/- and maximum is Rs.10Lakh.

Gold Plan- United India Insurance is a specially designed for that individual who is in this group of 36 years to be able to 60 years. Dependent children earlier mentioned 3 months can be covered, of one parents is covered concurrently. The sum insured varies starts from Rs.1Lakh for you to Rs.5Lakh.

Platinum Plan- A policy covers individuals aged group involving 3 months and 35 several years. The sum insured ranges will begin from Rs.1Lakh to Urs.5Lakh.

Senior Citizen Policy- An insurance policy specially designed to cover the particular senior citizens of India. That covers individual above 60 years. The sum insured ranges commences from Rs.50,000 to Rs.3Lakh.

Top Up as well as Super Top Up Policy- These types of policies are available for specific with entry age up to 80 years. The maximum sum insured is Rs.7Lakh.

The top?s is provided for in-affected person hospitalization expenses for a greater than 24 hours of hospitalization. It offers room rent, boarding and caregiving expenses provided by the private hospitals/nursing home. It also includes nursing care, RMO charges, Four fluid/blood transfusion/injection government charges, etc. another expenses for instance surgeon fees, anesthetist fees, guide fees, medical practitioner, specialist charges, anaesthetics, blood, oxygen, operation cinema charges, surgical appliances, diagnostic resources, cost of medicines and drug treatments, x-ray dialysis, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, artificial limbs, pacemaker, etc. Before hospitalization expenses are also covered.

There is no claim bonus of 5% on sum covered with insurance for every claim free calendar year. It also offers family discount of 5% on total quality amount.

For more information about United India Insurance please visit our website.

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Source: http://articlethecw.info/united-india-insurance-health-insurance-coverage/

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Debt and Regret: Inflation Edition

by Karl Smith

Mike Konczal posts a summary of a working paper by Mason and Jayadev. The leader:

Changes in debt-income ratios can be attributed to primary borrowing, interest rates, growth, and inflation. In a new working paper, we apply such a decomposition to the evolution of U.S. household debt. This shows that changes in borrowing behavior has played a smaller role in the growth of household leverage than is widely believed. Rather, most of the increase can be explained in terms of ?Fisher dynamics? ? the mechanical result of higher interest rates and lower inflation after 1980. Bringing leverage back down will similarly require contributions from factors other than reduced borrowing.

Having read over the post I would say there is both more and less here than meets the eye. I think the authors are essentially correct ? declines in inflation are the key driver behind high household indebtedness.

What they are not as explicit about is that indebtedness is fundamentally a nominal phenomenon. It's always difficult for me to lucidly explain this even to myself but these two graphs should help.

First, look at how household debt has grown:

An almost inexorable rise since the early 1980s. Even now we are barely back to 2005 levels.

Now compare that to debt service payments;

Though by 1995 the level of debt-to-income had gone up by about 50%, debt service payments were almost as low as in the 1980s.

And today, while debt-to-income is just shy of 200% of early 1980s levels, debt service payment is not that far off the bottom.

This is because inflation causes your debt-to-income ratio to fall faster, but it does this by requiring a higher payment at any given level of debt. So even though debt-to-income was much lower in 1985, for example, debt payments were higher.

One of the things I think these means ? but I haven?t worked it out ? is that low inflation creates a fundamentally more precarious economy, even without thinking about the zero lower bound.

In short when a lot of your payment is interest then the ?price of debt? is less sticky. When lots of your payment is principal then the ?price of debt? is very sticky.

The current recession has a weird extra stickiness because the falling price of land now means that lots of folks can?t refinance or sell out.

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Source: http://www.cinemablend.com/pop/President-Obama-Google-Account-Overwhelmed-By-Chinese-Users-39879.html

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Mitch Has "No Plans" (TIME)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/204662516?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Singing Chavez heads for Cuba surgery, fans pray (Reuters)

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Reuters - Rallying supporters with folk tunes and jokes, President Hugo Chavez bade an emotional farewell while supporters prayed for him around Venezuela ahead of Friday's planned departure for cancer surgery in Cuba.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/latam/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120224/wl_nm/us_venezuela_chavez

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Is Microsoft Killing Zune and Windows Live Apps In Windows 8? [Windows 8]

The Verge reports that Microsoft Zune and Windows Live apps will not be included in the upcoming preview of Windows 8—at least not the way we're used to seeing them. Though the brands and apps will be gone, their functionality will be included in other parts of the OS. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/38uCh_KfGCA/is-microsoft-killing-zune-and-windows-live-apps-in-windows-8

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'The Descendants' is full of trust lessons for Houston film fans ...

With the Academy Awards coming up this weekend, it seems like an ideal time to talk about some of the estate planning themes present in "The Descendants," which is nominated in five categories.

The film has been praised for its multifaceted view of family relationships. George Clooney portrays a wealthy trial attorney, Matt King, who is forced to examine relationships with his immediate family, extended relatives, and ultimately look back to his ancestors who settled in Hawaii. A sub-plot of the film is King's struggle as the trustee of his family's dynasty trust, which is coming to an end soon.

The family trust owns a prime acreage of Kauai oceanfront, and Clooney must decide between selling the land or keeping the land in the family somehow. The legal issues, though based on Hawaii state law, surrounding the trust are quite accurate.

Although Houston's estate laws are different than those of Hawaii, the film dramatizes several very important estate planning issues that may be of importance to Houston residents.

? Trusts: Throughout the film, King struggles with decisions about the trust. One troubling issue with this trust is that it is a long-term trust, which makes it difficult to for the beneficiaries to discern the wishes of the person who drafted the trust. The legal issues of how long a trust can last and joint-ownership of land also are presented in this film. Joint ownership of land can be very difficult because when a trust awards land to multiple people, it is often very difficult for them to agree on how to proceed. The lead character also struggles with the issue that he and his cousins did not do anything to earn the wealth that they have inherited. Many of these issues can be examined during estate planning in order to mitigate several of these problems.

? End-of-life planning: Another lesson present in the "The Descendants" is the wisdom of having a living will. A living will provides instructions to health care providers about your preferences for end-of-life care. Preferences about resuscitation and other efforts to prolong your life can be detailed in a living will.

Source: Forbes, "'The Descendants' Buries Estate Planning Lessons in George Clooney Drama," Deborah L. Jacobs, Feb. 23, 2012

Source: http://www.elderlawhousing.com/blog/2012/02/the-descendants-is-full-of-trust-lessons-for-houston-film-fans.shtml

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Free Or Fee? What Is Music Worth? | Best 99 Articles

We are much more reliant today than ever before on technology and the many contributions it makes to our lives every second. Perhaps most notable is the many options technology has given to the Internet and the world of entertainment, making many artistic projects and productions, from digital music albums to e-books to short and long films and television programs available to a larger audience of people.

Steadily children that grew up with the Internet and don?t remember a time without it are reaching adulthood, and attitudes about both the monetary value of artists? works available online and the cultural value of these works are changing. This revolution began with the introduction of CD?s, which became easy to copy and distribute to friends.

There are certainly varying opinions about the worth of downloadable music and purchased music in general; while a younger generation of music lovers is certainly divided on whether music downloaded online should be free music, there are definitely more in that generation deciding that perhaps people should be more freely allowed. When it is so much easier to copy mp3?s online and from friends, and also easier to record entire albums in the studio with full digital capabilities, many young music listeners wonder, is a musician?s work and the musician him/herself really worth as much as at the dawn of the recording industry?

Many studies have shown that adults that remember a time when recorded music was expensive and more difficult to obtain are much more cognizant and respectful of basic music Copyright Law. They understand why certain laws are in place, and some that are artists themselves have relied on Copyright Law to protect their creative expressions. Copyright Law also allows music and other art forms to perpetuate in the world, and is the reason there is so much variety available.

The music industry has been cracking down on how people get their music recently in response to the increased availability of downloadable music and digital music on the Internet. The music industry was largely unprepared for the sudden introduction of file sharing programs to music lovers, and it has taken several years for them to realize their impact on musicians, songwriters, other music professionals and record companies. Before the Internet, most young people bought CD?s, and shared them by simply burning a copy for friends. While this was certainly a violation of Copyright Law, it somehow did not pose as large of a problem as when mp3 players became available and people downloaded free music off the Internet en mass through high-speed connections. The music industry has recently started filing lawsuit after lawsuit to stop this phenomenon and put systems in place to make music lovers pay for downloadable music. As was evidenced in recent lawsuits that were filed against those in small towns in middle America, you do not have to be high profile to suffer consequences for violating the law when it comes to digital music.

The industry has been driving hard to try to get the public to recognize that not paying for music takes money away from artists and musicians that they deserve for their hard work. While music is a source of entertainment and a cultural commodity for most, for those involved in creating it, it is a job that they rely on to make lives for themselves. Like any other professional, musicians can?t be expected to do their work for free. While the amount some receive is certainly debatable, what is not debatable is that they should receive something. The latest drive to enforce Copyright Law by the music industry is causing a stir among young people. New anti-piracy software is now being put on CD?s to cut down on illegal CD copying. The software prevents listeners from burning the CD more than five times.

Teens especially are noting that this will not stop others from discovering new ways to get music. Many adults agree that someone is bound to come up with a way around the software, as technology always seems to find a way to surmount obstacles that prevent free sharing of music, DVD?s and other media.

Many teens note that there is an obvious and simple way around the anti-piracy software; all a person has to do is make a copy of the CD once and then use the copy to make more copies. Those invested in the downloadable music and digital music craze feel the anti-piracy software is really just a way to slow down some of the most avid copiers while the industry thinks of a more permanent solution.

Other teens support these new attempts to prevent people from getting music for free. They feel that music is a valuable part of everyone?s lives that touches so many aspects that certainly free music or even cheap music should not even be an option. They fully understand why musicians deserve to be paid for the privilege of owning and listening to their music over and over again.

So what are some alternatives to illegally downloading digital music or free music?

There are many services that provide low-cost and virtually free music for professionals and individuals simply hoping to expand their music collection. For those still entrenched in the CD movement, there are some subscription services in development that will allow people to freely share unlimited CD?s through the mail at very low cost and without violating Copyright Law.

As more services for downloadable music and digital music arrive on the scene and make a more competitive market, track downloads and album downloads are becoming cheaper. Even iTunes offers songs as 99 cents apiece, and entire albums at cut rates, so even young people can afford to buy music legally to enjoy.

As an alternative to digital music provided by major music providers, reputable royalty free music companies are bringing original tracks of music plus many high quality royalty free music versions of some favorite classical pieces to listeners at affordable prices and sometimes even free. Royalty free music companies such as Royalty Free Music.com offer huge and very comprehensive downloadable music libraries with collections from every genre from classical and jazz to rock, techno, dance and Hip Hop. And with royalty free music, you pay to satisfy Copyright Law upfront so you don?t have to worry later about any additional fees. Many royalty free music companies even offer totally free music that is of excellent quality and different from anything else available.

The point with digital music is that listeners will continue to try to find ways to get free or cheap music; at this stage of technology, finding loopholes and ways that allow for freer sharing of information is just human nature.

Source: http://www.best99articles.com/arts/free-or-fee-what-is-music-worth/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=free-or-fee-what-is-music-worth

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Met abandons Bondy 'Rigoletto' for Vegas version

FILE - In this Dec. 14, 2006 file photo, Luc Bondy, director of the Vienna Festival speaks during a news conference in Vienna. The Metropolitan Opera has abandoned a new production of Verdi's "Rigoletto" by director Luc Bondy, whose grim version of Puccini's "Tosca" provoked intense booing when it opened the 2009-10 season. In its place, the company will present a far more radical reinterpretation that relocates the action to Ratpack-era Las Vegas of 1960. (AP Photo/Hans Punz, file)

FILE - In this Dec. 14, 2006 file photo, Luc Bondy, director of the Vienna Festival speaks during a news conference in Vienna. The Metropolitan Opera has abandoned a new production of Verdi's "Rigoletto" by director Luc Bondy, whose grim version of Puccini's "Tosca" provoked intense booing when it opened the 2009-10 season. In its place, the company will present a far more radical reinterpretation that relocates the action to Ratpack-era Las Vegas of 1960. (AP Photo/Hans Punz, file)

In this June 14, 2011 image released by the Metropolitan Opera, Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi conducts the MET Orchestra in concert at Tokyo?s Suntory Hall during the Met's 2011 Japan Tour. The season opens on Sept. 24 with Anna Netrebko, Matthew Polenzani and conductor Maurizio Benini in a new Barlett Sher production of "L'Elisir." The schedule includes the company premieres of Thomas Ades' "The Tempest" in a Robert Lepage staging with Simon Keenlyside that opens at L'Opera de Quebec this July, and Donizetti's "Maria Stuarda" in a David McVicar production with Joyce DiDonato. Luisi takes over the Ring and "Troyens," with Daniele Gatti getting the start of the "Parsifal" run. (AP Photo/Metropolitan Opera, Koichi Miura)

NEW YORK (AP) ? The Metropolitan Opera has abandoned a new production of Verdi's "Rigoletto" by director Luc Bondy, whose grim version of Puccini's "Tosca" provoked intense booing when it opened the 2009-10 season. In its place, the company will present a far more radical reinterpretation that relocates the action to Ratpack-era Las Vegas of 1960.

The Met announced its schedule for 2012-13 on Thursday, and the "Rigoletto" opening Jan. 28 will be directed by Michael Mayer, who won a 2007 Tony Award for "Spring Awakening."

Bondy's stark staging, set in the 19th century instead of the 16th, opened at the Vienna Festival last May as a co-production with the Met and Milan's Teatro alla Scala, where it will run this November.

"I think the production just wouldn't have worked here," Met General Manager Peter Gelb said.

Bondy was surprised by the decision.

"Suddenly, Peter Gelb said he didn't want it. He could never give me really a reason. I think it was he didn't want a second 'Tosca' scandal, and I can understand this," Bondy said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "It was so sudden. I was believing that Peter Gelb was supporting me after 'Tosca.'"

While calling Gelb "very courageous" and saying he was not angry, Bondy made clear he was taken aback when Gelb dropped his production without a discussion.

"It was completely untransparent," the Swiss director said. "It was only a message: Hello, I have to cancel. With no explanation. It was like a cold wind from I don't know where."

Gelb said he left a message only after failing to reach Bondy. He refused to discuss his reasoning, saying "I would rather not get into it," and added "it has nothing to do with 'Tosca.'"

Mayer's rethinking has precedent in regietheater ? where the production team alters locale, epoch and specifications of a work's creators. In 1982 the British director Jonathan Miller moved "Rigoletto" to Manhattan's Little Italy in the 1950s for the English National Opera. And in 2005, German director Doris Dorrie shifted it to the "Planet of the Apes" for Munich's Bavarian State Opera.

In replacing a traditional Otto Schenk production that dates from 1989, Mayer will direct an opera for the first time. He will work with his regular set designer, Christine Jones, and costume designer, Susan Hilferty, and a cast that includes Diana Damrau as Gilda, Piotr Beczala as the Duke of Mantua and Zeljko Lucic in the title role.

A casino replaces the Duke's palace. An elevator will be used instead of a ladder against the garden wall. A seedy sex club on the outskirts of town stands for the inn. There will be electric lights resembling neon of The Strip.

In Mayer's mind, the Duke is akin to Frank Sinatra, surrounded by Sammy Davis Jr. and Jackie Gleason ? although not literally those stars.

"Vegas was always the locus of a decadent society. Women were always showgirls or cigarette girls or prostitutes. It really was a man's world, a man's playpen," Mayer said. "It was about drinking, drugs and power and money gone wild. And it all started to fall into place."

The Met announced its season without a news conference for the first time under Gelb, who became general manager for the 2006-07 season. This will be the second straight season without ailing music director James Levine, who is recovering from multiple back surgeries. He was to have conducted the Ring Cycle, Berlioz's "Les Troyens," Donizetti's "L'Elisir d'Amore (The Elixer of Love)" and Wagner's "Parsifal."

"Our hope is that the following season he would return, but it's really too early to speculate," Gelb said.

Principal conductor Fabio Luisi takes over the Ring and "Troyens," with Daniele Gatti getting the start of the "Parsifal" run.

The season opens on Sept. 24 with Anna Netrebko, Matthew Polenzani and conductor Maurizio Benini in a new Barlett Sher production of "L'Elisir." The schedule includes the company premieres of Thomas Ades' "The Tempest" (Oct. 23) in a Robert Lepage staging with Simon Keenlyside that opens at L'Opera de Quebec this July, and Donizetti's "Maria Stuarda" (Dec. 31) in a David McVicar production with Joyce DiDonato.

Focus will be on the 200th anniversary of the births of Verdi and Wagner in 1813.

There is a new David Alden production of Verdi's "Un Ballo in Maschera" (with Karita Mattila, Marcelo Alvarez and Dmitri Hvorostovsky, opening Nov. 8), and two other stagings that will have first appeared elsewhere. The Francois Girard production of "Parsifal" opens at the Met on Feb. 15, 2013, after first appearing at France's Opera de Lyon this March 6, and Handel's "Giulio Cesare" comes to the Met on April 4, 2013, in a production that first debuted at England's Glyndebourne Festival in 2005.

Placido Domingo will sing the baritone role of Giorgio Germont for the first time on March 14, 2013, in a revival of Verdi's "La Traviata" with Damrau as Violetta and Saimir Pirgu as Alfredo. It will be Domingo's 140th singing role following two debuts this year: Athanael in Massenet's "Thais" at Valencia, Spain (March 25) and Francesco Foscari in Verdi's "I Due Foscari" at Los Angetes (Sept. 15).

An abridged English-language version of Rossini's "The Barber of Seville" opens Dec. 18, targeted for families during the holiday season.

Ticket prices will increase by an average of 4.2 percent on subscriptions and 7.6 percent on single tickets

Nico Muhly's "Two Boys," will open in autumn 2013 following its world premiere at the ENO last summer. Scott Wheeler is composing the late Romulus Linney's libretto adaptation of his play "The Sorrows of Frederick," and composer Jeanine Tesori and playwright Tony Kushner are expanding the one-act opera "A Blizzard on Marblehead Neck," which premiered at Glimmerglass Opera in August 2011. It centers on the relationship between Eugene O'Neill and wife Carlotta.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-02-23-Met%20Opera%20Season-Bondy%20Dropped/id-ceea40888390407ca4574dea99873580

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The New Norm: Creating Relationships Through Free Dating Sites ...

Geographical boundaries on relationships and also dating will no longer exist simply because of the large online appearance of free dating sites. Due to easy access provided by computers and also cellular phones, having online dating services has dramatically risen and will go on to surge. The success of online dating services and also free dating sites is mainly responsible for an outburst of several sites and services to be provided to help anyone find any sort of relationship. The wide array of sites vary from free to quite expensive. Free sites are becoming more popular than ever. They depend on income coming from advertisement and not from client subscriptions. These sites have made is quite possible for people to get relationships over the internet despite whatever income restrictions they could have.

Free dating sites match men and women based on a number of different aspects that vary depending upon the website used. A few of the very popular services match up individuals based on religious preferences, race, and also sexual orientation. Though a few offer services for any kind of romantic relationships, others are restrictive and just offer services to a more restricted number and type of relationships. There has been fast growth in the availability of sites bases on age, especially for seniors. Other sites use personality tests and also compatibility matches. All of sites are very different and may or might not offer services to complement to individuals; they may only give matches for specific types of relationships.

There are a variety of different services normally provided by free dating sites that provide a member an additional special link to the individuals they?re truly interested in meeting and even cultivating a relationship with. It is now normal to not simply have a chat selection, however also to take a webcam selection available. This provides personal connection which includes body language and also isnt restricted by typing ability. For several, the cam relationship will do. They simply want a little more spark on their intimate life over the internet. For other people, webcam meetings are actually personal dates and also methods to truly become familiar with someone in the more secure manner prior to meeting them personally. Webcams features have already been a huge push in the boom in popularity of the online dating area.

Free dating sites can provide a way for anyone to meet up and cultivate many different types of relationships. Several sites let any sort of relationship. These relationships may be sexual, romantic, or even personal. Persons, partners, or groups can meet up and communicate through these sites and choose first online whenever they wish to continue on a relationship. This relationship can remain on the net or continue into tangible, personally meetings and also continued friendship. Several sites are actually intended for special types of relationships like fetish or bondage. There are sites which let you enjoy a wide membership with a number of wants or needs, and others which are very particular and only serve a particular niche. An investigator searching for the best website to find a particular kind of relationship must understand precisely what they?re searching for so as to determine with free dating sites could effectively cater to their needs.

This entry was posted in General and tagged free dating sites, free dating websites by alnpublisher. Bookmark the permalink.

Source: http://www.sjwp.info/2012/02/24/the-new-norm-creating-relationships-through-free-dating-sites/

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Klarna Execs? Alleged Sexual Assault Case Dismissed (Update)

Remember those two high-level executives from Swedish startup Klarna who were arrested earlier this month on sexual abuse charges? Their names are Jens Saltin and Niklas Adalberth, and they were arrested at the W Hotel in New York after allegedly molesting a 19-year-old tourist from Texas. Well after a little follow up (it's not often that we get to call into the New York City District Attorney's office), it would seem as though the case has been dismissed. Here's the official statement out of the DA's office:

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/-HXJBV_ItHs/

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Ancient Maya doom teaches climate lesson

This temple in the Kingdom of Tikal is one of the most prominent of the Classic Maya Period.

By Alan Boyle

Scientists have long assumed that the Classic Maya civilization was done in more than a millennium ago by a series of droughts, but now they say natural records suggest those?droughts were "modest," with no more than a 40 percent reduction in rainfall. And that, in turn, suggests that similarly modest climate changes over the next century could have a not-so-modest effect.

"What seems like a minor reduction in water availability may lead to important, long-lasting problems ... Today, we have the benefit of awareness, and we should act accordingly," Martin Medina-Elizalde, a researcher at the Yucatan Center for Scientific Research in Mexico, said in a news release.

The study ? conducted by Medina-Elizalde and Eelco Rohling, a colleague from the University of Southampton ? appears in this week's issue of the journal Science. It addresses one of the big mysteries of Maya history: What caused a civilization that dominated areas of present-day Guatemala and Mexico in the year 800 to collapse by the year 1000? Deforestation and drought have figured prominently as the prime suspects, but just how dire did those droughts get?

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To shed additional light on the mystery, the two climate experts analyzed chemicals in lake sediments, marine shells and cave stalagmites to track variations in rainfall. For example, the ratio of oxygen-16 to oxygen-18 in a particular layer of mineral can tell you how much rainfall fell during the season when the mineral was laid down. Such variations can be read year by year, like tree rings.

Science / AAAS

The elements in different layers of stalagmites in Yucatan Peninsula caves, such as this one, were analyzed to determine how rainfall varied through the centuries.

The researchers found that there was indeed a deficit in rainfall in the period between the years 800 and 1000. But that deficit was modest, amounting to a 25 to 40 percent reduction in the drought years. Medina-Elizalde and Rohling assume that the droughts took the form of reductions in the frequency and intensity of tropical storms during the summer.

"Summer was the main season for cultivation and replenishment of Mayan freshwater storage systems, and there are no rivers in the Yucatan lowlands," Rohling said in the news release. "Societal disruptions and abandonment of cities are likely consequences of critical water shortages, especially because there seems to have been a rapid repetition of multiyear droughts."

In an email, Medina-Elizalde told me that "these droughts may not have been strong enough to cause by themselves the collapse of the civilization, but they were likely strong enough and persistent enough ... to cause major sociopolitical disruptions that ultimately led to the final outcome."

"Let's imagine that today, from one year to another, major cities can no longer supply fresh water to a third of their populations. ... With no freshwater pumping systems, how would we keep producing agricultural produce and supplying fresh water to support the entire populations of these cities?" he wrote.

Today, much of the Yucatan Peninsula's rural population still relies on summer rainfall to support their crops. Medina-Elizalde said access to fresh water isn't so much of a problem, thanks to modern pumping systems. But he noted that lower-than-average summer rains still "have fairly dire consequences" for local farmers.

The current models from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predict that there could be annual rainfall reductions of up to 50 percent in the Yucatan Peninsula by the end of this century, Medina-Elizalde said. He and his colleagues are studying how such reductions might affect freshwater supplies in the region.

"Some climate models suggest that local vegetation does contribute to increase rainfall significantly ... which would suggest that by preserving the forests, we are mitigating the impacts of climate change," he said. "Definitely, local governments need to start making serious efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change in light of the forecast for the next decades."

What do you think? Does this research merely add an interesting twist on a centuries-old story, or does it serve as a warning about our future fate? Please feel free to weigh in with your comments below.

More about climate and ancient civilizations:

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Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter or following the Cosmic Log Google+ page. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.

Source: http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/23/10481831-maya-doom-teaches-climate-lesson

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Self Improvement | Tackling Low Self-esteem by Developing Self ...

By Alan Wortman -

One problem that many of us experience is that of feeling a low sense of self-esteem. But there are ways to reduce this barrier to the enjoyment of life. A good start would be to boost the estimate you have of yourself and be aware of your capacities for growth. But of course still remaining are the underlying problems and your self-esteem can go up and down continuously based upon your self-perception from moment to moment. So begin by removing your ?self rating?. When you develop insight sufficient to recognize your intrinsic self-worth as a person you begin to have an improved picture of your ability to function. It?s important to have a built-in security belief that you are a valuable person. Unless you have this capacity when anything goes wrong in your life, you may have difficulty believing that you have any worth it all.

Be aware of your process of untangling yourself from external ?ratings? of your value as a person and this is done through unconditional self-acceptance. By applying these techniques you will not rate yourself based upon any inadequacies that you perceive, nor any feelings of failure or disapproval and you will be less likely to have a negative self-image.

In order to create self-acceptance the following statements should be followed:

1) You are a unique talented individual and human being.

2) You are constantly developing new skills and new healthy ways of coping.

3) You might be able to measure some of your externals such as how quickly you can accomplish a task at work but you can never rate yourself as an entirety because we as human beings are far too complex and we continue to modify ourselves through life experience daily.

4) It is extraordinarily important to understand that we as human beings are by our very nature not perfect and are capable of making mistakes. Anyone who believes otherwise is not being realistic and has self-goals for behavior that cannot ever be reached in real life. Nobody is perfect so stop holding perfection out as the model that you seek.

Can you see how much easier your day-to-day existence will be if you can see that you have worth just as a person and independent of how other people appear to perceive you? Everybody likes to feel accepted and admired but if you have self- acceptance you will not live in dread of losing the admiration of others.

Self-acceptance allows you to accept flaws in others and also in yourself and can lead to healthy accommodations emotionally to negative experiences. With this realistic and supportive type of emotional response to adverse circumstances you are truly adapting to your environment. If you tend to put yourself down and blame yourself for the creation of negative events in your life, this will lead to inappropriate self-valuations which in turn may well contribute to unhelpful or destructive behaviors.

If you will look inward and explore your inner self, you will be able to make solid inroads toward understanding the bases for your low self-esteem, improve your understanding of yourself intrinsically as a person of worth, and thereby adapt to negative circumstances and develop healthier behaviors in response to them. As your behaviors become healthier your confidence builds and you realize that negative events need not be blamed upon yourself. Rather, you can take pleasure in seeing how personality growth has helped you to overcome the difficulties of life and not allow them to deprive you of the day-to-day pleasures that the capacity for self-acceptance brings.

Alan Wortman has been writing articles for 4 years. See his new website at http://www.flowersforspecialoccasions.com where you will see the best choice of flowers for each occasion. What a great way to cheer yourself up on a down day or just simply to indulge that moment of wanting to show a loved one how much you care.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alan_Wortman
http://EzineArticles.com/?Tackling-Low-Self-esteem-by-Developing-Self-Acceptance&id=3052110

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Source: http://theselfimprovementblog.com/self-improvement/featured/tackling-low-self-esteem-by-developing-self-acceptance/

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International education in australia

Use this free essay to help you. Read through the essay, check out the work cited within it and note the main arguments within the piece!

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You could hire one of our experts to write a piece of coursework for you on YOUR TOPIC, answering YOUR TITLE. Interested?

1. Introduction

This document covers key issues that have been influencing the witnessed growth in international education within Australia. Major factors include conducive political-legal, socio-cultural as well as technological forces. Australia has become destined choice for most students world-wide. Such condition has been facilitated by its ability in availing teaching options and a widespread range of study. Extensive ranges of programs and courses are availed within higher education universities and training centre for English language. Australia has appeared to be one of the prestigious the international students' destination. With the perceived growing trend, the country is becoming the first choice for education among international students. In essence, Australian education is the primary responsibility of the state and territories (Smith & Themes, 2000).

2. Industrial Analysis

Australian education is compulsory up to a specified age by as per the states Legislative regulatory, the age ranges being varied from a state to another. Australian Qualifications Framework regulates the post-compulsory education, a unified system in vocational, school, university or training qualifications nationally. Academic years vary between institutions but in general it runs from late January to mid November. This is applicable for universities which hold seasonal holidays plus breaks in various educational institutes (Marioribanks & Keeves, 1999). In Australia, pre-school isn't regulated and also not compulsory. Playgroup and daycare presents the first education experience that any Australian child is exposed to. Private organizations, community groups or local councils run the pre-schools. However, in Queensland and Northern Territory, they are run by State or Territory. For age 6-15, education is compulsory, basing on the date of birth or state of origin. Two thirds of the Australian students are educated in the government schools and a third in private schools. Generally, governmental schools are free except for minor administrative costs and larger fees are paid within the private schools. However, both private as well as government institutes follow the same syllabus/curriculum, with majority of students wearing uniforms while some schools do not wear uniforms. Most private schools are religious, run by Catholics or Anglican organizations. However, there are a number of environmental factors that affect education flow within Australia such as technological, economical, legal-political, social cultural and international elements (Pacula & Hall, 2003).

3. Analysis

3.1Mega Environment

3.1.1 Environmental Factors: Technological Forces

Technological applications have been in use within Australia, acting an influential tool for development of tremendous thinking skills. Use of technology in classrooms has replaced the old teaching and learning models. Teachers can now utilize multimedia technology in offering more advanced, stimulating and online lectures to various international students. Computer applications has developed and stimulated writing skills. Similarly, it has also enhanced collaboration with individuals from foreign countries, authenticating research and availing solutions to complex problems. Chris Dede, a researcher from virtual reality in Australia reckoned that, introduction of new technologies in classrooms has supported innovative teaching and learning models (Welch & Hanushek, 2006). Technology enables students to develop positive learning experience and possibly prepare them for global challenges after completing their respective programs. Similarly, literature has been revived as a sensory experience, where technological advancements have been useful in connecting work to art, music and history, among others (Thomson & Hayden, 2001). Use of software tool kit such as onadime composer has made multisensory, multimedia, real time and interactive computer programs, useful in teaching in Australian education sector. Internet has been applied in lesson planning by training teachers from the proliferation websites. Australia primarily has used online information strategy to drive internal learning. Australian education has been linked to embrace distant learning and online study since it appears to be a more convenient mode of education. Compared to other conventional methods, the technological mode seems to avail more reliable e-learning mode in professional study.

However, Technological advancements in Australia on the other hand have contributed to time wastage among the students. Observations have shown that Australian students like any other will log in to their favorite sites on the internet. Some Australian students are also influenced to download such academic papers and only change the names, promoting academic dishonesty. Similarly, not all teachers are qualified in the use of the technological machines. This will and perhaps has compromised instructional work or even course delivery. Technological applications within Australia have been observed to be time saving and faster. Nevertheless, students have fallen into the trap of machines working on their behalf, thereby promoting laxity among the students. Technological advancements in Australia have demanded enormous investments into computer machines. Economically, this means a lot of funds are spent into financing such systems in order to foster the perceived growth (Crawford & Barr, 2005).

3.1.2 Economical Factors

In Australia, education evolved to be the 3rd largest export sector in 2007-2008, besides iron, ore and coal. In relation to other sectors, international higher education sector has demonstrated a relative slow growth recently. Nevertheless, other sectors such as VET &ELICOS reported growth up-surge due to increased student's enrolments. Education and related sector sectors have revealed flat growth rate. Augmentation of skilled labour migration within Australian economy has been part of contributions of international education. The two aspects of international education contributions are value-added and employment. Value-added output involves value from a production sector, involving capital and labour. Value-added aspect excludes production taxes and deducts subsidies issued in production. Education sector within Australia has also been a contributor of Growth Domestic Product (i.e. GDP), via other services export (refer to Appendices E). Such income is generated from overseas educational operations by institutional set-ups. For example, Australia earned 438million dollars, income from education export in 2007-2008, demonstrating 23%increase compared to the previous year. Similarly, for a single set of formal students, recent Australian research has revealed that a single friend or family member visited Australia during study period. For example, in 2008, relatives and friends were estimated to be 217, 63, with 76,629 being visitors to the higher education sector students. Their expenditures during the visit contribute greatly to the Australian economy (Crawford & Barr, 2005).

However, Australian economy has been constrained by the large expenditures spent on education. Larger part of education in Australia is run by the government, implying that most of its expenditures are on education, hence being constraint to the country's economy. For example, in fiscal 2007, the Australian governments, territories and state spent more than 30billion dollars in funding primary and secondary education, as well as support of higher learning. Generally, the economy of any country is normally dependant highly on political will. Compromise and a downturn or instability of a country's economy can greatly impact on the higher education sector. Australian funds are known to originate from the state and the commonwealth. Currently, economic crisis within Australia has the potential in reversing international students upstream. Such instances have affected the economy negatively. For example, international education contribution to Australian economy was 12,5billion dollars in export income in fiscal 2007. Similarly, Australian universities depend on 15%funds from international students' fees hence a down-ward stream of international students would be drawback to the economy. 18% of Australian enrollment to tertiary education or higher learning is international. Global economic deterioration as observed by ACER researcher director, Dr McKenzie will have a great impact to Australian economy than for any other. Australian currency presently has been volatile, although sustenance of the current position of their dollars would grant it a chance for more competitive positions for international students (Folmer & Tientenberg, 2003).

3.1.3 Legal-Political Factor

There has been a general trend in support of international education in various cities within Australian under favorable legislations. As a result there has been a growing trend in overseas arrivals in search of quality education in Australia (Refer to Appendices A). Much of these trends have been made possible by the rich political will in support of international schooling in the key cities in Australia. For example, as drawn from the figures, by fiscal 2009 the month of November alone saw 485,000 arrivals reported in key cities. Much of these were attributed to growing international education haven. One of the main objectives of education in Australia has been preparation of noncitizens to be socially and legally accepted as citizens. Civic education has played this role extensively in ensuring citizenship development through conveying distinct meaning, virtue and obligation in Australia. The report of Expert Group (1994) in Australia stated that education in facilitation of active citizenship had to enable Australians to liberate formalized citizenship obligations. Learning experiences within universities has facilitated student participation in activism (Considine, 2000).

However, Australia states had power in controlling education; every important movement within Australian has to be followed by legislative actions attacks. Such actions result to legal stipulations for control purpose. For example, the government control over public education or home school movement. Australian legislative control or restrictions in most cases requires interpretation within the judicial system. For example, currently there is close monitoring of the home school movement by the union of teachers, legislative bodies and the public. Similarly, within religious education, every week in NSW schools, thousands of children sit idly for an hour due to a deal passed in a century ago by the church lobby (Considine, 2000). The Act of Public Instruction (i.e. PIA) by 1880 allowed religious education in schools but for less than an hour while the previous act had stated that the learning should never go less than an hour. The Act maintained that rights to parents withholding their children from attending such teachings be upheld. By the 1970s, students were opting out of the scripture classes and this pressured the government to review religion roles in education. However the government kept the Act intact. In 2003, the Ethics centre requested for an ethics based course specifically for primary school students. However, the education minister rejected the proposal with claims of lacking public back-up. Carmel Tebbutt tabled the proposal again but it was subtly rejected (Schwarz et al 2003).

3.1.4 Social-cultural Factors

NOM (i.e. Net Overseas Migration), has been nominally attributed by friendly as well as accommodating socio-cultural actors among Australian Citizens. Enabling as well as rich cultural issues in key cities, has boosted NOM since fiscal 2003, and as drawn from research by2056 the trend in Perth alone will hit its highs by nearly 116% in growth. The growth will see international education market accommodate more students within major cities Refer to Appendices C). Issues of violence has been reported to decline in recent days thus facilitating safe social upbringing in various communities which indicate positive image of Australians in accommodating foreigners. As a result, international education market has possibly contributed to the rise in families associated with change of citizenship after completing their respective education programs (Schwarz et al 2003).

Similarly, the accommodating religious affiliation within Australian has helped the internal education sector attain a milestone. According to Thomson & Hayden (200), the diversity in religious groupings has assisted in building positive attitude to the social living in Australia such that any individual willing to seek higher education in various states can comfortably identify with their religious affiliations. This enabling social-cultural forces has seen the WPI (i.e. wage price Index), report higher in major sectors. Refer to Appendices D). In addition, the growth of international education has been attributed by rich cultural programs popularized in Australia via key Medias. These programs are streamlined in facilitating social cultural, skilled and international relations.

Nevertheless, residents who are temporarily in Australia pay taxes on incomes earned within the country, and are not entitled to benefits from social welfare or in public health cover for. Students increase within campuses, colleges have to expand the housing, female students enrolment would meant need for an up-graded security services, laundry services or athletic facilities. Similarly, self-concept enhancement is normally the main aim of education and also assists in facing social inequalities within disadvantaged group. Observations have revealed that students tend to do comparisons with other able students resulting into lower self-concepts academically. Others will do comparisons with lower able students thereby gaining higher self concepts (Lewins & Greig, 2003).

3.1.5 International factors

International relations between Australian and other world states have seen the population grow by big-margin, and the same trend is expected to continue beyond 2101 (refer to Appendices B). Research indicates that the growing population is mainly attributed to the ever increasing immigrants who vary their citizenships in hunt for affordable or even quality of education. For instance, the projection indicates that by 2101 the entire cities will hit highs of 60 million both from international arrivals as well as the local population trends.

International education within Australia has the potential to become a primary industry. Reputation has it that, it's the top most education destination. For example, in 2005, it had 17, 936students. International education is a significant contributor to the economy of the state. Similarly, international education industry contributes to cultural diversities or vibrancy of Australian community (Considine, 2000).

However, Australia faces challenges on fierce international and interstate competition (Levy et al, 2007).This has therefore led to the Australians avoiding overreliance on country sources of smaller numbers, keeping the international students number at acceptable levels, both to educational and local communities. For example, above 90 education providers have availed overseas courses. They are inclusive of vocational training, higher education and foundation courses, among others. Marketing strategies and initiatives by education providers are being implemented, seeking to benefit all the sectors of education. Similarly within Australia, the 1958 Migration Act is entrusted with student entry to Australia, through the department of Citizenship and Immigration. Management is normally done through visa applications assessment. However, linking education and immigration policies had resulted to increase in exploitation by international students, holders of RTO to acquire permanent residency. Changes of the migration program as from 2001 gave a leeway for migration agents, some employers or registered training providers to carry out corrupt practices. Australian education has therefore been tarnished affected negatively by such migration pathways. Training organizations have therefore taken advantage of this pathway for migration instead of for delivering skillful or purposeful training. Changes that were implemented on seeking of permanent residency among the international students after completion of studies led to training distortion to international students. Hairdressing and cookery were observed to have an explosion, due to the perception of gaining residency and low skill utilization (Meara et al, 2001).

4. Conclusion

In conclusion, based on the above analysis, environmental factors such as economic, technological, social-cultural, international education and legal-political has been seen to adversely affect the Australian education. Effects have been both negative and positive, whereby some aspects have influenced the progress or whilst initiating some drawbacks as well. Australian economy has been demonstrated to advance due to the perceived growth rate of international education. Students from abroad/overseas have funded the education system in Australia through the fees they pay. Education sector has benefited greatly from positive political will from the government (Olsen & Davis, 1999). Despite the international education being environmentally affected by such factors as political relations, religion, history, cultures and languages among others, the benefits have been tremendous. Students have had an exposure to diverse world cultures and religion. These factors have made Australian international education segment thrive offering opportunity to drive higher education to greater heights.

Appendices A: Visitors September Key Figures

http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/3401.0/

		Nov '09	Oct '09 to Nov '09	Nov '08 to Nov '09
		'000	% change	% change
Short-term visitor arrivals
	Trend	478.6	1.1	5.5
	Seasonally adjusted	472.8	-1.7	. .
	Original	485.0	. .	. .
Short-term resident departures
	Trend	np	np	np
	Seasonally adjusted	565.0	-1.2	. .
	Original	520.4	. .	. .

http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/3401.0/

Appendices B: population Projection

PROJECTED POPULATION, Australia

http://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/3222.0

Appendices D: WPI, Fiscal 2005 and beyond

WPI - Quarterly changes: Trend (a), Fiscal 2005 and Beyond

http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/6345.0/

WPI - Annual change: original, Total hourly rates of pay excluding bonuses - For selected industries, Sep Qtr 2009

Retrieved on 24th January, 2010 from: http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/6345.0/

Appendices E: GDP

GDP growth rates,

Volume measures, quarterly change

http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/5206.0/

Contributions to GDP growth, Seasonally adjusted

http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/5206.0/

References

Brizendine, L. (2006). The female brain. Massachusetts, U.S.A: Morgan Road Books publishers.

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Source: http://www.degree-essays.com/essays/educationessays/international-education-in-australia.php

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