TOP 100 SCIENCE SITES
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| Red Planet 'may not be lifeless' Carbon-rich organic molecules, which serve as the building blocks of life, may be present on Mars after all, say scientists. bbc.co.uk |
Prizes honor studies in vision loss, obesity By MALCOLM RITTER 2010-09-21T04:01:54ZNEW YORK (AP) -- Three scientists have won prestigious medical prizes - one for devising a treatment for a major cause of vision loss and two for laying the groundwork for an explosion in obesity research.... hosted.ap.org |
How to complete psychometric tests 70% of firms use psychometric tests to choose job applicants. We give you some tips on how to preparePsychometric tests, which examine all aspects of your inner being from your opinion of Las Vegas to your dexterity with decimals, are used by up to 70% of the largest companies in the UK. The conclusions drawn by the psychologists that mark them will determine whether you make it past application stage."They try to capture the long-term personality, rather than the short-term charm that turns up at interview," says psychologist John Bowland. "Attitude is far more important than aptitude – an unsuitable personality is the biggest reason why people fail in a job."Shifts in corporate hierarchies over the last 20 years mean that personality and all-round skills are key. The move towards more knowledge-based and customer-focused jobs means that even relatively lowly employees have more autonomy. Moreover, companies have to reinvent themselves to remain competitive, so staff must be adaptable.Don't assume that, because you plan a career in the City, it's irrelevant that you can't spell "diahorrea". Financial giants may be just as inquisitive about your verbal aptitude and secret food cravings as your numeracy levels to prove you're equipped for future promotion. Although psychologists reckon you're stuck with your flawed personality once you're past 25, you can prepare yourself for the ordeal so that you emerge literate, numerate and morally aglow – at least on paper.• Know yourself, be yourself. "If you lie on a personality questionnaire you'll only be caught out at interview," says psychologist Mark Parkinson, author of How to Master Psychometric Tests. Worse, you could end up in the wrong job. "This matching process is a two-way thing," says psychologist Wendy Lord of the psychometric test publisher Hogrefe. "It isn't just about whether the candidate is right for the role. It is also about whether the role is right for the candidate."• Beware the lie scale. Scattered among personality questionnaires are trap questions such as "Have you ever blamed someone for something that was really your fault?" or "If you say you'll do something do you always keep your promise?". Bowland says that any question starting with "Have you ever …?" or "Do you always …?" is probably a control item. "If you claim to be too perfect, and score too high on these, it will raise doubts about the rest of your answers."• Don't sit on the fence. When taking a personality questionnaire don't tick the "don't know" option more than five times, advises Bowland. "It makes you look indecisive and turns your profile into a Miss Average or Mr Mediocre."• Demand feedback. "Your results belong to you," says Wendy Lord. "It is incredible how few people ask for feedback (particularly when they don't get selected) because it's such a rich opportunity to gain insight about the sorts of roles to which you are suited."• Do your homework. The arithmetic required by numeracy tests is around GCSE level, but don't be complacent. If it's 10 years since you were in the classroom, you've probably forgotten how to manipulate fractions and percentages.Download one of the numerous free sample tests on the internet and hone your skills. The same goes for abstract reasoning tests, which ask you to identify patterns in shapes, and verbal reasoning tests which, says Parkinson, "require a Sherlock Holmes-like logic to deduce the underlying principle of a text". He suggests you bed down with a book on critical reasoning beforehand.Work & careersPsychologyAnna Timsguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Morcombe inquest hears about persons of interest A coronial inquest on Queensland's Sunshine Coast has heard it would be an impost to DNA-test every piece of evidence in the investigation into Daniel Morcombe's disappearance in December 2003. abc.net.au |
Afghanistan's treasure comes to the British Museum Exhibition includes golden artefacts that were thought lost as war engulfed the countrySome of Afghanistan's most beautiful treasures will be on display at the British Museum this spring, including a crown made for a princess 2,000 years ago that was believed lost as war engulfed the country but survived thanks to the courage of staff in the national museum.More than 20,000 golden objects, including figurines, belts, bracelets and dress ornaments, were found in six tombs in the north of the country in 1978 – the eve of the Soviet invasion.The finds at a site so rich it was named Tillya Tepe – "the hill of gold" – quickly acquired legendary status. Few had ever set eyes on them apart from the team led by the Greco-Russian archaeologist Victor Sarigiannidis and a handful of staff at the national museum in Kabul. Then the treasures vanished without trace, believed possibly melted down and smuggled out as bullion.The Kabul museum was closed, looted, occupied by a militia, bombed, and targeted by religious extremists who smashed thousands of ancient sculptures. But the gold survived, hidden in strong boxes in the national bank.Fredrik Hiebert, an archaeologist with National Geographic, had been on the trail of the gold for almost 20 years since he heard the story from Sarigiannidis. Both men were present six years ago when the boxes were finally opened."It was a life-changing moment," Hiebert said at the British Museum. "Out of the boxes came some dirty plastic bags, and out of them the gold. There were 30 Afghans in the room with us, and I waited for a cheer, a moment of euphoric recognition, but it didn't come. "How do we know it's real?" they asked. Most of them were in their 20s, and they had only heard of the gold, they had never seen it. And then Sarigiannidis recognised a repair in one piece that he had made himself so long before, and that was the moment of euphoria."They will be among the stars of the exhibition, called Afghanistan: Crossroads of the Ancient World, which opens at the British Museum on 3 March.The subtitle was very deliberate, said the museum's director, Neil MacGregor."We hope to demonstrate that we are at a historically anomalous moment when the country is seen as remote and isolated," he said. "Afghanistan's relationships are long and deep."The paintings of the Italian Renaissance could not have happened without Afghan lapis lazuli, he said – the stone ground up to supply dazzling blues.The 200 objects on display will include Mesopotamian-influenced gold from 2,000BC, Indian-inspired ivory fittings and Greek carvings from the outpost of Alexander the Great's empire. The show will also include delicate coloured glass from palaces founded when the nomadic tribes settled and coveted the Hellenic luxuries they had first destroyed.Curators and conservation workers from Kabul will work at the British Museum during the exhibition – helping to identify some of the smuggled antiquities that have been pouring out of Afghanistan and were intercepted by UK customs authorities. Untold quantities will inevitably have got through and vanished forever into the black market.The exhibition has already been seen in Europe and the US. The hope in Afghanistan is that when it closes in London on 3 July some of the treasures will go back to Kabul. The museum is open again, but has only photographs of the gold to remind its people of their heritage, so nearly lost forever.Photographs: Thierry Ollivier/Mus e GuimetMuseumsAfghanistanArchaeologyMaev Kennedyguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |