“Asia's Challenge 2020” Essay Prize

    DESCRIPTION

    What is the most important challenge facing Asia over the next decade? Why? What should be done about it?

The best answer in 3,000 words or less will win a prize of 2,500. Two runners-up will be awarded prizes of 1,000 each. These three prize winners will be invited to Singapore for an expenses-paid awards ceremony. The winning articles will be posted on Time.com.

    PURPOSE

    The main purpose of the essay prize is to generate fresh ideas for tackling key challenges to Asia's continued competitiveness and development, as well as encourage young professionals to make an impact on public policy and business in Asia.

    SELECTION CRITERIA

    The essay will be judged according to creativity, innovation, rigor of research and writing, as well as achievability of idea. It can be focused on one or more areas relevant to Asia, such as macro-economics, business, international relations, trade and investment, education, healthcare, urban development, science and technology, and energy and the environment. The essay must be written in English. It should not have been previously published in English in a publication with broad international circulation.

    CANDIDATE REQUIREMENTS

    The candidate authoring the essay must be under 32years of age as of December 31, 2010. The candidate must be an Asian national.

    SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

    The essay should be submitted electronically to prize@asiabusinesscouncil.Org. by August 31, 2010. Prize winners will be announced in September 2010.

    The submission should contain the candidate's full name, nationality, and month and year of birth. The essay should include a title and word count.

    A Spanish company Siesta&Go has opened the first public napping (小睡) space in Madrid. It promises people a quiet rest in the middle of the city's business center.

    Napping spaces are nothing new; places to rest are already set up in other big cities in the world. But the idea would appear to work well with the culture of Spain, where people traditionally take an afternoon nap, called siesta.

    The Madrid nap space recently opened with 19 beds. People can use them by the minute or by the hour, and they can also choose either a private or shared room. An hour of napping inside a private room costs about $15.

    Siesta &Go provides all bedding, clean nightshirts and other materials. Nippers can request to be woken up when their time is up. It also offers areas to work, with armchairs, newspapers and coffee for those not wishing to sleep.

    Philip &Go is one happy customer. Marco says he gets tired during the day because of hard work. He says a siesta is the perfect way to build up energy. "I come for about 30 minutes or something like that. That is usually enough for me to be full of energy."

    While many Spanish people love their naps, others like Carlos Villarroja say they are just too busy to keep the tradition. "It's a Spanish tradition, but I think it's more of a legend (传说) than a tradition. Because of the lifestyle and the working hours, we have very little free time for a siesta at least during the week."

    But many health experts believe there is evidence that taking a short nap can be very good for the body and mind. Scientific studies show that taking a siesta can also prevent illness and lower blood pressure.

    You can't imagine how terrible I felt at that time. A month before my first marathon, one of my ankles was injured and this meant not running for two weeks, leaving me only two weeks to train. Yet, I was determined to go ahead.

    I remember back to my 7th year in school. In my first P.E. class, the teacher required us to run laps and then hit a softball. I didn't do either well. He later informed me that I was "not athletic".

    The idea that I was "not athletic" stuck with me for years. When I started running in my 30s, I realized running was a battle against myself, not about competition or whether or not I was athletic. It was all about the battle against my own body and mind. A test of wills!

    The night before my marathon, I dreamt that I couldn't even find the finish line. I woke up sweating and nervous, but ready to prove something to myself.

    Shortly after crossing the start line, my shoe laces(鞋带) became untied. So I stopped to readjust. Not the start I wanted!

    At mile 3, I passed a sign: "GO FOR IT, RUNNERS!"

    By mile17, I became out of breath and the once injured ankle hurt badly. Despite the pain, I stayed the course walking a bit and then running again.

    By mile 21, I was starving!

    As I approached mile 23, I could see my wife waving a sign. She is my biggest fan. She never minded the alarm clock sounding at 4 a.m. or questioned my expenses on running.

    I was one of the final runners to finish. But I finished! And I got a medal. In fact, I got the same medal as the one that the guy who came in first place had.

    Determined to be myself, move forward, free of shame and worldly labels(世俗标签), I can now call myself a "marathon winner".

    I was attending a party one night given in Sir Ross's honor; and during the dinner, the man sitting next to me told a humorous story based on the quotation(引语): “There's a divinity that shapes our ends, rough-hew them how we will.”

    The storyteller mentioned that the quotation was from the Bible. He was wrong. I knew that, and I knew it positively. There couldn't be the slightest doubt about it. And so, to get a feeling of importance and display my superiority, I appointed myself as an unwelcome committee of one to correct him. He stuck to his guns. “What? From Shakespeare? Impossible! Absurd! That quotation was from the Bible.” And he knew it.

    The storyteller was sitting on my right; and Frank Gammond, an old friend of mine, was seated on my left. Mr. Gammond had devoted years to the study of Shakespeare. So the storyteller and I agreed to submit the question to Mr. Gammond. Mr. Gammond listened, kicked me under the table, and then said: “Dale, you are wrong. The gentleman is right. It is from the Bible.”

    On our way home that night, I said to Mr. Gammond: “Frank, you knew that quotation was from Shakespeare.” “Yes, of course,” he replied, “Hamlet, Act Five, Scene Two. But we were guests at a happy time, my dear Dale. Why prove to a man he is wrong? Is that going to make him like you? Why not let him save his face? He didn't ask for your advice. He didn't want it. Why argue with him? Always avoid your sharp angle.” The man who said that taught me a lesson I'll never forget. I not only had made the storyteller uncomfortable, but also had put my friend in an embarrassing situation. How much better it would have been had I not become argumentative.

    Nine times out of ten, an argument ends with each of the contestants more firmly convinced than ever that he is absolutely right. You can't win an argument. You can't because if you lose it, you lose it; and if you win it, you lose it.

    University of New South Wales has launched its new 12-month Women in Maths & Science Champions Program designed to give women the skills and confidence to build their public recognition and set up a connected network of women in maths and science. The first group of 30 female PhD students started in August this year, and the second group of 19 early- career researchers was formally announced yesterday.

    Over the 12 months, the champions complete at least 20 hours of related activities as part of a community of representatives who will influence and inspire women to pursue a career in maths and science. The activities are varied, ranging from visiting schools and conducting science presentations, to attending conferences and creating content for social media. At the end of the program, PhD champions have the chance to apply everything they've learned to the Postgraduate Research Competition. Above all, participating is a requirement for program completion.

    Rose O'Dea, a member of the first group, is a PhD candidate at the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences. She said, "I'm excited about the opportunity to work with school children. I hope to inspire some girls so they see not all scientists are older men in lab coals and that science is quite diverse and means different things depending on who you are."

    Dr. Mariana Mayer Pinto is an early-career researcher at the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, where she mainly works with marine (海洋的) ecologists. She is originally from Brazil and said that being a woman from a developing country meant she knew the struggles that lack of role models can create. "You can't be what you can't see! I always have the hope that I can change the world bit by bit, and if one little girl says she can become a scientist because I talked to them, that'd be awesome, and that would make everything worth it."

    (CNN)—This photograph of two men sharing a drink 30 meters below the water is part of an art project exploring the mysterious world of freediving—a form of underwater diving that relies on a diver's ability to hold his or her breath until resurfacing rather than on the use of oxygen tanks (氧气瓶).

    Each man, dressed in shirt, jeans and sunglasses, sits in a chair at the bottom of the Caribbean Sea with local sharks—harmless to humans—swimming just meters away. Of course, these aren't ordinary men, but freedivers: extreme athletes who dive on a single breath of air.

    American photographer Lia Barrett had been taking pictures of brave divers competing at the Caribbean Cup off the coast of Honduras, when she decided to create a fantastic underwater world in which humans go about everyday tasks—such as drinking coffee or riding bikes.

    "After the competitors had a great time in the new national and world records set at the competition, I took advantage of their breath-holding skills to do photo shoots I had only dreamed of before," said the 29-year-old.

    Perhaps unsurprisingly, Barrett is often asked whether the amazing pictures are Photoshopped. She laughs quietly as she insists they're 100% real.

    The picture of two men having coffee took 50 minutes to create, with the men receiving oxygen from standby assistants around every three minutes.

    "On the way back up, we were holding onto the table during our decompression (减压) stop in the strong current (水流)—it was quite a scene."

    The underwater models made an 11-minute stop on the way back to the surface, making sure they didn't rise too quickly and suffer decompression sickness—which can cause deadly blackouts (眩晕).