Art & Entertainment (Costa Rica)

Costa Rica is far more than just scenery and clubs. Behind the beaches lies a wealth of art and culture waiting to be explored. There are regional variations, even within the national borders, with differences to be found along the west and east coasts.

Visitors to Costa Rica have an unforgettable chance to immerse themselves in a wealth of artistic and cultural activities. This wonderful country is a main destination for cruises centered on Central America and the Caribbean; and cruise ships often include stopovers at Puntarenas or Limon, depending on their itineraries. What better way to round off a superb art cruise than by stopping off to enjoy some of the cultural treasures to be found onshore? Puntarenas houses La Casa de la Cultura, which features rotating exhibits, as well as theater and poetry readings, and the city is visited by tourists from around the globe who come to enjoy some of the best tourist attractions to be found in Costa Rica; while Limon has been a center for Afro-Caribbean focused heritage for many years, with poets, musicians, painters and storytellers making their home here. Limon’s week long carnival in October, which attracts visitors from around the world, celebrates the traditional African masquerade.

Music and Dance

With a wonderful blend of Mexican, African and Amerindian music, liberally coupled with Latin influences, music in Costa Rica stirs the senses, setting the fingers clicking and the toes tapping. Soca, rumba, reggae and calypso are immensely popular with Costa Ricans and is heard everywhere along the eastern side of the country. Calypso music in particular has been in vogue for over a hundred years and has recently been declared part of Costa Rica’s national patrimony. The music’s most famous son, Walter Ferguson, who has toured around the world and lives in Cahuita, has been instrumental in putting Costa Rican calypso on the world music map.

The traditional folk music can still be heard today and is celebrated in local music festivals. The long history of Costa Rican folk music is evident in the traces of pre-Columbian influences which still reverberate through the instruments played and the style of music. Instruments such as the ocarina, the Costa Rican version of which dates back around 12,000 years, and the marimba still feature in local music today.

Costa Rica has many festivals and events where you can hear the country’s music, including the Monteverde music festival, which takes place in February/March, and the Caribbean Music Festival which takes place in Playa Chiquita throughout March and April each year.

Of course you can’t have music without dance. Salsa, meringue and cumbia reflect the history and traditional culture of this wonderful country, with the Punto Guanacasteco  and La Cajeta considered the traditional dances of Costa Rica. Add to this the lambada, marcado and the Costa Rican swing and you have a wealth of styles to choose from. Costa Ricans of all ages love to dance and weekends are a popular time to get together and show your moves to any admiring onlookers. Every January, the flight from and triumph over the Conquistadores is depicted in the Boruca, where you can see the Borucan Diablitos dance; the scenario is acted and danced out showing the Conquistadores as a bull and the indigenous people as little demons which drive the bull away.

Literature and the Arts

Costa Rica has perhaps been less well profiled internationally than some countries in relation to its literature and art. Nonetheless, the country has a rich heritage to be explored, with writers like Manuel Arguello Mora, who wrote La Trinchera, a historical account which portrayed his uncle’s (Juan Rafael Mora Porras) campaign against William Walker and Nicaraguan forces. Juan Rafael was later to become President of Costa Rica. Manual Mora went on to found Costa Rica’s La Reforma newspaper.

Joaquin Gutierrez, a writer, novelist and journalist, wrote Cocori, a children’s fairytale which was translated into 11 languages including Braille. He translated a number of Shakespeare’s works into Spanish, as well as having published six novels and a selection of poetry. He lived overseas in the USSR, Vietnam and China, where he translated the works of Mao Tse Tung.

Enrique Echandi was a Costa Rican born painter who studied in Germany at Leipzig and Munich before returning home, where he sponsored art through his renowned art evenings which were attended by the most significant artists of his day. Fadrique Gutierrez, a painter, sculptor and architect studied under Italian sculptor, Francesco Fortino, and French painter, Achiles Bigot. He was also a graduate in philosophy at San Tomas University in San Jose. All of his work has since been misplaced. A political exile, he graduated in architecture in Guatamala and was the designer of the El Fortin Tower in Heredia, as well as designing one of the domes of Alajuela Cathedral. He returned to Costa Rica, where he became known for his stone and wood sculptures, before being exiled for the second time following his participation in the coup d’etat of 1870.

Costa Rica’s National Theater in San Jose is an opulent neo-classical building; it’s sumptuous and luxurious interior hosts some of the country’s best classical music, drama and ballet. Costa Rica’s National Symphony Orchestra appears regularly in the theater, featuring classical works such as Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5, Berlioz’ Symphonie Fantastique and Stravinsky’s Petrouchka.

Olympic Games History

According to historical records, the first ancient Olympic Games can be traced back to 776 BC. They were dedicated to the Olympian gods and were staged on the ancient plains of Olympia. They continued for nearly 12 centuries, until Emperor Theodosius decreed in 393 A.D. that all such "pagan cults" be banned.

Olympia
Olympia, the site of the ancient Olympic Games, is in the western part of the Peloponnese which, according to Greek mythology, is the island of "Pelops", the founder of the Olympic Games. Imposing temples, votive buildings, elaborate shrines and ancient sporting facilities were combined in a site of unique natural and mystical beauty. Olympia functioned as a meeting place for worship and other religious and political practices as early as the 10th century B.C. The central part of Olympia was dominated by the majestic temple of Zeus, with the temple of Hera parallel to it. 

The Games and religion
The Olympic Games were closely linked to the religious festivals of the cult of Zeus, but were not an integral part of a rite. Indeed, they had a secular character and aimed to show the physical qualities and evolution of the performances accomplished by young people, as well as encouraging good relations between the cities of Greece. According to specialists, the Olympic Games owed their purity and importance to religion.

Victory Ceremonies
The Olympic victor received his first awards immediately after the competition. Following the announcement of the winner's name by the herald, a Hellanodikis (Greek judge) would place a palm branch in his hands, while the spectators cheered and threw flowers to him. Red ribbons were tied on his head and hands as a mark of victory.

The official award ceremony would take place on the last day of the Games, at the elevated vestibule of the temple of Zeus. In a loud voice, the herald would announce the name of the Olympic winner, his father's name, and his homeland. Then, the Hellanodikis placed the sacred olive tree wreath, or kotinos, on the winner's head.

Medical Education In Indonesia

As a cumulative result of efforts made over the last 15 years, Indonesian medical school teachers have developed and are implementing a common ‘core curriculum’ of undergraduate medical education in 14 government medical schools. This curric-ulum is based on explicit learning objectives. The Indonesian Government requires that all new doctors must work for between 3 and 5 years in a Primary Health Care (PHC) centre immediately after graduation. Indonesian medical school teachers and administrators have deliberately tried to shape the core curriculum to the needs of PHC in their country. This study provides a detailed ‘content analysis’ of the core curriculum in an effort to estimate the ‘relevance” of the core curriculum to the func-tions and tasks doctors are expected to undertake at the PHC level of the Indone-sian health system. It is shown that the core curriculum is largely relevant both in terms of its ‘framework’ and in its ‘details’. Some omissions from the curriculum are noted. It is contended that the development of the core curriculum is but the cul-mination of the many efforts at educational innovation and change which have been attempted in Indonesia over the last 15 years; it is contended that Indonesia's ex-perience shows that it is possible, even in a well-established system of medical schools, for teachers to plan and implement programmes of Community-Oriented Medical Education (COME); and, finally, it is contended that medical teachers in other developing countries who may wish to reorient their programmes of medical edu-cation towards the needs of Primary Health Care would benefit from a careful ex-amination of the approaches to this task which have been adopted by their col-leagues in Indonesia.

French Football History

The France national football team represents France in international football and it is controlled by the French Football federation.
In 1904 national team became a member of FIFA and in 1954 a member of UEFA, moreover the French stand at the origins of these associations.

An interesting tidbit about the team is that it was the participant of the three pre-war World championships together with the national teams of Brazil, Belgium and Romania. The team was a success in 1958, finishing third in the World Cup.

France didn’t manage to boost its success till 1980. During that period Michel Platini, Jean Teagan, Luis Fernandez, Alain Giresse joined the team. Having these football stars, the team won the European Championship in 1984 and finished third in the World Cup of 1986.

The next wave of success followed in 14 years, when France won the World Cup in 1998 and Euro 2000. France was the first team in Europe to claim both world and continental titles in two years.

In 2006 France finished as runner-up in the World Cup conceding to Italy in penalty shootout. After that Zinedine Zidane, a famous football star, retired from the team.

In Euro 2008 France didn’t manage to reach play off stage. Qualifying tournament before the World Cup and the World Cup itself were rich in events. The team celebrated an arguable victory over Republic of Ireland with Thierry Henry netting the ball with the hand in play off game as the protest against the results of the game was declined.

The succession of events and rows that partially were true and partially were exaggerated by the media prevented France from passing the group stage. After the championship Raymond Domenech left his position and Laurent Blanc became the manager of the squad.

Lilian Thuram played the largest number of games (142) while Thierry Henry is the best goal-scorer (51).

About Japan Education

Although the arrival of modernization in Japan was comparatively late due to its closed-door policy from 1638 to 1854, Japan was able to quickly catch up to the Western powers because of the socio-cultural conditions that encouraged the development of education, including its secular character, linguistic uniformity, cultural maturity, and national unity. Significant changes were made in education with the change in political power after the Meiji Restoration of 1868 and the defeat of the war in 1945. However, despite the drastic changes in education, Japanese cultural values have remained a stabilizing and tenacious force in helping the country adapt and grow.


Development of Education in Pre-WWII Japan

The modern education system of Japan can be said to be a mix of various educational models of Western countries that the government took and adapted to develop into its own. However, at the core foundation of Japanese education are the teachings and ideas of Confucianism. As Confucianism spread throughout Japan during the Heian period (794-1185), the imperial capital of Kyoto flourished as a center for higher learning through the establishment of Zen Buddhist monasteries. Children were taught to respect differences in class, rank, age, and sex based on the Confucian ideals of filial piety, loyalty to the state, submission to authority, and maintenance of social order. These ideals were embodied in the educational reforms that guided Japanese education until the end of WWII.

Despite the strong influence of Confucianism, education in Japan remained strongly secular. Many samurai attended fief schools to memorize Confucian classics and study Chinese literature and history. Some samurai also attended private academies (juku) alongside commoners to specialize in foreign subjects such as Western medicine, military science, gunnery, and Dutch studies (rangaku). Meanwhile, education for commoners was practically oriented, and concentrated on teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic through calligraphy and use of the abacus (Library of Congress, 1994). In addition, private classes open to all, regardless of class were held in instructors’ homes (terakoya), and in this way, an apprenticeship system developed among merchants.

These schools laid the foundation for education to become widespread during the Meiji period (1868-1912). People became aware that equal educational opportunity could be used to form national unity. Nonetheless, the lack of uniformity only led to discrepancy, and discrimination became a problem as academic achievement came to determine social status and employment. Under the pressure to modernize like the Western powers, the Meiji government set up the Ministery of Education in 1871 and in the following year, the Educational Ordinance was established, outlining a comprehensive national school system for the first time (JICA-RI, 2004). The three levels of schooling and school content were modeled after American schools, while the the centralized system of administration independent of the Church was modeled after the French school system. The Educational Ordinance was largely influenced by Yukichi Fukuzawa, spokesman of Japan’s Enlightenment who believed that the Confucian civilization lacked two things possessed by Western civilization “science in the material sphere and a sense of ‘independence’ in the spiritual sphere” (Anderson, 1975).

However, his plan was too ambitious and far removed for social customs of that time. By 1887, only one out of the eight universities was established and the official enrollment rate lingered below 50% because children were an important part of the labor force and those who failed often dropped out (JICA-RI, 2004). As a result, the Meiji government abolished the Education Ordinance and enacted the Education Order, introducing democratic education based on the American model. Boards of Education elected by the local people were put in charge of schools and their curriculum. In addition, the duration of school was greatly shortened from 8 years to at least 16 months (JICA-RI, 2004). However, enrollment rates only worsened and after one year, the Education Order was revised so that central control was again strengthened.

During this time, the political climate was complex and some schools were even burnt down by people upset by their taxes being used for school buildings, foreign instructors, and study abroad. Such opposers of Westernization demanded the revival of traditional ideologies of Confucian ethics, and in 1880, the Education Order was revised to include moral education for a minimum of one hour per week in elementary school education (Passin, 1965). After the Ito cabinet was formed in 1885, the constitution was modeled after Prussia instead of Britain and France which the Freedom and Popular Rights Movement saw as ideal democracies. The Imperial Rescript on Education of 1890 developed by Arinori Mori, the newly appointed Minister of Education also represented a revival of traditional ideologies of Confucian ethics and Shinto statism (Shimahara, 1979). By sending the Rescript to each school with a photograph of the Imperial Highnesses, education Minister Mori aimed to harmonize the twin objectives of modernization and spiritual unity through national morality.

Once primary level education became egalitarian under the Education School Order, elementary school enrollment increased from 40-50% in the 1870s to more than 90% by 1900 (Library of Congress, 1994). Nonetheless, women had relatively few opportunities to enter higher education since national universities were highly selective and elitist. However, the rise in demand for human resources during the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War and WWI led to the Professional College Order in 1903. This allowed graduates of middle schools and girls’ high schools to receive specialized training in subjects such as medicine, law, engineering, and commerce (JICA-RI, 2004). Teaching was also considered a ‘sacred profession’ and girls who desired to become teachers could attend a one-year training course at a Normal School. Specialized colleges, as well as universities founded by Christian missionary schools greatly expanded educational opportunites for women.

During the Taisho era (1912-1936), educational methodology was influenced by the global Progressive Education Movement, and child-centered and activity-oriented education of reformers such as Dewey and Montessori was implemented in some elementary schools. However, the economic recession following WWI spurred ultra-nationalist sentiment against the international democratic trends. In 1925, military officers were assigned to middle and high schools to provide military training, and student uniforms gave the schools the semblance of military academies (Anderson, 1975). Academic content was controlled by nationally approved textbooks and it was said that, “by the beginning of WWII, the only foreigners mentioned were Beethoven, Galileo, and Edward Jenner; but by the middle of the war, even Beethoven and Galileo were dropped” (Passin, 1965).

During WWII, students were drafted to produce food or military supplies, teachers were drafted into the armed forces, and young children were evacuated to rural areas to escape the aerial bomb attacks. With defeat of the war in 1945, Japanese education underwent drastic transformation similar to the one experienced in the early Meiji period. Under the control of the Allied Forces, the United States Education Mission introduced a number of education reforms to democratize Japanese education such as: the 6-3-3-4 track system (six years of elementary school, three years of junior high school, three years of high school, and four years of university), as well as adoption of co-education, extension of compulsory education to nine years, establishment of locally elected school boards, abolition of Normal Schools, the establishment of teacher unions, and the introduction of Roman characters. Furthermore, textbooks in morals, Japanese history, and geography were suspended because of the belief that these subjects encouraged militarism. However, U.S. occupation policy gradually changed its emphasis on democratization and freedom to anti-communism during the Korean War, and in general, the later half of the 20th century was characterized by turbulence in higher education in Japan (JICA-RI, 2004).

Despite the numerous educational changes that have occured in Japan since the Meiji Restoration of 1868, and especially since WWII, the education system continues to reflect long-standing cultural and philosophical Japanese values rooted in Confucianism. In traditional Japan, “study was an absolute duty of man. It was a religious mandate, a means of attaining virtue and repaying the Emperor and parents. It was a social duty, a means of promoting a harmonious and stable society. It was an individual’s duty to his superior, a means of preparing for service in the feudal government or schools. It was a way to gain self-respect and self-fulfillment” (Anderson, 1975). The fact that learning is still highly esteemed in Japan today, and moral and character development are still an integral part of education (Library of Congress, 1994), shows the tenacity of Japanese culture regardless of changing internal and external environments.

Cyprus Sports History

The Cyprus Sport Organisation is a semi-governmental organisation enacted by the 1969 – 1996 laws upon the Cyprus Sport Organisation acting as the Supreme Authority in the Republic of Cyprus.

Main objectives:

Developing sports outside schools, Co-ordination the sport life in our country, Cultivating the Olympic ideal and
Promoting Cyprus on the international sport scene.

A nine-members Board of Administration runs the Cyprus Sport Organisation with a President, a Vice-president and seven Members. Operational Manager of the Organisation is its Director General.

The services of the Organization are divided into four sectors and two branches:

Sport sector
Sport grounds sector
Financial management branch
Human Resources branch
The Cyprus Sport Organisation's history may be divided into five periods:

PERIOD A: 1969-1974

Efforts were made to organise the Cyprus Sport Organisation with a view to establishing basically National Federations and having them affiliated to the relevant International Federations.

PERIOD B: 1974-1980

Efforts were made to restructure the Cyprus Sport Organisation considering the sufferings experienced because of the invasion, the occupation and at the same time to create the necessary sport infrastructure despite the big financial problems faced in Cyprus owing to 200.000 fellow citizens becoming refugees. That time is characterized as the one when the maximum effort was deployed to maintain and at the same time develop sports in our country.

PERIOD C: 1980-1985

Efforts were made to promote the Cyprus sports on an international level with our presence on the international competitive ground, with disappointing results in several cases but still the hope of achieving something better alive.

PERIOD D: 1985-1989

We experienced the development of the Cyprus sports with our persistent and competitive presence on the European but also the wider international sport ground; the rapid evolution of our sports from the base levels, which resulted to the big increase in our sport potential. We may say that during this five-year period the development course of the Cyprus sports was launched.

PERIOD E: 1990-2000

Our intense competitive presence on the international sport ground was a fact. Victories were won and newly experienced distinctions were granted to our athletes, bearing in mind the recent data available. Sport activities in Cyprus are now involved in a European course and comply fully with the European conventions and the resulting obligations.

PERIOD Z: 2001-2005

A Period of progressive harmonisation with the European data in order for the integration in a united Europe to be achieved, which finally took place on 1 st May 2004, where Cyprus is between the 25 Member states of the European Union.

The most important objective of the Cyprus Sport Organisation , during 2001-2005, is the progressive and essential application of the Bratislava resolutions according to which it is determined that the future course of the European Sports should be "Pure and beneficial sports".

Simultaneously, a decisive importance for the Cypriot Sports was the undertaking and the organisation of Olympic Games in 2004 in Athens. Applying a complete plan of action, CSO seeks the best possible fighting presence of our athletes in the Olympic Games, and in other international Games.

Kyle Edmond replaced by Dan Evans for Great Britain : Davis Cup news

Dan EvansD has replaced the injured Kyle Edmund in the Great Britain team that will begin their defence of the Davis Cup against Japan on Friday.
Edmund, who was expected to play two singles rubbers, injured his back during practice in Birmingham.

His absence means Evans, 25, features in the GB team alongside Andy Murray, Jamie Murray and Dominic Inglot.

On Friday, Evans will play world number six Kei Nishikori, whom he beat in the first round of the 2013 US Open.

British number one Murray will kick off the tie against world number 87 Taro Daniel.

If Britain beat Japan they will face either Kazakhstan or world number one Novak Djokovic's Serbia.

Arsenal beaten by Swansea At Crucial stage of premier league

In the 28th Game week in Barclays premier league 3rd Place Arsenal was beaten by 16th place
Swansea City fc at the emirates stadium. This match was quit important for the Gunners to reduce
the margin from the leader Leicester city fc, but the gunners were failed to do so. The match was
worth watching as both team played well, specially the Gunners, they were superb in First 30
minutes, then after they were little lazy and then Swansea city take the advantage and finally win the game.JoelCampbell put Arsene Wenger's men into an early lead, but Wayne Routledge's first top-flight goal since December 2014 had the visitors level.
The Gunners hit the woodwork twice in the first half through Olivier Giroud and Alexis Sanchez, who did so again after the break a few moments before Ashley  Williams' close-range winner stunned the Emirates.
Arsenal have now only won two of their last eight league fixtures at a crucial stage of the campaign and remain six points behind leaders Leicester City with 10 matches remaining.

Swansea, who were without head coach Francesco Guidolin who was taken to hospital with a chest infection earlier in the day, made six changes to their team and stay 16th, but significantly open up a welcome six-point cushion on the bottom three.
There were three alterations for the hosts, with Per Mertesacker replacing the injured Laurent Koscielny, while Campbell and Giroud came in for Theo Walcott and Danny Welbeck.
Arsenal almost moved in front when Mesut Ozil headed on to Sanchez, with the attacker mis-hitting his original effort before composing himself and striking a right-footed shot against the post as former Gunners goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski gratefully collected the rebound.
The Gunners did find the opener after 15 minutes, though. Sanchez cleverly sent a chip into the box and Campbell, on the slide, hooked an impressive left-footed finish into the far corner.
But after a slow start, Swansea came back into the match and were level in the 32nd minute. Arsenal wanted a free-kick on the halfway line when Jordi Amat challenged Ozil, but referee Robert Madley was unmoved. The visitors then broke quickly and Jack Cork produced an excellent throughball, allowing Routledge - one of the six brought into the team - to take one touch and confidently slot past Petr Cech.
Arsenal should have regained the lead shortly before half-time, but Giroud could only smash his right-footed volley against the crossbar from 10 yards after Mertesacker had headed an Aaron Ramsey cross into his path.
The home fans were unhappy to see Wenger bring off Campbell when he opted to introduce Welbeck for the final 26 minutes and they had their hearts in their mouths a few moments later when substitute Gylfi Sigurdsson surged through on goal, rounded Cech but fired wide from a tight angle.

India beat srilanka By 5 wickets in Asia cup t-20

At Asia Cup t-20 tournament, in a group match India beat Sri Lanka by 5 wickects.
At the Shere Bangla National stadium, Dhaka, India won the toss and opt to bowl first.
So in the first inning Sri Lanka scored 139-9 in the 20th overs. Chamara Kapugedera scored
30 the highest from Srilankan line up with the help of three fours and no sixes. Milinda Siriwardana
scored 22 and Dilshan and Mathewes both scored 18 runs same. Indian bowlers were in
great touch in the match, speciall the pacers. Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and Ravi Ashwin
all takes 2 wickets each. And the finally able to stop the great Srilankan batting line up only
to 139 total. And India finally chased the total of 140 in 19.2 overs eassily. Virat Kohli gets great half century, he scored 56 with the help of 7 fours and no sixes in just 47 balls. And Yuvraj Singh finally
take India to victory with 35 runs with 3 fours and three sixes in just 18 balls.
Srilankan bowlers were unable to break the deadlock and finally they lose the match.

Leicester 2-2 West Brom

Leicester City Fc's Premier league title hopes ruin a little as they held drawn by West Brom at
king power stadium. Both the team played very well, but at the end the result was boring for both
the team fans specially for the Leicester City Fc fan. Cause in this situation Leicester are the favourite
for the Premier league title. At the 11th minute west Brom took with the help of Solomon Rondon.
A beauty from Rondon. After 19th minute Leicester returns a goal with the help of Daniel Drinkwater
at the 30th minute. Then at the 45+1 Leicester lead with the help of Andy King's goal.
But at the starting of the second half West Brom return second goal with the help of Craig Gardener's Goal. Ant then after no goals happened. and match was drawn 2-2. match was great.
But the result was quit boring for the Leicester city Fc's fan. So the path is now all good for
Arsenal and Spurs. Now they are also in hope for the title race. Let's see what happenes next.