Monday, August 30
Saturday, August 21
Notes Checklist
Assalamualaikum
When there is an announcement saying "There are notes at the back. Got get 'em", everyone heads towards the back of the hall like a pack of hungry wolves and depletes the supply of notes in no time. Yeah, just so you know, those notes were brought to you by the Lujnah of Academic. If you're going to thank anyone for them, then you should thank the fantastic four leaders of the Lujnah: Fahmi, Faqih, Amy and Elyani.
Anyway, I just have a few things to mention right now.
1. Around one week ago, every PBL group was given the task to answer several questions from the minitest compilation. Please, please, DO THEM and submit your answers to any members of the lujnah. We are going to compile your answers and make an answer scheme that will (InsyaAllah) help us all. So please don't be selfish, and do your part.
2. We get lots of notes. And I do mean, A LOT. We get so many notes that we can't even keep track of them all. Therefore, we've made a checklist for you all so that you can know what notes you already have and which notes you did not receive. Here's the link, go check it out:
If you find that you don't have one or more notes, then you are most welcome to inform any of us. In fact, please do. You have paid for them, so demand your due rights.
InsyaAllah, the checklist will be updated from time to time. We can't promise, but we'll try to update it at least once a week.
That's all from me for now. Don't forget to study for the minitest, yo. And how many chapters of the Qur'an have you read this Ramadhan? =)
Wassalam
Luqman Al-Bashir
Coolie of Lujnah Academic
When there is an announcement saying "There are notes at the back. Got get 'em", everyone heads towards the back of the hall like a pack of hungry wolves and depletes the supply of notes in no time. Yeah, just so you know, those notes were brought to you by the Lujnah of Academic. If you're going to thank anyone for them, then you should thank the fantastic four leaders of the Lujnah: Fahmi, Faqih, Amy and Elyani.
Anyway, I just have a few things to mention right now.
1. Around one week ago, every PBL group was given the task to answer several questions from the minitest compilation. Please, please, DO THEM and submit your answers to any members of the lujnah. We are going to compile your answers and make an answer scheme that will (InsyaAllah) help us all. So please don't be selfish, and do your part.
2. We get lots of notes. And I do mean, A LOT. We get so many notes that we can't even keep track of them all. Therefore, we've made a checklist for you all so that you can know what notes you already have and which notes you did not receive. Here's the link, go check it out:
If you find that you don't have one or more notes, then you are most welcome to inform any of us. In fact, please do. You have paid for them, so demand your due rights.
InsyaAllah, the checklist will be updated from time to time. We can't promise, but we'll try to update it at least once a week.
That's all from me for now. Don't forget to study for the minitest, yo. And how many chapters of the Qur'an have you read this Ramadhan? =)
Wassalam
Luqman Al-Bashir
Coolie of Lujnah Academic
Sunday, August 15
Speaking English
Assalamualaikum w.b.t.
This is Julia, finally writing after months of hibernation. Before I get to the gist of my post, a little preamble: I don’t like calling myself the ‘leader’ for the Peer Sisters (I made a face whenever I was referred to as such), but I guess that’s what I am.
So what’s my mission in this? In both my meetings with Prof Pakeer, he mentioned about the lecturers’ concern about the degrading quality of English among the students. Good usage of English is (among other things) what made IIUM famous, after all. He was particularly worried about Medical students who have reached their clinical years. Most of them do well in front of patients, but when they have to present the cases to the doctors, they falter. They fail to impress. Simply because their English isn’t good enough.
Or is it? We IIUM Medical students have classes, lectures and examinations in English, so to say you are ‘bad’ at English is a blatant lie! You already have the basic of the language in your hands. But when it comes to speaking, you need something more.
So what do you need to speak effectively, get your listeners’ attention and get your message across all at the same time? Not much. I only introduce two things. Two Cs: Confidence and Clarity.
Confidence is what people are going to look for as soon as you walk into a room, or when you walk onto a stage and towards the rostrum. It allows you to control your nerves and stand without your legs shaking, or your voice trembling. It makes your listeners believe you and the main thing that prevents those doctors, interviewers and the public from thinking you’re a joke. I’m sure you’ve seen speakers who mesmerize you with their confidence and charisma. Think of one such person, imagine yourself speaking like he or she does, and you’ve set your target.
There is no easy way to this –you’ll have to practise. If the prospect of giving an announcement in front of the lecture hall makes you nauseous, start small. Speak to your friends in small groups. Go visit your lecturers and discuss the subject with them in English. Chat with our foreign friends. Get yourself used to hearing the language come out of your own mouth. Soon you won’t feel so weird speaking it.
Clarity means the state of being clear. You have to speak clearly, so that people will understand what the heck you’re saying. This is where correct pronunciation and grammar play important parts. You also need confidence, because if you stammer and mumble because you’re nervous, it’ll take a mind-reader to know what you’re saying. We like it when lecturers enunciate clearly, pronounce the words correctly and make themselves and the topic clear. So that’s what we need to do too: make ourselves clear.
I’m not too rigid with pronunciation, because we all have different tongues and some English words have more than one way to pronounce (like ‘tomato’ and ‘route’). Remember that the focus here is clarity, getting people to understand you. Listen to English speeches by good speakers, watch English shows and listen to English songs (the good ones la...). Pay attention to how English speakers speak the language. It is perfectly fine to mess up the pronunciation sometimes (I do too). What’s important is to acknowledge that every mistake is a chance to improve. We learn from our mistakes.
Someone has asked me whether grammar is really important. I’d say yes, because you do need good grammar to deliver your speeches or messages effectively. But I’ve seen the grammar worksheets you do in English class at CFS, and even I got confused trying to answer them. The problem with teaching grammar is that the teachers have to teach the principles one by one, but after a while, that method doesn’t work. Why? Because the English language has SO MANY rules. It also has SO MANY exceptions, with SO MANY overlapping between the rules. So don’t think too much about learning grammar. Just get the basics right; the rest will come naturally when you get yourself used to listening and speaking English. Leave the complicated stuff to English teachers and scholars.
So those are the two Cs. Confidence is necessary so that people believe you, while Clarity allows people to understand you. Stop thinking that English is a difficult or a ‘bad’ language. A language is neutral. It really depends on how we use it. The most important thing is to enjoy speaking in English. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, and to look for people who can help you correct them. All the best, my friends! :D
A little advertisement for Zen14 sisters: I have started a small project under Peers, called Peers Kopitiam. It is simply gathering a group of friends, sitting down together and chatting in English. We can talk about anything. (During my group’s first session, our topics ranged from PBL to Super Junior to DBSK to ERT to studying tips.) My group is full already, but if there are girls who’d like to join, I can make another group and elect another Peer Sister to be the facilitator. It’s not an usrah or halaqah where we have to prepare and memorise stuff. We just borak! XD You know how to contact me.
Thank you for your time. Wassalam.
(C) Julia, 2010. PnI.
This is Julia, finally writing after months of hibernation. Before I get to the gist of my post, a little preamble: I don’t like calling myself the ‘leader’ for the Peer Sisters (I made a face whenever I was referred to as such), but I guess that’s what I am.
So what’s my mission in this? In both my meetings with Prof Pakeer, he mentioned about the lecturers’ concern about the degrading quality of English among the students. Good usage of English is (among other things) what made IIUM famous, after all. He was particularly worried about Medical students who have reached their clinical years. Most of them do well in front of patients, but when they have to present the cases to the doctors, they falter. They fail to impress. Simply because their English isn’t good enough.
Or is it? We IIUM Medical students have classes, lectures and examinations in English, so to say you are ‘bad’ at English is a blatant lie! You already have the basic of the language in your hands. But when it comes to speaking, you need something more.
So what do you need to speak effectively, get your listeners’ attention and get your message across all at the same time? Not much. I only introduce two things. Two Cs: Confidence and Clarity.
Confidence is what people are going to look for as soon as you walk into a room, or when you walk onto a stage and towards the rostrum. It allows you to control your nerves and stand without your legs shaking, or your voice trembling. It makes your listeners believe you and the main thing that prevents those doctors, interviewers and the public from thinking you’re a joke. I’m sure you’ve seen speakers who mesmerize you with their confidence and charisma. Think of one such person, imagine yourself speaking like he or she does, and you’ve set your target.
There is no easy way to this –you’ll have to practise. If the prospect of giving an announcement in front of the lecture hall makes you nauseous, start small. Speak to your friends in small groups. Go visit your lecturers and discuss the subject with them in English. Chat with our foreign friends. Get yourself used to hearing the language come out of your own mouth. Soon you won’t feel so weird speaking it.
Clarity means the state of being clear. You have to speak clearly, so that people will understand what the heck you’re saying. This is where correct pronunciation and grammar play important parts. You also need confidence, because if you stammer and mumble because you’re nervous, it’ll take a mind-reader to know what you’re saying. We like it when lecturers enunciate clearly, pronounce the words correctly and make themselves and the topic clear. So that’s what we need to do too: make ourselves clear.
I’m not too rigid with pronunciation, because we all have different tongues and some English words have more than one way to pronounce (like ‘tomato’ and ‘route’). Remember that the focus here is clarity, getting people to understand you. Listen to English speeches by good speakers, watch English shows and listen to English songs (the good ones la...). Pay attention to how English speakers speak the language. It is perfectly fine to mess up the pronunciation sometimes (I do too). What’s important is to acknowledge that every mistake is a chance to improve. We learn from our mistakes.
Someone has asked me whether grammar is really important. I’d say yes, because you do need good grammar to deliver your speeches or messages effectively. But I’ve seen the grammar worksheets you do in English class at CFS, and even I got confused trying to answer them. The problem with teaching grammar is that the teachers have to teach the principles one by one, but after a while, that method doesn’t work. Why? Because the English language has SO MANY rules. It also has SO MANY exceptions, with SO MANY overlapping between the rules. So don’t think too much about learning grammar. Just get the basics right; the rest will come naturally when you get yourself used to listening and speaking English. Leave the complicated stuff to English teachers and scholars.
So those are the two Cs. Confidence is necessary so that people believe you, while Clarity allows people to understand you. Stop thinking that English is a difficult or a ‘bad’ language. A language is neutral. It really depends on how we use it. The most important thing is to enjoy speaking in English. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, and to look for people who can help you correct them. All the best, my friends! :D
A little advertisement for Zen14 sisters: I have started a small project under Peers, called Peers Kopitiam. It is simply gathering a group of friends, sitting down together and chatting in English. We can talk about anything. (During my group’s first session, our topics ranged from PBL to Super Junior to DBSK to ERT to studying tips.) My group is full already, but if there are girls who’d like to join, I can make another group and elect another Peer Sister to be the facilitator. It’s not an usrah or halaqah where we have to prepare and memorise stuff. We just borak! XD You know how to contact me.
Thank you for your time. Wassalam.
(C) Julia, 2010. PnI.
Talking about English
Remember back when we were learning History for the PMR? Those long and boring textbooks would tell us that a long long time ago Malacca was a centre of trade and that the Malay language was the Lingua Franca of the region, used by thousands of different people from various parts of the world. It made me think that Malay wasn’t a language to look down upon.
That’s cool and all, but guess what...a few centuries have passed since then. Wars have been waged, technologies have advanced, and globalization has occured. And right now? Malay is not the lingua franca of the world. The international language of the world right now is English. What? Don’t blame me, okay? They won a lot of wars, that’s why English gets that honour. Unless you can start a revolution and kick the living snot out of their armies, English will still be the king of languages.
So basically, that means that you will need to learn English. Whether you like it or not, you will be using English throughout your whole career (unless you somehow fail the medicine course, and end up as a rubber tapper in Kelantan. But you don’t want that, right?). For one thing, being able to converse and express yourself well in the language will almost certainly give you a distinct advantage during the clinical years. (I’ve heard of Doctors complaining about students who cannot present patient histories very well, so make sure you don’t become one of those students!). Even after you graduate, if you want to further your career and specialize in a specific branch of medicine, you WILL have to write thesis & research papers in English.
Have I made my point yet? No? Okay, remember what Dr. Azarisman said in class the other day? How after more than a century, we still haven’t been able to attract the Chinese and Indian population in our country to Islam? Maybe we should rethink our strategies and start preaching to them in English. No matter how charismatic and articulate you are, it will be very difficult to impress or engage them using Malay (especially the more educated people).
So maybe I’ve made you think “Oh man, I need to further improve my English, pronto! But how can I do that? We no longer have any English classes!”. Aha, that’s where we English peers come in.
The English Peers of 14th Zenith are a small group of brothers and sisters who are willing to help. Quite honestly, we’re not really that awesome in English ourselves. But we were picked to share whatever “extra English knowledge” we have with the rest of you guys (and gals), and so here we are.
Unlike the other lujnahs in our batch, we have a lot of freedom in the type of programs we can do. That’s why we would really appreciate suggestions and ideas from every single one of you. We already have a few (hopefully) fun + awesome programs we plan to have in the future to help every single one of us improve our English. But getting more ideas from the rest of the batch wouldn’t hurt. If you have any idea at all about a program/event you’d like to see happen (no matter how “out-of-the-box” it might sound), then feel free to approach any of us and present your idea. Even if it’s a totally crazy idea, we will listen and if it’s any good, we’ll definitely consider it, InsyaAllah.
So that’s all from me right now. If you have the time, read this article on how to improve your vocabulary, written by yours truly. (Yes, I know I just shamelessly promoted myself and my blog. Shut up). Remember to study for the upcoming minitest, and do use your time during Ramadhan wisely, ok?
Adios.
Luqman Al-Bashir
(Self-appointed) Captain of Zen14 English Peers
and children’s role model.
That’s cool and all, but guess what...a few centuries have passed since then. Wars have been waged, technologies have advanced, and globalization has occured. And right now? Malay is not the lingua franca of the world. The international language of the world right now is English. What? Don’t blame me, okay? They won a lot of wars, that’s why English gets that honour. Unless you can start a revolution and kick the living snot out of their armies, English will still be the king of languages.
So basically, that means that you will need to learn English. Whether you like it or not, you will be using English throughout your whole career (unless you somehow fail the medicine course, and end up as a rubber tapper in Kelantan. But you don’t want that, right?). For one thing, being able to converse and express yourself well in the language will almost certainly give you a distinct advantage during the clinical years. (I’ve heard of Doctors complaining about students who cannot present patient histories very well, so make sure you don’t become one of those students!). Even after you graduate, if you want to further your career and specialize in a specific branch of medicine, you WILL have to write thesis & research papers in English.
Have I made my point yet? No? Okay, remember what Dr. Azarisman said in class the other day? How after more than a century, we still haven’t been able to attract the Chinese and Indian population in our country to Islam? Maybe we should rethink our strategies and start preaching to them in English. No matter how charismatic and articulate you are, it will be very difficult to impress or engage them using Malay (especially the more educated people).
So maybe I’ve made you think “Oh man, I need to further improve my English, pronto! But how can I do that? We no longer have any English classes!”. Aha, that’s where we English peers come in.
The English Peers of 14th Zenith are a small group of brothers and sisters who are willing to help. Quite honestly, we’re not really that awesome in English ourselves. But we were picked to share whatever “extra English knowledge” we have with the rest of you guys (and gals), and so here we are.
Unlike the other lujnahs in our batch, we have a lot of freedom in the type of programs we can do. That’s why we would really appreciate suggestions and ideas from every single one of you. We already have a few (hopefully) fun + awesome programs we plan to have in the future to help every single one of us improve our English. But getting more ideas from the rest of the batch wouldn’t hurt. If you have any idea at all about a program/event you’d like to see happen (no matter how “out-of-the-box” it might sound), then feel free to approach any of us and present your idea. Even if it’s a totally crazy idea, we will listen and if it’s any good, we’ll definitely consider it, InsyaAllah.
So that’s all from me right now. If you have the time, read this article on how to improve your vocabulary, written by yours truly. (Yes, I know I just shamelessly promoted myself and my blog. Shut up). Remember to study for the upcoming minitest, and do use your time during Ramadhan wisely, ok?
Adios.
Luqman Al-Bashir
(Self-appointed) Captain of Zen14 English Peers
and children’s role model.
Saturday, August 14
Check this out!
We often feel sleepy during our lectures, and some of us even fall asleep! Now this indeed isn't normal. It is very common for youths like us to have sleeping disorders. Check this out to see if you have the potential to have sleeping disorders:
Sleep Quiz
Stay Awake Naturally
Sleep Quiz
Stay Awake Naturally
Wednesday, August 11
Enzymology
In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficial, the most Merciful.
Uncompetitive inhibitors actually DECREASE the Michaelis-Menten constant. Have you ever wondered why?
According to what I've found from http://www.chm.davidson.edu/erstevens/Lineweaver/Lineweaver.html, the answer is this:
Uncompetitive inhibitors are thought to bind the E-S complex and not the enzyme. As with non-competitive inhibitors, the E-S-I complex cannot form the product. The product can only be formed from the E-S complex (Scheme 4). The effect of an uncompetitive inhibitor is to decrease both Vmax and Km. The drop in Km deserves some comment. Km is a measure of substrate affinity for the enzyme. A lower Km corresponds to a higher affinity. The presence of an uncompetitive inhibitor actually increases the affinity of the enzyme for the substrate. This surprising fact can be understood through the binding equilibrium. Since the inhibitor binds the E-S complex, the inhibitor decreases the concentration of the E-S complex. By Le Chatlier's principle, equilibrium of the enzyme and substrate will shift to form more E-S complex. Therefore, the enzyme demonstrates a higher affinity for the substrate eventhough this higher affinity does not lead to a higher Vmax. In a Lineweaver-Burk plot, uncompetitive inhibitors shift the line higher with a raised y-intercept.
Allah knows best.
Uncompetitive inhibitors actually DECREASE the Michaelis-Menten constant. Have you ever wondered why?
According to what I've found from http://www.chm.davidson.edu/erstevens/Lineweaver/Lineweaver.html, the answer is this:
Uncompetitive inhibitors are thought to bind the E-S complex and not the enzyme. As with non-competitive inhibitors, the E-S-I complex cannot form the product. The product can only be formed from the E-S complex (Scheme 4). The effect of an uncompetitive inhibitor is to decrease both Vmax and Km. The drop in Km deserves some comment. Km is a measure of substrate affinity for the enzyme. A lower Km corresponds to a higher affinity. The presence of an uncompetitive inhibitor actually increases the affinity of the enzyme for the substrate. This surprising fact can be understood through the binding equilibrium. Since the inhibitor binds the E-S complex, the inhibitor decreases the concentration of the E-S complex. By Le Chatlier's principle, equilibrium of the enzyme and substrate will shift to form more E-S complex. Therefore, the enzyme demonstrates a higher affinity for the substrate eventhough this higher affinity does not lead to a higher Vmax. In a Lineweaver-Burk plot, uncompetitive inhibitors shift the line higher with a raised y-intercept.
Allah knows best.
A new Ramadhan experience......
In the name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful…..
Assalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Taa'la Wabarakatuh............
Today, 11 August 2010 will mark 1 Ramadhan 1431.
Today, 11 August 2010 will also mark my first Ramadhan outside of the state of Selangor....for those of you who are in the same circumstances as me...
Congratulations!!....you are in for a new Ramadhan experience this year!!
When we talk about Ramadhan & fasting, people's respond are..........varied, to say the least.
Some are excited and grateful that they are still being given the opportunity to once again experience the blessed month of Ramadhan, the opportunity to gain by giving up, to prosper by going without and to grow stronger by enduring weakness.
Some might thought of fasting in the month of Ramadhan just as the third "pillar" of Islam, just as an obligation that he must do because he's a Muslim, an obligation that he must do because every other Muslim are doing it too...
While some acts indifferently to Ramadhan and fasting.....for them, fasting is something that they had done last year, and this year they will do it again....
So, what about you? How do you respond to Ramadhan? I'll leave that for you to decide....
Monday, August 9
It's Official...
In the name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful…..
Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh……
1st things first, we just want to say welcome to the OFFICIAL blog of ZENITH, the 14th batch of medical students from Kulliyyah of Medicine, IIUM Kuantan. Finally, our batch’s blog is up & running!! However, a new blog IS a new blog….i’m pretty sure there’s a lot more things that need to be done here. So…we need avid bloggers out there to participate in this project…….yes, u know who you are….we need you, A.S.A.P!! Submit your name to any of the PnI committees as well as your preferred pen name and get started!!
As for the appearance of the site…no need to worry. Our technical team are still trying to find the right materials which will suit the identity of our batch. The beautification process is commencing as of now so, priorities are to the contents first.
Last but not least, we hope that this blog will get a great response from the batch. Any posts, notifications, lessons, notes, artistic materials and etc. will be done for the convenience of our batch community…. so, we would really appreciate the efforts and support from each and every one of YOU!! ZENITH fighting!!!
Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh……
1st things first, we just want to say welcome to the OFFICIAL blog of ZENITH, the 14th batch of medical students from Kulliyyah of Medicine, IIUM Kuantan. Finally, our batch’s blog is up & running!! However, a new blog IS a new blog….i’m pretty sure there’s a lot more things that need to be done here. So…we need avid bloggers out there to participate in this project…….yes, u know who you are….we need you, A.S.A.P!! Submit your name to any of the PnI committees as well as your preferred pen name and get started!!
As for the appearance of the site…no need to worry. Our technical team are still trying to find the right materials which will suit the identity of our batch. The beautification process is commencing as of now so, priorities are to the contents first.
Last but not least, we hope that this blog will get a great response from the batch. Any posts, notifications, lessons, notes, artistic materials and etc. will be done for the convenience of our batch community…. so, we would really appreciate the efforts and support from each and every one of YOU!! ZENITH fighting!!!
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