Razibul Hossain Khondoker’s film UNADITTYA (Less than Sun God) will be screened on December 01, 2011 at ULAB Campus A Auditorium. The story of the film is based on the human rights  and the conflict situation of an ethnic group "Orao". Razibul Hossain is a Senior Lecturer of ULAB MSJ as well as an independent filmmaker.

Screening Time: 10:00am to 1:00pm

Synopsis of the film:

Young photographer Khalid Saikat once decided to go for a journey into the unknown. But no destination remains unknown at its end. While roaming he met the ‘Orao’ Youngman Arun Khalko and his constant companion Shukra. Talking with them they reached to the entrance of the village where the road was divided into two directions. Arun and Shukra left him there with their confusing identity. To find a place for the night to stay Khalid walked to a village with bewildered expression. Suddenly there appears Arun and Shukra with laughter; unexpectedly they propose him to be a guest of The Missionary Church Guest House.

In the middle of the night the drumming beats of ‘Madol’ (a traditional drum of Orao tribe) was heard by Khaleed along with the sounds of singing and dancing. Khaleed takes his camera and come out to join the festival of ‘Fagua’. Khalid realizes that celebration for the traditional Orao festival is on….

Dr. Daniel Sabet conducted the first session of the training for the CSD team and other participants. The first session included introduction to basic tools of quantitative research methods, including cross-tabulations, means of comparison and scatterplots. The training also focused on explorations of various challenges to making descriptive and casual inferences including measurement error, sampling error, omitted variable bias, and endogenity.

Dr. Sabet is an assistant professor at The Georgetown University's School of  Foreign Service. He is also co-authoring a book on research methods. His own research focuses on  the issues of public sector reform, civil society, corruption,  and governance.  He is the author of Non Profits and their Network and  Police Reform in Mexico.

The second  session of the training will include introduction SPSS software. It will take place on November 21, 2011. 

A talk on film will be held on Nov 24 at ULAB campus B seminar room from 10:00am to 12:00pm. Mr. Anis Pervez, associate professor of MSJ, is the key speaker.

Abstract of his talk:: Qualitative immediacy: the inherent problem of Cinema
 
Cinema, the mechanical reproduction of life and living in moving image, is one of the most popular media that have harnessed human’s observation of their experience. Cinema is characterized by its qualitative immediacy that wears away the distance between life and its reproduction. It is equally true that the qualitative immediacy is what constraints cinema from transcending popular expectation. Cinema suffers from a tension between catering to people’s habitual perception and cinema’s power to breaking its own form, which is not the case with theatre, paining and other plastic arts.  However, cinema did not cease to working on its form. Rather, with the help of progressive technology and creative endeavor, cinema is constantly reproducing itself by undoing, redoing and reconfiguring its form.

Dr. Rathana Peou was the speaker at the seminar titled Climate induced Migration, Sustainable Livelihoods and Poverty Reduction Intervention and Policy in Bangladesh. The seminar is hosted by the McGill University, Canada. This seminar took place on November 10, 2011.

For details: http://www.mcgill.ca/channels/events/item/?item_id=211738 

Short details of Film Exhibit 
Date: December 22, 2011
Time: 11:00 p.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Venue: Central Public Library Dhaka, 3 Liaquat Ave., Dhaka, 1000 Dhaka Bangladesh
Chief Guest:  Mr. Kazi Abu Zafar Siddiqui, Director General, Bangladesh Television


ULAB holds “Complexity of Bangladeshi Mind” Exhibit Series


The Media Studies and Journalism (MSJ) Department of the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB, http://www.ulab.edu.bd ) will present its Fall Semester 2011 Series of Exhibits from December 18 to 22, 2011.  The exhibit brings together the works of students, which includes research paper presentations, communication campaign materials, animation, visual art, digital art, photography and film exhibitions.  Every semester, the MSJ Department launches an exhibit – the forthcoming one being its eighth.  Each exhibit is based on a philosophical/sociological concept and/or theory, which is used to guide and harmonize student outputs as well as ground them in communication-related perspectives.

Communication Campaign to Raise Awareness for Persons with Disability
Date: December 18, 2011
Time: 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.
Venue: ULAB Seminar Room, Campus B.  House 56, Road No. 7/A (Satmasjid Road), Dhanmondi, Dhaka 1209 Bangladesh

Student Research Conference: Factors Affecting Students’ Decision on Choosing Shopping Malls
Date:  December 19, 2011
Time: 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Venue:  ULAB Seminar Room, Campus B, House 56, Road No. 7/A (Satmasjid Road), Dhanmondi, Dhaka 1209 Bangladesh

Visual Art, Digital Art and Photography Exhibit
Opening Date:  December 20, 2011, 11:00 to 12:30 p.m.
Exhibit Date:  December 20 and 21
Venue: Russian Centre of Science and Culture, House 510, Road 7, Dhanmondi, Dhaka 1209 Bangladesh
Chief Guest:  Mr. Firoz Mahmud, Freelance Artist

Digital Productions:
 Pakhi (The Bird, Short Fiction Film)
 LUX knows what its consumers don’t know (Multimedia Production)   
Date: December 22, 2011
Time: 11:00 p.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Venue: Central Public Library Dhaka, 3 Liaquat Ave., Dhaka, 1000 Dhaka Bangladesh
Chief Guest:  Mr. Kazi Abu Zafar Siddiqui, Director General, Bangladesh Television


The theme for Fall Semester 2011 is “Complexity of the Bangladeshi Mind.”  The theme highlights the concept of Cognitive Complexity, introduced by Brant Burleson and Scott Caplan of Purdue University. According to them, “cognitive complexity has been treated as an aspect of social cognition, with research focusing on individual differences in the complexity of cognitive structures applicable to the self and, especially, other persons. Considerable research has found that individual differences in cognitive complexity underlie a diverse array of communication-related abilities, including skill in social perception, message production, message reception, and social interaction.” For them, cognitive complexity is better understood as an information processing variable.  Individuals with developed (differentiated, articulated and integrated) systems of personal constructs have greater information processing capacity in a particular domain, and thus possess greater expertise in that domain.  Hence, studies comparing cognitively complex with less complex individuals are analogous to studies of expert-novice differences.”

As applied to the curriculum integration programme, the various courses will study the Bangladeshi mind in terms of its cognitive structures vis-à-vis the different domain or fields.  Students must demonstrate an understanding of the complexity of the Bangladeshi mind in their presentations, exhibits and productions. 

The exhibit is part of the Department’s Curriculum Integration Program, which was established to facilitate faculty and students from various year levels and study concentrations to work together and learn from each other.  It has two primary objectives.  First, it utilizes active learning approaches to enhance the educational experience of students.  Second, it encourages students to look inward – to reflect on their own personalities, aspirations and identities.  The Department believes that students must be comfortable and confident with themselves before they can positively contribute to others.

Short details of Visual Exhibit

Opening Date:  December 20, 2011, 11:00 to 12:30 p.m.
Exhibit Date:  December 20 and 21
Venue: Russian Centre of Science and Culture, House 510, Road 7, Dhanmondi, Dhaka 1209 Bangladesh
Chief Guest:  Mr. Firoz Mahmud, Freelance Artist