Bangkok International Vegetarian (BIVA) launches Dr Warren Shipton’s Book “Health IQ”

“Health IQ,” the latest book written by our University President Dr Warren Shipton, was launched in Bangkok at the 18th Anniversary of Bangkok Inter­national Vegetarian (BIVA) on October 1, 2009. The event was held at the Novotel Lotus Hotel in Bangkok at 6 pm and was attended by more than a hundred mem­bers and friends of BIVA, including some distinguished guests.
The founding president of BIVA, Khun Pornthep Narula, welcomed everyone and pointed out that Asia-Pacific Interna­tional University is the only University in Thailand that serves all-vegetarian food on campus. He went on to congratulate Dr Shipton for his accomplishment in authoring a much needed book on health for the community in Thailand and around the world. Following his remarks the co-founder of BIVA, Pastor Virendra Arora, introduced Dr Warren Shipton and praised him for being a man of honor in keeping a promise made more than 2 years earlier in allowing BIVA to have the honor of launching his book.
The event was also attended by some distinguished individuals such as Dr Art-Ong Jumsai Na Ayudhaya, Former Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs,Thailand. He is also a former NASA sci­entist who is currently director of Sathya Sai Education in Lopburi, Thailand. A second guest was Khun Rubina Kraivi­chian Suwanapong, who is president of Hope of Thai People Foundation. Khun Supanut Donchan, host of Nation TV Channel, also interviewed several of the guests and Dr Shipton at the end of the ceremony and picture taking sessions.
The dinner included an array of delicious vegan dishes and the serving of a special vegan cake as part of the 18th anniver­sary. It was followed by a panel session where Dr Shipton was asked several questions regarding his book. Everyone in attendance was given an autographed copy of the book and many of them could not wait to get started on reading the book.
The occasion certainly helped in spot­lighting the University. Towards the end of the ceremony, Khun Narula said to Dr Shipton that he is considering sending his son, who is a senior at Ekamai Inter­national School, to our university next year. Congratulations Dr Shipton on the launching of “Health IQ.” The book is available at MC Mart at the price of 100 Baht each.

One of the goals of the class isto help our students make good choices in the movies they watch

and therefore we have tried to apply some biblical principles to what they watch and read. Some of the principles that the students have considered are as follow:
1. “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” Matthew 6:22-23 (NIV)
If our eyes see what is good, whole­some, and true, our minds will be filled with light rather than darkness, joy rather than sorrow, peace rather than disturbance.
2. “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Philippians 4:8 (NIV)

When we think about noble, right, pure and admirable things, our minds are filled with noble, right, pure, and admi­rable things, and our words and actions will be noble, right, pure, and admirable.

On most Tuesday evenings you may notice a group of stu­dents from the Faculty of Arts and Humanities rushing to the third floor of the IT building. What is the hurry? Aren’t Tuesday evenings usually reserved for appointments at the Tuesday market? Well, they just happen to be enrolled in a Film and Media Studies class which meets on Tuesday eve­nings to watch movies as a part of their class requirement. ENGL 425 Film and Media Studies is one of the new courses offered by the Faculty of Arts and Humanities for the Communication strand students. The course is mainly a study of films adapted from novels and plays and an analysis of film form and technique in relation to both.
As part of the requirement for the course the students have to watch films outside of class hours, analyze the film in rela­tion to form, narration, style, technique, and mise-en-scène (setting, lighting, cos­tumes, movement, and music). If it is a film based on a book, the analysis would include a comparison of both. Students usually need to write an analysis of the movie the following day. Some of the books that the students are studying this semester that have been made into movies are The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis, A Christ­mas Carol by Charles Dickens, and a play The Proposal by Anton Chekhov.
Some of the movies watched so far include old classics like The Wizard of Oz, Citizen Cane, Chariots of Fire, and also new ones like Bella, which won the “Crystal Heart Award” for 2007 and the “Grace Award” in 2008 for the Most Inspirational Movie Acting by Eduardo Verástegui. The modern media (TV, radio, internet, etc) is shaping much in our lives today. In fact “Media culture” term talks about a specific kind of culture formed by people across the globe being influenced by the media. Kellner (1995) in his book Media Culture states, “Media culture helps shape the prevalent view of the world and deep­est values: it defines what is considered good or bad, positive or negative, moral or evil” (p.1). Thus it follows that what we watch is of utmost importance and thus requires our keenest judgment and acute wisdom as it shapes our perception of life and the values we want to develop. The Film and Media Studies class aims to not only teach students to evaluate the movies they watch but also consider what they watch.If you are free on Tuesday evenings and would like to watch a good movie, join our class at 7 pm, IT 328. It is a class to remember.

“LOVE & SHARE” CHARITY CONCERT

“LOVE & SHARE” CHARITY CONCERT
raising funds for beds at the KANCHANABURI BAMBOO HOSPITAL
Sunday, October 18, 2009 @ 7 pm @ Kiti-Tasanee Auditorium
Students 20 Baht per person
Faculty & Staff 50 Baht per person

* extra donation is highly encouraged and appreciated

The Student Administra­tion (SA) intro­duces volunteer mr poso- thear kim as Assistant Student Activity Coordi­nator. Mr Kim helps to manage and monitor student activities related to the dorm such as room assignments, regulations, curfews and more. He also coordinates the implementation of the bar code device, which is to be used for student attendance during chapel, assembly and other specific events as­signed by the SA department. Mr Kim attempts to live his life by referring to a famous quote by Chinese philoso­pher Lao Tzu. “The journey of a thou­sand miles begins with a single step. Making the first step is something that I’m happy to make.” Originally from Cambodia, Mr Kim graduated with an Entrepreneurship degree from then Mission College in 2007. Contact posothear@yahoo.com, ext 1406.

Finding God (and Fellowship) in nature

For many Uni­versity Chinese Cell Group mem­bers, October 3rd was one of their most unforgettable Sabbaths ever. On this particular Sat­urday, 44 members had gathered and worshiped God to­gether at the Jedkod Pongkansao Natural Study and Ecotour­ism Center, where the beauty of God’s work reminded and told them much about their Heavenly Father.
With its 6 faculty members including Dr Mack Tennyson, Dr Pak Lee with Teacher Wilma, Dr Chew, Mr David Tan, and Mr Stephen Loo as well as 38 uni­versity students, the group left the campus grounds around 8 am and reached the park around 9 am. Once off the bus, a sala near the lake was chosen as their meet­ing hall and Sabbath school was started with a short song service led by Ian and friends. Lesson study by Mr Loo was up next, followed by Dr Chew’s short sermon about the wonders of a heavenly home which the “…Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man…” (1 Corinthians 2:9). A message of encouragement for all listeners was in­cluded, where everyone were urged to stay firm and “persevere to the end” for the beautiful reward they will receive when Jesus comes again.
After a healthy and tasty lunch prepared by the faculty and some of the members themselves, the rest of the day was then spent in playing Bible games and going on nature walks. Most also went for a refreshing dip in the waterfall.
The outing ended with a surprise birth­day party for all birthday boys and girls of September and October, as well as an early mid-autumn celebration where many were reminded of their own fam­ily. With its touch of nature along with the close companionship shared among the participants, birthday girl April Lee (who had her birthday on that day) most likely spoke for many others when she said that this special day will remain with the Chinese Cell Group forever.

Prof Dr Krasae Chanawongse speaks at University management seminar at Muak Lek

On Sunday, October 11th, 2009, Asia-Pacific International University had the honor to welcome Professor Dr Krasae Chana­wongse who was invited to speak at the management seminar on the topic “Lead­ership in a Changing World.” The seminar was organized by the Principles of Manage­ment class that is lectured by Mr Sundaresan Mohan.
About 500 students, faculty members, and guests gathered at the Kiti-Tasanee auditorium to hear the speak­er, who is a winner of the prestigious Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership in 1973. Amongst other highly decorated honors and positions, he is the former Foreign Minister and former Minister for University Affairs in Thailand.
Speaking out of experience, Professor Chanawongse highlighted the keys to successful leadership. He summed up the core of leadership in “4 L’s” and “5 F’s”. To Live with discipline, to Learn, to Love, and to leave a Legacy were the key values that he marked as the “4 L’s”. These values are to be supported by keeping a constant Focus, being Flexible, responding Fast, having a Friendly nature, and having Fun with what we do. These values he called the “5 F’s”.
The values, according to him, are time­less attributes to possess and under­score the importance of people skills in leadership more than the technical skills. He also highlighted the qualities of humor and camaraderie which helps to turn around tricky and tense situ­ations to the leader’s advantage. The audience was also impressed with his humility and simple demeanor, which were reflected in his speech. Professor Chanawongse encouraged all students to read two particular articles, “The Good Doctor from Khon Kaen” and “From Small to Tall” published in the Reader’s Digest. These articles describe his own story of struggles and successes. The seminar concluded with a token of appre­ciation by Dr Warren Shipton, University President.
The seminar was organized by students as part of their class requirements. We appreciate their efforts and thank all other helpers and coworkers who helped make this event possible. The University and the Faculty of Business were happy to host a speaker of his caliber on campus and we hope that this event will inspire more such events in the future.