Re: [tlug] Running without Gnome/KDE/xfce/whatever. (was: Ubuntu 16.04-LTS Japanese Text Input)

[Raymond Wan <rwan.kyoto@example.com>]

On Sat, Apr 30, 2016 at 2:35 AM, Stephen J. Turnbull <stephen@example.com> wrote:
> Raymond Wan writes:
> At least in the U.S., there's a ray of hope.  A lot of people dislike
> the SEI's approach to planning (for good and sufficient reason), but
> Watts Humphrey's "PSP" series really is excellent (but don't bother
> with "Discipline" unless you need to qualify for ISO 9000).  Humphrey
> wrote somewhere that the adoption rates in university courses and
> attendance at SEI courses are "gratifying", so apparently it is being
> taught somewhere. :-)  Not at Tsukuba-dai, though.


Hmmmm, I haven't looked into Watts Humphrey's work.   I'll try to read
a bit of it -- thanks!


> graduating the vocational track with skills like carpentry and 6502
> assembly language programming :-) at 17, ready to become cannon fodder
> for corporate manufacturing.  North America and Japan tend to insist
> on a college degree, so as you get down below median, practically
> speaking you're going to have to weaken the curriculum to emphasize
> skills rather than decision-making.


Well, you might as well add Hong Kong to that list.  It might reflect
a bit on China since this city's tertiary education is increasingly
looking to mainland China for students.  No doubt the universities
here are adjusting their curriculums gradually to fit the needs of the
students there.

I do remember a time when vocational colleges did offer fairly decent
jobs -- perhaps even better than the ones for university graduates.
At least it provided a clear separation of the two.  But those times
are gone now.


>  > Yes, it would be nice if I had contractors on hand to approach that I
>  > trust.
>
> Ahem, that's why you should hang out in LUGs and FLOSS projects, on
> company time if possible.  That's where you meet people who can
> connect you with people!


Yes...well, the LUGs in Hong Kong tend to use Chinese as language of
communication -- something I'm not very good at.  Of course, if a
non-Chinese speaker walked in, they'd probably be kind enough to
switch to English, but that makes you feel you ought to leave.

There are plenty of expats in HK, but most tend to be from the
business sector.  This is a financial hub, after all...but not much of
an IT hub.

HK and Tokyo may seem like equivalent Asian cities on the outside, but
HK seems to have problems attracting overseas IT talent.  And those
locals who are tech savvy tend to leave for greener pastures.  All
IMHO, of course...


>  > I'm not sure if curriculum reflects the job market or vice-versa.
>  > i.e., what influences what.
>
> In the case of Python, I think it's a coincidence.  Not 100%, but
> basically, Python's natural appearance of "executable pseudo-code"
> which encourages "top-down" development methodology makes it a great
> teaching vehicle.


True.  Though, it's interesting to see C/C++ drop in popularity --
both in tertiary education and in industry.  I do wonder if a
systems-level course (i.e., OS or networking) could be taught
effectively using something like Python.


>  > It would be interesting if such a study was done in Japan.  i.e., like
>  > the table in the Appendix  Has anyone heard of one?
>
> No, but I have to apply for a grant in the fall since my current one
> runs out.  Sounds like fun!


Ah!  Look forward to hearing what you find!  One recent question on my
mind was the amount of Windows versus Unix is being used in
universities nowadays.  At least one in HK seems to use Windows for
most of the undergraduate curriculum...I was a bit surprised...

But, if the aim is to blur the lines between university and vocational
education, then maybe that is a path that many universities will
follow...

Ray