01/15/2007 - 01/16/2007

Diversity report raises fears of backlash

Employers should introduce positive action programmes to increase the representation of ethnic minorities in the workforce, a new report has suggested.

But the government-commissioned study by the University of Bristol also admitted that forcing employers to hire from ethnic minorities could lead to a backlash and charges of reverse discrimination.

Judith Squires, professor in the politics department at the university, and one of the authors of the report, said that for any such policies to succeed, a distinction has to be made between positive action and positive discrimination.

Expat Redundancy

The words, "surplus to requirements" or "redundancy" are enough to chill the soul of the most indomitable expatriate.

They take on an even greater significance when located in a foreign country where you are more vulnerable than you would be back home. Although globalisation has resulted in increased mobility of labour, which is good news for expats, the reality is that when it comes to cutting costs overseas, expensive middle or senior managers on generous expatriate packages often top the hit list.

UNICEF launches its global website in Chinese

UNICEF has launched a new edition of its global website in Chinese.

Teamed with the English, French, Spanish and Arabic editions of unicef.org, the Chinese-language site will help the organization reach out to millions more Internet users with news and information about its work to save and improve children’s lives.

PROMT develop new Lithuanian translation tool

PROMT has started developing the first machine translation system for a language spoken by less than 10 million people. Machine-aided communication with the outside world will become available for Lithuanians by the end of 2007. Similar projects may be carried out for citizens of other small European countries and become PROMT's new source of income.

Word of the Day: imprecation

imprecation \im-prih-KAY-shuhn\, noun:
1. The act of imprecating, or invoking evil upon someone.
2. A curse.

After a while, he stopped hurling imprecations . . . and, as he often did after such an outburst, became quite remorseful. -- Wayne Johnston, The Colony of Unrequited Dreams

Would he criticize an erring colleague? "I shall," Dirksen would promise, in a voice like the finest whiskey aged in fog, "invoke upon him every condign imprecation." -- Lance Morrow, "We Lose a Great Speaker, We Gain a Great Book", Time, May 24, 2000

Bilingualism fights off Dementia

People who are fully bilingual and speak both languages every day for most of their lives can delay the onset of dementia by up to four years compared with those who only know one language, Canadian scientists said.

Researchers said the extra effort involved in using more than one language appeared to boost blood supply to the brain and ensure nerve connections remained healthy — two factors thought to help fight off dementia. “We are pretty dazzled by the results,� Professor Ellen Bialystok of Toronto’s York University said in a statement.

IBM Develops Language Solutions

Salim Roukos is knocking down language barriers that make communication challenging between countries and cultures.

Those barriers are particularly obvious in the foreign-language Internet sites that are unintelligible to Americans who only speak English. At IBM Corp.'s Thomas J. Watson Research Center, Roukos and his colleagues have an answer. That solution is technology that translates the foreign content into English or other desired languages in about the time it takes to say hello. The system can handle translations in 10 languages.

Translation in the USA

Last month the U.S. Army bumped favored defense contractor L-3 Communications from a $4.6 billion contract to provide translators and interpreters in Iraq. A new venture called Global Linguistic Solutions (GLS), headed by retired Army Major General James (Spider) Marks and primarily formed to bid on the contract, landed the job. The surprise caused L-3 shares to fall nearly 6%; the company lowered its sales forecast this year by $500 million.

FoxLingo – the new Meta-Translation toolbar

The first meta-translation toolbar, FoxLingo, provides instant webpage translation while preserving the original layout of the page. It supports 45 languages with over 1000 different language pairs, and combines the power of 34 language translation engines, for easy comparison of different translation versions.

“FoxLingo was designed to help the world really become a global village,� says Yotam Elal, driving force behind the FoxLingo development.

Expats keep Indian Property Market buoyant

With foreign companies continuing to form new joint ventures with large Indian corporations, more and more expatriates are looking to buy or rent property in Mumbai, Colliers International has reported. ‘The capital and rental market will witness a continuous upward pressure’, said the firm in its latest overview of the Indian property market.

Word of the Day: eddy

eddy \ED-ee\, noun:
1. A current of air or water running in a direction contrary to the main current, or moving in a circular direction; a whirlpool.
2. A tendency or current (as of opinion or history) contrary to or separate from a main current.
intransitive verb: 1. To move in an eddy or as if in an eddy; to move in a circle.
transitive verb: 1. To cause to move in an eddy or as if in an eddy.

Many inanimate systems have lifelike qualities -- flickering flames, snowflakes, cloud patterns, swirling eddies in a river. -- Paul Davies, The Fifth Miracle

Egypt, like many countries, was caught up in the eddies of the Great Depression, which overtook Europe and America and which came in Egypt just as the new graduates of the expanded schooling were entering the workforce, looking for the professional opportunities their education had promised. -- Leila Ahmed, A Border Passage