Literacy News » ESL Articles

Retention: if you Don?t Love ?em, Someone Else Will

brian — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:51:34 +0000

Rachel Simmons prides herself on being able to recruit top nurses to her hospital. The 47 year old nurse recruiter had great rapport with candidates because of her 10 years of experience as a pediatric nurse. She understood the stress, responsibilities, and rewards inherent in the nursing profession. In short, she could convince her candidates that the hospital would be a great place for them to work.

The hospital’s problem was that the nurses Rachel hired rarely remained with the large, acute care facility for more than a year, and in some cases,

less than six months.The community was becoming aware of the hospital’s “revolving door”, and

patients would often ask about

since-departed nurses who had

cared for them on a previous

visit. In addition, fewer nurses

were responding to Rachel’s

position ads, and she was forced to hire outside recruiting firms to find candidates, adding significant cost to an already very challenging problem.

Does this story sound familiar? Nurses are not the only class of hospital employees that are hard to retain. As their pool of skilled talent shrinks, most industries struggle with keeping staff, but service industries, such as healthcare and restaurants, are especially vulnerable.

Rachel wanted to get to the bottom of why her nurses were leaving. When she reviewed six months worth of nurse exit interviews conducted by another member of the human resources team, a pattern emerged. Of the eight nurses who left during that period, one said he was leaving for more pay and another was leaving because her husband had been transferred out of state. But the other six all cited issues with their supervisors, ranging from inadequate feedback and a hostile work environment to a perceived lack of trust.

Why Do Workers Leave Organizations?

According to Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordon-Evans, authors of Love ‘Em or Lose ‘Em — Getting Good People to Stay, employees leave an organization for many different reasons. Workers often cite insufficient feedback and face-to-face time with managers as key reasons, as well as their sense that, as Rodney Dangerfield always said, “I don’t get no respect.”

Employees apparently really

value “good bosses“—those who

take the time to develop and

encourage their workers. It is

often said that people don’t leave

jobs; they leave their bosses, and

this certainly seems to ring true.

And it’s not just a matter of keeping your workers on your payroll. You want them engaged, i.e. actively committed to doing a good job and to the organization. In a study published by Towers Perrin in 2004, only 14 percent of workers worldwide are fully engaged on the job and willing to “go the extra mile” for their company. This idea of the engaged employee dates back to the mid-1940s with Peter Drucker’s classic, The Concept of the Corporation. Prior to Drucker, employees were rarely, if ever, seen as essential assets to a company, but rather as cogs in a wheel that could be easily and quickly replaced at any time. Drucker, without question the first guru of business management, put forth the concept that employers could achieve sustainable profits only by treating employees as valuable resources.

Retention Lessons From The

Restaurant Industry

Clearly, keeping talent engaged, happy and productive should be job one at your organization. It is a priority at Blue Ginger, a well-known Asian-American restaurant in Wellesley, Massachusetts, where Chef Ming Tsai’s management team has stayed well over the industry standard of two years. According to Chef Ming, good retention starts with good hiring. “I screen for attitude when hiring,” said Chef Ming. “I can teach just about any necessary skill to my employees, but I can’t teach attitude.”

Chef Ming focuses on all aspects of his business, but especially when it comes to his staff. He is involved in almost all hiring decisions, and asks potential candidates for a commitment to him of two years—an eternity at most restaurants. Even though such a commitment can’t be enforced, it sets a high level of expectation that permeates the Blue Ginger team. Employees get the immediate sense that commitment to the job is a requirement, not an option.

Chef Ming’s concern for whom he hires reflects his personal commitment to the individuals he invites into his culinary dynasty. During the interview, Chef Ming also outlines career paths for those coming on board. He lets line cooks know they can move up to sous chef, and waiters can move into management. In fact, Chef Ming rarely hires management from the outside, and instead typically promotes from within. This can be a powerful recruiting and retention tool.

In the language of human resources professionals, this is called “career pathing.” It involves letting employees know explicitly where they can aspire to be within a certain timeframe, and under what circumstances. It is this knowledge that enables employees to see their advancement opportunity, and understand that their organization values and nurtures its employees.

Another restaurant that has fared very well with employee retention is Bob Chinn’s Crab House in Wheeling, Illinois.With 350 employees and a number four ranking in sales nationwide, this small restaurant is truly a giant within its class. It attributes its turnover rate of 38% (whereas 100% annual turnover can be the norm) to its English as a Second Language (ESL) program. Bob Chinn’s employees attend classes before reporting to work for the lunchtime shift and meet twice a week for independent study.

In addition to keeping employees engaged, the ESL program has improved communication, employee productivity, morale and teamwork within the restaurant. As a result, workers share a common language, processes become faster without the need for several translations, self-esteem is built gradually as language skills improve, and working well together in the classroom extends naturally to the restaurant floor.

Crab House workers have reason to believe that management

truly cares about them by providing the means

to improve their lives. The outreach reflects a great deal

of sensitivity and the respect management holds for its

employees. The effort doesn’t just

help the employees. Decreased

errors in reading and distribution of

food orders result in a significant

increase to the bottom line.

The restaurant business face is similar to healthcare in

terms of stress levels, fast pace, customer satisfaction and

narrow profit margins. Both industries employ unskilled

workers and depend on their

good service to make customers

feel taken care of,

whether it be an anniversary

dinner for 12 or the birth of

a child.

Of course, restaurants and

hospitals also employ highly

skilled contributors whose

service can make or break the

organization. Executive chefs,

sommeliers, and managers

with years of industry experience

are highly sought after,

and offer tremendous value to

their restaurants. Physicians,

nurses and multiple layers of

administration provide the

infrastructure required to keep

a hospital running well and in

the black.

As a national leader in interim healthcare management staffing, Leaders For Today (www.leadersfortoday.com) connects our clients with the highly qualified professionals they need?when they need them. We specialize in recruiting interim executives?from directors to CEOs?who can fully take charge of day-to-day operations until our clients select permanent replacements.

Image taken on 2006-03-03 19:37:55. Image Source. (Used with permission)

Retention: if you Don’t Love ‘em, Someone Else Will

The Baby Boomers Retirement Plan in Thailand

brian — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 23:34:50 +0000

One enterprising lady who recently decided to retire to Thailand is saving diligently to sponsor a beachside home in her dream location and expressed the desire to spend her final days in the ‘Land of Smiles’ and eventually when she dies to be wrapped in a sail and gently floated out to sea in a candlelit ceremony! Baby boomers, along with everyone else, receive a warm welcome in Thailand and the retired American community has expanded in recent years, prompting the Thai government to consider various affordable financial facilities for Americans wishing to buy their own property.

Thailand is proud of its incredible beaches; lush forests and impressive mountains. The lifestyle in Thailand is to die for, with its warm climate; low cost of living; wide use of English as the country’s second language and plenty of opportunities for laid back entertainment.

Baby boomers who have worked in Thailand know that is a popular holiday destination with the rest of Asia and many Americans who spent part of their career working in Asia choose Thailand for their retirement. The country is quite simply gorgeous, with beautiful gardens, a perfect living environment and an impressive cosmopolitan culture. Baby boomers with the right financial criteria can attain a retirement visa to allow them to settle permanently in Thailand.

Psychological articles recommend that medical facilities in Thailand are of a high standard and there are plenty of high quality clinics and hospitals to choose from all over the country. An international ISO certificate may be applied for to entitle attendance and most medical conditions are catered for.

Local color is impressive: the fabric markets are a must for lady baby boomers with a taste for opulence – Thai silk is not as cheap as it once was but every bit as beautiful and tactile. In Thailand it is possible to find fantastic 3D wall art and expertly carved furniture at a fraction of the cost in the US and many visitors to Thailand take advantage of opportunities to ship large quantities of local furniture back home.

Psychological articles note that for many, the transition from tourist to retiree in Thailand is a gradual one. Most take the time to explore the country in detail before making the all important decision on whether to retire there. It is quite useful that property rental is low, allowing prospective retirees to ‘try before they buy’.

Dr Karen Turner, PhD, is a clinical psychologist with an interest in the baby boomer generation as the most successful and resourceful of all generations. Boomeryearbook.com focuses on connecting the baby boomer generation and providing interaction for boomers everywhere. If you are a baby boomer with an interest in the mysteries of the human brain, Boomeryearbook.com is the social network for you.

Image taken on 2007-08-26 13:48:07. Image Source. (Used with permission)

Babelfish Me Baby – It’s a Global World in Which We Live!

?Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently?

brian — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 23:34:45 +0000

“Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently”

-Henry Ford-

I am a firm believer that failure is an important part of any learning cycle. In the case of English as a Second Language, many capable non-native English speakers become withdrawn, shy and even scared when faced with the prospect of having to converse with non-native English speakers. This is simply because many language learners are afraid to dare. They worry constantly about not meeting expectations, making a mistake, or failing while trying something new. In that vein, were they to adhere to Ford’s advice and take the plunge; (dare to make mistakes, and learn from them,) non-native speakers would benefit greatly from the learning process.

Henry Ford’s quote runs counter to cultural assumptions we have about failures and mistakes; namely that they are shameful things. We are taught in schools, in our families, or at work to feel guilty about failure and to do whatever we can to avoid mistakes. This sense of shame, combined with the inevitability of setbacks when attempting difficult things, explains why many people give up on their goals: they are not prepared for the mistakes and failures they will face on their way to what they want. What’s missing in many people’s beliefs about success is the fact that the more challenging the goals, the more frequent and difficult setbacks will be.

For many reasons admitting mistakes is difficult. An implied value in many cultures is that our work represents us: should you fail a test, then you are perceived as a failure. Should you make a mistake then you are labeled as unusual. We are taught not to appear weak or to look bad in the eyes of others. Thomas Edison, on the other hand, would have never invented the light bulb if he did not take the principle of daring to heart. He failed more than 10,000 times before he found the filament that would create light for a sustained period of time. Edison did not view his attempts as failures. However, he saw every situation as an opportunity to learn, refine and narrow his search which brought him closer and to his goal. In his own: “I failed my way to success”.

In the same light as Edison, it is important to embrace the principles of failure in an English language learning context. Similarly, it is important to take linguistic risks, and it is equally as important to be systematic while trying to analyze what went wrong. This is the dynamic learner. In the tradition of this process you may find it tiresome at first because you may not know where to begin. Even if you do not recognize the cause or causes of your mistakes, truly devoted and diligent English learners are not afraid to pay their dues: to soldier on in the face of setbacks. Pragmatic-English learners are likely to fail, learn from their lessons and only then be able to come through as winners.

Such motivated learners try to reach a healthy state of mind through developing a good sense of humor. It might take a while, but eventually you will see some comedy in what happens. When you can laugh at your own mistakes you know you have made a leap forward in the learning process. Accepting mistakes as an inseparable part of the learning process is one of the most valuable pieces of English advice a teacher can give to a non-native- English speaker. The best way to gain confidence is to simply talk to other smart, capable and well-meaning people who have made similar mistakes to the one you have made. This will put learning in a realistic context and remind yourself that you are going through a process. With English language learning, there is rarely obvious immediate gratification. Instead you are aiming for deferred gratification and a lengthier learning curve for longevity: life-long learning.

A persistent learner should also engage in self-deprecating antics; be a touch foolish; make errors which will bring forth laughter from your friends or colleagues. Moreover, the benefits of humor in education have been accessed in recent research and have been proven to enhance performances; simply because it puts the learner at ease. Having slightly embarrassing moments and laughing about your language oversights always makes a great story, (in English of course.) It is important to note, that the dedicated learners always expose themselves to the world of critics. Unfortunately, the world is full of critics who play no ball, nor fight no fights. They make no mistakes because they generally attempt nothing. The person who makes no mistakes may lack boldness and the spirit for a learning adventure. This type of person puts the brakes on the wheel of progress. Theodore Roosvelt, former President of the United States, passionately pointed out in Paris, in 1924:

“It is not the critic who counts… who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, …who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at best, knows…the triumph of high achievement, and who, at worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly.”

Bill Bryson noted that English is full of booby traps for the unwary foreigner. If there is one thing certain about this language, it is clouded with uncertainty. No other language in the entire world has more contradictions in its grammar, pronunciation and spelling than English. In order for a non-native speaker to become a competent user of English, you must be prepared to become a resolute learner. Daring to learn will only advance your learning. To sum up the premise of my article from a familiar old adage: “If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again”.

Jakarta English Training

www.jetindonesia.com

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Nokia miniN97 VS Nokia N97 discount at agoodseller.com

brian — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 23:34:42 +0000

Nokia N97 and Nokia N97 Mini both are uniquely loaded with a set of latest features and innovative technologies to accomplish all of the needs and expectations of smart business people. The powerful phones are from Nokia’s well known N-series and works over Symbian operating system complete with S60 5th edition software. Nokia N97 Mini is a more compact alternative to the original N97 and there have been made some changes that you can come to know through the discussion.

Some of the details of these phones are:

Nokia N97 sports 3.5 inches TFT touchscreen with resolution of 360 by 640 Pixels and 16 Million colours. It weighs 150 grams and measures 117.2 x 55.3 x 15.9 mm. While N97 Mini has 3.2 inches QVGA touchscreen with 640 by 360 Pixels resolution and provides 16.7 Million colours. It is of 138 grams and measurements of the phone are 113 x 52.5 x 14.2 mm.

Full slide out QWERTY keyboard along with few special attributes namely proximity sensor for auto turn-off, accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate and handwriting recognition are exclusively available on both of these smartphones.

The inbuilt 5 MP camera with Carl Zeiss Tessar Lens is commonly packed on both devices and the attributes to enhance the quality of images and videos are Dual LED Flash, Autofocus, Camera Key, Camera Setting, Video Settings and so on. Additionally, second VGA video call camera is also merged in both widgets.

32 GB internal storage space and up to 16 GB can be heightened on the N97 while the N97 Mini embeds 8 GB internal memory and further up to 16 GB is possible to extend.

Broadband like Internet connectivity and fast data transmission can be done on both these phone through 3G HSDPA, WLAN Wi-Fi UPnP support, HSCSD, GPRS, EDGE, Bluetooth and Micro USB connectivity choices

Specification

Network:GSM 900/1800 MHZ Language: Chinese (Simplified),English,and other language. LCD Size: 3.0 inch, 260 thousand color; PX: 240Ã—320px Ringtone: ; Ringtone format: mp3,midi Music: play mp3 at background, equalizer Video: 3GP,MP4,play in full screen, speed/pause Camera: 13.0 lacpixel; support to shoot video with sound, the time dependson the storage Rom: supports 4G card, Document management Data Transfer: USB data wire /cardreader/bluetooth(file transmission, voice, music) Standby Photo: jpg,gif Color:silver and white Size:109*52*12 Standby time:150-300h Talking time:150-280m Telephone directories: 200 groups , incoming ringtone, group ringtone, caller picture SMS & MMS: 50 messages, MMS Schedule power on/off: support auto start/close Alarm clock: can set from MON to SUN at random Games: 2 common games More information: MP3/MP4/Handsfree/SMS group sending/Voice recorder/WAP/Handwritten + keyboard input/Bluetooth/GPRS download/MMS/Memory extended/E-book/dual sim dual standby dual bluetooth/online stock/calendar/to do list/alarm clock/calculator/remit converter/unit converter/stopwatch/world time/memo/health management/magical voice

Agoodseller.com is specializing in supplying high quality Consumer Electronics to customers,It is located in shenzhen,which is the Consumer Electronics manufacturing center of China.

http://www.agoodseller.com is specializing in supplying high quality Consumer Electronics to customers,It is located in shenzhen,which is the Consumer Electronics manufacturing center of China.

Image taken on 2006-07-17 18:31:21. Image Source. (Used with permission)

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Husband Cheated Second Time – Can I Learn to Trust Again and Get Over the Betrayal?

brian — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 23:34:41 +0000

Your husband cheated on you but together you managed to get over the crisis and were able to continue the relationship. You had just started to believe you can learn to trust your husband again. Then your worst fear became reality. Your husband cheated on you for the second time. You feel completely devastated and are wondering if you can ever recover after this second blow, let alone continue your relationship.

This article is introducing ways to heal after cheating in a relationship. I am doing brain research in the university in my home country in the field of behavioral sciences and neuroscience. I am living in Europe and English is not my native language, please excuse me if I make some grammatical errors.

It is very difficult to learn to trust again after someone betrays you or is cheating on you. If the person who commits the betrayal is very close to you, the betrayal hurts more and it is harder to regain the trust. However, many couples manage to stay together after cheating or an affair. Some say their relationship has become better and stronger after the crisis such as cheating. How is it possible to forgive, forget and get over the memory of cheating or an affair?

If your husband has cheated on you for the second time, you are wondering if that means he will continue to cheat also in future. You are wondering if you can ever trust your husband again. People can change only if they really want to change. Your husband may have understood that you are too precious to him and he may not want to risk losing you by cheating again. But even thought your husband swears he will never cheat again, it is difficult for you to believe him and to trust your spouse again.

It is possible to get over the mental pain caused by cheating and to learn to trust again. To find out how to survive and recover after cheating, visit page http://www.cheating-infidelity.com/Home/recovery-after-cheating.html

The process of the recovery after cheating or an affair consists of certain well-defined phases. In order to survive cheating and to be able to continue your relationship you must go through those phases. If your relationship has ended after cheating or an affair occurred, you still must go through similar phases in order to reach the mental balance and to be able to move on with your life. To be aware of what the future holds will make it easier for you to face these phases after cheating or an affair has occurred. To read more about the phases of the recovery and how to heal after cheating or an affair, visit page http://www.cheating-infidelity.com/Home/cheating-and-infidelity/how-to-get-over-cheating.html

It will help you to heal and recover after cheating if you understand why cheating occurred in a first place. There can be several reasons why men and women end up cheating or having an affair. Some reasons are related to the spouse of the cheater, others are not. To read more about why men and women end up cheating, visit page http://www.cheating-infidelity.com/Home/cheating-and-infidelity/why-men-and-women-cheat.html

I am currently doing research in the field of behavioral sciences and neuroscience. My special interest is the biological basis of the emotions related to cheating, mistrust, jealousy, insecurity, lying, narcissism and other problems in a relationship. To find out more about these topics and to get support and advice, visit my homepage http://www.cheating-infidelity.com

Image taken on 2007-01-27 01:14:13. Image Source. (Used with permission)

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Dragon Ball Z: Broly – Second Coming

brian — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:34:47 +0000

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(Redirected from The Dangerous Duo! Super-Warriors Never Rest)
The plot summary in this article is too long or detailed compared to the rest of the content. Please edit the article to focus on discussing the work rather than merely reiterating the plot. (July 2007)
Dragon Ball Z: Broly’s Second Coming
Japanese box art
Written by
Takao Koyama (screenplay)Akira Toriyama (story)
Starring
Masako NozawaBin ShimadaTakeshi KusaoY?ko MinaguchiMayumi TanakaJoji Yanami
Music by
Shunsuke Kikuchi
Release date(s)
March 12, 1994(1994-03-12)
Running time
52:00
Language
Japanese and English
Preceded by
Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound
Followed by
Dragon Ball Z: Bio-Broly
Dragon Ball Z: Broly – Second Coming, known in Japan as ???????Z ??????!????????? (Doragon B?ru Zetto Kiken na Futari! S?p? Senshi wa Nemurenai ,lit. “Dragon Ball Z: The Dangerous Duo! Super-Warriors Never Rest”?), is the tenth Dragon Ball Z feature movie. It was released in Japan on March 12, 1994 between episodes 220 and 221. It is the sequel to Broly: The Legendary Super Saiyan. It was released in North America in 2005.
In 2007, FUNimation re-released this movie and Broly: The Legendary Super Saiyan on Blu-ray. Both feature full HD 1080p (or 720p) resolution with digitally remastered animation, and an enhanced 5.1 surround mix.
Summary
The film opens with a Saiyan Space pod flying through space and crash-landing on Earth. The crash causes a small crater to appear, and a Super Saiyan crawls out: Broly, the Legendary Super Saiyan. As the weather gets colder, Broly’s power decreases, and he reverts back from his Legendary Super Saiyan form to his mastered Super Saiyan form, until he finally loses consciousness and turns back into his normal form. Water pours over, and freezes, trapping the sleeping Broly and preserving him.
Seven years later, Goku is deceased having sacrificed his life to save the Earth and his second son, Goten, as well as Trunks and Videl are looking for the Dragonballs because Videl wants to see Shenron. During their search, they find that there is a local village called Nataday that is ruled by a priest, who always seems to think that everything in the world is a curse. The residents of Nataday village claim that they are usually terrorized by a monster, and their only source of help is the priest’s preaching.
Goten, Trunks and Videl decide to make a plan to rid Natady Village of the monster by leaving food for it and hiding in a chest next to it. However, Trunks and Goten’s hunger gets the better of them and Trunks sneaks an apple, but Videl doesn’t allow Goten to do so, eventually smacking him across the face and causing him to cry a lot. Goten moans and cries (actually pretending) while Videl attempts to apologize, until she finally gives in and hands him a piece of bread.
Then, the monster appears, and turns out to be a dinosaur. After playing around with the dinosaur, Goten and Trunks kill it, and share the meat with Videl and the villagers. The priest is then rejected by the villagers for not being a competent savior, and thrown out of the village. With Nataday village now a peaceful place to live, Goten, Trunks and Videl depart to continue their Dragonball hunt.
However, unknown to them, Goten’s cries shatter a layer of ice, the same layer of ice which Broly is encased in. Broly awoke in the ice due to Goten’s crying (As it reminded him of Goku’s crying, which Broly hated Goku for) and shatters the ice, enraged and emerging as a mastered Super Saiyan.
Night time falls as Goten, Trunks and Videl fall asleep so they can continue their quest the next day to bring Shenron out. Early morning Videl is awakened by loud explosions in the distant and takes off flying to investigate the explosions by the nearby lake. Here, Videl is confronted by a huge, young man with white trousers, earrings, a red belt, no top, and blond hair: Broly in his mastered Super Saiyan form.
While Broly and Videl confront each other, Goten and Trunks see what is happening, and try to convince Broly to stop. But when Broly sets his eyes on Goten, his rage comes to the surface, because he mistakes Goten for Goku, due to their similar looks and cries, as well as Broly’s deteriorating mental state. Broly turns his attention to Goten and Trunks who then both proceed to transform into mastered Super Saiyans. Broly battles them both, pounding them seriously.
During the battle, Goten’s eyes fall on the nearby last Dragonball, so Trunks tries to distract Broly by mooning and taunting him while Goten gets the Dragonball. Unfortunately, Goten tries to summon Shenron behind a waterfall so that Broly doesn’t see him, and Shenron does not appear. Just as Broly is about to finish Goten and Trunks…(and so on) To get More information , you can visit some products about Portable MPEG Player, pro cd player, . The sell 2006 NFL jersey at www.greennike.com products should be show more here!

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Image taken on 2009-02-04 17:30:06. Image Source. (Used with permission)

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Dynamics GP Dari Language Support Options Recommendation

brian — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 23:34:41 +0000

It looks like there is certain interest in Afghan economy recovery, especially for funded state enterprises in Kabul, to implement brand name Corporate ERP System. For mid-size and large operations you can chose one of the lower mid market ERP applications (as for large Corporate ERP system the cost of localization might be very high), such as Microsoft Dynamics GP, formerly known as Great Plains Dynamics, or its competitor SAP Business One (SB1 supports Unicode and Dari/Persian/Arabic characters, however in GP it is probably easier to place pictures with Arabic text on the existing screens with GP Modifier or Dexterity modifications). In this small publication we will be describing Microsoft Dynamics GP adaptation to Afghan accounting system:

1. Arabic characters support. Here you will need the extension to Dynamics GP, which is in use in Arabian peninsula. Characters should be reasonably the same in Dari and in Arabic as well as in Persian in Iran. If you are looking for more budget oriented solution, you can consider entering accounting documents, such as Customer and Vendor invoices, GL transactions in English with following attachment (in separate Windows or Web based custom application, linking one-to-one to original documents by primary key) in Dari. Second approach should work, if you create separate SQL Server Database with Dari language support and collation

2. Screen translation to Dari or Persian. Great Plains Dexterity (GP architecture background) doesn’t support Unicode or UTF-8, so instead of trying to translate Dexterity string resources from English to Dari, consider placing on each form (required for language adaptation) graphical picture with relevant Dari text. It is probably not the best idea to use Arabic versions of GP translation, as Dari language is substantially different, this is why we are favoring simple pictures snap-ins

3. Printing Sales Invoice in Dari. We are inclined to recommend Crystal Reports over Dynamics GP ReportWriter. Crystal Report support all languages and it is simple enough to call CR from Dynamics GP (Rockton Software extension, for example, or consider simple VBA script to call Crystal Report Engine from GP modified form). CR can combine on the same report data from Dynamics GP Sales Order Processing tables with custom tables, used for storing Arabic characters. Or, if you decided to use your own additional tables in Dari, then CR is the way to combine data as well – this method we used to print Chinese language supplements to Great Plains SOP Invoices for one of Oriental Food suppliers in Chicago and USA Nationwide

4. Dynamics GP Localization status for Afghan Corporate ERP market. Please, be aware that in Afghanistan you have transition period, where Corporate ERP Standards are not yet casted. This is why it is normal idea to adopt modifiable Corporate ERP platform, such as Dynamics GP or SAP Business One

5. How to get help? Please, feel free to call us: 1-866-528-0577, outside of USA: 1-630-961-5918 or email us help@albaspectrum.com We are very technical and real Dynamics GP Dexterity, SAP Business One SDK and Microsoft CRM programming gurus. We have Great Plains Software Development Factory and could support unlimited Dynamics GP Customization and Programming needs. Plus we speak English, Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, and not only as native speaking sales folks, but as real technical consultants. If you prefer skype: albaspectrum

Andrew Karasev, Alba Spectrum , help@albaspectrum.com 1-866-528-0577 http://www.albaspectrum.com Serving ERP and MRP community since 1994, local service in Chicago, Houston, San Diego, Atlanta, Los Angeles. Information portal: http://www.pegasplanet.com We are happy to help you with Dynamics GP project in Afghanistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Armenia

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Development of Counselors’ Guide/ Hand Book for B. A. Programme of YCMOU for English Subject

brian — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 23:34:42 +0000

1. Introduction -:

Education is crucial to socio economic development of the individual as well as of the society. The perceived cost benefits of mass distance education have attracted the focus of educational planners. The global economic instability has made the efficiency with which educational resources are used as a fundamental consideration in both developed and developing countries. From a government perceptive, distance education appears to offer certain benefit.

Distance Education promotes the universal access to education. It is an equitable access to education. It accesses to the disadvantaged individuals who cannot attend conventional school of higher educational institutions, to previously disadvantaged people who could benefit fromÂ âsecond chanceâ of access to education, and to working people who could benefit from retaining professional updating or personal development. Moreover, the provision of continuing professional education, community education courses, and a wide range of other non formal education program via the distance education mode highlights a commitment not only to equity and access, but also to the recognition that education is an ongoing, lifelong process. Increasingly, individuals need to update their skills and knowledge several times during their working life.

In other words, distance education provides an attractive cost effective non-formal channel for tertiary education and supplements the conventional educational university system and reduces the pressure on it. It also strengthens and diversifies the degree, diploma and certificate courses related to employment. It also builds the economy of the country on the basis of its natural and human resources. Therefore many distance education directorates have been set up and Open Universities have been established.

Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University was established in 1989 in Maharashtra. It is the fifth state university in India. Since its inception, it has launched professional, vocational, technical and general programs. There are more than 154 programs run by the University. ItÂ hasÂ developed more than 1474 Self -InstructionalÂ Books,Â 329 Video films and 311 Audio films for variousÂ Programmes of the University.Â Moreover University runs more than 2646 Study Centers for various programmes of the university.

Out of all the programmes, enrolment in B.A. programme is nearly 60%.Â Moreover there are 75 courses are developed for B.A. programme, (Preparatory Programme 05, First year B.A. Programme 06, Second year B.A. Programme 16, Third year B.A. Programme 48) YCMOU runs more than 325 Study Centres for B.A. programme of the University and there areÂ more than 10,394 counsellors working at the Study Centres for B.A. programme only. Out of whichÂ 927 Counsellors(Amaravati:81, Aurangabad:89, Mumbai:83, Nagpur:48, Nashik:205,Pune:150,Kolhapur:123, and Nanded:148) are Counselling for English Subject.

Most of the Counselors are regular teachers of Conventional Universities. Unlike CE, in DE, there are no daily classes and teaching. There is a Counseling. Therefore, it needs to train the teachers to get familiar with their changing role. They are expected neither to teach nor to come daily at Study Centers. To be acquitted with the term Counselors and Facilitators and acquire the necessary skills, YCMOU is trying to train them.

2. Development of Counselorsâ Guide:

â Counselorsâ Guideâ is very useful for the Counselors at the Study Centers. They use it at the time of their training and at the working places. There are eight subjects prescribed for B.A. programme and each Subject includes Two Courses for S.Y.B.A. and Six Courses for T.Y.B.A.

YCMOU had developed âCounsellorsâ GuideâÂ for Preparatory Programme and F.Y. B.A. Programme including all the Courses prescribed for the class. The university also developed Counsellorsâ GuideÂ forÂ allÂ the subjects ,excluding EnglishÂ Subject , for S.Y.B.A. & T.Y.B.A. Programme of the University. The Subjects are Marathi, Hindi, Psychology, Economics, SociologyÂ & Politics. The language of this training material isÂ in Marathi. But the Courses of HindiÂ are written in Hindi and EnglishÂ language was used for English Subject.

Indeed ,Â it was very need to develop âCounsellorsâ GuideâÂ for English subject forÂ Â Â Â S.Y.B.A. & T.Y.B.A. Programme of the University.

ObjectivesÂ of the Research :

The Main Objective :

To Develop a Counselorsâ Guide forÂ B.A. Programme ofÂ YCMOU for EnglishÂ Subject .

Sub Objectives :

To chalk down the Objectives, Nature and Content of Courses, Unit wiseÂ ofÂ the B.A . Programme ofÂ YCMOU . To Classify the Units according to the Content and also accordingÂ toÂ the Contact Sessions . To finalize the Points for Counseling for Self -Study and for emphasizing theÂ points with instructions ,if any. as per each units and each contact sessions . To find out the Concepts and Area of Using A/V Aids and use ofÂ Â Computers . To get familiar with Evaluation Pattern and Examination System. To Conclude each Units ,in brief ,with References for Further Study . To get acquainted withÂ the Concept and Nature of Open University and the Objectives of YCMOU. To get familiar with Nature and Principles of Counseling ,Rules for Recognizing the Counselors , along with the Rates of remuneration for Counseling etc .

Methodology :

For developing the Counselorsâ Guide Quasi -Experimental Research Method was used. It was not the pureÂ experimentalÂ research.

Only â One Group Post Field Work Testing` experiment was used for the research and the responses received by them were analyzedÂ Â and interpreted.

QuestionnaireÂ toolÂ for testing the effectiveness of the product andÂ Interview toolÂ Â forÂ modifying the product were used.

Development ofÂ Â Guide / PrototypeÂ product

TheÂ guide/ proto typeÂ ProductÂ was developedÂ byÂ theÂ Experienced CounselorsÂ from the field work . They wereÂ working as a CounselorÂ at the Study Centers.

Then , it was editedÂ by theÂ two expertsÂ in that subjectÂ and according it was modified as per theirÂ suggestions.

And again,Â it was modified as per the suggestions received by theÂ ExpertsÂ through Interview Schedule

Significance of the Research :

This Research was very significant to the Counselors who counsel for B.A. programme of Open Universities especially inÂ YCMOU. They were madeÂ familiarÂ with Objectives, Nature and Content of the Courses included in theÂ ProgrammeÂ They were provided ClassificationÂ ofÂ the Units according to the Content and alsoÂ according to the Contact Sessions ,They were made confirmed about the Points for Counseling, Stressing theÂ Points while CounselingÂ and Points for Self -Study for the students . They were made aware to the InstructionsÂ given while Counseling the Units of the Programme .They were also be got acquainted with the ConceptsÂ occurred in the Programme, Unit wise, and the useÂ of the A/V Aids andÂ use of Computer at the time of Counseling .They were made familiar with Evaluation PatternÂ andÂ Â Â ExaminationÂ System of the Programme. Conclusions of each Units were given for their memorization andÂ Various References also wereÂ given for their further study .At last , they were provided a Model Question Paper of each Course for their ready reference .

Thus , this research was very useful to the Counselors ,Therefore, it is very significant to the Counselors , especially to the Counselors of English Subject .

Utility of theÂ Counselorsâ Hand Book/ Guide :

YCMOU can use theÂ Guide/ Counselorsâ Hand bookÂ for itsÂ Counselors Other Open Universities also use the format ofÂ writing the Counselorsâ HandÂ BookÂ for preparing their hand books for their Counselors. Counselorsâ Hand Book is useful for theÂ Training of the Counselors. Coordinators of the StudyÂ CentersÂ of YCMOU may use this HandÂ BookÂ as a guide line toÂ guide the newer Counselors. Counselorsâ hand Book includedÂ all the 8Â Courses of B.A. Programme ofÂ YCMOU. The CounselorsÂ can getÂ guidance in other courses also in addition toÂ of his own. OtherÂ teachers from ConventionÂ Education can also follow the method ofÂ teachingÂ following the steps incorporated for counseling. TeachersÂ fromÂ training colleges also use theÂ productÂ as an reference bookÂ for Â teaching the content of ,âContent cum Methodologyâ forÂ D.ED. & B.ED.Â teacher-students. Interested readers also use theÂ ProductÂ asÂ a curiosity toÂ acquaint with the counseling.

Suggestions forÂ Using the Teachersâ Hand Book/Guide/ Product.

EveryÂ Counselors at the study centers has to read full course first. Then they are asked to read theÂ summary givenÂ ofÂ each course. It is also better to read the reference books those were suggested in the manual. ThenÂ it is better for them toÂ think of the new concepts given . ThenÂ thinking of using audio- visual aids. ThenÂ it isÂ necessary toÂ planÂ aboutÂ counselingÂ part, self study part and emphasizing part . Planning for giving variousÂ learning experiences is the next step then. VariousÂ suggestions forÂ following self studyÂ are also helpfulÂ on the part ofÂ theÂ students. Introduction to the reference booksÂ and some description of them will motivate theÂ students toÂ read those books. ArrangementÂ ofÂ assignmentÂ to the studentsÂ will make them to readÂ the taught portion home. Suggestions forÂ preparation for the next counselingÂ for the students alsoÂ make them to read the next part of the course.

References:

1 Chaugule S.S. (May 2004)Preparatory Programme : Study center Guide, Y C M Open university, Nashik

2.Chaugule S.S. (September,Â 2004)Counsellorsâ Guide for First Year B.A. B.Com. Study center Guide, Y C M Open university, Nashik

3.Chaugule S.S.(Editor) (October, 2005) Counsellorsâ Guide for Second andÂ Third Year B.A. (Marathi). Y C M Open university, Nashik

4. Chaugule S.S.(Editor) (October, 2005) Counsellorsâ Guide for Second andÂ Third Year B.A. (History). Y C M Open university, Nashik

5.Chaugule S.S.(Editor) (October, 2005) Counsellorsâ Guide for Second andÂ Third YearÂ B.A. (Psychology). Y C M Open university, Nashik

6 Chaugule S.S.(Editor) (December,2005) Counsellorsâ Guide for Second andÂ Third Year B.A. (Politics). Y C M Open university, Nashik

7. Chaugule S.S.(Editor) (March,2006) Counsellorsâ Guide for Second andÂ Third YearÂ B.A. (Hindi). Y C M Open university, Nashik

8 Chaugule S.S.(Editor) (April, 2006) Counsellorsâ Guide for Second andÂ Third Year B.A. (Economics). Y C M Open university, Nashik

9 Chaugule S.S.(Editor) (May , 2006) Counsellorsâ

Image taken on 2007-08-15 19:55:25. Image Source. (Used with permission)

Teaching English In Japan: Becoming A Jet-setter

brian — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 23:35:01 +0000

Pages: Prev 1 2 Next

There is, in Japan, a great demand for native English speakers teaching English, but most of that demand comes from private English “conversation schools”, or Ekaiwa, or JET, the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program.

Teaching English in Japanese Ekaiwa

Ekaiwa are very common in Japan, and are “schools” in which those teaching English will be actually offering individual of small class sessions of conversations. Ekaiwa give Japanese of every age a chance to engage in real English conversation; teaching English in this way can give the teacher a chance to see their students progress in a very short time.

There are chains of ekaiwa in Japan, rather like there are chains of ballroom dancing studios in the US. The premier chains include Geos and ECC, which have upwards of two hundred ekaiwa, but there are thousands of smaller schools. Salaries and working conditions will vary according to the money behind each operation.

Those wanting to teach English in the Japanese ekaiwas can contact one of the recruitment offices that the chain ekaiwa operators have established abroad, in particular in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia. While the better schools in the most desirable locations may require degrees in English and teaching experience, many ekaiwa only require a college degree.

The JET Program

Many people, however, find that the premiere English teaching jobs in Japan come through the JET program, overseen by the Japanese government. The JET program, while it does include employment teaching English in Japanese schools on a daily basis, is really designed to expose the Japanese people to foreigners.

Most of those teaching English in the JET program are assistant teachers in Japanese middle and high schools. They must be under forty, and have both excellent language skills and a college degree–although the field does not matter–and they are not allowed to choose the part of Japan in which they will be working. If accepted to the JET program, however, their airfare will be provided. For more info see http://www.teachingjobshelp.com/ on Teaching.

Those accepted to teach English in the JET program will have to have great interpersonal skills, because they will be immersed in a foreign culture and left more or less to their own devices as far as seeing that their basic needs are met. And they will be responsible for representing their native countries while in Japan.

Given a choice between the ekaiwa and JET English teaching positions, most of those considering a job in Japan opt for the JET program, which offers better salaries and, most of the time, better working conditions. But if you are young and resourceful, and want to see Japan while getting paid for doing something that is second nature to you–speaking English–an ekaiwa job can be just the ticket!.

You can also find more info on Teaching Credentials and Teaching Degrees. Teachingjobshelp.com is a comprehensive resource to known more about teaching jobs.

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How to Translate your Blogger Blogs Statically Into 9 Different Languages

brian — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 23:34:43 +0000

Did You know that Auto SiteTranslator

is the only software in the market that translates Your Blogger blogs to make it available in 9 other languages? And when we say translate, we do not mean the clumsy way that the other language translators operate, that is by generating dynamic urls like french.php?u=http://seo.blogger.com/1/SeoTips.html for Your informative posts. This is precisely what the search engines hate and do hence Your other language pages do not get indexed at all.

AutoSiteTranslator would rather do the same thing in a clean way so that Your other language pages will have urls that look like http://seo.blogger.com/fr/1/SeoTips.html for the French version. Now how clean is that? ! This immediately gives You a major advantage over Your ordinary language translator in that Your other language pages can be indexed by the Search Engines and hence the traffic to Your blog starts increasing exponentially and hence Your Adsense revenue multiplies.

Now I am going to take You through the few simple steps to translate Your Blogger blog into 9 different languages. First things first, login to Your copy of Auto Site Translator using the username letmetranslate and whatever password You have kept for Your copy.

Now You must be seeing the Projects screen. Click on the Projects Menu on the top. Then Click on New Project. It should display a tabbed display page where You will be specifying the translation settings. You can see four tabs a Site Info, Translation, Options, and Affiliate

Now, suppose You have a Blogger blog intfo.com with FTP user name username and password as pass.

In the Site Info Tab, make one entry telling this piece of information, in the following way

intfo.com,username,pass

If You want to add a second site you can do so by adding another entry just below this one, with the same format.

But here we stick to one blog for simplicity.

After making this entry, click on the Translation Tab. Now leave the default selection for the source language as English.

And check all the languages that are displayed for the target language option.

Now coming to the Options Tab, AutoSiteTranslator has a unique feature that sends a notification email on successful translation of your website. This email would give you the snippet that you can include on your main site to link to the translated pages.

Give your email address in the notification email field.

Now for the Source Directory, since you want to translate your blog from the root, you can leave this field blank. So, AutoSiteTranslator would setup the translation for the pages and sub-folders starting from the root of your domain, i.e. intfo.com/.

To access your other language pages, You have the option to specify a folder, relative to the root from where you can access the translated pages like http://www.intfo.com/language/fr/seo/Seo_Tips.html for the French translated page, http://www.intfo.com/language/de/seo/Seo_Tips.html for the German translated page etc.

In that case, for the language directory field, you would be specifying language as the value or You can make them available on the root itself. Then the urls will look like http://www.intfo.com/fr/seo/Seo_Tips.html , http://www.intfo.com/de/seo/Seo_Tips.html, in which case you will have to leave the language directory blank.

Well, you be surprised to hear if I say that pretty much what you have to say to Auto Site Translator to translate your entire blog. Well, its that easy and I bet it can get better than this.

Now, click on Create Project at the bottom right corner and you have created a new project to translate Your Blogger blog.

You can now see a new entry in the Main Screen corresponding to this project. You can also see an Execute link to the side of the projects Options.

Click on the Execute link once, and you will be taken to the execution page in a couple of seconds, where it would say a Site Successfully Translated in bold. That as it. Your Blogger blog has been successfully translated by Auto Site Translator. Now You know how easy it is to translate Your Websites using Auto Site Translator. The speed with which Your sites are translated can be attributed to the advanced caching and mod-rewrite techniques used by Auto Site Translator. Hence Your translated website would occupy no extra space at all. The only space that is consumed is that of the cache when it gets populated as and when users request the other language pages on your blog.

And You would also be able to see a neat snippet on the execution page for the current site. This contains the links to the translated language pages on Your blog. You can either copy and use this on your websites directly or take the one sent to your email address. You can click on NextSite button on the right-hand bottom corner to finish the project and return to the Main Screen.

Well, that as pretty much I have for this newsletter that I wanted to tell You. Hope the information provided above is useful to get all Your Blogger blogs translated seamlessly, get indexed by search engines and get Your AdSense revenues multiplied.

If You want to get Your copy of Auto Site Translator, I would advise You to do so now, and avail of the special offer of just $59/- for Your copy of AutoSiteTranslator.

The world most advance

web site translation software

Image taken on 2008-09-05 21:05:00. Image Source. (Used with permission)