The information barrier

Greetings!  I'm Christian Robicheau and it's shaping up to be another pleasant winter weekend.  February is here; a short month and hopefully it will help us to feel a bit better about ourselves.
Today, I am pleased to introduce an editorial by our president Donna J. Jodhan.  Here now is Donna and I wish you a great weekend.
 
 
The information barrier
By Donna J. Jodhan
 
I don't think that this topic would come as a shocker or shaker to anyone within the blind and visually impaired community but sad to say, it just might within the sighted world.  There are so many of our sighted friends and associates who still do not understand when we complain that information barriers still exist for us and that they are very mountainous.  The majority of websites are still guilty of not granting us equal access to information.  Companies and organizations still continue to send out information in printed formats that are still not accessible to us and reachable by us.  Important emergency procedures are still not in alternate formats that we can read and manuals that come with equipment and appliances are still not being produced in alternate formats.
 
For some inexplicable reason, websites continue to offer forms and downloadable files in PDF formats and even our Federal government is guilty of the same.  Many websites are still offering forms that are not totally accessible to us.  We are already living in a world of darkness so to speak but the information barrier makes our world even darker.  Everyone needs information in order to keep up with their surroundings, learn, and understand.  We are living in an information based society and as blind and visually impaired persons it is imperative that we have equal access to information.  Inadequate access to information on the Internet means that we are unable to independently garner knowledge and we need to depend on sighted assistance to help us.  Inaccessible forms means that we are unable to take full advantage of e commerce opportunities and access information that requires us to complete forms in order to receive information.  Inaccessible forms also mean that we are unable to apply for jobs and funding and as a result we need to again depend on sighted assistance. 
 
If procedures, especially emergency procedures are not available to us, then we have to again depend on sighted assistance and in addition, we are often at the mercy of kindness and compassion on the part of others.  Nowadays, there is no excuse for not being able to make information available in a format that we can read.  Information is almost always developed electronically so why can't society in general take that extra little step to make it available to us?  Via email, or in other alternate formats?  It is time for us to make a committed effort to break down the information barrier.
 

 

I'm Donna J. Jodhan wishing you a terrific day and weekend.
To reach me, please send an email to info@sterlingcreations.ca and I would be delighted to send you an electronic copy of our latest newsletter.
 
Here is a complete list of where you can view Donna's blogs and editorials.
Donna Jodhan!  Advocating accessibility for all
http://www.donnajodhan.blogspot.com 
a weekly feature on important answers to consumers concerns
http://www.sterlingcreations.com/businessdesk.htm
Weekly blogs for language professionals and accessibility consultants
http://www.sterlingcreations.ca/blog/blog.html
A monthly editorial on issues on diversity
http://www.diversityintheworkplace.ca
a monthly editorial on business issues and concerns
http://www.sterlingcreations.ca/magazine.html 
weekly editorials on accessibility issues in Canada
http://www.accessibilitynews.ca/acnews/editorials/donna.php
Editorials:  An International perspective on issues of accessibility and disability
http://www.accessibilitynewsinternational.com (under the editorials section, an international perspective)
A general perspective on issues of access and accessibility
http://numpadplus.com/blog/?page_id=7 

 

 

Your best American cities

Hello there!  I'm Donna J. Jodhan and it's that time once again.  It's travel time, and time for us to be ready to spread our wings in preparation for an exciting flight.  So, come now with me and let's visit some of America's best cities of the day.
Have fun!

Week of January 30 2009

 

Your best American cities
 
1. Philadelphia Pennsylvania
Are you looking for a city with a difference?
A city known for its fine dining, its greenery, and its friendliness?
That's Philadelphia and this city has been tagged as one of the healthiest, one of the most environmentally ffriendly, and one of the top American cities for young professionals.
Philadelphia is known for its history, great foods, and place for anyone who wants to start new or start fresh.
If you're looking for a city with tradition and flare, then that's Philadelphia!
 
2. Lexington Kentucky
Are you a young professional seeking lucrative opportunities?
Or a blue collar worker seeking employment in a budding and thriving manufacturing industry?
Then it's time for you to check out Lexington Kentucky.
A city with culture, festivals, history, and so much more.
A city with lots to do including horseback riding, and thorough bred racing.
A city with rolling hills and fast flowing creeks.
If you're seeking a city with one of the most stable economies in America, then why not Lexington?
 
3. Madison Winscosin
Are you looking for a city that has everything to offer so to speak?
A city with one of the lowest rates of employment in America, a very flourishing economy, and rich entertainment?
A city that offers tons of festivals including one of the longest and largest fireworks festivals that includes coordinated music?
A city with summer sports that range from biking, sailing, and hiking in the summer to ice skating, ice hockey, and ice fishing in the winter?
A city with bicycling lanes in the city and a city that takes care of its cycling population in a big way?
Then you need to hurry on down to Madison Wisconsin.
 
4. Tulsa Oklahoma
Are you looking for that all-American city to relocate to?
As wholesome as mom's apple pie?
Then Tulsa Oklahoma may be for you.
A city with a community spirit, with friendly neighborhoods and homely suburbs surrounding its metropolitan area.
A city made up of associations and clubs with members who yearn to make you feel at home.
A city with lots of arts and historic districts.
Why not give Tulsa a chance.
 

 

I'm Donna J. Jodhan bidding you a happy travel time.
Visit me at www.sterlingcreations.ca if you would like to learn more.
Or send me an email at donnajodhan@sterlingcreations.ca.

 

 

Poverty blights Canada's quality-of-life rating

Greetings!  I'm Nico Trimoff, manager of transcription and accessibility services at www.sterlingcreations.ca.
Well, I guess you can't have it both ways.  A few weeks ago, I shared an article with you about Canada's high ranking on its quality of life.  Now here is another article that talks about its poverty.
I'll let you be the judge of it all.
Have a great day.
 

 

Poverty blights Canada's quality-of-life rating

 

Edmonton Journal , Sept. 18, 2009

 

Canada's growing poverty rates are dragging down the country's grades when
it comes to quality of life, according to an annual report card ranking the
social performance of 17 developed countries.

 

In the report, released Thursday by the Conference Board of Canada, the
nation ranked ninth overall, an improvement of one place over last year. It
concluded that Canada's "middle-of-the-pack ranking means it is not living
up to its reputation or its potential."

 

Driving down Canada's score is the alarming number of children living in
poverty, as defined by the United Nations and the Organization for Economic
Co-operation and Development.

 

The report card gives Canada a D grade, placing it near the bottom of the
list at 15th out of 17 countries, ahead of Japan and the United States.

 

The top-ranked countries are Denmark, Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands.

 

Lead author Brenda Lafleur says the child poverty rate in Canada rose to
15.1 per cent in the mid-2000s from 12.8 per cent in the mid-1990s,
according to the latest data available from the OECD and the United Nations,
which look at poverty relative to social inclusion.

 

"So there are children who don't have enough food, shelter ...but then (the
data) looks at how much it costs to go to school," she said.

 

"What does it mean for a kid who can't go on a field trip or join a book
exchange or have runners to take gym? All these things add up."

 

The OECD defines child poverty as the proportion of children under 17 living
in households where the disposable income is less than 50 per cent of the
median of the country.

 

In Canada, the median income is $63,600 for families with two or more
people. For single people it is $22,800.

 

If you would like to learn more about us and the services we offer, then please visit www.sterlingcreations.ca
If you would like to keep abreast of some of the most important happenings affecting your lives today, then please visit http://www.sterlingcreations.com/businessdesk.htm.  There you will get the latest news roundups on such topics as:
Stress, anxiety, and depression. News for retirees, seniors, and aging baby boomers.  Security tips for home computer users.  Home business opportunities, Internet business opportunities, small business opportunities, business opportunities in Asia.  You will also learn how to obtain tremendous personal and financial satisfaction by selling your knowledge and experience.

What's Not to Like About Twitter's New Retweet Feature?

Greetings!  I'm Mark Micheau, manager of research and translation services at www.sterlingcreations.ca. 
Ah, the middle of the week already and today my article sharing focuses on one about Twitter and its re-tweets.
Enjoy your day wherever you are.
 

What's Not to Like About Twitter's New Retweet Feature?
November 21, 2009
http://www.WebProNews.com

 

Are you happy with the way Twitter is changing its interface?
Comment here.

 

 

 

What's Not to Like About Twitter's New Retweet Feature?
Chris Crum | Staff Writer

 

Some Twitter Users Taking Issue with Twitter's New Retweeting Method

 

Twitter is of course in the process of rolling out a new retweet feature. The feature adds a retweet button to each tweet on your timeline, much like the "reply" button that has always been there. However, one distinct difference between these two buttons is that where the reply button fills out your form with the proper information ("@username"), the retweet button sends the initial tweet to your followers' timelines without giving you your own tweet.

 

Are You Utilizing Search & Social Media Together? Click Here Now!
 

 

--
Do you prefer the old way of retweeting or the new way?
Share your thoughts here.
--

 

In other words, you don't get to add anything to it, you're just duplicating a tweet that came to you and sending it to your followers. You're forwarding it.

 

There are things to like about the feature. For one it's more convenient if you just want to pass on an interesting tweet. If you're the one being retweeted, it puts you in the spotlight in other people's streams rather than the person who retweeted you. It kind of feels like you're getting more credit for your tweets, although if you are just tweeting a link to someone else's blog post that might not necessarily come off as a positive. Twitter CEO Evan Williams put up an interesting blog post last week defending the feature before it even had much of a chance to get torn apart by users. He knew it would be controversial, and he even acknowledged that fact.
 As happens when any heavily-used site makes changes, some people get upset about it. Lisa Barone at outSpoken Media made a list of "things that suck" about the new retweet feature, and she brings up a number of good points, but her biggest peeve seems to be that of the avatars of people she doesn't know showing up in her stream.

 

"Showing the unfamiliar avatar does not give me 'more context' for the tweet. It gives me less because I don't know this individual," she says. "If I were to see Rae's avatar, I'd know to trust the content. I'd know it already passed the snuff test. When I see someone else's avatar, I'm thrown off and confused. Will I get used to it? No, I'll simply learn to ignore things from people I don't know."

 

She has a valid point in that seeing unfamiliar faces can be a bit off-putting, but aren't the retweets still passing the "snuff test" since they are still being retweeted by people you follow? It's not like these "strangers" are actually coming in and spamming us. It's just a visually different way of presenting them. Whether or not we like that is one thing, but it's a retweet from someone we're following just as it was before in this regard. A great many Twitter users probably don't even recognize half of the people they follow anyway.

 

That said, there are a number of other issues with the feature, as Barone points out. Some of the ones she touches on are:
 - Can't add own commentary (what if you don't agree with what you're retweeting?)
- Plays down user's visibility in own network
- Changes the definition of retweeting (makes it more like a Facebook "like")

 

The feature is still in limited beta testing, so regardless of what you feel about the feature, there is a possibility it will change. Even still, if you don't like the feature, you don't have to use it. You can still use the classic "RT" method just as you have always done. You just have a new option now. Depending on how many of the people you follow use the new feature, your Twitter experience can be affected more or less by it.

 

--
Are you getting the new retweet feature yet? What is your opinion? What do you like about it? What do you dislike about it. Tell WebProNews readers what you think about it.
--

 

If you would like to learn more about us and the services we offer, then please visit www.sterlingcreations.ca
If you would like to keep abreast of some of the most important happenings affecting your lives today, then please visit http://www.sterlingcreations.com/businessdesk.htm.  There you will get the latest news roundups on such topics as:
Stress, anxiety, and depression. News for retirees, seniors, and aging baby boomers.  Security tips for home computer users.  Home business opportunities, Internet business opportunities, small business opportunities, business opportunities in Asia.  You will also learn how to obtain tremendous personal and financial satisfaction by selling your knowledge and experience.

 

 

How Can Your New Virtual Assistant Generate International Business ...

How Can Your New Virtual Assistant Generate International Business ...
By Donna J. Jodhan
 
Have you ever thought of using a virtual assistant to help you gain international business?  Do you know how a virtual assistant works?
This is the growing trend today; using virtual assistants on your website to attract users of all languages.  It first started off in the English language arena but due to its popularity it is fast gaining a great reputation in other arenas.  For Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, French, and so on.
 
If you are a small business in the international arena, then maybe, you should be looking into this type of strategy.  A virtual assistant can go miles to make you money.  However, don't go crazy trying to use it with any and every language.  Use it well and use it to attract customers who speak some of the more popular languages. 
 
I am going to leave you with a terrific reference to check out.  One that gives you a much better picture than the one that I have just outlined.  Please see below.

 

How Can Your New Virtual Assistant Generate International Business ...
By Legitimate Home Business
1 - English language online fight is the most difficult one in the Online Global Business. World Internet Users by Language in Million English: 452M Chinese: 321,4M Spanish: 122M Japanese: 94M French: 73M Portuguese: 73M German: 60M ... For your English to European translation, make certain you always trade with a trained translator who is knowledgeable and unswerving. And you should expect good translation for your enterprise. When it comes to internet company solution, ...
Legitimate Home Based Business -
http://onlinemoneymakin.com/blog/  
 

 

I'm Donna J. Jodhan wishing you a terrific day.
Donna J. Jodhan is the president of Sterling Creations
Now you can view blogs and editorials written by Donna at:
http://www.donnajodhan.blogspot.com (Donna Jodhan!  Advocating accessibility for all)
 http://numpadplus.com/blog/?page_id=7 (access and accessibility)
http://www.accessibilitynews.ca/acnews/editorials/donna.php (accessibility issues in Canada)
http://www.accessibilitynewsinternational.com (under the editorials section, an international perspective)
http://www.onestopbookcafe.com (under the café talk link) 
http://www.sterlingcreations.com/businessdesk.htm (important answers to consumers concerns)
http://www.diversityintheworkplace.ca (monthly editorial on issues concerning diversity)
http://www.sterlingcreations.ca/magazine.html (monthly editorial)
http://www.sterlingcreations.ca/blog/blog.html (blogs for language professionals and accessibility consultants)

Jobs and careers identified

Greetings everyone!  I'm Jill Christiansen, manager of writing services at www.sterlingcreations.ca.  Today, I have some very important headlines to share with you; pharmaceutical news plus more.
I invite you to read on.

 

Week of Jan 23
Jobs and careers identified

 

How is the increase of the retiree population going to affect the labor market?
Shortages of skills or maybe an influx?
Please read on.
Pharmacy Choice - Pharmaceutical News - 'Graying' population will ...
Since World War II, Florida has beckoned retirees looking to spend their golden years in ... She said the pool of workers for labor-oriented and high-skill jobs , ... Over the next two decades, 80 million Baby Boomers born from 1946 to 1964 ... the aging of the Baby Boom generation, which was huge - much larger than ...
Read more at:
http://www.pharmacychoice.com/News/article.cfm?Article_ID=488462
 
Should retirees consider bridge employment in order to preserve their income levels?
Or, what else should they be doing?
Please read on.
SIOP News
The authors say this may be because retirees who take jobs not related to their ... due to numerous baby boomers retiring might consider bridge employment ...
Read more at:
http://www.siop.org/article_view.aspx?article=660
 
How confident are boomers that their retirement incomes will be safe when they need it?
Should they be worried?
Please read on.
Seven In Ten Baby Boomers Now Less Confident Their
Of those baby boomers with retirement savings, seven in ten said they ... Many retirees are surprised by healthcare costs in retirement – which ... Encore careers, entrepreneurial ventures and part-time work are just a few of the options. ... experienced senior executives in aging, insurance and financial services ...
Read more at:
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/16088403/Seven-In-Ten-Baby-Boomers-Now-Less-Confident-Their
 

 

If you would like to learn more about us and the services we offer, then please visit www.sterlingcreations.ca
If you would like to keep abreast of some of the most important happenings affecting your lives today, then please visit http://www.sterlingcreations.com/businessdesk.htm.  There you will get the latest news roundups on such topics as:
Stress, anxiety, and depression. News for retirees, seniors, and aging baby boomers.  Security tips for home computer users.  Home business opportunities, Internet business opportunities, small business opportunities, business opportunities in Asia.  You will also learn how to obtain tremendous personal and financial satisfaction by selling your knowledge and experience.

Technological barriers in the workplace

Greetings!  I'm Scott Savoy, editor of writing services at www.sterlingcreations.ca and today, I am pleased to introduce an editorial by our president Donna J. Jodhan.  This week Donna focuses on technological barriers in the workplace as they pertain to disabled workers.
I invite you to read on and I wish you a great weekend.
 
 
Technological barriers in the workplace
 
It is probably never going to go away but the truth is; disabled employees may always have to face some sort of technological barrier in the workplace.  Why is this?  Because the evolution of technology is moving at a much faster rate than the development of access technology for disabled users.  This is a chronic challenge that disabled persons will probably always have to deal with both at home and in the workplace and it includes both hardware and software as well as access to information.  This should not come as a shocker or shaker to anyone who has knowledge of this topic.  I will focus my attention on three types of technological barriers:  Hardware, software, and access to information.
 
In the case of hardware:  The technological barriers may be a bit less in that keyboards are fairly user friendly to disabled persons but when it comes to using such things as touch screen technology and dealing with flashing indicators on phones for example, then these problems will continue to exist unless there are other hard coded ways to deal with them.  Strides continue to be made in this area but as I mentioned above, three steps forward for mainstream technology computes into at best one step forward for access or adaptive technology for the disabled.  If we're talking about the workplace, then the hardware to consider would range from computer keyboards to scanners, and from phones to PDAs.  If I have missed out on mentioning of any other piece of hardware, then my apologies.
 
In the case of software:  Many of the operating systems that are used today are for the most part accessible to persons with disabilities but the real challenge comes when so-called add-ons are included.  Disabled persons, in particular blind and visually impaired persons, often run into problems because of incompatibility between the mainstream software in question and their access or adaptive software.  This is mainly due to the graphical interfaces that mainstream software is made up of and the inability of screen reading software to decipher graphical interfaces. 

 

An example would be:  A piece of mainstream software that needs to be installed and the installation process is made up of a graphical interface.  Another example would be when the disabled user tries to use the piece of mainstream software itself and the software is not very user friendly because of icons that need to be clicked on.  Blind and visually impaired users are unable to use a mouse to click.  Many employees in the workplace are often called upon to install or download software either from the Internet or from CDs.  One thing that comes to mind for me is the difficulty that blind and visually impaired persons continue to face in environments that require them to communicate with screens that contain a lot of graphical information.  Typically, in help desk and banking types of environments.
 
Access to information:  In the case of blind and visually impaired users and the print disabled as a whole, The problem often occurs when they are unable to access information on the Internet.  Some of the primary offenders of this situation come as a result of the following:  Websites that are not user friendly or accessible, access or adaptive software that is unable to decipher website content that includes forms and downloads, and websites that do not provide information in alternate formats.  I will note here that information provided in PDF format is not considered to be an alternate format.

 

To summarize:  Disabled employees in the workplace will continue to face technological barriers for as long as access or adaptive technology is unable to keep up with evolution of mainstream technology.  Technological barriers include access to hardware, software, and access to information.  The print disabled in particular blind and visually impaired employees are the most affected.
 

 

I'm Donna J. Jodhan wishing you a terrific day and weekend.
To reach me, please send an email to info@sterlingcreations.ca and I would be delighted to send you an electronic copy of our latest newsletter.
 
Here is a complete list of where you can view Donna's blogs and editorials.
Donna Jodhan!  Advocating accessibility for all
http://www.donnajodhan.blogspot.com 
a weekly feature on important answers to consumers concerns
http://www.sterlingcreations.com/businessdesk.htm
Weekly blogs for language professionals and accessibility consultants
http://www.sterlingcreations.ca/blog/blog.html
A monthly editorial on issues on diversity
http://www.diversityintheworkplace.ca
a monthly editorial on business issues and concerns
http://www.sterlingcreations.ca/magazine.html 
weekly editorials on accessibility issues in Canada
http://www.accessibilitynews.ca/acnews/editorials/donna.php
Editorials:  An International perspective on issues of accessibility and disability
http://www.accessibilitynewsinternational.com (under the editorials section, an international perspective)
A general perspective on issues of access and accessibility
http://numpadplus.com/blog/?page_id=7 

Your best American cities

Hello there!  I'm Donna J. Jodhan and today is our day for travel and pleasure.  I'd like to thank all of you for your wonderful feedback and please note that I am enjoying this as much as you!
So now it's time for us to pack our bags and get going!  Hop aboard and buckle up!
Have fun!
 
 
Week of January 23 2010

 

Your best American cities
 
1. Riverside California
If you're looking to live in a city that is one of America's most desirable places to live, then Riverside is it.
This fabulous city offers you a cost of living that is much cheaper than any other city in California.
It is within commuting distance of Los Angeles and Orange county.
You can live in Riverside and at the same time enjoy coastal city living at very affordable prices.
You can live in a city with majestic mountains and undulating hills.
So, for the price of much cheaper than you can expect, why not enjoy California living in Riverside?
 
2. Winston Salem North Carolina
If you're seeking a city with great opportunities; educational, career, and home, then Winston-Salem is definitely it.
This thriving city is steeped in education, health care, and research.
It is a city of great history that dates back to the Revolution.
There are homes in quiet suburbs as well as modern down town condos to choose from.
Cost of living is below the national average and Winston-Salem offers much to the sports-minded person.
If you're seeking a city with character, then Winston-Salem is for you.
 
3. Boise Idaho
This is probably America's most beautiful city!
With its foothills and a view of the majestic Rocky Mountains, Boise offers such things as white water rafting on the river and skiing on the mountain slopes.
Boise is a perfect place to raise one's family; with great educational facilities for kids of all ages; from earliest school days to university.
Boise is a great city for hiking, biking, golfing, and above all, fine dining and family life.
If you are seeking a city to relocate to or just to vacation in, then Boise is it.
 
4. Manchester New Hampshire
Are you looking for a city with great business and industry?
One that has grown from a textile town to a highly diversified economy?
Well, look no further than Manchester New Hampshire.
A city that offers terrific employment opportunities.
A city with historic districts, a terrific down town core, and stadiums for  baseball and other sports. 
A city that has painstakingly made efforts to improve the facades of its retail outlets along with its educational facilities.
Manchester is thriving and awaits your arrival.

 

I'm Donna J. Jodhan bidding you a happy travel time.
Visit me at www.sterlingcreations.ca if you would like to learn more.
Or send me an email at donnajodhan@sterlingcreations.ca.
 

Children aware of racism by age nine, study finds

Greetings!  I'm Nico Trimoff, manager of transcription and accessibility services at www.sterlingcreations.ca.
Today, I have some very interesting reading for you to look at.  Something that focuses on the aware ness of our kids by age 9.
I invite you now to read on.
Have a great day.
 
 
Children aware of racism by age nine, study finds

 

Shannon Proudfoot
Ottawa Citizen , Nov. 14, 2009

 

By their ninth birthday, most children are aware of racism and know the
stereotypes other people hold about certain groups, according to a new study
that belies the idea of innocent, colour-blind childhood.

 

"Around the second or third grade, you see a majority of kids understanding
that people have stereotypes," says Clark McKown, associate executive
director of the Rush NeuroBehavioral Center at Rush University in Chicago.

 

"I think that would be surprising to many people, that by second or third
grade a lot of kids get it, they get that there's racism in the world and
they understand what it is."

 

The study wasn't examining children's own prejudices, but rather their
"stereotype-consciousness" or awareness of other people's views.

 

The researchers told 124 children ages five to 11 a story about a place
called Kidland where Green and Blue people live and Greens think Blues
aren't very smart. The children were asked who they thought a Green child
would pick to be their study buddy or spelling team member and why, then
asked how Kidland is like the real world, and their answers were examined to
determine their awareness of prejudice.

 

The older the children were, the more likely they were to understand
stereotypes, the researchers found. And by Grade 5, almost all of them
understood racism and could explain how the bias against Blues in Kidland
related to the real world.

 

"Kids are very savvy, they are wired to understand the social world," says
McKown. "In fact, one of their main jobs when they're growing up is to
understand what the social world is made of, their friendships, their
relationships with teachers, their understanding of who belongs to what
group. We are equipped from infancy to gather the data we need to get that
stuff, and kids understand a lot more than we give them credit for."

 

What's more, the researchers found that once children understand racism, it
affects their achievement. When black and Latino children were given a
memory task and told it would measure their abilities, they did more poorly
on it than others who were told it was simply a problem-solving exercise,
which McKown says is the result of fear that they would live down to
stereotypes about the lesser academic abilities of their race.

 

Although the demographic makeup of the two countries differs, McKown said
the results would apply equally to Canadian children or those absorbing the
cultural views of any country. Ayman Al-Yassini, executive director of
Canadian Race Relations Foundation, says the findings mirror those of other
studies in which students were divided up by arbitrary criteria, such as
their height or eye colour, and then treated differently.

 

Those experiments showed that discrimination is not an intrinsic value but a
learned behaviour, Al-Yassini says, and the only way to combat it is to talk
about it.

 

"We need to understand where we're coming from as individuals, we need to
understand our emotions and to realize our values as individuals and as a
society," he says.

 

"The only way of doing it is not by glossing it over but by talking about
it, talking about the impact of discrimination on us as individuals, on us
as a community and, more importantly, on the individual who is being
targeted as the subject of discrimination."

 

If you would like to learn more about us and the services we offer, then please visit www.sterlingcreations.ca
If you would like to keep abreast of some of the most important happenings affecting your lives today, then please visit http://www.sterlingcreations.com/businessdesk.htm.  There you will get the latest news roundups on such topics as:
Stress, anxiety, and depression. News for retirees, seniors, and aging baby boomers.  Security tips for home computer users.  Home business opportunities, Internet business opportunities, small business opportunities, business opportunities in Asia.  You will also learn how to obtain tremendous personal and financial satisfaction by selling your knowledge and experience.

How employees should view social media

Greetings!  I'm Mark Micheau, manager of research and translation services at www.sterlingcreations.ca.
Today, I have a very interesting article to share with you and I hope you find it interesting reading.  All about how employees should view social media.
I invite you now to read on and I wish you a great day.
 
 
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
 Balance Out the Can't with the Can

 

A recent study found that 54% of businesses prohibit employee social media use completely. There are valid arguments supporting both sides of this debate. We've seen quite a few news stories in recent months about social media policies coming to light. We've seen the topic discussed with regards to the news industry, sports leagues, and more recently, movie studios.

 

Fears exist. Questions. "How are my employees going to screw things up out there?" The result often ends up coming in the form of strict social media policies that severely limit interactions and engagement. "Here are the things that you can't do."

 

What fears do you have involving employee social media use? Share your thoughts.

 

In many cases, these rules are very justified. Amber Naslund made a very good point in an interview with WebProNews at BlogWorld this past weekend though. If you're going to give employees guidelines and tell them how they should not be using social media, you should try balancing that by giving them some ways that they should use it.

 

 

 

In the long run it comes down to what your goals are for social media use, and those goals should influence your policies. When you figure your goals out, you should be able to figure out how you want employees to proceed.

 

 

 

You should also use those goals to influence the tools you use to accomplish them. Wasted time is one of the most common reasons companies prohibit employee social media use. Wasted time can be minimized when you plan for specific goals. There are tons of social networks and related tools available, but that doesn't mean that you have to use them all. Try to determine which ones will most effectively help you accomplish what you are trying to do, whether that be push out information, drive traffic, provide customer service, etc.

 

When you can clearly establish your goals and the tools you want to use to accomplish them, it should be easier to clearly tell employees what they can be doing with those tools to help accomplish those goals. If you've picked a tool, you must have a reason for doing so. Share that reason in the policy. Make employees understand. "If you CAN use this tool this way, we CAN meet our goal of ____."

 

If this sounds vague, that's because different industries have different goals. Different businesses within the same industry have different goals.

 

What are your goals for business social media? Discuss here.

 

About the Author:
Chris Crum has been a part of the WebProNews team and the iEntry Network of B2B Publications since 2003. Twitter: @CCrum237 
 
 
10.20.09

 

If you would like to learn more about us and the services we offer, then please visit www.sterlingcreations.ca
If you would like to keep abreast of some of the most important happenings affecting your lives today, then please visit http://www.sterlingcreations.com/businessdesk.htm.  There you will get the latest news roundups on such topics as:
Stress, anxiety, and depression. News for retirees, seniors, and aging baby boomers.  Security tips for home computer users.  Home business opportunities, Internet business opportunities, small business opportunities, business opportunities in Asia.  You will also learn how to obtain tremendous personal and financial satisfaction by selling your knowledge and experience.

 

 

How to Improve Vocabulary When Learning a Foreign Language | Learn ...

How to Improve Vocabulary When Learning a Foreign Language | Learn ...
By Donna J. Jodhan
 
Today, I would like to impart a few simple suggestions for improving one's vocabulary and these would hold true any language; be it English, French, Spanish, or Chinese.
The first thing to know is to keep things very simple.
Keep texts simple and clean and do not try to learn words with different meanings to start with.
Example, the verb to know in Spanish and in French; these two languages use different words to represent different meanings of the verb.
In French, it would be Savoir and connaître and in Spanish it would be saber and conocer.
Improving one's vocabulary is very important to learning a language and using simple translations to create word association also helps.
Take the time to learn as much vocabulary as you possibly can. 
Try it and you'll see how quickly you start to improve.
 
I am going to leave you with a terrific reference to check out.
Please see below.

 

How to Improve Vocabulary When Learning a Foreign Language | Learn ...
By espanol
Vocabulary improvement is undoubtedly one of the key elements in any language learning process, regardless if you're learning French, English, Spanish, Chinese, ... Having a translation of the text however, allows you to form links between the words and their meanings. Obviously, it's important that these texts are kept simple and clean and that they don't use words that can have several meanings that would only confuse you. Mnemonics. Although not necessarily a "new" ...
Learn to Speak Spanish -
http://www.veryeasyspanish.com/ 
 
 
I'm Donna J. Jodhan wishing you a terrific day.
Donna J. Jodhan is the president of Sterling Creations
Now you can view blogs and editorials written by Donna at:
http://www.donnajodhan.blogspot.com (Donna Jodhan!  Advocating accessibility for all)
 http://numpadplus.com/blog/?page_id=7 (access and accessibility)
http://www.accessibilitynews.ca/acnews/editorials/donna.php (accessibility issues in Canada)
http://www.accessibilitynewsinternational.com (under the editorials section, an international perspective)
http://www.onestopbookcafe.com (under the café talk link) 
http://www.sterlingcreations.com/businessdesk.htm (important answers to consumers concerns)
http://www.diversityintheworkplace.ca (monthly editorial on issues concerning diversity)
http://www.sterlingcreations.ca/magazine.html (monthly editorial)
http://www.sterlingcreations.ca/blog/blog.html (blogs for language professionals and accessibility consultants)

Jobs and careers identified

Greetings everyone!  I'm Jill Christiansen, manager of writing services at www.sterlingcreations.ca.
Today, I have lots of good info to share with you; all about what retirees are thinking and why.
I invite you now to read on.

 

Week of Jan 16
Jobs and careers identified

 

Are retirees still very much interested in living on golf courses in their sparetime?
Or, would they rather live in the big city with the big lights?
Please read on.
Retirement Living in the City - Why More Retirees are Choosing to ...
Not every aging Baby Boomer is interested in life on a golf course, neither is there ... Homebuilder & Industry News · Jobs & Retirement Careers for the 55+ ...
Read more at:
http://www.55places.com/blog/urban-retirement-boomers-in-the-city

 

What do you think may be the best types of careers for retirees?
A new career or something along the lines of using their present skills?
Please read on.
Best Career Choices for retirees
Do you need a full-time job? Or would you be happy with part-time work or even a ... Consider what you might need to do to get into one of the top careers for ..... you could follow a relatively popular trend amongst Baby Boomers ...
Read more at:
http://www.articlesbase.com/career-management-articles/best-career-choices-for-retirees-1475677.html

 

How is the fair city of Palo Alto dealing with the aging baby boomer population these days?
Very well or?
Please read on.
Impact of the Aging Baby Boomer Population on Palo Alto Services
Create a job database and listing of employment and employment training opportunities .... Key to Aging Baby Boomer Health Chiropractic_ Healthy Lifestyle ...
Read more at:
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/16280110/Impact-of-the-Aging-Baby-Boomer-Population-on-Palo-Alto-Services

 

If you would like to learn more about us and the services we offer, then please visit www.sterlingcreations.ca
If you would like to keep abreast of some of the most important happenings affecting your lives today, then please visit http://www.sterlingcreations.com/businessdesk.htm.  There you will get the latest news roundups on such topics as:
Stress, anxiety, and depression. News for retirees, seniors, and aging baby boomers.  Security tips for home computer users.  Home business opportunities, Internet business opportunities, small business opportunities, business opportunities in Asia.  You will also learn how to obtain tremendous personal and financial satisfaction by selling your knowledge and experience.

 

 

Building bridges and breaking down barriers

Greetings!  I'm Christian Robicheau, assistant editor at www.sterlingcreations.ca and today, I am delighted to share a very interesting editorial with you written by our president Donna J. Jodhan.  It's all about building bridges and breaking down barriers.
I invite you now to read on.
I wish you a great weekend.
 
 
Building bridges and breaking down barriers
 
This is something that I have been preaching for years now; we need to start building bridges and breaking down barriers.  For too long, the blind community as been going the other way on these two tasks but I think that we are finally getting it.  I have an idea to promote my idea this day and let's see what your thoughts are on this particular subject.
 
Why not make our blind and sight impaired kids the new builders and breakers of tomorrow?  Why not give them the opportunity to help us build bridges and break down barriers?  They are our hope and promise for the future.  They will be the ones to carry the torch beyond the big blue horizon and they will be the ones to help fulfill our dreams.  They will be the ones who are going to be charged with carrying on our work.
 
With all of this in mind, there is absolutely nothing wrong with getting them involved in starting to build bridges and break down barriers.  If we can help our blind and sight impaired kids to understand what they need to do in order to accomplish all of this, if we can help them to avoid some of the more common pitfalls that we have inadvertently blundered into, if we can cultivate healthy attitudes, motivation, and commitment into them at an early age, and if we can assure them that their future will be as bright as they want to make it, then at the end of the day we would have accomplished our mission.  
 

 

I'm Donna J. Jodhan wishing you a terrific day and weekend.
To reach me, please send an email to info@sterlingcreations.ca and I would be delighted to send you an electronic copy of our latest newsletter.
 
Here is a complete list of where you can view Donna's blogs and editorials.
Donna Jodhan!  Advocating accessibility for all
http://www.donnajodhan.blogspot.com 
a weekly feature on important answers to consumers concerns
http://www.sterlingcreations.com/businessdesk.htm
Weekly blogs for language professionals and accessibility consultants
http://www.sterlingcreations.ca/blog/blog.html
A monthly editorial on issues on diversity
http://www.diversityintheworkplace.ca
a monthly editorial on business issues and concerns
http://www.sterlingcreations.ca/magazine.html 
weekly editorials on accessibility issues in Canada
http://www.accessibilitynews.ca/acnews/editorials/donna.php
Editorials:  An International perspective on issues of accessibility and disability
http://www.accessibilitynewsinternational.com (under the editorials section, an international perspective)
A general perspective on issues of access and accessibility
http://numpadplus.com/blog/?page_id=7 

Your best American cities

Hello there!  I'm Donna J. Jodhan and it's time for us to pack our bags!  Time for some really great fun!  Time to visit some really great American cities.
Come now with me and enjoy!

 

Week of January 16 2010

 

Your best American cities
 
1. Portsmouth Virginia
Are you seeking a city with a historic character?
One with old and handsome homes, hotels with ambiance and architecture, and homes with elegant river front views?
A city that offers lots of all kinds of shopping?
Well, look no further than Portsmouth Virginia.
A city that is often overlooked but one that will surprise you in so many ways.
Come to Portsmouth and see for yourself.
 
2. Lowell Massachusetts
Lowell is a city that offers much to the nature lover, the history buff, the art and music enthusiast, plus so much more.
If you enjoy canoeing on the river, hiking and biking through nature trails, and swimming, then Lowell is for you.
If you enjoy communicating and interacting with artists, sculptors, musicians, and even web gurus, then Lowell is for you.
Why not pay a visit to Lowell and see for yourself. 
 
3. North Las Vegas
If you are seeking a city that offers all kinds of affordable real estate; from homes with magnificent riverfront views, to vacation getaways with all of the amenities at your fingertips, then North Las Vegas is it.
This scenic city is located at a stone's throw away from the heart of down town Las Vegas.
There is exciting entertainment, fine dining, and lots to do in North Las Vegas.
If you're looking for a city with majestic mountains and undulating desert valleys, then it's time for you to investigate North Las Vegas. 

 

4. Tulsa Oklahoma
Tulsa is one of the hottest places to be these days when it comes to affordable real estate.
Tulsa contains lots of friendly neighborhoods located in pleasant suburbs that ring Metropolitan Tulsa.
There are historical districts for the history buff to explore and arts districts for the art lover to check out.
Tulsa contains good health care facilities and it is an overall good city in which to bring up your kids.
If you're seeking a solid city to relocate to, then Tulsa is it.

 

I'm Donna J. Jodhan bidding you a happy travel time.
Visit me at www.sterlingcreations.ca if you would like to learn more.
Or send me an email at donnajodhan@sterlingcreations.ca.

Still-murky treaty could change web as we use it

Greetings!  I'm Nico Trimoff, manager of accessibility and transcription services at www.sterlingcreations.ca.
Today, I have a very interesting article to share with you; one that makes for good reading when it comes to security of the Internet.  I invite you now to read on.
Enjoy your day.
 
 
Still-murky treaty could change web as we use it

 

Iain Marlow
The Toronto Star , Nov. 8, 2009

 

The future of the Internet in Canada may have been decided in Seoul, Korea,
this past week.

 

But it's hard to be sure, since the latest negotiations for the Anti-
Counterfeiting Trade Agreement were held in secret, as they have been in the
past, and the only details came to the public through leaks, says Michael
Geist, a law professor and Star columnist, who himself posted a leaked
chapter on the agreement's Internet Policy on his personal website.

 

"We're dealing with intellectual property agreements that are being treated
as akin to nuclear secrets and that just doesn't make any sense at all,"
Geist says. "That's the transparency side of this. Then, of course, there's
the content side of it... this week, they crossed the line into the realm of
affecting individuals very, very directly."

 

If it's any measure of the public's interest, Geist's site got 100,000
unique hits in a 24-hour span after he posted the document.

 

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is an attempt to update
international law to deal with online intellectual-property violations. The
negotiations concluded on Friday and the next round are scheduled for Mexico
in January.

 

The member states, which include the U.S., Canada, the European Union, and
other states including Morocco and Mexico, hope to finish off the discussion
and make it law later that year. For the average Internet user in Canada,
then, 2010 could shape up to be a drastically different year than 2009, with
much more scrutiny given to everything you do on your computer and mobile
device - every download, upload, viewing, phone unlocking, burning, backing
up, etc.

 

One of the proposals, according to leaks, involve a three-strikes system:
three infringements and your Internet service provider (ISP) has to yank the
cord from the IP address, not just the lone user. A few illegal downloads,
iPhone hackings or movie uploads and an entire family could be without
Internet for 12 months.

 

According to a joint press release from participating countries on Friday,
the "discussions at the meeting were productive and focused on enforcement
of rights in the digital environment and criminal enforcement."

 

Bloggers, obviously, are howling, with headlines expressing their
indignation: at Econsultancy, "ACTA could be the worst thing for the
Internet - ever"; and, noting if the treaty is signed the U.S. congress
would have to rewrite existing American law, Wired's Threat Level blog said,
"Copyright Treaty Is Policy Laundering at Its Finest."

 

But one of the more intriguing developments might be what it does to the
ISPs, which in Canada are mainly large corporate entities with lots of
lobbying clout, such as Rogers, which has already consulted with the
Canadian government on its position.

 

Under the new rules, ISPs would no longer be able to simply blame users on
illegal downloads; they would have to be more proactive as a sort of
regulator.

 

Geist says, of the new rules, "It turns ISPs into Internet police. It turns
them against their own subscribers."

 

If you would like to learn more about us and the services we offer, then please visit www.sterlingcreations.ca
If you would like to keep abreast of some of the most important happenings affecting your lives today, then please visit http://www.sterlingcreations.com/businessdesk.htm.  There you will get the latest news roundups on such topics as:
Stress, anxiety, and depression. News for retirees, seniors, and aging baby boomers.  Security tips for home computer users.  Home business opportunities, Internet business opportunities, small business opportunities, business opportunities in Asia.  You will also learn how to obtain tremendous personal and financial satisfaction by selling your knowledge and experience.

They Can Work Together Just Fine

Greetings!  I'm Mark Micheau, manager of research and translation services at www.sterlingcreations.ca.
I hope that everyone is having a great week thus far and today I would like to share a very interesting article with you on social media.  Why it is not going to go away any time soon.
I wish you a great day.
 
 
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
 They Can Work Together Just Fine

 

The Wall Street Journal just ran a piece about the evolution of communication technology, chronicling the rise and alleged fall of email to social media. "Email no longer rules," the title reads.

 

Do you agree that email no longer rules? Tell us why or why not.

 

"We all still use email, of course," says Jessica E. Vascellaro, the author of the piece. "But email was better suited to the way we used to use the Internet—logging off and on, checking our messages in bursts. Now, we are always connected, whether we are sitting at a desk or on a mobile phone. The always-on connection, in turn, has created a host of new ways to communicate that are much faster than email, and more fun."

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't all social networks also require logging on to use? Sure, you can set them up to remember your info so you don't have to log-in every time, but the same could be said for most email services. That's beside the point though.

 

It's fun to look at how communication has evolved, and it's easy to declare the old medium dead (although to be fair, Vascellaro didn't exactly go that far). It's just not the case.

 

WebProNews recently ran an article about how social media will not replace search, despite plenty of mutterings to the contrary. I will go ahead and declare the same thing about email. Social media will not replace email. Just as it did with search, it may replace it in some (even many) instances, but there is room for both forms of communication. In fact, they do a pretty good job of complimenting each other (for better or for worse).

 

 

 

Reasons Email Isn't Going Away Anytime Soon

 

1. People still send hand-written letters via snail mail, even though they could instead make a phone call, send an email, text message, or status update.

 

2. Nearly all sites on the web that require registration require an email address. Some are starting to integrate social media into this process (through things like Facebook Connect), but that is still a very small fraction, and they typically still allow for email information as well.

 

3. Email notifies you of updates from all social networks you are a part of (provided your settings are set up that way).

 

4. We haven't seen any evidence yet that Google Wave really is the next big thing and will catch on on a large scale.

 

 5. Email is universal, and social networks are not. Nearly everybody on the web (while there are no doubt some exceptions) has an email address. Many places of employment give employees email addresses when they begin working there. Meanwhile, a great deal of them are banning workers from even accessing social networks.

 

6. There are plenty of people who have no interest in joining social networks. Frequent news stories about security, privacy, and reputation issues do not help convince them.

 

7. Email is still improving. It hasn't screeched to a halt with the rise of social media. There is still innovation going on, and integration with social media. Look at how Google is constantly adding new features to Gmail. Look at the new Yahoo Mail.

 

8. Even social networks themselves recognize the importance of email. Never mind that they update users about community-driven happenings via email. MySpace (still one of the biggest social networks) even launched its own email service recently.

 

9. More social media use means more email use. Look at these recent findings from Nielsen. The people consuming the largest amount of social media are also the people consuming the largest amount of email.

 

10. As far as marketing is concerned, email is doing pretty well, as many companies continue to struggle to find the right social media strategy to suit their needs.

 

Do you think social networks will replace email? Share your thoughts here.

 

 

 

Was this article interesting?    

 

Comment Now...  Subscribe to our Newsfeed 

 

About the Author:
Chris Crum has been a part of the WebProNews team and the iEntry Network of B2B Publications since 2003. Twitter: @CCrum237 
 
 
10.13.09

 

If you would like to learn more about us and the services we offer, then please visit www.sterlingcreations.ca
If you would like to keep abreast of some of the most important happenings affecting your lives today, then please visit http://www.sterlingcreations.com/businessdesk.htm.  There you will get the latest news roundups on such topics as:
Stress, anxiety, and depression. News for retirees, seniors, and aging baby boomers.  Security tips for home computer users.  Home business opportunities, Internet business opportunities, small business opportunities, business opportunities in Asia.  You will also learn how to obtain tremendous personal and financial satisfaction by selling your knowledge and experience.

Translation as a career | Simultaneous Interpretation ...

Translation as a career | Simultaneous Interpretation ...
By Donna J. Jodhan

 

When it comes to making translation or interpretation your next career, there are some very important things that you need to keep in mind.
First, you should possess fluency in English and at least one of the recognized languages of the United Nations; French, Spanish, Chinese, etc.
Second, some translation companies would prefer you to have great abilities in at least two languages in addition to English but there is a down side to this;  many of those companies who offer services in multi languages instead of specializing in one or two languages often find themselves in difficulty.
 
I have had first hand experiences with companies that offer services in multi languages ranging from at least five to at most 20 and their services are not what we would call up to mark.  On the other hand, I have also dealt with companies that specialize in three or four specific languages and they have offered much better services.  Our company for example, has deliberately chosen to offer services in French, Spanish, and Chinese; all recognized languages of the United Nations and based on our success it is what I would recommend to any budding or wood-be translator or interpreter.
 
I am going to leave you with an excellent reference to review.  One that has some very interesting and strategic suggestions for you.  Please see below.

 

Translation as a career | Simultaneous Interpretation ...
Those seeking the greatest opportunities for employment should be fluent in English and in one of the official languages of the United Nations; French, Spanish, Arabic, Russian, or Chinese. ... Translation Service companies prefer candidates who have exceptional fluency in at least two languages, though; many language combinations can often be off-putting for an employer due to the lack of specialization in a combination they are looking for. This may often also be the ...
Simultaneous Interpretation &... -
http://www.translatinginterpreting.com/ 
 
 
I'm Donna J. Jodhan wishing you a terrific day.
Donna J. Jodhan is the president of Sterling Creations
Now you can view blogs and editorials written by Donna at:
http://www.donnajodhan.blogspot.com (Donna Jodhan!  Advocating accessibility for all)
 http://numpadplus.com/blog/?page_id=7 (access and accessibility)
http://www.accessibilitynews.ca/acnews/editorials/donna.php (accessibility issues in Canada)
http://www.accessibilitynewsinternational.com (under the editorials section, an international perspective)
http://www.onestopbookcafe.com (under the café talk link) 
http://www.sterlingcreations.com/businessdesk.htm (important answers to consumers concerns)
http://www.diversityintheworkplace.ca (monthly editorial on issues concerning diversity)
http://www.sterlingcreations.ca/magazine.html (monthly editorial)
http://www.sterlingcreations.ca/blog/blog.html (blogs for language professionals and accessibility consultants)

Jobs and careers identified

Greetings everyone!  I'm Jill Christiansen, manager of writing services at www.sterlingcreations.ca and today I have very informative headlines to pass along.
Please read on.
I wish you a great day.

 

Jobs and careers identified

 

What type of advice can baby boomers give to their job seeking children?
How can they help?
Please read on. 
Use Demographics To Front-Run Your Children
By Vincent Fernando
Then there's the 20 somethings/30 somethings who DON'T have jobs, desperately seeking, unsucessfully, according to the lastest statistics, they make up the largest % of unemployed, by demographics. To conclude, Tobias Levkovich is a talking ... The next real bull market in stocks, assuming strong dollar, not phony depreciation of dollar and living standards, will be when the baby boomers kick off this 'ole dust bowl, and leave an inherentence. If there are any left. ...
Clusterstock -
http://www.businessinsider.com/clusterstock 
 
Can baby boomers benefit from a greener world?
One that will create jobs for them?
Please read on.
Trenton
Planting seeds for a greener future
NJBIZ - New Brunswick,NJ,USA
"A large number of baby boomers are going to retire, and their jobs are highly ... for example, "by having the electrical trades focus on energy careers"; ...
Read more at:
http://www.njbiz.com/weekly_article.asp?aID=79649
 
Are there really reasons for not retiring as yet?
What can they be?
Please read on.
Get a Life!: Some good reasons not to retire just yet
FCW.com - Falls Church,VA,USA
All of this is good news to baby boomers who have already become known for ... People whose post-retirement jobs were related to their previous careers ...
Read more at:
http://fcw.com/blogs/getalife/2009/11/judy-welles-federal-workforce-bridge-retirement.aspx

 

If you would like to learn more about us and the services we offer, then please visit www.sterlingcreations.ca
If you would like to keep abreast of some of the most important happenings affecting your lives today, then please visit http://www.sterlingcreations.com/businessdesk.htm.  There you will get the latest news roundups on such topics as:
Stress, anxiety, and depression. News for retirees, seniors, and aging baby boomers.  Security tips for home computer users.  Home business opportunities, Internet business opportunities, small business opportunities, business opportunities in Asia.  You will also learn how to obtain tremendous personal and financial satisfaction by selling your knowledge and experience.

 

 

 

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Could disabled workers benefit from the shrinking labour force?

Happy New Year to all!  I'm Scott Savoy, editor of writing services at www.sterlingcreations.ca. 
A brand new year and I have hope and faith that all will be well.  I thank you all for your feedback and comments and today, I am delighted to bring you an editorial by our president Donna J. Jodhan. 
Today, Donna talks about building bridges and breaking down barriers.
I wish you a great day and weekend.
 
 
Could disabled workers benefit from the shrinking labour force?
By Donna J. Jodhan
 
A very interesting question for us to ponder this day but it should not come as either a shocker or shaker.  With more and more aging baby boomers poised to exit the labour force, many are wondering if employers would be willing to drop their attitude barriers and look to the disabled persons labour force for help.  There still exists that in tangent barrier that smacks of an attitude problem when it comes to employers not being very willing or ready to hire disabled persons. 
 
With the present economic uncertainty, you may see that some pre-retirees are probably going to stay on a tad longer in the workplace, and you may find that more retirees would be seeking to find jobs to help supplement their incomes but this does not negate the fact that there is going to be a labour shortage sooner than later.  As a matter of fact, many countries have already started to experience labour shortages due to employees taking early retirement.

 

Here in North America and up until now, many companies have chosen to outsource hundreds of thousands of jobs to India; jobs that relate to call center types of services and jobs that can easily be handled by our disabled labour force.  With our economy in the early stages of recovery, I am wondering if this would not be a good time for companies to start bringing back their call centers from India and making them available to our disabled labour force?  It would be a great way to stimulate the economy but more importantly it would be a preamble to tapping into an untapped resource that can be easily trained and readied to fill the gap as more and more persons reach the retirement age.
 
 So, here is the question once again.  Could disabled workers benefit from the shrinking labour force?
I for one will be watching very closely.  Whatever the outcome, it will be very interesting to see how things play out.

 

I'm Donna J. Jodhan wishing you a terrific day and weekend.
To reach me, please send an email to info@sterlingcreations.ca and I would be delighted to send you an electronic copy of our latest newsletter.
 
Here is a complete list of where you can view Donna's blogs and editorials.
Donna Jodhan!  Advocating accessibility for all
http://www.donnajodhan.blogspot.com 
a weekly feature on important answers to consumers concerns
http://www.sterlingcreations.com/businessdesk.htm
Weekly blogs for language professionals and accessibility consultants
http://www.sterlingcreations.ca/blog/blog.html
A monthly editorial on issues on diversity
http://www.diversityintheworkplace.ca
a monthly editorial on business issues and concerns
http://www.sterlingcreations.ca/magazine.html 
weekly editorials on accessibility issues in Canada
http://www.accessibilitynews.ca/acnews/editorials/donna.php
Editorials:  An International perspective on issues of accessibility and disability
http://www.accessibilitynewsinternational.com (under the editorials section, an international perspective)
A general perspective on issues of access and accessibility
http://numpadplus.com/blog/?page_id=7 
 

Your best American cities

Hello there!  I'm Donna J. Jodhan and a very happy New Year to all of you out there.
A brand New Year and lots of places for us to travel to.  So, are you ready?  Ready to buckle up and get going?
Why not let your imagination stray for just that one moment.
Take care now and enjoy!
 
 
Week of January 09 2010

 

Your best American cities
 
1. Alexandria Virginia
Are you just looking for a new start without too much emphasis on a really good career?
Just want to start fresh in a new location?
Alexandria may be just what you are looking for.
A city with all kinds of neighborhoods to choose from.
Jobs that are definitely going to help you get started. 
A city with fine restaurants, art galleries and bookstores to browse through, and upscale malls to visit.
So if you are seeking a new location with a twist, Alexandria is for you.
 
2. Corona California
Are you looking for an outdoors city in the true sense of the word?
One where you can live close enough to the ocean to enjoy all of the amenities of the ocean?
A city where you can enjoy biking, swimming, hiking, tennis, and skate boarding all year round?
A city that is more affordable to live in than most other cities in California?
Well, here comes Corona California.
A city with lots to offer, affordable suburban homes, and close proximity to much of what California has to offer.
 
3. Rockford Illinois
If you are seeking a city with beautiful suburbs, wonderful employment opportunities, and a city that offers quiet and peace all at the same time, then Rockford is it.
Rockford is one of the largest cities in Illinois but this does not prevent it from offering suburban life.
It is home to many museums, parks for nature lovers, and cultural Arts Centers.
If you are seeking to settle in a city with a soul, then Rockford is it.
 
4. San bernardino California
Are you seeking a city where it is more affordable to live than in one of those Coastal areas of California?
A city that is much less crowded, and a city with several communities with unique characteristics?
Well, San Bernardino is it.
With a well known university, the University of San Bernardino, tax credits for those interested in research, and great employment opportunities in both the retail and service sectors, San Bernardino offers all of this plus much more.
If you are seeking a city that is nicely located close to everything that California has to offer, then come visit San Bernardino.

 

 

 

I'm Donna J. Jodhan bidding you a happy travel time.
Visit me at www.sterlingcreations.ca if you would like to learn more.
Or send me an email at donnajodhan@sterlingcreations.ca.

 

 

Customers in survey reveal they are biased in favour of white males;

Greetings!  I'm Nico Trimoff, manager of accessibility and transcription services at www.sterlingcreations.ca.
A brand new year, and so much for us to look forward to.  Hopefully, you had a great time off with your families.
Today, I am here to share a very interesting article with you.  The results of this survey may or may not shock you but I would like you to send us your views.
I wish you a great day.

 

Customers in survey reveal they are biased in favour of white males;
Satisfaction ratings vary though minorities, women gave same service

 

Kenyon Wallace
The Toronto Star, July 20, 2009

 

White male employees are more likely to receive higher customer satisfaction
scores than women or minorities, according to a study that examines customer
attitudes.

 

In a paper to be published later this year in the Academy of Management
Journal, Karl Aquino, a professor at the University of British Columbia's
Sauder School of Business, found that customers anonymously reported lower
satisfaction with service from women and minority employees performing at
the same level and offering the same service as white male employees.

 

"We expected, based on some previous research, that there might be some bias
in favour of males and whites. But we were surprised to see that in fact
when minorities prformed the same behaviours they were rated worse," Aquino
said.

 

The research was conducted in the United States and was a project between
Aquino's colleagues at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the University
of Washington and the University of Florida.

 

The study examined customer service ratings for a health maintenance
organization, golf courses and a mock bookstore.

 

The researchers analyzed more than 12,000 patient reports on 113 doctors at
the health maintenance organization and found that female and minority
(mostly Asian) physicians were consistently rated lower than white male
doctors providing the same services. In fact, the more the female and
minority doctors tried to provide better service, such as being available to
patients, returning patients' emails and taking time to talk, the worse they
scored.

 

"This is very surprising and disturbing to us. But we don't have any data to
explain why patients felt this way," Aquino said. "The findings are also
significant because physicians received bonuses based on their customer
service satisfaction ratings."

 

The researchers also found that close to 4,000 golfers from 66 golf courses
gave lower ratings to courses that employed high percentages of women and
minorities, even when productivity and quality of the facilities were the
same.

 

For the bookstore setting, the researchers filmed actors interacting with
customers and had university students rate the level of customer service.
Even though the scripts and behaviour of the actors playing the bookstore
employees never changed, the students gave the female and black male
bookstore employees significantly lower ratings than the white male
employees.

 

The students also gave lower ratings to the physical environment of the
bookstore when females or minorities served customers, a phenomenon known as
the "contamination effect."

 

"You put a certain person in an environment and people think somehow that
it's not as clean or the quality isn't as good," said Aquino.

 

If you would like to learn more about us and the services we offer, then please visit www.sterlingcreations.ca
If you would like to keep abreast of some of the most important happenings affecting your lives today, then please visit http://www.sterlingcreations.com/businessdesk.htm.  There you will get the latest news roundups on such topics as:
Stress, anxiety, and depression. News for retirees, seniors, and aging baby boomers.  Security tips for home computer users.  Home business opportunities, Internet business opportunities, small business opportunities, business opportunities in Asia.  You will also learn how to obtain tremendous personal and financial satisfaction by selling your knowledge and experience.
 

How Does Bing Rank Tweets?

Happy New Year everyone!  I'm Mark Micheau, manager of research and translation services at www.sterlingcreations.ca and I hope that everyone had a nice time off.
I thank all of you for your wonderful comments and I am going to start the year with a very interesting article.  All about how Bing goes about ranking tweets.
I invite you now to read on.
Have a great day.
 
 
How Does Bing Rank Tweets?
October 24, 2009
http://www.WebProNews.com

 

Bing attemps to rank tweets. What
makes a tweet more valid to you?
Let Us Know in the Comments

 

 

 

How Does Bing Rank Tweets?
Chris Crum | Staff Writer

 

Bing Tries to Bring Relevancy Factor to Real-Time Search

 

As previously reported, Microsoft has made deals with both Facebook and Twitter, which will see Bing feature updates from both networks in real-time search efforts. To me, this says that social media just became an even bigger part of search engine marketing, particularly with Google also on board with Twitter and rumored to be talking to Facebook.

 

Bing has already made a beta version of its Twitter search available to users at bing.com/twitter. The most interesting aspect of Bing's Twitter search is that it offers something plain old Twitter Search (formerly Summize) doesn't. That is a relevancy factor (or at least an attempted relevancy factor).

 

»» Do you think tweets can be ranked by relevancy? Give us your opinon.

 

How Big Brands Can Use Social Media - Click Here Now 
 

 

Twitter Search only shows you results displayed chronologically, which has really always seemed to be the essence of real-time search to me anyway. But Bing has a "Best Match" option, which attempts to give certain tweets more weight than others.

 

How do you put relevancy on "real-time" results though? "Real-time" is based on time (obviously). The phrase even has the word "time" in it. A search for "WebProNews" on Bing's Twitter Search gives me different results for "most recent" and for "best match". I can't see that the "best match" results are any better than the "most recent" results, however.

 

The answer is: Bing weighs tweets by follower counts. "If someone has a lot of followers, his/her Tweet may get ranked higher," says Bing. "If a tweet is exactly the same as other Tweets, it will get ranked lower."
 Sidenote: A commenter on this article made a point worth mentioning. What if a new Twitter user tweets about something highly relevant or important, but has not gotten many followers yet? That's something to think about.

 

This is of course the earliest stage for any kind of algorithm Bing may have in place for its Twitter search feature. The feature is still in beta after all. It will be interesting to see if Microsoft makes more details available for how it ranks tweets moving forward. This could be a whole new nut to crack for SEOs. Consider that Bing results will be taking over for Yahoo if the Microsoft-Yahoo deal goes through (plus there is still Google's Twitter results to worry about).

 

I'll go out on a limb here either way, and suggest that providing good content will be the way to go moving forward. That will bring in followers, and probably do better for your relevancy rankings in the future. That said, defining good content may be considered a little harder at 140 characters or less.

 

»» Is ranking in search engines for Twitter results going to be a priority for you? Discuss here.

 

 

 

Facebook Receives 1/4 Of US Page Views?
Doug Caverly | Staff Writer

 

Compete stats show social network approaching, beating Google in different ways

 

More often than not, when something is successful overseas, it's even more successful in its home market. And this led one person to wonder: if Facebook receives one-seventh of all page views in the UK (as Hitwise suggested last week), how's it doing in the US? He found that it might receive as many as one-fourth of all page views.

 

This isn't quite an apples-to-apples comparison. Think of it as Golden Delicious versus Red Delicious apples, at least, since Perry Drake, who's the vice president of Drake Direct and an associate professor at New York University, used Compete statistics to look at Facebook's US standing.
 Anyway, Drake supplied the graph you can see below and wrote, "In the US Facebook accounts for, now get this, 1 in every 4 or 25% of our total pageviews. Unbelievable! Google on the other hand accounts for only 8% of the total pageviews (or 1 in 12)."

 

Drake also wrote, "[W]hen we look at total number of visits to these two sites, we notice that Google does have an edge as the figure below shows. But, surprisingly, that edge is quickly slipping away."

 

So it seems that an interesting shift is taking place. Facebook's marketing and financial departments must be jumping for joy (and perhaps preparing to count a lot of cash).

 

If you would like to learn more about us and the services we offer, then please visit www.sterlingcreations.ca
If you would like to keep abreast of some of the most important happenings affecting your lives today, then please visit http://www.sterlingcreations.com/businessdesk.htm.  There you will get the latest news roundups on such topics as:
Stress, anxiety, and depression. News for retirees, seniors, and aging baby boomers.  Security tips for home computer users.  Home business opportunities, Internet business opportunities, small business opportunities, business opportunities in Asia.  You will also learn how to obtain tremendous personal and financial satisfaction by selling your knowledge and experience.

Are you talking their language?

Are you talking their language?
By Donna J. Jodhan
Happy New Year everyone!  I'm back and glad to be so.  I hope that everyone had a great Christmas holiday season.
 
It is a well known fact that English is the universal language of business but when it comes to communicating in a country where English is not the first language; there seems to be a growing problem here.  It is becoming more and more important to be able to speak, read, and write in the language of the country in which you are doing business.  This despite the fact that English is by far the language of business globally.
 
More and more countries and consumers whose first language is not English are demanding that communications be carried out in their language.  It is not that they are unwilling to keep communicating in English, but they are seeking to make things easier for themselves; build bridges of communications.  This may not be as catastrophic as you may think; especially so for someone whose first language is English and someone who is doing business in a country where English is not the first language.  I believe that this can only help to build bridges and solidify communications.
 
I have a fantastic reference for you to check out.  One that paints a very clear picture.  Please see below.  

 

 Are you talking their language?
Coventry Telegraph
ENGLISH is often regarded as the universal business language – but while it may be acceptable to use English if you are buying from another country, ...
Read more at:
http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/business-news/uk-coventry-business-news/2009/07/28/are-you-talking-their-language-92746
 
 
I'm Donna J. Jodhan wishing you a terrific day.
Donna J. Jodhan is the president of Sterling Creations
Now you can view blogs and editorials written by Donna at:
http://www.donnajodhan.blogspot.com (Donna Jodhan!  Advocating accessibility for all)
 http://numpadplus.com/blog/?page_id=7 (access and accessibility)
http://www.accessibilitynews.ca/acnews/editorials/donna.php (accessibility issues in Canada)
http://www.accessibilitynewsinternational.com (under the editorials section, an international perspective)
http://www.onestopbookcafe.com (under the café talk link) 
http://www.sterlingcreations.com/businessdesk.htm (important answers to consumers concerns)
http://www.diversityintheworkplace.ca (monthly editorial on issues concerning diversity)
http://www.sterlingcreations.ca/magazine.html (monthly editorial)
http://www.sterlingcreations.ca/blog/blog.html (blogs for language professionals and accessibility consultants)