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Google Doodle celebrates Franz Kafka’s 130th birthday with ‘The Metamorphosis’ tribute Google has created a ‘doodle’ in tribute to Franz Kafka on the 130th anniversary of the Germanlanguage novelist’s birth.

The doodle is based on Kafka’s 1915 novella ‘The Metamorphosis’ – considered by many to be one of the most important works of fiction of the 20th Century – and shows the character Gregor Samsa walking into a room in the guise of a large insect.

In the much-celebrated work, Samsa is a travelling salesman who transforms into an insect overnight. The rest of novella focuses on his struggle to come to terms with his new existence and the burden it places on his family.

Kafka was born into an Ashkenazi Jewish family on 3 July 1883 in Prague, which was then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

He originally trained as a lawyer but began writing short stories in his spare time - eventually coming to consider it his calling – despite only a handful of his works being published during his lifetime.

Regarded as one of the 20th Century’s most influential authors, Kafka’s works are dominated by unreliable narrators who often tell dark tales of existentialist difficulties.

Kafka’s notoriously difficult relationship with his father Hermann is believed to have strongly influenced his work – with The Metamorphosis itself thought to be based upon Kafka’s own fears of insignificance and repulsiveness to his own family.

From: HALL, John. Available at:<http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/google-doodlecelebrates-franz-kafkas-130th-birthday-with-the-metamorphosis-tribute-8685557.html>.

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CASE STUDY ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF REVERSE LOGISTICS PRACTICES IN A COMPANY PRODUCING HYGIENE PRODUCTS

Currently, it is necessary for companies to understand both distribution logistics processes and those involving reverse logistics, which is characterized by the treatment and final destination of post-consumption and post-sale products. The implementation of the reverse logistics features propelling forces and restrictive forces that assist and inhibit, respectively, its implementation. The objective of this paper is to study the propelling and restrictive forces of reverse logistics and to identify through a case study of a company producing hygiene products whether reverse logistics practices are applied, and in what form. In addition, we sought to identify the existence of specific performance indicators. It was found that the company considers reverse logistics a strategic issue and that, despite the existence of few performance indicators related to this topic, waste generation was reduced from 10% to 7% on the production volume, indicating that materials were being reused.

(ANDRADE, R. P.; VIEIRA JR., M.; VANALLE, R. M. Estudo de caso sobre a implementação das práticas de logística reversa em uma empresa de produtos de higiene. Exacta – EP, São Paulo, v. 11, n. 2, p. 13-22, 2013. Disponível em: . Acesso: 20 out. 2016.) 

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Faced with the unprecedented stream of migrants fleeing war and trauma in the Middle East and North Africa, Europe needs to take clear-sighted action.

        For its part, the UK has agreed to take 20,000 refugees, a significant portion of whom will likely be children and orphans according to report. One key aspect in ensuring their smooth settlement in the UK will be providing these refugees with language training.

       Many Syrians are well-educated and many speak fluent English. Others, however, do not speak English well enough to function professionally within the UK. The issue of language is so fundamental to our lives that we often overlook it. Several multi-million pound training contracts have failed to be delivered on account of not addressing the language barrier. All the goodwill, financial backing, and technical expertise to deliver needed medical, economic, military,engineering, or navigational training may be present; but unless there is a shared language in which to impart that knowledge, little will be accomplished.

        One of the biggest misconceptions about language is that if you “just go to the country,” you’ll pick it up. Many people believe that immersion will guarantee fluency; yet you may well know several immigrants who have been in this country for years and still only speak broken English. You might also know dozens of expats in various countries across the world who have failed to pick up the local languages of their host countries. Training and effort are both necessary.

        Though not a guarantee of fluency, immersion is a wonderful opportunity. The first issue we need to address with respect to refugees is ensuring that those who come will actually be immersed. That is, that they will be welcomed as part of larger communities, and not simply join communities of other refugees. On the other hand, immersion is just an opportunity, and in order to take full advantage of it, training and education are required. In terms of refugees, we need to consider options for the provision of language training, whether by self-study, classroom instruction, private tuition, or some combination of the three.        

       The array of needs is staggering. In truth, every language learner has a different set of learning objectives, and will require different training to meet those objectives. Coordinating the actual needs with providers in different regions and accounting for different personal schedules and start dates is a significant challenge. It is, however, a challenge that must be addressed immediately, as proficiency in English will be a key enabler of success for refugees in this country.

(Adapted from Aaron Ralby http://www.blogs.jbs.cam.ac.uk/ socialinnovation/2015/11/16/)

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Source: http://languagemagazine.com/?page_id=124967

http://www.theguardian.com/news/2016/feb/10/weatherwatch-ravilious-global-warming-limit-climate-change-uneven- arctic-europe-us

With Brazil in Turmoil, Rio Counts Down to Olympics

By REBECCAR. RUIZAPRIL27, 2016

RIO DE JANEIRO- Brazil's president is facing impeachment. The country's economy is in sharp decline. Bodies of water that will be used for Olympic competitions are polluted, and global public health officials are trying to tamp down the Zika virus epidemic.

With less than 100 days before the Olympic Games come to South Amarica for the first time, Rio de Janeiro faces more than the usual challenges that bedevil host cities, like delayed stadium construction and transportation concerns. (Rio has those, too.) The mood here, however, is hardly one of panic. Officials in charge of executing the Summer Games say they feel insulated from Brazil's turmoil at this late stage. The Olympics, after all, tend to exist in their own bubble, elaborately coordinated to ensure that the multibillion-dollar operation goes off smoothly. "The machine is in place, and it's relatively stable," Ricardo Leyser, Brazil's sports minister, said in an interview this week. "My biggest concern isn't any individual issue. lt's the small demands that all come at once."

Local organizers are beginning to lay colorful comforters patterned with the silhouettes of cartoon cyclists, fencers and swimmers - on the twin beds in the athletes' village. They are monitoring the growth of 14-month-old grass that will be transplanted to Maracanã, the storied soccer stadium that will also be used for the opening and closing ceremonies. They are pulling trash from Guanabara Bay, where the Games' sailing events will be held; mopping up standing water to minimize mosquito breeding; and ramping up a round-the-clock security operation - all while publicly expressing little worry about the unrest encircling them.

On Wednesday, with the handoff of the Olympic flame in Greece and the start of a journey that in little more than a week will bring it to Brazil, the official countdown to the Aug. 5 opening ceremony began. 

ln Rio, the race to be ready is intensifying, with construction workers here still laboring on mass transit projects that were key promises seven years ago in the city's bid to host the Games. Costing several billion dollars, those projects include a new subway line and express bus lanes that connect the Olympic Park in Barra da Tijuca to the rest of the city, which is expected to swell with more than half a million visitors.

As the value ofthe Brazilian real has drastically declined overthe last year, some have expressed doubt that the transit projects will materialize beyond the sleek, modernist weather shelters that have been built at various stations. At a news conference Wednesday, the city's secretary of transportation said the new routes would be ready i n ti me but did not specify when. To the vast majority of people watching the Games on television, however, such infrastructure may not matter.

The permanent venues for competitions here are mostly complete - all but those for tennis and track cycling - and athletes from around the world have competed in dozens of test events in Rio in recent months. "lt's about the filling of the cake," Mr. Leyser said. "lt's not about the stadiums; it's about the scoreboards."

As ofthe latest counts, 62 percent ofthe 5.7 million tickets on the market had been sold - roughly half of the total tickets for the Olympics - and 24 percent of tickets available for the Paralympics had been sold. But compareci with past Olympics, the buyers of those tickets may be disproportionately international, saidAndrew Parsons, the presidentofthe Brazilian Paralympic Committee.

For some Brazilians, the country's political and economic crises have cast a shadow on the celebration. President Dilma Rousseff's ouster looks increasingly likely amid a sweeping graft scandal, and those in line to succeed her have their own controversies hanging overthem.

Questions of corruption have extended to Olympics planning, particularly after a businessman who worked on many Olympic projects in Rio was convicted of corruption and money laundering related to separata contracts. Mr. Leyser said that the questions centered on irregularities at the Deodoro event site and that no publicofficial had been accused ofwrongdoing. "lt's more an administrativa issue than a corruption scheme," he said. "lt's basically a question ofthe numbers." Mr. Leyser called the devaluation of Brazil's currency an opportunity because it increases the buying power of foreign money coming into Brazil forthe Games.

But not everyone sees the event as a boon to the country. Shirlei Alves, who lives in the Santa Marta favela of Rio, criticized the government for spending on the Olympics in the face of Brazil's problems.

"The world is just getting worse here," Ms. Alves said, noting that she was without medication and electricity. "The government is making a mistake. l'd like if they'd take a better look at the poor people and not help people who are already rich." Eduardo Paes, the mayor of Rio, said Wednesday that the city had a "comfortable financial situation" and had spent on stadium construction 1 percent ofwhat it spent on health education. "I know people are skeptical," Mr. Paes said, citing the "huge deliverables" for the Olympics. "Of course the situation here has been difficult. But there is a commitment of the Brazilian state to deliverthe Olympics."

Perhaps the most vexing issue for local organizers-the one that may stir anxiety among athletes and spectators - is the mosquito-borne Zika virus, which has been linked to birth defects and temporary paralysis. Zika is of greater concern outside Rio, in the far north part of Brazil, but the World Health Organization has declared the virus a global public health emergency and has advised pregnant women notto travei anywhere in Brazil.

"The Olympics is a pretty effective way of taking whatever disease is local and making it global," said Ashish K. Jha, director ofthe Global Health lnstitute at Harvard.

Some scientists have suggested that by the time the Olympics start in August - wintertime in Brazil, when mosquitoes are less numerous - the virus might be more prevalent in the southern United States.

"Zika's been spreading effectively on its own, but there's very good reason to think the Olympics will accelerate the spread," Dr. Jhasaid.

But the virus poses a unique problem because it isso far beyond the contrai of local organizing officials, and so many questions about it remain unanswered. Few athletes have publicly expressed concern, but it is unclear how many might withdraw as the Games draw closer.

"At this point you just keep going," David Wallechinsky, an Olympics historian, said. "You have to continue as if everything's going to be fine. These are real concerns - Zika, the water quality. But even if Dilma is forced out of office, it's not going to stop the Olympics."

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Brazil lmpeachment: The Process for Removing the President

ByTHE NEW YORKTIMES UPDATED May 12, 2016

Dilma Rousseff, the beleaguered president of Brazil, has been confronting an effort to remove her from office, accused of violating fiscal laws by using funds from state banks to cover budget shortfalls.

Her opponents claim this strategy eroded confidence among investors, raising the government's borrowing costs and disregarding measures designed to prevent a return of high inflation.

The president's supporters contend that Ms. Rousseff was seeking to maintain popular antipoverty projects, and that impeachment over the issue is politically motivated because Ms. Rousseff's predecessors carried out similar policies.

Here is a guide to the complicated process for impeaching and removing a president from office:

Step1

Congressional Panei Debates Charges

The process prescribed in Brazil's Constitution, adopted in 1988, shares similarities with impeachment proceedings in the United States.

First, the speaker of the lower chamber of Congress, Eduardo Cunha, a political opponent of Ms. Rousseff, had to accept a petition for impeachment.

Mr. Cunha then formed a 65-member congressional committee to investigate the accusations and decide if removal was warranted. The political composition of the committee was largely stacked against the president.

The committee was created in December, but its work was soon stopped by a court arder. Work resumed in March.

Jovair Arantes, the legislator in charge of preparing the committee report on the fate of Ms. Rousseff and an ally of Mr. Cunha, recommended on April 6 that proceedings move forward to remove her from office.

The full committee, in a 38-27 vote on April 11, agreed, clearing the way for a vote on her impeachment in Brazil's Chamber of Deputies.

Step2

Chamber of Deputies Votes

On April 17, the lower chamber voted for impeachment. At least two-thirds ofthe 513 deputies had to vote for impeachment forthe motion to pass. The decisiva 342nd vote was cast about five-anda-half hours afterthe floorvote started.

ln early May, Brazil's top court, the Supreme Federal Tribunal, removed Mr. Cunha from his speaker role on charges of obstructing a corruption investigation.

Step3

The Role ofthe Senate and Vice President

After the lower chamber vote, the process then moved to the Senate, which had to decide, with a sim pie majority vote, whether to accept the charges.

On May 12, the Senate voted 55 to 22 to begin the triai, resulting in Ms. Rousseff's suspension. The vice president then took over, with the authority to appoint ministers and enact policy.

Michel Temer, the vice president who assumed the president's office, is a member of the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party. His party had been a crucial part of Ms. Rousseff's governing coalition, but it recently voted to split with her Workers' Party, which significantly increased the odds of Ms. Rousseff's impeachment.

Mr. Temer, 75, was himself under scrutiny over claims that he was involved in an illegal ethanol purchasing scheme.

Step4

Removal or Reinstatement

The Senate triai will be overseen by the chief justice of the Suprema Federal Tribunal, Ricardo Lewandowski. Two-thirds of the 81 senators must vote in favor of removing the president from office. lf that happens, Mr. Temer would serve as president for the remainder of Ms. Rousseff's term through the end of 2018.

lf no decision is reached within 180 days, the suspension of the president ends.

Asked in a recent interview with The New York Times whether she would accept a vote to impeach her, Ms. Rousseff, 68, said, "We will appeal with every legal method available."

She has that option: "She can appeal at any moment she finds something legally questionable occurring in the process," said Brasílio Sallum Jr., a professor of sociology at the University of São Paulo and an expert in Brazil's political processes.

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Brain Development: Can Teaching Make a

Difference?

It has long been known that different regions of the brain have specialized functions. For example, the frontal lobes are involved in abstract reasoning and planning, while the posterior lobes are involved in vision. Until recently, it was believed that these specialized regions developed from a genetic blueprint that determined the structure and function of specific areas of the brain. That is, particular areas of the brain were designed for processing certain kinds of information from birth.

New evidence suggests that the brain is much more malleable than previously thought. Recent findings indicate that the specialized functions of specific regions of the brain are not fixed at birth but are shaped by experience and learning. To use a computer analogy, we now think that the young brain is like a computer with incredibly sophisticated hardwiring, but no software. The software of the brain, like the software of desktop computers, harnesses the exceptional processing capacity of the brain in the service of specialized functions, like vision, smell, and language. All individuals have to acquire or develop their own software in order to harness the processing power of the brain with which they are born.

A number of studies support this view. However, all were carried out on animals, because it is not possible to do such research with humans. Caution is called for when extrapolating these findings to humans.

These findings may have implications for language educators: for one thing, that teaching and teachers can make a difference in brain development, and that they shouldn’t give up on older language learners.

Source: http://carla.umn.edu/immersion/acie/vol5/Nov2001_

BrainResearch.html (Edited.)