Saturday, 11 February 2017

Words vs ;)


It started with a smiley face here 😁 and there 😍, a red heart pictograph 💗 to say “I love you”, or the toothy face 😀 which means “Eek I’m sorry, I’m late!” or “Damn, it’s 3p.m. and I just woke up!” 😑 Emojis are even invading the dictionary. But are they a new form of language? Will they totally replace words some day?

I would argue that some people are indeed using them as a legitimate means of communicating. Famous novels such as Moby Dick 🐳 have been “translated” into emoji signs. Many linguists say that it is a real problem, making communication simplistic and our language skills deteriorate 😶. But, paradoxically, the emoji versions of novels have actually revived interest in literature 📚… and the Bible!

The first emoticon was created in 1982 by Scott E. Fahlman, a computer scientist at Carnegie Mellon University. He wanted a way to mark posts that were not meant to be taken seriously. Emojis are the next generation of emoticons. A Japanese word that means “picture” plus “letter” (moji), emojis first appeared in Japan in the last decade of the start of the century. Now, emojis are everywhere and they are used to show not only various emotions, but to illustrate almost everything, from Santa Claus 🎅 to a screaming cat 🐱 ! I think the stuff we type today looks the same regardless of who we are or what mood we’re in; it’s a bit ridiculous...

Most teenagers use emojis to communicate, and sometimes they converse only in pictographs. They don’t necessarily know the other person’s language! Teens love smiley 😏 emoticons; but many adults become enraged 😡 at the sight of the yellow faces. Maria McErlane, the British journalist, actress and radio personality, told the New York Times in 2011: “I’m deeply offended by them; are words not good enough?”

Language is fundamental to a people’s identity. Emoticons and emojis undermine that identity because words are replaced by pictures. Pictographs are used to overcome the languages barrier, but in the process they risk making the words of a particular language redundant…

If the popularity of emojis continues to grow, and if more books are translated into pictographs, where does that leave the future of language and the subtleties, skills and eloquence of writers, poets and journalists? Can you imagine Shakespeare having written Romeo and Juliet 😍 using emojis, or Victor Hugo Demain dès l’aube 💀, using little yellow faces 😝 ?

Alice EMBERGER wants to become a speech therapist 👍!

Friday, 22 April 2016

Money gone mad... By Benoit GLENAT

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Patrick Artus, chief economist at Natixis bank and outstanding lecturer at Panthéon-Sorbonne in Paris, published a worrying book last February: “Madness of Central Banks: Why the next crisis will be worse”. He prophesises the next economic crisis, explaining the different factors that will inevitably lead to it…

First, Artus reminds us of the dreadful crisis which started in 2008. To reboot economic activity, the central banks (the banks of the banks) gave assets to the banks through quantitative easing. This is a monetary policy in which a central bank purchases government securities or other securities from the market in order to lower interest rates and so increase the money supply by flooding financial institutions with capital in an effort to promote increased lending and liquidity. The problem that Artus wants to highlight is not that; he completely agrees with this policy.

The problem is that, seven years on, this policy has not changed: monetary expansion is continuing and this is the danger. The central banks continue to "pay" by creating currency. Artus’s point is that this currency does not "disappear" and this creates bubbles of billions of dollars. There has never been so much money on the markets… The banks have sold their obligations to the central banks which has created an inevitable bubble (situation where the value of the obligations increases strongly and reaches levels judged excessive in comparison with the real value of assets). This generally ends with an explosion of the bubble and the fast reduction in values.

The bond bubble is going to explode. This bubble is even bigger than the real estate bubble of the subprime mortgage crisis. This is because nobody can "help" the central banks, and States are inevitably going to be affected because the central banks have acquired debts…

Links:

http://www.fayard.fr/la-folie-des-banques-centrales-9782213700434

Benoit GLENAT wants to work in Finance.

Monday, 18 April 2016

Physiotherapist: just a masseur? By Agathe LAFOY

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"On behalf of my daughter, thank you! Sessions with physiotherapists were set up ever since we got back. They gave her the ability to walk again, also giving her autonomy to take a simple shower for example". This phrase was written by the father of a young disabled girl in the letter he sent to the hospital which took care of her.

People often think a physiotherapist’s task is just to massage, but after having done a work experience placement with a physiotherapist, I can assure you he can “save” people; in fact, he can help people retrieve their motor skills or a functional capacity which they had lost. That is why we can say that a physiotherapist can change lives.

An individual who suffers from the loss of motor control after a car crash for example, could think his or her future is to stay in bed all day long… But, if they are motivated, the physiotherapist can help the patient to make one step, then two, then three… From the point of view of a valid person, it may seem ridiculous; but for the patient it is a miracle! The physiotherapist can give joy to someone who always thought that he could not take advantage of life.

In the case of a man who was born with a cerebral motor disease, making him suffer from the constant contraction of his muscles, the goal of the physiotherapist will not be to get him walking again but to avoid permanent contraction of his muscles. In other words, the physiotherapist will try to make this patient more comfortable in his body. During my work experience, I saw a 27-year-old man who had this disease. He was so happy when the physiotherapist finally succeeded in straightening his leg, after massages to heat his muscles!

I want to be a physiotherapist. Yes, I would like to turn sad lives into ones full of happiness. I would like to see that smile on an old woman’s face; a smile which means "thanks!"

Links:

http://leya-mk.blogspot.fr/2012/06/ces-petits-riens.html

Scam! By Matthieu HOLLAENDER

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A phone call with one ring that leaves no time to answer, we have all received one: this is what is called a "ping call". The "ping call" is a scam consisting of allowing no time to answer a call, prompting people to call back.

If you recall several times, you will receive an expensive bill at the end of the month! This is because it is a surcharged number. Perhaps a difference of a few euros on your monthly bill may not be a big deal. For the scammers, thousands of calls makes them earn huge amounts of money!

The technique is not new and has existed for several years. But, last November, the French National Police warned consumers on its website about these scammers who are now using new tricks to get people to call back. For example: they now use numbers that appear "normal", those starting with 01, 02, 04, etc., rather than 0 899.

If you call back, an operator will tell you you have won a gift and, in order to receive your prize, you must call a “customer service” number (which is of course overtaxed…).

The scammer’s goal is simple: to make you spend as much time as possible on the phone, to earn a maximum amount of money on every call. This is why they have now replaced computers by humans passing thousands of phone calls every day. A human conversation lasts longer…

How can we avoid these scams?

If no message is left on your answering machine, do not call back! If a caller really wants to reach you, he will leave a message on your answering machine.

A reporting platform was set up by the operators of the French Federation of Telecoms. You can send a free SMS to 33 700 with the text "Voice Spam 01 XX XX XX XX" (indicating the suspect phone number) to this platform. You will then receive an acknowledgment of receipt from the 33 700 number. Your report will be forwarded to operators.

Do not forget to make your relatives and friends aware of these “ping calls” and always be wary of ads that make you think you have won something!

Matthieu HOLLAENDER wants to work in consumer protection.

Innocent until proven guilty… By Enzo LAVILLAUREIX

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As I wish to become a lawyer, there is a question which has been torturing me for a while: how can we morally defend a man who is guilty? The prejudice that often underlies this question is that lawyers are amoral people who seek to make money by defending criminals… But, people are not always criminals (!), and so it is necessary for someone (the lawyer) to be as impartial as possible in order to defend someone who, a priori, is not guilty. Anyway, it is not up to the lawyer to judge, it is up to… the judge!

Most of the time, lawyers answer this question by saying that a criminal often confesses to his crime and that the goal of the lawyer is not to discuss his innocence or guilt, but the sentence, so that it is the least severe possible.

But, from a moral point of view, is it right to defend anyone you know is guilty? The answer is that morality is a matter of personal ethical judgement. The lawyer’s job is to ensure that the Law is applied to everybody equally. His personal feelings do not come into it. A lawyer does not pass moral judgement on his client, he has to ensure a fair judgement by the court.

But, why defend a “lost cause”, someone who is obviously guilty? Well, it is not for the satisfaction of avoiding prison for the criminal. Rather, it is to obtain the most suitable sentence; because the lawyer knows the accused best, he is the person who can say what the appropriate sanction should be.

Practicing law is, I think, a noble occupation...

Links:

http://www.maitre-eolas.fr/post/2004/04/18/15-comment-faites-vous-pour-defendre-des-coupables

Sunday, 17 April 2016

e-branding. By Inès PETIT

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Nowadays, in the Web 2.0 era, where internet users' influence is increasing and platforms are multiplying, social medias have become essential in brands’ communication strategies. But communication on those spaces isn't that easy, as reputations are easily made and undone.

In 2016, 2,206 billion internet users are using social medias, and that means potential customers. Therefore, social medias' implication in the selling process can't be negleced, as every post is an opportunity for potential customers to convert. Consequently, brands have to catch internet users' interest, by using various marketing strategies, and bring them to the ultimate step: the acquisition of the product.

Nevertheless, the lack of interest of brands for classic medias isn't new. In 2010, Pepsi waived its TV advertisement spots during the Super Bowl, for the first time in 23 years, to invest the 20 million dollars it would have cost in a campaign on social medias : The Pepsi Refresh Project, the aim of which was to finance citizen projects.

The "campaign" principle is chosen by a lot of brands. For example, in 2015, Nike launched its largest Women’s campaign "Better For It", a motivational campaign, for women to empower themselves by doing sport. In this way, social medias allow brands to reinvent their link with customers and gain credibility and popularity.

Moreover, "cocreative" projects have become popular too. On social media brands ask customers their point of view on potential new products. In this way, Vitaminwater's consumers chose the new flavor of their new "Connect" water on their Facebook page. Starbucks, with its exchange space "My Starbucks Ideas", but also Ben & Jerry's and many more, developed new products this way. With this practice brands increase customers’ fidelity and their desire to be part of the brand's development.

In conclusion, social medias are a great way for brands to communicate with their customers, as it humanizes the brand. But a bad e-reputation can quickly be made, it's what happened when Greenpeace openly attacked Nestlé on Youtube, accusing it of contributing to illegal deforestation in Indonesia…

Links:

http://www.blogdumoderateur.com/chiffres-reseaux-sociaux/
http://www.e-marketing.fr/Marketing-Magazine/Article/Reseaux-sociaux-Les-marques-sous-influence-37558-1.htm
http://www.franceinfo.fr/emission/le-plus-france-info/2013-2014/reseaux-sociaux-comment-les-marques-nous-parlent-04-24-2014-08-45

Inès PETIT wants to get ahead in advertising.

Are soccer players paid too much? By Raphaël BERNARD

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96 % of those interviewed consider professional soccer players earn excessive amounts. What the majority of people find unfair is the fact that there are such disparities of salary between for example an average soccer player and an ordinary employee. Is the soccer player responsible for these disparities? Like a movie star or singer, I think a soccer player is paid as much as his qualities deserve…

Soccer is one of the most competitive jobs in the world. Millions of young people dream of becoming a soccer star, but only very few are chosen. The unemployment rate is very high in the world of soccer, twice as high as in the world of ordinary work. A soccer player has obligations, a strict diet, a lifestyle which must be blameless, training twice a day and almost no holidays. Plus, it is very complicated to have a normal family life. Injuries can have an impact on his professional life, and a career lasts only between 10 and 15 years. 50 % of the European soccer players finish low on cash just 5 years after having retired.

People hear only about the stars who get fantastic wages (over €1 million a month), but these are very few. Salaries start at €2,100… The various soccer authorities are looking for solutions to these wage disparities ("Fair Play Financier" or "salary cap" like in the United States).

From my point of view, soccer stars deserve their high earnings. Do they not make us dream every week-end?

Links:

http://www.ipaf-paris.fr/footballeurs-sont-ils-trop-payes/

Raphaël BERNARD wants to be a professional football player.