Employers analyze candidate’s behavior in the social media

by Waldirene Biernath

Source photos: Google image

Social network behavior can influence 

in career

People who have profile on social networks should be attentive because the observer may be closer than you imagine! Recruiters and employers have used this strategy to seek differential information about candidates, interns and contractors.

"When a recruiter chooses these tools to analyze a profile, is minimized wrong choices. The resumes are very similar and the difference nowadays is the behavior", said Wander Pereira da Silva, Career Management teacher. The main tip is to take care of information, communities and added photos, slips can testify against the interested candidate.

Social media resume

"There are already softwares that track everything about a person on the network, photos, communities and professional information.

According to Janete Teixeira Dias, Career Management’s coordinator says people must be careful and use strategies on Facebook, Twitter, Orkut and other networks: "It must pay attention to enjoy, share and add". The users should capitalize everything in favour of themselves”.

Tips for a suitable profile:

- Participate in communities that preach intolerance or suggest inappropriate behavior with the world of work, like “I hate Mondays' ”may weaken chances of contracting or shortening the career in a particular company.

- Post photos or videos using underwear or bathing suits, consuming drugs or drunk is an inappropriate behavior for those who want a promising career, especially at the more conservative companies.

- Language errors use to be shared and satirized. It is necessary to be careful when writing on the social media.

- Aggressive comments and discussions on the network indicate unfriendly and antisocial temperament.

- The fact of networks have an entertainment and relationship profile, it does not mean that users can express your opinion freely. In these spaces, the freedom of expression should be limited, for self benefit.

- Excuses for prejudice or aggression should be posted in the same space. But it is better not to make a blunder. Some mistakes take time to be forgotten.

- Profile with hidden information is not ideal. It could arouse suspicion and does not reflect reality.

Vocabulary:

Slip (noun): a slight mistake, especially a careless one;

Blunder (noun): a careless or embarrassing mistake

Source:

http://odia.terra.com.br/portal/economia/html/2011/9/midias_sociais_uma_janela_indiscreta_nas_empresas_189708.html

Young people prefer surfing the internet to dating

by Waldirene Biernath

According to a survey done by a technology company, the Internet has become as necessary for students and professionals as water, food and housing. The survey was held with young people up to 30 years old in 14 countries.

In Brazil, three out of five students and young professionals have made that statement. They also said that between a car and internet, they prefer to access the network.

In addition, 72% of Brazilian university students said they prefer to browse on the internet instead of dating, listening to music and hanging out with friends.

In the professional field, 75% of called “Brazilian Generation Y”* assert not to live without the Internet.

"For this generation, more important than the physical contact is to be connected all the time on social networks," says the technology company president, Rodrigo Abreu. "It's happening a replacement of traditional activities for greater connectivity."

Vocabulary:

*Generation Y: “…born between 1980 and 2000…Generation Y, also labeled Nexters, Echo Boomers, the Net Generation and the Millennials, has never known a world without cellular phones, compact discs, and video games. At 68 million strong, Generation Y is just beginning to enter the workforce-and society-with a whole new set of attitudes, values and beliefs” (Hatfeild, 2002, p.73)

dating (noun): someone who you have arranged to meet as part of a sexual or romantic relationship;

housing (noun): buildings for people to live in;

(to) hang out (verb): spend time in a certain location or with certain people.

Source:

http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/mercado/978270-jovens-dao-mais-valor-a-internet-que-a-namoro-moradia-e-carro.shtml

Give your opinion: Has the Internet  become as necessary for you as water, food and housing?

32nd TUSCA edition begins on this Friday 16th

by Waldirene Biernath

Source photos: Google image

The University Tourney of São Carlos (TUSCA) gets in 2011 with already 31 years and since last year it is part of the official city events calendar.

With over three decades, TUSCA is today one of the largest university competitions in the country. It began as a clash of only two institutions of higher education. USP and UFSCar keep rivalry and sportsmanship today, but since some time ago both universities compete the Sports Tourney with other universities invited. The games, which involved more than 1500 athletes, are seen by students who flock to the Milton Olaio Filho Gym, one of the country’s largest sports venues.

In recent years, concerned with the structuring of the tournament and in order to improve it even more, the TUSCA’s organizers invested in various ways throughout the event structure. In addition, during all TUSCA there is the support of various entities in charge of São Carlos: Civil Guard, Military Police, Fire Department and City Hall through various departments.

The Atlética CAASO and Atlética UFSCar are nonprofit organizations that seek to promote any kind of physical activity related to the sport within their universities. Thus, all dividends obtained with TUSCA are used for the sports development and improvement, through the maintenance of sports teams, which involves the technical payment, travel, tournaments, uniforms, sports equipment, among others.

TUSCA also includes musical attractions during CORSO and parties. Check out the musical attractions on http://jornalpp.com.br/jpp/index.php?/Regiao/grandes-shows-marcam-tusca-2011.html.

CORSO

The traditional CORSO is the opening party of TUSCA and always happen in the Thursday preceding the start of the Tourney contests. In the past it already represented the invasion of CAASO students at UFSCar, nowadays it has become a bandwagon with thousands of students and city residents having fun and walking on the São Carlos’ streets.

This year the CORSO has been passed for a makeover to provide greater security for residents and revelers.

Check the CORSO path in 2011:

Vocabulary:

clash (noun): a fight or battle between two groups of people;

venue (noun): the place where an activity or event happens;

(to) flock (verb): to gather together in a large group, usually because there is something interesting or exciting: (Tourists still flock to Washington to learn about their government);

Contest (noun): a competition, especially one in which people’s skill in a particular activity or sport is tested;

bandwagon (noun):  a large ornate wagon for carrying a musical band; a popular trend that attracts growing support;

makeover (noun):  a complete reconstruction and renovation of something;

reveler (noun): someone who enjoys themselves at a lively and noisy party or celebration by dancing, singing, and drinking alcohol.

Source:

http://www.tusca2011.com.br/

2014 World Cup: Will Brazil be ready?

by Waldirene Biernath

Source photos: Google image

Brazil, Soccer Country!!! That’s how we are known all over the world. We have already won the worldwide tournament five times. No doubt, Brazilians have always had their own style on the pitch. It is fair to soccer country hosts a Word Cup, isn’t it?

Some people do not agree with that and criticizes that the championship will be held in Brazil.

The Fifa organization’s general secretary, Jerome Valcke, recently said: "It's amazing that Brazil is already very late. They are proving how difficult it is to hold a World Cup in Brazil, just as it was in South Africa."

Many of the stadiums are behind schedule and over-budget, and pressure is mounting to put things back on track. The rising price of building materials, costly changes demanded by Fifa and delays have left an air of uncertainty over the project.

In June, according to an article from BBCNews, workers at the stadium in Belo Horizonte walked out, demanding higher wages and improved conditions, because the rising wage inflation. The economic reporter, Mark Broad who wrote the article, still says that the project is already behind schedule and will not be ready for the 2013 Confederations Cup, which is being used as test event for the World Cup.

But the operations director for the new Corinthians Stadium in São Paulo, Frederico Barbosa, appears relaxed as he surveys the diggers scraping away at the hillside on the site.

"As the work goes on, we will need extra resources. Eventually we will have 2,000 people working on the site," says Barbosa, "It's going to be a challenge to get the work done, as we will have to work through the rainy season. But we... expect to have it finished by December 2013, two months ahead of Fifa's deadline."

There have also been concerns of the cost of the project. The Brazilian sports minister, Orlando Silva, calling on the Odebrecht Developers to cut the budget by 20%.

Works in Maracanã Stadium

There are more than 20 men milling around the pitch at the Maracanã stadium in Rio de Janeiro. The teams of workers are accompanied by four huge diggers and a fleet of trucks ferrying soil out of the stadium. To keep the project on schedule, work continues 24 hours a day.

The Maracanã was redeveloped in 2007 for the Pan-American Games, but Fifa argues that the organising committee had failed to meet World Cup regulations.

In an interview shown on Sunday, the President Dilma Rousseff said that Brazil certainly will be prepared for the World Cup 2014: "I am absolutely certain [that Brazil will be prepared for the World Cup 2014] (...). Because we have nine stadiums getting ready until December 12. (…)Airports, we are bidding with three airports, already fully formatted engineering. Let's make these bids later this year. "

Brazilian airports

One of the big challenges for Brazil is to transport the spectators between the 12 host cities across the country.

The number of internal flights has risen by 80 million in the past five years and the same increase is predicted by 2014. São Paulo international airport has only two terminals with a population of over 20 million people.

The government is selling shares in the state operator, Infraero. It hopes the cash injection will speed work to be completed in nine of the airports.

Carlos Alberto Torres, Brazilian football greater in 1970, says Brazil will be ready for the 2014 tournament, "This is the Brazilian style. Fifa always come to Brazil, and they go to look at stadiums and ask what's going on, and we say, 'Don't worry, we're going to be ready before the World Cup,'" he says.

  

Give your opinion: Many Brazilians do not believe the country will be able to host the 2014 World Cup. What do you think about?

Vocabulary:

back on track: (Fig.) running according to schedule again. (*Typically: get ~; get something ~; have something ~; put something ~.) I hope we can have this project back on track by the end of the week;

walked out (verb):  stop work in order to press demands; leave abruptly, often in protest or anger;

scraping away: to scratch or rasp something off something. (Ted scraped the rough places away from the fender he was repairing. Ted scraped away the rough places.);

bidding (noun): the process of making bids for things, for example at an auction (=an event where things are sold to the person who offers the most money);

shares (noun):  any of the equal portions into which the capital stock of a corporation is divided and ownership of which is evidenced by a stock certificate ("He bought 100 shares of IBM at the market price").

Source:

http://fantastico.globo.com/Jornalismo/FANT/0,,MUL1672642-15605,00-DILMA+ROUSSEFF+RECEBE+PATRICIA+POETA+NO+PALACIO+DA+ALVORADA+E+DO+PLANALTO.html;

http://correiodobrasil.com.br/entrevista-de-dilma-para-o-programa-fantastico/295880/;

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13960586

Schools debate: Is cursive writing worth teaching?

by Waldirene Biernath

Cursive vs. typing: Which should schools teach?

The future of cursive writing is in the headlines. Teaching cursive handwriting will no longer be part of the required curriculum in schools in the United States. Over the next three years, school districts will be in transition to new state standards, according to Patrick Gallaway, associate director of communications with the Ohio Department of Education. “The focus under the new Common Core standards will be keyboarding skills”, he said.

Source: Google image

Laptops, BlackBerries, iPads as technology improves, there's at least one constant:  the devices all have keyboards or keypads.   Because of technology, schools are putting more emphasis on teaching keyboarding.  That means cursive writing instruction could become expendable. Some schools in the U.S. are adopting a new language arts curriculum in which cursive writing will be evaluated.  If research shows interest in cursive writing is fading, it may be time to make a change.  Other school districts agree that it's a decision that cannot be made quickly.

Last year, Wisconsin and Illinois adopted the Common Core Standards.  Its Language Arts curricula calls for more attention to be put on keyboard efficiency and less time on learning cursive. Forty four of the fifty American states have adopted the Common Core Standards Program. 

Cursive is still widely taught in U.S. public and private elementary schools, according to a 2007 nationwide study on handwriting instruction by Vanderbilt University. It surveyed a random sampling of about 200 teachers in grades one through three in all 50 states. Ninety percent of the teachers who responded said their schools required instruction in handwriting. Of those who taught it, half of second grade teachers and 90% of third grade teachers offered instruction in cursive.

Give your opinion:

Do you think cursive is important for children to learn or should the time be spent teaching other subjects?

Vocabulary:

Headlines (noun): the title of a newspaper story that is printed in large letters;

expendable (adjective): used for describing someone or something that you are willing to get rid of, lose, or allow to be killed because they are no longer useful or necessary;

fading (verb to fade):  disappear gradually.

The Common Core State Standards is a U.S. education initiative that provides the curricula of what students are expected to learn. Something like our PCNs.

My feelings about the World Trade Center Memorial Pools

source: Foster and Partners

Note: This post doesn't endorse any position in favor or against the American people. I'm just talking about the architecture.


The World Trade Center Memorial consists of two huge pools built within the footprints of the Twin Towers with the largest man-made waterfalls in the country cascading down their sides. 

Michael Arad, the architect of the Memorial Pools said: “The design strives to make visible what is absent. The primary responsibility we have is to those we lost that day.” It’s the architecture of absence.

source:Google Images

I was looking at the images of those pools and the feeling is really of absence. Something is missing. The pools should be full, that’s the purpose of pools, but they’re not. The water keeps disappearing. It gives the feeling of that something is going away, like the lives of those 3 thousand people, victims of the attack. To reinforce that idea, the names of the nearly 3,000 individuals who were killed in the September 11 attacks in New York City, and at the Pentagon, and the February 1993 World Trade Center bombing are inscribed in bronze on the edges of the Memorial Pools. 

Victims names inscribed insous bronze on the edges

And completing that sensation of absence, you have the constant waterfalls reminding the non-stop tears of the survivors who miss their relatives.


It’s amazing that the twin pools are perfect footprints of the Twin Towers.  The idea of footprint is exactly absence. When we see a footprint, we know that something or somebody was there, but it’s not anymore.         

source:Google Images

Footprints are always something left behind. 

I imagine that looking at the Twin Memorial Pools must be a very strong feeling to those who witnessed the September 11 terrorist attack and lost relatives and friends. 


Actually, all the architecture was projected based on the concept of remembering the event and the victims. Observe the photo below. Can you see? The orientation of the tower is a way of acknowledge (what in Portuguese we say “reconhecimento”) of the void left by the Twin Towers.

It looks like the new tower is looking at the place of the old ones. The position of the new tower also allows the entrance of light, in a way that the new tower doesn’t project permanent shadow on the memorial.

I’ve loved the architecture. I’ve found it intelligent, creative and touching. 

Related videos:

see also:

http://online.wsj.com/video/911-memorial-opens/C170FA3C-48BC-44C6-A3D4-0836EC049F70.html

Vocabulary:

man-made (adjective): artificial rather than natural

to witness (verb): to see something happen, for example a crime or an accident.


by Vivian Barone
Barone English's Pedagogical Coordinator

African girl is the first black kid with aging disease

by Waldirene Biernath

image source : Notícias UOL

Ontlametse Phalatse is the first black child diagnosed with progeria, a rare and fatal genetic condition that accelerates the aging process, according to the Progeria Research Foundation. Nobody knows how many kids in the world have it. In a two-year campaign to identify them, the Progeria Research Foundation says the number of children diagnosed around the world has soared from 48 to 80 on five continents.

The small and delicate 12 year old girl calls herself "the first lady" and dreams of the future. "I call myself a first lady because I'm the first black child with this disease ... Which other black child do you know with this disease?" she asked.

The foundation's executive director, Audrey Gordon, says there are several holes on the map where they have found children living with progeria. "We know that there are children (with progeria) in Africa, in China and Russia, but we just can't seem to get to them," she said.

Children with progeria look remarkably similar, despite different ethnic backgrounds: small and bald with oversized heads, eyes that bulge a bit, gnarled hands. They suffer from thinning skin which has a network of blue veins showing on the heads of white children.

Ontlametse and her mother

Ontlametse's mother, Bellon Phalatse, says her baby was born looking normal but that she realized early on that something was wrong. The baby suffered constant rashes and by the time she was 3 months old Phalatse thought she had a skin disease. 

Before Ontlametse celebrated her first birthday "her hair was falling, her nails weren't normal, the skin problems, we were going up and down to the doctors." Bellon still tells that as the child aged prematurely, her father abandoned the family when Ontlametse was 3 years old.

Despite her frequent illnesses, Ontlametse enrolled in school at 6 and proved a bright pupil. But she was often scorned by classmates, teachers and others who thought she was so small and skinny because she had AIDS. South Africa has the highest number of people living with AIDS of any country but the disease still carries a terrible social stigma.

Each school holiday, Ontlametse and her mom fly to the United States, where she participates in research funded by the Progeria Research Foundation at Children's Hospital Boston. It gives her access to cutting edge drugs that are not yet commercially available.

Children with progeria die almost exclusively from heart disease between the ages of 8 and 21, commonly suffering high blood pressure, strokes, angina, enlarged heart and heart failure.

In 2003, the foundation was instrumental in the discovery of the progeria gene. Now they hope it can help provide answers about the ordinary aging process and cardiovascular disease.

Vocabulary:

soared (noun): the act of rising upward into the air; (to) soar (verb): go or move upward "The stock market soared after the cease-fire was announced";

backgrounds (noun): the general situation in which something happens;

remarkably (adverb): in a way that is unusual and surprises or impresses you;

bald (adjective): with little or no hair on your head;

oversized (adjective): much larger than usual;

bulge (noun): a shape that curves outward on the surface of something, often made by something under it or inside it;

gnarled (adjective): old and twisted and covered in lines;

scorned (adjective):  treated with contempt;

cutting edge (noun):  the position of greatest advancement; the leading position in any movement or field.

Ontlametse Phalatse’s Photos:

http://noticias.uol.com.br/album/110908_envelhecimentoprecoce_album.jhtm

Source:

http://noticias.uol.com.br/ultimas-noticias/internacional/2011/09/08/menina-de-12-anos-e-a-primeira-negra-a-ser-diagnosticada-com-doenca-que-acelera-o-envelhecimento.jhtm

http://www.whatsonsanya.com/news-17945-s-african-girl-ontlametse-phalatse-12-is-first-black-kid-with-aging-disease.html

Open enrollments to UFSCar’s Portuguese Reference Center to foreigners

by Waldirene Biernath

Source: Google image

The UFSCar’s Portuguese Reference Center to foreigners receives enrollments until September 11. The courses of "Portuguese to Spanish Speakers" and "Portuguese to non-Hispanic speakers," levels, “Basic 1” and "Basic 2" and also the course of "Portuguese to Foreigners intermediate level."

The activities are geared toward undergraduates and postgraduates who are performing in Brazil and also for professionals from other countries who are acting in Brazil.

The start of classes is scheduled for September 12. The courses are free for people who are enrolled at UFSCar and to the ones who are not it will be charged a fee of R$ 202.00 for the second term of 2011. Information about the courses, fee payment and procedures for registration must be accessed in a specific form

Classes will be held at the Portuguese Reference Center to foreigners, located in the UFSCar Art Department in the campus south area. More information can be obtained by e-mail cenple@ufscar.br.

Source: http://www2.ufscar.br/servicos/noticias.php?idNot=4074

Vocabulary:

(to) gear (verb): to prepare something or make it suitable for a particular situation, group, or use. (gear toward: The museum is geared toward children);

scheduled (adjective): planned to happen at a particular time or day;

enrolled (adjective):  officially entered in a roll or list ("An enrolled student");

term (noun): one of the periods of time into which the year is divided for students. In the U.S. a term can be, for example, a year, a semester, or a trimester: What classes are you taking this term?; You will be required to take an exam at the end of the term.

Death awaits in your garden

Many people love gardening, so they have a garden full of beautiful plants, but they usually don’t know that some of those plants can kill you if you dare to eat their flowers, fruits, leaves, stem or root. Some plants can intoxicate only by holding their flowers or leaves in hand.

Adults are out of danger (except in the cases of plants that can be used as drugs), but children have the habit of putting everything they find in the mouth and the beautiful colors of the plants can make them attractive, that’s why the gardens can offer a great risk to kids. Some parents don’t have any information about the plants that exist in their garden, so they cannot give advice to their kids to stay far from the poisonous plants,  which makes the problem worse.

Down below there's a list of dangerous plants that are frequently found in gardens, and they can lead to death if eaten. Actually, all of them can be found here in São Carlos, SP, Brazil.

The first ones of the list are my favorite ones, the belladona family, the plants of that family deserve respect. They don´t contain only one poisonous substance, but a cocktail of dangerous alcaloids, like scopolamin, hyosciamin, and atropine. Scopolamin is a hallucinogen hundred of times more powerfull than LSD!, and atropine  can stop the muscles of vital organs and cause severe brain damage, hypertermia and dehydratation, it’s not necessary to say that those substances are dangerous.

Due to the hallucinogenic effect of those plants, they are used as drugs, in a great amount of cases bringing permanent brain damage to the user.

All the parts off the plants of that family are toxic, but the bigger concentration of poison is found in the berries or seeds. Here we go with the list of the deadly belladona family:

Scientific name:Atropa belladona.  

English common name:Deadly nightshade.

Portuguese common name: Beladona.

The English name of this plant says everything about it. Although atropine can be used as medicine in low concentrations, in higher concentrations it’s very dangerous, and the other alcaloids of the plant are equally dangerous. The poisons are absorbed by the skin, and because of this you can be poisoned if you hold the plant a long time. The berries are sweet, then if a child eat one, it will like and eat a lot of them, unfortunately five berries is sufficient to send a people to the graveyard.

A curious fact about this plant is that it is hazardous to humans, but it’s harmless to some animals like rabbits, because of that some people in ancient Europe died by eating rabbits contamined with beladona poisons.

Scientific name: Datura sp(inoxia, metel,stramonium).

English common name: Jimson weed, devil's apple, devil's trumpet.

Portuguese common  name:Cartucheira, estramônio.

This plant got famous in the 60's decade because of the books of Carlos

Castaneda, in which he described the use of this plant in xamanic rituals. After that, many people tried to use datura as a drug, but even  drug users that had the habit of taking heavy hallucinogens like mushrooms or LSD described the datura experience as traumatic scary and  very "real". If the person don´t die because of the deadly substances of the plant, the hallucinogen effect can persist for days, with high possibility of causing permanent brain damage.

There's an Indian tribe in North America who uses a drink prepared with datura in their rite of passage. This drink is called wysoccan, and the objective of drinking it is forget about the child life to ingress in the adult life, but the brain effect is very strong, making some of them to forget about their identity or even how to speak!

Scientific name:Brugmansia suavelleons.

English common name:Angel's trumpet.

Portuguese common name: Trombeta.

This one is the "cousin" of datura, and the last member of beladona family. The effects of the plants in body are almost the same. Datura is called devil's trumpet because the flowers are erect, growing from the " depts of hell", and the brugmansia is called angel's trumpet because the flowers are pendent, growing from the "upper sky". The flowers of this plant can be pink, yellow or white; all of them are equally poisonous.

The next plants don't have cool curiosity about them like the beladona family, but are very dangerous to.    

 

Scientific name:Ricinus comunnis.

English common name:Castor Beans.

Portuguese common name: Mamona.

This one is not cultivated in gardens, but grows easily in almost every place, because of this is comonly found in gardens. It contains a toxic substance called ricine, which cause nausea, inner bleeding (homorrhage), and diarrhea, and can lead to death due to renal and circulatory failure.

All the parts of the plant contains ricine in a small concentration, but the fruits and the seed have a big concentration of the substance, three seeds are sufficient to kill a people.

When he was a kid, my uncle ate half of a seed of this plant, and almost died.

Scientific name: Dieffenbachia seguine.

English common name: Dumb-cane.

Portuguese common name: Comigo ninguém pode.

The leaves of this plant contains the calcium oxalate, a substance that causes severe inflammation in the throat, which blocks the breathing, causing death in the worst cases.

Scientific name: Jatropha curcas.

English common name:---------.

Portuguese common name:Pinhão Bravo.

This one is really dangerous, the leaves and the fruits of this plant contains curcin, a substance that causes nausea, diarrhea and cardiac arrhythmia, complications can lead to  cardiac stop. The poison of this plant is used by some Indian tribes to make their arrows more deadly.

Scientific name:Thevetia peruviana.

English commmon name:-----------.

Portuguese common name:Chapéu de napoleão.

All the parts of this plant are toxic, but almost all of poisoning cases are caused by the fruits, when they are confused with edible nuts, principally by children. The plant have a mix of toxins that affects the heart, and can cause death by cardiac stop. This one is very common in São Carlos; if you all readers see the fruits of this small tree, don't try to eat them.

I hope this post contributes to help people protect themselves and specially their children.

by Daniel Yoshio Akamatsu

Barone English's student

level 3
Material Engineering student at UFSCar


Note: This text is result of Barone English’s methodology. Different writing techniques are developed every unit. Besides that, the students make presentations about the same theme, based on their researches.

VOCABULARY:

(to) dare (verb): if you dare to do something, you are not afraid to do it, even though it may be dangerous or shocking or may cause trouble for you;

to await (verb): if something awaits you, it will happen to you: Well, I wonder what surprises await us today;

hazardous (adjective): dangerous, especially to people’s health or safety;

edible (adjective): food that is edible is safe or good enough to eat.