paper news :)

http://penmasters.net/

Hey folks!

Just writing to let you know that my paper is going well. As you have probably heard before, the title of my paper is "Erasmus – or the never ending story of recognizing your courses". I think it is pretty interesting and affects especially students studying at the Department of Applied Translation Studies in Graz, because it would be important for us to go abroad in order to improve our foreign language skills. 

As I have been an exchange student  myself I know the difficulties that can emerge during an semester abroad. This is also the reason why I have not really had problems structuring my paper. Due to the fact that I know exactly how I am going to structure my paper, the personal experience I have on this field and that I found enough useful sources, in my opinion,  the job of writing the paper itself, it is to say the writing process itself does not appear to be that hard any more. 

As far as my progress is concerned I have already written half of the first version of my paper. I would not hand it in yet, of course, but I think that I will have finished my paper by Christmas. 

Elevator pitch...

After we did this little elevator pitch in class today, I thought maybe I could also advertise my paper by writing a blog post about it ;) 

Actually the topic of my paper affects all of you in a way. At least the ones that are planning to do an erasmus semester abroad . It’s about the never ending story of recognizing erasmus courses. I am sure that most of you have heard about that problem before. 

Every year more than 230 000 students take part in the Erasmus program. This education and training program enables students to study at a partner university in the European Union for a period of 3-12 months. Its goal is to promote lifelong learning and to encourage mobility within the EU. A great opportunity for students to improve their language skills as well as to gain valuable experience and to broaden their horizons. Participating in the Erasmus program, however, does not always bring the success and the results the students hoped for. Many people do not take into account that studying abroad also has its disadvantages, the greatest being the problem of recognizing absolved courses. Why do home university often not recognize courses taken at the host university and how can students prevent that from happening? The aim of this paper, that is based on personal experience is to investigate these question in order to illustrate the problems of studying abroad and to show what can be done to try to solve them. 

http://www.eng.notre-europe.eu

“The debt deflation theory” by professor Irving Fisher would take EU authorities far in the battle against rising debt. As the American Revolution has shown, deflation is an underestimated danger with the potential to lead to economic disaster. If total debt grows too high, as happens in Western Europe, deflation gets mortal. The eurostat index depicts that deflation has dropped. The tendency of falling prices is seen in many countries. Similar to Japan’s crisis, the eurozone economy is in endangered by high debt ratios and sustained deflation. Zsolt Darvas from the Brussels think tank Bruegel equates deflation with bleakness. He accuses the European approach of the debt crisis and mentions the dilemma of states being pushed to “internal devaluations”. Vicious dynamics such as the “denominator effect” are witnessed in countries like Italy, where debt rises faster than GDP. The same is true for private debt, where with crash diets for erred states, economic self destruction was only enhanced. For Mr Darvas, let inflation elevate means escaping from the deflationary spiral. Responsible for money shifting to Germany is the ECB and non counteracting member states which fear Germany would leave the eurozone. Europe hope for global growth to fight the deflation virus.

Comments: 

This summary undoubtedly contains the most important information from the text "Europe already has one foot in ‘Japanese’ deflation grave", nevertheless in my opinion it is too detailed. A five-year-old would not really get what is written here. Maybe because the author of the summary uses many expressions that have also been used in the original text. 

Furthermore the beginning of the summary is too abrupt, not showing information regarding the author as well as when and where the article was published. By reading the first line "The debt deflation theory by professor Irving Fisher..." one gets the impression that this is the name of the original text and Mr. Fisher is its author. In addition the following historic facts do not have to be necessarily mentioned in this summary. 

In regard to coherence the text is missing some linking words. In the middle of the text the author of the summary speaks of "internal devaluations" for example, and in the next sentence he uses the term "denominator effect" without linking these two sentences. Another aspect why the text sometimes appears to be incoherent could be the fact that it is not divided into paragraphs, it is to say it is not really structured. 

Why was the EU founded?

Paragraph brainstorming:
- WWII
- communication, cooperation
- ECSC
- Treaties of Rome --> EEC and Euratom --> EC
- Treaty of Maastricht --> EU
- enlargements
- peace and unity


Original paragraph:

The European Union was founded with the goal of establishing communication and cooperation between countries that had been separated during the Second World War. The devastating effects of World War II and the atrocities that had been committed during that time led to the idea of a unified Europe putting an end to the seemingly endless fights. People were convinced that history must not repeat itself and wanted to find a way to ensure long lasting peace between the different european nations. The first step towards a unified Europe was taken in the 1950s, when the European Coal and Steal Community (ECSC) was established and six countries, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg agreed on running their heavy industries under a common management. Given the success of the ECSC, the Treaties of Rome was signed in 1957, creating the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) that formed the three communities (EC). In 1992, with the Maastricht Treaty, the European Union we live in today was established. Many countries have joined the EU since then and there are many more to come. Today, as then, the EU pursues the same goals: establishing peace and keeping Europe unified. 


Feedback Summary 1: 

- the topic sentence is not introductory 
- the paragraph is too long 
- a little bit wordy
- missing link between the foundation of the EC and the EU 


2nd version: 


The European Union was founded with the goal of establishing communication and cooperation between countries that had been separated during the Second World War. The devastating effects of World War II and the atrocities that had been committed during that time led to the idea of a unified Europe putting an end to the seemingly endless fights. People wanted to prevent history from repeating itself and tried to find a way to ensure long lasting peace between the European nations. The first step towards a unified Europe was taken in the 1950s, when the European Coal and Steal Community (ECSC) was established and six countries, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg agreed on running their heavy industries under a common management. Given the success of the ECSC, the Treaties of Rome was signed in 1957, creating the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) that formed the three communities (EC). In 1992, with the Maastricht Treaty, the European Union we live in today was established. Many countries have joined the EU since then and there are many more to come. Today, as then, the EU pursues the same goals: establishing peace and keeping Europe unified.

Comments:
-still a little bit too long
-commas 
-register

Final version: 

  
The European Union was founded with the goal of establishing communication and cooperation between countries that had been separated during the Second World War. The devastating effects of World War II led to the idea of a unified Europe, putting an end to the seemingly endless fights. People were convinced that history must not repeat itself and wanted to find a way to ensure long lasting peace between the different European nations. The first step towards a unified Europe was taken in the 1950s, when the European Coal and Steal Community (ECSC) was established and six countries, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg agreed on running their heavy industries under a common management. Given the success of the ECSC, the Treaties of Rome was signed in 1957, creating the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). In 1992, with the Maastricht Treaty, the European Union we live in today was established. Many countries have joined the EU ever since and there are many more to come. Today, as then, the EU pursues the same goals: peace and unity.

Corrected version: 

The European Union was founded with the goal of establishing communication and cooperation between countries that had been separated during the Second World War. The devastating effects of World War II led to the idea of a unified Europe, putting an end to the seemingly endless conflicts. People were convinced that history must not repeat itself and wanted to find a way to ensure long lasting peace between the different European nations. The first step towards a unified Europe was taken in the 1950s, when the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was established and six countries, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg agreed on running their heavy industries under a common management. Given the success of the ECSC, the Treaties of Rome was signed in 1957, creating the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). The European Union we live in today was established in 1992, with the Maastricht Treaty. Many countries have joined the EU since then and there are many waiting to join. Then as now, the EU pursues the same goals: peace and unity.

paper ideas and possible titles

I finally came up with some ideas and possible titles for my paper on the EU: 

• Recognition problems of ERASMUS courses

I know I still have to work on the title. This topic is very important to me, as I spent a semester abroad on ERASMUS in Spain. The time was great, the parties didn‘t seem to stop (actually they never did, but that‘s another story), it was just an awesome experience. However, when people think of ERASMUS they only see the bright side of going abroad. Many don‘t know how difficult the recognition of courses taken during an exchange semester can be. In my paper I want to state some academic problems that may occur on an ERASMUS stay and try to show why these might be caused, as I think we all have to know that going abroad is not always a piece of cake. (BTW, this doesn‘t mean that you shouldn‘t do an exchange semester. Didn‘t want to scare you off. Everybody should go on ERASMUS. It is a once-in-a-lifetime experience!!!).   

• Bee deaths and the EU's reaction to it  

We all read about the vast amount of bees dying lately. Many people, however, don't know how important these little insects are for our survival. There have been a few reactions to it by the EU. But are there ideas sustainable enough to prevent the situation from getting worse?  

• EU farm subsidies – always supportive? 

The EU farm subsidies provide financial support for farmers. That this is very important is out of the question, but what exactly do farmers have to fulfill in order to receive these and which other restrictions do they have to face? (EU curvy cucumber laws). I think we also have to focus on the negative aspect of this topic. 

• Refugee policy in the EU – How does Lampedusa cause any changes 

Due to the current events, the Refugee policy has become a highly discussed topic within the EU. What is the European Union going to do in order to prevent such tragic incidents in the future. Have there already been some changes or did they at least come up with some reasonable plans?  

• How does the EU support people with disabilities? 

Two years ago the European Disability Strategy 2010-2020 was adopted, which states that people with disabilities have the full right to participate "fully and equally in society and economy". Does this strategy work, has the EU put it into practice, or do disabled people still have poorer opportunities than other european citizens? 

Culture Days

The Culture Days are over and I have to say that I really liked the presentations. 

I watched the following presentations: 

• GAA outside Ireland
• Willie Daly - Matchmaker 
• Gaelic and its use in Northern Ireland 
• Driving habits in the U.S.
• Walt Disney (Mickey Mouse: how a mouse conquered the world)
• Oprah Winfrey: perhaps the most influential woman in America
• Basketball 
• The big four: Sports in the USA
• Why on earth would anyone live in Tornado Alley?!
• Painted America: American culture represented in paintings

In general I really liked them all. I chose to see these 10 because I thought they sounded interesting. And I have to say they were really good. I learned new things about Ireland. Before I saw the presentations for example, I had never heard about the fact that there is a profession called matchmaker. I am not a really big sports fan, nevertheless I also liked them and in addition I know more about sports in the States and Ireland now. 

The five topics I would like to be tested on in the KGP are: 

• Driving habits in the U.S. 
• Walt Disney (Mickey Mouse: how a mouse conquered the world) 
• Oprah Winfrey: perhaps the most influential woman in America
• Why in earth would anyone live in Tornado Alley?!
• Painted America: American culture represented in paintings

I chose these topics for my final exam, because I have heard about them before, but I didn't really know much about them. I always thought, for example that many more people own a car in the States, or that Mickey's original name was Mortimer mouse. As the topics were really appealing and well presented and I wanted to know more about them, I thought it would be a good idea to choose them for my final exam, because it is easier to memorize things you are interested in. 

Good people still exist

http://mihaelaterzieva.deviantart.com/art/Saint-Dobry-327114414

I recently came across an article about a 98-year-old man from Bulgaria. Dobri Dobrev is one out a very small amount of people who does something most people are not able to do – not only think about himself. This man who is said to have lost most of his hearing during WWII as a shell fell nearby him, has travelled for decades 25 km from the village he lives in to Sofia in order to raise money for the restoration of churches and monasteries throughout Bulgaria. In this vein, over the years, he has collected almost 40,000 lev (approximately 20,000 euro). He didn‘t spend one cent for himself. All Dobri needs for a living, he produces himself. His clothes, for example, are homemade, as well as his leather shoes. Until recently he did the 25 km a day on foot. But due to his old age he can‘t rely on his legs anymore. Nevertheless he didn‘t give up and now he covers the distance by bus. As almost all people in Bulgaria have heard or read about Dobri and know what he is doing, he usually doesn‘t have to pay for the tickets, though. Despite this, many other people from Soria and other parts of Bulgaria that know him give him food or other things he might need. A nice gesture in a big cold word. Or as Elin Pelin, a famous Bulgarian writer, would put it: “It is my native village, it is good but very poor.” 

Let‘s stay a little longer in Australia :)

While reading some sources for my last blog entry, I came across an article about a unusual colored lake. Lake Hillier is a lake on Middle Island, the largest of the islands and islets that form the Recherche Archipelago in Western Australia. What makes Lake Hillier different from other lakes is its color. From above its surface appears a solid bubble gum pink. It is such a significant distinguishing feature that air passengers often crane their necks to take a glimpse of it.

http://nexttriptourism.com/pink-lake-tourism-australia

There are also other pink lakes in the Goldfields-Esperance region in Western Australia, but Lake Hillier is the only one that stays pink all the time. It lies about 3 kilometers west of Esperance and is bounded to the East by the South Cast Highway. Scientists are not sure where the color comes from, but they assume that a special species of algae and prawns give the lake its color. Another hypothesis is that the pink color is due to red halophilic bacteria in the salt crusts. That the color is not a trick of light can be proved by filling water from the lake in a container: the color of the water doesn‘t change. 

http://nexttriptourism.com/pink-lake-tourism-australia

Lake Hillier about 600 meters long, and is surrounded by a rim of sand and a dense woodland of paperbark and eucalyptus trees. A narrow strip of sand dunes covered by vegetation separates it to the north from the Southern Ocean.

http://www.kabavoyages.com/es

One of the first evidence of Middle Island's pink lake dates back to the journals of Matthew Flinders, a British navigator and hydrographer in 1802. Flinders had climbed Middle Island's highest peak, now known as Flinders Peak, to survey the surrounding waters, when he came across this remarkable pink lake. Until a few years ago, before they started to produce salt, the island and its pink lake were almost untouched. Now it has turned into a tourist attraction and its uniqueness and the amazing view fill its visitors with wonder. 

Outback adventurer in Australia? – Count me in ;)

Today I am going to write about the six best jobs in the world. I am sure you have all heard or read about them before. So did I, but I have never known what exactly the people working there have to do and how much money they really earn. 

In 2009 Ben Southall, from Hampshire, beat 34,000 candidates to become the “caretaker“ of Hamilton Island and the Great Barrier Reef. Now the competition has returned again. The only difference is that there is not only one, but six amazing six-months jobs, which come with a stipend of A$ 100,000. The campaign is particularly focused on countries where people are eligible for the Australian working holiday visa, such as the U.K., Ireland, the U.S., Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Sweden, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan. Andrew McEvoy, managing director of Tourism Australia, believes these job opportunities will especially appeal to youths facing high unemployment and tough jobs markets in their home town.

http://www.funmag.org

The six jobs include: 

• Chief Funster in New South Wales – professional party-goer living the life of a Sidney-VIP: planning and attending the coolest gigs in the area.
• Outback Adventurer in Northern Territory – having the best adventures in the Australian outback by sleeping under the stars and getting to know the indigenous culture and traditional bush foods.
• Park Ranger in Queensland – protect and promote the wildlife in remarkable rainforests, waterfalls and on untouched beaches.
• Wildlife Caretaker in South Australia – care for kangaroos and koalas, and sunbathe with seals on Kangaroo Island.
• Lifestyle Photographer in Melbourne – create city and country photo shoots and encounter local identities, designers and artists.
• Taste Master in Western Australia – sample the finest wines, eat your way around the state and catch some of the freshest seafood on Australia’s undiscovered coastline.

http://www.twip.org

This year there have been over 40,000 appliers. They had to create and upload a video in English in 30 seconds or less, explaining why they are the best person for the job, and why there’s nothing like Australia. The top 25 entries and video clips for each of the six jobs have already been nominated. The 150 short-listed candidates have now two weeks to submit references to support their application. Among all these nominees there is only one Austrian. 23-year-old Stefan J. from Graz applied for the position as outback adventurer and is still in contention for one of “The Best Jobs in the World“.  The finalists will be announced on 15th May.

http://de.wikipedia.org

Finally, it‘s spring again :)

http://www.graztourismus.at

As I was abroad last summer semester, it‘s the first spring for me in Graz again in a year. Don‘t get me wrong I am more than grateful that I got the opportunity to go abroad and get to know a new culture, live another life and cut my teeth by doing so. Wouldn‘t want to miss a second of it. I can only recommend spending some time abroad, because it‘s a whole new experience. Okay, I could go on ages just telling about my time in Spain, but that‘s not what I am writing this blog entry about. The point is, that because of my semester abroad I missed the most beautiful time in Graz: spring. If I‘m honest, the other seasons (fall and winter) are just horrible and summer doesn‘t count, as we don‘t have classes. There is nothing better  here than spring. It is starting to get warm again, the color of the grass changes from disgustingly brown to "England-in-spring-green" and you can use your leisure time to relax in the "Stadtpark" or in the park "Herz-Jesu". It‘s just awesome ;)

The Shoes on the Danube Promenade...

During the easter break I spent a couple of days in Budapest. In the course of my sightseeing “marathon“ I also came across the shoes lined up along the Danube bank. These 60 iron shoes represent the shoes from the jews that were killed during the Second World War (1944/45) by fascist Arrow Cross militiamen. They were ordered to take off their shoes, as shoes were valuable belongings at that time, before being shot at the edge of the river, where their bodies fell into the water were drifted away. The monument consists out of iron, but it looks very realistic. You have to look twice until you can tell that they are not real. 

“The Shoes on the Danube Promenade“ was completed on April 16^th 2005 by the sculptor Gyula Pauer and the film-director Can Togay. The monument is located on the Pest side  of the Danube Promenade, about 300 metres south of the Hungarian Parliament and the Hungarian Academy of Science.  

Did you know...

http://losmitosdedaniellefer.blogspot.co.at

...that in Pennsylvania exists a city called Centralia that is literally built on coals? Centralia is also called ghost town as beneath her surface a mine fire has constantly been burning since the year 1962. Many residents had to give up their live in this place during the 60s, as living there is too dangerous. As a result its population declined from over 1000 people to 12 people (in 2005). Despite the fact that the town is considered of being uninhabitable, due to the poisonous gases that rise from beneath the ground, some inhabitants refuse to leave their homes. 

Many people think that the fire started when the waste disposal site was set on fire, but it‘s also possible that it inflamed itself, because when coal and oxygen meet heat is created which is going to light if it can‘t be diverted. Since the time the fire has started many attempts to extinguish it have been made. It is said to have cost more than 70.000.000 $ so far - without success.  The fire is still burning and there is no end in sight. Scientists expect the fire to burn another 100 to 200 years.

have you ever heard about...

...the maunsell sea forts

http://strawdogs.wordpress.com

I have recently read an article about the Maunsell sea forts, also known as the Maunsell forts. These are small fortified towers that were built in estuaries of the riv

ers Thames and Mersey during the Second World War to help defend the United Kingdom. They are named after their constructor, the architect Guy Maunsell. 

Each f

ort consisted of a group of seven towers that were connected by a walkway to the central control tower. The construction of the towers was relatively quick, between February 1942 and December 1943. They were built on land, floated out to sea and grounded in water, no more than 30m deep. It is said that the forts shot down 22 aircraft and about 30 flying bombs during the Second World War. 

They were fully in use until 1945. By the end of the 1950s the forts were gradually closed down, the guns dismantled and the crew withdrawn.

Many of the towers were destroyed by ships colliding with them in the 1950s and 60s. In 1996 another fort collapsed in a storm. 

As you can imagine only a few of the fortresses were preserved. Among them are Roughs Tower, Red Sand, Shivering Sands and Knock John. 

The Roughs Tower is the most famous one, because Paddy Roy Bates, a former pirate radio broadcaster, occupied it in 1967 and set up Radio Essex (later renamed In BBMS- Britain‘s Better Music Station). In the course of time he declared it Principality of Sealand. 

I have not heard of these forts before and I am sure that there are plenty of other people who do not know them either, because these forts are considered being a forbidden place. 

I personally think that it‘s important and interesting knowing about it, because it‘s part of the world‘s history.

more than just shopping ;)

K&Ö

Have you ever been at the top of Kastner & Öhler? No? As soon as you are near the Hauptplatz take your time and enjoy the most magnificent view Graz has to offer. It‘s incredible, especially at night and during the winter months, when it‘s snowing. In my opinion it‘s more beautiful than on the Schlossberg and of course you don‘t need to climb hundreds of stairs until you reach your destiny, just jump into the elevater press a button and you are there ;) You can not only see the Herrengasse, the Rathaus, etc. but the Schlossberg as well. In addition, besides breathing fresh air and enjoying the sight/view you can also take a shopping tour. For me it‘s one of the most beautiful places in Graz. Trust me guys, it‘s worth a journey (and don‘t forget your camera) :)