Deafness Claims Against British Businesses Rise

May 27, 2013

Rapid Increase

AXA Business Insurance has just reported a massive 162% increase in deafness claims on commercial insurance policies, over a time period of three years from 2009-2012. This amounts to approximately £26 million, which businesses are subsequently responsible for paying. Managing Director of AXA, David Williams, said that “The issue for British industry is that, as we have seen with other areas of insurance in the UK, lots of claims inevitably lead to higher premiums in order to cover the cost of payouts”.

Hear Me Out

Whilst many of these claims are genuine, a large amount have also been found to be fraudulent. Insurance companies are concerned that the dramatic increase in deafness claims is also a result of claims management companies and compensation lawyers targeting potential claimants. At a time when British businesses are still trying to recover from the recession, higher insurance premiums will not be doing anyone any favours.

Prevention Is Better than Cure

Around one million workers in Britain are regularly exposed to noise that can permanently affect their hearing, according to the Health and Safety Executive. In a working environment where the noise levels exceed 85 decibels, employers are obligated to provide their workers with hearing protection. Ear plugs or ear defenders are a great solution for blocking out loud noise and protecting one’s hearing. In the long run, it is much cheaper to safeguard your hearing now, as opposed to claiming for damages later. This is costly for the company, and priceless for the individual who has lost one of their senses.

Crime Under the Spotlight at 13th Translation Conference

May 23, 2013

Translators, writers and scholars have until the 15^th of June to submit proposals and papers for the 13^th Translation Conference which will be taking place at the University of Portsmouth.  The theme for this year’s conference is “Translation and Crime”. The 2013 conference, set to take place on the 9^th of November, will focus on translation as it relates to crime: within the justice system, fiction and forensic linguistics amongst other areas.

Two plenary speakers have been confirmed:

Dr Karen Seago is the Director of Translating Popular Culture MA at the University of London. According to the university website Dr Seago holds an MA in English and German, as well as a PGCTS in German.  Seago teaches translation theory and sits on the editorial board of the Journal of Specialised Translation. Yvonne Folwer has extensive experience in training legal interpreters, police officers and magistrates. She is currently pursuing a PhD at Aston University which focuses on interpreted and non-interpreted Prison Video Link communication.

Call for Papers

The aim of the conference is to bring together the concepts of crime and translation together during a day-long interdisciplinary event. The University is inviting proposals for 20-minute papers and sixty minute workshops. Topics can include:

• Professional translations, crime and the law

A Music Video That’s out of This World

May 13, 2013

The Sky’s Not the Limit

Canadian astronaut, Chris Hadfield, concluded his five month stay in space with style – he filmed a music video of himself covering David Bowie’s hit “Space Oddity”. The 53-year old astronaut can be seen floating in zero gravity on the International Space Station, strumming on his acoustic guitar while he sings. The lyrics are, of course, suited to the occasion.

This is Major Tom to Ground Control I’m stepping through the door And I’m floating In a most peculiar way And the stars look very different today

For here Am I sitting in a tin can Far above the world Planet Earth is blue And there’s nothing I can do

Though I’m past One hundred thousand miles I’m feeling very still And I think my spaceship knows which way to go

Stock Market Trends Revealed by Google Search Suggestions

May 7, 2013

Stock market players could be turning to Google suggest for financial insight in the near future. A recent study conducted by U.S. and UK academics has suggested that there is a connection between the direction of stock market trends and search data.

Can Google Predict Stock Market Trends?

The analysis by researchers from the Universities of Warwick and Boston is the newest attempt to pinpoint online behaviour patterns for the purpose of chartering movements in financial markets. The published results have shown that during the period of the study, Google Trends data was effectively used to gain insight into the current state of the economy. An example given from the findings was the increase of search terms such as “stocks,” “economics” and “portfolios” by individuals during times of global economic stress. The conclusion drawn from the changes in search frequency for the collection of financial terms used (98 in total), is that they could be used as early signals of upcoming stock market trends.

Data Mining a New Form of “Herding Behaviour”

Since traders have always been influenced by the collective thinking of their peers, Tobias Preis, who led the research team, has commented on the phenomenon calling it “herding behaviour.” According to Preis, the chaos of the stock market is mainly influenced by people who buy or sell their stocks based on the decisions of others – rather than their own motivation. He is of the opinion that Internet search queries is a new way for traders to see what is going through other financier’s minds.

Forex Unmoved by Google Theory

Forex traders seem unmoved by this latest stock market trend. The metatrader 4 download, which has proved popular amongst forex newcomers, might be one of the better avenues for financiers who prefer strategy over theory. Forex account holders would agree that this trading instrument is far more rewarding for individuals with a higher risk tolerance.