The Software Testing Club recently put out an eBook called "99 Things You Can Do to Become a Better Tester". Some of them are really general and vague. Some of them are remarkably specific.
My goal for the next few weeks is to take the "99 Things" book and see if I can put my own personal spin on each of them, and make a personal workshop out of each of the suggestions.
Suggestion #25: For non-native English speakers: Improve your English. For native English speakers: Learn another language. - Stephan K?mper
When I was growing up, I had the opportunity to take various classes in school that focused on foreign languages. In elementary and middle school, I took a couple years of Spanish. In High School, I took three years of German. During my adult life, I have, through various media interests, become very interested in learning both Japanese and Korean (as spoken and written).?
To tell the truth, while I can hear a lot of these languages around me every day, and through various mediums experience Spanish, German, Japanese or Korean, and understand a fair bit of what I hear and read, I struggle with speaking it in any way that doesn't come off sounding ridiculous.?
The reasons for why I'm not better with these languages are many, but I believe it comes down to one fundamental issue. We learn, and remember, what we use and directly interact with. My Spanish and German probably would be a lot better today if I had more of an opportunity (and took advantage of the opportunities that I did have) to daily use those languages. Hearing, reading, writing, but most of all actually speaking with other people in that language. The fact is, I grew up in an area where, at the time, there were not many Spanish or German speakers. Even today, while I love watching Anime and K-Drama, the biggest hindrance so far has been having access to a limited number of fluent speakers to interact with (and to be fair, would be willing and patient enough to interact with me ;) ).
Language acquisition is easiest when we are young, because we hear it while our minds are making the mental map of our world. We are able to associate sounds and actions early on, and those become part of our everyday language. Our "Native Tongue" is easiest because it's where all of our formative experience are associated. Later on in life, as we try to learn a new language, we find that we struggle to make the same kind of connections. I find myself actively translating what I hear, formulating what we want to say in English, then translate it again to say it back to the person I am speaking with. The tighter I can make that feedback loop, the more likely I will be to gain comfort and fluency in that language.
Workshop #23: Commit to Listening to, Reading, Writing and Speaking a Different Language
This workshop will not be easy, and it will not be something that can be accomplished in a short period of time. Anyone can make some progress, but to get genuinely good (i.e. fluent) could take years! While there are some software applications that can help with this (Rosetta Stone, etc.), and of course we could take language classes at a local college, I want to explore some low cost or no cost ways to do this.
The examples below are going to use Japanese because that is the language I'm currently focusing on. Anywhere you see Japanese, replace with the language of your choosing.
1. Find several books in Japanese and English (or online sites if you prefer), a translation dictionary, and some books (or sites) purely in Japanese (I've found that Manga works great for this).
2. A pad of paper and a comfortable pen. This is for me to practice regularly writing out Kana and Kanji characters. I say them out loud as I write them, and I speak out the words that they form as I do.
4. Movies, television shows and audio programs in Japanese (decades of love for Anime helps a lot here. If the option exists to toggle subtitles on or off, even better).
3. Some friends that speak Japanese fluently, and are willing to spend time talking to me. Seriously, this last one is crucial, and I know I have to be really nice to them. My plan is to buy them dinner or take them out for drinks? frequently :).
Using each of these tools, I then spend as much time as I feel comfortable listening to, reading, writing and speaking Japanese. Reading helps me see the flow of the words, and how they relate. Listening to dialogue helps me hear words in context as well as proper pronunciation. Writing things out help me recognize words as I become more familiar with them (especially true with Kana/Kanji, since they have no resemblance to my familiar Roman alphabet at all).
While all of these will be helpful, to really make it stick, having access to people who will take the time to talk to me in Japanese will be the biggest factor. Since I'm still on the early part of the learning curve, those people will need to be remarkably patient, and I will need to reward their patience and willingness to put up with me (I am totally serious about the buying dinner for them from time to time). The consistent speaking and varying of conversation, I feel, is the most effective way to really learn a language, to be able to adapt and begin to "think" in that language.?
Bottom Line:
It's not enough to casually read or "get the gist of a language", I will have to do enough and be involved with it enough so that I can genuinely make it a part of my everyday interactions. Barring an opportunity to move to a location where I can be fully immersed in Japanese (I would love to move to Tokyo or Sapporo for a year or two, but that's just not practical and my wife might strenuously object), the next best option is to utilize various media and interact with real people. All of this will have me regularly reading, writing, hearing and speaking Japanese. I wish all good luck in the language you choose? and if any out there fall into the camp of wanting to improve your English, I'm happy to help where I can (I'll leave whether or not I'd be an acceptable coach as an exercise to the reader ;) ).
Nancy Andrews, M.D., Ph.D., and Elaine Jaffe, M.D., honored with 2013 Henry M. Stratton MedalPublic release date: 1-Aug-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Kaitlin Bressler Kbressler@hematology.org 202-552-4925 American Society of Hematology
(WASHINGTON, August 1, 2013) The American Society of Hematology (ASH) today announced that it will recognize Nancy Andrews, MD, PhD, dean of Duke University School of Medicine, and Elaine Jaffe, MD, of the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health, with the 2013 Henry M. Stratton Medal for their outstanding accomplishments in the fields of iron homeostasis and erythropoiesis and lymphoma, respectively.
Each year ASH honors two senior investigators, one in basic research and the other in clinical/translational research, with the Henry M. Stratton Medal for their well-recognized contributions to hematology. The award is named after the late Henry Maurice Stratton, co-founder of Grune and Stratton, the medical publishing company that first published ASH's journal Blood.
Dean Andrews, the recipient of the 2013 Stratton Medal for Basic Research, is also Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at Duke University. She is the first woman to be appointed dean of Duke's School of Medicine and is the only woman to lead one of the nation's top 10 medical schools. Dr. Andrews earned her medical degree from Harvard Medical School and her PhD in Biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After completing a residency in pediatrics at Boston Children's Hospital and a pediatric hematology-oncology fellowship at Boston Children's and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Dr. Andrews made several critical discoveries early in her career central to the understanding of erythropoiesis. Following her post-doctoral training, Dr. Andrews remained at Harvard, rapidly climbing the academic ranks and eventually serving as Dean for Basic Sciences and Graduate Studies at Harvard Medical School. In 2007, she assumed her current role at Duke University School of Medicine.
Dr. Andrews is a model physician-scientist and a recognized leader in the study of molecular biology of iron metabolism. She has maintained an active National Institutes of Health-funded research laboratory dedicated to the study of genetic approaches in mice to identify key genes regulating iron balance and has created more than 30 mouse models of iron-related diseases and pathways. Her countless critical achievements in non-malignant hematology are unrivaled, and her research creativity and productivity were rewarded by her status as a Howard Hughes Medical Investigator from 1993 to 2006.
In addition to her seminal contributions to the field, Dr. Andrews has become a visible leader among her colleagues through service in professional societies and receipt of prestigious awards. She has served many different roles for ASH, including Scientific Program Committee Chair and Councillor, and received ASH's 2011 Mentor Award for Basic Science for her sustained, outstanding commitment to the training and career development of junior hematologists. She has also served as past president of the American Society of Clinical Investigation and is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Dr. Jaffe, the recipient of the 2013 Stratton Medal for Clinical/Translational Research, is Head of the Hematopathology Section of the Laboratory of Pathology in the Intramural Program of the National Cancer Institute (NCI). After receiving her medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania and completing an internship at Georgetown University, Dr. Jaffe joined the NCI as a resident in anatomic pathology. She has remained at the NCI for more than 40 years, working her way up from Senior Investigator to directing the Hematopathology Section of the Institute.
Dr. Jaffe is regarded by her peers as one of the most pre-eminent hematopathologists of her generation. She is most widely known for her work regarding the pathophysiology and prognosis of malignant lymphomas, as well as her unparalleled work to understand how they respond to treatment. She has completed intriguing work on the interrelationship between Hodgkin lymphoma and B-cell lymphomas, focusing in particular on grey zone lymphomas that appear to represent the missing link between classical Hodgkin lymphoma and other B-cell malignancies and exploring the genetic and epigenetic mechanisms that cause a B cell to become a Hodgkin cell.
Dr. Jaffe's impact on hematology has been amplified by her leadership roles in ASH and other national and international societies and activities. In addition to serving as an ASH Councillor, Advisory Board member, and Awards Committee member, Dr. Jaffe has served as a past president of both the Society for Hematopathology and the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology. She currently serves on the Lymphoma Research Foundation's Scientific Advisory Board and is a former Chair of the Medical Sciences Section of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Dr. Jaffe led the effort to develop the World Health Organization classification of tumors of the hematopoietic and lymphoid tissues published in 2001, a classification that rapidly became the international standard.
Dr. Jaffe's awards include the Fred W. Stewart Award from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, the Mostofi Award from the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology, the Lennert Prize from the European Association for Haematopathology, and the Honoris Causa from the University of Barcelona. She was elected as a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies in 2008.
"It is a true privilege to award Dr. Andrews and Dr. Jaffe with the 2013 Henry M. Stratton Medal not only for their seminal research discoveries but also for the resilience, dedication, leadership, and innovation they have exhibited throughout their careers in hematology," said ASH President Janis L. Abkowitz, MD, of the University of Washington. "We deeply appreciate the profound contributions that these distinguished scientists have made to the field and their service as role models for scores of students, trainees, and colleagues."
Drs. Andrews and Jaffe will accept their awards at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday December 10, during the 55th ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition in New Orleans.
###
The American Society of Hematology (ASH) (http://www.hematology.org) is the world's largest professional society of hematologists dedicated to furthering the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disorders affecting the blood. For more than 50 years, the Society has led the development of hematology as a discipline by promoting research, patient care, education, training, and advocacy in hematology. The official journal of ASH is Blood (http://www.bloodjournal.org), the most cited peer-reviewed publication in the field, which is available weekly in print and online.
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Nancy Andrews, M.D., Ph.D., and Elaine Jaffe, M.D., honored with 2013 Henry M. Stratton MedalPublic release date: 1-Aug-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Kaitlin Bressler Kbressler@hematology.org 202-552-4925 American Society of Hematology
(WASHINGTON, August 1, 2013) The American Society of Hematology (ASH) today announced that it will recognize Nancy Andrews, MD, PhD, dean of Duke University School of Medicine, and Elaine Jaffe, MD, of the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health, with the 2013 Henry M. Stratton Medal for their outstanding accomplishments in the fields of iron homeostasis and erythropoiesis and lymphoma, respectively.
Each year ASH honors two senior investigators, one in basic research and the other in clinical/translational research, with the Henry M. Stratton Medal for their well-recognized contributions to hematology. The award is named after the late Henry Maurice Stratton, co-founder of Grune and Stratton, the medical publishing company that first published ASH's journal Blood.
Dean Andrews, the recipient of the 2013 Stratton Medal for Basic Research, is also Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at Duke University. She is the first woman to be appointed dean of Duke's School of Medicine and is the only woman to lead one of the nation's top 10 medical schools. Dr. Andrews earned her medical degree from Harvard Medical School and her PhD in Biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After completing a residency in pediatrics at Boston Children's Hospital and a pediatric hematology-oncology fellowship at Boston Children's and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Dr. Andrews made several critical discoveries early in her career central to the understanding of erythropoiesis. Following her post-doctoral training, Dr. Andrews remained at Harvard, rapidly climbing the academic ranks and eventually serving as Dean for Basic Sciences and Graduate Studies at Harvard Medical School. In 2007, she assumed her current role at Duke University School of Medicine.
Dr. Andrews is a model physician-scientist and a recognized leader in the study of molecular biology of iron metabolism. She has maintained an active National Institutes of Health-funded research laboratory dedicated to the study of genetic approaches in mice to identify key genes regulating iron balance and has created more than 30 mouse models of iron-related diseases and pathways. Her countless critical achievements in non-malignant hematology are unrivaled, and her research creativity and productivity were rewarded by her status as a Howard Hughes Medical Investigator from 1993 to 2006.
In addition to her seminal contributions to the field, Dr. Andrews has become a visible leader among her colleagues through service in professional societies and receipt of prestigious awards. She has served many different roles for ASH, including Scientific Program Committee Chair and Councillor, and received ASH's 2011 Mentor Award for Basic Science for her sustained, outstanding commitment to the training and career development of junior hematologists. She has also served as past president of the American Society of Clinical Investigation and is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Dr. Jaffe, the recipient of the 2013 Stratton Medal for Clinical/Translational Research, is Head of the Hematopathology Section of the Laboratory of Pathology in the Intramural Program of the National Cancer Institute (NCI). After receiving her medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania and completing an internship at Georgetown University, Dr. Jaffe joined the NCI as a resident in anatomic pathology. She has remained at the NCI for more than 40 years, working her way up from Senior Investigator to directing the Hematopathology Section of the Institute.
Dr. Jaffe is regarded by her peers as one of the most pre-eminent hematopathologists of her generation. She is most widely known for her work regarding the pathophysiology and prognosis of malignant lymphomas, as well as her unparalleled work to understand how they respond to treatment. She has completed intriguing work on the interrelationship between Hodgkin lymphoma and B-cell lymphomas, focusing in particular on grey zone lymphomas that appear to represent the missing link between classical Hodgkin lymphoma and other B-cell malignancies and exploring the genetic and epigenetic mechanisms that cause a B cell to become a Hodgkin cell.
Dr. Jaffe's impact on hematology has been amplified by her leadership roles in ASH and other national and international societies and activities. In addition to serving as an ASH Councillor, Advisory Board member, and Awards Committee member, Dr. Jaffe has served as a past president of both the Society for Hematopathology and the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology. She currently serves on the Lymphoma Research Foundation's Scientific Advisory Board and is a former Chair of the Medical Sciences Section of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Dr. Jaffe led the effort to develop the World Health Organization classification of tumors of the hematopoietic and lymphoid tissues published in 2001, a classification that rapidly became the international standard.
Dr. Jaffe's awards include the Fred W. Stewart Award from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, the Mostofi Award from the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology, the Lennert Prize from the European Association for Haematopathology, and the Honoris Causa from the University of Barcelona. She was elected as a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies in 2008.
"It is a true privilege to award Dr. Andrews and Dr. Jaffe with the 2013 Henry M. Stratton Medal not only for their seminal research discoveries but also for the resilience, dedication, leadership, and innovation they have exhibited throughout their careers in hematology," said ASH President Janis L. Abkowitz, MD, of the University of Washington. "We deeply appreciate the profound contributions that these distinguished scientists have made to the field and their service as role models for scores of students, trainees, and colleagues."
Drs. Andrews and Jaffe will accept their awards at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday December 10, during the 55th ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition in New Orleans.
###
The American Society of Hematology (ASH) (http://www.hematology.org) is the world's largest professional society of hematologists dedicated to furthering the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disorders affecting the blood. For more than 50 years, the Society has led the development of hematology as a discipline by promoting research, patient care, education, training, and advocacy in hematology. The official journal of ASH is Blood (http://www.bloodjournal.org), the most cited peer-reviewed publication in the field, which is available weekly in print and online.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Video marketing for real estate brokers is now available nationwide from ARME Realty.com, a Clearwater, FL real estate web design and development company.
Clearwater, FL (PRWEB) August 01, 2013
Video marketing for real estate brokers in now available nationwide. ARME Realty.com, a real estate web design and development company located in Clearwater, FL has announced that they will be offering their video advertising package as an individual service to real estate brokers.
ARME Realty.com has been using video marketing as part of their web development strategy since they began developing websites for the real estate industry. The service is considered to be a very necessary part of creating a website that has all of the proper Internet connections.
"The real estate industry has had a very positive reaction to the video marketing portion of our services. By using keyword data to not only develop the content portion of the website, but we can develop the video portion as well. This allows us to create videos that show up on the first page of Google within 24 hours of being posted, and they will often climb to the top of the first page within a few weeks," states Simon Landers, spokesperson.
Mr. Landers continues, "Video marketing for real estate brokers has a very interesting impact on the real estate industry because most of what individuals are looking for when they look at the pictures of homes is the aesthetics. If you have ever heard the term a picture is worth a thousand words, it is very true. Individuals have to like what they see about the home first, before they will even be interested in the more pertinent information, like how many bedrooms the house has."
If you are a real estate broker and you are interested in learning more about video marketing for real estate brokers, and how ARME Realty.com can help please call (727) 459-8841 and speak with an agent.
For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/video-marketing-for/real-estate-brokers/prweb10989648.htm
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Public release date: 1-Aug-2013
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