Infonews n°284 from 15/10/2006

A la Une this week, discover Muhammad Yunus, the last Nobel Peace Prize laureate who started organizing micro-credit, a new way to fight poverty in the third world and encourage women to start small businesses. In the news, read about the assassination of the journalist in Moscow, health warning labels on wine bottles in Britain and the plane which crashed into a building in New York. Then find out about the coming dates in the calendar : World Food Day, World Water Monitoring Day, Diwali and World Usability Day, and read about "an inconvenient Truth" the documentary featuring Al Gore's fight to raise awareness about Global Warming. At the end of the letter, find ideas to celebrate halloween in your class, discover Hockney and the exhibition in the National Gallery, and finally you are invited to follow an online course with audio and video about Emotional Literacy Education.

Have a nice week!
amicalement,
Christine Reymond

Sommaire

A la Une : Nobel Peace Prize

Profile of Muhammad Yunus
His interview for the Nobel site (audio + transcript)
Videos
News articles from Pakistan, India, the Emirates and Turkey
About micro-credit
For micro-credit
Against micro credit

In the News

Murder of Anna Politkovskaya
Health warning on British wine bottles
A plane slammed into a skyscraper in New York

In the Calendar

October 16th, World Food Day
October 18th, World Water Monitoring Day
October 26th, Diwali
November 14th : World Usability Day 2006  "Making Life Easy!"

Film

An Inconvenient Truth

Resources for Primary School

Prepare Halloween

Resources for Secondary School

Sleepy Hollow
David Hockney

Teaching Practice

A free online psychology course


A la Une : Nobel Peace Prize

This year's Nobel Prize was awarded to Mohammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank for their efforts to help the poor (and especially women) through micro-credit.
http://www.grameen-info.org/
This bank also offers a program encouraging the use of renewable energy to produce electricity through its company called Shakti.
http://www.grameen-info.org/grameen/gshakti/index.html

Profile of Muhammad Yunus

http://eur.news1.yimg.com/eur.yimg.com/xp/afpji/20061013/061013155512.42iy9t161_profile-of-muhammad-yunusb.jpg ( short profile in a poster)
http://www.grameen-info.org/agrameen/profile.php3?profile=1 (from the Grameen Bank)
http://www.pbs.org/opb/thenewheroes/meet/yunus.html (from PBS)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6047234.stm (from the BBC)

His interview for the Nobel site (audio + transcript)

http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2006/yunus-interview.html
[ the first half of the recording is just getting through to him, so the file needs editing. Then he speaks with a very strong accent, but if advanced students want to practice audio comprehension of someone with an indian accent over the phone, this is the perfect document. You can also find the transcript of the conversation.]

Videos

"Nobel winner to use prize to help poor" (from CNN, with videos, no transcripts)
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/10/13/nobel.peace.winner.ap/index.html
Nobel for anti-poverty pioneer (from the BBC, with videos, no transcript)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6047020.stm?ls

News articles from Pakistan, India, the Emirates and Turkey

He was already awarded the "Indira Gandhi Award for Peace, Disarmament and Development" in India 1998.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2171923.cms
"Banking for the poor" (Dawn is a Pakistani newspaper)
http://www.dawn.com/2006/10/15/top19.htm
"Bangladesh Nobel laureate vows to make poverty history" ( Khaleej Times is the No.1 English language daily newspaper published from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. )
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/subcontinent/2006/October/subcontinent_October526.xml&section=subcontinent
" Bangladeshi professor wins Nobel peace Prize" ( Zaman is a Turkish newspaper)
 http://www.zaman.com/?bl=economy&alt=&trh=20061014&hn=37340

About micro-credit

What is micro-credit (a very comprehensive document from the university of Indiana, presenting the system)
http://www.indiana.edu/~aid/resources/issues/microcredit.doc
What is micro-credit, by M.Yunus himself
http://www.grameen-info.org/bank/WhatisMicrocredit.htm
2005 was the International year of Micro-credit.
http://www.yearofmicrocredit.org/pages/reslib/reslib_inthenews_dec04.asp
On this other site, you can read the report written at the end of the year, and on November 12-15, 2006 the Global Micro-credit Summit will take place at the "World Trade and Convention Centre" in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
http://www.microcreditsummit.org/
" Micro-finance for macro-results" a long article from the UN chronicles explaining how microcredit works all over the world. Also includes related articles from the Microcredit Summit in Washington, DC and other interesting links on page 3.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1309/is_n1_v34/ai_19897984
Microcredit blog spot : see this interesting blog
http://indiamicrocredit.blogspot.com/2006/08/profile-of-muhammad-yunus.html

For micro-credit

" Nobel winner is lifeline for needy"
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/10/13/nobel.peace.reut/index.html
"Nobel winner Yunus, micro-credit missionary"
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_52/b3965024.htm
" From Access to Empowerment : Gender Issues in Micro-Finance"
http://www.gdrc.org/icm/wind/mayoux.html
"Micro-solution to the world's macro-problems"
http://www.theage.com.au/news/tony-parkinson/microsolution-to-the-worlds-macroproblem/2005/07/07/1120704487935.html

Against micro credit

"is micro-credit a macro trap? : a report showing that in Andhra Pradesh in India, it doesn't really work.
http://www.hinduonnet.com/businessline/2002/09/25/stories/2002092500810900.htm
" Death by microcredit" from the Times of India
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-1996002,curpg-1.cms
a long study about micro-credit in Ghana, fully described, showing that it didn't reach the expected goals but still did a lot of good to women and appears really useful.
http://www.wireless.bridgew.edu/SoAS/jiws/Nov05V1/MicrocreditGhana.pdf

In the News

Murder of Anna Politkovskaya

Ms. Politkovskaya was an excellent but disruptive investigator, journalist and author, famous worldwide, and especially in Europe. She had the courage to say what the others didn't dare speak aloud, and even criticise directly the Russian government. She was murdered last week, as she was working on a story about torture and abductions in Chechnya. I think it is important for our students to know that many journalist still die nowadays to make the truth known. See this list of the journalists killed in 2006 while doing their job:
http://www.cpj.org/killed/killed06.html

The facts and the reactions
- All about her
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Politkovskaya
- Message from the US government to Russia after her murder
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2006/73739.htm
- Her newspaper offers a reward to those who find out who killed her (from der Speigel, a German newspaper)
http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,441616,00.html
- Reactions from all European countries : an interesting digest
http://www.eurotopics.net/en/presseschau/archiv/archiv_dossier/DOSSIER10888

Audio comprehension
- real audio file plus transcript from Voice Of America (VOA)
text and links : http://www.voanews.com/uspolicy/2006-10-13-voa1.cfm
audio : http://128.11.143.113/mediaassets/uspolicy/2006_10/Audio/ra/13089.ra
- MP3 audio file, streaming video and transcript from PBS News Hour
text and links : http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/media/july-dec06/russia_10-09.html
audio : http://www-tc.pbs.org/newshour/rss/media/2006/10/09/20061009_russian28.mp3

Health warning on British wine bottles

You could use this news item in relation to anti drink and drive campaign or the new fad for binge drinking in the UK endangering young people's health. Here are some articles about this new law, which could be a good starting point for a discussion.
"Fine wine to carry a health warning against binge-drinking"
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2403210,00.html
"Wine bottles to get health danger labels"
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/10/14/nwine14.xml
"Children ordering alcohol over the phone"
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/09/27/nalcohol27.xml
" Gulp! Government plans to put health warnings on wine bottles"
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health_medical/article1873844.ece

A plane slammed into a skyscraper in New York

This news item isn't really interesting in itself. You could just use some of the pictures to compare it or or contract it with September 11th events.
New York Yankee Cory Lidle killed in plane crash (the facts, with pictures)
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20061011/nyc_plane_061011/20061011?hub=TopStories
more pictures (you could use this picture to make the students talk, compare with 911 or suggest recommendations)
http://www.ctv.ca/gallery/html/NYC_crash_20061011/photo_1.html
FAA tightens rules for small planes over East River in New York
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/13/AR2006101301541.html
New details emerge about final moments of the flight
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20061013/nyc_plane_061013/20061013?hub=World

In the Calendar

Here are some special Days in October and November:

October 16th, World Food Day

(also related to the issue of hunger in the world. Can also be related to MGOs)
<http://www.fao.org/wfd/2006/index.asp?lang=en>http://www.fao.org/wfd/2006/index.asp?lang=en
here is what [LII New This Week] October 12 says:
"World Food Day
"The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations celebrates World Food Day each year on 16 October, the day on which the Organization was founded in 1945." The site features posters and selected additional material about this commemoration back to 1981, audio and video clips, listing of events throughout the world, and links to related resources."
http://www.fao.org/wfd/

October 18th, World Water Monitoring Day

( linked to global warming, saving water and sustainable development)
<http://www.worldwatermonitoringday.org/>http://www.worldwatermonitoringday.org/
http://www.usgs.gov/homepage/science_features/world_wat[...]

October 26th, Diwali

(the Indian festival of lights, like Christmas and New year together.)
<http://www.diwalifestival.org/>http://www.diwalifestival.org/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/hinduism/holyda[...]
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diwali>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diwali
http://hinduism.about.com/library/weekly/aa110599.htm
<http://www.dialindia.com/festivals/diwali/index.html>http://www.dialindia.com/festivals/diwali/index.html
http://www.vandemataram.com/diwali/intro.html

November 14th : World Usability Day 2006  "Making Life Easy!"

World Usability Day, November 14, 2006, is for everyone who's ever asked these questions. This Earth Day style event, focused on raising awareness and visibility of usability engineering and user centered design, is currently being organized by volunteers and local event coordinators from around the world. Whether a usability professional or just an enthusiastic (or frustrated) user, each participant is making a contribution to "making life easy".
World Usability Day 2006 promotes the value of usability engineering and user-centered design and the belief that every user has the responsibility to ask for things that work better. The Usability Professionals' Association http://www.usabilityprofessionals.org/ is doing that by encouraging, organizing, and sponsoring 36 hours of activities at the local level around the globe, all occurring on November 14, 2006.
http://www.worldusabilityday.org/about
To introduce the topic, you can download this Power Point Presentation (full screen, excellent quality, but I lost the link to the sound) showing all the moments in the life of an American (or Canadian?) business man when he uses an electronic device of some kind, from watching TV and making coffee to using his GPS or ordering goods online. Can be used even with beginners...and don't miss the last words...
http://www.worldusabilityday.org/tools/a-day-in-the-life-of-usability
Then you can invite your students to read some of the stories
http://www.worldusabilityday.org/stories
and maybe they will find a problem and offer a solution!

Film

An Inconvenient Truth

"An Inconvenient Truth is a new film documentary about Gore’s environmental crusade around the world to raise awareness on Global Warming."
from the Green site Treehuggers:
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/02/an_inconvenient_1.php

Ce film de Davis Guggenheim est sorti dans nos salles le 11 octobre sous le titre français : "une vérité qui dérange". Il me semble adapté à nos élèves de lycée, et un bon point de départ pour relancer le thème de l'environnement et travailler avec vos collègues sur l'EEDD (éducation à l'environnement et au développement durable).
Vous pourrez introduire le sujet ou poursuivre le thème de l'environnement avec les sites de cette page:
http://perso.numericable.fr/~dreymondch46/infonews/themes/earthandenvironment.html
et en particulier cette suite d'images présentant "Global Warming Statistics"
<http://globalwarming.enviroweb.org/>http://globalwarming.enviroweb.org/
This site recommended by the Scout Report can also be used as a follow up:
Climate Change: The Environment Network
http://climatechange.unep.net/index.cfm

Critiques en français
"Avec ce documentaire, le réalisateur Davis Guggenheim donne la parole à l'ancien vice-président des Etats-Unis et candidat malheureux à la Présidence en 2000 : Al Gore. Celui-ci s'est lancé depuis de nombreuses années dans une lutte sans merci contre le réchauffement de la planète et dans un plaidoyer pour l'adoption de technologies et ressources d'énergie alternatives.
Al Gore dénonce des faits alarmants, mais sans jamais culpabiliser l'auditoire afin de lui faire prendre conscience du danger qui plane sur notre planète."
extrait de: <http://www.cinemovies.fr/fiche_film.php?IDfilm=12331>http://www.cinemovies.fr/fiche_film.php?IDfilm=12331
Voyez aussi ce long article sur Wikipédia en français:
<http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Inconvenient_Truth>http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Inconvenient_Truth

Official website
flash. A bit long to download, but contains a reminder of what Global Warming is and an interesting trailer of the film ( with words like : "the scariest", "I used to be the next president", "occur", etc.)
<http://www.climatecrisis.net/>http://www.climatecrisis.net/
You can also find it on IMDB:
<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0497116/>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0497116/
and on Apple (trailer and sound track):
http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount_classics/aninconvenienttruth/trailer/

Here are some critics from:
The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/25/AR2006012502230.html
CBS News
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/05/31/earlyshow/main1670719.shtml
NPR (avec son mais sans script)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5439305
The BBC
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4998856.stm>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4998856.stm
The Register (It's rare to see dry information presented in such an entertaining way.)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/06/05/inconvenient_truth_gore/
the Seattle Post Intelligencer ( Fact or feeler )
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/movies/272558_warming02.html
Newsweek
<http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12535460/site/newsweek/>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12535460/site/newsweek/

Resources for Primary School

Prepare Halloween

On e-teach, our colleagues have selected those addresses:
- Ellen Foucher recommends
http://www.britishcouncil.org/kids-stories-long.htm
http://www.britishcouncil.org/kids-topics-halloween.htm
- and  hélène Dupont
http://www.edhelper.com/halloween.htm
et ne manquez pas toutes les activités que nos collègues acceptent de partager en les mettant dans les documents de la liste e-teach:
http://teachers.domainepublic.net/shared/Civi%20Pays%20Anglophones/halloween/

Resources for Secondary School

Sleepy Hollow

With Halloween approaching, our colleagues from e-teach have talked a lot about the short story and the film "Sleepy Hollow". here is what they recommend:
- Catherine Serreau points at this page which provides links to pages of links about Washington Irwing and Sleepy Hollow.
http://englishacademy.site.voila.fr/authors.htm
- Josiane Laval recommends this cdrom in French
<http://www.crdp-toulouse.fr/docenligne/article.php3?id_article=795>http://www.crdp-toulouse.fr/docenligne/article.php3?id_article=795
- Florinda Fernandes has put the short story online, together with a worksheet and the answers:
http://bebos.chez-alice.fr/mon_site_web/doc/The_legend_of_sleepy_hollow.pdf
http://bebos.chez-alice.fr/mon_site_web/doc/sleepy_hollow_ws.pdf
http://bebos.chez-alice.fr/mon_site_web/doc/sleepy_hollow_wsa.pdf
you can also read the legend online at:
http://www.pagebypagebooks.com/Washington_Irving/The_Legend_of_Sleepy_Hollow/The_Legend_Of_Sleepy_Hollow_p1.html
http://www.worldwideschool.org/library/books/lit/mystery/TheLegendofSleepyHollow/Chap1.html
http://www.bibliomania.com/0/5/149/391/17450/1/frameset.html
http://www.literaturepage.com/read/legendofsleepyhollow-1.html
http://www.4literature.net/Washington_Irving/Legend_of_Sleepy_Hollow/
http://www.virtual-arts.com/stories/sleepyhollow/
- audio comprehension
you can find this MP3 audio file and full transcript from a program on VOA about Sleepy Hollow
http://www.voanews.com/specialenglish/archive/2006-04/2006-04-23-voa4.cfm?CFID=47443565&CFTOKEN=21363477
the video clips and transcript of the interview of the old Dutch church Tour Guide
http://www.tqnyc.org/NYC051575/lent_interview_moviepage.htm
- an interesting class activity
http://www.iei.uiuc.edu/structure/Structure1/sleepy_intro.html

David Hockney

Catherine Serreau recommends those pages and this slide show about the David Hockey exhibition at the National Gallery in London (until January 21st 2007)
http://www.hockneypictures.com/upcoming.htm
http://www.npg.org.uk/live/wohockney.asp
Audio Slideshow : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/6045520.stm

Teaching Practice

A free online psychology course

Discover Emotional Literacy Education Course 101, a comprehensive online course, with the lessons and the audio files of the conferences. The voice is rather mechanical, but the content is interesting if you are interested in psychology, or just want to listen to a lecture to train your hear....
texts : http://emotional-literacy-education.com/index.shtml
audio : http://emotional-literacy-education.com/realaudio/index.shtml


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lycée Blaise Pascal, Rouen, France
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