Archive for November 2011
2010 Conference USA Football Predictions
The East Carolina Pirates won the East division of Conference USA for the second straight year, and backed it up with another win in the conference championship game, this time beating Houston 38-32. The Pirates figure to have a tough time winning Conference USA for a third straight season, as they must learn new schemes under new head coach Ruffin McNeill and don’t have a whole lot of talent back. The conference has some work to do if they want to be recognized as a top non-BCS conference after going just 2-4 in bowl games last season. I believe that we will see that improvement in 2010, and this conference could even produce a team in a BCS bowl game. Here is a look at my 2010 predictions for Conference USA.
EAST PREDICTIONS:
1.) Southern Miss Golden Eagles – The Golden Eagles are my pick to win the East division in 2010, but it won’t be easy as this team has to play both Houston and Tulsa out of the West. The big question on offense will be how well this team can replace four starters on the offensive line, but I think this unit will be better than people expect. The defense has nine starters back and figures to be the best unit in the conference.
2.) UCF Knights – The Knights welcome back 15 starters in 2010, and figure to be right there with the Golden Eagles as the favorites to win East. The Knights also figure to be very good on the defensive side of the football, but just how good this team is will depend on the play of junior quarterback Rob Calabrese. Even though the Knights get the Golden Eagles at home, they have only beat the Golden Eagles once in the last five seasons.
3.) Marshall Thundering Herd – The Herd will go to work in 2010 under new head coach Doc Holliday, and I have some very high expectations for this team. They have 14 starters back from a team that went 7-6, and I look for the offense to be even better under Holliday’s fast pace attack.
4.) East Carolina Pirates - A lot of experts are calling for a big drop off for the Pirates in 2010, and with good reason as this team only has 8 starters back and must adjust to McNeill’s new schemes. While I don’t think they have a shot at winning the division, I do think they will finish right in the middle of the East.
5.) UAB Blazers – The Blazers could easily finish in the top half of this division, as they get both Marshall and East Carolina at home. The problem is they have a really tough road schedule, and I think they disappoint in 2010.
6.) Memphis Tigers – The Tigers have not been good at all the past two seasons and with only 13 starters back for the 2010 season, I don’t think this team will show much improvement if any in the East division.
WEST PREDICTIONS:
1.) Houston Cougars - I believe the Cougars are the most talented team in Conference USA this season, and the offense should be something special to watch under senior quarterback Case Keenum, who should get a lot of Heisman talk if this team is able to run the table.
2.) SMU Mustangs - The Mustangs pulled off a huge turnaround in 2009 going 8-5 after winning just two games combined in the two previous seasons. They are legit contenders to win the West, as they have 15 starters back and get the Cougars on their home turf.
3.) Tulsa Golden Hurricane - Here is a team that should put together a much better year than they had in 2009. The Golden Hurricane went just 3-5 in conference play last year, but with 14 starters back, including 9 on the offensive side of the ball, this team could surprise some people and compete for the top spot.
4.) Rice Owls - I am really looking for the Owls to put together a winning season in 2010, as they return a conference best 18 starters. Look out for Michigan transfer Sam McGuffie to come in right away and lead the rushing attack that averaged just 109 yards a game last season. The big concern for this team comes on the defensive side of the ball.
5.) UTEP Miners - The Miners bring back 15 starters to a team that went 4-8 overall and 3-5 in conference play, including the leading rusher in Conference USA last season in senior Donald Buckram. If the defense can improve with only five starters back, this team will likely be better than fifth in the West.
6.) Tulane Green Wave – Don’t expect a lot out of the Green Wave in 2010, as they have just 11 starter back from a team that went 1-7 in conference play last season. It would be a huge surprise if this team finishes outside of last in the West.
CONFERENCE USA CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: Houston Cougars defeat Southern Miss Golden Eagles
Conference Interpreting
Conference interpreting can make the business meeting or a multinational conference run smoothly and turn it into a successful business proposition. Interpreting takes place in different environments. There are multi-party conferences, public services and one-to-one business meetings. Conference interpreting falls in two broad categories; namely simultaneous interpreting and consecutive interpreting.
Simultaneous interpreting involves a team of professional interpreters. Interpreters are given a sound proof booth. An interpreter listens to the speaker on the earphone and interprets simultaneously while the speaker continues speaking and delivers the message through the microphone. Whispering interpreting is considered as a version of simultaneous interpreting. The interpreter listens to the speaker and whispers the message to listeners. For a whispering interpreter it is not possible to interpret for more than two listeners at a time. Another form of simultaneous interpreting is called “Tourguide”. This is used, in exceptional cases, in small meetings. It is a roving microphone used by the interpreter, whereby the interpretation is fed back to the delegates through headphones. But this can make the interpreter’s life more difficult as there are often acoustic problems.
In consecutive interpreting, the conference interpreter listens to the speaker, taking notes, and delivers the message once the speaker has finished. During consecutive interpreting, the speech is divided into several small or large segments to help the conference interpreter facilitate correctly and efficiently. The pauses in the speech are pre-determined between the speaker and the interpreter, this usually happens before the conference commences.
There are advantages of both kinds of interpreting. During simultaneous interpreting, there is no time loss; there is a spontaneous reaction of all the members thus making the conference a lively discussion across the language barrier. The advantage of the consecutive interpreting is that there is no conferencing equipment involved thus cutting the cost of the expenses. Also the delegates get more time to take notes and comprehend. Though the advantage, there is a disadvantage too. This kind of conference interpreting requires a lot of time thus making it unfavorable for the conference where there are several foreign languages or there is a need for lively discussions.
Conference interpreters are multilingual and their working languages are classified as follows:
1. Active Languages
2. Passive Languages
Active Languages: Active languages are further sub – divided into A-language and B-language. A-language is the conference interpreter’s native language in which the interpreter will interpret all the other language in both modes of interpretation. B- Language is all the other language apart from the native language into which the interpreter will work.
Passive Languages: C-language: A source language which the interpreter understands perfectly but does not use as a target language.
It is vital to find the most qualified and efficient professional interpreter in the market. The better the qualifications and the certifications, the more confident you will be in receiving a high quality service. The services of a Consultant Interpreter may help you assess the mode of interpretation best suited to your individual requirements, the number of interpreters you may need and even assist you in bringing together such a team. Additionally, a Consultant Interpreter can advise on the choice of technical equipment and/or provide the name of reputable technicians and generally help to share the workload of the organizer when it comes to language services for the meeting.
Major Conference on Autism
More than 6 decades and a half have passed since the word autism was used by Leo Kanner to identify precise traits in a group of children which was hardly known to the public in general. Nowadays this term is being widely discussed by the media. In fact these reports by the media along with a resolution passed by the United Nations which marks the 2nd of April as an annual World Autism Awareness Day will go a long way to highlight this variety of disorder before the general public.
It is assumed that there were people suffering from autism even before 1943 when Leo Kanner identified it. They were considered to be either insane or mentally retarded. Among them is the depiction of Victor, a boy from the 19th century whose details have been published in the book “The Wild Boy of Aveyron”. Since this brain development disorder which does not allow a child from living a normal social life had not been identified, it was assumed that he had grown up with wild animals and had inhibited their behaviors.
It is assumed that more children will be diagnosed with autism this year than with AIDS, cancer and diabetes combined, a grave scenario indeed. In fact this disease has already taken monstrous proportions and is considered to be the world’s fastest-growing serious development disability. It is estimated that the autistic population of the UK itself is 1 per 100.
Thanks due to the huge strides take in research, the understanding and knowledge about autism is moving on at a fast pace. There are ongoing discussions to make the people aware of this disease apart from therapeutic involvement along with the services required to uphold individuals along with their families whose lives are affected in confronting this life-long situation.
Established in 1999, Prior’s court, one of UK’s foremost autistic dedicated schools, situated near Newbury will be the venue of a major conference on the 12th of June. This conference will discuss about the practice and advances made in autism research.