This thursday at the Normann Copenhagen Flagship store it’s Time to design, or rather it’s time to see how Wai & Lanzavecchia design. In august the design-duo won the Time to design – new talent  award with their winning project “SPAZIALE SERIES: New expressions of skin and structure”.

It is fashion meets architecture meets human behavior  – and we love it!
Drop by our flagship store this thursday the 25th at 3pm to 5pm. Grab a Bombay Saphire drink and enjoy true design talents.

Can´t make it on thursday ? Don´t worry, the Time to design exhibition will be running until 10th of December and we will keep you posted with video and pictures from the reception.

Follow NormannCPH on Twitter, and you will be the first to hear how you can win Time to design in 2010.

Photos: Davide Farabergoli.

Pictures by Wai

Pictures by Luis Davis

“Marcquis Walker-Williams, 19, received the sentence from Common Pleas Court Judge Shelley Robins New for his Aug. 28 third-degree murder conviction in the death of 69-year-old Kwok Wai-Ho.”

I just finished reading this article on Philly.com about how teenager, 19 year old Marcquis Walker-Williams grabbed and dropped, 69 year old Kwok Wai-Ho who fell and mortally wounded his head on the curb. This type of news story isn’t that surprising to me since I live in the City of Brotherly Love  and it doesn’t usually prompt me to write a post here. But there are several parts of this story that I want to touch upon.

Maybe its because I’m from Philadelphia or that my family has been attacked and robbed multiple times since I’ve been living here (including my elderly grandparents). It’s also possible that I identify with the Chinese victims in the story, whatever it is this type of shit just happens way too often in this city.

The first thing that pissed me off about reading this article, is that even though its the correct term and the criminal is technically a teenager, I don’t really consider a 19 year old a teenager. Because when you seen teenager you think and expect somebody a lot younger than 19. There have been men sent to Iraq younger than that, and I bet if Walker-Williams wasn’t in this situation he would tell you himself that he is a grown ass man.  That’s just one part of the article that annoyed me and then there’s the reason he attacked defenseless Kwok Wai Ho…

In his own words, he and his friends wanted to “Catch a Body”. From his description it sounds like a game he and his friends “play” which basically consists of jumping an unsuspecting person, punching them, and then running away.  Walker-Williams claims it was a “dumb mistake”, well no shit dumbass. If he wasn’t caught it probably would have been entertainment. Yes, ENTERTAINMENT, like a fucking hobby. At least some robbers rob out of necessity, robbing to pay the bills, get some food etc. But this senseless violence was due to this idiot being bored and having too much time on his hands? That unfortunately looks to be the case.

Lemme paint you guys a picture about how the conversation leading up to it probably went.

“Hey guys, i’m bored how about we go grab and beat that really old Chinese guy and then run away? “

“Its gonna be really awesome!  He won’t be suspecting anything and we get to hit somebody, plus he’s really old so he can’t catch us.  And since he’s an old Chinese guy, he probably can’t even speak english!”

Fucking animals. Actually animals might be giving these idiots too much credit. At least animals hunt in packs for food.

Then there is the third part of the story that pissed me off. As soon as these motherfuckers get in trouble they start quoting the bible like the Pope. Where was all those Christian rules and beliefs before when they were using defenseless geriatrics as punching bags?

“We’re Christians and our God asks us to forgive,” Walker-Williams said, turning to the Ho family. “I’m asking you to forgive me.”

Forgiveness can be asked after you paid for your crime and not while the family is still in mourning.

What is PFS ?  It is the latest profiling talk of the town.  Are you being very Procedural in your thoughts ?  Are you being drowned with feelings ?  or Are you the smartest of all Strategist ?

Can Procedural Dominant Profile or Feelings Dominant Profile give you success ?

How to be the Smartest of all Strategist ?

Do you want to take the test and see who you really are ?

FAQ Frequently Asked Questions about Players Club Intl

Who are you?  We are Veterans helping Veterans - a professional organization of Retired Military Relocation Specialists. Players Club Intl shows how it’s possible to retire early , live well and enjoy life overseas. One can find true happiness and retire in Thailand on as little as $495 a month and Up. The more, the merrier.

What do you do? We do show how to retire early and find true happiness – how it’s possible to live like an O7 on an E6 pay – by retiring overseas in Asia to warm and friendly Thailand.

Happiness on Earth Thai wai a sign of greeting and respect Thailand Land of Smiles FAQ frequently asked questions Players Club Intl com

Is it really possible to retire on $495 a month? It is for a single person. Individuals are doing it cheerfully. Fortunately, most retirement pensions are well more than double that amount, affording one a much grander lifestyle. The cost of living and peace of mind lifestyle is wonderful in Thailand.

Is Thailand safe?  Very much so.

Un educado Ronald McDonald en Victory Monument (Bangkok)

No hay duda que una de las cosas más importantes que debe hacer cualquier turista o viajero antes de partir hacia su destino es obtener toda la información posible sobre las costumbres del país que va a visitar, y mucho más cuando se trata de una cultura totalmente diferente.

Cuando viajas a un país tan diferente como es Tailandia, encuentras muchas costumbres que pueden chocar. Incluso hay veces que puedes llegar a sentirte incómodo, pues ese desconocimiento puede provocar que no sepas cómo reaccionar ante determinadas situaciones.

Hablemos de algo tan sencillo como puede ser el saludo. Al igual que en España saludamos de forma diferente según la persona que tengamos delante, dependiendo de su edad, sexo, posición social… los rusos, por ejemplo, se dan un par de besos, los musulmanes se llevan la mano al corazón en un gesto que se me hace como el más noble de todos los saludos que conozco.

En Tailandia, el saludo es un poco más complejo que en otras culturas. El Wai Prah o más comúnmente Wai es lo primero que nos va a sorprender de esta cultura, y es muy importante conocer su uso para no sentirnos incómodos ni hacer sentirse incómodo a la persona que saludamos.

El Wai simboliza el respeto hacia la otra persona, reconociendo también la importancia de ésta. Este gesto consiste en juntar las palmas de las manos a la altura del pecho, como si fuéramos a rezar, a la vez que inclinamos la cabeza esbozando una sonrisa. Este gesto, a la vez que muestra el respeto hacia la otra persona, con la sonrisa se refleja también el carácter noble de los tais.

Hace poco más de dos años una preciosa camarera me hizo el saludo de una forma que me impactó. Su sonrisa y su dulzura me llamó especialmente la atención. En ese momento no podía imaginar que esa muñequita se iba a convertir en mi novia, y que dos años después estaríamos preparando todos los papeles para comenzar una vida juntos en Granada. Y sí, lo primero que me llamó la atención de Pui fue su forma de saludar.

Es importante no hacer el saludo a la ligera, pues dependiendo de la persona con la que tratemos, hay que tener en cuenta la edad, el rango social y algún que otro aspecto para saber cómo se realizará el Wai y quién debe hacerlo primero. Es muy común el turista que recién llegado a Tailandia use el wai como forma de saludo a los Tais, aunque la mayoría de las ocasiones lo hará en respuesta al saludo de un camarero, vendedor, recepcionista… lo que no sabe este voluntarioso turista es que con esa respuesta realmente lo que va a conseguir es incomodar al Tai.

Realmente, no tanto ni tan poco. No debemos hacer la reverencia a cualquier tailandés, tampoco debemos dar un apretón de manos. Los tailandeses siempre prefieran mantener una distancia de respeto, y más con un extranjero, ya que para muchos de ellos el farang es un personaje sucio, sudoroso y oloroso. Para muchos de ellos, ver a este personaje farang haciendo el wai puede resultar algo muy gracioso, pues en muchas ocasiones queda bastante ridículo.

¿A quién debemos hacer el wai?

- A los Monjes

- A las personas de mayor edad

- A las personas de mayor rango social

- A la realeza

¿Cuándo debemos hacer el wai?

Cuando siempre dependerá de “quién”, en referencia a la persona que tiene el mayor estatus o edad. La persona con menor status realizará wai primero. La mayoría de turistas y Farang general no tiene que preocuparse de realizar el wai en primer lugar. El Tai siempre lo realizará primero debido al respeto general de los tailandeses hacia los extranjeros. Además, no se espera que el farang vaya a entender las costumbres de Tailandia.

¿Cómo hacer el wai?

La persona de rango inferior también debe hacer mayor reverencia, bajar la cabeza más que su contertulio. Por lo general, se adivina la situación social de dos personas que se reúnen viendo la forma en que realizan el wai. Si hace mayor reverencia y coloca las manos más arriba (puede ser hasta a la altura de la frente), muestra menor rango social y debe mayor respeto.

Según la región en la que nos encontremos, estas costumbres pueden cambiar, por eso quizá lo más recomendable sea simplemente ahorrase el wai (evitaremos la posibilidad de hacer el ridículo), podemos saludar simplemente haciendo una ligera inclinación de cabeza esbozando una sonrisa. De esa manera siempre vamos a mostrar nuestro respeto, y es un gesto que podemos hacer ante cualquier persona que tengamos delante.

Ante todo, muy importante, vamos a evitar incomodar a nuestros anfitriones. Aunque en España sea de lo más común, nunca daremos dos besos o las manos a no ser que sea alguno de ellos quien nos lo ofrezca. El típico comentario “a la española” de: “me da igual lo que me diga, yo te doy dos besos” puede ser muy gracioso para la persona que hace ese comentario, pero puede incomodar mucho más de lo que imaginamos.

Para los viajeros que lleguen a Tailandia, les recomiendo el libro “DOs & DON´Ts in Thailand”, escrito por Kenny Yee y Catherine Gordon. Es muy barato (unos 4 euros), y lo encontraréis en muchas librerías. Quizá sea el libro más completo sobre cómo un turista puede entender las costumbres tailandesas.

Para que entendamos la complejidad de este saludo, el libro de Yee and Gordon nos muestra un buen ejemplo:

A young foreigner meets a Thai girl for lunch. She does the wai and he returns the gesture. To go back to his hotel he hails a taxi. The older driver, upon receiving a good tip, wais him, then drives off. The foreigner waves his hand to mean ‘never mind.’

Some days later, the girl invites him to her house. An old man walks out and she introduces her father, whom he instantly recognizes as none other than the taxi driver.

Now, should the westerner, say a manager of some firm (status), recognizing the taxi-driver father (elder person), wai first? Or not wai but mumble something in English as a detour? Or merely extend a hand for a handshake? Do nothing to see what happens first?

Before he can sort himself out, a woman looking younger than he walks in and his girlfriend introduces the woman as her stepmother. Should he wai this younger woman first or wait for her to do it first? An elderly woman now comes in and it turns out she is the chief servant. He becomes confused. Wai quickly?

Murmur something in French or Chinese? Over to you.

I suspect that the next time you see me, the words that come out of my mouth will probably make you look at me funny. That’s probably because my speaking skills are years behind my writing skills. Anyway, I’m not ready to head back at all. It’s been a long summer. I’ve gotten used to being home, and I’ve finally finished with my job, with God’s grace. I didn’t do a bad job, but I didn’t excel either. And now, Jesus has come and said, “Follow me, back to Boston, back to Tufts, where I have much in store for you.” And I’m afraid to answer, even though I know I will in the end. I keep thinking back to the passage, where the man asks Jesus, let me bury my father before I go with you, and Jesus replies, Let the dead bury the dead. The son of man has no place to rest his head.

Well, Jesus, I’ve found a place to rest my head, or, at least, I’ve finally made it into a place where I can, and now I’ll be leaving. And it feels like it’s been forever since I’ve left Tufts.

There’s one song I always remember when I think of Boston. It’s God of this City, written by Chris Tomlin. In the beginning, I really didn’t think much of the song, but every time I return to Boston, I hear this song.

You’re the God of this city, You’re the King of these people
You’re the Lord of this nation, You are
You’re the Light in this darkness, You’re the Hope to the hopeless
You’re the Peace to the restless, You are
There is no one like our God, there is no one like our God
For greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still to be done in this city
Greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still to be done in this city

So as I head back to Boston, I have to remember God’s promises. And despite this long year, I have to trust that he has a purpose for Tufts and Boston. I made a bad joke about bringing a bunch of little Wais around the Tufts campus next semester, but if little Wais means giving them what Tufts and all of you gave me — a fellowship, a ton of encouragement, and a place where I finally reconnected with Jesus and will do so for the following year — then I’ll gladly help do it.

Anyway, if you see me next time, and I seem aloof, forgive me and remember that I’ll be that way for a while.

And now my arm is really sore. Funny how softball is. The ball’s not very small, and it’s really hard to throw it. Other people probably know more about it than I do, especially because I stink (I remember Debra saying she played once, but I’m not sure). So anyway, I ended up pitching because during the first game, I ended up going 3 for 3 (As I’m writing this, my mom is yelling at me because she found my crotch pants. It’s times like these when I know God is laughing with me too). I was picked first, and afterwards, the team captain was mortified to find that he had one, no pitchers and two, that I couldn’t field for my life. I had come late to the first game, and because of that, I was relegated to the DH position (which means I don’t need to play defense), where I proceeded to mash any ball that came my way. So I ended up becoming a pitcher for two innings, and getting 4 strikeouts, without allowing any runs (although I did come dangerously close to letting them score). I was DOMINANT. Alright, to be fair, I was really bad, and the only reason I got those strikeouts was because the other hitters got really impatient with my horrible aim and swung at any ball that was close. But hey, it worked. And I had a lot of fun, which has been missing from my life lately. And I got taken out the next inning because the other team started complaining, and I was vindicated by the fact that my replacement gave up six runs in the next inning.

Sometimes it’s good to have these posts, to make sure that I don’t act too serious, because being serious..is boring. But to continue with my blog posts on what’s been happening, I guess work will be ending soon, and I guess I’ve given up on the book of testimonies for last year’s senior class. It’ll have to happen with the senior class this year, hopefully, but I have to trust God that this will be done.

I’ve also prayed about leadership at TCF. To be honest, this summer, I learned that I wasn’t such a good person after all. Stress can bring out the worst in people, and it brought out some bad parts in me. And I know that leadership can also do the same to me too. And so when the leadership team sent out the email about leadership positions next year, I really considered withdrawing my name from the leadership applications. And I prayed, and sometime today, I got my answer. Sometimes it’s good to know what I’m bad at, but isn’t God’s glory made perfect in our weaknesses. And so, I decided that if I am blessed enough to be a leader, I’ll trust in God, and leave it to him to keep me humble and lead me on the path that I need to go on. And if not, then I will trust in his will, and rejoice =) God bless everyone. I’ll see you soon hopefully.

I try not to post so much especially because I don’t like to see my name and words plastered all over places. It just feels weird, but nobody else is posting so…here I am again.

My last post seemed pretty depressing, and maybe it was. I have a week left of work, and now I’m starting to look forward to Tufts again. Something I’ve been noticing here is the way people tiptoe around religion. For example, it still bothers me that my cousin would describe the Shack as a “spiritual” book, or that my co-workers describe themselves as agnostic (as in “I believe in a higher power, but that’s it”). The more belligerent ones would use Bertrand Russell’s teapot but they are all the same. Why are people so reluctant to accept the idea of God?

Right now, I can only come up with a few reasons but there are probably tons more. How can we as Christians believe that we are right, when there are so many other religions out there? Along the way, there’s also a stigma attached to being a Christian, one that says that being Christian means you’re dumb. We have science now, and science proves everything, or if science cannot prove something, then it probably doesn’t exist. And perhaps the final reason may be the most obvious and not so obvious one. If God really does exist, how will this change my life?

I thought about this a while ago, because somebody asked me to explain what made Christianity so different from the Greek religions of old. It took me a while, but the answer is so simple: Jesus is the truth and answer. How amazing is it that Jesus walked on the Earth so many years ago? This is not even disputed by historians—even more amazing to me. I studied classics this past year, and surprise surprise, I actually learned something (cue the gasps and dramatic music*). In that Greek religion, we actually do have an example of a human becoming deified: the greek god, Asclepious (most famous for being referenced in Socrates’ final sentence). There is just a ton of evidence that show the transition from human to hero to God, from early references in the Illiad to prayers to Asclepious found on artifacts later on. And yet, we have no evidence like that in Jesus. In fact, in comparison to the different copies of the bible found over time, the image of Jesus doesn’t change over time.

Like CS. Lewis said, Jesus did not leave us the option to call him a wise man; he was either crazy, or telling the truth. Yet, people want to still believe he was a wise man, and just that, and as I said, people are often afraid of what he means. Alex often cites the example of Peter falling back, and it is just as true here. Why did Peter fall back? Because he was being forced to confront his own sin, his own shortcomings. But unlike Peter, by falling back, we can ignore God. There is no proof at all that Jesus said things differently, and yet people are more inclined evidence that does not exist (Jesus’s supposed “wise” teachings) instead of the evidence that does exist (the bible).

But to us, we run into a final problem. In our culture, it seems religion is seen as a means of control (sin is attractive). We as Christians know that we are blessed to know God. Others are not convinced or do not know the blessing and comfort we gain from knowing that God exists. This is the reason why Jesus appeals to the poor. They have nowhere to go to, but he offered a hope far more than their greatest dreams. We often judge people based on looks, money, success, etc. Jesus tells them that they are loved beyond that.

So after writing all that, how to solve the problem? I honestly don’t know. It never comes from us. We sow the seeds, and Jesus is the one who helps them grow. And this is so important for me to understand. God does it all, God gets all the glory. And hopefully He’ll get all of it this coming year.

Este post vai tratar de um recurso importante, mas pouco utilizado na maioria dos sites, a acessibilidade. Este recurso tem grande valor e permite aumentar  significativamente o número de acessos ao conteúdo, pois possibilitará que usuários com impedimentos físicos ou técnológicos tenham acesso a informação que está publicada em seu site.

Os desenvolvedores de browsers tem se preocupado em incluir tecnologias que permitam aumentam a interação  homem-máquina, pensando não apenas nas pessoas comuns, mas também em usuário que possuam algum impedimento físico ou tecnológico para visualizar as informações divulgads em um site e cabe a cada um de nós, profissionais de internet, utilizarmos estes recursos para aumentar a inclusão digital e a disseminação da informação.

O que é acessibilidade?

Acessibilidade significa não apenas permitir que pessoas com deficiência participem de atividades que incluem o uso de produtos, serviços e informação, mas a inclusão e extensão do uso destes por todas as parcelas presentes em uma determinada população. (fonte: http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acessibilidade)

A acessibilidade para ser aplicada em um site deve ser parte do planejamento do site desde a sua concepção, pois a aplicação das recomendações para esse fim tem influência direta na diagramação de todo o layout, mas um detalhe importante é que a maioria dos recursos de acessibilidade são ocultos e o seu resultado só é percebido quando navegamos pela interface. Um exemplo do não uso da acessibilidade é quando tentamos acessar um determinado site através de nosso celulares e são apresentados imensas barras de rolagem horizontal e vertical ou quando estamos navegando em um site e por algum motivo o mouse para de funcionar, no momento que o utilizamos o “TAB” para navegar pelos links o cursor seleciona direto a barra de endereço do site.

O W3C é o principal mantenedor das recomendações de aplicação de acessibilidade em sites (http://www.w3.org/WAI/). A WAI (Web Accessibility Initiative) disponibiliza técnicas de implementação de acessibilidade, gerenciamento e aplicação em conteúdo web. Estas recomentações são referencias tanto para os desenvolvedores de interfaces web, quanto para os desenvolvedores de browsers.

A WAI do W3C também disponibiliza técnicas para elaboração de interfaces acessíveis e pode ser encontrado no endereço: http://www.w3.org/WAI/guid-tech.html.

Informações sobre o gerenciamento de acessibilidade no projeto de um site pode ser encontrado no seguinte endereço: http://www.w3.org/WAI/managing.html

No site da WAI dedicado a esse tema é possível encontrar mais informações que irá guiá-lo na implementação de sites mais acessiveis e deixar seus layouts pré ajustados para a aplicação de usabilidade, outro item que iremos discutir em outro artigo.

O mais importante é refletir sobre a acessibilidade, até onde seu conteúdo pode ser importante a ponto de ser lido com o mínimo de recursos disponíveis pelo leitor. E nunca se esqueça que a acessibilidade não está relacionada apenas a deficientes físicos, mas é algo maior, pois o objetivo e tornar o conteúdo acessível a qualquer leitor independente das suas limitações, físicas ou tecnológicas.

3 more weeks. That’s all I think of now. Whenever I think of all the pressure, I’m going through now, I think of three more weeks, because that’s when this job ends, and I’ll be free, free of all the paperwork, all the students relying on me, all the pressure upon me to prove that my supervisor had made a bad choice in choosing me for this job. And now, I’m realizing how much of a problem caring too much can be, because every mistake that I make really messes with my head. Is it insecurity? Maybe. I feel myself becoming more withdrawn now. The only reason why people think I look like a dad at my job is because of the way I act. I’ve learned not to smile too much, not to give too much of a reason for supervisors to think I’m incompetent.

Thinking about this probably makes me understand how I’ve fallen away from God a bit. And for a while on Saturday, I just thought, where is He in all this? And I guess, for some reason, I just felt a tiny bit of hope. Even in all of this, he’s still with me. Before I left Tufts, Jenna gave me some of her magazines, and even though I told her that I probably wouldn’t read it, I did end up flipping through it, and it was encouraging. Maybe that is the power of the testimony, because it reaffirms to yourself why you follow God, even as it reaffirms the listener. People have pretty bad memory. It seems we have to constantly remind myself what God has done for us.

Other than that, I visited a small church called CityFellowship (my little brother brought me), and just had a good time. The pastor gave me a new way to look at Jesus, how he traded his life for ours. And maybe it’s just something that I’ve overlooked, but he said the reason that we are born again is because we trade our lives with Jesus’s life, and take upon his identity. Just something to think about…

Yup – good news for well – everyone – is that you can now pre-order the magnificent Wolf Am I debut album Lead the Way from our shop now!!!

Sounding like something that will fill you full of fire, whilst breaking your heart with emotion overtones – ‘Lead the Way’ is a cracker…. First 20 come fully signed, and a few T-Shirt bundles are available too. Oh and did I mention it comes pressed in sexy cardboard gatefold with fold out inserts and things? I did now…

Pre-order from the shop and we’ll make sure it’s with you by the 3rd August (a week before official shop release)

To celebrate this, and WAI’s tour across the country – we’re giving a pair of tickets away to their show in London on the 30th – which will be scorching! To win, simply email us at info@ilovealcopop.co.uk telling us ‘what name you’d give a pet wolf if you were to own one’ – the best answer takes the tickets, as well as a limited edition copy of the band’s virtually sold out ‘Glasgow Seven’ single on vinyl effect CD…

Closing date Friday at 3.13pm – Now go buy the album and seek out your dancing shoes…

I’m excited

Der Work Ability Index (WAI) ist ein Messinstrument zur Erfassung der Arbeitsfähigkeit von Erwerbstätigen. Er wird auch als Arbeitsfähigkeitsindex oder Arbeitsbewältigungsindex bezeichnet. Beim WAI handelt sich um einen Fragebogen, der entweder von den Befragten selbst oder von Dritten, z.B. Betriebsärzt/innen bei der betriebsärztlichen Untersuchung, ausgefüllt wird. Ziel der Anwendung in Betrieben ist die Förderung der Arbeitsfähigkeit der Beschäftigten.

In Deutschland trifft der WAI derzeit auf ein zunehmendes betriebliches Interesse, insbesondere bei Mittel- und Großbetrieben. Hierzulande wird der WAI eingesetzt

• bei der betriebsärztlichen Betreuung,
• in der Betriebsepidemiologie (Quer-, Längsschnitterhebungen, Begleitung von Interventionsmaßnahmen),
• wissenschaftlich (Quer-, Längsschnitt-, Interventionsstudien)
• sowie in letzter Zeit im Rahmen der beruflichen Wiedereingliederung.

„Arbeitsfähigkeit“ umschreibt, inwieweit ein Arbeitsnehmer in der Lage ist, seine Arbeit angesichts der Arbeitsanforderungen, Gesundheit und mentalen Ressourcen zu erledigen. Zwei Komponenten bestimmen die Arbeitsfähigkeit:

• die individuellen Ressourcen des Arbeitnehmers (körperliche, mentale, soziale Fähigkeiten, Gesundheit, Kompetenz, Werte) sowie
• die Arbeit (Arbeitsinhalt, Arbeitsorganisation, soziales Arbeitsumfeld, Führung).

Ein WAI-Wert steht immer für das Ausmaß der Übereinstimmung dieser beiden Komponenten.

Warum ist Arbeitsfähigkeit wichtig?

Arbeitsfähigkeit ist von großer Relevanz für

• alle Erwerbstätigen: Eine gute Arbeitsfähigkeit ist eine wesentliche Grundlage für das Wohlbefinden des Einzelnen.
• Betriebe: Die Arbeitsfähigkeit der Beschäftigten entscheidet mit über Leistung, Produktivität und Innovationsfähigkeit von Unternehmen.
• die Gesellschaft: Die Arbeitsfähigkeit der Erwerbstätigen eines Landes oder einer Region hat wesentliche Auswirkungen auf die Balance der sozialen Sicherungssysteme.
• Sie ist die Voraussetzung für die Beschäftigungsfähigkeit einer Bevölkerung.

Arbeitsfähigkeit und Alter

• Arbeitsfähigkeit kann mit zunehmendem Alter abnehmen, gleich bleiben und sich sogar verbessern.
• Dieser Prozess kann durch gezielte Maßnahmen unterstützt werden.
• Damit gewinnt die alterns- und altersgerechte Gestaltung des Arbeitslebens erheblich an Bedeutung.
• Dies ist eine Voraussetzung, zur Bewältigung des demographischen Wandels der Erwerbsbevölkerung.

In den frühen 80er Jahren haben Finnische Arbeitswissenschaftler/innen ein Fragebogeninstrument zur Erfassung von Arbeitsfähigkeit entwickelt, den Work Ability Index (WAI), der inzwischen in 25 Sprachen vorliegt. In Deutschland wird er seit etwa 15 Jahren eingesetzt.

Der WAI besteht aus sieben „Dimensionen“ mit zusammen 9 Fragen und einer Diagnoseliste:

• WAI 1: Derzeitige Arbeitsfähigkeit im Vergleich zu der besten je erreichten Arbeitsfähigkeit
• WAI 2: Arbeitsfähigkeit in Relation zu den Arbeitsanforderungen
• WAI 3: Anzahl der aktuellen, vom Arzt diagnostizierten Krankheiten (Kurzversion 13, Langversion 51 Krankheiten)
• WAI 4: Geschätzte Beeinträchtigung der Arbeit durch Krankheiten
• WAI 5: Krankenstand in vergangenen 12 Monaten
• WAI 6: Einschätzung der eigenen Arbeitsfähigkeit in zwei Jahren
• WAI 7: Psychische Leistungsreserven

Als Ergebnis der Befragung resultiert ein WAI-Wert, der von 7 („keine Arbeitsfähigkeit“) bis 49 („maximale Arbeitsfähigkeit“) lauten kann. Dieser Wert wird in Bezug gesetzt zu Referenzdaten. In multidisziplinären klinischen und umfassenden finnischen Längsschnittstudien ist der WAI in den 80er bis 90er Jahren validiert worden. Dabei zeigte sich, dass der WAI einen frühen Indikator für vorzeitigen Erwerbsausstieg sowie Mortalität darstellt.

http://www.arbeitsfaehigkeit.net/21.htm

=( Some kids said I looked like a dad. That is pretty depressing. I’ve been placed in some old people groups before, and I’ve gotten into Rated R movies at a young age, but getting called a dad is a new low (or high). I guess it’s fine. If some of those kids knew that I was younger than them, I’d probably lose a lot of credibility and a lot of my authority-ness (authorativeness?). But did they really have to say that?

It seems so easy to type now, but I’ve finally experienced stress, and it’s not a good feeling. Working at this job means dealing with difficult people who get annoyed when they don’t get what they want, and this week, one of the worst worksites that I’ve had to deal with is a church, True Light Lutheran. I lost a lot of sleep dealing with the lady, Carol. She has a habit of losing things, and then blaming them on me. Some of it is my fault, and some of it is her’s. But God’s taught me a lot through this process, and it’s that I can’t please everybody in this world. And so, I’ve just left it up to Him, and I’ve decided to just be friendly with Carol. She can hate me, And so far, I think it’s working. On the other hand, I also get to go to another church, Oversea Chinese Mission, which has really been a blessing. It’s weird, but it’s been the only time I’ve been rejuvenated this week. While True Light is kind of dark, lonely and old looking, OCM seems lively, and bright, but still old looking. When I first went in there, some of the students gave me some home-made green tea that tasted absolutely disgusting. I still got a good laugh out of it though.

I don’t know where this faith journey has taken me…I’ve veered off, it seems. No conversations or anything to report. I’ve learned that I don’t want to be a businessman. I think I could be a good one, but working all those hours for something you don’t like to do is something that has beat me down too much. It’s those moments when my introvertedness really comes out; I go home, and just spend a few hours alone doing nothing, and the next day, I’m into the same routine, fighting despair and trying not to go over the next deadline. People use you here; you don’t make friends, you make “connections”, because if it really comes down to it, you can’t trust your “connections” to help you out.

And yet, I am here for a reason. God said he would provide, and hasn’t he? Something that has always bothered me is the fact that I use my parent’s money to support the retreats, trips, missions, and even the weekly offerings I spend money on, and now, I can rest better, knowing that I can do those things myself. I’ve become close to my old friends again, despite the fact that I’ve changed since coming back from Tufts. They’ve reached out more than I have, and I’m glad for it.

I’m heading to Urbana. I don’t know how it’s going to happen, or what I’ll do to get there, but I am going. Also, I LOVE WEEKENDS.

Viajei na sexta feira para assistir o Campeonato Mineiro de Kung Fu, chegamos a Itajubá sábado pela manhã e voltamos para Ouro Preto Domingo a tarde. Sei lá o que aconteceu comigo de lá pra cá que não tenho inspiração para falar de outra coisa, apenas quero falar sobre o campeonato.

Não vou me alongar muito neste papo pois estou meio que sem palavras. Resumirei o campeonato nas seguintes: bagunça, nojeira, emoção, habilidade e amor.

Bagunça: quem estava lá sabe. Sem contar os caras da águia apitanto ¬¬

Nojeira: pior banheiro público que já vi.

Emoção: Equipe de Ouro Preto: Walliston, Paulo, Alexandre~ 2 pratas, 1 prata, 1 ouro. Equipe de Belo Horizonte: Everton, Hans, Leonardo~ 1 prata e 1 ouro, 1 prata, 1 ouro. Mestre Fanthum~ Nem sei quantas pratas e ouros xD

Habilidade: era um campeonato, o que esperava? Muita gente boa e muita gente ruim também.

Amor: o que se via nos olhos de muitos atletas, o amor pelo esporte, pelo mestre e por sua academia.

Foi uma honra estar lá, assistir. Foi uma honra filmar as lutas de combate Shuaijiao com uma Sony Semi-Pofissional. Sério, eu não gosto muito de assistir Shuaijiao, mas a câmera me deu um ângulo diferente! Foi demais! o Sanshou ficou até sem graça depois disso *risos* (Sanshou=Boxe Chinês)

Parabéns a todos os atletas, os que competirar e os que não competiram, aos que ganharam e aos que não ganharam.

Obrigado Mestre Chan Kowk Wai, por trazer para os brasileiros seus ensinamentos na grande arte que é o Kung Fu.

I’ve been searching for a fellowship and yesterday I finally went to one that I was comfortable with. I’ve been looking around, and for some reason, I was looking for one that replicated what I had in TCF. And you know, I haven’t found it. TCF has helped me in many ways, and in some way, maybe that’s what this summer is about, moving beyond my comfort zone, and finding God. TCF is blessed by God, I know this much, but other places are as well. As different parts of the body of Christ, I guess it shouldn’t be surprising that I won’t find another place like TCF.

The church I went to, Brooklyn Christian Chinese Church, is not a perfect church. They’re not the most welcoming church, as I, as someone who has visited it a few times in the past, can attest. The spirit is missing there sometimes. At times, like most of the other Chinese people I know (and I know a lot, especially because of where I live), they are racist towards black and white Americans. Even I’m the same way sometimes, although I’ve been fighting to change. It seems so simple to write all this down so easily, but at times during Tufts this last year, I was really disgusted with this church for the reasons I listed above.

And yet, somehow, God is still within this church. They’ve been evangelizing pretty well, or reaching out to the Chinese community and bringing in other people, and for some reason, I know it’s this church that has a great chance to reach out to my parents, if they ever decide to come to church with me. Even around my family, church is regarded as the “white man’s religion”, if I may use this term, and hopefully not offend anybody. It’s very weird, because it implies there’s a “chinese man’s religion” too, when God and religion itself are not supposed to be relative but absolute truths. I have an athiest friend going to fellowship, and she has no idea why she keeps returning, but she does. I have grown a bit these past few months, and maybe I have something to give to this church now, but I know there’s something I can receive from fellowshipping here as well.

Agreement Prayer Ministries

So anyway, just felt like advertising for Agreement. Agreement is the prayer group that was started by Vince and Emerson this year for the Gospel Choir (who knows, maybe it was started earlier), and I kind of joined midway to get more involved. Right now, it’ll be headed by Lauren Eades, who, because of time constraints, couldn’t be involved in TCF small groups throughout the year, and she’s just grown a lot in God this year. Vince has too, probably (I just say probably, because he told me he was nervous on the first day he started, and then he ended up giving a kickbutt sermon thingamajig). It’s small, but it’s always good to pray.

Agreement Within the Body of Christ:

“Fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind” (Phil 2:2)