الخميس، 15 ديسمبر 2011
الاثنين، 5 ديسمبر 2011
الجمعة، 18 نوفمبر 2011
الأحد، 21 أغسطس 2011
الاثنين، 8 أغسطس 2011
السبت، 30 يوليو 2011
IDPs
They are named IDPs for that they left their homes and lands escaping shooting ,seeking safety and security . Yet they arrive to live in school classrooms , play in their yard and cook in their cafeterias. Waiting for assistance and dreaming of the day when they go home.
الاثنين، 13 يونيو 2011
الخميس، 19 مايو 2011
Press Release
من مبادرة الشراكة الأمريكية الشرق أوسطية
(إعلام جديد.. حياة جديدة) مشروع جديد لبيت النور في عدن
عدن – خاص:
تنفذ مؤسسة بيت النور مشروع "إعلام جديد ... حياة جديدة" في مدينة عدن بتمويل من مبادرة الشراكة الأمريكية الشرق أوسطيةMEPI ؛ لتدريب 30 متدربا ومتدربة من طلاب قسم الإعلام في كلية الآداب – جامعة عدن, حيث سيتلقى المتدربون مهارات في العمل الصحفي باستخدام أدوات الإعلام الجديد. ويشترط أن يكون المتدرب أو المتدربة من الطلاب الذين لم يتخرجوا بعد. ويستمر المشروع لمدة 12 شهر في الفترة ما بين مارس 2011 – فبراير 2012.
ومبادرة الشراكة الأمريكية الشرق أوسطية تعمل على إقامة شراكات حيوية مع المواطنين لتعزيز تنمية مجتمعات مشاركة ومزدهرة في جميع أنحاء الشرق الأوسط وشمال أفريقيا، مع المنظمات غير الحكومية المحلية منها والإقليمية, ومع القطاع الخاص والمؤسسات الأكاديمية والحكومات عبر منطقةMENA (Middle East and North Africa).
ومؤسسة بيت النور هي مؤسسة غير حكومية مستقلة مقرها مدينة عدن، تهدف إلى التأثير وإحداث تغيير اجتماعي إيجابي في المجتمع من خلال إيجاد قيادات فاعلة، وبناء القدرات بما يتواكب مع التنمية ومتطلباتها.
ولمزيد من المعلومات, نسعد بتواصلكم مع المسئول الإعلامي السيد/ نشوان العثماني, على الإيميل التالي: houseoflight.fdn@Gmail.com
Fund by MEPI “New Media… New Life” New project from House of Light take place in Aden Aden - exclusive Funded by MEPI “Middle East Partnership Initiative”, House of Light Foundation starts its new project " New Media … New Life” in Aden city. The project aims to train 30 trainees (females and males) students who have not graduated yet from Art school, Media Department in Aden University. The trainees will receive Journalistic skills related to new media tools. The project will last for 12 months starting in March 2011 to February 2012. MEPI aims to build partnerships with citizens to reinforce flourished community development partnership in the Middle East and North Africa with Local and regional NGOs , Private sectors , Academic Institution and Governments throughout MENA region. House of Light Foundation is an independent non-governmental foundation, based in Aden. It aims to influence and place positive social change in the community through finding effective leaderships and building capacity that goes a long with the development and its demands. We are pleased to receive you inquiries through our email address: houseoflight.fdn@Gmail.com headed to Media Officer Mr. Nashwan AlOthmani.
الاثنين، 2 مايو 2011
الثلاثاء، 26 أبريل 2011
Machine Translation , Disadvantages and Advantages
When I translate a document and come across an ambiguous word, the first thing that comes to my mind is to open google translate and ditch the word to know its meaning. Then, I feel relieved as I kill my curiosity towards such an ambiguity that would affect my whole work. However , sometime I find my translation seems to be swing as if I am applying a very shallow impact on my translation as my selection of words is poor due to the rough use of machine translation. Thus, herein we are going to debate the use of machine translation in terms of its advantages and disadvantages by the assistance of theorists views in this field.
Before analyzing Machine Translation's pros and cons , let us put the latter term in the spot. Machine Translation as Wikipedia 's definition is sometimes referred to by the abbreviation MT, is a sub-field of computational linguistics that investigates the use of computer software to translate text or speech from one natural language to another. At its basic level, MT performs simple substitution of words in one natural language for words in another. Using corpus techniques, more complex translations may be attempted, allowing for better handling of differences in linguistic typology, phrase recognition, and translation of idioms, as well as the isolation of anomalies. Or as simply as Stefán Briem defines it in simple form " Machine translation of written text from one language to another means using purposeful computer programs, that input a text in a certain language, the source language, and deliver its content in an equivalent text in another language, the target language." All in all we grasped from the latter definitions that MT has different degrees of sequencing from simplicity to complication depending on its nature and the theorist who initiated his definition.
After knowing what MT means , now let us dig into some reasons why MT is discouraged by some people and what are their justifications for taking such a serious claim. One claims that MT is used to perform certain tasks only. For instance , it can be used for preparing a glossary of new terms before the actual translation. Thus, this way restricts MT's capability to use its output as a grass rooted approved answers in final pieces of translation.
Another disadvantage is that MT can not be used in literary translations. The reason they claim is because it lacks the capacity to do so. Thus, MT is regarded in only quick translation of words not texts.
Some translators stand against MT as they think that it takes their jobs. They claim that The quality of translation that is currently possible with MT is one reason why it is wrong to think of MT systems as dehumanizing monsters which will eliminate human translators, or enslave them.
When MT is used to translate a text, the user gambles with the text and its contents. MT does not concentrate on the context . Instead, it focuses on the tasks to be done with them in a matter of no time comparing with human translation. However, the meaning , in this way, is not fully the main goal.
After screening some claimed MT disadvantages , here we can give reasoning alibis for taking pro- MT side. The first one would be working with the assistance of MT in the preparatory stage of translation with a wide scope that embrace the certain context upon which the text was written. Thus, this way is very useful ,especially when we have a text that has repeated words .
The second claim can be responded to with UNGUREANU answer : " translating literature requires special literary skill - it is not the kind of thing that average professional translator normally attempts. So, accepting the criticism does not show that automatic translation of non-literary texts is impossible. Second ,literary translation is a small proportion of the translation that has to be done, so accepting criticism does not mean that MT is useless. Finally, one may wonder who would ever want to translate Shakespeare by machine - it is a job that human translators find challenging and rewarding, and it is not a job that MT systems have been designed for. The criticism that MT systems cannot translate Shakespeare is a bit like criticism of industrial robots for not being able to dance "Swan Lake"."
And dear translators , there is not logical meaning to be threatened of MT as if it will monopolize your way of living.
" It will not eliminate them, simply because the volume of translation to be performed is so huge, and constantly growing, and because of the limitations of current and foreseeable MT systems. What is more likely is that the process of producing draft translations, along with the often tedious business of looking up unknown words in dictionaries, and ensuring terminological consistency, will become automated, leaving human translators free to spend time on increasing clarity and improving style, and to translate more important documents - editorials rather than weather reports, for example ." (UNGUREANU)
MT and human translation are essential for each other , as a person can not translate without using MT and MT can not be used without the intervention of humans. Thus, The translator has first to familiarize himself with the context before starting to translate. Then , he would be able to choose the best term in the most suitable location of the text. The translator on the other hand can use his logic to choose the best terminology as he knows the structure of the source and target languages and their differences.
Rather than its advantages in terms of linguistics , MT boosts business as well. Global enterprises are experiencing tremendous pressure from stakeholders to introduce new products on an international scale quicker and more effectively. At the same time, they must always look to improve cost and time deficiencies while maintaining the highest levels of customer satisfaction. These pressures and concerns present unique challenges for companies who communicate with global customers across multiple languages and cultures. To effectively meet these challenges, companies are continually combining MT solutions with their existing localization processes to help them localize their content more efficiently and for less cost. (Beaupre)
To add more advantages , MT saves time and efforts in looking up in dozens of references. Moreover , the best quality in MT is Confidentiality as when it is used in Private email services , no one would like to give his confidential letters to translators to have a look at and then render them.
To sum up, MT is one of the most practical technologies that Human used ever. It widens the horizons of languages and fill in the culture gaps through instant assistance. The only requirement from a human being is to be able to use it professionally or at least logically by filtering the context and selecting the best word choice that suits the actuality of the text. As any other gadget that human uses, MT can be of benefit if it is used wisely in business worldwide and in intercultural medium as well.
Reference:
Advantages and Disadvantages of Machine Translation ,Asist. univ.drd. Cristina UNGUREANU, Universitatea Pitesti
Advantages and disadvantages of machine translation :http://www.dilmanc.az/en/technology/mtadvantages
Machine translation: integrating automation into an effective localization strategy by Jennifer Beaupre, Senior Marketing Manager, SDL http://www.translationdirectory.com/articles/article2115.php
Stefán Briem http://www.simnet.is/stbr/vela.html
Wikipedia : www.wikipedia.com
الأربعاء، 13 أبريل 2011
Why Formal Links Are Not Enough
It is essential to remember that in our surrounding there are many contexts upon which we build our understanding to the situation rather than the utterances spoken. Let us imagine a situation of performing a conversation between 3 people :
A. I took lessons in Piano , but I never had one.
B. oh ya.
C. Aha. Why do not you buy one? I saw a place where they sell Guitars in Crater.
If we analyze the latter conversation, we will notice that non of the persons engaged in the conversation followed the rules of linking the sentences ; however it was clearly comprehended that one of them was speaking about his experience while the other two went on with replying to him ,one with a short answer and the other one as a suggestion.
Cultural Aspects play a vital role in conversation and mainly in conveying messages. In the above example, we took a daily situation that would occur to anyone of us passing by friends in the bus station or in college or work. Thus, we grasped the intended meaning without looking deeply into the context , as it is the main goal of this conversation. Although , it is true in our latter example, in most cases we should consider the background of A , why he expressed his need . Moreover, person B's answer was not formal answer uttered by an educated mature person rather he expressed his ignorance with a complementary way. Further, person C and his irrelevant answer as if he did not understand the question , but genuinely he understood the need and respond to it in zero use of formal links. In short, we go beyond formal links as they are not the only important factors in our discourse. Culture factors are considered of paramount importance of language usage that leads to proper utterances.
To make it more vivid , here is another cultural examples:
1-
هل ترغب بكوب من القهوة ؟
Would you like a cup of coffee?
نعم , شكراً.
Yes, Thank You .
2- Would you like a cup of tea?
No, thanks.
3- Would you like a cup of tea?
Yes , Please.
The first example represents the Arab culture when someone offers a drink to his invitee. We usually express our gratitude and appreciation upon the offer as it is a sign of politeness and generosity. Thus, in the dialogue, the invitee responded as : Yes , Thank You. However, in the Western culture , it would create a confusion to say that as example 2 and 3 explained. All in all , although in the three examples we used the same form in offering, however the function differs between one culture and thus it is important to consider these differences.
In another case of conversation, a language students who has recently studied simple present tense and present continues tense will not be familiar with the use and form of verbs that he should use and what he should avoid. In order to practice his new lessons ,he would utter as follows:
I am waking up in the morning then I sleep in the evening.
Although his meaning is conveyed, he failed to use the correct form of verb. However, it is understood and accepted according to the communicative approach theory which is : the teaching of second and foreign languages that emphasizes interaction as both the means and the ultimate goal of learning a language. Therefore, we have no problem with having one sentence that contains different forms of verbs as long as the meaning is fully delivered to the receptor.
Sometimes we utter in a way that is correct in form and function although our speech would be illogic. An example if followed:
Mother: oh , dear son . You should eat broccoli. It is full of iron.
Son: Mom , I am not an Iron man to eat Iron!!!
In the latter example , the mother spoke very true about broccoli and its benefits as every adult will know what she meant. On the other hand, the son was surprised with his mother's utterances as it has gone beyond his level of knowledge. Although the form was clear, the meaning was not delivered to the son for that there are individual differences that were not taken care of between the mother and the son.
As stated in the beginning of this debate, culture takes a high rank when it comes to understanding a bi or multi cultural spheres and thus language with its forms and functions alone are not enough. Further, Conveying the meaning is the main goal in whatever context the utterance takes place. Thus, we should not discourage people when they commit slight mistakes when using a foreign language. Furthermore, we should expect that using metaphor or idiomatic expressions could be ambiguous to some people although we follow the language rules. Thus , for all the above reasons , formal links, in my opinion, are not enough.
References :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communicative_language_teaching
الأربعاء، 16 مارس 2011
In Yemen, Somali spreads knowledge Brave refugees strive for self-reliance
http://silent-heroes.tv/stories_In%20_Yemen_Somali_spreads_knowledge.htm
السبت، 12 مارس 2011
السبت، 26 فبراير 2011
HELP PLEASE ((keep forwarding))
Appeal to all human rights organizations and to the general media 'global and local'to cover what is happening in Aden.
Aden, is crying for help and to stop the massacres, what is happening in Aden of killing the innocents no right mind can accept it. We, the people of Aden, want to bring down the system and stop the massacres that is happening in Aden.
نداء الي جميع منظمات حقوق الانسان والفضائيات والصحف العالميه والمحليه
عدن تستغيث !!!
نطالب بتغطيه ما يحدث في عدن ووقف المجازر الي تحدث فيها
ان ما يحدث في عدن من مجازر وقتل للناس الابرياء لا يستطيع ان يتقبلها عقل
نحن شعب اليمن نطالب باسقاط النظام ووقف المجازر التي تحدث في عدن وجميع محافظات اليمن...
الأربعاء، 23 فبراير 2011
الاثنين، 14 فبراير 2011
نبذه عن تاريخ الحركة النسوية في أمريكا
هناك عدد من الأسباب قادت إلى توسع العمل في فلسفة الحركات النسوية في الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية. على الرغم من أنني لا أستطيع تتبع جميع تلك الأسباب , إلا أنني أود أن أتعرض إلى بعضها و التي تمتاز بالأهمية . أولها هي حقيقة أنه في الستينات انخرط الكثير من الفلاسفة في الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية في حركات العدالة الاجتماعية. تأثر أو نشط معظم الفلاسفة الذين ساهموا في ظهور الفلسفة النسوية في السبعينات في الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية بالحركة النسوية.و كنتيجة لهذه المشاركة, فطن هؤلاء الفلاسفة الظلم الواقع من جراء الممارسات غير العادلة التي نتجت من الظواهر المعقدة المرتبطة بالتمييز على أساس الجنس . و لذلك وظف هؤلاء الفلاسفة مهاراتهم الفلسفية و التعليمية لصالح الحركة النسوية. ثانياً : في أواخر السبعينات العديد من النساء اللاتي عملن في تخصصات جبلت على أن تكون ذكورية , اختبرن ما أسمته دوروثي سميث ب" الخط الخاطئ" و الذي حصر دور النساء في إطار تقليدي و جعل خبراتهن التخصصية على المحك..إثر ذلك قام العديد من النساء بالالتحاق بتخصص الفلسفة بأعداد متزايدة في الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية و غالبا ما تم ممارسة التمييز الجنسي ضدهن بسبب تخصصهن.أسهم كل من التحرش الجنسي و غيره من الممارسات القائمة على التمييز الجنسي في خلق جو غير مرحب به للنساء اللاتي تخصصن في الفلسفة. و لكن يرجع الفضل في رفع الوعي بمساهمة المرأة في الحركة , إلى أن النساء اللاتي انخرطن في هذه الحركة كن أقل تأثرا بالرسالة التي دعت إلى أن طبيعة النساء لا تتحمل العمل الفلسفي أو أنهن لم يخضعن لمسلمة الجهود غير الواعية في استثنائهن من الدخول في خضم هذا التخصص.
الأربعاء، 9 فبراير 2011
Divorced women in Yemen
Awatef is a divorced woman living in Aden city. Awatef's name refers to feelings and emotions in Arabic. However , her life presented the sad side of these feelings symbolized with pain , misery ,submission and disempowerment .She is now in late forties , uneducated , unknown and even unemployed , but bright –headed.
She was married when she was twenty years and her marriage lasted for less than three years. She was divorced when she was pregnant with her second daughter . Thus, she returned to her father's home with her two daughters . Now, her daughters are over late twenties , while she remains the same daughter in her father's house receiving an insignificant amount of money (20 $)as an alimony every month. Therefore, her daughters did not finish their education and were off to work in a young age.
There are many "Awatefs" in Yemen as if we can find a divorced woman in each avenue and yet rarely do they speak about their stories of struggle. The stories are spanned about alimony and how it does not fit the life needs for the divorced woman and her predicate, her kids.
One of the few times that I could not write and I feel my mind was blocked was when I decided to write about alimony of divorced women in Yemen. May be it is because this issue has been turned from being a phenomenon to be a habitual fact. Or may be because I see it everyday that I could not write about as it is very obvious. Then , I had a second thought and decided to spot the light on this to share it with women from all over the globe.
The struggle in the Yemeni traditions towards women is that they can not reveal about their suffering as it is considered as breaching the confidentiality of the holy bond of marriage even if they are divorced. They choose to shut the door of any discussions that create any debate or another conflict with the divorcee and again choose to be silent. Alimony in Yemen is a debatable varied issue in courts as it does not have any standard measures. The judge , court and surrounding circumstances of the husband control the amount of alimony. On the other hand , women are forced to receive the little payment to ditch their kids' expenses month after month silently.
In Aden city , there are almost two divorced women in each avenue. Moreover, they stay in their parents houses or if they are lucky enough, they stay in rented houses to rise their kids up by their own. When divorced women are educated , they can work and support themselves. However, it is not the case for every educated women as rising kids is not an easy task for single household mothers. Thus, they tend to work really hard to depend on themselves for living through working for long hours. On the other hand, women ,who can resist the alimony norm , fight aggressively in courts to reclaim their kids rights to get an increased amount of alimony , especially when former husbands can afford for it.
The series continue as divorced women become isolated from the community. They tend to matter only for their own issues as the community does not accept or tolerate with divorced women and tend to sentence them with abandon. On the other hand, men , after divorce, can remarry and start new life. However, divorced women are stigmatized and accused of the fault of divorce. Consequently, rarely do men approach divorced women and propose for marriage and if so , the groom's family will hardly accept the bride or threaten to abandon the man if he insists to get married.
There is a proverb in Arabic saying that the worst woman's opponent enemy is another woman" and therefore, women can be the worst in terms of bothering divorced women. They tend to spread gossiping and blaming divorced women. Moreover, they ask their daughters not to mingle with divorced women ,even if they are at the same age as they claim that divorced women can be source of spreading bad habits and loosening family linkages and threaten the security of other families houses.
The stigma of divorced women does not stay till this level , but goes beyond to affect the kids as well. As family structure in Yemen is very rigid, when proposing for marriage ,both families have to inquire about the other one. Thus , if the bride's mother was divorced, the groom's family might have a second thought on this holy bond as they feel hesitant about their reputation and their daughter in law. Thus , divorced women take the burden on their shoulders and become the reason of their kids' misery in the narrow- eyed community.
Upon these dilemmas that divorced women are drown in, few has been done towards this vulnerable category of women. However, what is needed is an escort-like initiative that accompanies divorced women to empower them. Thus , this can be done through feminist, legal , mental health , social and human rights NGOs, but first they should assist themselves.
Divorced women are in need to realize their situation and work towards a solution that is women based solution that fits their needs. Thus, they ought to establish a network for divorced women. This can be achieved through traditional visitation in the community among women to outreach the divorced ones. Then , when they all meet , they can start an informal support group so that each one of them can speak up about her challenges and weaknesses. In this way, they will have a chance to share experiences and relief the burden. Further, they can assist each other reciprocally through discussing their issues and bringing up solutions.
A second step would be that they can come up with a list of connections of people they know that they can be of great support. This list will help them refresh their resources and never stay frozen. Therefore, this list can encompass women out of the network who could potentially be approached for advocating for divorced women rights ,rise up their issues in courts and advise them with consultations.
As divorced women are stigmatized , this network will bring them a strength that they need to empower themselves. For example , each one of them can teach others a skill that is needed in the marker as cooking , sewing , making and selling pickles and even opening small businesses. Thus, these factors will empower them and make them financially independent and empowered.
After internal and financial empowerment of divorce women , they will need to share their stories with the public in order to break up the stigma. Therefore, those women should approach women associations or even media agencies to speak about their challenges and successes as well as to extend the network with new members in need of empowerment. In this way, they will be able to identify and use their connections to advocate for their issues. Further, this will break the stereotypes of submissive divorced women . Moreover , it will turn them from that image to role modals which eventually will make the community proud of hosting such members.
Do you think it is impossible to empower divorced women through informal support groups? Absolutely not as they are taking place in a spontaneous way. They fill in gaps and bridge them to reach the sphere of security in the community after being a hostile member. And here Awatef has done this alone. She did approached her divorced neighbors , encouraged them to speak and share what they feel. In the morning , she goes to a divorced neighbor to chat with her about what she cooks and ingredients she needs. Then , she asks her how she is doing ,assures her that she is not alone and taps on her back by giving her tips on how to make pickles to be sold. On afternoon, she goes to another one and have a cup of tea with her chatting about kids and school and non-ending expenses. Then , she draws an idea of sewing machine to sew clothes and sell them to shops. It is only the start , but more is hoped towards a friendly community embracing all women including divorced ones as well.
This article is part of a writing assignment for Voices of Our Future, which is providing rigorous web 2.0 and new media training for 30 emerging women leaders. We are speaking out for social change from some of the most unheard regions of the world.
السبت، 8 يناير 2011
She passed away
She passed away with no illness but was burned in less than a week . She was as if saying farewell to all visitors with gestures. The fire stole her skin leaving wounds ,pain and unrevealed illness. No one knows why she died , why she left early with no reason to justify.
Everyone wonders and foretells : may be the early morning tea on the new year morning was meant not to be drunk . Or may be she misses her daughter that passed away less than a year ago . Or may be fate was meant to be her last thing to do.
She left in peace . everything was set for funeral and mourning as if she was ready to leave. They carried her as a royal person on shoulders. They took her to her eternal palace.
She went away, as she wanted to be away of all wire and drops and medicines and the so called ghosts with white coats stealing souls. She had enough with doctors check ups and phony diagnosis. She was fed up of hospital bills that were burdens on her kids. As her wounds have never been healed , she left to a better place under dust , under the sky.
She passed away
She passed away with no illness but was burned in less than a week . She was as if saying farewell to all visitors with gestures. The fire stole her skin leaving wounds ,pain and unrevealed illness. No one knows why she died , why she left early with no reason to justify.
Everyone wonders and foretells : may be the early morning tea on the new year morning was meant not to be drunk . Or may be she misses her daughter that passed away less than a year ago . Or may be fate was meant to be her last thing to do.
She left in peace . everything was set for funeral and mourning as if she was ready to leave. They carried her as a royal person on shoulders. They took her to her eternal palace.
She went away, as she wanted to be away of all wire and drops and medicines and the so called ghosts with white coats stealing souls. She had enough with doctors check ups and phony diagnosis. She was fed up of hospital bills that were burdens on her kids. As her wounds have never been healed , she left to a better place under dust , under the sky.
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