Month: September 2024

Autoworkers learn sign language hoping connection with deaf colleagues improves work and lives

natixis-ezine

Read time : 2 mins

Level : Intermediate

In this photo provided by Nissan on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, workers of Nissan’s plant’s Paint Shop including John Johnson, foreground right and Michael Connolly, foreground, second left, pose for a photo at the plant, in Sunderland, England. (Matt Walker/Nissan via AP)

By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — One doesn’t need to know sign language to understand what Michael Connolly feels about his colleagues’ efforts to break down the barriers posed by his deafness.

When asked what he thought of his teammates’ decision to learn British Sign Language, the 45-year-old autoworker at the Nissan plant in Sunderland, England, grinned and flashed a universal symbol: Two thumbs up.

Connolly loves having the chance to banter with his workmates, to talk about everyday things — the kids, vacation plans, a TV program. And now he can, because the entire 25-member bumper-paint team at Sunderland started learning BSL at the beginning of the year. Continue reading

A robot begins removal of melted fuel from the Fukushima nuclear plant. It could take a century

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Advanced

This photo shows the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma, Fukushima prefecture, northern Japan, on Aug. 22, 2024. (Kyodo News via AP)

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — A long robot entered a damaged reactor at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant on Tuesday, beginning a two-week, high-stakes mission to retrieve for the first time a tiny amount of melted fuel debris from the bottom.

The robot’s trip into the Unit 2 reactor is a crucial initial step for what comes next — a daunting, decades-long process to decommission the plant and deal with large amounts of highly radioactive melted fuel inside three reactors that were damaged by a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011. Specialists hope the robot will help them learn more about the status of the cores and the fuel debris.

Here is an explanation of how the robot works, its mission, significance and what lies ahead as the most challenging phase of the reactor cleanup begins. Continue reading

Interest in Plant-Based Desserts Rises in 2024

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Read time : 2 mins

Level : Intermediate

Tara Gerner | Wealth of Geeks undefined

Although classic desserts such as chocolate chip cookies and ice cream never go out of style, interest in vegan desserts continues to rise in 2024. In fact, the latest numbers show The global vegan dessert market is estimated to reach $3.75 billion this year, and it won’t be stopping anytime soon.

Global Growth Insights reports vegan frozen desserts, cakes and pastries, and cookies and biscuits were the most popular plant-based sweet treats last year. While interest grows in other areas, North America remains the dominant region for vegan desserts, despite still be dominated by love for traditional desserts.

Dessert popularity is affected by local traditions, customs, and preferences. Many regions in the United States have a favorite or signature dessert built into their culinary legacy. Continue reading

AI may not steal many jobs after all. It may just make workers more efficient

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Advanced

Customer Experience Representatives Stanley Solis, center, and other representatives take calls at an Alorica center, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Imagine a customer-service center that speaks your language, no matter what it is.

Alorica, a company in Irvine, California, that runs customer-service centers around the world, has introduced an artificial intelligence translation tool that lets its representatives talk with customers who speak 200 different languages and 75 dialects.

So an Alorica representative who speaks, say, only Spanish can field a complaint about a balky printer or an incorrect bank statement from a Cantonese speaker in Hong Kong. Alorica wouldn’t need to hire a rep who speaks Cantonese.

Such is the power of AI. And, potentially, the threat: Perhaps companies won’t need as many employees — and will slash some jobs — if chatbots can handle the workload instead. But the thing is, Alorica isn’t cutting jobs. It’s still hiring aggressively. Continue reading