Wonder Land: มีนาคม 2010

วันอาทิตย์ที่ 28 มีนาคม พ.ศ. 2553

Japan unveils always-willing dental patient - a robot

By Manager Online

26 March 2010 13:54

Tokyo, JAPAN : A dentist from the Showa University Dentistry School demonstrates a treament on a dental patient robot named Hanako Showa, at the University's dental clinic in Tokyo on March 25, 2010. Japan's robot maker Tmsuk and the Showa University unveiled the dental patient robot to be used for student training, which imitates human reactions such as coughing, tongue movement and pain reaction. AFP PHOTO / Yoshikazu TSUNO

by Miwa Suzuki, March 26, 2010
TOKYO (AFP) - Few people would want to be guinea pigs for aspiring dentists but Japan has found an always-willing patient -- a robot.

Doctors and robotics researchers on Thursday unveiled a humanoid that happily goes under the drill for orthodontics students and can also express pain, roll her eyes and even drool like a real patient.

"Hello," female-looking "Hanako" said cheerfully as an aspiring dentist closed in during a presentation in Tokyo. "Please take care of me."

But the robo-patient's mood can quickly take a real-life turn for the worse if the grinding and drilling get too much or the wrong spot is hit.

"It hurts," said Hanako, dangerously moving her plastic head while a dental student was grinding her resin teeth, which are designed to be taken out and examined later to assess the student's skill.

In the demonstration, under the watchful gaze of an instructor, the dental student reacted quickly, deactivating and moving the sharp-pointed grinding tool to avoid damaging Hanoko's teeth or gums.

"Please raise your left hand when it hurts because it's dangerous to move your mouth," the student told the machine lying in the dentist's chair.

To add to the realism, Hanako can also move her eyes and eyelids, jaw and tongue. She even discharges a saliva-like liquid and slowly slackens her jaw muscles to simulate the gradual "fatigue" of a real patient.

Hanako was developed by the medical Showa University and a research team led by humanoid pioneer Atsuo Takanishi, a professor at Waseda University, both Tokyo-based, as well as robot maker tmsuk based in southern Japan.

The price tag is confidential, the inventors said.

Japan already has humanoid robots for a variety of tasks, from receptionists to photo models, but the field of patient robots is still small.

Hanako is the world's first that has been used to evaluate the skills of dental students on a large scale, according to Showa University. This month 88 of its students trained and took clinical exams using her.

Koutaro Maki, vice director of the Showa University Dental Hospital, told a press conference that the use of the humanoid meant a vast improvement from the traditional method to teach and train young dentists.

"We still have a system where the 'apprentices' watch doctors with higher skills, borrow from them and copy them... This is not scientific," he said.

"Education in the medical and dental fields is underdeveloped. I wouldn't say it's the Galapagos islands, but it is undoubtedly a final frontier. The key to cultivating this undeveloped land is a robot."

The great thing about using robots, Maki said, is that it "allows students to make many mistakes" from which they can learn.

Shugo Haga, a 26-year-old dentist-in-training, said he had previously used a mannequin's head but said it felt like using a mere "object."

Sitting next to Hanako, he added: "This one isn't easy to cope with, but she is close to being a patient."

Westerners follow Thai brides to live in hard-up northeast

By Manager Online

26 March 2010 12:59

Khon Kaen, THAILAND : This picture taken on January 12, 2010 shows Australian man Ronnie Behnke (R) feeding fish as his Thai wife Parnom looks on at their fish farm in Parnom's home village in the Isaan province of Khon Kaen, northeastern Thailand. An estimated 60-70,000 cross-cultural couples now live in the region according to Buapan Promphakping, associate professor in social development at local Khon Kaen University. AFP PHOTO/Christophe ARCHAMBAULT

by Rachel O'Brien, March 26, 2010
UDON THANI, Thailand (AFP) - On what the locals jokingly call "Westerners street", Australian Justin Raines is laughing over a beer with his pregnant Thai fiancee Eve -- who at 21 is half his age.

"It doesn't matter whether you're fat, you're ugly, you've got spew hanging out of your mouth or whatever else, there's some lady here who will want to take care of you," Justin says with a grin.

Nine years ago he moved from Queensland to this hard-up, northeastern region of Thailand, known as Isaan, to be with his first Thai wife, whom he met on a trip to Bangkok.

The pair later separated, but Justin said by then he had fallen for "laid-back" Udon Thani, one of Isaan's main towns, where he opened Western bars and went on to meet his new Thai bride-to-be.

"The ladies here are the most beautiful girls in Thailand, Isaan ladies, and money-wise too -- it's cheaper here to live than it is in other places like Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket," Justin said, referring to the capital and two top tourist resorts.

Holidaymakers in Thailand rarely venture to Isaan, the country's least prosperous region, where downtrodden farms are more commonplace than the glitzy hotels and paradise beaches found further south.

Yet many foreign men apparently share Justin's enthusiasm.

He and Eve are one of an estimated 60-70,000 cross-cultural couples now in the region according to Buapan Promphakping, associate professor in social development at the local Khon Kaen University.

The trend began back in the 1960s when thousands of US soldiers were stationed in the area during the Vietnam War.

But it has continued apace, particularly as many poor Isaan women have left home to find work in the tourist hubs -- often as bar girls -- where they can meet foreign men and bring them back to settle in the northeast.

Justin's fiancee, whose full Thai name is Nirruttaya Yapha, said "the way of life is easy" with her Western partner, who even helps with the washing up, and together the pair now run a small clothing business.

But Justin's socialising with fellow expatriates is a sore point.

"He's not single anymore and when they go out at night, they stay out until the morning. It's not acceptable, so we fight regularly," she said.

There can be a darker side for both partners in these unions, in which big age gaps are common and Thai law means Western men often end up buying local properties in their wife's name.

Udon Thani, THAILAND : This picture taken on January 11, 2010 shows Australian man Justin Raines (R) and his Thai fiancee Eve, whose full Thai name is Nirruttaya Yapha, posing for a picture outside an entertainment complex in Udon Thani, one of Isaan's main towns, in northeastern Thailand. AFP PHOTO/Christophe ARCHAMBAULT

"I mean, how smart do you have to be to realise that this could be a bit of a trap?" said John Burdett, a British lawyer-turned-novelist who has extensively interviewed Isaan bar girls in Bangkok for his books.

Burdett said Thai-Western marriages could, however, work "fantastically well" -- and often provide a financial lifeline for the woman's family -- if couples have the right approach.

"It's a question of both parties, especially the men, understanding that this is a very different culture and if you want a long-term relationship you're going to have to understand the culture," he said.

Ronnie Behnke, 37, is trying to do just that, after moving from Brisbane in Australia to his wife Parnom's quiet home village in the Isaan province of Khon Kaen, where the couple have set up a fish farm together.

"I was going into a jungle -- you hear a lot of bad stories about people being ripped off," he said. "I just moved along step-by-step to make sure this is what I wanted to do."

Ronnie said he "hit it off" with his 26-year-old wife in the southeastern resort of Pattaya seven years ago, where he was on holiday and she worked as a housemaid, but he found his first visit to the northeast something of a shock.

"They had nothing, her family. The toilet was a disgrace so I fixed the toilet, the shower. They wanted me to stay at the house but I couldn't use it," he said.

"When I came here and saw people who have nothing to give, but they still give it, I thought: these are people I want to help."

Ronnie hopes the farm will boost the village's economy, and he also offers advice to Western visitors on Isaan culture in his role as a volunteer with the tourist police -- authorities he reckoned it helps to have on side.

"Now I have a safety net, now I have a group of people I can trust, I feel safe," he said.

Although he admitted his Thai language skills are still fairly basic, Ronnie said he is happier hanging out with the locals than the expat community.

"It's a shame because you see a lot of bar flies who have nothing better to do than drink all day and go back and harass their wives. Sometimes I want to say: well there's the airport, just go if you don't like it," he said.

As for his wife Parnom, she seemed happy with her choice of partner.

"I think I've found a good man, you know, and he takes care of me. I think I'm happy with this. Simple!" she said with a laugh.

Feared mosquito can be 'flying vaccinator': scientists

By Manager Online

25 March 2010 16:57

This photo retrieved March 24, 2010 is from http://www.howstuffworks.com. The researchers have already genetically modified a mosquito species so that its saliva contains a protein that acts as a vaccine against leishmaniasis, a sandfly-borne disease that triggers terrible skin sores and can be fatal.

March 25, 2010
TOKYO (AFP) - Japanese researchers hope one day to turn blood-sucking mosquitoes -- carriers of deadly malaria -- into deliverers of a vaccine that could instead inoculate millions for free.

A new study shows real promise for turning the reviled insects into heroes by genetically modifying them to make them "flying vaccinators", according to scientists at Jichi Medical University north of Tokyo.

The researchers have already genetically modified a mosquito species so that its saliva contains a protein that acts as a vaccine against leishmaniasis, a sandfly-borne disease that triggers terrible skin sores and can be fatal.

The team confirmed that mice bitten by the transgenic mosquito developed an antibody to the disease, meaning they had built up immunity, said Shigeto Yoshida, the associate professor who has led the research.

Similarly the mosquitoes could be used to help combat malaria, perhaps a decade from now, said the malaria expert.

"What's good is that they don't charge you for vaccinations," Yoshida told AFP by telephone on Wednesday.

"You would be vaccinated without even noticing. You wouldn't need any drug and you wouldn't need to show up at a designated place for mass vaccinations."

Repeat bites would only strengthen the immunity, he said.

For now a problem is that no effective vaccine exists, because malaria's antigen, which triggers immune reactions, changes frequently.

However, Yoshida expects science will come up with a solution, and that the transgenic mosquito will ultimately help rid the developing world of a deadly scourge.

Nearly one million people die each year from malaria -- most of them children -- predominantly in Africa and Asia, according to the World Health Organization.

There are several anti-malarial drugs, none of them universally effective, and a treatment, called artemisinin.

"The treatment works but it is beyond the reach of people who need to worry about food for tomorrow. They just can't afford it," Yoshida said. "Malaria is a disease closely linked to poverty. A flying vaccinator matters a lot."

Yoshida conceded the new approach could raise ethical questions about carrying out vaccinations without informed consent.

"Technically speaking I believe it's a matter of 10 years or so, but it's a different issue whether society would accept it," he said.

Another problem is that the vaccinator mosquito may still pick up and spread the infected blood of a malaria-positive person.

Yoshida's team is hoping it can tackle this problem, by also developing a mosquito that kills malaria parasites inside its own body.

Chocolate-powered racecar makes sustainability sexy

By Manager Online

25 March 2010 16:21

A formula 3 race car that researchers from the University of Warwick in Britain have retrofitted is seen at the MIT Energy Conference 2010 in Boston, Massachusetts March 5, 2010. REUTERS/Adam Hunger

by Ros Krasny, March 25, 2010
BOSTON (Reuters Life!) - Fueled by leftover chocolate and with components made from carrots, potato starch and flax, the world's first sustainable Formula 3 racing car has a top speed of 135 miles per hour and can go from zero to 60 in 2.5 seconds.

Sound nuts? Not yet -- brake pads made from cashews are still under development.

Meet Lola, the England's University of Warwick's blend of muscle and eco-friendliness and the world's first racing car retrofitted with renewable and sustainable materials.

Researchers from the British university showed off their prize possession at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) energy conference in Boston.

"She's incredibly green, taking materials that would otherwise have ended up in a landfill. It lets people engage with recycling without the finger-wagging," said Kerry Kirwan, one of the car's designers at the university.

"The public has really taken the car to its heart, because she's fun," he said.

Many of the car's components would more usually be found at a farmer's market -- or in a trash bin, since most of the materials are actually industrial waste.

A formula 3 race car that researchers from the University of Warwick in Britain have retrofitted is seen at the MIT Energy Conference 2010 in Boston, Massachusetts March 5, 2010. REUTERS/Adam Hunger

The 2.0-liter BMW engine has been converted to diesel from gasoline and configured to run on fuel derived from waste from chocolate factories or other plant-based oils.

Among Lola's other unique features is a radiator that converts ozone back to oxygen.

"It's a racing car that cleans up as it goes along," said Steve Maggs, another member of the design team.

The WorldFirst Formula 3 racing car took the university more than nine months to develop and cost around $200,000.

Kirwan said that the thinking behind the project was to find a way to really put recycled materials to the test.

"A lot of these technologies were a huge leap of application, something that shows the material under a really demanding application."

(Reporting by Ros Krasny; Editing by Patricia Reaney)

วันอังคารที่ 23 มีนาคม พ.ศ. 2553

Thailand raises stakes against 'Red Shirts'

By Manager Online

22 March 2010 16:51

Bangkok, THAILAND : Supporter of deposed Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra sits next to protest placards during an anti-government protest in Bangkok on March 22, 2010. Thailand escalated its response to red-shirted protesters as their anti-government rally entered its second week, extending a tough security law and arming military guarding key sites. AFP PHOTO/PORNCHAI KITTIWONG

by Boonradom Chitradon, March 22, 2010
BANGKOK (AFP) - Thailand's government Monday extended a tough security law and furnished weapons to personnel guarding key sites, raising the stakes in a standoff with thousands of red-clad protesters.

The "Red Shirts" loyal to deposed former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, buoyed after staging a carnival-like parade through Bangkok on Saturday, have rejected offers of talks with the government and called for immediate elections.

On Sunday they won more headlines by painting poems, pictures and political slogans on white canvas with remnants of the blood they had donated and had earlier splattered on the prime minister's house and offices.

An army spokesman said the government was "very concerned" after several minor grenade attacks including two blasts that hit after the Saturday parade, which drew 65,000 people and revived a movement that had begun to wane.

"Starting from today, the military deployed at checkpoints, government buildings and military bases will be armed in order to prevent ill-intentioned people from inciting unrest," Colonel Sunsern Kaewkumnerd told reporters.

Sunsern said that only army officers at the sensitive locations would be supplied with firearms. Previously the 30,000 military personnel deployed for the protests did not carry weapons.

The army spokesman also threatened "decisive action" against demonstrators if they tried to disrupt a cabinet meeting scheduled for Tuesday at a ministry on the outskirts of Bangkok.

Deputy prime minister Suthep Thaugsuban said the government would extend a stringent security law enacted ahead of the mass protests for an additional week in Bangkok and two other provinces.

The Internal Security Act, which allows authorities to set up checkpoints, impose curfews and limit movement, had been enforced across eight provinces since March 11 and was due to expire on March 23.

Red Shirts leader Nattawut Saikur was taken aback by the escalation of security measures against a protest movement that, despite fears of violence, has passed off largely without incident in recent months.

"The government always says they'll not hurt the people, they'll not attack people. Why do they have to be armed when we demonstrate peacefully?" he told AFP, after vowing late Sunday that the protesters had more plans afoot.

Michael Montesano from the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies said the measures smacked of the "alarmism" that characterised government warnings in the run-up to the protests.

"In addition to being relatively heavy-handed, one wonders if these measures are intent on demonising the Red Shirt movement by associating them with the threat of violence," he said.

The Reds, mainly from Thailand's impoverished rural regions, claim that current premier Abhisit Vejjajiva's government is illegitimate and backed only by the nation's elite.

Thaksin, who was deposed in a coup in 2006, still enjoys strong support for the populist policies he introduced when in power.

The demonstrators have rejected Abhisit's offer of dialogue with one of his ministers, saying they will only meet with the premier himself and only to discuss the dissolution of the lower house of parliament.

Lertrat Rattanavanich, a senator organising any possible negotiations, warned the deadlock would only inflict further harm on Thailand as tourists stay away and businesses grow jittery.

"The talks aim to narrow the distance between the government and protesters before reaching the step of talks with the prime minister. It's a pity that the discussions can't be held today because everyone wanted it to happen," he said.

Police said there were 10,000 demonstrators camped out Monday morning at their base in Bangkok's old quarter, down from 45,000 late Sunday, but with numbers certain to swell again in the cool of the evening.

Swinging 60s had nothing on the Noughties: sex study

By Manager Online

22 March 2010 11:03

This photo retrieved March 17, 2010 is from http://www.glamour.com. Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) infections are very common, especially in younger people.

March 20, 2010
LONDON (Reuters Life!) - Young women today are nearly three times more sexually active than those of their grandmothers' generation in the liberal heyday of the "Swinging 60s," according to a survey on Tuesday.

The study found that women in the so-called Noughties between 2000 and 2009 had an average of 5.65 different sexual partners by the time they were 24.

Almost one in 10 of those asked claimed to have slept with more than 10 different partners.

By contrast, women who were in their early twenties in the 1960s had an average of 1.67 partners, and women of their mothers' generation, aged 24 in the 1970s, had 3.72 sexual partners by the same age.

The survey, carried out by ICM on behalf of Lloyds Pharmacy, questioned more than 3,000 women across Britain.

A couple kisses at a sea front off the coast of the Arabian Sea in Mumbai November 11, 2009. REUTERS/Arko Datta

It also found that although women's sex life has increased, sexual health is not improving.

Cancer Research UK statistics show that incidence rates of cervical cancer in women under the age of 25 have not fallen, despite better screening.

Its figures also reveal that although the number of cervical cancer cases in older women has fallen significantly in the last 10 years, diagnoses of the infection in women under the age of 25 have not followed the same trend.

The increase in the number of sexual partners could be one reason, says Lloyds Pharmacy.

"Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) infections are very common, especially in younger people," said Clare Kerr, Lloyds Pharmacy's head of sexual health, who warned that HPV is one of the major causes of cervical cancer.

(Reporting by Valle Aviles Pinedo; Editing by Steve Addison)

Thais flood streets to enlist public in anti-govt struggle

By Manager Online

20 March 2010 15:05

Bangkok, THAILAND : Red-shirt supporters of deposed Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra wear his mask as they take part in an anti-government protest in Bangkok on March 20, 2010. Thousands of red-clad Thai protesters began to snake across Bangkok in a festive travelling rally aimed at winning over the city's residents to their flagging anti-government campaign. AFP PHOTO/PORNCHAI KITTIWONGSAKUL

by Thanaporn Promyamyai, March 20, 2010
BANGKOK (AFP) - Thousands of Thai protesters packed trucks, cars and motorbikes in a carnival-like convoy Saturday aimed at winning over the capital's residents in their flagging "class war" against the government.

The supporters of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra began snaking across the capital mid-morning, dressed in their distinctive red and bringing traffic in some areas to a halt.

Police estimated there were around 25,000 demonstrators, who waved, cheered, honked horns and blared music in their day-long drive to recruit the urban middle classes and revive their waning rally, now in its seventh day.

In what they have increasingly dubbed a class war, the so-called "Red Shirts" say they are fighting Thailand's elite in bureaucratic, military and palace circles, whom they accuse of ousting elected governments.

The mainly poor, rural protesters say premier Abhisit Vejjajiva's government is illegitimate, as it came to power with army backing via a December 2008 parliamentary vote after a controversial court ruling removed Thaksin's allies.

"We will travel to find love from the people of Bangkok and to unite them with us, the poor peasants, to overthrow the elite-backed government," Red Shirt leader Veera Musikapong told the crowds before their convoy set off.

Abhisit, who has stood firm against the protesters' demand for snap elections, criticised the depiction of a class struggle on Saturday morning.

"This idea is designed to keep protesters at the rally but it has incited social unrest," he told Thailand's private-run television station Channel 3.

He said Thaksin, who was ousted in a coup in 2006, was an "obstacle to negotiation" between the government and Red Shirts, who have rejected Abhisit's conditional offer of talks.

Speaking by videolink to the crowds Friday night, Thaksin, who lives in exile to avoid a jail term for corruption, apologised to the city's residents in advance for traffic jams.

"It will continue until we win and regain our justice, but I will repay you when I return," he said.

Despite the buoyant mood of Saturday's convoy, which was expected to move around the capital until 6:00pm (1100 GMT), numbers were far down on their peak of more than 100,000 when the rally began last weekend.

Though they have so far been peaceful, army spokesman Colonel Sunsern Kaewkumnerd said he worried "there could be some clashes" between the travelling demonstrators and Bangkok residents.

Around 1,000 traffic policeman were on hand along the Reds' route, expected to cover up to 60 kilometres (37 miles), according to police. Authorities warned Bangkok residents to stay at home to avoid disruption.

Under a strict security law deployed for the rally, a 50,000-strong security force has been in place in Bangkok and surrounding areas this week.

Deputy prime minister Suthep Thaugsuban earlier said the convoy could go ahead but warned demonstrators not to block traffic, "or the government will not consider it a peaceful protest".

Abhisit has not been able to return home since the rally began, remaining holed up in an army barracks with other government members due to security fears.

The protesters picketed the military base on Monday and on Wednesday threw bags of their blood at the walls of the prime minister's family home after staging the same stunt at his office a day earlier.

Since Thaksin was ousted, Thailand has been rocked by protests by both his supporters and his opponents, many of whom are in Bangkok and accuse him of corruption and of disloyalty to the revered royal family.

Marriages last longer than living together?

By Manager Online

20 March 2010 14:32

This photo retrieved March 18, 2010 is from www.fotosearch.com. Three-fourths of marrying couples aged 26 years old or older last at least 10 years.

March 19, 2010
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. marriages last longer than unions where couples live together outside matrimony, the Centers for Disease Control reported on Tuesday.

About 78 percent of marriages lasted five years or more, compared with less than 30 percent of what the CDC called cohabiting unions, or couples living together outside marriage.

One reason cohabitations were shorter-lived than marriages is that 51 percent of couples who lived together made the transition to marriage within three years, CDC said in a statement.

Over 40 percent of men and women aged 15-44 were married in 2002 when the interviews were conducted, compared with 9 percent who were living together. The report was based on a nationally representative sample of 12,571 men and women.

Newlyweds kiss after getting married atop the Empire State Building in New York February 14, 2006. REUTERS/Jeff Zelevansky

Other findings:

-- The odds of staying together 10 years or longer in a first marriage are better for couples of the same racial origin, the report found.

-- Nearly 80 percent of couples who have their first child at least eight months after their first marriage are likely to celebrate their 10th anniversary; those who don't have children are more than twice as likely not to last 10 years.

-- About 75 percent of marriages between men and women 26 years old or older last at least 10 years, compared with only about half of teen marriages.

Sixty-three percent of working moms said they were following in the footsteps of their own mothers who had juggled a family and a career.

(Reporting by Deborah Zabarenko; Editing by Doina Chiacu)

วันเสาร์ที่ 20 มีนาคม พ.ศ. 2553

Greying baby-boomers spark tourism boom

By Manager Online

17 March 2010 18:11

A woman looks through a pair of binoculars at a lookout of the treetop-walk in Neuschoenau, south-eastern Germany, in 2009. From Japan to Germany, senior citizens make up a lucrative and fast-growing opportunity in the tourism industry, with deep pockets, disposable income and free time. (AFP/DDP/File/Oliver Lang)

by Audrey Kauffmann, March 17, 2010
BERLIN (AFP) - From Japan to Germany, senior citizens make up a lucrative and fast-growing opportunity in the tourism industry, with deep pockets, disposable income and free time. But just don't mention their age.

"The over-50s constitute a big market," Sybille Zeuch from the German Tourism Federation (DRV) said at last week's ITB in Berlin, the world's biggest trade fair for the multi-billion-dollar global holiday industry.

"And the 'Best Ager', 'Silver Ager', 'Seniors' or '50s and over', call them what you like, are the perfect guests. They have strong purchasing power, are interested in culture and are used to travel," she told AFP.

But firms wanting a piece of this "grey market" face a major obstacle: how to attract seniors without them realising they are being aimed at because of their age.

"They are the hardest market to target," said Jean-Claude Baumgarten, head of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC).

"The secret is to find a dynamic way to communicate, to make these people feel like they belong to a sort of club," he told AFP.

One man who has got this down to a fine art is 54-year-old Austrian businessman Hermann Paschinger, creator of the "50plus" badge certifying dozens of hotels in Austria and Germany as suitable for the older visitor.

"These are hotels with three to five stars, with a guarantee of comfort, relaxation, impeccable service, with an eye for detail and offering nature and cultural trips," Paschinger told AFP.

The brochures show couples bursting with health, vitality -- and relative youth -- happily engaged in activities like hiking or cycling, or relaxing next to a lake quaffing a well-deserved bottle of wine.

"We don't mention the width of doorways for wheelchairs," he said.

People over 50 "hate being told they are getting old."

Other tourism firms have jumped on board, including Denmark's 65-Ferie, German giant TUI's "Club Elan" and Thomas Cook's "Club Vital."

And the silver-haired tourists have little fear when it comes to choosing faraway locations for their holidays, said Thomas Graune, founder of German firm Studiosus, offering cultural trips for the 50 to 60 crowd.

"These people have increasingly exotic tastes. They've already seen Italy and Greece. Now they want to go to Ethiopia, Yemen or China," he said.

Volker Schmidt, from the German lobbying group Seniorenring complained that "some holiday firms only think of seniors when it comes to the low season."

However, with the baby-boomer generation approaching pensionable age and medical advances meaning people are staying healthy for longer, the market is growing quickly and firms are rapidly wising up to the potential.

"Happily, things are changing," said Schmidt.

Men losing more jobs than women worldwide

By Manager Online

17 March 2010 16:41

People wait for their turn at a government job centre in Malaga, southern Spain March 2, 2010. REUTERS/Jon Nazca

By Ellen Wulfhorst, March 17, 2010
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The global recession has caused more men than women lose their jobs around the world, following a pattern already well established in the United States, according to research released on Friday.

Men held more of the jobs lost in nearly all the nations where executives were surveyed by Accenture, a management consulting firm.

In India, executives said 95 percent of their layoffs were men; in France men accounted for 71 percent of job losses. The survey, conducted between November 2009 and mid-February 2010, asked executives how many men and women had been fired or laid off in the preceding year.

Executives also fired more men than women in Australia, Canada, Germany, Mexico, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, it said. In the United States, men held 54 percent of jobs lost to women's 46 percent.

"In some cases the majority of the work force was men, so most men got impacted," said Nellie Borrero, who heads global human capital and diversity at Accenture. "It could also mean that companies were more vigilant in insuring that a lot of women would not be impacted."

In the United States, men dominate industries hardest hit by recession, such as heavy manufacturing and construction, while women dominate less hard-hit fields such as health services and education, statistics have shown.

A different story on gender and job loss came from the Netherlands, where women accounted for 51 percent of jobs losses, Accenture said. In China the losses were split evenly between the genders.

Accenture surveyed 524 senior executives in medium to large companies in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.

(Editing by Alan Elsner)

Wonder Land

วันอาทิตย์ที่ 28 มีนาคม พ.ศ. 2553

Japan unveils always-willing dental patient - a robot

Westerners follow Thai brides to live in hard-up northeast

Feared mosquito can be 'flying vaccinator': scientists

Chocolate-powered racecar makes sustainability sexy

วันอังคารที่ 23 มีนาคม พ.ศ. 2553

Thailand raises stakes against 'Red Shirts'

Swinging 60s had nothing on the Noughties: sex study

Thais flood streets to enlist public in anti-govt struggle

Marriages last longer than living together?

วันเสาร์ที่ 20 มีนาคม พ.ศ. 2553

Greying baby-boomers spark tourism boom

Men losing more jobs than women worldwide

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