United Nations PredictsScarcity By 2025If Trends Continue COMMENTARYRaising the water alarm By Ernesto OrdoñezPhilippine Daily Inquirer08/17/2007 MANILA, Philippines — “Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink!” This was the lament of a person stranded on an ocean with no land in sight, and facing the grim prospect of death. Today, it is the lament of many people in far-flung barrios who, while having access to water, still do … Continue reading
Chinese Connection: Sri Lankan dockers drive productivity after Chinese lesson ViaLanka Business Online August 16, 2007 (LBO) – Colombo port has sent dock worker union leaders to study practices in a modern Chinese port and has now won their support for better work norms, a top official said. Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) chairman Saliya Wickramasuriya said relations between port management and workers was now better than last year when … Continue reading
Robotech Competition Brings Out Creative Streak In Students By Aemy AzlenaBruneidirect.com Kuala Belait – The 5th Robotech Competition 2007 was jointly organised by the Science, Technology and Environment Partnership (STEP) Centre, Brunei Shell Petroleum Sdn Bhd and the Engineering Science Department of the Universiti Brunei Darussalam. The Robotech competition 2007 is a two-day event, which started yesterday at the Duli Pengiran Muda Al-Muhtadee Billah College where more than 30 schools … Continue reading
UAW: Union labor is more efficient Study data are bargaining chip August 1, 2007BY SARAH A. WEBSTERDETROIT FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER Detroit’s automakers say they hope to close what they see as a competitivegap between their workforce and that of foreign rivals, who typically don’tuse union labor. UAW leaders have compiled data from the Harbour Report, a respected annualstudy of manufacturing efficiency, that they contend show union labor ismore efficient … Continue reading
World Bank gives wake-up call “Age is an opportunity no less than youth itself” – with this encouraging words, Mukesh Chawla started the presentation of a new World Bank report called From Red to Gray: The Third Transition” of Aging Populations in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union. At the World Bank’s office in Tbilisi Mukesh Chawla, World Bank Lead Economist and co-author of the report dwelled on the … Continue reading
IFC, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, will invest up to $20 million in Kanoria Chemicals and Industries Limited, to help the company expand the capacity of its caustic soda plant in Uttar Pradesh in India . The expansion of the Renukoot plant’s capacity from 90,000 to 130,000 tons per year by March 2008 will be based on more efficient, environmentally-friendly membrane cell technology, which consumes less … Continue reading
Italy’s pampered state sector braces for reform(Reuters) ROME – Change is afoot in Italy’s public sector and most of those it would affect, from civil servants to teachers to traffic wardens, don’t like the prospect one bit. Italy is notorious for its north-south wealth divide, but there is another, less immediately obvious division: between those who work for a private enterprise — often themselves — and those who work for … Continue reading
Agri. & Commodities PAU to work on new variety of paddyThe Hindu www.hindu.com Chandigarh, July 20 (PTI): With paddy cultivation in Punjab affecting the water table, Punjab Agricultural University has initiated research on a new variety of paddy which will consume 25 per cent less water without affecting the yield. Complete Article
Dutch Worker ComfortableWith ReducedSchedule “Productivity and efficiency are a little bit higher.Of course, you will have more to do, you have more deadlines in a short time.” By Foo Yun CheeInternational Business TimesPosted 01 July 2007 Annelies Kruijthoff is the epitome of the happy Dutch worker. She works three days a week, takes care of her two toddlers the rest of the time and has found the right balance between … Continue reading
A 10-point guide to improving workplace productivityCareer & Education BY NATALIE KINCAID Jamaica Productivity CentreJamaica Observer THE Jamaica Productivity Centre (JPC) hosted the inaugural National Productivity Awareness Week (NPAW) in September 2006. The event signalled the beginning of a process to foster a culture of productivity among Jamaicans, as well as focus attention on the multiplicity of benefits that can accrue from sustained productivity growth. Since the activities of NPAW, … Continue reading