© B2Bioworld 2024

Countering blackmailing of fossil or nuclear energies suppliers. The rise of renewables

Renewable energies are overtaking the political soapbox. They become a serious economic reality, but more needs to be done says the International Energy Agency (IEA) during a press conference about its new report at Paris. China is a model adopter, if disregarding a broader range of renewable technologies. Nuclear energy is set to play a secondary role. Russia’s energy ploy soon annihilated.Read more ...

EU AI Act Enters in Force August 1, 2024

The first phase of the EU AI ACT enters into force, a first worldwide. France’s data watchdog CNIL provides guidance on relations to European privacy regulation.Read more ...

Roller Coaster of a Pan-African Automotive Market

- Inside Auto Industry Diplomacy

Opportunities and disappointments of creating a pan-African automotive market for the industry. David Coffey, CEO of AAAM details what has been achieved in discreet negotiations and in hands-on activities. On gridlocks and regulatory suprise, government’s manoeuvering, or vehicle production volumes. Will indigenous carmakers benefit? Will development wither away? What about batteries, or alternative fuels?Read more ...

Communicating across different worlds

opinion

Bridging Cultures: Communicative Experiences along Chinese, English, and German

“Pardon?” A Chinese would rather politely say 不好意思 or «I am sorry, I did not listen exactly”. Instead of an impolite 啥?(What) one would reply in a neutral way 能再说一遍吗 or «Could you repeat that».You might be surprised how differently Chinese speakers handle difficulties of understanding each other. All the more so in case of thanking, apologising, declining something, criticising, shaking hands or exchanging business cards. Haiwen Dong, a linguistics graduate describes his experiences in Chinese, English, or German interaction, and offers some practical suggestions for being polite and courteous in spoken, nonverbal, and written communication.Read more ...

On Understanding and Being Understood in Multilingual Work Settings

So, in the workplace everybody communicates in English, right? You might be surprised what can go wrong even mastering three languages. Marco Arana recounts from his own personal experience shifting from academia to the blue collar world having to communicate in Spanish, German and, of course English.Read more ...