For several years now, there have been many reports that the music industry is losing money because people aren’t buying CDs anymore.  Instead, people are downloading music, and many do it through file-sharing (moving files from computer to computer through the Internet), so that the music companies and the artists (singers, musicians) don’t get paid.

One way that the music industry is trying to make up for (compensate for; correct; fix) this lost income is by repackaging people’s favorite artists, putting together songs and adding material in a new way.   They are counting on diehard fans (people who love something very, very much) to want everything, or at least something special, that is released for their favorite artist.  Many of these new packages are “anniversary editions,” perhaps 10, 25, or 50 years after the album/CD was first released or since the birth or death of an artist.  What do these reissues (re-releases) include?

Some very old recordings that came out in vinyl (flat, round disks played on a record player) are remastered, using today’s technology to improve the audio (sound) quality.  Other reissues have “extras,” such as never-before-heard versions of songs, commentary (spoken comments) by the artist or people involved in making the music, and remixes, which are new versions of songs created technically, often by changing the tempo (speed) or by putting them in a different order or adding parts to the songs.  Now some reissues include DVDs of live (in front of an audience) performances or interviews. These reissues and repackaged music can sell for between $100 and $200.  For diehard fans, this may be a small price to pay.

Do you have a favorite musical artist that would tempt you (make you want very much) to buy reissued or repackaged music?

~ Lucy

I recently read something surprising: In the past few years, many universities in other countries have hired Americans for top-level jobs. For example, in 2009, a provost (senior administrator) at one of the top universities in the U.S.–Yale–will become the head (director; person in charge) of Oxford University, one of the most prestigious universities in England. Another American academic (university teacher or scholar) at Harvard, perhaps the most well-known American university, will become the new head of the University of St. Andrews, the oldest university in Scotland.

What accounts for (explains) these high-level appointments? The answer is money.

Universities have become big businesses and one of the main duties of a senior university official is fundraising, getting donations and other forms of money for the institution. Apparently, Americans or people exposed to American ways of doing things have good fundraising skills. These skills are a product of (result of) experience and necessity (need).

U.S. universities rely heavily (very much) on philanthropy, which is when someone gives a generous donation of money to build or help an organization or a cause. For example, at Harvard last year, 40% of the total budget came from philanthropy. This is in contrast to (very different from) universities abroad (in other countries): At Cambridge University in England, only 10% came from philanthropy, and at the University of Melbourne in Australia, only 6% did.

In recent months, donations to universities have dropped significantly, making a fundraiser’s job even harder. However, in general, when it comes to separating wealthy (rich) people from their money, I guess an American is the one for the job!

~ Lucy

A spouse is a husband or wife. A work spouse is a co-worker, usually of the opposite sex (a man if you are a woman; a woman if you are a man), with whom you have a close, but platonic (not romantic or sexual) relationship. The relationship can be much like that of a married couple. In a U.S. survey, 23 percent of workers said that they had a work spouse.

Do you have a work spouse? (excerpted from CNN)
Here are seven clear signs (indications) you might have a work spouse:

1. You depend on a particular co-worker for office supplies, snacks and aspirin (common medicine for headaches and pain).

2. There are inside jokes that you and a specific co-worker share (jokes that other people would not understand).

3. You can be bluntly (directly; frankly) honest with this person about his or her appearance, hygiene (cleanliness) or hair. You’re comfortable enough to point out that the other’s hair is sticking up (standing up in the air) — or that someone’s fly (pant zipper) is down.

4. When something eventful (important or interesting) happens at work, this co-worker is the first person you seek out (try to find) for a de-briefing (discussion; asking questions to get information).

5. At breakfast, lunch, and coffee breaks, your closest co-worker knows what to order for you and how you like your coffee (and vice versa (the other way around; true for the other person, too)).

6. You and your co-worker can finish each other’s sentences.

7. Someone in your office knows almost as much about your personal life as your best friend or real-life spouse does.

Do you have a work spouse? Does your work spouse know things about you that your real-life spouse doesn’t know?

~ Lucy

In these economic times, you may be wondering what Americans earn. A recent CNN article gave information about the 10 most common majors (areas of study) and how much graduates might expect to earn when they enter the market (start working; get their first job). This is not based on a scientific study, but on people’s own reported salaries, but it may still be interesting. Of course, salaries vary greatly depending on where people live in the U.S., with higher salaries in larger cities.

Excerpted from the article, “10 Most Popular Majors and What They Pay.”
….

Business administration and management
Business administration is one of the more lucrative (money making) majors in terms of starting salary. Graduates with a degree in business administration and management are often on track to (on the path to; on the way to) eventually assume (take power and responsibility for) leadership roles…

Beginning salary: $57,132.
….

Computer science (study and design of computer-related things)

A computer science degree can be used in a number of careers because of the variety of skills that graduates learn. Those skills range from developing software (programs and other computer information) and analyzing systems to more advanced skills like working with language recognition programs and other types of artificial intelligence (using machines to do the thinking and work of humans).

Beginning salary: $46,849.
….

Criminal justice (working as police and in other law enforcement jobs)

Graduates with a degree in criminal justice have a number of options for their career path. One initial (first) choice is becoming a police officer. Graduates can also join state or federal police agencies.

They can also become involved with other related areas like law, work as a legal assistant or court administrator, or work for a government agency like the FBI, CIA or Homeland Security.

Beginning salary: $38,182.
…

Elementary education (teaching children from kindergarten (ages 5, 6) to eighth grade (ages 11/12)

Education continues to be a popular major and teachers continue to be sought after (in demand; with many people wanting to hire them) throughout the country, which explains why it is one of the few industries to add workers in 2008.

Despite the importance of the role that an elementary teacher has in a child’s education, the beginning salary for a new teacher is the lowest of the 10 most popular majors.

Beginning salary: $29,414.
…

Nursing (working in hospitals and with doctors to help injured or sick people)

Nursing is the largest industry in health care, with 25 million workers, and is another industry that is adding workers in 2008. Nurses are in high demand nearly everywhere in the country. Registered nurses, who provide a range of general care, are always in demand.

Graduates have a wide range of choices as to what kind of care they wish to provide. There are also jobs in home health care (taking care of sick or injured people in their own home), as well as jobs where nurses can be educators and patient advocates (helping people get the care they need and making sure that doctors and hospitals follow laws and rules).

Beginning salary: $41,173.
…..

To read about the other majors, see the article here.

~ Lucy

Sleeping at work in the U.S. has traditionally been taboo (socially unacceptable). However, that’s changing in the American workplace. In a recent report, one-third (about 33%) of the people surveyed said that their workplace allowed naps (short periods of sleep during the day).

Scientists who study sleep say that people who take naps, especially if they didn’t have enough sleep the night before, are more alert (quick to notice and respond to situations), more creative (able to think of new ideas and use their imagination), and have better memory (able to remember things better).

Napping may be good for your health, too. In one study, researchers found that taking naps at least three days per week helped reduce the chance of dying from coronary (heart) problems.

The experts say that the ideal (best; most suitable) length of a nap is 20 minutes. Sleeping more than 30 minutes puts you in a deeper sleep and you will wake up groggy (weak and tired) and not refreshed (with new strength and energy).

Some large companies are taking note (paying attention). They have designated (assigned for a special purpose) sleep areas in their buildings.

Is it acceptable in your workplace to nap? Do you nap?

~ Lucy

I wanted to clarify (make clear) my comments last week about the value of things that are FREE!  I think some people interpreted my post as saying that we should not buy a product because there is something free that comes with it, or that things that are free are not worth very much.  I am not saying either of those things.

As many of you pointed out in your comments, some of the best things in life are free – even the audio files for ESL Podcast are free!  I am not suggesting that there is a relationship between price and value (how much something is really worth to us).  What I am saying is that when we see something that is FREE!, it has a different effect on us than something with a price on it.  We react differently, and sometimes we react in a way that isn’t rational or  does not make good economic sense.

Sometimes getting something for FREE! is a good idea, a good deal.   But we have to be careful not to get something or buy something just because it is free.  You have to compare the options and decide which is really best.  That’s why I gave the example of the candy, where FREE! wasn’t actually the best deal.

~Jeff

I love reading popular books about economics.  I’ve always been interested in economics, beginning when I was in college. I took a couple of different economics courses as an undergraduate, and have continued reading books on the topic every few years.

Recently I started a book called Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely, an economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or what we commonly call MIT, one of the best universities in the U.S. for science and math. The book is part of a larger movement in economics called behavioral economics, where economists combine psychology with their traditional tools of research to understand how people behave when it comes to (as it relates to) money, work, trade, and other economically-related activities. The book is basically a description of several experiments that Ariely has done in the past several years.

One section of the book discusses what happens when businesses give away things free (or “FREE!” as Ariely writes it). Everyone likes things that are free, and businesses on the Internet and in the “real” world often will give things away (give things for free) to customers as a way of getting more people to pay attention to their products. But can “free” actually be a bad thing for us?

Ariely conducted some experiments on how people reacted to things that were FREE! He offered a group of students two kinds of chocolates: a small piece of very good, well-known chocolate for 15 cents, and a small piece of chocolate that was not very good quality for 1 cent. The good chocolate piece was probably worth $1.00, so getting it for 15 cents was a very good deal, but the poor quality chocolate was only worth about 5 cents, so getting it for 1 cent wasn’t a great deal (a good bargain, where you get something cheaper than normal).

Which would you choose? Most people chose the high quality chocolate for 15 cents, since it was much cheaper than normal. That’s not a surprise. But then Ariely lowered the price of both pieces of chocolate by 1 cent – 14 cents for the good quality chocolate, 0 cents (FREE!) for the low quality chocolate. Remember that the high quality chocolate is still a much better bargain than the low quality one. If people were rational (thinking correctly or intelligently), then they should still choose the good quality chocolate. But that isn’t what happened. The majority of people actually choose the FREE! chocoloate. This doesn’t make sense in our normal way of understanding economic behavior. People should choose the best deal, which is the good chocolate for 14 cents, but they don’t. They choose the FREE! item instead.

What is going on (happening) here? Part of the explanation Ariely gives is that people want to get a good bargain, but they also want to minimize risk. That is, they want to reduce or lower the chance that they will make a mistake. If you pay 15 cents for a piece of chocolate, and then you don’t actually like it when you eat it, you are out (you have lost) 15 cents. But when something is FREE! and you don’t like it, you haven’t lost anything. People would prefer not to take a risk over getting a better bargain.

So remember next time you take something for FREE! instead of paying a little money, you may actually be better off (be in a better situation) by paying for something else.

~Jeff

Nothing is more nerve-wracking (causing you to be nervous or under stress) than applying for a job. It’s even worse when you realize you’ve made a mistake or typo (typing mistake) on your cover letter (letter to apply for a job) or resume (document showing your education, work experience, etc.)

Here are a few mistakes that people have made in the past. An applicant is someone applying for a job and oops is what we say when we’ve made a mistake. See if you can spot (find) the mistake before you read the explanation.

• “I worked for six years as an uninformed security guard.”
[Oops: There is an extra letter "n." It should be "uniformed" meaning wearing a uniform or special clothes for a job, NOT "uniNformed," which means someone who is not knowledgeable.]

• “My last job was as a plumbing and hating specialists.”
[Oops: This time, this person is missing the letter "e." It should be "heating," which refers to a machine or system in a building that makes the temperature warmer, NOT "hating," which is to dislike something very much.]

• “The academic scholarship I earned came with a plague.”
[Oops: This applicant spelled this word with a "g" instead of a "q." A "plague" is a disease that affects a lot of people, and a "plaque" is a flat thing made of wood, metal, or something else that is displayed to remember an event or person.]

• “My career goal is to shave my talents with a growing company.”
[Oops: This applicant used the wrong word. It should be "show" and not "shave," which is what many men do every morning to remove the hair on their faces.]

• “After graduating from college, I worked in a clothing store for seven moths.”
[Oops: I believe this applicant worked at the store for seven "months" and not for seven "moths," which are small, brown flying insects.]

• “My volunteer experience includes delivering hot males to senior citizens.”
[Oops: I think this applicant means "meals" (food) and not "males" (men), though senior citizens (older adults, usually over 65) may also appreciate getting some males, too.]

~ Lucy

Office gossip is often a problem for companies. Gossip is casual talk about other people and things that may or may not be true. Gossip can reduce productivity (how much work people do), and it is often bad for morale (people’s confidence and enthusiasm).

According to an article in Newsweek, some companies are banning gossip. To ban is to prohibit or not allow something. In one Chicago company, the employees agreed that when an employee says something about someone else behind their back (without them knowing), that employee has to repeat the gossip to that person’s face. The result was that one employee who was seen by other employees as being unproductive (not doing much work) got a chance to explain that she negotiated fewer work hours because she was still going to school. Another rumor (story that is often untrue) was that one employee was dating another employee. This wasn’t true, and in fact, that employee had recently become engaged (promised to marry) someone else not working in the office.

The owner of the company said that since he instituted (started) this policy, business had improved significantly (a lot; greatly). He said that his employees were less distracted (thinking of other things) and could communicate better with each other.

Is gossiping a problem where you work? What do you think of this kind of policy?

~ Lucy

Companies are always looking for new ways to advertise their products and services. I recently read about a new one.

When you go to a nightclub in the U.S., you pay the cover charge (money or fee for entering) and you get a stamp on your hand. The stamp is a temporary mark that is put on your skin (usually the back of your hand) using a rubber block that has been put briefly in ink. This stamp allows you to go in and out of the nightclub all evening without paying again.

Now, companies are using these stamps to advertise. Instead of their normal stamp, companies pay the nightclub money for each person they stamp with the company’s message. For example, a taxi company puts the name of their company, their phone number, and the message “don’t drink and drive” on their stamp. The customer who drinks too much can find the taxi company’s phone number right on their hand. Other companies are even using the stamps to give discounts and to advertise other promotions (special offers).

Interesting idea. I wonder what other body parts companies will be advertising on next. Have you heard of any interesting or new ways companies are promoting their products or services?

~ Lucy