Language is Everything

Thank you!

We're delighted to report that Carolyn Burgess (our chief exec) smashed her fundraising target and successfully bailed herself out of Hull Prison yesterday (see our blog post below).

"It was an amazing experience and a real learning curve", said Carolyn, who was 'arrested' by the KCFM Smile Foundation, which provides support and grants to organisations in need.

"I'd like to say a big thank you to the governor and everyone else at Hull Prison who helped organise this fundraising event. I'd also like to say how incredibly impressed I was at the way the governor and his superb team of staff run the prison.

"I would also like to say a huge, huge thank you to everyone who made a donation yesterday. I know that a lot of you will be disappointed to see me released! But we raised a lot of money for two fantastic charities: thank you again."

Carolyn has the right to remain silent (if only...)

This Wednesday Carolyn Burgess (our chief exec) will be read her rights, handcuffed and taken to Hull Prison by two police officers...

It's all being done to raise money for the KCFM Smile Foundation: Carolyn will be 'raising bail' for her release by collecting donations online.

Please click here to go to Carolyn's fundraising page.

The Smile Foundation has been set up by radio station KCFM 99.8, and it provides support and grants to organisations in need. The Foundation's two chosen charities for 2009/10 are House of Light, which provides support for women with post natal depression, and Downright Special, which offers support and advice to parents on all aspects of caring for a child with Down syndrome.

As part of its fundraising campaign, KCFM will be 'locking up' bosses from across the Humber region. 'Doing time' alongside Carolyn will be Kath Lavery, chair of NHS Hull, and Jim Dick, who sits on the boards of Hull Forward, the University of Hull Council and the Smith & Nephew Foundation.

   

Language is Everything shortlisted for top award

Language is Everything has been selected as one of the top nominees for the Chairman's Award for enhancing the Economy of the East Riding of Yorkshire.

The Chairman's Awards are presented by the East Riding of Yorkshire Council to individuals, companies and organisations in recognition of their achievements towards enhancing the area in which they work and live. Nominations for the awards come from both the public and from council employees.

Carolyn Burgess (our chief exec) and Carol Curtis (our MD) will be attending a presentation dinner at Bridlington Spa on Tuesday 5th May.

East meets west

A recent article in the New Scientist looks at how culture shapes the way we think. Yet it also warns against simplistic stereotypes:

"One of the pioneers of this research is Richard Nisbett. In his book The Geography of Thought, he recounts a study in which he asked American and Japanese students to describe animated videos of underwater scenes. As befits the stereotype, the Americans were more likely to start by mentioning prominent objects such as brightly coloured moving fish or aquatic plants, while the vast majority of the Japanese students started by saying something about the context - the scene looked like a stream, or the water was green....

"However, recently it has become apparent that the east-west dichotomy is not as clear-cut as this....

"For example, Nisbett's group recently compared three communities living in Turkey's Black Sea region who share the same language, ethnicity and geography but have different social lives: farmers and fishers live in fixed communities and their trades require extensive cooperation, while herders are more mobile and independent. He found that the farmers and fishers were more holistic in their psychology than herders...."

You can read the full article here.