Ovidiu*, a masters student, explains that after sending over 200 CVs in Sweden and receiving no responses, he decided to try another somewhat cheeky tactic.
"I'd heard that a guy called Pablo in the UK changed his name to Paul on his CV and found that more people responded to his applications - so I thought I'd try the same gimmick," he told The Local.
"And it worked."
The Romanian printed 40 CVs in Swedish - not specifying his nationality but pointing out that he had studied for two years at the Uppsala University.
On 20 of the documents he used his real name, and on the other 20 he used a random but very common Swedish name. He also changed the layout so it wasn't noticeable at a glance that the CVs contained exactly the same information.
He then sent them out to 20 various companies in Uppsala, Gothenburg, Malmö and Stockholm. A large handful was sent to job recruitment agency Academic Work.
However, while the CVs with his real name all went unanswered, the 20 with the fictional Swedish name garnered 13 offers for an interview.
"It's clear that they didn't even bother reading the one with my real name," Ovidiu lamented.
"They just saw a foreign name and didn't open it. The jobs ranged from really basic work to jobs within the marketing sector that I was highly qualified for. It doesn't make sense."
Elin Frejd, PR Manager at Academic Work, had not heard of the case before and says that during her years at the company there has never been anything similar.
"This is shocking to hear - it shouldn't be like this at all," she told The Local upon learning of the story.
"We've had fantastic experiences with foreigners and often talk to our customers about the fact that we have a wide range of non-Swedes in our database."
"Perhaps our customers are sometimes afraid of hiring someone who can't speak Swedish, but at Academic Work we value the experience and knowledge that people bring from abroad."
She also offered her apologies to the student.
"If this is true, I'm not especially proud of it and would encourage this man to come in to discuss it - perhaps we could help him."
While Frejd explains that the database is often close to full and some jobs need to be filled quickly, she says the selection process should have meant that the student's CV was recognized.
Annika Höög, a case officer at Sweden's Equality Ombudsman (Diskrimineringsombudsmannen, DO), says that she has never heard similar complaints either.
"We get a lot of complaints from non-Swedes for job discrimination when they're applying for work," she told The Local.
"But it's very hard to prove in most cases. In Sweden, the reputation of employers towards foreigners can really vary. From my own experience, I can say that it seems to be more difficult for non-Swedes to find a job here than if they were in the UK or Canada for example."
As to why, Höög can only speculate.
"Employers may just be more suspicious of foreigners here. We've had complaints from people before who've said they've had to move to other countries just to get job offers."
Meanwhile, Ovidiu has been left scratching his head as to what to do next.
"I didn't show up to any of the interviews in case what I did was illegal or something," he told The Local.
"But the whole thing is really frustrating. Having a job in Sweden is being a member of an exclusive club rather than a work force."
*Ovidiu is not the student's real name.
20130206
CV name-change leaves foreign student reeling
CV name-change leaves foreign student reeling
PP secret accounts man faces anticorruption prosecutor
PP secret accounts man faces anticorruption prosecutor
BÁRCENAS' SECRET PAPERS
PP secret accounts man faces anticorruption prosecutor’s questions
Whistleblowing former lawmaker Trías defends his version of party leaders’ cash bonuses: “I have done my duty”
Bárcenas summoned by High Court judge in connection with Gürtel case
Anticorruption prosecutors subpoena PP’s tax records from the past 13 years
EL PAÍS hands over PP treasurer’s secret papers to prosecutors
Luis Bárcenas, the Popular Party’s (PP) embattled former treasurer, began giving a statement to anticorruption prosecutors Wednesday about his knowledge concerning a slush fund that was allegedly used to pay fat bonuses over an 18-year period to the party’s top leaders, including Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.
Bárcenas, who purportedly kept secret ledgers listing the amount of money paid out and which have been published over the past week by EL PAÍS, was greeted by an angry crowd, with people shouting “crook,” “thief,” and “return the money, scoundrel” after he emerged from a taxi outside the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office.
He didn’t make any statements to the barrage of reporters and television cameras that had been waiting for him since early morning. His lawyer Alonso Trallero accompanied him.
While various handwriting experts have verified that it is Bárcenas’ handwriting in those ledgers, the former PP accounts man has denied it.
Earlier, former PP congressional deputy José Trías Sagnier who acknowledged in an EL PAÍS column last month that money was regularly handed out in envelopes to leaders throughout the years, was also called to testify before prosecutors. “I have fulfilled my duty,” he told television cameras after he left.
Trías Sagnier told EL PAÍS that money was regularly handed out in envelopes to leaders
Information contained in the ledgers obtained by EL PAÍS shows that Rajoy received 320,000 euros throughout this period.
Anticorruption prosecutors have also called Bárcenas’ predecessor, Álvaro Lapuerta, who served as the party’s chief accountant for nearly 20 years. The 85-year-old former treasurer has also denied paying out any extra bonuses.
According to prosecution sources, investigators will decide before Easter whether to present a case to the High Court.
The entire scandal has had a severe international impact on the Rajoy administration as it strives to reassure investor confidence, and grapple with a lingering recession and high unemployment.
A new poll out by the Center of Sociological Research (CIS) shows a significant drop in the PP’s approval ratings among Spanish voters.
The gap between the PP and the opposition Socialists has closed considerably since Rajoy won the elections in November 2011.The Socialists are now trailing the PP by 4.8 percent compared to the 12.7 percent difference in the last general elections.
The poll was taken between January 4 and 14 before the ledgers’ scandal broke.
BÁRCENAS' SECRET PAPERS
PP secret accounts man faces anticorruption prosecutor’s questions
Whistleblowing former lawmaker Trías defends his version of party leaders’ cash bonuses: “I have done my duty”
Bárcenas summoned by High Court judge in connection with Gürtel case
Anticorruption prosecutors subpoena PP’s tax records from the past 13 years
EL PAÍS hands over PP treasurer’s secret papers to prosecutors
Luis Bárcenas, the Popular Party’s (PP) embattled former treasurer, began giving a statement to anticorruption prosecutors Wednesday about his knowledge concerning a slush fund that was allegedly used to pay fat bonuses over an 18-year period to the party’s top leaders, including Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.
Bárcenas, who purportedly kept secret ledgers listing the amount of money paid out and which have been published over the past week by EL PAÍS, was greeted by an angry crowd, with people shouting “crook,” “thief,” and “return the money, scoundrel” after he emerged from a taxi outside the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office.
He didn’t make any statements to the barrage of reporters and television cameras that had been waiting for him since early morning. His lawyer Alonso Trallero accompanied him.
While various handwriting experts have verified that it is Bárcenas’ handwriting in those ledgers, the former PP accounts man has denied it.
Earlier, former PP congressional deputy José Trías Sagnier who acknowledged in an EL PAÍS column last month that money was regularly handed out in envelopes to leaders throughout the years, was also called to testify before prosecutors. “I have fulfilled my duty,” he told television cameras after he left.
Trías Sagnier told EL PAÍS that money was regularly handed out in envelopes to leaders
Information contained in the ledgers obtained by EL PAÍS shows that Rajoy received 320,000 euros throughout this period.
Anticorruption prosecutors have also called Bárcenas’ predecessor, Álvaro Lapuerta, who served as the party’s chief accountant for nearly 20 years. The 85-year-old former treasurer has also denied paying out any extra bonuses.
According to prosecution sources, investigators will decide before Easter whether to present a case to the High Court.
The entire scandal has had a severe international impact on the Rajoy administration as it strives to reassure investor confidence, and grapple with a lingering recession and high unemployment.
A new poll out by the Center of Sociological Research (CIS) shows a significant drop in the PP’s approval ratings among Spanish voters.
The gap between the PP and the opposition Socialists has closed considerably since Rajoy won the elections in November 2011.The Socialists are now trailing the PP by 4.8 percent compared to the 12.7 percent difference in the last general elections.
The poll was taken between January 4 and 14 before the ledgers’ scandal broke.
20130205
‘Former bank chief’ caught at airport with £44.5M cheque
‘Former bank chief’ caught at airport with £44.5M cheque
IRAN'S former central bank chief has been caught at an airport – with a cheque worth £44.5MILLION, it is reported.
Tahmasb Mazaheri was detained after customs officers allegedly found the eye-watering bill in his luggage.
The 59-year-old is said to have been issued the 300million bolivar cheque by the Bank of Venezuela.
Mr Mazaheri, the governor of the Central Bank of Iran until 2008, had flown from Turkey into Duesseldorf Airport in Germany on January 21.
German police and customs are reported to be investigating possible money laundering.
20130204
Harvard details suspensions in massive cheating scandal
Harvard details suspensions in massive cheating scandal
CAMBRIDGE — More than half of the roughly 125 Harvard University students investigated by the college’s disciplinary board for cheating on a take-home exam last spring were forced to temporarily withdraw, school officials announced Friday.
The disclosure, communicated in an e-mail to the Harvard community from Michael D. Smith, dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, was the most extensive accounting of what is being called the Ivy League’s largest cheating scandal in recent times.
Smith said the inquiry, which concluded in December, resulted in about half of the students implicated in the high-profile case being asked to leave the college for “a period of time.” Affected students have said that it amounted to two academic semesters for most. The rest of the students were evenly split between those who received disciplinary probation or had their cases dismissed, he said.
“We, as a faculty, must redouble our efforts to communicate clearly and unambiguously to our undergraduates about academic integrity,” Smith wrote. “While the fall cases are complete, our work on academic integrity is far from done.”
The official announcement came as no surprise to many undergraduates, who saw dozens of classmates, teammates, and friends quickly disappear from campus without explanation throughout the fall semester. But the statement provided new perspective on the details of the investigation, a process that even Smith conceded had experienced delays because of its massive scale.
Though Harvard officials declined to comment further on the details of the case, Smith’s letter outlined a series of possible reforms that may be put in place to help students and faculty avoid similar situations in the future.
The students were accused of collaborating on the last of four take-home exams in the spring 2012 lecture Government 1310: Introduction to Congress. The students were given a week to complete the exams. Suspicions were first made public last August, when Harvard announced it was dealing with a cheating scandal of unknown scope.
Smith acknowledged the resolution of the cases took “much longer” than many had expected.
He also addressed a major complaint among students: The disparity in tuition refunds for those who were suspended.
At Harvard, tuition refunds are pro-rated, based on when a student withdraws. As the Administrative Board delved into details of the case, the timeline for student hearings grew from weeks to months.
Those whose cases were heard in September were able to recoup thousands of dollars more than peers whose cases were decided in December.
Harvard administrators have decided to fix that disparity, and will now provide tuition refunds based on Sept. 30 as the withdrawal date for all.
Still, that was small consolation for some implicated in the case who maintain that the Administrative Board used unfair practices to determine students’ guilt or innocence. Many have taken issue with allegations that students copied one another’s tests; they say similarities in exams arose because they shared notes with classmates, a practice expressly encouraged by the professor.
“The tuition issue — it’s an important one, but of all the issues we have with the Ad Board, it’s way down on the list,” said a father whose son withdrew after he was found guilty.
He called Smith’s letter insulting.
“Their own faculty has culpability, which they have failed to acknowledge,” said the parent, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of harming his son’s chances of being readmitted. “They should be exonerating these kids and looking hard at themselves and realizing they are the cause of this situation.”
Smith’s e-mail outlined upcoming plans by the school’s Committee on Academic Integrity to help students and faculty find ways to prevent academic dishonesty or inappropriate collaboration. These measures may include instituting an honor code or incorporating lessons on scholarly values into courses and residential houses.
One student who was exonerated said the recommendations rang hollow — the majority of similarities in the take-home exams occurred, he said, because of unclear directions by the instructor. Focusing on reforming student attitudes, he said, is wrong-headed.
“That’s not at the root of what happened in this particular instance,” he said.
On campus Friday, opinions among students were mixed.
Michael Constant, 19, said he thinks the college wanted to make a statement. Not punishing students, he said, would have been the same as condoning the behavior.
“I think it’s fair,” said Constant, who is studying neurobiology, said of the board’s decision. “They made the choice to cheat.”
But Georgina Parfitt, 22, said the punishment was too harsh, and that many students in the class could have been confused about the policy.
“Sending someone away for a semester or a year, it’s awful,” said Parfitt, an English major. “It changes someone’s life.”
Harold Eyster, 19, said students who cheat should be punished, but he was disappointed by the college’s response. Some professors have begun forbidding collaboration among students, he said, a move that Eyster feels could hinder learning at Harvard.
“Collaboration is so important in academic learning,” he said.
CAMBRIDGE — More than half of the roughly 125 Harvard University students investigated by the college’s disciplinary board for cheating on a take-home exam last spring were forced to temporarily withdraw, school officials announced Friday.
The disclosure, communicated in an e-mail to the Harvard community from Michael D. Smith, dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, was the most extensive accounting of what is being called the Ivy League’s largest cheating scandal in recent times.
Smith said the inquiry, which concluded in December, resulted in about half of the students implicated in the high-profile case being asked to leave the college for “a period of time.” Affected students have said that it amounted to two academic semesters for most. The rest of the students were evenly split between those who received disciplinary probation or had their cases dismissed, he said.
“We, as a faculty, must redouble our efforts to communicate clearly and unambiguously to our undergraduates about academic integrity,” Smith wrote. “While the fall cases are complete, our work on academic integrity is far from done.”
The official announcement came as no surprise to many undergraduates, who saw dozens of classmates, teammates, and friends quickly disappear from campus without explanation throughout the fall semester. But the statement provided new perspective on the details of the investigation, a process that even Smith conceded had experienced delays because of its massive scale.
Though Harvard officials declined to comment further on the details of the case, Smith’s letter outlined a series of possible reforms that may be put in place to help students and faculty avoid similar situations in the future.
The students were accused of collaborating on the last of four take-home exams in the spring 2012 lecture Government 1310: Introduction to Congress. The students were given a week to complete the exams. Suspicions were first made public last August, when Harvard announced it was dealing with a cheating scandal of unknown scope.
Smith acknowledged the resolution of the cases took “much longer” than many had expected.
He also addressed a major complaint among students: The disparity in tuition refunds for those who were suspended.
At Harvard, tuition refunds are pro-rated, based on when a student withdraws. As the Administrative Board delved into details of the case, the timeline for student hearings grew from weeks to months.
Those whose cases were heard in September were able to recoup thousands of dollars more than peers whose cases were decided in December.
Harvard administrators have decided to fix that disparity, and will now provide tuition refunds based on Sept. 30 as the withdrawal date for all.
Still, that was small consolation for some implicated in the case who maintain that the Administrative Board used unfair practices to determine students’ guilt or innocence. Many have taken issue with allegations that students copied one another’s tests; they say similarities in exams arose because they shared notes with classmates, a practice expressly encouraged by the professor.
“The tuition issue — it’s an important one, but of all the issues we have with the Ad Board, it’s way down on the list,” said a father whose son withdrew after he was found guilty.
He called Smith’s letter insulting.
“Their own faculty has culpability, which they have failed to acknowledge,” said the parent, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of harming his son’s chances of being readmitted. “They should be exonerating these kids and looking hard at themselves and realizing they are the cause of this situation.”
Smith’s e-mail outlined upcoming plans by the school’s Committee on Academic Integrity to help students and faculty find ways to prevent academic dishonesty or inappropriate collaboration. These measures may include instituting an honor code or incorporating lessons on scholarly values into courses and residential houses.
One student who was exonerated said the recommendations rang hollow — the majority of similarities in the take-home exams occurred, he said, because of unclear directions by the instructor. Focusing on reforming student attitudes, he said, is wrong-headed.
“That’s not at the root of what happened in this particular instance,” he said.
On campus Friday, opinions among students were mixed.
Michael Constant, 19, said he thinks the college wanted to make a statement. Not punishing students, he said, would have been the same as condoning the behavior.
“I think it’s fair,” said Constant, who is studying neurobiology, said of the board’s decision. “They made the choice to cheat.”
But Georgina Parfitt, 22, said the punishment was too harsh, and that many students in the class could have been confused about the policy.
“Sending someone away for a semester or a year, it’s awful,” said Parfitt, an English major. “It changes someone’s life.”
Harold Eyster, 19, said students who cheat should be punished, but he was disappointed by the college’s response. Some professors have begun forbidding collaboration among students, he said, a move that Eyster feels could hinder learning at Harvard.
“Collaboration is so important in academic learning,” he said.
20130203
Eric Schmidt Calls China The World's 'Most Sophisticated Hacker'
Eric Schmidt Calls China The World's 'Most Sophisticated Hacker'
China's state-sanctioned cybercrime is a global "menace" according to Eric Schmidt, Google's executive chairman, as he predicts a revolution in the country in the coming decades in his latest book.
Eric Schmidt, Google’s executive chairman, has described China as the most “sophisticated and prolific” hacker of foreign companies in his upcoming book, according to leaked extracts.
“The disparity between American and Chinese firms and their tactics will put both the government and the companies of the United States at a distinct disadvantage," Mr Schmidt wrote, according to the Wall Street Journal. He argues that the Chinese state backed cyber crime for economic and political gain, making it the biggest online menace in the world.
“The New Digital Age” co-written with Jared Cohen, a former US government adviser, will be published in April by Random House.
“The disparity between American and Chinese firms and their tactics will put both the government and the companies of the United States at a distinct disadvantage,” because “the United States will not take the same path of digital corporate espionage, as its laws are much stricter (and better enforced) and because illicit competition violate the American sense of fair play,” the book claims.
However, the book also acknowledges that the US is also flawed, highlighting the country’s role in the Stuxnet virus, which accidentally spread across the internet in 2010. The virus was originally created by the US and Israeli governments to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Mr Schmidt and Mr Cohen come close to suggesting that western governments imitate China so they are not disadvantaged by its activities. They also say that the spread of Chinese technology around the world increases the influence of the Chinese government.
“Where Huawei gains market share, the influence and reach of China grow as well,” Mr Schmidt says.
However, the authors also argued that the spread of technology could destabilise the authoritarian central government.
“This mix of active citizens armed with technological devices and tight government control is exceptionally volatile,” the books notes, something which could lead to “widespread instability”. This will lead to “some kind of revolution in the coming decades”.
China's state-sanctioned cybercrime is a global "menace" according to Eric Schmidt, Google's executive chairman, as he predicts a revolution in the country in the coming decades in his latest book.
Eric Schmidt, Google’s executive chairman, has described China as the most “sophisticated and prolific” hacker of foreign companies in his upcoming book, according to leaked extracts.
“The disparity between American and Chinese firms and their tactics will put both the government and the companies of the United States at a distinct disadvantage," Mr Schmidt wrote, according to the Wall Street Journal. He argues that the Chinese state backed cyber crime for economic and political gain, making it the biggest online menace in the world.
“The New Digital Age” co-written with Jared Cohen, a former US government adviser, will be published in April by Random House.
“The disparity between American and Chinese firms and their tactics will put both the government and the companies of the United States at a distinct disadvantage,” because “the United States will not take the same path of digital corporate espionage, as its laws are much stricter (and better enforced) and because illicit competition violate the American sense of fair play,” the book claims.
However, the book also acknowledges that the US is also flawed, highlighting the country’s role in the Stuxnet virus, which accidentally spread across the internet in 2010. The virus was originally created by the US and Israeli governments to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Mr Schmidt and Mr Cohen come close to suggesting that western governments imitate China so they are not disadvantaged by its activities. They also say that the spread of Chinese technology around the world increases the influence of the Chinese government.
“Where Huawei gains market share, the influence and reach of China grow as well,” Mr Schmidt says.
However, the authors also argued that the spread of technology could destabilise the authoritarian central government.
“This mix of active citizens armed with technological devices and tight government control is exceptionally volatile,” the books notes, something which could lead to “widespread instability”. This will lead to “some kind of revolution in the coming decades”.
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