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Editorial address:Burgemeester Oudlaan 50

3062 PA Rotterdam, Kamer CB-03

Tel. 010 408 1146/47

Fax. 010 408 9021

E-mail: eclaire@efr.nl

Editor in Chief:Kim van Adrichem

Writers:Timothy Langstraat

Youvale van Dijk

Madina Ismailova

Katharina Dees

Nadia Zafirah

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I N T R O D U C T I O N

What have I gotten myself into? That is one of the questions

many of us seem to have on repeat then we enter the holiday

season. There is a range of end of the year activities set up

especially for you; from the family dinners to the Christmas

social drinks and white elephant parties. The stress of the

holidays accumulates with the need to buy the best gifts in

town for all your family and friends along with the desire

to look fabulous for all the social events. And on top of that

there are the exams. Just a little distraction from all the

holiday madness. Sometimes it can seem seriously difficult

to manage all the priorities you have, but fear not: in this

letter I shall give some quick pointers on how to de-stress

yourself! No, I will not advise you to watch one of those po-

wer nap videos on YouTube. Instead, I’ll be the person to tell

you that sometimes, it’s good to go with the flow.

Organize yourself: remove clutter from your immediate

living space and force yourself to focus on things that are

important. Exams come first, family second, and drinks are

optional. Once you are done with exams, you can go all out

during the two weeks of vacation and do all those things you

have been yearning to do during the last two blocks.

Dare to say ‘no’: your priorities are obvious and sometimes

having too much on your plate can be just plain disorienting.

Plan one night a week just for you-time so that you can get

important things done and have a break afterwards in which

you take the time to really enjoy (tip: this in combination with

chocolate usually works well).

Stay positive: the weather is too cold, the printer doesn’t

work, and assignments are stacking up while there are still

so many things that have to be done. Sure, there are some

negatives. But how many positives outnumber the negatives?

There are VIBES parties, Vie parties, social drinks aplenty.

And sometimes you just need some time with close friends

to relax and remember all the amazing/crazy things that are

going on in your busy student lifestyle. After all student life is

not just studying, there are loads of other things going on that

allow you to take your mind off of stressful events.

Now I would like to share one of my favorite quotes from the

TV show “Big Bang Theory” for some comic relief before you

continue reading this Eclaire:

“Penny: Sheldon, what about you, did you have a Christmas tree?

Sheldon: Oh yes. We had a tree, we had a manger, we had an

inflatable Santa Claus with plastic reindeer on the front lawn.

And to make things even jollier, there were so many blinking

lights on the house they induced neighborhood wide seizures.

Penny: So I take it you don't wanna help us trim the tree?

Sheldon: I do not, but if you insist on decorating a spider infe-

sted fire-hazard in my home go ahead.”

Happy holidays and enjoy your much deserved vacation,

Kim van Adrichem

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Editor-in-Chief

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Have you ever felt a little bit of jealousy when one of your

friends had just bought the latest iPhone or laptop? Or when

one of them came to class with a totally new outfit? It can

give you the feeling that you need a new phone or outfit too,

in spite of the fact that it might not be necessary. You ex-

perience the desire to purchase goods or services in ever

greater amounts: consumerism. This experience gives you

the idea that personal happiness can be obtained through

consumption. The movement of consumerism is typical for

the western, capitalized world that most of us are used to.

However, this movement is spreading further around the

globe. In upcoming economies such as China, India and Bra-

zil a whole new middle class of consumers is on the rise.

McDonalds and skyscrapers are filling up the cities and

more and more people are buying their own car(s).

This movement of consumerism can be pretty dangerous. We

are already using too much of the world’s resources and with

the population growth and increased consumerism this will

only worsen. And there’s one thing we can agree on: earth

provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every

man’s greed. So before we start continuing this trend of ‘you-

can-never-get-enough-of-what-you-don’t-need-to-make-

yourself-happy’, we have to start asking ourselves: does it re-

ally make us happy? It may seem like a suggestive question,

because most of you would immediately say ‘no’. We’ve all

learned in our early childhood that money doesn’t make you

happy. You have succeeded in life when all you really want is

only what you really need. But then we keep going back to the

same problem: why do we keep buying so much?

I think one of the hardest things in life is to take less when

you can get more. The gap in our economy is between what

we have and what we think we ought to have – and that’s a

moral problem, not an economic one. In order to prevent the

world’s resources from running out on a short term, we have

to change our mindset.

So before you run to the store to get the same iPhone or outfit

as your friend, there’s only one advice we can give: think of

what really makes you happy.

Myrthe van Dieijen

President of the 47th EFR-Board

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Friday, Black Friday:. Valuing.

Discounts.

and.

Discounting.

Values.

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By: Timothy Langstraat

THE UNITED STATES HAS NEVER BEEN KNOWN FOR ITS RELUCTANCE TO INDULGE IN CONSUMERISM. WHETHER IT IS THE OPULENCE OF CHRISTMAS, OR EVEN SIMPLER HOLIDAYS,

SUCH AS FATHER’S DAY, AMERICAN SOCIETY NEVER LEAVES A CHANCE UNUSED TO SPEND MONEY, AND GO TO EXTREMES TO DO SO. BUT THERE IS NO DAY WHERE THIS IS CLEARER THAN BLACK FRIDAY, THE DAY AFTER THANKSGIVING.

The Birth of a TraditionBlack Friday is the endearing term gi-

ven to the first Friday after Thanksgiving,

which, since the 1920’s, has heralded in

the start of the unofficial holiday season

in the United States. Ever since then, the

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has gone

through the streets of New York year after

year, entertaining children and adults alike

with their elaborate floats and performan-

ces. However, the massive crowds here

were not the origin of the name ‘Black Fri-

day’. This name only came about 40 years

later, in the city of Philadelphia.

While the name might’ve only come about

in the sixties, the shopping associated with

Thanksgiving Day had taken the country by

storm from day one. By the time the sixties

began, and the US truly began its rise to

the top of the economic food chain, it had

grown from a few secluded Thanksgiving

Day Parades to a nationwide phenomenon,

with starting to line up for the various shops

from the early hours of the day onwards.

And in 1966, 42 years after the first parade

by Macy’s, the crowds had reached such

a massive size that in Philadelphia, the

streets were swarmed with people, traffic

slowed to a crawl and stores were packed

with people, and the local policemen had

given the day the ominous name ‘Black

Friday’.

But that isn’t the end of the line for this

name. While it first reared its head in 1966,

it took another 9 years before the name

caught on in the major media, showing up

for the first time in national newspapers in

1975. Before long, the entire nation knew of

the term Black Friday, and of the madness

associated with it. But, as expected, the

retailers were not happy with this turn of

events. And so, to divert the attention from

the bad connotations of the first meaning,

another explanation was brought into the

world: Black Friday was the day that stores

made a profit for the first time, operating

on a loss from January to November. The

meaning stuck and, with that, a modern-

day holiday was born.

War of the Wal-MartsBut why are people willing to stand in line

for hours on end, just to get that one bar-

gain that they had waited for? What drives

people to storm stores and mob malls just

for the sake of Christmas shopping? The

answer to that question lies in the question

itself. Ever since the first Macy’s Thanksgi-

ving Day Parade, people have been coming

out on to the streets to witness the parade,

and also to do the first bit of Christmas

shopping. As people were drawn more and

more to the parade, stores tried to make

the most of the customers that came into

their stores; they started offering lower

and lower discounts, to attract more cus-

tomers. Later, this escalated into earlier

opening times as well, in response to peo-

ple forming queues to get into the store.

But, in a bid to be the first into the store,

again people started waiting in line earlier

to get into the store. The need for sales and

the need for bargains created a veritable

shopping arms race.

Unfortunately, this lust to buy can also

turn to madness. To draw in the custo-

mers, shops turned to lower prices and

earlier opening times. But while this would

be fine if it remained like that, the situation

turned to disaster when discounts became

only valid on Black Friday itself, and was

only valid for very limited stocks. As crowds

get drawn towards the stores, and people

start queuing up in the early hours of the

day, slowly a recipe for disaster forms.

“Clean up on Aisle 1”As the ingredients in this recipe come to

a boil, so do the moods in stores around

the country. The stampedes that happen

every year when people storm the stores

in the best case only cause a few injuries,

but in the worst, they kill. In 2008, a young

man from Long Island was trampled in the

Wal-Mart he worked at, when a group of

people broke through the door he was vali-

antly guarding, and without any regard for

human life, ran into the store, trying to get

the best deal and the highest discount. As

emergency workers tried to revive the man,

who had suffered a heart attack under the

stress of so many people walking all over

him, even they were trampled still by the

massive amounts of people that were trying

to get into the store.

But while this is a severe case, violence is not

uncommon. Every year, there are countless

people getting injured, trampled underfoot,

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shoved aside or even shot

at. As the injuries began

getting more frequent,

and more severe, stores

decided they could no

longer sit by. Measures

had to be taken, and af-

ter the deadly incident in

2008, stores slowly began

to instate security mea-

sures. Instead of the un-

bridled shopping stam-

pedes that were common

before, in 2009 queues

were instated in stores all

around the country, and

stubs were handed out

to those in line, ensuring

that only the true first

100 got certain especially

wanted gifts.

A New HopeBut for some, that was-

n’t enough. Counter-

movements, such as the

‘Buy Nothing Day’ and

‘Buy More Stuff’, started

popping up around the

country. But while ‘Buy

Nothing Day’ flat-out

preaches that the behaviour of senseless buying is bad, ‘Buy

More Stuff’ is more creative. Their only message is to buy

more stuff. As their website puts it: “We're here to encourage

people to buy more stuff. If you don't hurry, they'll run out

of stuff or you'll run out

of time.” They attempt to

put a mirror to society,

and show it exactly what

they are doing: rampant

consumerism. And so

far, they’re successful.

What started as an art

project by Michael Hol-

den, has quickly grown

to be a movement that’s

now spreading across the

globe.

In the last few years,

Black Friday, and holiday

spending in general, has

spiraled out of control.

Even in times of economic

downturn, a time when

traditionally people go

back to basics, spending

keeps increasing. But the

question is whether this

will continue. Already,

countermovements have

taken to the streets to

protest the twist big cor-

porations have given the

holiday season. Others

are trying to mold the

days of Christmas into a controlled form. The only question

now is whether the people will truly listen, or if consumerism

will eventually devour the United States.

The meaning

stuck and,

with that, a

modern-day

holiday was

born.

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Nightof the New Year

By Madina Ismailova

THE NEW YEAR IS A MAGICAL TIME. ONE YEAR FOLLOWS THE OTHER. IT FEELS LIKE THERE WILL BE A CHANGE. NO ONE KNOWS WHAT KIND OF CHANGE, BUT EVERYBODY IS ANXIOUS IN ANTICIPATION.

IT IS OFTEN SAID THAT IT DEPENDS SOLELY ON THE PERSON HOW HIS NEXT YEAR WILL BE. IT ALL DEPENDS ON HOW ONE SPENDS THE NIGHT OF DECEMBER THE 31ST. MANY PEOPLE HAVE A GATHERING WITH FAMILY OR FRIENDS, WHILE SOME CHOOSE TO SPEND IT ALONE. THERE ARE THOSE WHO DON’T EVEN CARE ABOUT THIS SPECIAL TIME OF THE YEAR AND JUST CHANGE A CALENDAR ON THEIR WALL. MOST PEOPLE SPEND THIS HOLIDAY THE SAME WAY EACH YEAR, ACCORDING TO THE FAMILY OR CULTURE TRADITIONS. HOWEVER, IT ALL SOUNDS TOO BORING. HOW ABOUT TRYING SOMETHING NEW THIS YEAR? HAVE YOU EVER ASKED YOURSELF HOW OTHER PEOPLE SPEND THE NEW YEAR’S EVE?

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RussiaWell, first of all, the main motto is:

“How you spend the New Year’s night

will determine the next year for you”. It

means that the house has to be clean

and neat, a table set for celebration,

new clothes on you and people dear to

your heart around you. A festive menu

includes champagne, vodka, tangerines

and salad with herring. Celebrations

start with turning on a TV. Each chan-

nel during this season, and particular

this day, has a special show to enter-

tain you. But you don’t want to spend

your next year in front of the TV, right?

Since the programs are quite interes-

ting, you just turn it on with low sound

volume and keep the conversation

going. TV has another important role:

around ten minutes to midnight the

president will make a speech to tell his

citizens about the success of the pre-

vious year and expectations of the co-

ming one. Exactly at midnight you see

the Red Square and hear the chiming

clock declaring the beginning of the

New Year. Wishes made while the clock

is striking twelve will definitely come

true, or so people say. It is believed to

be a time full of magic, so some girls

practice New Years fortune telling.

Sometimes people continue their cele-

bration outdoor in Snow cities, where

they can observe elaborate, sparkling

and often dangerous fireworks. Snow

cities are attractions made entirely of

ice, filled with high beautiful slides for

both children and adults. The slides

are often in the shape of a castle and

surrounded by ice figures featuring

mystical Chinese dragons, cartoon

characters and animals representing

zodiac of the Chinese calendar.

ChinaThe times when Chinese celebrated

New Years only by lunar calendar are in

the past. Nowadays on the December

31 nuns ring bells in and streets are

filled with amazing creatures – huge

long dragons and lions, locals giving

New Year performances. You can ob-

serve tourists enjoying riding ships and

doors of all little tea restaurants are

open welcoming guests with the smell

of the freshly fried fish. That’s how tra-

vel agencies try to persuade people vi-

sit China for their New Year’s vacation.

However, it is still way more fun to visit

it during the Spring Festival, traditional

Chinese New Year, celebrated accor-

ding to the lunar calendar. That is the

time when children receive money in

red envelopes. Notice, that if you re-

ceive a present, it would be nice of you

to return a favor. During this time Chi-

nese people watch a special TV show

called “Spring Festival Gala Evening”,

which is an amazing show of singers,

dancers and performances with magic

tricks and comic dialogues. Usually this

entertainment show lasts five hours,

and while watching it you can enjoy a

special New Year’s menu consisting

of rice cakes, fish and rice wine. Even

though these meals are on the tables

throughout the year, during the Spring

Festival there is a special meaning to

it. For example, word “fish” has the

same pronunciation as Chinese “some-

thing left”. So eating fish for New Years

means you will have a lot to eat next

year. The celebration lasts ten days,

but, of course, the first days are the

most important ones. After the eighth

of the first month, according to the lu-

nar calendar, Chinese citizens usually

return to work. But there is still an en-

ding festival, called Lantern. People en-

joy the celebration with visual fireworks

and aural fireworks, called firecrackers

for all ten days. And even after the ce-

lebration is over, you can have fun put-

ting special Spring Festival Couplets on

your doors. There are two small ones,

traditionally put upside down and mean

“fortune” or “luck”, and two long ones.

People try to show their creativity crea-

ting those following the rule that words

should match in their meanings.

BrazilNew Year in Brazil is a summer holiday,

because it starts in the middle of sum-

mer, while it is winter in Europe. The

official name of the holiday is “Confra-

ternização”. It can be translated in En-

glish as translated as “fraternization”,

but its French name –Reveillon, is more

popular. It is a custom during this time

to be dressed in white clothes and give

small presents packed in pretty wrap-

ping paper with a ribbon. Still the main

presents are given on Christmas.

There is a tradition in Brazil to count

down the last seconds of the ending

year aloud, wish each other “Feliz Ano

Novo!” - “Happy New Year!” and drink

champagne during the festive fire-

works. New Year is especially beautiful

in Rio de Janeiro, where it is common to

throw white flowers in the ocean. Those

flowers often make the entire seashore

white. Imagine thousands of people,

dressed in white, watching grandiose

fireworks on the seashore. They wel-

come New Year as the sparkles of fire-

works melt away in the Atlantic Ocean.

They

welcome

New Year as

the sparkles

of fireworks

melt away in

the Atlantic

Ocean.

W.we k nbijm zars.

Mazars is ontstaan uit een fusie tussen Mazars en Paardekooper&Hoffman

Ga verder met Mazars.

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13By Katharina Dees

Chuck Blore, the founder of a famous radio advertising com-

pany in the US once said ”Advertising is the art of arresting

the human intelligence just long enough to get money from

it. “ Since Mr. Blore is an expert in the field of advertising he

must have had a point.

As a matter of fact, the world of today is full of advertising; we

are confronted with big billboards in modern cities, especially

in shopping malls and of course in the media, in particular

on the internet. All the ads no matter in which form they are

presented to us, follow only one aim; to persuade us to buy

the solicited product, service or... But if we look for instance

at the ad for the newest edition of a smartphone, it is questi-

onable if people do really need a new phone although they al-

ready have a pretty new one. The same applies to other kinds

of products. The question that always remains here is: did

people actually intended to purchase the product or was it

actually palmed on to them by the advertising campaign? Do

they actually make use of it or is it just another dust catcher

in the junk room?

It also happens that we watch a TV commercial in the after-

noon which is promoting, for example, food, making it more li-

kely that we purchase the desert or pasta, as food sells better

when the people who see the commercial are actually hungry.

Similar techniques are also being used in supermarkets.

The time period when the advertising campaigns addres-

sing the consumers turn aggressive is before Christmas. As

people are gift shopping, it offers an ideal possibility to lure

them to buy pointless gifts, which often times nobody wants

let alone needs. Most people have had similar experiences,

receiving presents to which the above applied.

If consumers were aware of the tricks of advertising com-

panies, they might be more inclined to think twice before

making an impulsive buy. Moreover, they should not give the

companies the power to lure them into unnecessary buying

decisions. In the end it is always still the customer’s own de-

cision to purchase something or not.

Advertising, the evil tool of Marketing

P S Y C H O L O G Y

”Advertising

is the art of

arresting the

human

intelligence

just long enough

to get money

from it."“

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By Youvale van Dijk

FIRECRACKERS, SKYROC-KETS, GROUND SPIN-NERS, SPARKLERS AND

HELICOPTERS. YOU ALL KNOW THEM FROM NEW YEAR’S EVE, OR ANY OTHER CELEBRATION THAT IS HELD IN YOUR COUN-TRY. IN THE NETHERLANDS AROUND 65 MILLION EUROS ARE SPENT ON FIREWORKS EACH YEAR, AT LEAST IN THE LEGAL MARKET. THE POLICE SEIZED 240,000 KG OF ILLE-GAL FIREWORKS LAST YEAR. ILLEGAL FIREWORKS ARE MORE ATTRACTIVE; THEY ARE OFTEN NOISIER, BRIGHTER AND SMOKIER. BUT THEY ARE ALSO RISKIER.

The Netherlands is ‘tough’ on people

trading illegal fireworks, probably due

to our recent past. The police forms

‘fireworks-teams’ in the months lea-

ding up to New Year’s Eve. Their task

is to check whether people possess

illegal fireworks and whether they are

using them. Getting caught using fire-

works before 10 am December 31st will

cost you 250 Euros. But there is also

good news for you all; you are allowed

to have not 10 kg, but 25 kg of fireworks

from next year on! And even “better”,

you can buy it at your local gas station!

Evil spiritsThe exact origin of fireworks is not

clear. Clear is though that two impor-

tant ingredients of fireworks, gunpow-

der and paper, are inventions from Chi-

na. The Chinese developed the popular

boomers with the intention to scare off

evil spirits. People started to use it for

all kinds of celebrations and it slowly

became a commercial good. A couple

of centuries later fireworks reached

Europe. Here it was mainly used as a

weapon of war.

Today China is still the main producer

and exporter of fireworks, as 90% of the

world’s fireworks come from China. Es-

pecially the city of Liuyang has a high

concentration of fireworks manufac-

turers (an industrial cluster). Chinese

firms probably benefit from an early-

mover advantage. As they were the

first to enter the commercial market of

fireworks, they have been able to gain

leadership and establish a name as re-

liable producers.

The good and the badThe Olympic Games of 2008 were a per-

fect opportunity for China to strengthen

their name as fireworks producers, and

they succeeded. All over the world peo-

ple were impressed by the enormous

fireworks show during the opening ce-

remony. Although it was later revealed

that some of it was digitally animated!

Still, it is a good example of the fun and

beautiful sides to fireworks.

However, there are not only good sides

to fireworks, as you all know. At the

last turn of the year around 770 peo-

ple were victim of incidents with fire-

works (in the Netherlands). Therefore,

commercials are broadcasted in the

month leading up to the New Year, to

warn people about the dangers of using

fireworks. In 2009 the government con-

tributed 225,000 Euros to such a cam-

paign. Body parts that suffer most from

fireworks are fingers, hands, eyes and

heads. Last year the amount of people

suffering (serious) ocular lesion incre-

ased by 10%.

However these commercials do not

warn against the risks of stocking

fireworks. For households this might

not be necessary, as households have

relatively low amounts of fireworks in

their possession. However, retailers

of fireworks are often handling large

amounts. The government has strict

rules as to how fireworks should be

stored, and which requirements ware-

houses need to meet. The last couple

of years the restrictions concerning

warehousing of fireworks have been

tightened in the Netherlands. This was

a consequence of a big tragedy.

On May 13th 2000 a warehouse of S.E.

Fireworks caught fire in Enschede.

This warehouse contained 900 kg of

fireworks. After some chain reactions

the fire reached the central bunkers,

containing 177 ton of fireworks, which

all exploded. A whole district vanished;

23 people lost their lives that day and

another 950 were injured. The damages

eventually surpassed 450 million Eu-

ros. The existence of some illegal con-

tainers on the premises intensified the

heated debate about illegal fireworks. It

was not much later that the regulations

were sharpened.

DebateWe are now a decade further and the

debate about fireworks is at a crossing.

On the one hand, the government is

loosening up regulations (liberalization

of the fireworks market). For example

households are allowed to buy more

fireworks, up to 25 kg from next year

on. And gas stations are going to be al-

lowed as a new distribution channel.

On the other hand, we have the ongoing

debate whether households should be

allowed to keep using fireworks or hire

professionals to give fireworks shows,

as many other countries already do.

Proponents of the latter emphasize

that it will be safer, and hence medical

costs will be lower, as will other costs.

Opponents emphasize tradition. Sur-

veys have revealed that only 10-15% of

Dutch citizens are proponents of a ban

on fireworks.

This year we can still buy fireworks.

Last year it was thought that the crisis

would have a big impact on the sales of

fireworks, as it is a luxury good. Howe-

ver the numbers show that people did

not spent less. They substituted expen-

sive fireworks for higher quantities of

cheaper kinds.

If you want to make some money out of

it, you should open a brick-store, which

specializes in fireworks, as numbers

show that just 5% of the people buy fire-

works on the Internet and 44% (most) of

fireworks is sold at stores, which speci-

alize in fireworks.

So this year there will again be victims

of fireworks, retailers who are stocking

illegal fireworks and people who are

going to buy illegal fireworks. Lets just

hope we are all really careful, enjoy the

tradition and blow some billions to bits!

“If you want to make money: open a brick-store.”

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U N I V E R S I T Y

Denise Embregts, Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam, NetherlandsDeciding whether or not to go on exchange was an easy choice. Of course the idea of living in a foreign

(hopefully warmer!) country for a few months seemed appealing, but after having lived abroad for most

of my life already, I chose to stay at the EUR. While my grades would have allowed me to apply, I decided

that, while moving around is great, finishing three years in one place didn’t sound so bad either. Add to

that the fact that I was offered a job as a mentor and student assistant at the ESE, and my decision was

final. A very interesting minor and a great student life have been a wonderful start to my final bachelor

year, and I am already looking forward to the electives in the next block. Staying at the EUR is definitely

not an inferior option to the exchange: I still do not regret my choice.

Chiamaka Odikanwa, University of Western Ontario, CanadaWhen I made the decision to go on exchange, I really wanted to ‘go out, see more and know more’

about anything and everything. Coming to Canada and attending University of Western Ontario

has done just that for me. The exchange program, although centrally academic, has allowed me

to test my limits: what more can I do, where else can I go? I have had no drawbacks with this

experience, thus far. The city London is vibrant, teeming with students, and is two hours away

from Toronto. The city also has a close proximity to the United States. I can say without a doubt

that is a highly rewarding experience.

Phoebe Huurdeman, National Chengchi University, TaiwanIn the summer of 2009 I left Rotterdam to spent an exchange semester in Taipei. It was

an amazing experience; I learned how to pronounce the name of my school to cab drivers

(Cheng DA, CHENGda?, sjenda?), took all my pictures ‘Taiwanese style’, slept in a dorm

room with 5 other girls, overcame nasty encounters with cockroaches in the bathrooms,

traveled around Asia, partied every other night and ate local specialties like thousand year

old eggs and stinky tofu. I wouldn’t have missed these four months for the world and in the

end I can definitely say: wo juede Taiwan hen hao!

Exchange Report

Boris Konovalov, Moscow State University, RussiaExactly one year ago I was on a one semester exchange to the State University – Higher

School of Economics in Moscow, Russia. I am happy to tell you that this was an amazing

experience; probably one of the best times in my life. The metropolis is a young-spirited,

vibrant, and challenging place where one can enjoy nightlife, theatre, museums, and histo-

rical as well as modern sights to the fullest. At the University I attended classes in English

at the International College of Economics and Finance. At this faculty, which teaches a

double degree in cooperation with LSE, I met fellow students who know how to party but

are also some of the brightest minds around. Four of them are currently my classmates at

the London Business School and other people I met are now spread around the worlds’ top

graduate institutions. I can recommend an exchange to Moscow to anyone who is open-

minded, interested in Russian culture and language, loves big and crowded cities, has plenty

of energy, and prefers strong liquors and fancy clubbing. If you’re thinking about going there

feel free to contact me for some great tips and contacts.

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Bertram Flesch, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, SpainAfter living in Northern Europe for about 22 years I thought that it was time

for something else, for a new experience, a different lifestyle. So I decided to

spend the first semester of my third year in Madrid, the vibrant capital of Spain.

What I found was a city tremendous in size and densely populated by an incre-

dibly diverse crowd. While almost deserted during siesta time the city virtually

explodes with life at night; especially during summer – which extends to the

middle of October here – when all the little Streets and Piazzas are filled with

Madrileños having a chat with their neighbors or going out to one of the many,

many clubs and bars with their friends. Most of them will not return before 6

o’clock in the morning. But of course there is more than just vibrant nightlife.

Every exchange semester offers different things to learn and provides new per-

spectives. What I really like about Spain, for instance, is their relaxed attitude.

Even if there is an endless cue behind you the people at the desk would take the

time to have a little chat with you and to joke around. They never get stressed

out. Of course it is not always very efficient. But I think it is one of the reasons

why their life expectancy ranks among the highest in Europe. Maybe this is the

most important thing I have learned here so far: Life is not all about efficiency.

In fact you can be perfectly fine without it from time to time.

U N I V E R S I T Y

If y

ou

wo

uld

lik

e t

o c

on

tact

an

y o

f th

ese

exc

ha

ng

e s

tud

en

ts f

or

mo

re i

nfo

rma

tio

n,

fee

l fr

ee

to

se

nd

a m

ail

to

: e

cla

ire

@e

fr.n

l.

Daniella Klauser, Universidade de Sao Paulo, BrazilBesides having the 5th largest population in the world, Brazil has one of the fas-

test growing economies in the world. On exchange in São Paulo, at the USP, I ex-

perienced the vibrant and manifold city of São Paulo. From the historic city centre

with its market hall and (black) market, to the beaches and famous night life

where you are introduced to sexy bikinis and tasty cocktails (caipirinhas are really

made with white sugar!!), there is so much to do! The university with all its faculty

buildings at one location is huge, comparable with a small city where buses take

you from one side to the other, and that is why it is even called 'cidade universi-

taria'; university city. The courses are easy to follow if you speak some Spanish or

Portuguese, otherwise you can also take Portuguese classes. On weekends and

holidays we had enough time to travel and got to know the country better. Public

transport is an easy way to travel, for sure!! As the national currency 'Real' got

stronger, many things are just as cheap/expensive as in Holland, although food is

certainly cheaper. In the coming years Brazil will host the FIFA World Cup in 2014

and the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, and be assured, Brazilians

know how to party and celebrate! Don’t miss that experience!

Martin Sulistio, Keio University, JapanTaking the opportunity for an exchange program at Keio University, Japan, gave me a magni-

ficent experience, because for a few months I got to live in one of the most famous metropo-

lis’ in the world; Tokyo. Tokyo is an energetic and busy city and has a unique culture. Traveling

in Tokyo takes some time to get used to with the intricate metro and train lines and although

trains within Tokyo district come every two minutes during rush hour, the trains are always

packed. A culture shock will be inevitable for Non-Asians. Often times non-Asians will be sta-

red at in public. In Tokyo, Keio University is known as an elite school and its education system

is completely different than the Dutch variant. Although the workload is lower, we learn a lot

during the classes which are small and have more interaction.

Robin Vogelaar, Hong KongIn my preparation for exchange programs, I mostly aimed to have an enriching cultural ex-

perience. Hence, I decided that I wanted to go to Asia and more specifically to Hong Kong.

Until now, I have not regretted that decision! The educational experience provided is of very

high-level, the cultural experience taught me many useful intercultural skills, and the loca-

tion allowed me to get to know more about possible careers in Asia. In short, I would highly

recommend anyone to choose for Hong Kong. The location is exotic enough to have a very

interesting cultural experience, Western enough to be able to cope with daily life, and it will

definitely offer you a lasting experience!

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A R T I C L E

ON THE 15TH OF NOVEMBER, THE DEPUTY PRI-ME MINISTER OF THE UNITED KINGDOM, NICK CLEGG, VISITED THE EFR. THE MOST SURPRI-

SING PART OF HIS VISIT WAS THAT HE WISHED TO SPEAK IN DUTCH.

Clegg came to the EUR, to speak at the very first Pre-Event

of the EFR-Business. With a Dutch mother, a half-Russian

father and a Spanish wife, Nick Clegg is one of the most cos-

mopolitan politicians in the world. A part of his family still

lives in our country, and therefore this was a good moment

for Clegg to visit them as well.

Traditionally, the EFR-Business Week (which takes place

from March 30th to April 7th) consists of five components:

the Opening Day, Company Days, Conference Day, Busi-

ness Week on Location, and EFR-Business Week Party.

This year, the Pre-Event was a new addition to this list,

providing an opportunity to add an extra dimension to the

EFR-Business Week and to make a lasting impression on

the students and guests.

The day started off with a short opening speech from the De-

puty Prime Minister. His speech, in fluent Dutch, about trade

and economics was followed up by critical questions from

students and other guests. Amongst other things, questions

referred to the British education system, the Dutch political

climate and Geert Wilders. Frans Weisglas, former chairman

of the Dutch House of Representatives, was the host of the

day and lead the discussions.

After Clegg left the Erasmus University under police escort,

the day continued with a presentation by Wout Korving, direc-

tor and co-founder of the Rebel Group, about the applicable

economic instruments and calculations for the Dutch bid for

the Olympic Games of 2028. Beginning with a description of

historical Olympic Games, he ended with an interesting com-

parison about what made Olympic Games profitable in the

past – or not. Consider, for instance, the re-utilisation of buil-

dings, the development of underdeveloped urban neighbour-

hoods, and the increase in the flow of tourists.

This presentation was followed by a panel discussion

about the Dutch Olympic Bid, with Antoinette Laan (city

councillor of Sports and Recreation), Erik Braun (assistant

professor Urban Development at the Erasmus University)

and Coert Beerman (President of the Board of Rabobank

Rotterdam). Together with the students, they discussed

issues such as the development of infrastructure before

entering the bidding procedure in 2016, and whether long-

term investments in the Netherlands will increase due to

hosting the Olympic Games 2028.

In all, we are proud to say that the Pre-Event was a huge

success and we are looking forward to the EFR-Business

Week itself.

Is he Dutch!?

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Sometimes while I'm driving I struggle to keep my eyes on the

road because the clouds are playing with the mountains and

weaving in and out between them in a way that mesmerizes me.

When it rains I just want to stop everything and listen.

It is moments like these I want to take out my book, and read.

This, however is not interesting. We want to know where YOU

read the EFR-Eclaire!

We would like to receive photos of where you read the EFR-

Eclaire, may it be on holidays, at university, or in the train.

We would like to invite you to send your photos to eclaire@

efr.nl before January 25th, at which point we will be selecting

a winner.

Where do you read the

EFR-Eclaire?

Our winner will receive a Canon Ixus

105, as so to better participate with

our competitions in the future! Your

fotos will be judged on originality, so

shows us what you got!

E N T E R T A I N M E N T

By Hubert W. de Nie

WATCHING THE HUMMINGBIRDS AROUND A YELLOW FLOWERED BUSH THROUGH MY KITCHEN WINDOW WHILE I'M HAVING LUNCH... SAMPLING THE HOMEMADE FROSTING FROM THE BOWL AFTER ICING A CAKE... CIRCLING A FIRE PIT WITH FRIENDS AND WARMING MY HANDS... AHHH,

SWEET MOMENTS IN LIFE!

We bouwen bij de gemeente Rotterdam aan de

stad én aan de samenleving. We houden de regie

goed in handen, maar geven veel ruimte voor

initiatieven. Met 13.500 medewerkers zijn we een

grote werk gever in het Rijnmondgebied. En met

een paar duizend uiteen lopende functies ook een

veelzijdige. Samen werken wij voor bijna 600.000

Rotterdammers aan de stad.

“Na mijn studie wilde ik graag bij een grote gemeente

aan de slag, waar ik aan uitdagende, gedurfde projecten

kan werken. In Rotterdam zijn die er, hier worden ook

nieuwe creatieve oplossingen verwelkomt. Momenteel

werk ik als adviseur bij Gemeentewerken mee aan de

ontwikkeling van een kwaliteitsfi losofi e voor de dienst.

Ik organiseer themasessies waarbij ik procesbegeleider

ben. Uit deze sessies komt een discussienotitie voor

de directie voort. Daarnaast heb ik een dag per week

training met de andere trainees. Je krijgt dan

bijvoorbeeld een bedrijfsvoeringscasus met de vraag:

‘Hoe zou jij de gemeente inrichten?’ Dé kans om ‘out of

the box’ te denken en je eigen ideeën aan te dragen.

Of je bereidt tijdens een training adviesvaardigheden

met een acteur een lastige werksituatie voor en ontvangt

tools die je daarbij helpen. Erg waardevol!

Het traineeprogramma is superleuk. Ik heb hier de

mogelijkheid om mezelf te ontwikkelen, krijg heel veel

feedback. Het traineeship helpt me m’n plek te vinden

en te ontdekken waar mijn kracht zit. Zo kom je erachter

waar je in de organisatie het beste functioneert. Ik vind

dat ik in een bevoorrechte positie zit. Het programma

zorgt dat ik me bezig kan houden met dat waar ik in

geloof. Met een frisse blik, een dosis lef en idealen

werken aan onze samenleving. Ik kan het iedereen

aanraden!”

Wat bieden wij je? Een veelzijdig trainee programma

in een interessante stad die durft! Het traineeprogramma

start jaarlijks op 1 november en 1 mei met elke keer tien

trainees. In twee jaar tijd werk je aan vier projecten bij

vier verschillende diensten of deelgemeenten.

Afhankelijk van je leeftijd en opleiding ligt het aanvang-

salaris tussen 2.300,- en 3.000,- bruto per maand bij

een 36-urige werkweek.

Durf jij? Ben je geïnteresseerd en heb je een (bijna)

afgeronde universitaire of HBO-opleiding? Solliciteer

dan via de website www.rotterdam.nl/werkenbij.

Meer informatie over het traineeprogramma vind je op

www.rotterdam.nl/rotterdamse_traineeprogramma.

Rotterdam is in veel

opzichten een

voorloper, een stad die

durft. Zonder durf had

de modernste haven ter

wereld niet in

Rotterdam gelegen.

Zonder durf was

Rotterdam de wolken

minder dicht genaderd.

Zonder durf waren

veel debatten over

grootstedelijke

problemen niet in

Rotterdam gestart.

Rotterdam zoekt

medewerkers met

bezieling, die hun

verant woordelijkheid

nemen en ook de min-

der gebaande paden

durven te betreden.

rotterdam.nl/werkenbij

De stad die durft, geeft initiatief de ruimte.

Tanja Oosterveld, 28 jaar, trainee bij de

gemeente Rotterdam

“Het programma zorgt dat ik me bezig kan houden met dat waar ik in geloof.”

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Merry Marketing: A Coca Cola Christmas

By Timothy Langstraat

THE COCA COLA COMPANY IS NOT MUCH OF A MYSTERY TO MOST PEOPLE. THEY KNOW

OF THE BRAND, HAVE SEEN THE ADS, AND THERE’S A DECENT CHANCE THAT YOU ACTUALLY HAVE ONE OF THEIR PRODUCTS IN YOUR HOME RIGHT NOW, OR EVEN RIGHT BESIDE YOU AS YOU READ THIS ARTICLE. MOST PEOPLE WOULD SAY THEY KNOW IT QUITE WELL; THEY KNOW THE BOTTLE, THE DRINKS, AND EVEN THE ADS. BUT WHERE DID THOSE ADS COME FROM? AND WHY IS IT THAT, EVERY YEAR, WE SEE ADS ON TV FOR COCA COLA, FEATURING SANTA CLAUS? TO KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION, I INVITE YOU TO READ ON.

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E N T E R T A I N M E N T

Humble BeginningsIt all started in 1868, in the United States

of America, with a pharmacist called

John Stith Pemberton. While his name

might not be important, what is all the

more important is the drink he crea-

ted: Pemberton’s French Wine Cola,

what was later to become Coca Cola.

Originally marketed as a headache to-

nic, and actually including both wine

and coca, Pemberton’s drink quickly

became one of the most popular in At-

lanta. However, the prohibition of 1886

prompted Pemberton to get creative.

He remade the drink with sugar instead

of wine, renamed it to Coca Cola, and

created the formula that would be the

basis of all modern Coca Cola drinks.

When Pemberton passed away in 1888,

he sold his stake in the store to Asa

Candler, the man who made Coca Cola

into the juggernaut that it is today. Wit-

hin three years of buying Coca Cola,

he had increased sales tenfold, and

he wanted more. He started a massive

advertising campaign, handing out cou-

pons, giving out free gifts, and promo-

ting Coca Cola in any way possible. He

was so effective at this, that only 6 years

after Pemberton’s death, Coca Cola

was not just limited to Atlanta, but was

sold from coast to coast, and consumed

in every state in between.

Marketing MadnessAs the Coca Cola company began ga-

thering power, so did their marketing

prowess. Their massive marketing

campaigns quickly made the company

an instant classic with the American

market. The skimpy clothing featured

in earlier ads, where women would be

seen walking along beaches, was a

great success. Soon coasters, serving

plates and outdoor ads featured the

women as well, and an entire league of

women would soon follow, creating a

collector’s club just for the apparel por-

traying Coca Cola’s women. The repu-

tation of Coca Cola had started to grow,

and their marketing cemented them as

a solid choice for a hot summer’s day.

However, the Coca Cola company’s big-

gest problem was exactly that: their

drink was drunk only in summer. To re-

medy this, the Coca Cola company had

to find the one thing people associate

with winter. Up until then, Santa Claus

existed in a variety of forms and ways

in the United States. Whether it was as

the small-statured Father Christmas

amalgam from Britain, the tall, white-

haired bishop from the Netherlands,

Sinterklaas, or the German-born Chris-

tkindl, they all existed simultaneously.

Over the years, the forms had started

to merge into one figure, Santa Claus, a

bastardization of the name Sinterklaas,

but there had never been a clear con-

sensus on what he looked like.

The Santa SolutionThat all changed when one smart exe-

cutive at the Coca Cola Company de-

cided to latch Coca Cola on to Santa

Claus’ growing popularity and fame,

and let the company use the fame for

their own benefit. It all started in the

1920’s, with the depiction of a stern

Santa Claus in his now traditional red

and white. He resembled more the old

Sinterklaas of Dutch traditions, with his

demeanor and looks. While the general

populace took to him, Coca Cola deci-

ded they wanted a more human Santa,

one that people would relate to.

And so Haddon Sundblom came to

fame. In 1931, he was commissioned

to reinvent Santa: make him believa-

ble, relatable, and symbolic, all at the

same time. And so, Santa Claus was

born. Instead of having a man portray

Santa, Sundblom created a man that

was Santa himself; a bearded, jolly old

man, with a big belly and rosy cheeks,

that hid a great smile. And the gene-

ral population took to him fast. Soon,

Santa became synonymous with Coca

Cola, and people started drinking Coca

Cola even in winter. The campaign had

worked, and Coca Cola had created a

modern-day legend.

Coca Cola went on to become a house-

hold name, a drink that people drank

at all times of the year. And the image

of Santa Claus, with the big, red, rosy

cheeks, became the man we now know

all around the globe. And while many

might know Coca Cola, and Santa Claus

too, not many know of the pivotal role

that a company famed for soft drinks

played in the creation of a man more

famous than the pope. One thing is for

sure, though: no matter how famous

you are, anyone might benefit from a

little marketing.

A Coca Cola Christmas [continued]

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U N I V E R S I T Y

Duisenberg school of finance

By Kim van Adrichem

THE DUISENBERG SCHOOL OF FINANCE (DSF) OFFERS SOME OF THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE BUSINESS AND CORPORATE LAW MASTERS IN THE NETHERLANDS AND THE REST OF EUROPE AND GRADUATES FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD OPT TO FOLLOW ONE OF THEIR CHALLENGING PROGRAMMES IN AM-

STERDAM. TO GET SOME INSIDE INFORMATION AND FIND OUT WHAT THE DSF IS REALLY LIKE, I INTERVIE-WED SANNE BLOM (26), A GRADUATE FROM EUR AND MORE RECENTLY FROM DSF. SOME MAY REMEMBER SANNE FOR HER HARD WORK, LEADERSHIP AND ACTIONS AS PRESIDENT OF THE 43TH EFR BOARD.

1. What did you study at the EUR?“When I started at the Erasmus Uni-

versity, I studied Dutch economics, but

soon realized that I wanted to bridge the

gap between theoretical economics and

real life business situations. This meant

learning the juridical part of business.

I decided to compliment my previous

studies with a law degree. Six and a half

years after the start of my studies I had

received both a Bachelor in Economics

and a Bachelor in Law, and I had star-

ted some Master courses at the EUR.

After that, I was President of the EFR

for a year, and then chose to study LLM

(Master in Finance and Law) at DSF.

2. You were at DSF. How did you find out about this school? And why did you choose to study LLM?“I was looking for a Master in the Ne-

therlands, because abroad it’s impos-

sible to obtain the ‘civil effect’ which

you need to become a court-approved

Dutch lawyer. Knowing I needed to con-

tinue my studies in the Netherlands, I

followed the advice of a personal con-

tact who was familiar with the school

and decided to grab this opportunity. I

studied at DSF in the study year 2009-

2010 which was actually only the se-

cond year that they were in existence.

The whole idea behind DSF is that clas-

ses are small and interactive. Classes

did not exceed 20 participants unless

you do common courses with students

from all the other programmes at DSF. I

know that they will not admit more than

30 students per programme because

they want to stay small, exclusive and

they want to offer the students a con-

centrated environment where the focus

is completely on the theoretical aspect

and practical cases.”

3. Is the school exclusive? “Yes, I would say that it’s exclusive. Not

only because it’s small and there are

strict preliminaries, but also because

of the opportunities that it offers. All

my fellow students had achieved good

marks at their previous universities and

several had already followed a Master

elsewhere. The tuition fees are also

higher (around €26 000) since it is a

private school, but you get what you

pay for. You get taught by several high-

quality professors. DSF is really able to

get some top-notch professors from

all over the world to teach lectures so

you are in surroundings where theory

truly meets practice. Perhaps it is be-

cause of the school’s exclusivity that so

many company recruiters are attracted

to DSF students. It really gives you an

edge when looking for a job.

4. How is DSF different from the EUR?“DSF is smaller and the students that

attend are very ambitious. The results

which are achieved and expected are

very high and the study load is quite in-

tense. All lectures are in fact mandatory

and there are many case studies which

you have to do in small groups. I spent

around 50-60 hours a week on studying

to constantly keep up with the material,

because if you fall behind it’s hard to

catch up. One of the things I like is that

you can choose the subjects you want

to specialize in; if you prefer corporate

law then you can choose to focus on EU

based law or US based law and deve-

lop a deeper knowledge of the systems.

There is also a mandatory requirement

that you finish the Master within one

year. And you have to write your the-

sis and do a summer internship at the

same time in May/June. An internship

is a very important part of the program

and will grant you ECTS. DSF can help

you get an internship with companies

such as Philips, RBS, Goldman Sachs,

ING, Aegon, to name a few. ”

5. What are your career options after gaining a Master at DSF?“Actually, many students end up wor-

king for the company they did an in-

ternship with. My co students are

currently employed by top- tier banks

like Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley,

JP Morgan and BarCap. Others are

working for companies like Aegon or

APG and some are pursuing a PhD at

renowned schools like LSE. It’s inte-

resting, because most international

students decide to stay in Amsterdam

while the Dutch students aspire to

work abroad. I am currently finishing

up my two Master theses at EUR and

then will try to get a job at a high-pro-

file investment bank.”

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While for some of us the start

of our career is still very far

away, others are slowly ne-

aring the end of their Ba-

chelor’s or Master’s Degree.

To give students an idea of

the possibilities after their

university degree, we’ve

decided to interview young

professionals, who have just

started their career, because

in five years’ time, this could

be you. For this Eclaire, we

have chosen Julie Cook, trai-

nee at the Schiphol Group. A

company that honers being

Netherlands mainport and is

thereby orientated within an

international nature.

Thank you for the interview.

First off, would you like to

introduce yourself?

My name is Julie Cook and

since September trainee at

Schiphol Group. As a former

student of RSM, I studied

Business Administration in

Rotterdam. After my intern-

ship for ABN AMRO in London

and Heineken in Congo, I

decided that I wanted to work

in a dynamic environment for

an internationally-oriented

Dutch company. Since Schip-

hol fit this bill perfectly, I de-

cided to apply for their trai-

neeship.

That’s quite a resume. Why

did you choose to work for

Schiphol Group?

Schiphol has always fascina-

ted me. Every time while pas-

sing by Schiphol, I marveled

at the dynamic environment.

It made me wonder how they

got people to their travel des-

tinations, as smooth and fast

as they did. Schiphol is a real

AirportCity, it has the same

size as Utrecht, with so many

different operational areas.

Which will make my work

and career multidimensio-

nal. Another aspect that trig-

gered me is the question how

Schiphol can grow and make

an economic profit, while ha-

ving so many social responsi-

bilities and stakeholders.

When I finished my Master’s

degree, I decided to inform

after jobs at Schiphol, and

that’s how I found out about

the trainee program that they

started just this year. The trai-

neeship was a perfect way to

get to know the company: you

work on 4 projects over the

course of 2 years, in various

departments of Schiphol. A

trainee is responsible for ac-

quiring a minimum of 2 pro-

jects, as Schiphol stimulates

self-sufficiency among its

newly recruited employees.

So you started the trai-

neeship last September. How

is it so far, and what projects

are you working on now?

The first project I was assig-

ned to is involved with Schip-

hol’s Asset Management.

Schiphol’s strategy is to focus

on our core competences,

therefore our Board decided

to focus on managing on a

strategic and tactical level,

and to outsource the activi-

ties on the operational level.

In parallel this means that

we will work more in a Part-

nership with our contrac-

tors. We’re used to manage

our assets on operational

level partly in-house. This

means that Schiphol did all

the planning for the routine

maintenance, and then out-

sourced the job, telling the

cleaners and workmen when

and how to repair travelators,

runways and other assets.

However, Schiphol decided to

outsource the complete ope-

rational level, and have the

planning done by external

organizations as well. And

that is where I come in: my

team is responsible for the

public tender, the reorgani-

zation and a successful start

on the 1st of April 2011. This

also entitles we are respon-

sible that employees whose

jobs would be outsourced,

got jobs at our maincontrac-

tors. This illustrates the hu-

man factor in our job as well:

with every step we take, we

have to consider all our sta-

keholders. And that is what

seperates Schiphol from

other companies. We need

to mind not just associated

companies, but also govern-

ments, nearby residents and

of course our employees. To

work here, you need to have

more than one perspective

on every case.

And are there people sup-

porting you in that task? It

seems like a lot to do, es-

pecially if you just joined the

company.

Yes. My team is not the only

team working on this project,

the whole department As-

set Management is involved

in the process. Besides the

department, Schiphol provi-

des all the trainees with a lot

of resources as well. Within

the company, we have three

reference points: a mentor,

who helps you develop your

career, a team supervisor,

who helps you with questions

about your work, and a buddy.

The buddy is usually in your

team, and helps you with your

personal development. On top

of that, there are extensive

seminars and trainings, and

so Schiphol helps you deve-

lop yourself, both individually

as well as in a team.

Talking about the trainees,

what is the culture?

As group of trainees we are

very tight. Before we started,

Schiphol organized two weeks

of introduction for us. They

showed us around Schiphol,

familiarizing us with every

department (Bagage, Se-

curity, Passenger Services,

etc.) in Schiphol, especially

on operational level, before

starting work. We just came

back from a holiday together,

and soon we’ll celebrate Sin-

terklaas together as well. So

there is a lot of interaction,

and we stay in touch outside

of work as well.

So you are really close. Is

the company culture compa-

rable?

The company culture is simi-

lar. People are friendly, and

there is little competition.

People are very involved with

Schiphol. They are very pas-

sionate about what they do,

and aviation in general. But,

like in all big organizations,

you do need perseverance

to get things done. But when

they do, it gives you an im-

mense sense of accomplish-

ment, knowing that you do

your part for the organization

you love. Changing things is a

challenge. But it’s an interes-

ting challenge, and I gladly

take it up. I can say with full

conviction that Schiphol is a

world of opportunities.

U N I V E R S I T Y

Trainee at… Schiphol Group

“It’s an interesting challenge, and I gladly take it up.”

NAME: Julie CookUNIVERSITY: Erasmus UniversityBACHELOR’S DEGREE: Business Administration MASTER’S DEGREE: Innovation Management and Finance & InvestmentsAGE: 26WORKING AS: Trainee

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Joy to the World, the Crisis has Come.

By Nadia Zafirah

IT’S STILL FRESH ON OUR MINDS WHEN THE US WAS HIT BY THE FINANCIAL CRISIS IN 2008. TRADING OF-FICES WENT INTO A PANIC, STOCKBROKERS WATCHED IN HORROR AS THE STOCK PRICES PLUMMETED, ECONOMISTS WORLDWIDE STARTED SPECULATING AND PREPARING FOR WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN

NEXT. THE EFFECT WAS WIDELY FELT ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE ATLANTIC. NOT LONG AFTER, GREECE HAD A DEBT CRISIS AND CAUSED THE EURO TO DEPRECIATE AGAINST THE US DOLLAR, LEADING TO A CRISIS FOR THE EURO ZONE. THE ECONOMY HAS YET TO RECOVER FROM THE CRISIS AND CHRISTMAS IS ALREADY ON ITS WAY. NOW WE ARE WONDERING HOW IT IS AFFECTING THE ANNUAL BIG SHOPPING NOW AFTER MORE THAN A YEAR. WITH CHRISTMAS GIFT SHOPPING PLANS MADE EVERYWHERE LET US LOOK BACK ON THE NIGHTMARISH EVENTS AND THE EFFECTS TODAY.

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W O R L D

The CrisisTo refresh our minds, let us revisit the

causes and consequences of the 2008

financial crisis in the US. To sum it up

simply, what happened in the US in

2008 was that banks lent more money

than they could afford. Instead of ta-

king a traditional fixed-rate loan, many

Americans asked for loans that could

be repaid after a period of time without

penalty. The real estate brokers liked to

extend the penalties, the final due date

of the payment, encouraging more peo-

ple to borrow money to buy or renovate

houses. In February 2008, only a third

of American homeowners had paid

their mortgage completely. Lenders

extended credit to people without veri-

fying their incomes and allowed them

to make little to no down payments. As

a result, more amount of money was

loaned than what could be returned by

the consumers.

We would blame the banks and greedy

consumers who would like to consume

more than what they are able to. Howe-

ver, other people who are deemed well

off also fell victims to this situation.

This is because the incident, collapsed

housing prices and tightened lending

standards, happened just as they nee-

ded to refinance. The allowed credit-ex-

tend led people to refinance their spen-

ding to allocate the money to a college

fund instead of mortgage payments. In

a normal situation this might have wor-

ked out but in this case the refinancing

only caused the problem to worsen.

The other recent financial crisis is the

Greece credit default swap in 2009. A

credit default swap is a swap designed

to transfer the credit exposure of fixed

income products between parties. For

example, an insurance company with

higher rated bonds insures the debts of

a company with low rated bonds so that

the company can borrow money from

an institution. The problem starts when

there are too many low ratings bonds

insured by the insurance company

that the company’s own bonds start to

downgrade (losing their value). With no

investors interested in their low rated

bonds, the insurance company could

not pay back the insured companies

should the borrower not be able to pay

the debts. This is probably what happe-

ned in Greece. The value of the nation’s

bonds fell 12.6 percent in yield this year,

according to Bloomberg/EFFAS indices,

while the debt crisis has pushed the

euro down almost 7 percent against the

dollar since the end of 2009. A 750 bil-

lion euro loan was released in May 2010

by the European commission and the

IMF to finance the debt-laden Greece,

saving the currency and preventing

another global crisis from happening.

Nevertheless, the damage was already

done for the Euro, affecting the consu-

mer spending power in the euro-zone.

In February

2008, only

a third of

American

homeowners

had paid their

mortgage

completely

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The ConsequencesThe unemployment rate is probably the

one affected most by the 2008 finan-

cial crisis. Many European countries

are trading partners of the US; we are

export-dependent on them. The subpri-

me mortgage crisis caused the prices

of the house market and investment

portfolios to fall. The decreased wealth

among the Americans led them to save

more, in anticipation of more lay-offs

due to the uncertainties. Since then,

the US banks cut back on lending due

to fear of bad debts. The fall in domestic

spending affected the demand for im-

port including from the Europe expor-

ters. With the big fall in output demand,

many European companies and Europe

based companies cut their number of

employees to be able to continue busi-

ness. Based on the eurostat, the em-

ployment rate in the eurozone countries

fell from 66% in 2008 to 64.7% in 2009.

The effect was felt worldwide due to the

ripple effect brought by this unemploy-

ment situation.

Unless you are directly affected by the

unemployment, or living in Greece, the

buying power will not be altered greatly

by the circumstances. The economy is

in fact, getting better. Germany, Eu-

rope’s largest economy, claims that the

country’s unemployment rate will fall

from 7.7 percent in 2010 to 7 percent in

2011. The number of people looking for

jobs is expected to fall from 3.2 million

in 2010 to 2.9 million in 2011. Consu-

mers may want to put the worries away

and spend more because companies

will start hiring again.

Besides that, the more pressing is-

sue that affects the purchasing power

is the general price level. According to

Bloomberg, the European Central Bank

Governing Council member Patrick

Honohan said he sees that the Euro-

pean economy will be stronger and that

there is no urgent worry about the in-

flationary pressure. “There is every in-

dication that inflation expectations are

steady, are not moving around, and the

projection of actual inflation is still well

within where we would like it to be,”

he said. Such an assurance is a relief

due to the current circumstances and

moreover, the economy is improving.

Also, the improved consumer spending

in Germany will lead the economy to

grow more than double of the expected

rate of this year, the country’s leading

institutes said. This fast growth will aid

the region’s economic to recovery. The

European Commission also increased

its growth estimation for Germany this

year, saying that the GDP will increase

from the initially expected 1.2 percent

to 3.4 percent. Fortunately, the inflation

rate is still under control as in July, the

consumer prices increased for a mere

1.7 percent of the last year prices. As

the healthy level of inflation is main-

tained, the buying action of most of the

euro-zone countries will remain or fall

slightly.

The unemployment rate is improving

in the coming years and the inflation

will fall to the desired level. These two

conditions show that after two years

of US subprime mortgage financial

crisis, the euro-zone consumers can

stop worrying and spend more to help

make the economy better. Lightning

does not strike the same place twice

and no economy institute would allow

such crisis to happen again. Go ahead

with your shopping list and have a joy-

ful Christmas.

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Wat belangrijk is, laat je niet los.

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Waar je ook bent, belangrijke beslissingen zijn nooit ver weg. In je rol als accountant en bij het bepalen van je volgende carrièrestap. Bij Grant Thornton begrijpen we dat je voortdurend bezig bent met je groei. Sterker nog, wij zijn er zelf ook mee bezig. Onder andere door jouw ambities alle ruimte te geven en door je talent te versterken met een goed doortimmerde opleidingsaanpak. Meer over ons op onze website.

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33

E R D

The Erasmus Recruitment Days 2011; Innovate. Succeed. Invent your career!

Theme.An important addition to this year’s

event is the theme; Technology &

Innovation. During the promotional

period, but also during the event,

there will be special activities that are

in line with the theme. For example,

we will use Ipad’s, ride on Segways

and we will have a Greenscreen. Not

sure what a Greenscreen is? Come

visit the stand in the C-hall in the

first week of January! During the Off

Campusday you have the possibility

to visit Google and Microsoft. Also,

there is a grand opening on February

2nd, where very interesting speakers

will discuss the theme. However, the

event’s main focus still is the contact

between students and companies.

CO2 Neutral.

The Erasmus Recruitment Days 2011

will be climate neutral. Particularly

when the theme is about innovation,

it is important to consider the

climate as well. Not every student is

aware of the impact a big event, like

the Erasmus Recruitment Days,

has on the environment. Companies

are considering the environment

in the choices they make and are

thinking of innovative ways to make

the way we work more climate

friendly. As an event that aspires to

connect companies and students,

we feel that we can achieve more

awareness for the environment

by setting a good example. In

cooperation with Eneco, together

with ING the main sponsor of the

event, all CO2 emissions created by

the Erasmus Recruitment Days will

be fully compensated. Interested in

what this exactly means?

Visit the website:

www.erasmusrecruitmentdays.nl.

The Erasmus Recruitment Days; open for everyone!The Erasmus Recruitment Days are

open for all studies! Also it doesn’t

matter what year of study you are

in, there are activities for everyone!

Please visit the stands in the

C-hall and T3 and visit the website:

www.erasmusrecruitmentdays.nl

for more infor mation. If you want to

be updated regularly, follow us on

Twitter; www.twitter.com/erd2011

or become a member on Facebook.

And don’t forget: Innovate. Succeed.

Invent your career!

EVERY FEBRUARY THE ERASMUS UNIVERSITY GIVES HOME TO THE BIGGEST ON CAMPUS RECRUITMENT EVENT IN THE BENELUX; THE ERASMUS RECRUITMENT DAYS. FEBRUARY 2ND TILL FEBRUARY 16TH AROUND 100 COMPANIES WILL VISIT THE CAMPUS FOR COMPANY

PRESENTATIONS, WORKSHOPS, INTERVIEWS, INFORMAL RECRUITMENT EVENTS, LUNCHES AND DINNERS. IT IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO GET IN TOUCH WITH DIFFERENT COMPANIES, BOTH FORMAL AND INFORMAL, TO LOOK FOR A JOB OR INTERNSHIP AND TO ORIENT YOURSELF ON THE LABOR MARKET. ALTHOUGH THE WORD “RECRUITMENT” IS ASSOCIATED WITH 3RD YEAR BA-CHELOR- AND MASTER STUDENTS, THERE ARE POSSIBILITIES FOR 1ST AND 2ND YEAR STUDENTS AS WELL. OUR PROMOTIONAL PERIOD STARTS DECEMBER 6TH, AND ENDS JANUARY 7TH. INTERE-STED IN MEETING TOP COMPANIES? WANT TO KNOW WHAT BIG COMPANIES ACTUALLY DO? VISIT THE STANDS IN THE C-HALL AND T3 AND SIGN UP!

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E N T E R T A I N M E N T

Football is a sport of the people, of little kids with big dreams

and die-hard fans. Without those people, those fans, foot-

ball would not be the most popular sport in the world. It is

a sport in which billions of Euros are circulating (e.g. Real

Madrid has a budget of 450m Euros), and for which masses

of people tune in to see top teams like FC Barcelona play

on the weekends. But even though there is so much money

circulating, clubs are having problems to break even.

The income of clubs comes from the sales of all kind of

‘related’ articles, from t-shirts to towels, and of course the

tickets. But the income is mainly derived from television

rights and sponsors. Sponsors are willing to pay high fees,

since a live match will expose their brand to lots of people

at once. Performing at a bigger stage, like the Champions

League (for anti-football-readers who are still reading this

article: yearly European competition for top clubs), will

therefore raise a clubs income. By securing a spot in this

year’s Champions League, AFC Ajax increased its income

by at least 15 million Euros.

So clubs have a lot of income, however the greater part is still

having problems staying out of the red numbers. A problem

Michel Platini, president of the UEFA (European federation),

is trying to solve through ‘financial fair play’ regulations that

have to control the financial books of clubs. The ‘financial

fair play’ regulations contain eleven values. The main con-

cepts are that clubs have to finance their business activities

from their own generated revenue (not spend more than

their income), should be stricter and more punctual when

it comes to liabilities to others and have to show their fu-

ture plans with regard to financing their business activities.

SHOOTING MILLIONS: Transfers in the

football market

By Youvale van Dijk

94 MILLION EUROS, THE AMOUNT PAID BY REAL MADRID TO MANCHESTER UNITED FOR ONE SINGLE FOOTBALL PLAYER: CRISTIANO RONALDO. IT IS AN AMOUNT FEW OF US CAN GRASP. THIS TRANSFER IN THE SUMMER OF 2009 WAS A RECORD, HOWEVER IT IS PART OF A TREND

EMERGING OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS. A TREND IN WHICH STAR PLAYERS AND YOUNG TALENTS ARE HANDLED LIKE CATTLE FOR HIGHER AND HIGHER PRICES. WHY ARE CLUBS TRADING PLAYERS FOR EXCESSIVE PRICES WHEN MOST OF THEM ARE HAVING PROBLEMS KEEPING THEIR NUMBERS BLACK? AND WHAT SHOULD FIFA DO TO PROTECT THE PLAYERS?

E N T E R T A I N M E N T

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At the moment the expenses of a lot

of clubs are higher than their income,

hence the debt. Clubs pay high wages

and bonuses to both players and staff.

Furthermore, clubs are always looking

for players to add to their personnel.

And they acquire those new players for

outrageous fees.

Buying new players is a risky invest-

ment. At the end of the day you are

dealing with human beings. You can-

not predict any injuries or how a player

will adjust to a new country, club and

team. Despite these risks clubs are

willing to pay millions of Euros for pro-

mising players. Why? Well, they want

to increase their chances of winning!

A new player can strengthen the team

and can have a higher value, as there

is more money at stake. But not only

that, a star player will also generate

income with merchandising. However,

do these reasons justify the large ex-

penses and hence the debts so many

clubs have? No it does not, especially

since it does not fit the ‘financial fair

play’ regulations, which have to solve

problems like debt and unequal com-

petition.

The transfer market raises more is-

sues. One of them: talented players

are traded at younger ages, when they

are still relatively ‘cheap’. But these

promising youngsters are not always

ready. Like the eleven-year-old Micha-

el Gyasi who transferred to Chelsea

last October. He has become a subject

of contracts and transfer sums, while

his chances of becoming a star are

still small.

Other issues in the transfer market are

money laundering and unfair competi-

tion, as some countries allow clubs to

have debt while others do not.

FIFA (international federation) is trying

to regulate this transfer market.

In October FIFA launched the Transfer

Matching System (TMS), which must

be used for all international football

transfers. TMS is an online system,

which asks selling and buying clubs

for around thirty details about the

player and the clubs. Copies of con-

tracts and related papers have to be

handed in as well. This information

has to be the same for both clubs;

otherwise the transfer will be blocked.

“The most important thing is that it in-

creases the transparency of individual

transactions and helps us to tackle is-

sues such as the fight against money

laundering and the protection of mi-

nors in transfers,” said FIFA president

Joseph S. Blatter.

But only the future will tell how effec-

tive the Transfer Matching System is

and whether clubs will take any notice

of the ‘financial fair play’ regulations

of Platini. So when the new transfer

window opens in January 2011, we

will see which clubs have the balls for

risky, but financially fair play, invest-

ments.

“A trend in which

star players and

young talents are

handled like cat-

tle for higher and

higher prices.”

35

Top 5 Transfer sums

Name Year From ToAmount in

Euros

Cristiano Ronaldo 2009 Manchester United Real Madrid 94 m

Zinedine Zidane 2001 Juventus Real Madrid 75 m

Zlatan Ibrahimovic 2009 Internazionale Barcelona 66 m

Kaka 2009 AC Milan Real Madrid 65.1 m

Luis Figo 2000 Barcelona Real Madrid 58.5 m

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E N T E R T A I N M E N T

Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree

But the cost of real pine trees is exceptionally

high- almost as high as the tree itself. Whilst it

might seem rather ordinary for those countries

that actually have a white seasonal time, it is a

different tale for those where the sun blazes on

through December.

For some pagans the evergreens that survived

the frigid winter were a sign of magic. These

trees survived while all others froze and hiber-

nated. For the Romans the tree was in honor of

the God Saturn who was the god of agriculture.

For the Celtic Druids from the north it symbo-

lized life in the darkest day of the year through

the Winter Solstice. These same trees are the

tinsel clad Christmas trees of today.

What is so good about a real Christmas tree? To

many the smell of pine cones alone brings the

special touch of nature into their living rooms.

The naturalistic droop of the branches, the rich

intoxicating smell placing emphasis on things

other than puffy cheeked, overweight Santas,

who almost always seems to be laden with gifts

ranging from your most basic kitchen utensils

to the bling diamonds in tiny velvety boxes.

It’s the nostalgia that the smell brings that lin-

gers around. How many times as a child have

you woken up on the morning of the 25th to go

scramble under the tree for your presents?

How many hours have you spent all those years

hanging all that tinsel, fairy lights, stars, an-

gels and Santas across the branches?

A Christmas tree is something one can hold on

to, like a memory. Like a graduation day photo.

Like a particularly rewarding Easter egg hunt.

A wedding day kiss. The tree is what every me-

mory makes of it, that rich intoxicating smell

arousing the memory, and somehow as we

grow older, the unwanted memories fade- the

fights between the siblings, harsh words, for-

gotten expectations and voids, and we are left

with the good times that the scent of the trees

conjures for us. This same nostalgia will make

us spend those extra dollars more, to drive tho-

se many miles more, regardless of whether we

celebrate from the tropics where the summer

sun shines throughout the year to December or

to wintery Europe, to get the “real” thing.

To some families it’s the importance of tradi-

tion. A birthday is never really complete without

the cake with lit candles. A Christmas is never

Christmas without that tree. That tree is the

image of home and family. Most families still

want a “traditional Christmas” despite the still

dark economic times. The quantity of gift wrap-

ped parcels will diminish but not so the num-

ber of trees.

By Manavi Mendis

THERE IS SOMETHING RICH AND ALLURING ABOUT THE SMELL OF FRESH PINE LEAVES ACROSS THE CORNER OF YOUR LIVING ROOM. AND WHEN IT’S DRAPED IN TINSEL,

FAIRY LIGHTS AND CANDY CANES IT’S A PRETTY SIGHT.

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E N T E R T A I N M E N T

A real Christmas tree brings with it that special “touch

of nature” that, to many, cannot be replaced by the syn-

thetic, almost symmetrical branches of either the too-

green or too-white trees that get churned up from

factories. Even whilst we are all still on the rebound

road from the global financial meltdown, the

sales of real Christmas trees look as bright as

the fairy lights.

Besides, the evergreens from the forest

depths have higher green ratings –

almost five stars. They decompose

fast enough, while the plastics,

as we have all being made well aware, will

take a couple of lifetimes multiplied. Gary

Chastanger, a Washington State Univer-

sity professor of plant pathology points

out that “these plants we are talking

about…they are grown as crop,” not

axed off from nature. So to all

those green people, make this

is the choice for a gift laden, tinseled clad tree.

So this year when Santa with Rudolph starts his slip-

pery sleighing journey across the polar caps via a

dizzying array of advertisements displayed from

YouTube to News at 7 from the start of October

right till 24th eve, what will be your tree choice?

A tall green from nature? A symmetrical

white from a production line? Or some-

thing less elaborate all together, but

just as Christmassy in a trendy style-

simple branch with a few feathers

and a star?

Whichever way your festivities will lead

you to decorate your living room, make

it one that a) fits your budget b) brings

back the memories of Christmas’

past c) you can lade with lots of gift

wrapped boxes. After all what is

Christmas without a tall tree,

and taller tales?

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E N T E R T A I N M E N T

1 In bed with your 11 cats

2 Drunk under or on the bar

3 In a plane

4 Hitting on the on-duty police officer

5 Giving birth to octoplets

6 Playing World of War Craft at a

cyberspace party

7 Sending naughty New Year’s texts to

the wrong person

8 In the hospital holding 7 fingers

9 Stuck in an elevator with a walking

biohazard

10 In jail for stealing lawn gnomes

10 ways to…10 worst (best?) ways to spend New Year’s…

A world of OPPORTUNITIES

AU D I T TA X A DV I S O RY

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