KudoZ home » French to English » Environment & Ecology

facteur de rentabilité

English translation: factor of profitability

Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.

You will also have access to many other tools and opportunities designed for those who have language-related jobs
(or are passionate about them). Participation is free and the site has a strict confidentiality policy.

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)

French term or phrase:	facteur de rentabilité
English translation:	factor of profitability
Entered by:	Chris Hall

Options:
- Contribute to this entry
- Include in personal glossary

15:06 Nov 12, 2009

French to English translations [PRO]
Environment & Ecology / role of higher education in promoting sustainable development

French term or phrase: facteur de rentabilité

Hello,
This is taken from a presentation on the role of higher education in the French speaking world in promoting sustainable development. Not sure about the meaning of the following:
"L'enseignement supérieur peut aider:
à repenser le temps comme facteur de rentabilité"
I know it normally means "profitability factor".... perhaps that supporting sustainable development can aso be profitable?
thanks in advance,
Anne

Anne Greaves KudoZ activity Questions: 276 (3 open) (6 without valid answers) (30 closed without grading) Answers: 17 United Kingdom
Local time: 15:20

factor of profitability

Explanation:
"L'enseignement supérieur peut aider:
à repenser le temps comme facteur de rentabilité"
=
"Higher education is able to help:
towards reconsidering time as a factor of profitability"

Selected response from:

Chris Hall
United Kingdom
Local time: 15:20

Grading comment

Thanks for your help,
Anne
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

5 +2

as being ( a factor of ) cost-effective (-iveness)

xxx::::::::::

4 +1

factor of profitability

Chris Hall

element of profitability

Valerie SYKES

take a fresh look at the idea that "time is money"

Tony M

3 -1

a source of profit

Marco Solinas

3 -1

factor determining profitability

Gad Kohenov

Discussion entries: 8

Answers

4 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +2

as being ( a factor of ) cost-effective (-iveness)

Explanation:
as being ( a factor of ) cost-effective (-iveness)

xxx::::::::::
Iraq
Local time: 16:20
Native speaker of:

English

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

agree

Carol Gullidge: ie, "time is money" - to put it crudely!//cost effectiveness IS profitability!!//you seem to disagree with my agree - perhaps I should remove it!

16 mins

-> No I don't think it is at all - Cost Effectiveness is getting value eg social improvement, equality, good education, good conditions, facilities, PCs etc. from investment not profit from it ...

disagree

50 mins

-> Could you explain your (erroneous) disagree please ?

agree

Gilla Evans: it is perfectly reasonable to translate rentabilité as cost-effectiveness. See any reasonable size dictionary such as Harraps Unabridged

1 hr

-> Thanks Gilla

neutral

Chris Hall: Even though what you are implying is on the right lines, it doesn't look very well-presented surrounded with two lots of brackets.

1 hr

-> I'm not asking the asker to use 'my presentation' !!!!!!!!

agree

John Detre

3 hrs

7 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): -1

factor determining profitability

Explanation:
Maybe.

Gad Kohenov
Local time: 17:20
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

French,

Hebrew

15 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

factor of profitability

Chris Hall
United Kingdom
Local time: 15:20
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 20

Grading comment

Thanks for your help,
Anne

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

agree

38 mins

-> Yes, it is. Thank you.

disagree

xxx::::::::::: Higher Education is profit-making ? I don't think so...Profitable and profitability have two different meanings ; which one are you using ? Profitability as non-material profit ? !

1 hr

-> Time is a factor of profitability in Higher Education i.e. the more time spent in Higher Education = the more profitable it will be for the individual involved in Higher Education.

agree

Carol Gullidge: yes, as I said to Dr D Jones (before he disagreed with my agree!), time is money - indirectly at least

17 hrs

41 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): -1

a source of profit

Explanation:
..

Marco Solinas
Local time: 07:20
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English,

Italian
PRO pts in category: 8

16 hrs confidence:

repenser le temps comme facteur de rentabilité take a fresh look at the idea that "time is money"

Explanation:
I'm only adding this as an asnwer in order to consolidate somewhat several earlier contributions from other people.

It seems on the face of it that the meaning of the source text is pretty clear; however, when I stopped to think about what the whole sentence is saying, I couldn't quite work out their logic.

On the one hand, one might say that the concept that "time is money" leads to the use of labour-saving processes that may however be less conducive to sustainable development — for example, ploughing with oxen rather than using a tractor. So is the writer trying to say that perhaps higher education will enable us to decide that time isn't money after all?

If, however, the writer is trying to say that the time spent needs to be counted in the cost-effectiveness equation, that seems to be suggesting that tractor is good (or at least, profitable!) and oxen are bad. Which doesn't seem to be quite in line with traditional simplistic ideas of what 'sustainable development' is all about.

I freely admit, I can't quite see the logic at work here, and I fear there is a great risk of actually making it seem as if the writer is saying the very opposite of what was actually intended. Even Asker's feedback from the client only tells us half the story...

Tony M
France
Local time: 16:20
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 18

17 hrs confidence:

element of profitability

Explanation:
Confirmed as such in the IATE dictionary.

Employed numerous times in references in Google.

Valerie SYKES
France
Local time: 16:20
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 4

Return to KudoZ list

Changes made by editors

Nov 17, 2009 - Changes made by Chris Hall:
Created KOG entry	KudoZ term => KOG term

KudoZ™ translation help
The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.

Overview

Latest translation questions

Ask a translation question

See also:

ProZ.com term search

Search millions of term translations

facteur de rentabilité

English translation: factor of profitability

Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.

Answers

Sign in to your ProZ.com account...

Or create a new account

ProZ.com ideas

KudoZ™ translation help
The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.

facteur de rentabilité

English translation: factor of profitability

Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.

Answers

Sign in to your ProZ.com account...

Or create a new account

ProZ.com ideas

KudoZ™ translation helpThe KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.

KudoZ™ translation help
The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.