Wednesday, June 9. 2010
Couple weeks ago, I had to pleasure of attending Yahoo! Labs' Big Thinkers Series, featuring Dr. Lawrence Lessig. His talk was entitled, "Innovation Corruption," aka what is wrong with Congress.
Here's a short intro to the talk:
His message was consistently simple and resounding: government and business are corrupted by money. This corruption becomes a roadblock to innovation because regulation is designed not for the social good but to maximize the money to Congress. The only way to fix this is to get money out of the system – a system Lessig referred to as the “economy of influence.”
The three major players in the system are lobbyists, members of Congress, and “interests.” Lessig compares lobbyists to “suppliers, or pushers inside the economy of influence.” The boom of lobbying has pushed Congress into a pathological dependency on campaign cash. Money passes from the hands of the interest groups to the lobbyists, from the lobbyists to Congress in the form of campaign donations, and through legislation, money passes from Congress to the interest groups. This vicious cycle of a system has a significant effect – legislation gets bent away from the public good because “policy gets bent to those who pay.”
“The vast majority of Americans believes that money buys results,” said Lessig. Because of money in the system, Americans have become cynical. They’ve disengaged, and the country’s democracy has become less responsive and more corrupt.
His ideas help explain some of the present problems that face America:
- Why is our Internet speeds slower than the rest of the world?
- Why did we bailout Wall Street in the financial crisis?
- Why do we have an obesity epidemic?
And there's much much more. I thoroughly enjoyed the talk.
Enjoy.
Wednesday, February 18. 2009
I came across this amusing article in Time Magazine entitled, " Competence: Is Your Boss Faking It?"
Bosses may be an overbearing breed, but more often than not, you've got to admire their business chops. Wouldn't you love to have that same sense of competence and confidence, that ability to assess tough problems and reach smart solutions on the fly? Guess what? So would they. If you have ever suspected that your boss isn't actually good enough at what he or she does to deserve the job in the first place, a new study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology suggests that you might be right. [...]
Social psychologists know that one way to be viewed as a leader in any group is simply to act like one. Speak up, speak well and offer lots of ideas, and before long, people will begin doing what you say. This works well when leaders know what they're talking about, but what if they don't? If someone acts like a boss but thinks like a boob, is that still enough to stay on top?
[Work sessions] were videotaped, and a group of independent observers performed the same evaluations, as did Anderson and Kilduff. All three sets of judges reached the same conclusions. Consistently, the group members who spoke up the most were rated the highest for such qualities as "general intelligence" and "dependable and self-disciplined." The ones who didn't speak as much tended to score higher for less desirable traits, including "conventional and uncreative." [...]
"Dominant individuals behaved in ways that made them appear competent," the researchers write, "above and beyond their actual competence." Troublingly, group members seemed only too willing to follow these underqualified bosses. An overwhelming 94% of the time, the teams used the first answer anyone shouted out — often giving only perfunctory consideration to others that were offered.
Lately I've been finding myself with a front-row seat to amateur hour performances, and I cringe when people offer up random bad answers that make no sense. Seems like the more answers you give, the more competent you appear. Kind of funny though. Imagine appearing on Jeopardy and always buzzing in right away, and quickly making up an answer. You'd have a huge negative balance, but people would rate you highly competent right?
Wednesday, February 4. 2009
When I went home for Christmas, I went back to my university to visit professors, friends, and old co-workers. I spent a good amount of time chatting with folks from the Department of Co-operative Education, where I worked for almost five years. As I talked to people, there seemed to be a little bit of doom and gloom in the air. I dug a little deeper, and it seemed like enrollment in co-operative education was drastically down compared to its glory days.
For those who are unfamiliar with co-operative education, it's basically a program where you spend a couple semesters working in the real world for school credit. It offers an excellent way to apply some of theory you've learned in academia, and it gives you a chance to make connections with people in industry. A computer science student (back in my day) typically spent five semesters working at a co-op job. In my experience, it was a pretty good deal because you managed to add 20 months of work experience to your resume, and you got a chance to make some money too. A study also revealed that 90% of co-op students found a job after university within 6 months of graduation. I am one of those fortunate people that falls into this category.
In the old days, the Department of Computer Science at UVIC used to have around 400 students enrolled in co-op. Competition was always extremely fierce, and demand for jobs outstripped supply. It was always nerve wracking when you were trying to find a co-op job because you didn't know if you were going to be working or going to school in the next semester. Also, if all your friends went out on a co-op work term, and you didn't, your academic schedule would become unsynchronized with theirs, and that was not fun.
Fast forward to today, and apparently enrollment is about half of what it was. Only around 200 computer science students are enrolled in the co-op program. The supply of jobs far outstrips demand. Employers are constantly complaining that students are not applying to their jobs, and this is even the case for big name employers. Students these days also seem to be very picky about what kind of work they do, whereas in my day, we were glad to get any kind of work.
Continue reading "Something's Wrong With Co-operative Education"
Tuesday, January 13. 2009
The Ontario chapter of the union made headlines which is captured in this editorial entitled, " CUPE call to ban Israeli academics out to lunch." For those not familiar with CUPE, it's Canada's largest union. A huge chunk of university workers are a part of this union. Thanks Myron for sending me this link.
CUPE Ontario has embarrassed itself again.
The union’s president, Sid Ryan, is backing a move that would call on Ontario universities to ban Israeli academics who aren’t prepared to condemn Israel’s current military operations in Gaza, and specifically the Dec. 29 bombing attack on the Islamic University of Gaza.
Mr. Ryan’s meddling is wrong-headed, on multiple levels.
As many in Ontario academia have pointed out in denouncing Mr. Ryan’s plan, the proposal violates the essence of the concept of academic freedom. By demanding adherence to a particular political point of view, with a professor’s job hanging in the balance, CUPE’s stated goal runs counter to the core mission of institutions of higher learning: promoting free academic inquiry.
Mr. Ryan proposes a political litmus test to decide whose views should be allowed to be expressed. That’s a contravention of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms’ protection of free speech, as well as an act of discrimination under this country’s human rights codes.
CUPE Ontario’s actions are also inconsistent in that no such bans are sought on academics from other parts of the world where charges of repression are rampant. If Israeli professors are to be barred from teaching based on what they say about Gaza, why not ban Chinese academics over China’s role in Tibet? Or Russian professors for their country’s controversial campaigns against Chechnya? As Bernie Farber, Canadian Jewish Congress CEO, pointed out last week, CUPE has not called for Palestinian academics to be banned over Hamas rocket attacks. (It should be noted that Israel claims the Islamic University in Gaza was a storehouse for munitions and bomb-making centre.) Such scenarios should seem ludicrous, of course, but that further underlines the fact CUPE Ontario seems to devote a lot of time and attention to anti-Israeli efforts. That obsession has not surprisingly led to accusations CUPE Ontario is anti-Semitic. The union denies such charges.
Another question many have is why a union that supposedly exists to fight for better wages, working conditions and other benefits for members is using its resources to take sides in a bitter, deeply complex dispute thousands of miles away. CUPE Ontario was roundly criticized several years ago for calling on learning institutions to divest themselves of Israeli investments. Mr. Ryan’s latest salvo seems more of the same.
Continue reading "CUPE's Call To Ban Israeli Academics"
Sunday, September 28. 2008
I came across this article in the Post Gazette entitled, " Eyebrows raised over city school policy that sets 50% as minimum score
- 1+1=3? In city schools, it's half right."
Pittsburgh Public Schools officials say they want to give struggling children a chance, but the district is raising eyebrows with a policy that sets 50 percent as the minimum score a student can receive for assignments, tests and other work.
The district and teachers union last week issued a joint memo to ensure staff members' compliance with the policy, which was already on the books but enforced only at some schools. Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers President John Tarka said the policy is several years old.
While some districts use "F" as a failing grade, the city uses an "E." [...]
they said, the 50 percent minimum gives children a chance to catch up and a reason to keep trying. If a student gets a 20 percent in a class for the first marking period, Ms. Pugh said, he or she would need a 100 percent during the second marking period just to squeak through the semester.
"We want to create situations where students can recover and not give up," she said, adding a sense of helplessness can lead to behavior and attendance problems.
"It's not grade inflation. We're not saying, 'Give people passing grades,' " Ms. Pugh said.
But the policy strikes some teachers and parents as rewarding bad work and at odds with the district's "Excellence for All" improvement campaign.
"Clearly, some people will not be pleased with this policy," Mr. Tarka said. But he added, "We stand by that decision."
Judy Leonardi, a Stanton Heights resident and retired district home economics teacher, said she objected to the notion that a student could "walk in the door, breathe the air and get 50 percent for that."
"I don't think it sets kids up properly for college, for competition in life," she said.
To Ms. Leonardi, a 20 percent score means a student isn't trying or needs more help with the material. Automatically putting 50 percent in the grade book, she said, doesn't help the student in either case. [...]
Superintendent James Lombardo said he's in favor of implementing the idea, partly as a fairness issue. He noted that a failing grade carries far more mathematical weight than any other grade if the "E" or "F" has a range of zero to 59 percent.
"I guess I laud the Pittsburgh district for recognizing some of the foibles of our numerical system," he said, adding low percentage scores sometimes are given to students because of their attitude or work ethic, rather than their level of accomplishment.
Continue reading "Your Minimum Grade is 50% In Pittsburg"
Tuesday, November 13. 2007
This is a follow-up post from a blog post I wrote about called UVSS Bans Canadian Forces From Student Union Building. On October 25th, UVIC had their annual general meeting to vote on the military ban. The Martlet (the UVIC student newspaper) has a story about how the vote went.
Students overwhelmingly rejected a motion to ban the military from recruiting in the Student Union Building at the UVic Students’ Society (UVSS) annual general meeting on Oct. 25.
According to UVSS records, 525 students packed the SUB’s Michčle Pujol Room to attend the meeting. The meeting started half an hour late as students waited in line to sign in and receive voting cards.
Roughly 25 people voted in favour of the ban. Had the motion passed, the Canadian Forces wouldn’t have been able to recruit at the annual UVic Career Fair in January because it is held in the SUB.
George Robinson, former UVSS chairperson candidate, spoke against the ban. “For students that wish to protest the war, this is the wrong way to do it,” said Robinson. “By banning any organization that we may disagree with, we are acting against the very purpose of this university.”
Student Serina Zapf agreed. “I’m a human rights activist. I totally understand the issues in Afghanistan. I know about the torture. I hear about these things. I campaign on them,” she said. “That being said, as a human rights activist I believe in a dialogue of voices … I’m excited that our UVSS has a voice and is speaking on issues. But at the same time, I don’t think they need to protest for me.”
Continue reading "UVIC Students Overturn Military Ban"
Monday, September 24. 2007
I was going to blog about something else, but this story instantly jumped the queue after I read it because I was so infuriated by it. The story is about the University of Victoria's Student Society (UVSS) banning the Canadian Forces from recruiting in the Student Union Building (home of the annual career fair). Whether you're for or against Canada's involvement in Afghanistan, please read the "enlightened" reasons why the Canadian Forces are being banned.
The ban voted in on Sept. 10 means that the Canadian Armed Forces will be unable to attend the annual recruiting fair put on by UVic's Career Services in the SUB every January. The Armed Forces attended last year's recruiting fair.
At the Sept. 10 meeting, UVSS director of academics Caitlin Meggs read a statement by Jennifer Margison, manager of Career Services, urging students not to ban the military and to invite a member of the Armed Forces to speak to them before making a decision. Margison was unable to attend the meeting.
'If the policy would be implemented as a ban, I would ask the board to consider that this could be a very slippery slope, and one that I don't believe is in the spirit of a university campus, where alternate and opposing views, debate and discourse, personal choice and decision making should be fostered,' Meggs read on behalf of Margison. 'I would suggest that banning any organization from campus, if they are operating in accordance with Canadian law, and with university policy, is an infringement on the rights of students to make their own decisions about their futures.
Continue reading "UVSS Bans Canadian Forces From Student Union Building"
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