Automation and Employment in the 21st Century - CIO Journal. - WSJ Wall Street Journal (subscription) (blog) Artificial intelligence and automation will have a major impact on jobs and the very nature of work, but it's less clear what that impact will be, Columnist Irving ... |
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March 10, 2017 Updated 3/10/2017
Roger Renstrom Robert Schwenker of Saint-Gobain Performance Materials Corp.
Corona, Calif. Requirements for medical molders are changing, with suppliers taking on more responsibility.
At the same time, new technology and automation are changing what is possible to do on the shop floor in multiple industries.
To provide an overview of outsourcing, consolidation and market complexities, Engel Holding GmbH hosted a U.S. regional symposium at its recently-upgraded Corona technical center. Engel is based in Schwertberg, Austria, with U.S. operations based in York, Pa.
The first day of the March 8-9 event focused on the medical market, with packaging in the spotlight on the second day.
Robert Schwenker of Saint-Gobain Performance Materials Corp. talked about how medical device companies pursue strategies to outsource their quality and regulatory risks to suppliers.
The new ISO 13485:2016 standard explicitly requires an organization to comply with all regulations by 2019, said Schwenker, business manager for medical components in Austin, Texas, with the corporations fluid systems business.
He discussed increase in warning letters and unscheduled inspections by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Schwenker tracked the increased regulatory oversight from 2002s first-article inspections to 2017s validation programs for equipment, facilities and defined projects.
Schwenker said: Saint-Gobain wants to anticipate what regulatory systems are saying as evolving requirements impact more medical device subcontractors and components providers.
In October, Saint-Gobain completed extensive renovation of a Gaithersburg, Md., facility to design, develop and make disposable single-use systems for the cell therapy market.
The performance plastics business is a unit of Paris-area-based Saint-Gobain SA.
Mergers and acquisitions executive Perry De Fazio reviewed recent health care industry consolidations that he said create a highly advantageous environment for contract manufacturers.
De Fazio is vice president of private equity firm Covington Associates LLC in Boston and previously spent 15 years as an engineer in medical device research and development.
Market drivers are bringing more value to Tier 1 and Tier 2 contract manufacturers, borrowing terms more commonly used in the automotive industrys supply chain. In many cases, De Fazio noted, the change is beginning to confine traditional health care OEMs to the sales and distribution functions for their products.
An Italian maker of automation equipment and turnkey solutions perceives a demand for high flexibility in the European market and faster redesign of products.
The solutions are becoming more complex, said Marco Marconi, sales area manager with Campetella Robotic Center srl in Montecassiano, Italy. The time-to-market factor is really important.
Marconi stressed the importance of bringing all functions together at the start of a project. Players include the injection molding machine manufacturer, mold maker, label producer, in-mold-label processor and packaging machinery firm.
Marconi said Campetella will get a new factory of about 91,000 square feet. The business employs 94 and, during 2016, installed 350 robots with 20 percent of the deliveries in Italy and the remainder elsewhere.
Roger Renstrom De Fazio
Engels Joachim Kragl outlined the values of the firms iQ weight control processing software in pushing the boundaries of machine intelligence. Kragl is Engel North Americas director of advanced molding systems and processing.
With iQ weight monitoring, corrections are done in real time in the same cycle resulting in consistency in parts through the utmost repeatability through constant change, Kragl said.
Engels Jeff Hershey discussed the values of single purpose cells, closed-loop toggle lubrication and encapsulating conveyors with high-efficiency-particulate-air filters to meet clean room requirements. Hershey is medical business unit manager for Engel North America.
Annually, Engel makes about 1,800 robots in its E-pic B sprue picker servo, E-pic Z linear robot pick-and-place, Viper linear robot and Easix articulated robot product lines in Austria and, in the Czech Republic, produces about 1,500 conveyor belts for use with injection molding machines or in free-standing formats.
For faster North American press deliveries to customers, Engel has embarked on what it calls a fast-lane program to pre-position compact all-electric E-mac machines of 55-190 tons and tie-barless Victory Hy-Spex presses of 55-340 tons, Hershey said.
As built, Engel equipment is compliant with Class 7 clean room requirements, Hershey said.
Michael Traxler said Engels Inject 4.0 solutions for the smart factory places the company in positions as a user-transforming machine production to order-and a provider-developing solutions for customers. Traxler is packaging business unit manager for Engel North America.
Engels E-factory package can help a user monitor, analyze, plan and maintain control.
Energy recovery is viable for larger machines with clamping forces of more than 331 tons, he said.
For energy efficiency, just using electric is not good enough, Traxler said. You must put a strong focus on what is needed for longer term sustainability.
Traxler noted that the focus of press sizes for most packaging applications is in the range of 176-551 tons.
Engel is highly integrated, but, for ball screw spindles, two unidentified Japanese suppliers make the product to a proprietary Engel design for use on injection molding machines for packaging applications.
The U.S. unit of plastic packaging maker Alpla Werke Alwin Lehner GmbH & Co. KG of Hard, Austria, is embarking on a development project to backstop its 14 domestic plants through a mission control concept in McDonough, Ga.
We want to make sure the plant people have everything they need to do the work, said Philipp Lehner, general manager for North America with the Alpla Inc. unit in Georgia.
Alpla began developing the concept in 2013 and, as of September 2016, started monitoring process-relevant data for the U.S. production sites with the intention of minimizing downtime and production outages. The U.S. locations employ about 1,200 and have annual sales of about $400 million.
Alpla product lines include packaging systems, bottles, caps and preforms. Production equipment includes injection molding, extrusion and stretch blow molding machines.
Jordan Robertson discussed the value of stack molds. He is general manager for business development and marketing at StackTech Systems Ltd. in Brampton, Ontario.
Stack molds increase productivity up to 300 percent, Robertson noted. Flexible mold technology reduces changeover times by 90 percent.
He said in-mold labeling technologies increase a packages value, a trend particularly embraced in the Americas.
With stack mold designs, you can have whatever you want, Robertson said.
StackTeck manufactures multi-cavity, high-volume production molds suitable for thin-wall packaging, closure, personal care and medical product applications.
Jan Nietsch, a California-based business development manager for Elexis Groups Hekuma GmbH of Eching, Germany, discussed the value of automation for manufacturers.
To illustrate his point, Nietsch ran a portion of the 1936 Charlie Chaplin film Modern Times showing humans fumbling and flailing on an assembly line.
Nietsch used examples of the Hekuma dual server robot and/or the expandable modular Hekuflex automation system to show how technology can help in manufacturing contact lenses, pipette tips and interdental brushes.
Roger Renstrom Marconi
Beginning in December, Engel West in Corona invested about $150,000 to double the size of its training room, remodel the technical centers entryway and install glass more doors for interior transparency.
The training space now occupies about 320 square feet of the 7,200-square-foot structure that Engel acquired and initially occupied in 2009, said Markus Lettau, west region director of sales for Engel North America.
Engel Wests direct sales staff includes Tony Avaloz, Eric Fuertes and Michael Valentino. Adams Engineers and Equipment Inc. of Tyler, Texas, represents Engel West in Texas and Oklahoma. Adams also represents other regions of Engel North America in Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
Engel showed a variety of new technologies.
For production of a small PET container, Engel collaborated with mold maker Foboha of Haslach, Germany, and packaging specialist Alpla Werke. Integrated time-savings processes are based on cube technology. Four stages involve molding a preform, heating the material, injection blow molding the bottle and ejecting the product. Cycle time is 7.5 seconds on a 242-ton Engel E-motion press. Foboha reports within the molding solutions business unit of publicly traded Barnes Group Inc.s industrial segment.
For a storage box with a living hinge, Engel applied its iQ software products for analyzing critical process parameters including vibration control. M.R. Mold & Engineering Co. of Brea, Calif., made the one-cavity prototype mold with assistance from Progressive Components of Wauconda, Ill.; Craftsman Tool & Mold Co. of Aurora, Ill.; and Mastip Technology Ltd. of Auckland, New Zealand. The mold ran on a 110-ton Engel E-mac with a fully integrated Engel Viper 12 robot.
Engel molded and packaged 500-bristle Scrub-brand interdental brushes in a follow-up to a similar demonstration of the technology from Pheneo GmbH of Bremen, Germany, at the K 2016 show in Dsseldorf, Germany. A specially developed compound of polypropylene and thermoplastic elastomer ran on a 120-ton Engel E-motion press in 4.5-second cycles. Mold maker Hack Formenbau GmbH of Kirchheim unter Teck, Germany, and automation specialist Hekuma collaborated with Engel.
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Medical, packaging and automation in the spotlight at Engel event - Plastics News (blog)
Material Handling March 10, 2017
Growth driven by automotive manufacturing sector, followed by food and logistics.
By DC Velocity Staff
The market for industrial-automation control and field-device shipments will reach 146 million units by 2025, up from an estimated 2017 total of 55 million units, according to a study released Thursday.
In dollar terms, that would translate to $298 billion in industrial-automation device revenue by 2025, with $45 billion attributed to robotics, according to ABI Research, a market research firm in Oyster Bay, N.Y.
The automotive sector will continue to generate the bulk of demand for all classes of industrial automation components as it applies control and field devices for automation technologies used in manufacturing, ABI said. Other users include manufacturers such as food producers and non-manufacturing industries, including logistics.
Another center of automation growth is the Asia-Pacific region, where manufacturers led by China are using the technology to adjust to increasing regulation and rising wages, Philip Solis, research director at ABI Research, said in a release.
"Regional manufacturers are now relying on automation to try to offset a dramatic rise in Chinese worker wages and combat the declining numbers of age-appropriate employees in the workforce," Solis said. "Labor pool variability is another key growth factor that will undoubtedly lead to increased levels of automation technology among Chinese manufacturers in the coming years."
Measured by revenue, one of the fastest-growing portions of the automation industry could be high-end robotics. Vendors expect to ship slightly more than 300,000 units of industrial robotsa subset of industrial-automation field devicesin 2017.
"Control and field devices from the likes of Emerson, Honeywell, and Siemens are used to integrate disparate technologies, as well as regulate, manage, and accomplish industrial automation," Solis said. "Robots from companies like ABB, Fanuc Corp., Kuka Robotics Corp., and Yaskawa Electric Corp. make up a small fraction of yearly industrial automation-device shipments, but account for a disproportionally large amount of revenue due to their high costs."
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Market for industrial automation devices will nearly triple by 2025 - DC Velocity
Complete Automation in a foodservice operation is relatively rare at the moment. San Francisco fast food chain, Eatsa, and Hong Kong restaurant, Genki Sushi, are currently the pioneers in this movement that largely removes the human element from the dining experience.
In Eatsas case, customers place their orders via a self-service terminal and then retrieve their food from a glass cubby. At Genki Sushi, customers order using a tableside tablet, receive their food via a miniature train that runs around the restaurant. They wrap up the auto-experience by paying at a self-service kiosk prior to leaving.
To say that these are cases of total automation and a human-less experience is a bit inaccurate. The automation really only occurs in the front of the house, and theres almost always a concierge or other restaurant representative standing by in case of any issues. Likewise, of course, there are people working behind the scenes preparing the food.
Nevertheless, this is about as close as weve gotten to fully automating the dining process and its an interesting prospect, to say the least. After all, it's got the leader of Hardee's and Carls Jr.s Andy Puzder thinking about it,though it probably did not do him many favors with the nation's workforce or in the overall fight for the Labor Secretary nomination.
Robotics
Weve heard about threats of machines taking over and/or replacing organic life forms for quite some time now. Often referred to as the "technological singularity" when machines replace man, the subject has run central in science fiction works, including everything from the 1957 Harlan Ellison short story, Soldier from Tomorrow, to the wildly popular Matrix movies series from the Wachowskis, where humans are literally "farmed" by robots to fuel real world domination.
For all these one-time works of fiction, the day has arrived when the fantastical nature of the subject has become reality. Just in the last year, for instance, some signs that this new age is dawning, include:
When we talk about robotic automation in the context of a restaurant, the current focus is on shifting mundane, repetitive tasks away from human employees and over to robots. According to some though, we may get much more in return down the road with robotics that offer betterconsistency in food preparation, less food waste, improved safety and perhaps even lower menu prices.
Only time will tell with this one, but for now here are the leading players in foodservice robotics.
Starship Technologies Zume Pizza Momentum Machines
Smart Sensors Chipotle's devastating problems and consequential financial problems have made it plain that food safety is in need of a lot of help in the restaurant industry. That's why kitchen sensors, video monitoring, temperature regulation, and other smart automations are fast-becoming a must for every restaurant kitchen.
Customers need to be kept safe when it comes to the foods they eat while dining out, and that means kitchens need to be more closely regulated and monitored. Five Guys is just one of those brands which hasinvested in this type of automation in their current use of a temperature tracking solution to keep tabs on their restaurants adherence to food safety protocols.
But, beyond the use of sensors and employment of hyper-vigilant practices around food safety, restaurant also need to strongly consider employing some system to provide real-time data, as well astracking to connect all these sensors and devices together. Here are some of the leadingtechnologies: Monnit ComplianceMate TempAlert
Operations Management Software As you can see, each of the above automation solutions has a direct impact on the guest experience. But automation isnt just about that new piece of equipment that speeds up the ordering process. Its also very much about streamlining operations.
With digital operations management software, restaurant operators can automate: Training, including gamified teaching modules, consistent education and mobile access. Employee scheduling, including templatized shift planning, budget control and legal compliance. Human resources, including automated tracking systems, application screening and even interview templates. Operations oversight, including round-the-clock access to data, real-time notifications and messaging. Inventory management, including digital checklists and stricter safety compliance.
In the above areas, some of the leading technologies come from: QSRonline HotSchedules PeachWorks
Wrapping Up Automation is the future of the restaurant industry in some degree. No, that doesnt mean all restaurants will soon have robots running the show, but it does mean every restaurant operator needs to seriously consider how they can best use these types of technology to achieve their business goals.
Of course, the upfront investment in new technologies will bring some disruption to restaurants which will experience an uptick in costs at the start. But the fact is, the restaurant game is changing to a much more automated business and those who don't do their homework now and begin the adaptation process will very likely be left as mere memories.
For more information on improving the customer experience, visit The Interactive Customer Experience Association. Its mission is to help brands apply technology to the goal of creating transcendent customer experiences. The ICX Association is a vital hub that connects users and suppliers in collaborative forums, be they virtual or physical, to understand how seemingly unrelated technologies can be integrated to create experiences so meaningful that customers cant imagine doing business elsewhere. (The Association's website, icxa.org, is a sister site to this one.)
Photo: iStock
Topics: Business Strategy and Profitability
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Automation: The possibilities of robo-resauranting - Part 3 of 3 ... - Pizza Marketplace
The advert which caused outrage when it was circulated on social media was described as racist and slave labour.
Youre expected to be diligent willing hardworking smart and quick (sic) the advert posted by a resident living in Cape Towns southern suburbs.
Youre required to follow instructions and clean thoroughly & maticulously (sic). (the way I want).
You should have no illness. Youre expected to be clean and smell good and bath and change everyday (and twice a day if necessary.
Work is sleep in Monday to Sunday. 2 Sundays off every month (sic) it added.
Estelle Nagel speaking on behalf of Gumtree told TMG Digital on Friday that the advert was clearly exploitative.
We are very aware of the advert we were very concerned about it. It is clearly exploitative".
Nagel said as an investigation was launched into the advert the person who uploaded it had removed it. Gumtree she said would monitor the account.
"We are busy setting up a hub on our blog just to make advertisers aware of what the laws are with links to the South African labour website sample contracts and also for job seekers just to know their rights when they are applying for a job like that she said.
TMG Digital tried to contact the woman responsible for the advert via phone and Whatsapp but received no reply.
Domestic workers minimum wages effective as of December 1 2016 in major metropolitan areas is R12.42 per hour or R2422 per month provided the person works more than 27 hours per week.
However the advertisement stipulated a seven day working week.
The job was advertised at a starting salary of R2000 including food and accommodation.
I will increase your salary even after the 1st month if you are capable of doing all my work THE WAY I WANT) up to R2500 said the advert.
You must have a valid passport which I keep while you work for me it added and no criminal records the advertisement said.
Department of Home Affairs spokesperson Mayihlome Tshwete says when an employer wants to keep a persons passport it is some form of exploitation in one way or another.
People should be cautious when applying for a job where the employer wants to keep their passport as this could be a slave-wage type setup".
You can keep a copy of someone passport so you know who is working for you thats fine but there is no valid reason why anyone should keep your passport for you. No one is allowed to keep your passport.
Social media users who circulated the advert reacted with shock.
I think youll find its standard practice in the industry. The human trafficking & modern slavery industry that is said Matt du Plessis on twitter.
Gumtree does not check every advert placed on the website but Nagel said those which were reported or violated human rights would be taken down.
Link:
Gumtree pulls 'slave labour' domestic worker advert - Times LIVE
MARK KARLIN, EDITOR OF BUZZFLASH AT TRUTHOUT
(Photo: eirigipics )
Although it might be conventional wisdom that Western colonialism no longer exists, this is a dangerous myth. Colonialism persists in the form of the continued oppression of Indigenous peoples worldwide. Moreover, when it comes to the relationship of Europe and the US to the Global South, the old system of direct colonial rule has actually been replaced with financial control over many of the same countries that were colonized. The onerous financial conditions placed on many developing nations through the World Bank and International Monetary Fund -- including austerity measures and spending requirements for goods from developing nations -- represent the colonialist notion of knowing what's in the best interest of other countries. Like colonialism, it also happens to financially benefit the former ruling powers.
The globalization of exploitative labor further reinforces the relationship of capitalism to erstwhile colonialism. The squalid working conditions and meager wages of many workers in the Global South is the focus of a revealing book by John Smith, Imperialism in the Twenty-First Century: Globalization, Super-Exploitation, and Capitalisms Final Crisis, which is this week's Truthout Progressive Pick. Capitalism provides the vehicle for much contemporary imperialism, but is often not perceived as such because it is not as directly visible as, say, an occupying army (although, of course, the US and Europe still occupy countries militarily as well). Colonialism used to be dependent upon direct rule of areas and countries by agents, bureaucracies and militaries representing the colonial power. Now, colonialism largely consists of financial dependencies and labor markets characterized by poverty.
In an excerpt featured on Truthout, Smith reflects on the 2014 collapse of a substandard garment factory building in Bangladesh that resulted in the deaths of more than 1,300 workers:
The collapse of Rana Plaza not only shone a light on the pitiless and extreme exploitation of Bangladeshi workers. It also unleashed a powerful pulse of x-rays that lit up the hidden structure of the global capitalist economy, revealing the extent to which the capital/labor relation has become a relation between northern capital and southern labor -- in no other sector has production shifted so completely to low-wage workers in oppressed nations while control and profits remain firmly in the grip of firms in imperialist countries.
Smith notes that "just 2 percent of the clothing worn in the United States is actually made there." Ultimately, however, this unsustainable economic imbalance of the global manufacturing labor force will implode, Smith argues.
Smith presciently asserts,
Outsourcing has boosted profits of firms across the imperialist world and helped to sustain the living standards of its inhabitants, but this has led to deindustrialization, has intensified capitalism's imperialist and parasitic tendencies, and has piled up global imbalances that threaten to plunge the world into destructive trade wars.
This leads Smith to conclude:
Neither...is the future pre-determined, but that does not mean that there are infinite number of possible futures. In fact, there are just two: socialism or barbarism.
If capitalist production continues to grow more dependent upon the "super-exploitation" of workers in many nations in the Global South, it will lead to a grave international financial crisis that Smith refers to as "a crisis of imperialism." The manner in which profitable corporations such as Apple use competitive sub-contracting to suppress wages and boost profits -- while often giving nothing more than lip service to ensure safe and humane working conditions overseas -- creates a race to the bottom in labor force manufacturing. (Countries in the Global South are hardly getting a "boost" up the capitalist ladder.) After all, as Smith observes, if globalization represented a free market, then why aren't third-world workers paid a livable wage for their generally high productivity? That is because corporations are investing in labor pools that ensure an enormous profit. They are not building up economies in need or paying outsourced overseas workers a livable wage.
Smith describes how a Sword of Damocles hangs over poor nations:
The social power of capital is enforced through the so-called rule of law, which exalts the sanctity of private property and negates the sanctity of human life. Any people that dares to defy laws protecting capitalist property, e.g. by defaulting on debts or by expropriating assets, is subject to the most severe economic penalties, and, if that is not sufficient, is threatened with subversion, terrorism and invasion. The transition from colonialism of yesteryear to the neocolonialism of today is analogous to the transition from slavery to wage-slavery, and merely signifies that capitalism has largely dispensed with archaic, pre-capitalist forms of domination and exploitation, while taking great care to preserve its monopoly of military force for use in cases of revolutionary challenge to its rule.
Colonialism hasn't ended; it has just morphed into a less visible form.
See the article here:
Capitalist Globalization of Labor is Modern Colonialism - Truth-Out
Ten years ago, I walked into my boss's office at the large corporate company where I worked and announced that I was quitting my job. What are your plans? my boss asked casually after he had time to absorb the unexpected news. I took a deep breath and began to explain that I had been reading a book by William Bridges called Managing Transitions,and I wanted to take some time away from the rat race. He looked amazed. Is this a midlife crisis thing? he asked bluffly.
Actually, I had decided to take a mini-retirement. The term originates fromTimothy Ferris'The 4-Hour Workweek,in which he argues the case for taking a series of meaningful respites from our structured 9-to-5 careers rather than an end-of-the-line grand exit. I had always planned to retire early and follow a FIRE -- financially independent and retired early --lifestyle. I had read about it, joined forums, and I started to save and invest my money in real estate to reach this goal. I did well, and by the time I stood in front of my boss, I was 40, financially independent and 50 percent on my way to joining the FIRE set.
There was one problem; I didn't want to retire. What I really wanted was not so much freedom from wage slavery(as Noam Chomsky and others call it), but a meaningful life. I wanted to climb Abraham Maslows pyramid to the self-actualization apex. The work that I had been doing on developing leaders still interested me, I just wanted to have a deeper understanding and to work more independently rather than being bounded to a single organization. So I opted for mini-retirement.
Related: 5 Lessons From People Who Retire at 40
Mini-retirement is different from a sabbatical or career break, which connotes taking time out and resuming where you left off. I needed a complete severance, atransitionfrom my entrenched thinking and task and targeted career path. The idea of personal transition came to me when reading the aforementioned Managing Transitions.This brilliant book tells the story of Bridges, who left his career in teaching and found himself facilitating a weekly support group for people going through major changes in their lives. Based on his experience and observations, Bridges theorized that successful personal transitions go through three stages -- ending (letting go), neutral zone (a moratorium from the conventional activity of your everyday existence) and new beginning (embracing the new opportunity).
The idea of leaving my comfortable life and voluntarily entering a phase of structurelessness and uncertainty (what Bridges terms the wilderness) in order to experience growth, potential and new opportunities appealed to me. For the next five years, I lived in 10 different cities across the world for six month periods studying, researching, writing conspiracy thrillers and having the time of my life.
Today I am back on the hamster wheel and loving every minute of it. I started my own leadership consulting company and feel that my mini-retirement experience enriched my life and allowed me time toassess my life values and preferences andgain a deeper appreciation and passion for developing leaders. The mini-retirement bug is still in my blood. I work for part of the year before heading out into the wilderness with my backpack and laptop.
Here are five insights that I picked up with respect to leaving behind the structured life of work.
Despite a progressive move toward flexible, mindful and holacratic working environments, the majority of organizations still move around in narrow functional hierarchies as John Kotter termed it in his book Leading Change--presentism, fixed hierarchies and transactional management are still depressing realities in our workplaces. With the average retirement age remaining at 64 for men and 62 for women, according to the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College,and presidential candidates telling us that we need to work longer hours, we may need to take matters into our own hands to bring about the white space needed in our lives.
This is where reality kicks in. You can't contemplate time away from work unless you have the means to support yourself. Most experts focus on the saving habit, but I think the real secret lies in managing the spending habit. I stayed in affordable locations and rented budget apartments where I lived as a local, shopping in the local markets and cooking at home. It is easy to fall into the Diderot effect, the kind of spiralling consumption that the French philosopher Denis Diderot wrote about in his quirky essay Regrets on Parting with My Old Dressing Gown.Simplifying your life and reducing your spending habit will make your mini-retirement plans more than just a pipe dream.
Related:11 Ways To Be Frugal Now So You're Rich Later
Isn't it curious that whenever we do something that is a little offbeat and goes against received wisdom, we suddenly find a bunch of previously disinterested parties becoming passionate about how we should run our lives? I received my fair share of negative comments.
You're bonkers to leave a responsible position just when you're hitting your maximum earning potential.
Aren't you scared that people will think you're a drop out?
Have you considered therapy?
It is best to ignore the naysayers and create an inner circle with people who really believe in you.
In Henry IV Part 1, Shakespeare wrote: If allthe yearwere playing holidays, To sport would be as tedious as to work. Sitting in hammocks watching sunsets willsoon feel every bit a routine as a 10:00 amteam meeting. Have some fun, but also set some goals. It will feel more rewarding and your re-entry into the workplace will be easier if future bosses and clients see personal growth and a transitional journey.
One of the myths about mini-retirements is that it shuts doors and leaves awkward employment gaps. Employers are becoming more tolerant to breaks in resumes especially if you can demonstrate that the time was used in a meaningful way. Keeping a blog is a good way of charting your experience. Trust your network and a little serendipity. Ironically, the first person who offered me a job when I came out of mini-retirement was my old cynical boss, but I already had other plans.
Related:Ignore the Cynics, Hope Is Your Greatest Asset
I guess reading about mini-retirement in a publication dedicated to entrepreneurship may seem a little discordant, but I think reflection, personal transition and a generous sprinkling of nonconformity is key to being an effective entrepreneur. The ancient Sanskrit text, Mundaka Upanishad, uses the metaphor of a bow and arrow to describe how reflection and concentration can help us hit the target: Draw the string with full absorption and shoot at the target. I concede this is not going to be for everyone, particularly thosepeople who find purpose and importance in the workplace, preferringstructure, a built-in social group and hierarchical status. But taking time out can help us determine whats important to usandgive us the ideas, vision and confidence to become who we truly want to be.
Dr. Ric Kelly has spent 25 years developing leaders for multinational companies. He is currently launching a leadership consulting company in Europe and South America and finishing a book on leadership and enablement. Ric editsleaders...
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How a Mini-Retirement Brought Meaning to My Life - Entrepreneur
Commentary Politics
Mar 10, 2017, 10:13am Cynthia Greenlee
Theres a cautionary tale in this we should heed if we dont want to validate revisionist history that makes slavery seem like an undesirable minimum wage job.
In a country where politicians routinely usurp doctors roles and pretend to know whats best for womens bodies, some policymakers and legislators are now masquerading as historians.
Two recentexamples: Weve heard the new secretary of Housing and Urban Developmentsconfusion about the difference between immigrants and enslaved people(to wit, immigrants who came here in the bottom of slave ships, worked even longer, even harder for less). Spouting the garbled nonsense thats his unfortunate calling card, Dr. Ben Carson lumped in millions of kidnapped Africans with those huddled masses who, yearning to breathe free, packed their own bags and came to the New Worldunder their own steam.Also, asRewires Teddy Wilsonrecently reported, a Missouri legislator proposed a bill that would place an exhibit about abortion in the state museumand require it to be in close proximity to displays about slavery. The logic, you say? Because under the original U.S. Constitution, enslaved people counted as three-fifths of a person and many people say a fetus is not a person until he or she takes her first breath, according to state Rep. Mike Moon (R-Ash Grove).
Welcome to the latest iteration of the Culture Wars. And the 2017 edition is promising to be a doozy.
The signs are popping up with alarming frequency. An Arkansas legislator wants toblock schools from teaching the works of the late social historian Howard Zinn, author of the 1980 classicA Peoples History of the United States.In Chicago, a February seminar that taught high school students lessons from the civil rights movementfaced pushback from parents and punditswho claimed the optional workshop was racial indoctrination.
These incidents may appear random or unconnected. Maybe you think they are lapses of knowledge that can be corrected with a good reading list, better public education where teaching history is not sidelined (no, that high-school civics course was not enough), and common sense. Fair enough. They certainly are symptoms of widespread historical ignorance in the United States, but they are also symptoms of a vocal minority who reject U.S. multiculturalism, narratives that shift our national stories from Big Men History, and social and political change.
Andwhen ignorance could become enshrined in federal or statepolicy, thats dangerous.
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Lets considerSecretary Carson and his much-discussed slavery comments. Hishistory-challenged remarks may be the ramblings of a man who thinks he knows more than he does, a trait common among President Trump and his administrations officials. Also, to be fair, hes not the first to refer to enslaved people as laborers without the context that U.S. slavery was a special kind of hereditary, stigmatized work based on white supremacy. It was not unusual for slaveholders to call the enslaved servants, and in more contemporary times, aTexas textbookcalled them workers here to toil on the agricultural plantations of the South. Sowho can blame an elementary schoolreaderwho believes that enslaved people got some wages and werent chained to a job simply due to stigmatized African ancestry?
We CAN blame educated, accomplished adults like Carson, who should know better (though he has defended his statement, saying that he refers to anyone from a foreign place an immigrant), but book learning and credentials dont necessarily cure ignorance, especially when someone is politically invested in the not-knowing. We can blame conservatives many culture wars for promoting Western civilization classes and not acknowledging that slavery fueled United States and global development, while questioning the need for Black studies. We can also blame historic preservationists and museum curators who romanticize the Old South for making slaveryalong with evolution, LGBTQ rights, and sex edone of the most contested topicsin school curricula and in our museums.
Depicting the horrors of slavery accurately is no small task. It requires stitching together stories of people whose literacy was outlawedand who therefore couldnot document their own lives for posterity, in most cases.Representing the enslaved well requires sifting through the racist claptrap of what their oppressors said about them. And it demands a belief in Black humanity, which plenty of cultural sites around the country still get wrong. They cant stomach the new history told from below, are stuck in the pasts moldy scholarship, and prefer Scarlett OHara tales to stories like those of Celia, a young enslaved woman in Missouri (who killed her owner after years of sexual abuse and who is the subject of new and exciting research). Imagine if Rep. Moon was pushing for a display about Celia in the Missouri state museum rather than angling for one that would compare Black people to fertilized eggs.
The problem with Carsons comment, and others like it, isthat ignorant officials have higher-than-average odds of making or supporting ignorant and often devastating policy.If you need evidence, just take a look at the vast arrayof reproductive rights restrictions. And while Im surprised that Carson even mentioned slavery as a labor issuehe has repeatedly compared abortion to enslavementthe question is whether this idea of enslavement as immigration affects his assumptions and decisions, or those of the government workers paid to do his bidding.
Because if you extend his comments to the next possible rhetorical step, then it may seem natural to wonder why theseAfrican-American immigrants have not fared as well as those virtuous and striving (meaning white) immigrants who not only pulled themselves up by their bootstraps, but probably made those very bootstraps in a textile factory.
We dont needthe nations top housing official or his team to think such thoughts, when Black Americans make up a disproportionate number of public-housing residents. Racism has already played historically harmful roles in creating the extreme segregation in the nations projects. In major cities such as New York and St. Louis, public housing was designed as separate majority-white communities and majority-Black communities, with some places evicting whites to blacken the complexes and many more restricting Black residents from buying or living in mostly white zones. But few seem to remember that public housing was once largely for white folks.
Carsons commentsand the proposed bills that seek to mandate what students learn, like the Howard Zinn one in Arkansas,are not surprising when we understand that politicians have always dabbled in rewriting history. And theres a cautionary tale in this we should heed if we dont want to validate revisionist history that makes slavery seem like an undesirable minimum wage job.
The Souths early segregationists were arguably the preeminent and most powerful shapers of historical narratives. By the end of the 19th century and the beginnings of the 20th, they were equipping state historical societies with staff and improving buildings to preserve documents from the early years. They paid special attention to documenting the halcyon days before the War Between the States, when Black servants (read: enslaved people) were kept in line by benevolent white benefactors. These historians-in-training paid homage to a plantation society that, in reality, primarily benefited white elites but gifted all whites with a sense of racial superiority. Before the Civil War had even ended, South Carolinas statearchivewas pouringresources intocompiling lists of Confederate soldiers.They built towering monuments to Robert E. Lee and the boys in Greyto memorialize their narrow, selective version of history not just in paper, but stone, brick, and memory.They were literally making history.
I dont need to tell you that there was little mention of those Black people who brought the war to fruition by their existence and their acts of sabotage, fugitivity, and easily recognizable resistance. This was alternative facts at its best. But even in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War, historians such as Elsa Barkley Brown have shown how Black communities in places such as Richmond, Virginia, populated public space with their own buildings, parades, and media that celebrated Black achievement. Historians of the Black American experience are still refuting alternative facts that say, for example, that the Civil War wasnt about slavery but about states rights (not that it has to be about one or the other).
Our museums, our schools, and their textbooks are fronts in a war over what history we tell and what we believejust as are the halls of Congress, the streets on whichwe march, or the clinics in whichwe receive health care. And this is not news to those of us who are actually trained historians.History is not just a set of dates and facts that schoolchildren cram to remember and recite; its a set of accepted ideas curated and promoted by a small group of people, and history museums and textbooks are symbols and sites for re-creating and playing out social relationships, even and especially the unequal ones.
People dont leave their identities at the door when they enter a museum or read a book. Or when they make laws.
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America the Ahistorical: Ben Carson and the Dangers of Willful Ignorance - Rewire
BENGALURU: Trained constables serving as cooks, manual workers and gardeners at the homes of senior police officers in state police will now be a thing of the past. After dilly-dallying for years, the Karnataka government has finally decided to do away with the system introduced by the British in the late 19th century through a formal notification on March 9.
"We have formally issued a government order to end the orderly system and replace it with followers," said P K Garg, principal secretary, home department.
According to the notification, the government has authorized different arms of the home department to directly appoint 50% of followers for their eligible officials, and extend home orderly allowance to officials to engage followers of their choice on a part-time basis. The home orderly allowances will enable the officers to engage a person of their choice to assist them in disposal of official work at their residence on a part-time basis.
To claim home orderly allowance, the notification says, the officer should certify that he has utilized the allowance for the specified purpose. Officers should also certify that they haven't utilized the service of any police constable, government orderly, and peon at their residence as home orderly.
According to estimates, over 3,000 constables and head constables in the state, including 1,229 in Bengaluru, work as orderlies for senior police officers.
Efforts to abolish 'koi hai', a legacy of British Raj, had faced stiff resistance, especially from senior IPS officers. However, abolition of this system was one of the long-pending demands of the constabulary. Though the idea was first mooted by former DG&IGP Ajai Kumar Singh, it gained steam after constables threatened to go on mass leave last year, pressing for their various demands, including abolition of the orderly system.
Senior police officers said the move will also help the state police save around Rs 50 crore that it spends on salaries of orderly constables and head constables. According to them, the government incurs an expenditure of nearly Rs 70-80 crore a year for providing orderlies to police officers. An orderly's average salary, including all benefits, ranges between Rs 3 lakh and Rs 3.5 lakh a year.
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With govt notification, orderly system finally out - Times of India
A massive hike in probate fees detailed in the Budget has prompted a fresh wave of criticism of the Government by Tory MPs.
A 215 cap on the costs of executing wills is being raised to 20,000 under an overhaul that will raise 300 million for Treasury coffers.
But the reforms were branded a "death tax" by worried Conservative backbenchers.
Conservative MP Oliver Colvile told the Daily Mail: "I have real concerns about this. We absolutely do not need a death tax - which is what this sounds like."
Jacob Rees-Mogg said: "I also have concerns about the probate tax. I see that it is likely to be judged by the national statistics people as a tax rather than as a charge, and I do not think it right that the Government should introduce stealth taxes.
"Probate charges should relate to the cost of the probate work, which is broadly irrelevant to the size of the estate. There might be some more work for bigger estates, but the difference will not necessarily be as large as has been proposed."
A sliding scale of fees is being introduced starting at 300 for estates worth between 50,000-300,000 and ending at 20,000 for those above 2 million.
When the proposals went out to consultation, 810 of the 831 responses were opposed to reforms.
Budget documents said the Government expects the new fee structure to raise around 300 million a year.
It comes after Downing Street insisted Theresa May remained "fully committed" to reforming National Insurance contributions (NICs)for the self-employed despite a Tory backlash.
In a Brussels press conference on Thursday, the Prime Minister promised to listen to concerns raised by Conservative MPs and said there would be no vote until the autumn on the 2 billion hike in contributions for the self-employed announced in the Budget.
Labour claimed the promise amounted to a "partial U-turn" on proposals tabled by Chancellor Philip Hammond on Wednesday.
But Mrs May insisted that Mr Hammond's planned 2% hike in Class 4 NICs for the self-employed was "fair", when considered in the light of the abolition of the separate Class 2 payments as well as improvements to the benefits received by self-employed people.
A review of modern employment practices by RSA chief executive Matthew Taylor, due to report over the summer, will be followed by a Government paper which is expected to include proposals to extend benefits such as parental leave to the self-employed.
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Tory backbenchers warn over 'death tax' probate fees hike announced in Budget - AOL UK
Junior Minister of Education, Culture Youth and Sport calls Phagwah Festival of Lights
Junior Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, Nicolette Henry on Friday saidDiwali-the Festival of Lights- instead of Phagwah, would be celebrated next Sunday
On Sunday, March 12, here in Guyana and around the world, Hindus will be celebrating Diwali- the Festival of Lights- and today, my Department of Culture, Youth and Sport is holding this its annual Phagwah celebrations in honour of this festival, she said.
Phagwah, the Hindu festival of colours or festival of love, will be celebrated on Sunday.
She described the festival as one of the most joyous festivals that helps to foster national harmony among the diverse Guyanese society and again called it Diwali. It is important that in this Diwali Celebration (several persons were heard correcting her) Phagwah, sorry, celebrations we all hold high to the vision for justice and betterment for all especially to the poor who will always be among us, she said.
This is not the first time that Henry has come under the spotlight, the first having to do with the use of plastic plates at a 50th Independence Anniversary State Dinner last year and the bungling of seating accommodation for the opposition at that years Flag Raising ceremony at Durban Park.
The Government Information Agency (GINA), in a release on the event, quoted Henry as saying during brief remarks at the event which was held at the Ministrys Main Street office, that Guyana is one of few countries blessed with many cultures.
May it bring joy, peace, health and wealth to you; may the festivities brighten your lives and those near and dear to you, Minister Henry said while extending Phagwah greetings to all Guyanese. She expressed hope that Guyanese can appreciate and enjoy each others culture, in keeping with the countrys motto, One People, One Nation, and One Destiny.
Persons were treated to cultural presentations in the form dance, songs, tassa drumming and a fashion display by members of the Cove and John Ashram.
Meanwhile, President David Granger and Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo also extended Phagwah greetings to Guyanese.
Prime Minister Nagamootoo stated that, This years celebration coincides with the observance of the 100thAnniversary of the Abolition of Indian Indentureship. The ending of that system of exploitation of cheap labour, is indeed a triumph of good over evil. We are forever indebted to our Indian ancestors for preserving, against great odds, their religion, their rituals and their festivities, such as Phagwah, and Diwali, Mother Kali Puja and Yesu Kathas, Eid-ul-Adha, Youman Nabi, as well as other Christian ceremonies.
The Prime Minister added that, Though we face our challenges, we must all work together to overcome them, and to realise our common hope for the good life for all.
President David Granger speaking at a recent mela and cultural event hosted by the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh to mark the 100thyear since the abolition of Indian indentureship in Guyana, declared that there will be three national days of observance.
GINA said on March 12, President Granger is expected to officially announce that day as a national day of observance. The following day (March 13), Guyana will observe 104 years since the Rose Hall Estate Massacre where 15 persons were killed. That event is usually observed on different days in March each year.
The Head of State said that on May 3, the Government will officially declare that day as Portuguese Day since that is the day that ethnic group arrived in what was then British Guiana.
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Junior Culture Minister calls Phagwah Festival of Lights - Demerara Waves
11 March 2017 Asia China: Volkswagen contract workers demand equal pay
More than 500 agency workers from the FAW-Volkswagen factory in the northeast city of Changchun demonstrated outside the local labour arbitration committee office on February 23 chanting equal pay for equal work. Protesters claimed that agency workers are paid significantly less than full employees despite years of service at the factory. Some workers complained that they receive just half the salary of permanent employees. The factory employs over 1,500 agency workers.
Workers decided to protest at the labour office after it failed to respond to their application for labour arbitration on February 13. In December workers met with the labour agency and the Changchun municipal trade union in a failed attempt to settle the dispute. In January workers rallied at the provincial Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security office, where they were only given hollow promises they would follow their case.
Volkswagen Changchun is a joint venture involving both Audi and Volkswagen, with state-owned firm FAW group having a majority stake. The plant produces Audi and Volkswagen-branded models.
Twenty sacked disabled women workers from the Shimano (Cambodia) garment factory in Kampong Speu province demonstrated at the Cambodian Disabled Peoples Organization (CDPO) headquarters in Phnom Penh on Monday. The women, 14 of whom use wheelchairs, said they were among nearly 90 disabled workers at the factory until they were dismissed without notice or reason on February 23.
The workers said they had been employed at the plant for between four and ten years and received severance pay between $US1,278 and $2,730. CDPO is representing their case to the government claiming discrimination and that they were illegally dismissed.
Following months of protests, 500 workers from the bankrupt Kbal Koah Garment Company in Phnom Penhs Chbar Ampov district received part of their December salaries after the factorys property was sold for $130,000. The workers were owed up to $180 each but only received $100.
Kbal Koah Garment is owned by the shuttered Top World Garment Cambodia factory. Phnom Penh Municipal Court has issued a warrant for the temporary seizure of Top Worlds equipment in order to force the owner to pay 200 workers outstanding salaries. Both factories were suddenly closed and the owner disappeared in January without paying December salaries.
Sixty striking workers at the Kan Kaung Chin Yadanar wood products factory in the Mandalay region are maintaining a sit-in protest that began on March 1 to demand reinstatement of piece-job rates and benefits. Workers claim that factory management cut the rates and benefits after the introduction of the 3,600 kyat ($US6.25) daily minimum wage law in 2015. The factory has over 2,000 employees.
Other demands include working hours limited to 44 per week, entitlement to welfare and employment benefits as per existing labour laws, access to a company doctor, rest areas for workers at the factory, and the right to protest without fear of being fired.
A representative from Singaing township said they had successfully negotiated eight out of the workers ten demands, but the employer refused to negotiate on lunch breaks and restoration of the previous pay rate.
Around 390 workers at copper smelter PT Smelting in Gresik, Java are maintaining strike action begun on January 19, despite threats from the company that they will be replaced and the smelter reopened by mid-March. PT Smelting is jointly owned by Mitsubishi Materials Corporation and Freeport Indonesia.
Members of the Indonesian Metal Workers Union are striking over wage disparity. A union spokesman said that workers were angry that the company only provided a 5 percent raise to their salary, while managerial employees received a 170 percent increase.
Sacked workers from the fast food chain Champ Resto have been holding weekly demonstrations outside its restaurants in cities across Java since August demanding reinstatement. Over 80 workers were sacked in 2015 when they held demonstrations outside Champ Resto restaurants at different locations over non-payment into the mandatory government health insurance program for employees and their families.
Workers only became aware that the company had failed to register them in the health scheme in November 2015 when a Champ Resto workers new-born baby died after the child was refused essential hospital care. Workers said the company has refused to comply with recommendations made last September to reinstate them by three provincial labour departments.
Locally hired workers on the Bheri-Babai Multipurpose Diversion (dam) Project downed tools on March 1, after a Nepali worker was assaulted by his foreman, a Chinese national, for not washing the companys vehicle. All construction work stopped due to the strike. Workers demanded action against the foreman and called for an increase in wages and allowances.
A senior project engineer from the China Overseas Engineering Group Limited said the foreman was fired after the incident and requested that workers enter negotiations on their other demands.
Postgraduate trainee doctors at the Dow International Medical College of the Dow University Hospital in Karachi stopped work on March 2 demanding three months of unpaid wages and that university authorities stop assigning them duties outside their contract.
When the doctors turned up at the vice chancellors office for a scheduled meeting he called in paramilitary rangers who turned them away and threatened to throw them off the hospital premises. As a result, the Young Doctors Association warned that the boycott of duties would continue, except in emergency departments, until the issues were resolved.
Doctors and trainee doctors from the Liaquat University Hospital appointed to Hyderabad and Jamshoro hospital branches have expanded their daily rolling stoppages begun on February 27, from two to three hours, taking effect on Tuesday. The limited stoppages have impacted on the functioning of the outpatient departments. A sit-in protest was held outside the Hyderabad hospital in Liberty Chowk affecting traffic flow in the city.
The doctors want a pay increase for more than 250 postgraduates and the implementation of higher paid positions in the hospital as announced by the government last year, increasing such positions from 276 to 500. Another key demand is for authorities to immediately pay 14 months outstanding salaries to more than 200 trainee doctors.
Contract workers from the National Health Mission (NHM) have been on a state-wide strike since March 1 demanding jobs as full-time government employees and equal pay for equal work. The 13,000 workers involved in the strike include doctors, paramedical staff, technicians, lab assistants and nurses who were recruited into the NHM scheme in 2007. Hospital medical services were severely affected.
A march by several hundred strikers in Srinagar on Monday was violently dispersed by police using water-canon, teargas and batons. Dozens of workers were taken into custody. The workers are organised by the All J&K National Health Mission Employees Association and the Health and Family Welfare Employees Confederation.
Teachers at block grant colleges in Odisha have threatened to hold a state wide strike on March 15 and demonstrate at the state assembly on March 18 as part of a long running dispute for salary increases as per the Seventh Pay Commission and for job permanency. This will give them pay parity and the same entitlements as full-time government employees.
According to the School Teachers Federation of Odisha (STFO), over 40,000 contracted teachers at 4,000 block grant colleges have been demanding the abolition of the block grant system for over two years. The teachers ended a 40-day strike over the issues in September 2015 after the government at a high level said it would address their demands.
A 50-day strike in February/March last year over the same issues was shut down by the STFO after the high court ordered the Odisha government to submit an affidavit on what it had done to resolve the issues. The STFO leaders told teachers to wait until after the hearing to decide on further action. The government made several commitments to increase teachers salaries and entitlements that were never fully implemented.
Rural healthcare workers and assistants (anganwadi workers) demonstrated outside the Women and Child Welfare Department deputy directors office in Kalaburagi on Monday. They were demanding the government reinstate 12 anganwadi workers and assistants who were abruptly dismissed from service two years ago. The workers said the government has refused to release the findings of an official investigation into the dismissals, which was finalised three months ago. The protest was called by the Karnataka State Anganwadi Workers Association.
Teachers from most universities across Sri Lanka walked out for the day on Wednesday to demand the withdrawal of a salary circular issued by the University Grants Commission, which they claimed erroneously provided for deductions from their salaries.
A Federation of University Teachers Associations (FUTA) spokesman said the government circular affected university teachers badly because their allowances are higher than their basic salaries. He added that an indefinite strike would be called if the government continued to ignore their demand.
Following over two years of failed negotiations for a new work agreement, 200 bus drivers of private operator Transit Systems walked off the job on Tuesday between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Commuters on 50 routes in Parramatta, Liverpool, Merrylands and Blacktown were affected. Their action followed a two-hour stoppage on February 27. The drivers have not had a pay increase for two and a half years.
The dispute began in August 2015, when drivers rejected the companys first enterprise agreement offer, which included a 3 percent pay increase but was not back dated. At that time Transport Workers Union (TWU) members blockaded buses entering or leaving the western Sydney, Smithfield depot of Transit Systems. Drivers said they want wages on par with other bus drivers in the industry.
TWU members rejected the companys last pay offer in February, claiming it meant they would remain the lowest paid drivers in NSW. The TWU claim that Transit Systems is withholding over $1,136 million of government funding earmarked for increasing drivers wages.
Garbage collection workers on New South Wales Central Coast, north of Sydney, are threatened with a $300 a week pay cut after their employer Remondis received permission from the Fair Work Commission (FWC) to cancel the current enterprise agreement if a negotiated agreement cannot be reached by 2018. The workers would then come under the inferior industry award.
The Transport Workers Union (TWU) members walked out for 24 hours on Wednesday stopping garbage collection in several suburbs of the Central Coast Council jurisdiction. Their action followed limited stoppages this year and a five-day strike last June over failed negotiations for a new enterprise agreement. Remondis proposed that workers accept a 25 percent pay cut to secure its contract with the Central Coast Council.
The workers want a clause inserted into the councils tender for waste services that protect local jobs, existing workers and their conditions. They also want clauses protecting current conditions if the council renews its contract in 2018 and for temporary outsourced employees to be paid the same as other depot workers. The garbage collection workers fear that future contracts will force them onto general award conditions that pay nearly 30 percent below their current rate.
The TWU has dragged out the dispute for over eight months claiming that limited strike action would force Remondis and the Central Coast Council to maintain their current wages and conditions.
Over 100 construction workers on the Lendlease project on the Port Macquarie to Kundabung Pacific Highway upgrade walked off the job on Thursday in a dispute over a new work agreement with Telum labour hire. The Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) claim that Telum wants workers to accept an effective wage cut but workers want 4.5 percent annual wage increases over the life of the agreement.
A CFMEU representative said that despite the union making some concessions the company has refused to enter talks following the January 13 vote to take strike action.
More than 1,000 childcare centre workers walked off the job nationally on Wednesday afternoon and rallied in capital cities to demand higher wages in the childhood education sector. The United Voice union said the walkout was a protest over gross underpayment of what is a predominantly female workforce. The union appealed to the Turnbull Liberal government for additional funding for pay increases.
The action had been planned to coincide with International Womens Day to draw commentary over the large pay gap between male- and female-dominated professions. An educator on the base rate for certificate III only receives $20 an hour, slightly above the minimum wage, while workers who have diploma-level training receive between $23 and $25 an hour.
While the union attempts to blame the low wages in the sector on the fact that over 80 percent of educators are female, this perception ignores the broader trend across all industries towards falling or stagnant wages, as part of a general assault over several decades on workers pay and conditions. The Fair Work Commission (FWC) ruled last month that penalty rates for work on Sunday and public holidays will be reduced for full-time and part-time workers in the hospitality, retail and fast-food industries, reducing the annual wage in the sectors by up to $6,000.
In a ballot held on March 3, locked out workers at the Parmalat dairy processing plant at Echuca in northern Victoria voted 67 to 1 to reject the companys latest proposed enterprise agreement (EA). Parmalat decided to hold the ballot after it was unable to make a deal with union representatives during conciliation talks in the FWC.
Over 60 maintenance and production workers at the plant have been locked out since January 18. The workers, who are members of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) and Electrical Trades Union (ETU), are maintaining a 24-hour picket outside the plant.
Parmalat has tried to pressure the workers into accepting its proposed EA by applying to the FWC to have the existing agreement terminated and then forcing them onto the inferior industry award.
Negotiations for a new work agreement began in August. Parmalat offered a 9 percent pay rise over three years for permanent workers in exchange for major cuts in the hourly pay of all new employees. The unions claim the company wants to reduce new employees wages by $8 an hour or 20 to 30 percent less than the existing hourly rate. Production workers are paid around $30 an hour.
Around 500 workers from Telikom PNG in Port Moresby have been on strike since March 2 to oppose the governments telecommunication restructure plan. The ONeill government passed legislation in December that allowed for the merging of Telikom PNG, bmobile and DataCo into a new entity Kumul Telikom Holdings Limited.
Some 150 members of the PNG Communication Workers Union, and non-union workers, are concerned over job security. Telikom has over 500 employees who would lose their jobs under the merger legislation. They would be offered employment in the new communications entity on a six-month probation period.
The union said workers would remain on strike until the governments National Executive Council (NEC) decision 360/2017 was rescinded in its entirety and that Telikom PNG, bmobile and DataCo not be merged.
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Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific - World Socialist Web Site
A match at the Israeli catchball tournament in Kfar Saba, Feb. 21, 2017.
TEL AVIV (JTA)-Every week, thousands of women across Israel gather to play a sport almost no one outside the country has heard of.
For that matter, few Israelis knew about catchball, or "cadur-reshet" in Hebrew, a decade ago. But in recent years it has become the most popular sport amongadult women in the country,with nearly all the players over 30 years old.
"It's like a disease among middle-aged women here," said Naor Galili, the director-general of the Maccabi sports association in Israel. "We like it. We love it. We fully support it."
Now the Israel Catchball Association is trying to spread the feminist fever to women around the world. A major step will be catchball's appearance for the first time at the Maccabiah Games in Israel this summer. The hope is that the thousands of Jews who attend the multi-sport gamesfrom around the worldwill be inspired to ask: What is catchball?
Catchball is likevolleyball, but easier because catching and throwing replacesbumping, setting and spiking. Israelis adapted the sport from Newcomb ball, which was named for theLouisiana women's college where it was invented over a century ago. Today, Americans rarely play Newcomb ball outside of gym class.
Meanwhile, catchball leagues in Israel boastmore than 12,000 female members. That is twice as many adult women as belong to basketball, soccer, volleyball and tennis leagues combined, according to data from Israel's Culture and Sport Ministry.
Hila Yeshayahu, 41, plays for the Herzliya-based squad Good Heart and handles marketing and business development for the Catchball Association, to which the team belongs. She said women start playing catchball because it is fun and easy-and stick with it for the sense of community and personal empowerment.
"Catchball is a present women give themselves. It's a chance to do something healthy with other women and come back home with more strength and more passion," she said. "When I step out the door in my uniform, my kids aren't on my shoulder; my husband isn't on my shoulder. I'm 18 years old again. I'm Hila, and I can do anything."
Yeshayahu's twin sister also competes for a team in the association, and their 11-year-old daughters play together in a new girls' league.
On a Tuesday evening, Yeshayahu and her team faced off against A.S. Moment at a high school gym in Ramat Hasharon, not far from Herzliya in central Israel. The crowd consisted of a few husbands and sons on the sideline. But the atmosphere was competitive, with a referee, scorekeepers and players wearing numbered uniforms. When A.S. Moment won two sets to none, Good Heart players slumped onto the court, and several tearfully threw their knee pads toward the bench. (The first two sets are scored up to 25 points, while a third set in the best-of-3 match would go to 15. The victor must win a set by at least two points.)
Good Heart coach Liron Shachnai, 34, a marketing and sales manager by day, said most of her playershave little experience losing. Competitive sports in Israel are male-dominated, she said, so women do not have the opportunity to learn sportsmanship growing up.
"You have women who are over 40 going home crying, saying [the opposing players] think they're better than us," she said.
Still, by the next practice Thursday evening, the players werelooking toward the future. It helped that this weekend, they will competein the Catchball Games in the southern resort town of Eilat. The tournament is catchball's biggest event and a highlight of the year for many players.
"You should see all the photos they're posting on Facebook. They can barely wait," Yeshayahu said.
In its sixth year, the Catchball Games are expected to draw more than 1,500 women from all of Israel's leagues, and even a few teams from abroad. Leavingtheir husbands and children at home, women willdon pink Israel Catchball Association T-shirts for four days of competition and socializing. Local schools will host hundredsof matches, and the top two teams will face off for the championship. Off-court festivities will include a parade, Eilat's first night road race and a standup comedy show.
Alexandra Kalev, a sociology professor at Tel Aviv University, says the success of catchball in Israel can be seen as a challenge to the roles women have traditionally played in the country's sport and culture. Women's sports in Israel are underfunded and little covered in the media, and women are expected to work and handle most household responsibilities.
"Catchball can empower women, especially at a stage in life when they are weakened," Kalev said. "They are discriminated against in the labor market, overwhelmed by home chores and child rearing and experiencing the changes that age brings on all of us. These leagues really come at the right time of their lives and allow them to be empowered. The message is: We are strong."
The rise of catchball in Israel began in 2005, when OfraAmbramovich started Mamanet, a league for mothers in the central city of Kfar Saba, where she lives. She learned the sport fromHaim Borovski, an Israeli gym teacher from Argentina. Thanks to Ambramovich's entrepreneurship, dozens of municipalities have since started their own Mamanet leagues.In her mind, catchball is primarily a mom-powered social movement.
"Catchball gives motherssomething for themselves, a reason to be healthy and part of the community," Ambramovich said. "And the mother is the agent of the family, so she's the perfect role model. When the motherdoes well, everyone benefits."
In 2009, the Israel Catchball Association branched off from Mamanet in an effort to make the sport more competitive. The associationwelcomed non-mothers and allowed women to form their own teams rather than requiring them toparticipate through their children's schools-though they maintained Mamanet's age minimum of 30. Today,the association offers leagues at four skill levels.
The Israel Catchball Association claims 5,000 players, and Mamanetclaims 12,500. Both groups claim superiority and dispute each other's numbers, but everyone agrees the totalnumber of women playing is more than 12,000.
It is also clear the sport is growing rapidly, and even reaching into Israel's most traditional communities. Many Orthodox Jewish women play catchball in headscarves and skirts. And there is a mostly Druze team in Daliyan al-Carmel in northern Israel. When Anaia Halabi, a 35-year-old school counselor, started the team seven years ago,it was a radical idea.
"For women to leave their husbands and their children toplay was a big change for the village," she said. "It is not considered suitable for women to be outside the home at night. Not all the husbands approve."
But over time, Halabi said, the husbands have grown more accepting, and the local municipality began paying for a van to transport the team to games outside the village. At the same time, theteam has arranged not to play late night games, anda three-club local league has been formed to allow women to compete without leaving the village.
With the sport firmly established in Israel, the Israel Catchball Association has started looking overseas. Part of the motivation is that to qualify as an official sport and receive funding from the Israeli government, catchball must be played competitively in at least 52 countries. So far, the only leagues the association knows of outside Israel are in Mexico and the United States. But they are encouraging the sportin more than half a dozen other countries, mostly through Israeli expats.
Gal Reshef, a 35-year-old Israeli lawyer, founded acatchball group in Boston in 2015 and last year expanded it into the U.S.A. Catchball Association in partnership with theIsrael Catchball Association. She said the vast majority of thenearly 100 womenin the BostonetCatchball Association, as well as in the handful of other teams across the country, are Israelis. But Reshef is confident catchball will, um, catch on with American women, too.
"I think in the States, the situation is the same as in Israel. If you're a middle-aged woman who didn't have the chance to play sports growing up, there are very few options," she said. "The great thing is anyone can play catchball, and it creates an amazing uplifting community."
At least one Bostonet team is slated to participate in the catchball exhibition tournament at the Maccabiah Games in July. Thirty-six Israeli teams will be there, along with a couplefrom London and Berlin. Reshef predicted that by the time the next games roll around in four years, teams from around the world will be playing catchball in the real tournament-and after that, maybe the Olympics.
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Women's sport you've never heard of is taking Israel by storm - Heritage Florida Jewish News
The rapidly evolving in-car infotainment and navigation systems can be bewildering for all but the most tech-savvy car buyers. Here are six tips for taking a tech test drive.
DETROIT Car shopping isnt just about kicking the tires anymore. Its also about testing the technology.
The rapidly evolving in-car infotainment and navigation systems can be bewildering for all but the most tech-savvy car buyers. The average vehicle on U.S. roads is 11 years old; that means many people last went car shopping before iPhones were invented.
Car buyers should make sure they can pair their phone with a car, play music from their phone, make a hands-free call and use the navigation system before they leave the dealer lot, experts say. They should make sure volume knobs, climate controls and other technology is intuitive and displayed the way they like. Some drivers want volume controls on the steering wheel, for example, while others prefer a knob on the dashboard.
Safety technology is also changing rapidly, and buyers should familiarize themselves with what the car can and cant do. Some vehicles will brake automatically to avoid a collision, while others flash a warning and help the driver pump the brakes but wont bring the car to a full stop.
Spend some time in the parking lot sitting in the car and just messing with it, says Ron Montoya, senior consumer-advice editor for the car-shopping site Edmunds.com.
The issue is a serious one for the auto industry. Consumers complaints about phone connectivity, navigation and infotainment systems have lowered vehicle-dependability scores in annual rankings from J.D. Power and Consumer Reports. Poor showings in such rankings can put a dent in sales.
Car-shopping site Autotrader.com has found that as many as one-third of buyers will choose a different brand if they think a vehicles tech features are too hard to use.
To combat that, some brands are setting up technology help desks at dealerships and boosting employee training. In 2013, General Motors formed a staff of 50 tech specialists to help deal with an increase in questions from customers about new technology. Those specialists train U.S. dealers to pair customers phones, set up in-car Wi-Fi and set preferences like radio stations.
When he takes customers for test drives, Paul Makowski pairs his own phone with the car and has customers make a call, stream music and do other tasks. He uses his own phone so customers dont worry that their data will be shared with the dealership.
Some people fear the technology and decline it all, but we still go over it. They dont leave here not knowing what their car has to offer, says Makowski, the sales manager for Ed Rinke Chevrolet Buick GMC in Center Line, Michigan.
Here are some tips for taking a tech test drive:
1. Take your time: Test-driving the technology should take at least 45 minutes, says Brian Moody, the executive editor at AutoTrader.com. Find out whether your phone is compatible with the car and learn how to pair it. Call a friend and ask if the sound is clear. Make sure the car understands your voice commands. Enter a street address into the navigation system or, if the car has the capability, download an address to the car from your phone. Moody says its better to learn all these tasks at the dealership than on the road.
2. Update your phone: Make sure your phone has the latest operating system when you go shopping. New cars will be most compatible with updated phones.
3. Decide what you like: Six percent of new cars sold last year had Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which display many of your phones apps on the touch screen. Thats expected to rise to 50 percent by 2020, according to IHS Markit. The familiar interface of those systems can make it easier to transition to in-car technology. But Montoya says there are some shortcomings. Apple CarPlay doesnt support the Waze traffic app or Google maps, for example, and if you want to change a radio station, you have to scroll out of Apple CarPlay and back to your cars radio. You should decide what system is best for you.
4. Shop around: Even if youve settled on a vehicle, it never hurts to test drive something else. You may find, for example, that you prefer climate controls on a touch screen instead of on dashboard knobs, or that one vehicle has easier-to-use buttons on the steering wheel for making calls or adjusting volume. It might expose you to something better, Montoya says.
5. Dont forget safety:Lane-departure warning systems, backup cameras and blind-spot detection systems work differently depending on the car. Some lane- departure systems buzz the seat if you drift out of your lane, for example, while others beep loudly. Thats something you might hear or feel a lot, so choose the technology you prefer.
6. Buy what you need: Not everyone wants to stream Spotify and chat with Siri while theyre driving. If youre in that category, choose a stripped-down model so youre not paying for features you dont need, Montoya says. For example, a Toyota Camry starts at $23,050, but the EnTune infotainment package, which includes hands-free calling and other features, costs $775 extra.
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When test-driving a new car, take the technology for a spin - The Seattle Times
Photos: Technology, entertainment merge at SXSW 2017 USA TODAY Bud Light Ambassador Jordan Lambert watches as Lahaina Rabary, kicks towards the camera while creating a custom GIF during the South by Southwest Conference and Festivals (SXSW) on March 10, 2017. Jarrad Henderson, USA TODAY. YouTuber and ... |
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Photos: Technology, entertainment merge at SXSW 2017 - USA TODAY
The rate of content creation is growing exponentially year over year and content marketers now face more competition than ever before. Media publishers, other organizations and even industry professionals are competing for your audiences time and attention, even though they may not be direct sales competition.
With all this clutter, content marketers must heavily concentrate on crafting an efficient strategy and set of tools to create the right content, distribute it effectively, promote it successfullyand drive more results for their business goals.
Learn more about the tools that I use to address three critical content marketing areas -- strategy, creation and distribution.
Managing successful content campaigns typically starts with detailed research to better understand your audience personas, their optimal purchasing journeyand how you can align content to match their needs at the right time.
The following tools can help you research, planand createstrategic content solutionsfor your targeted audience segments, or buyer personas.
Buyer persona creation tools
A buyer persona helps you understand what your ideal prospective customers think and do as they make buying considerations. Its more than just a description, too. According to theBuyer Persona Institute, actionable buyer personas reveal insights about your buyers decisions -- the specific attitudes, concernsand criteria that drive prospective customers to choose you, your competitoror the status quo.
Hubspot created a nifty online tool that walks users through the process of building buying personas calledMakeMyPersona.com.MakeMyPersona.com is astep-by-step wizard that guides you through the process of creating your own personalized buyer persona.MakeMyPersona runs through 19 high-level questions to help you create a basic buyer persona and get you thinking about your customers in the right way. Consider this a starter option.
To dive deeper into your persona research,Akoonuhelps marketers create more distinct personas and map their buyer journeys to the right types of content.Akoonu helps you identify the information you need to build personas, including the typical buying process for each persona, the types of content preferred by each, content tone per decision maker or influencer, how influencers and decision maker personas may interact in the buying processand more.Depending on what tier plan you select, you can even plan content within Akoonu and import data from your marketing automation and CRM solutions to develop a data-driven, persona-based content plan.
Ideation and content planning
Once you understand more about the people you are targeting with your content, the next step is to plan the type of content youll need to create to attract their interest.
One common way that marketers discover popular content is by using Google Alerts, Google Trendsor some combination of social listening tools.To use these tools, create a list of five to 15 content terms or keywords that you are interested in tracking.Search each term on within your preferred platform --Google Alerts,ClearVoice Content Studio, etc. Next, identify the content that is performing well for each term and assess it thoroughly. This should begin to spark your creativity.
Remember -- the idea isnt to copy the best content that you find, but rather tocreate content that is better, more insightful, with more detail, stronger experience, etc.
Content creation and management
When its time to start the content creation process, you can either create internally or manage a team of content creators.There are several content management platforms that can help you better align your content efforts; however, most are enterprise solutions and not feasible for small to mid-size organizations or marketing departments.
Since managing your content can quickly become complex, its best to identify one or two tools or processes that work best for you.For example, I use a combination of Google Docs, for general team collaboration and editing, and ClearVoice to recruit freelance copywriters, manage my editorial calendarand publish to WordPress or Hubspot depending on my clients preferences. This helps me stay concentrated on only a handful of systems without getting bogged down in other technology.
To break through the content noise, you need to identify the best processes that help you distribute your content to your audience in a polished, timelyand relevant fashion. Start by researching the following solutions.
Email marketing
Email doesnt immediately come to mind for some marketers when considering their content distribution options; however, its still one of the most used channels of communications.
For small-to-medium-sized businesses, I recommendMailChimp. Its an easy-to-use, inexpensive tool. MailChimps clean interface and competitive features, even on the free plan, make it the smart choice for small businesses or organizations building their first mailing lists.MailChimp offers three affordable plans for new and growing businesses.
For larger and enterprise companies,Marketois one of the platforms of choice.Marketos features allow you to get granular and targeted with your email marketing, which sophisticated marketers will appreciate. Marketo Smart List feature lets you build dynamic lists based on a variety of targeting criteria.
Social distribution
While social is finally becoming a need-to-have, best practices are often misunderstood. Social is not a bulletin board to post your content.Rather, its a collective of like-minded individuals to engage with. Id argue that social distribution is much more effective with a one-to-one, personalizedand manual distribution process, but it can get tedious in the distribution stage. Try these social media management tools to find a process that works best for you.
Sprout Socialis a robust social media management solution for both solo marketers and teams. Schedule content, cross-post, manage approval workflows and engage with your audience better with this social media management solution. Sprout Social lets marketers manage teams, schedule messagesand cross-post content
Post Plannerisanother social media posting solution that starts at just $9 per month. This solution helps marketers develop a posting schedule and make the process of maintaining a posting schedule much easier.
Content syndication
Withcontent syndication, you dont always have to invest in additional technology. Take advantage of the options that are already available to you when possible. One very powerful means of syndicating your content is through LinkedIn Pulse or Medium.To get started with a LinkedIn Pulse article, click the Write an article tab that you see after logging into LinkedIn.Syndicating your content on LinkedIn or Medium can give you the opportunity to reach more of your audience, particularly for those who havent yet found your website or products.Remember, if you syndicate content on another site, be sure to provide a link to your original post to avoid a Google duplicate content penalty.
Employee advocacy
The2016 Edelmans Trust Barometershows that people rank peers and employees as more credible than leaders. With this in mind, it makes sense to encourage your employees to actively share your content.
Bambuhelps you put your most important messages and content in front of your employees for them to read and share. This platform centralizes messages to make it easy and efficient for your advocates.Furthermore, they can share curated content to Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn without leaving Bambu.
What technology solutions do you use to manage your content marketing? How have you addressed the three stages of content marketing: creation, distributionand promotion? Do you have an example of an exceptional solution that has worked for your team?
Jacob Warwick is the founder of ThinkWarwick Communications, a strategic marketing company in Northern California. He specializes in content strategy and public relations for B2B software and tech organizations.
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The Best Technology Tools for Content Marketing - Entrepreneur - Entrepreneur
Many kids are out of school and families across North Texas are headed out of town for Spring Break.
Travel and technology have been combining more these days and it's helping to make life a little simpler.
Some of this stuff you may already know but not realize how much it's growing and expanding.
Companies are making it easier to access your money, which means you and your kids could wind up spending more than planned.
You'll find the technology everywhere. Disney World uses "magic bands." It's a little bracelet you attach to your wrist and it "magically" lets you buy things.
It's your ticket to the park, and your room key all rolled into one. It uses Radio-Frequency Identification Technology or RFID. It's a chip embedded in the bracelet that has everything you need while on your trip. Resorts, hotels, and cruise lines and now even airlines are using the technology.
Delta Air Lines talked to NBC 5 Responds as they launched the service last year and provided some video as to how it works. A tiny chip is now inside your luggage tag, kind of like Apple's "Find my iPhone." It allows the airline to see your bag at all times.
"We're able to see how quickly the customer's luggage is moving through the various part of the routing to get on the airplane," said Sandy Gordon of Delta Air Lines.
It gets better. The chip not only shows where your bag is, but will shut down the conveyor belt if your bag is about to head to Boise instead of your destination in the Bahamas.
It's all designed to simplify your trip and eliminate the bumps. So no more digging for keys or even carrying your wallet.
But here's what you should remember:
That's real money on your bracelet. It becomes so easy to swipe you kind of forget you're spending cash, kids especially. Many hotels will let you limit how much they can spend or any at all.
Check your accounts regularly while you're gone. Most companies swear there's no personal information stored on the RFID chips, but hackers are always hard at work and you never know what they can figure out. So log online and make sure your money's still there.
And lastly, know what you're giving up. RFID not only tracks bags, it can track you. Letting the resort know where you are and what time you got there. Some companies can take note of what activities you used or how much you spent, so if you don't like the idea of big brother watching, it may not be for you.
Published at 5:18 PM CST on Mar 10, 2017 | Updated at 5:24 PM CST on Mar 10, 2017
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Vacationers May Spend More on Break Due to RFID Technology - NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth
How should colleges teach in the digital age?
Connect to the thinkers and stories shaping the future of higher ed
The grand structures in the Lincoln Center for Performing Arts reflect decades of artistic tradition. And at the heart of the Upper West Side facility lies Juilliard, one of the worlds most distinguished performing art schools. Established in 1905, the Juilliard School has been a beacon of the arts in New York City for decades. However, as technology has become more of a prevalent force, even the most ardent of traditionalists have been compelled to shift.
EdSurge sat down for a conversation with Dr. Joseph Polisi, the president of Juilliard, who after more than three decades at the institution says he is now ready to pass down the mantel. Under his tenure, Juilliard his transformed both demographically and technologically. In an hour-long discussion, Polisi shares the legacy he hopes to leave behind, the digitalization of art instruction that he oversaw, and what The Artist as a Citizen, his revised book, means in the Trump era.
The conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity and brevity.
EdSurge: After the introduction of two apps that allow users to view the music production process, Julliard announced the availability of students to participate in its first full online courses this week. What are your thoughts on the role of technology and art and why did Juilliard introduce these courses now?
Polisi: Technology has been around for centuries, whether it was the harpsichord where the string was plucked, which turned into the fortepiano where the string was hit, and then the big Steinway of today. This is all new technology. However, it is still the human at the keyboard. I say to technology, bring it on, but let's not let's not say that [technology] is the creator.
I grew up in New York City in the 50s in the 60s, and I went entirely through the public school system, and it was an amazingly robust musical environment for children. That system is gone now, there a few hot spots, but nothing like before. If Juilliard can get involved in a way through the Internet, where there's access to serious instruction, we could help out.
Artist of the 21st century have to rededicate themselves to a broader national agenda.
You wrote in your book that, Artist of the 21st century have to rededicate themselves to a broader national agenda. What did you mean by that, and how has the meaning evolved since the time you wrote it?
The book was published in 2005, as part of our centennial celebration. I certainly didn't envision what would be happening in 2017 when I was writing it. A lot of graduates of Juilliard have taken this message up and run with it. There's an organization called ASTEP (Artists Striving to End Poverty), they've started a conference, with my permission, called The Artist as Citizen. The message of the book has become the infrastructure for all the values of Juilliard.
I had a background in Political Science and International Relations before I received my graduate degrees in music and that certainly influenced me. In 2017, with the Trump administration, artists all of a sudden had a great deal of greatness thrust upon them, as Shakespeare would say. In other words, their responsibilities to present human values through their art has multiplied exponentially. The arts present values like empathy and nuancevalues that sadly we see in short supply at the moment.
The arts are not valued in America today. Every politician since the 80s, even a great president like President Obama, has not embraced the arts. Now with the Trump administration, there are discussions about getting rid of the National Endowment for the Arts.
If you could leave us with one core message from your book, what would that be?
The arts matter in society. They are not fringe or fluff. The intellectual rigor required of the arts are just as much as in any other discipline.
I was very taken aback when Vice President Mike Pence went to a performance of Hamilton, and the cast went to the apron of the stage and read a statement that was very political. I thought it was very reasoned and correct. However, the response from some people was troubling for me. They said thing like, What are these actors doing talking about politics? Their role is to entertain us. No. Exactly the opposite, artists are there to get to you, to make a difference, to trouble you for good reason, and to bring humanity and values. That's what artists are about. It's going to be a long haul with the current environment.
You encouraged students to take their music out of the Juilliard bubble. Why did you feel the need to have students play and interact in the community?
Over the years the faculty occasionally has looked with some level of suspicion at some of my ideas. When we first introduced programs where we sent students in the communities to perform in the hospitals, there was a certain level of skepticism and concern on the part of the faculty. They would say, Wait a minute, you know those two to three hours it takes to get to the performance venue and come back, and students could be practicing. My response is, They'll work it out, they're smart. And they did.
At Juilliard performances are very well organizedwe have a completely ready-to-go concert venue for these young people. But that's not the real world. When they went out and played at a psychiatric center at St. Luke's at 116th Street, they were playing on a broken piano that's out of tune. But that didnt matter. The nurses and doctors said a woman who hadnt spoken for six months whispered, beautiful. A man, Ill never forget, was incredibly knowledgeable about Bach. He started talking verbal program notes, and we were all just listening fascinated.
Excellence is a is a direction, it's not a place, and as soon as you let go a little bit, you start going backward.
After over three decades as the President of Juilliard, you will be stepping down in June of 2018. What are your feelings about leaving and what do you want your legacy to be beyond your resume?
Someone's legacy is determined by somebody else, so Ill leave it to whoever. But leaving will be emotional. I'd like to celebrate the peoplethe students and the faculty. One of the reasons I survived all these years was because I got a big kick out of seeing others flourish. I hope my successor, all the faculty, and future students will continue to get better. Excellence is a is a direction, it's not a place, and as soon as you let go a little bit, you start going backward. You know mediocrity is like carbon monoxide, can't smell it, you can't see it, but one day you're dead. You've got to keep pushing and pushing.
My next hope is to get into K-12 education. If I could put all my energies into just K-12 education in the arts, I'd be a very happy person. I believe deeply that the arts are a civilizing element to the growth of a young person.
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Bring it OnJuilliard President Joseph Polisi's Message to Technology - EdSurge
While the debate about King Countys new proposed youth jail and courthouse continues, the county announced Friday that it is continuing to make strides in reducing the number of youths who are incarcerated. It also announced modest progress in reducing racial disparities.
The number of youth incarcerated in King County fell by 16 percent last year and the percentage of youths of color who were incarcerated, while still disproportionately high, fell as well, county officials announced Friday.
The change comes as the county continues to move forward on the construction of a new youth jail and courthouse, despite prominent protests and challenges from local activists who object to youth incarceration.
There were, on the average day, 51 kids in detention in the county last year, a decrease from 61 in 2015, and the lowest number in at least two decades, the county said. In 1998, for instance, the county held 187 juveniles in detention on an average day.
About half of youth in detention were black, a decrease from about 59 percent in 2015. Although they represent progress, those numbers are still far higher than the proportion of black people in the population: Only about 13 percent of King Countys residents are black.
The juvenile-detention numbers do not include about 20 in the county who due to their age and specific crimes have been charged as adults and are being held in adult jail.
Juvenile-justice officials tout their emphasis on restorative-justice programs offering more rehabilitative programs rather than punishments and incarceration. On Friday, they focused on a new program intended for youth arrested for violence against a family member.
The program, called Family Intervention and Restorative Services, gives young people a place to go overnight, to cool down and to get counseling to help them reunite with family.
Before the programs launch in early 2016, youth often had to be charged with a crime and possibly stay in detention before they could get support services.
The program served more than 200 families in 2016, the county said, and helped cause a 62 percent drop in juvenile domestic violence case filings, compared with 2015.
Those are the type of programs, county officials say, that will be housed in the new youth jail and courthouse building.
Public outrage over that facility continues.
Earlier this year protesters shouted down King County Executive Dow Constantine over the issue and held a rally outside Seattle Mayor Ed Murrays house.
Last week, a legal challenge to the project was dismissed on procedural grounds.
The new complex, estimated to cost $210 million, was approved by King County voters in 2012, although Murray recently asked county officials to take a second look at the project. About 75 percent of that cost is for the courthouse, as opposed to the jail, county officials said.
The county has approved a contract to begin construction of the facility this year and it is expected to open in 2019.
Laura Inveen, presiding judge for King County Superior Court, said that while it would be cost-prohibitive to change the basic structure of the building, we want to know what the community wants within those walls.
The new building would have more courtrooms and only about half as many detention beds (112) as the current facility, which officials say is outdated and lacks heat and air conditioning.
Wesley St. Clair, the countys chief juvenile-court judge, said most of the juveniles who remain in detention in the county are in for gun-related crimes. The vast majority, he said, were incarcerated for murder, sex offenses or robbery.
Jimmy Hung, the juvenile-unit chair for the prosecutors office, said that while the countys goal of zero youth incarceration was something it continues to aspire to, it remains, for now, a goal.
There are kids who have done some pretty awful things and they need a humane place, a therapeutic place, for them to spend some time, he said.
Right now the detention facility was built in a time when I think we as a society were more punishment-focused, versus rehabilitative.
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King County is jailing fewer youths, making some progress on racial disparity - The Seattle Times
PORT ST. LUCIE The radar gun was turned off at First Data Field. So much for that data.
For Matt Harvey, its not about speed right now. He believes that will come. Tim Tebow was the sideshow. Matt Harvey was the main attraction Friday.
Scouts registered Harveys fastball at 91-92 in the first inning and he did reach 93 in his three innings of work, but regaining velocity is one of the challenges following thoracic outlet syndrome surgery.
Its just the way it is, and Harvey has come to grips with it for now.
Its better, definitely an improvement from the first one, Harvey said of his second spring start. He gave up a long home run to lefty swinging Reid Brignac, the Astros No. 8 hitter in the third inning of Houstons 7-6 win.
I think its just a matter of time before things click and mechanics click and the timing clicks, said Harvey, who allowed that one run and two hits, one walk and two strikeouts over his three innings.
The Dark Knight needs to be more of a pitcher than just a superhero blazing fastball like he once was thats just the way it is these days and Harvey seems to have the right approach that is needed at this early stage of his second surgery comeback.
Getting out there, getting comfortable. I threw some good sliders, I threw some good changeups, obviously the fastball was up in the zone a little bit early, but then in the outing it was starting to come back down and I was starting to figure out the timing a little better, Harvey said.
As for his stiff neck he said, it was 90 percent better than it was before.
Manager Terry Collins said he was encouraged.
I liked a lot of what I saw, Collins said. I liked the changeup today, he had some life on his fastball. Hes getting his strength back, we need to get his release point down so he gets his command.
Collins said he had no idea who turned off the radar readings on the scoreboard.
I havent the faintest idea, he stated.
Clearly the Mets dont want Harveys head to get wrapped around radar gun readings at this point. Come back at your own speed, dont worry about the gun.
Harveys fastball is going to take a while to return thats what pitchers who have had the surgery have told me.
When this guy was right even though he had the ability to throw real hard, this guy was a pitcher, Collins noted.
Harvey has got more feel this year because last year he lost the feel in his fingers.
He couldnt feel his seams on the ball, Collins said.
Harvey said: Its coming along, I dont know what the speed was, but Travis [dArnaud] back there said it was coming in good. Talking to some of the different guys and talking with [pitching coach] Dan [Warthen], I think its about feeling comfortable with your mechanics out there with the hitters and all of that will fall into place.
I think with any surgery you cant go out there and think too much. I had 18 months after Tommy John before I played in a game so that was a little bit different story, but the strength is there. I feel great in between starts not getting sore at all, doing my long toss normally.
I wish it could be there right away, but youve got to build up strength. Definitely today was a step in the right direction.
Obviously its nice to go out there and throw 97 to 100 or whatnot, but you have to figure out how to pitch and pitch at what you have that specific day, so paying attention to that and being out there, its been a while since Ive faced hitters and have been in competition like that, but for me, I think its only going to be a matter of time.
Maybe someday soon the Mets will have the velocity readings back on the scoreboard when Harvey is on the mound.
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Mets like Matt Harvey's progress, but there was no radar gun to track it - New York Post