Cracking the New Job Market

Charles Purdy of The Monster Blog talks to the veteran human resources executive and career coach R. William Holland about his new book.

Holland provides answers to the following questions:

• Do you believe that “following your passion” is good advice today in choosing a career – and has that changed in recent years?
• How has the advance of social media changed looking for a job and managing a career?
• What are some traditional or “old-fashioned” methods that no longer serve job seekers, especially older job seekers, well?
• Soon-to-be college grads and their parents are feeling hopeless about career prospects – what is your advice for them?
• What skills should all workers be cultivating to stay relevant?

You can read the answers here

Amazon.co.uk has the paperback (£13.99) and Kindle (£6.46) here

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Knowledge sharing and investment decisions in information security Knowledge sharing and investment decisions in information security

an article by Dengpan Liu (University of Alabama in Huntsville, USA), Yonghua Ji (University of Alberta, Canada) and Vijay Mookerjee (University of Texas at Dallas, USA) published in Decision Support Systems Volume 52 Issue 1 (December 2011)

Abstract

We study the relationship between decisions made by two similar firms pertaining to knowledge sharing and investment in information security. The analysis shows that the nature of information assets possessed by the two firms, either complementary or substitutable, plays a crucial role in influencing these decisions. In the complementary case, we show that the firms have a natural incentive to share security knowledge and no external influence to induce sharing is needed. However, the investment levels chosen in equilibrium are lower than optimal, an aberration that can be corrected using coordination mechanisms that reward the firms for increasing their investment levels. In the substitutable case, the firms fall into a Prisoners’ Dilemma trap where they do not share security knowledge in equilibrium, despite the fact that it is beneficial for both of them to do so. Here, the beneficial role of a social planner to encourage the firms to share is indicated. However, even when the firms share in accordance to the recommendations of a social planner, the level of investment chosen by the firms is sub-optimal. The firms either enter into an “arms race” where they over-invest or re-enact the under-investment behaviour found in the complementary case. Once again, this sub-optimal behaviour can be corrected using incentive mechanisms that penalise for over-investment and reward for increasing the investment level in regions of under-investment. The proposed coordination schemes, with some modifications, achieve the socially optimal outcome even when the firms are risk-averse. Implications for information security vendors, firms, and social planner are discussed.

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On the economics of sleeping

an article by Tinna Laufey Asgeirsdottir and Gylfi Zoega published in Mind & Society Volume 10 Number 2 (December 2011)

Abstract
Sleep is a form of rejuvenation, which can be treated as a source of energy. This energy is available in limited quantities and individuals must decide when it should be renewed and when it should be consumed. Sleeping involves investing in energy and alertness but also a sacrifice of time. We derive and solve the inter-temporal utility-maximisation problem on the length of sleep to obtain optimality conditions for the length of sleep. Several applications emerge from the analysis. These include the effects of labour-market opportunities on sleep patterns; the effect of having children; the consequences of decreased division of labor within the household; and the relationship between sleep deprivation and obesity. When data allows, those outcomes are tested using panel data from Iceland. The empirical results are consistent with the predictions of the theoretical model.

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Proposal for modernising the Professional Qualifications Directive

The Commission has adopted a legislative proposal for modernising Directive 2005/36/EC on the recognition of professional qualifications.

The proposal aims at simplifying rules for the mobility of professionals within the EU. It is essential to enabling professionals to start a new business or to find a job in another Member State requiring a specific qualification for a specific professional activity.

Key elements of the proposal are:

• The introduction of a European professional card
• Better access to information on the recognition of professional qualifications
• Updating minimum training requirements for doctors, dentists, pharmacists, nurses, midwives, veterinary surgeons and architects
• The introduction of an alert mechanism for health professionals benefiting from automatic recognition
• The introduction of common training frameworks and common training tests
• Mutual evaluation exercise on regulated professions

Links

• Proposal for modernising the Professional Qualifications Directive (PDF 65pp)
• Frequently Asked Questions HTML
• Press release

via cedefop: European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training

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Young people's education and labour market choices aged 16/17 to 18/19

DFE Research Report (RR182) by Claire Crawford, Kathryn Duckworth, Anna Vignoles and Gill Wyness
© Centre for Analysis of Youth Transitions (December 2011)

Summary

There has been a long‐term shift during the last few decades towards increased participation in education and entering the labour market at a later age. There are also shorter-term transitory difficulties in the youth labour market associated with current economic conditions.

In the context of a difficult 2011 labour market, this report examines the early educational and labour market transitions made by young people, age 16/17 through to age 18/19. The overarching objective of the research is to obtain empirical evidence on the transitions made by young people which can then inform policies to improve transitions into the labour market for young people.

The primary focus is on comparing the outcomes of those who initially take jobs without training with those who initially take jobs with training. The research analyses the average effect from initially taking a job with or without training, regardless of whether the training actually led to a qualification or not.

Includes:

• Introduction
• Existing Evidence
• Data
• Young people’s labour market choices
• Short‐term transitions
• Medium term transitions
• Longer‐term transitions
• Conclusions
• Appendix

Full report (PDF 81pp)

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Bibliometrics and the brain dead

an article by Ian M. Johnson (Robert Gordon University) published in Information Development  Volume 27 Number 2 (May 2011)

Abstract

Many bibliometric and webometric studies are superficial, failing to explore the reasons underlying the phenomenon that they measure.

• Why do so many LIS researchers show so little curiosity about the context within which information is produced and used? 
• Why do they neglect this opportunity to demonstrate the importance of information to development?
• What more do teachers need to communicate about the purpose of bibliometrics and how to apply them in an influential way?

Hazel’s comment:
This is a stunning indictment of LIS researchers – not all of which I understood since I am a careers information manager cum shambrarian and have never been trained in library or information theory.
Mostly, though, I understood that researchers are quoting from other researchers without putting the information into context. Even I know that this is wrong!
I wanted to read the article myself before bringing you the abstract – hence the long delay between publication and this post.
If your institute has a subscription to this journal then you will be able to read it otherwise it will cost you $25 for short-term access from the publisher (Sage) which does not, yet, have an agreement with DeepDyve nor does it operate a rental system.

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10

The new “Seven Wonders of Nature” via Boing Boing by David Pescovitz


The New7Wonders campaign has announced the “New 7 Wonders of Nature”, chosen by a combination of public voting and an expert panel led by the former head of UNESCO. National Geographic posted a photo essay of these natural wonders. Above, Iguazú Falls on the border of Brazil and Argentina. The others include the Amazon, Halong Bay, Jeju Island, Komodo, Puerto Princesa Underground River, and Table Mountain. "Pictures: Are These the Seven Wonders of Nature?"

Man-made New 7 Wonders of the World - Boing BoingArts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
For the teenage Geoff Dyer, Penguin Modern Classics did not have the subversive allure of drugs, but consuming them was an expression of independence and discovery... more

Ballet shoes as technology via Boing Boing by Maggie Koerth-Baker


Image: get the pointe III, a Creative Commons Attribution No-Derivative-Works (2.0) image from chrishaysphotography's photostream
At the Atlantic, science historian Suzanne Fischer has a really interesting post up about the development of pointe shoes. In the early 20th century, at a time when all sorts of technologies were remaking the way people lived, worked, and played, pointe shoes were doing the same thing for ballerinas.
In particular, Fischer writes, pointe shoes were almost the dance equivalent of Henry Ford's assembly line – they standardized bodies and turned dancers into a sleek, modern commodity.
Via Alexis Madrigal

Do you remember these sounds? via Stephen's Lighthouse (and other sources)
11 Sounds That Your Kids Have Probably Never Heard by Kara Kovalchik
I won’t spoil your fun by putting any text or pictures in here – the link to Kara’s blog post is at the bottom of this list.

1. Rotary Dial Telephone
2. Manual Typewriter
3. Coffee Percolator
4. Flash Cube
5. TV Channel Selector
6. Record Changer
7. Gas Station Driveway Bell
8. TV Station Sign-Off
9. Cash Register
10. Film Projector
11. Broken Record

Read the full text here
Stephen Abram added a few sounds of his own (but only text not the actual sound)

1. The screeching noise a dial-up modem makes when it's connecting.
2. The ratchet sound of pin-fed printers (along with the paper tear sound of removing the pin-hole edges).
3. The bell at the corner gas station (the one that made the gas jockey come out to fill your tank).
4. Chalk and/or fingernails on a chalkboard.
5. "ka-thunk, ka-thunk, ka-thunk" of Gestetner or ditto copy machines.
6. The coin return on a pay phone.
7. The sound of winding film in a camera.
8. The sound of the analog gasoline pumps.
9. The sound of an audio cassette going into a tape player.
10. The clicking/popping sounds whenever you closed or opened an older VCR.
11. The sound of an old reel-to-reel tape player.
12. The sound of rewinding an audiocassette tape (or VHS/Beta).

Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
All religions have bloodstained garments, but Scientology has more blood on fewer garments, more pints per believer... more

The Joy of Addiction via Big Think by Big Think editors
Rats who receive a pleasurable sensation when they press a lever quickly become addicted to that lever, neurologists at Johns Hopkins University have found. So strong was the rats’ desire for gratification that male rats ignored female rats in heat and mother rats abandoned their children. Read More
Terrified when I read that the experiments has to be stopped before the rats starved to death. The addiction was stronger than the need for food.

Mind-Reading Is Quickly Becoming Reality via Big Think by Big Think Editors
By scanning the brain, scientists are increasingly able to tell what a person is thinking about. Three recent studies demonstrate the frontiers of real-life mind-reading. The first looked at dreaming and whether certain parts of the brain operate the same whether a person is awake or dreaming. Read More

Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
The greatest director, writer, and producer in the history of radio died this week. They were all Norman Corwin. He was 101... more

The Acme Catalog via HOW TO BE A RETRONAUT by Amanda
See lots of images here
All images from The Acme Catalog by Charles Carney
Thank you to Pulpfactor
This should have been “see lots of other images here” but the damned thing wouldn't stay where I put it on the page!

Lisa Randall Explains the Cosmos via Big Think by Big Think Editors
In Lisa Randall’s newest book, Knocking on Heaven’s Door, [£10.80 on Amazon.co.uk] the renowned physicist explains where the frontiers of science currently rest. Thanks to the Large Hadron Collider, the world's biggest particle accelerator that smashes atoms together at unfathomable energies …
Read More

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