Until a few days ago I had never heard of Professor Randy Pausch of Carnegie Mellon University. I hadn’t heard about his trailblazing work in computer science studies – particularly in virtual reality and creating a playful way to teach computer programming to children. But then someone sent me a link to his final lecture,… Continue reading
Archive for October, 2007
Zero Tolerance for Child Labor Abuse
The Gap’s track record of hiring and failing to properly manage some of the world’s lowest cost clothing manufacturers continues to shame them. On Sunday the UK’s Observer broke the story that in a New Delhi, India sweatshop factory run by an outsourced manufacturing firm, children as young as 10 were working up to 16 hours… Continue reading
Bad Jobs for Bright People
In a piece called The Worst Jobs in Science, Popular Science magazine takes us places the angels at the Discovery Channel would refuse to tread. After reading this list, to which I have added sage career commentary, tell us about your worst job! 10. Orangutan-Pee Collector Apparently an analysis of Orangutan urine is a leading… Continue reading
Extending Benefits for Global Trade Layoffs
If you lose your job as a result of globalization, House Democrats want to extend employment benefits to you to ease your transition. There’s a good chance that Republicans, also capable of reading polls, may jump on this bandwagon, too. Rep. Charles Rangel, a Democrat from New York, told the Wall Street Journal that benefits… Continue reading
The March of Progress Skips a Year
Wait, is this the year that education rises to the top of the national agenda? Don’t count on it. For the most part, America has terrific colleges but getting there is a bit of an adventure. The latest evidence – you guessed it – those pesky SAT scores. The average math score dropped from… Continue reading
Working Abroad is Less Foreign to Women
Will working abroad fast-track your career? The answer has often been yes for men, but a question mark for women who used to be passed over for foreign assignments. In the book Get Ahead by Going Abroad authors C. Perry Yeatman and Stacie Berdan contend that women are better suited for foreign assignments than men… Continue reading
What Can Freelancers Learn From Radiohead?
There’s a whiff of future shock in Radiohead’s grand experiment to let fans choose how much to pay for downloading the band’s new album In Rainbows. The British alt-rock band isn’t the first music act to try this experiment, but this is the most disruptive effort yet. Controlling both the means of distribution and marketing,… Continue reading
