employment

Sociologist Jennifer Laird was researching unemployment among Mexican immigrants when she came upon some interesting numbers on black workers in the public sector and employment effects of the Great Recession. It piqued her interest and so she decided to keep digging. She found that while public sector employment had long served as a source of stable employment among black Americans, often enabling mobility into the middle class, downsizing during the Great Recession disproportionately hurt black workers and resulted in greater racial disparities in the public sector. Specifically, Laird, a…
One of the big criticisms that opponents of the Affordable Care Act love to trot out is its impact on the economy — one phrase you often hear is “job killer.” In fact, in 2011, Republicans in the House actually introduced legislation officially titled “Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act.” That bill didn’t make it far. However, a new report finds that “job-killing” isn’t just hyperbole; it’s just plain wrong. Earlier this month, the Urban Institute released a new report on the ACA and employment, asking “Has the ACA been a job killer?” Authors Bowen Garrett and Robert Kaestner noted…
A.G. Sulzberger reports in the New York Times about a new practice by some employers: refusing to hire smokers: More hospitals and medical businesses in many states are adopting strict policies that make smoking a reason to turn away job applicants, saying they want to increase worker productivity, reduce health care costs and encourage healthier living. The policies reflect a frustration that softer efforts -- like banning smoking on company grounds, offering cessation programs and increasing health care premiums for smokers -- have not been powerful-enough incentives to quit. The new rules…
tags: Late For Work, jobs, employment, humor, funny, comedy, fucking hilarious, social observation, streaming video It's hot, you were up late drinking with your friends and now it's Monday morning -- again! Unlike some videos that I share with you, this one gets straight to the point -- a point that we've all achieved at some time during our lives.
tags: Happiest DJ On Earth, jobs, employment, humor, funny, comedy, disc jockey, David Guetta, streaming video Some people have jobs they love, and then there's this guy ... he's burning off more calories doing his job than most people burn at the gym!
tags: Orientation Day in the MSM, journalism, mainstream media, humor, streaming video This video is a rather .. interesting ... look at the challenges of working as a journalist in the mainstream media in these technologically challenging days.
tags: I'm a Scientist, Get me out of Here!, internet chatrooms, online program, technology, public outreach, scientists, employment, what do scientists do?, Science and the Importance of Cheese, streaming video This video is a trailer for a movie proposal by protein crystallographer, Stephen Curry. If he is lucky, he will continue on to the June 2010 rounds of the online program, "I'm a scientist, get me out of here!" targeted at teens. He proposes to make this film if he is voted to win the â¤500 award. "I'm a Scientist, Get me out of Here!" is a new online program targeted to UK…
tags: Using Science to Create the Ultimate Chocolate Bar, Theo Chocolate Company, Seattle, organic chocolate, fair-trade chocolate, Doc Choc, Andy McShea, streaming video Harvard-trained molecular biologist Andy McShea takes a distinctly scientific approach to making better and healthier chocolate. Dr McShea, known as "Doc Choc," is the Chief Operating Officer of the 4-year-old Theo Chocolate company, which he describes as the fastest-growing organic, fair-trade chocolate producer in the United States. Visit Theo Chocolate Company or read more about it in TheScientist's Dr. Chocolate […
tags: I'm a Scientist, Get me out of Here!, internet chatrooms, online program, technology, public outreach, scientists, employment, what do scientists do?, teenagers, streaming video This video describes a new online program targeted to UK teenagers; "I'm a Scientist, Get me out of Here!" This program's goals are to provide teens access to real scientists, to provide them the opportunity to get beyond stereotypes about scientists, to learn how science relates to real life and to provide the scientists with feedback on their communication style -- can they explain their work to teenagers?…
tags: Stevie the Professional Regurgitator, jobs, hobbies, passtimes, offbeat, strange, funny, people, The Tonight Show, streaming video This man makes a living by swallowing strange objects, like light bulbs, and then vomiting them back up. I think at least a few of these stunts are illusions -- how did he do the sugar trick, for example? -- while other stunts (the fish trick) are really just gross. Okay, how the heck did he do the sugar trick? And the fish trick? [and tell me, what does HSUS say about this fish trick?? or are they too busy writing legislation to outlaw people's pets to…
tags: Bill Murray, Poets House, NYC, NYC Life, Construction Workers, employment, I dwell in Possibility, Gathering Paradise, poem, poetry, poetry reading, Emily Dickinson, streaming video This is a beautiful video, showing the construction of NYC's Poets House, along with a reading of several poems, including Emily Dickinson's lovely poem, "I dwell in Possibility," by actor Bill Murray, and ending with a short segment where some of the guys introduce themselves. This poetry reading was the first to take place at the Poets House new home. It's really fitting that those who constructed the…
tags: Strassenmusiker, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, travel, cities, busker, image of the day, photography Strassenmusiker. Hauptwache, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Image: GrrlScientist, 14 April 2010 [larger view] This is a busker whom I photographed at Hauptwache train station in downtown Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Despite his age, he was putting on quite a performance. (For those of you who care, he was also a reasonably good musician).
tags: The Secret Life of Scientists, careers, Webby Awards, scientists, public outreach, educational, funny, documentary, NOVA, PBS, streaming video Okay, my peeps, I need your help. PBS is airing a NOVA series called "The Secret Life of Scientists." This miniseries has been nominated for a Webby Award for the Best Documentary Series, and is almost tied with a David Lynch film. We need your help to push this one over the top and give it the support of the people! I've embedded a clip below that I know you will enjoy (interestingly, I know several of these scientists in real life, too). So…
tags: PiXar, NeXt, Apple computers, technology, follow your passion, education, advice, Stanford University, Steve Jobs, streaming video Steve Jobs demonstrates tremendous tunnel vision as he talks about his life in his 2005 commencement speech at Stanford University. Unfortunately for the rest of the world, this white man with a loving family makes a huge and very basic error in logic: because he somehow managed to "make it" doesn't mean that everyone does -- or will. Most of us fail, and fail miserably, and fail publicly, and we fail repeatedly until the day we die as we strive to do what…
tags: math class, film making, animation, technology, weird, offbeat, flatland, Biola University, Matthew Weathers, streaming video This is a trick that Matthew Weathers made for a lecture he presented in his Nature of Math class at Biola University. He apparently likes experimenting with mixing live action with video. Here's his Halloween 2009 lecture: How the heck did he do that?
tags: embargoed science, embargoes, publishing, MSM, journalism, science writing Image: Orphaned? The short story: this kerfuffle was the result of a misunderstanding. The long story follows. I was surprised to realize that my rant was quite impressive to the people at AAAS, even though it was rather mild by internet/blogosphere standards (actually, it caused scarcely a ripple among science blog writers). Certainly, I was not (and am not) angry at any individual, but I was annoyed and frustrated by what I perceive to be an institutionalized gatekeeper that supports and protects the media…
tags: embargoed science, embargoes, publishing, MSM, journalism, science writing Image: Orphaned? Embargoes: you either love them or hate them, and I hate them. No, let me rephrase: I despise embargoes. In fact, science story embargoes have been my daily rant for literally years. No, really. Every f*cking day. Well, except maybe for Sundays, which is devoted to ranting about all those religious wackaloons who have been trying to recruit visiting the previous week and preaching at me when I was absent-minded enough to open the door. But until a few months ago when I finally managed to…
tags: How Will the End of Print Journalism Affect Old Loons Who Hoard Newspapers?, newspapers, print journalism, newspaper hoarding, ONN, Onion News Network, comedy, humor, satire, fucking hilarious, streaming video The decline of the newspaper?? Ransom notes, papier-mâché and slacker gift wrapping will never be the same! Worse, what will crazy old loons pack their houses to the rafters with?
tags: employment, creative thinking, motivation, career, rewards, inspiration, science, psychology, Daniel Pink, TEDTalks, streaming video Career analyst Dan Pink examines the puzzle of motivation, starting with a fact that social scientists know but most managers don't: Traditional rewards aren't always as effective as we think. If you think about it, the rewards described in this video are the very things that motivate blog writer to provide their content for free. TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading…
tags: environment, education, conservation,animal welfare, dancing bears, India, sloth bear, Kartick Satyanarayan, TEDTalks, streaming video Traditionally, the Kalandar community of India has survived by capturing sloth bear cubs and training them to "dance" through extreme cruelty. Kartick Satyanarayan has been able to put an end to this centuries-old practice, and in so doing discovered a lesson of wider significance: make the practitioners part of the solution. TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers…