Bob Collins, Minneapolis Public Radio (MPR); Reporting ‘with neither fear nor favor’ earns ethics award for MPR, NPR reporters
"To uphold the SPJ Code of Ethics, reporting on your own company is to tread in uncertain territory. You don’t produce a story like this, for example, without taking a fair amount of personal and professional risk.
That’s
also true in the case of Folkenflik and Kelly, who outed their bosses’
apparent ability to look the other way with rumors of news boss Michael
Oreskes’ behavior toward female subordinates.
Kelly’s interview of NPR CEO Jarl Mohn remains a textbook example of how to ask tough questions."
Tuesday, July 31, 2018
No bosses, no managers: the truth behind the ‘flat hierarchy’ facade ; The Guardian, July 30, 2018
Andre Spicer, The Guardian; No bosses, no managers: the truth behind the ‘flat hierarchy’ facade
"Getting rid of formal hierarchies has also proved dangerous in social movements. After spending years in the women’s liberation movement of the 1960s, the American political scientist Jo Freeman warned of the “tyranny of structurelessness”. Although egalitarian and democratic structures have many benefits, she pointed out, structurelessness easily “becomes a smokescreen for the strong or the lucky to establish unquestioned hegemony over others”. By putting rules and structures in place, you make it clear and transparent how the group or organisation works. The lesson Freeman learned in the early 1970s has been forgotten over and over again.
Fantasies of no rules, no bosses and no hierarchies are seductive. Hierarchies can be repressive, rules can be absurd, and bosses can be toxic. But not having these things can be worse."
"Getting rid of formal hierarchies has also proved dangerous in social movements. After spending years in the women’s liberation movement of the 1960s, the American political scientist Jo Freeman warned of the “tyranny of structurelessness”. Although egalitarian and democratic structures have many benefits, she pointed out, structurelessness easily “becomes a smokescreen for the strong or the lucky to establish unquestioned hegemony over others”. By putting rules and structures in place, you make it clear and transparent how the group or organisation works. The lesson Freeman learned in the early 1970s has been forgotten over and over again.
Fantasies of no rules, no bosses and no hierarchies are seductive. Hierarchies can be repressive, rules can be absurd, and bosses can be toxic. But not having these things can be worse."
The 5-Hour Rule Used by Bill Gates, Jack Ma and Elon Musk ; Entrepreneur, July 31, 2018
John Rampton, Entrepreneur; The 5-Hour Rule Used by Bill Gates, Jack Ma and Elon Musk
"Maybe you’re thinking: Who has the time to sit down and actually read? Between work and family, it’s almost impossible to find free time. As an entrepreneur and a father, I can relate -- but only to an extent. After all, if Barack Obama could fit in time to read while in the White House, what excuse do you have? He even credits books to surviving his presidency.
President Obama is far from the only leader to credit his success to reading. Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Oprah Winfrey, Elon Musk, Mark Cuban and Jack Ma are all voracious readers. As Gates told The New York Times, reading "is one of the chief ways that I learn, and has been since I was a kid."
So how do they find the time to read daily? They adhere to the five-hour rule."
"Maybe you’re thinking: Who has the time to sit down and actually read? Between work and family, it’s almost impossible to find free time. As an entrepreneur and a father, I can relate -- but only to an extent. After all, if Barack Obama could fit in time to read while in the White House, what excuse do you have? He even credits books to surviving his presidency.
President Obama is far from the only leader to credit his success to reading. Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Oprah Winfrey, Elon Musk, Mark Cuban and Jack Ma are all voracious readers. As Gates told The New York Times, reading "is one of the chief ways that I learn, and has been since I was a kid."
So how do they find the time to read daily? They adhere to the five-hour rule."
Saturday, July 28, 2018
Tech president tightening ethics controls after money scandals; Atlanta Journal Constitution, July 27, 2018
"Georgia Tech President George P. “Bud” Peterson has agreed to tighten his oversight over employee compliance with ethics policies after a series of scandals caught the attention of his bosses.
The University System of Georgia, as it happens, will have an ethics awareness week in mid-November, noted Chancellor Steve W. Wrigley in an email to Peterson last week. “I expect a strong and visible presence and participation from you and your senior leadership team,” Wrigley wrote...
On June 5, Tech removed Andrew Gerber from his leadership role at the affiliated Georgia Tech Research Institute, a spokeswoman said on Friday. Gerber, who was paid about $400,000 a year, subsequently resigned.
Gerber was the focus of an April report by Channel 2 Action Newsthat said GTRI had spent more than $1 million on employee “morale” events. The spending included $73,000 for Georgia Aquarium visits by employees and their families, $109,000 for a staff picnic at Six Flags, $26,000 at a Braves game, nearly $12,000 for go-karts and laser tag at Andretti’s and $7,300 at Topgolf, including more than $1,000 in cocktails, beer and wine."
Thursday, July 26, 2018
2018 National Trademark Exposition, July 27-28, 2018, Washington, D.C.
2018 National Trademark Exposition
Exhibitors
- 1000 Cranes, LLC
- American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA)
- DC Rollergirls
- Edible IP, LLC (DBA Edible Arrangements)
- Girl Scouts Nation’s Capital
- Global Brand Council, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
- International Trademark Association (INTA)
- Looshes Labs LLC
- Microsoft
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Cente
- National Park Service (United States Department of the Interior) and National Park Foundation
- NumbersAlive!
- Politics and Prose
- Safeway
- Segway Inc.
- Tenneco Automotive
- The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
- Under Armour, Inc.
- Velcro Companies
- YMCA
Gwyneth Paltrow didn't want Condé Nast to fact-check Goop articles; The Guardian, July 25, 2018
Sam Wolfson, The Guardian; Gwyneth Paltrow didn't want Condé Nast to fact-check Goop articles
"“I think for us it was really like we like to work where we are in an expansive space. Somewhere like Condé, understandably, there are a lot of rules,” Paltrow told the Times, adding that they were a company that “do things in a very old-school way”.She argued that they were interviewing experts and didn’t need to check what they were saying was scientifically accurate. “We’re never making statements,” she said. Elise Loehnen, Goop’s head of content, added that Goop was “just asking questions”."
Wednesday, July 25, 2018
Why public libraries are still essential in 2018; Vox, July 24, 2018
Constance Grady, Vox; Why public libraries are still essential in 2018: Libraries exist for the public. Amazon exists to maximize profits.
Enter Mourdoukoutas’s now-deleted op-ed, whose central thrust was that the roles traditionally performed by libraries — lending books, of course, but also serving as community gathering places — are now performed better by “third places” like Starbucks and bookstore-cafes. And since Amazon’s brick-and-mortar bookstores are equipped with easy access to the comprehensive Amazon database of books around the world, the article concluded, Amazon bookstore-cafes are superior to libraries."
"This past weekend, Forbes published and then took down a
controversial article. “This article was outside of this contributor’s
specific area of expertise, and has since been removed,” said Forbes, after significant backlash.
The article in question? An op-ed arguing that libraries are a waste of
taxpayer money and should be replaced by Amazon stores.
Libraries do seem to be outside of author Panos
Mourdoukoutas’s areas of expertise; he’s a professor who specializes in
world economy. (A popular tweet suggested that Mourdoukoutas paid for
the privilege to be published on Forbes, though it turned out to be an error;
he’s a paid blogger for Forbes.) But both the article itself and the
backlash against it point to a profound anxiety centered on libraries
and the question of whether they should be up for debate.
If we take it as read that public libraries exist and are
good and important, then we’re saying that the services they provide
are basic rights that it is our government’s responsibility to
safeguard. If we suggest that libraries shouldn’t exist — that they’re a
waste — then we call into question the rights that they protect.
Enter Mourdoukoutas’s now-deleted op-ed, whose central thrust was that the roles traditionally performed by libraries — lending books, of course, but also serving as community gathering places — are now performed better by “third places” like Starbucks and bookstore-cafes. And since Amazon’s brick-and-mortar bookstores are equipped with easy access to the comprehensive Amazon database of books around the world, the article concluded, Amazon bookstore-cafes are superior to libraries."
Monday, July 23, 2018
Embracing the privacy-first mindset in the post-GDPR world; AdNovum Singapore via Enterprise Innovation, July 23, 2018
Leonard Cheong, Managing Director, AdNovum Singapore via Enterprise Innovation; Embracing the privacy-first mindset in the post-GDPR world
"Privacy is a fundamental human right.
This is the proclamation that Apple made when updating their App Store policies to ensure that application developers can’t access consumer data without consent, in a bid to demonstrate their commitment to data privacy.
As the world becomes more digital, privacy has indeed become more sought after and consumers today are only willing to share data with companies they trust. On 25 May 2018 the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation or EU-GDPR came into effect, sparking numerous conversations on privacy, ethics and compliance."
"Privacy is a fundamental human right.
This is the proclamation that Apple made when updating their App Store policies to ensure that application developers can’t access consumer data without consent, in a bid to demonstrate their commitment to data privacy.
As the world becomes more digital, privacy has indeed become more sought after and consumers today are only willing to share data with companies they trust. On 25 May 2018 the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation or EU-GDPR came into effect, sparking numerous conversations on privacy, ethics and compliance."
Meet the Boston City Councilor With Visions of Becoming the Next Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez; The Daily Beast, July 23, 2018
Gideon Resnick, The Daily Beast; Meet the Boston City Councilor With Visions of Becoming the Next Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
[Kip Currier: Massachusetts candidate Ayanna Pressley's "Treadmill story" is a great communication example of using the power of storytelling to persuade and make a lasting impression.
Another excellent example of highly effective storytelling that I've highlighted in my Management and Leadership course is this one from a 2011 New York Times interview, A Blueprint for Leadership: Show, Don’t Tell, with Amy Schulman, executive vice president and general counsel at Pfizer:
Q. [Adam
Bryant] Can you give me an example of one of those stories?
“A. [Amy Schulman] A story I
often tell is about the first time I took a deposition. I got there early, and I
thought that the most important thing was to control the witness. I didn’t
realize the first time around that the way you control somebody is not by
intimidating them. But I adjusted the chair that I was sitting on so that I’d
be really tall, and could look down imposingly on the witness. But I raised it
so high that as soon as I sat down, I toppled over and fell backward. I tell
that story for a few reasons. I want people to know I’m not afraid to laugh at
myself. And the best way to show people that you’re not afraid to laugh at
yourself is to actually laugh at yourself and tell a story of a time that
you’ve been embarrassed.”]
"Most politicians running for higher office don’t publicize embarrassing tales of personal physical harm.
But on scorching mid-July morning, Ayanna Pressley, a 44-year-old Boston city councilor seeking to become the next progressive candidate to knock off a well-known white male Democratic incumbent, regaled a group of kids about that time she fell off her treadmill.
“A girl got on the treadmill next to me,” she told a group of young, mostly African-American girls at a summer basketball clinic at Wainwright Park in the neighborhood of Dorchester. “And she had a cuter outfit on and she was running even harder and her form was even better. And I was so busy watching her that I fell and cracked my tooth on the treadmill.”
Pressley’s tale was an altogether human one: a former high school track runner trying to find her way back into shape. But it was a political metaphor too—one that she was applying to her own candidacy.
“Now that is a lesson for life,” she said, peering down at the girls underneath a sun hat. “I was so busy looking at her race that I wasn’t focused on my own. You have to run your own race.”"
Sunday, July 22, 2018
The Essay That Helped Bring Down the Soviet Union; The New York Times, July 20, 2018
Natan Sharansky, The New York Times; The Essay That Helped Bring Down the Soviet Union
[Sakharov's] message was unsettling and liberating: You cannot be a good
scientist or a free person while living a double life. Knowing the truth
while collaborating in the regime’s lies only produces bad science and
broken souls."
[Kip
Currier: It's enlightening and inspiring to be reminded of the
courageous stance that Soviet Union-residing nuclear physicist,
dissident activist, and 1975 Nobel Peace Prize winner Andrei Sakharov
took 50 years ago, via his influential essay, “Thoughts on Progress, Peaceful Coexistence
and Intellectual Freedom”. His ideas and invocations
on the importance of freedom to think, individual responsibility, moral leadership,
and the advancement of human rights for persons living in both open and
closed societies are as timely and indispensable today as they were in
1968.]
"Fifty years ago this Sunday, this paper devoted
three broadsheet pages to an essay that had been circulating secretly
in the Soviet Union for weeks. The manifesto, written by Andrei
Sakharov, championed an essential idea at grave risk today: that those
of us lucky enough to live in open societies should fight for the
freedom of those born into closed ones. This radical argument changed
the course of history.
Sakharov’s
essay carried a mild title — “Thoughts on Progress, Peaceful Coexistence
and Intellectual Freedom” — but it was explosive. “Freedom of thought
is the only guarantee against an infection of mankind by mass myths,
which, in the hands of treacherous hypocrites and demagogues, can be
transformed into bloody dictatorships,” he wrote. Suddenly the Soviet
Union’s most decorated physicist became its most prominent dissident...
It’s impossible to lead a totally ethical life—but it’s fun to try; Quartz, July 15, 2018
Ephrat Livni, Quartz; It’s impossible to lead a totally ethical life—but it’s fun to try
"It’s true that practically everything we do in life has ethical repercussions. “Any decision that has an impact on others now or in the future is an ethical choice,” explains ethicist Christopher Gilbert, author of the new book There’s No Right Way To Do the Wrong Thing. Gilbert says it’s useful to consider ethics like a moral ladder. On the lowest rung, you think only of yourself. Past the middle rung, you’re thinking of the decision’s influence on some. And on the highest rungs, you’re wondering how every choice impacts all affected by it. “When we step up that ladder and consistently strive to stay at the top rung, we are living an ethical life,” he says.
Will we be at the top rung all of the time? Almost certainly not. But the answer isn’t to throw up our hands. Rather, we can keep on trying, every day and throughout our lives, to approach the world thoughtfully and consider the implications of our individual actions on others."
"It’s true that practically everything we do in life has ethical repercussions. “Any decision that has an impact on others now or in the future is an ethical choice,” explains ethicist Christopher Gilbert, author of the new book There’s No Right Way To Do the Wrong Thing. Gilbert says it’s useful to consider ethics like a moral ladder. On the lowest rung, you think only of yourself. Past the middle rung, you’re thinking of the decision’s influence on some. And on the highest rungs, you’re wondering how every choice impacts all affected by it. “When we step up that ladder and consistently strive to stay at the top rung, we are living an ethical life,” he says.
Will we be at the top rung all of the time? Almost certainly not. But the answer isn’t to throw up our hands. Rather, we can keep on trying, every day and throughout our lives, to approach the world thoughtfully and consider the implications of our individual actions on others."
Saturday, July 21, 2018
Two men charged with stealing more than $8 million in rare books from Carnegie Library; The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 20, 2018
Paula Reed Ward, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; Two men charged with stealing more than $8 million in rare books from Carnegie Library
[Kip Currier: This is a deeply troubling "library theft" and "breach of the public trust" story, with enormous implications about ethics, management, leadership, and Board responsibility and oversight. It'll definitely be a case study in my courses at the University of Pittsburgh and in the ethics textbook I'm writing.
Reading the Perry Mason-esque True Crime-confessional details (e.g. Priore: "greed came over me. I did it, but Schulman spurred me on") in The Post-Gazette's front-page article brought to mind the oft-heard adage "Crime doesn't pay"--a favorite slogan of the FBI, starting in 1927, and then used in the comic strip Dick Tracy in 1931.]
"It ranks as one of the largest library thefts in history.
Greg Priore, 61, of Oakland, who worked as the sole archivist and manager of the library’s rare book room since 1992, is charged with theft, receiving stolen property, conspiracy, retail theft, library theft, criminal mischief and forgery.
John Schulman, 54, of Squirrel Hill, who owns Caliban Book Shop, is charged with theft, receiving stolen property, dealing in proceeds of illegal activity, conspiracy, retail theft, theft by deception, forgery and deceptive business practices...
“Priore explained that he took a lot of maps and pictures – in all possibly 200 items – from the Oliver Room. Priore then stated ‘You got me, I screwed up.’ He also stated, ‘Please tell [library executive director] Mary Frances [Cooper] I am sorry and I let the whole place down.’”"
[Kip Currier: This is a deeply troubling "library theft" and "breach of the public trust" story, with enormous implications about ethics, management, leadership, and Board responsibility and oversight. It'll definitely be a case study in my courses at the University of Pittsburgh and in the ethics textbook I'm writing.
Reading the Perry Mason-esque True Crime-confessional details (e.g. Priore: "greed came over me. I did it, but Schulman spurred me on") in The Post-Gazette's front-page article brought to mind the oft-heard adage "Crime doesn't pay"--a favorite slogan of the FBI, starting in 1927, and then used in the comic strip Dick Tracy in 1931.]
"It ranks as one of the largest library thefts in history.
Greg Priore, 61, of Oakland, who worked as the sole archivist and manager of the library’s rare book room since 1992, is charged with theft, receiving stolen property, conspiracy, retail theft, library theft, criminal mischief and forgery.
John Schulman, 54, of Squirrel Hill, who owns Caliban Book Shop, is charged with theft, receiving stolen property, dealing in proceeds of illegal activity, conspiracy, retail theft, theft by deception, forgery and deceptive business practices...
“Priore explained that he took a lot of maps and pictures – in all possibly 200 items – from the Oliver Room. Priore then stated ‘You got me, I screwed up.’ He also stated, ‘Please tell [library executive director] Mary Frances [Cooper] I am sorry and I let the whole place down.’”"
Thursday, July 19, 2018
Lawyers for Velcro use music video to offer thanks for angry feedback on trademark plea; ABA Journal, June 12, 2018
Debra Cassens Weiss, ABA Journal;
[Kip Currier: Interesting to see this "music video about a trademark plea" by VELCRO Brand Fasteners. During a guest lecture on Trademarks and Patents for undergraduate students at the University of Pittsburgh School of Computing and Information earlier this week, I mentioned VELCRO as an example of a company trying to avoid the fate of becoming a "generic mark" through "genericide".
As Tom Kulik writes in a 7/2/18 article, "Losing Your Brand Identity: How To Commit Trademark Genericide Without Really Trying", for Above The Law, "acceptance that rises to the level of identification with the specific good or service (as opposed to the source of such goods or services) is the death knell for trademarks."
Examples of generic marks include Aspirin, cellophane, escalator, trampoline, and zipper.
I first became aware of VELCRO's genericide-avoidance efforts when I spoke with a VELCRO Representative working at the company's booth for the 2016 U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's National Trademark Expo in Washington, D.C. I was able to find in my 2016 National Trademark Expo Swag Bag the informational pamphlet VELCRO passed out at the Expo:
I was invited by the VELCRO Rep to take the VELCRO Hook and Loop Challenge...
Using 3 different types of VELCRO of varying strength...
The back of the pamphlet and the VELCRO Rep explained the varied uses for which the different types of VELCRO are
deployed...
I mentioned that I teach IP Law at Pitt and the VELCRO Rep nicely gave me 3 samples to take back to show.
The white-and-green-striped VELCRO rolls (in the upper right section of the above photo of the 3 samples) are freebie samples that the VELCRO booth persons were also passing out to National Trademark Expo attendees.]
"Those aren’t lawyers on Velcro Companies’ new music video thanking the public for its angry feedback. They are actors playing lawyers.
But in-house lawyers were involved in the making of the video, Corporate Counsel reports. And they believe the company’s “Don’t Say Velcro” campaign has been successful, even if some people did have a negative, F-bomb-loaded reaction to its plea to save its trademark.
Velcro wants people to use VELCRO® Brand (as an adjective, as in “VELCRO® Brand fasteners) when referring to its product, and to use “hook and loop” when referring to scratchy, hairy fasteners made by other companies.
Velcro released an initial video last September in which actors playing lawyers explain in song that the Velcro patent has lapsed and the company will lose its trademark if the word is used to refer to all hook-and-loop fasteners. Some actual in-house lawyers also made appearances in the original video."
“We’re asking you not to say a name it took 50 plus years to build,” one character sings. “But if you keep calling these Velcro shoes, our trademark will get killed.”"
Lawyers for Velcro use music video to offer thanks for angry feedback on trademark plea
[Kip Currier: Interesting to see this "music video about a trademark plea" by VELCRO Brand Fasteners. During a guest lecture on Trademarks and Patents for undergraduate students at the University of Pittsburgh School of Computing and Information earlier this week, I mentioned VELCRO as an example of a company trying to avoid the fate of becoming a "generic mark" through "genericide".
As Tom Kulik writes in a 7/2/18 article, "Losing Your Brand Identity: How To Commit Trademark Genericide Without Really Trying", for Above The Law, "acceptance that rises to the level of identification with the specific good or service (as opposed to the source of such goods or services) is the death knell for trademarks."
Examples of generic marks include Aspirin, cellophane, escalator, trampoline, and zipper.
I first became aware of VELCRO's genericide-avoidance efforts when I spoke with a VELCRO Representative working at the company's booth for the 2016 U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's National Trademark Expo in Washington, D.C. I was able to find in my 2016 National Trademark Expo Swag Bag the informational pamphlet VELCRO passed out at the Expo:
I was invited by the VELCRO Rep to take the VELCRO Hook and Loop Challenge...
Using 3 different types of VELCRO of varying strength...
 | ||||
| VELCRO Samples, 2016 USPTO National Trademark Expo, (c) James "Kip" Currier |
I mentioned that I teach IP Law at Pitt and the VELCRO Rep nicely gave me 3 samples to take back to show.
The white-and-green-striped VELCRO rolls (in the upper right section of the above photo of the 3 samples) are freebie samples that the VELCRO booth persons were also passing out to National Trademark Expo attendees.]
"Those aren’t lawyers on Velcro Companies’ new music video thanking the public for its angry feedback. They are actors playing lawyers.
But in-house lawyers were involved in the making of the video, Corporate Counsel reports. And they believe the company’s “Don’t Say Velcro” campaign has been successful, even if some people did have a negative, F-bomb-loaded reaction to its plea to save its trademark.
Velcro wants people to use VELCRO® Brand (as an adjective, as in “VELCRO® Brand fasteners) when referring to its product, and to use “hook and loop” when referring to scratchy, hairy fasteners made by other companies.
Velcro released an initial video last September in which actors playing lawyers explain in song that the Velcro patent has lapsed and the company will lose its trademark if the word is used to refer to all hook-and-loop fasteners. Some actual in-house lawyers also made appearances in the original video."
“We’re asking you not to say a name it took 50 plus years to build,” one character sings. “But if you keep calling these Velcro shoes, our trademark will get killed.”"
How to Spot a High-End Men's Haircut; Wall Street Journal, July 18, 2018
Adam Falk, Wall Street Journal;
How to Spot a High-End Men's Haircut
"Though they may look the same, not all men’s haircuts are created equal. Expert barber Jeremy Pelser shows what sets the quality cuts apart."
“I Was Devastated”: Tim Berners-Lee, the Man Who Created the World Wide Web, Has Some Regrets; Vanity Fair, July 1, 2018
Katrina Brooker, Vanity Fair; “I Was Devastated”: Tim Berners-Lee, the Man Who Created the World Wide Web, Has Some Regrets
"For now, chastened by bad press and public
outrage, tech behemoths and other corporations say they are willing to
make changes to ensure privacy and protect their users. “I’m committed
to getting this right,” Facebook’s Zuckerberg told Congress in April.
Google recently rolled out new privacy features to Gmail which would
allow users to control how their messages get forwarded, copied,
downloaded, or printed. And as revelations of spying, manipulation, and
other abuses emerge, more governments are pushing for change. Last year
the European Union fined Google $2.7 billion for manipulating online
shopping markets. This year new regulations will require it and other
tech companies to ask for users’ consent for their data. In the U.S.,
Congress and regulators are mulling ways to check the powers of Facebook
and others.
But
laws written now don’t anticipate future technologies. Nor do
lawmakers—many badgered by corporate lobbyists—always choose to protect
individual rights. In December, lobbyists for telecom companies pushed
the Federal Communications Commission to roll back net-neutrality rules,
which protect equal access to the Internet. In January, the U.S. Senate
voted to advance a bill that would allow the National Security Agency
to continue its mass online-surveillance program. Google’s lobbyists are
now working to modify rules on how companies can gather and store
biometric data, such as fingerprints, iris scans, and facial-recognition
images."
Wednesday, July 18, 2018
One Job AI Won't Replace? Chief Ethics Officer; Fortune, July 17, 2018
Robert Hackett, Fortune; One Job AI Won't Replace? Chief Ethics Officer
"We’ve heard the warnings: The robots are coming, and they’re coming for your job.
Whose roles will be safe as the usurper, artificial intelligence, enters the workforce? Jeetu Patel, chief product officer at Box (box, -1.65%), a cloud storage and file-sharing company, says the secure ones will be those who fine-tune the machines’ moral compasses.
“I think chief ethics officer will be a big role in the AI world,” Patel said at a breakfast roundtable at Fortune’s Brainstorm Tech conference in Aspen, Colo. on Tuesday morning. “Lots of jobs will be killed, but ethics jobs will move forward.”"
"We’ve heard the warnings: The robots are coming, and they’re coming for your job.
Whose roles will be safe as the usurper, artificial intelligence, enters the workforce? Jeetu Patel, chief product officer at Box (box, -1.65%), a cloud storage and file-sharing company, says the secure ones will be those who fine-tune the machines’ moral compasses.
“I think chief ethics officer will be a big role in the AI world,” Patel said at a breakfast roundtable at Fortune’s Brainstorm Tech conference in Aspen, Colo. on Tuesday morning. “Lots of jobs will be killed, but ethics jobs will move forward.”"
New Tool for Open-Access Research; Inside Higher Ed, July 9, 2018
Lindsay McKenzie, Inside Higher Ed; New Tool for Open-Access Research
"A new search engine that aims to connect nonacademics with open-access research will be launched this fall.
Get the Research will connect the public with 20 million open-access scholarly articles. The site will be built by Impactstory -- the nonprofit behind browser extension tool Unpaywall -- in conjunction with the Internet Archive and the British Library."
"A new search engine that aims to connect nonacademics with open-access research will be launched this fall.
Get the Research will connect the public with 20 million open-access scholarly articles. The site will be built by Impactstory -- the nonprofit behind browser extension tool Unpaywall -- in conjunction with the Internet Archive and the British Library."
Thursday, July 12, 2018
OIF Responds to Library Bill of Rights Meeting Room Amendment; American Libraries, July 10, 2018
American Libraries;
OIF Responds to Library Bill of Rights Meeting Room Amendment
"“As cited in the interpretation, there are two prominent cases addressing public library meeting rooms. One involved religion. One involved a white supremacist group. In both cases, the library prohibiting the groups use of space lost lawsuits and were forced to change their policies.
“The Library Bill of Rights Meeting Room amendment should serve as a catalyst for library staff to review or establish policies with assistance from their legal counsel. We encourage libraries to adopt policies that govern meeting space use while meeting the needs of the community that they serve."
Monday, July 9, 2018
After trademark dispute, Voodoo Brewery relaunches Pitt-themed beer with tongue-in-cheek name; The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 12, 2018
Adam Bittner, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; After trademark dispute, Voodoo Brewery relaunches Pitt-themed beer with tongue-in-cheek name
"The West Coast-style India Pale Ale’s original branding was scuttled just days after its seasonal distribution to coincide with football season began last fall. Pitt attorneys contacted the brewery to contest the use of university-owned marks including the Cathedral of Learning and script lettering on the packaging, and Meadville-based Voodoo promptly began stripping labels off of cans to comply."
"The West Coast-style India Pale Ale’s original branding was scuttled just days after its seasonal distribution to coincide with football season began last fall. Pitt attorneys contacted the brewery to contest the use of university-owned marks including the Cathedral of Learning and script lettering on the packaging, and Meadville-based Voodoo promptly began stripping labels off of cans to comply."
Accepting Applications for 2019 Class of ALA Emerging Leaders; American Library Association (ALA), July 6, 2018
[Press Release] American Library Association (ALA);
The ALA EL program is a leadership development program which enables newer library workers from across the country to participate in problem-solving work groups, network with peers, gain an inside look into ALA structure, and have an opportunity to serve the profession in a leadership capacity. It puts participants on the fast track to ALA committee volunteerism as well as other professional library-related organizations.
An ALA division, round table, ethnic affiliate, state chapter or school library media affiliate will sponsor nearly two-thirds of the selected applicants. Each sponsor will contribute a minimum of $1,000 toward expenses of attending the ALA Midwinter Meeting and Annual Conference ($500 for each conference). Sponsorship is not required for participation in the program. A list of sponsoring units is included as part of the online application.
For more information, visit the Emerging Leaders web page or contact the EL project manager at emergingleaders@ala.org."
The ALA Emerging Leaders program is managed by the ALA Office for Human Resource Development and Recruitment (HRDR).
Accepting Applications for 2019 Class of ALA Emerging Leaders
"The American Library Association (ALA) is now accepting applications for the 2019 class of Emerging Leaders (EL). Details on the program criteria as well as a link to the application can be found on the Emerging Leaders web page.
The deadline to apply is August 31, 2018. Apply now.The ALA EL program is a leadership development program which enables newer library workers from across the country to participate in problem-solving work groups, network with peers, gain an inside look into ALA structure, and have an opportunity to serve the profession in a leadership capacity. It puts participants on the fast track to ALA committee volunteerism as well as other professional library-related organizations.
An ALA division, round table, ethnic affiliate, state chapter or school library media affiliate will sponsor nearly two-thirds of the selected applicants. Each sponsor will contribute a minimum of $1,000 toward expenses of attending the ALA Midwinter Meeting and Annual Conference ($500 for each conference). Sponsorship is not required for participation in the program. A list of sponsoring units is included as part of the online application.
For more information, visit the Emerging Leaders web page or contact the EL project manager at emergingleaders@ala.org."
The ALA Emerging Leaders program is managed by the ALA Office for Human Resource Development and Recruitment (HRDR).
Sunday, July 8, 2018
Organizing isn’t about perfection. It’s about compromise.; The Washington Post, July 3, 2018
The Washington Post;
Organizing isn’t about perfection. It’s about compromise.
"Nobody’s house, including my own, regularly resembles the tidy and colorful precision we see in the media. Real life is sloppy, imperfect and constantly changing.
It is important to acknowledge this reality before you try to get organized. Don’t strive for magazine perfection. Figure out what works for you, and work to achieve it. If new habits have made life easier and more functional for you and your family, then that should be your measure of success."
Friday, July 6, 2018
At Tesla, Elon Musk casts himself as a superhero. But he sweats the details on the factory floor.; The Washington Post, July 5, 2018
The Washington Post; At Tesla, Elon Musk casts himself as a superhero. But he sweats the details on the factory floor.
“He has achieved a lot by sheer willpower and is one of the most gifted people I’ve ever met,” said Bob Lutz, who has been a senior executive at each of America’s Big Three automakers, including vice chairman of General Motors. “He’s also one of the most flawed.”"
"Musk’s bursts of energy have helped make Tesla one
of the country’s most prominent and valuable automakers, a Silicon
Valley challenger to Detroit that even its rivals contend has shoved
American cars into the 21st century.
Meeting the
Model 3 production goal, Musk told employees in a email Sunday, had
pushed Tesla closer to its mission of accelerating clean energy and
changing the world — even if they had taken some unconventional steps to
get there. “Whatever,” he said. “It worked.”
But
that same energy has also made Musk one of the most polarizing
corporate leaders in America, a brash and demanding captain of industry
who risks overshadowing his own creation. As Tesla neared its production
target, Musk posted on Instagram what he labeled a “selfie”: an image
of the superhero Doctor Strange, who wields mystical powers to change
time and reality. “Engineering is magic,” he tweeted to his 22 million
followers.
“He has achieved a lot by sheer willpower and is one of the most gifted people I’ve ever met,” said Bob Lutz, who has been a senior executive at each of America’s Big Three automakers, including vice chairman of General Motors. “He’s also one of the most flawed.”"
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