Teacher Checking Through Groceries

This is an exciting time. Classes are ending for university and college students. These soon-to-be recent graduates will be looking for work and putting to use their acquired skills. It is also a time when the harsh reality of finding work intrudes upon the process.

One example is a recent graduate in education. She is in the top five of her graduating class. She has gone through the interview process with some campus recruiters who are looking for staff. The few jobs that have been offered are rural and the pay scale is much lower than work in the city. With student loans to repay, maximizing earnings is a necessity. There are simply few teaching jobs available. The present staff of schools have a very low turn-over rate and there are experienced teachers returning to the work force.

Therefore, this qualified teacher has secured other work. She will be working as a grocery checkout cashier for a national chain. She will be working some shifts and, sometimes, there will be weekend work. However, she will be earning more than what she would as a teacher and the work benefits are much better. It certainly is not what she was trained to do but it is work. And it is work that compensate her well for her hours.

It is a sad commentary about cultural values when the person checking out the groceries - the eggs, bread, milk - is paid more and has better work benefits than the classroom teacher who educates our children. She will be wonderful at her new job - and some kids will miss having an eager, wonderful teacher.

Catherine Forsythe
Director of Operations
FlyingHamster

A-Rod Called “Real Wimpy” by His Wife

Alex Rodriguez makes truckloads of money playing baseball. He is one of the highest paid professional athletes on the planet. Why can’t Alex Rodriguez hire a good public relations firm? It is only May and Alex Rodriguez is going to take a ‘publicity beating’ soon. And this will come at the hands of his wife, Cynthia.

Mrs Rodriguez says that her husband fainted when she was giving birth to their first child. She details the incident and continues:

“…”As tough and big as he seems, he is real wimpy around doctors or any type of medical situation,” Cynthia Rodriguez said, according to excerpts released Tuesday by YES.”

link: Wife: A-Rod passed out during birth of our first child

Usually it is late in the season, approaching October, that Alex Rodriguez is panned like this in the press. Undoubtedly Alex Rodriguez will be reminded about these comments by team mates and opposing players. Needless to say, many people are going to be asking Alex Rodriguez… “Are you breathing?”. Perhaps it is just a clever ploy to show that Alex Rodriguez would not have used performance enhancing drugs.

Catherine

A-Rod Called “Real Wimpy” by His Wife

Alex Rodriguez makes truckloads of money playing baseball. He is one of the highest paid professional athletes on the planet. Why can’t Alex Rodriguez hire a good public relations firm? It is only May and Alex Rodriguez is going to take a ‘publicity beating’ soon. And this will come at the hands of his wife, Cynthia.

Mrs Rodriguez says that her husband fainted when she was giving birth to their first child. She details the incident and continues:

“…”As tough and big as he seems, he is real wimpy around doctors or any type of medical situation,” Cynthia Rodriguez said, according to excerpts released Tuesday by YES.”

link: Wife: A-Rod passed out during birth of our first child

Usually it is late in the season, approaching October, that Alex Rodriguez is panned like this in the press. Undoubtedly Alex Rodriguez will be reminded about these comments by team mates and opposing players. Needless to say, many people are going to be asking Alex Rodriguez… “Are you breathing?”. Perhaps it is just a clever ploy to show that Alex Rodriguez would not have used performance enhancing drugs.

Catherine Forsythe
Director of Operations
FlyingHamster

Police Acknowledge That Surveillance Cameras Do Not Deter Crime

Surveillance cameras are synonymous with security and preventing crime. At least, this is the common perception associated with surveillance. It is the sacrifice of some privacy for some security. In Britain, where there is so much citizen monitoring that it is called the ‘Surveillance Society’, the empirical data are contrary to common beliefs. Surveillance cameras do little to deter crime:

“Massive investment in CCTV cameras to prevent crime in the UK has failed to have a significant impact, despite billions of pounds spent on the new technology, a senior police officer piloting a new database has warned. Only 3% of street robberies in London were solved using CCTV images, despite the fact that Britain has more security cameras than any other country in Europe.”

link: CCTV boom has failed to slash crime, say police

Recently, a Korean court ruled that surveillance cameras were source of work stress. The psychological literature has demonstrated for decades that the mere observation of an event changes behaviour. Now, after countless billions have been dedicated to video surveillance, the emerging empirical data do not support their effectiveness against crime. Undoubtedly, the surveillance industry will be presenting their own data to counter these findings.

Catherine Forsythe
Director of Operations
FlyingHamster

The Next Wave: Free Newspapers

It is tough to compete with the internet and mobile devices. In the age of being constantly connected, the delivery of the news is bypassing the traditional newspapers. Revenue of newspaper advertising is declining and it is becoming a matter of survival:

“…Those leaning towards the free model mostly came from ‘emerging’ newspaper markets in areas such as South America, Eastern Europe, Russia, the Middle East and Asia where 61 per cent of respondents believed news would be free.

Respondents in Western Europe were less likely to believe in news becoming free, with 48 per cent of news executives thinking it likely, while North American editors were on par with the average.”

link: Future of newspapers is free: survey

Even in some small North American communities, the trend towards free newspapers has arrived. The newspapers carry more local advertising, with the emphasis on more regional content and in-depth commentary. However, this may just be a temporary measure as more and more content becomes available instantly via technology.

Once newspapers were a luxury that was available on a once a week (or less) basis. Perhaps the newspaper industry will come full circle in the future and become a luxury rarely seen.

Catherine Forsythe
Director of Operations
FlyingHamster: http://flyinghamster.com/

[tag]news, internet, the next wave, newspapers, advertising, free, commentary[/tag]