Sunday, October 24, 2010

#Gender #Patterns In #Friendshipd

A great article about the diferences and types of friendships between men, women and cross friendships... enjoy: )


Friday, October 22, 2010

Patrick Chappatte: The power of cartoons

Just another great talk from Ted ...


7 ways to be a good #boss

Something that you should take in to consideration ...

Amplify’d from workplacepsychology.net
Seven Ways to Avoid Becoming the Boss from Hell
  1. Treat employees with respect and dignity

    • Discuss personal and sensitive issues in private rather than publicly.

    • Get to know your employees as people rather than mere workers.


  1. Involve employees in decisions

    • Let employees know that their ideas are welcome.

    • Thank employees for their suggestions and use them.


  1. Empower employees

    • Delegate whenever possible.

    • Allow employees to have more of a say in how they do their work.


  1. Clearly communicate assignments

    • Communicate goals and expectations both individually and in writing.

    • Ask employees to restate the goals and assignments in their own words.


  1. Listen, listen, listen

    • Practice active listening techniques such as asking open-ended questions.

    • Learn how to probe for information, ideas, and feelings when speaking with employees.


  1. Recognize that your job includes solving “people problems”

    • Be prepared to address employee issues such as ineffective performance, health problems, family crises, substance abuse, and harassment from coworkers.

    • When necessary, seek counsel and involvement from professionals in the human resource department.


  1. Provide personal recognition

    • Catch employees in the act of performing well and provide them with recognition immediately, rather than waiting for the next performance review discussion.

    • Just like the best gifts to receive are those when there is no occasion, periodically thank employees individually for their hard work.


Read more at workplacepsychology.net
 

The power of #swearing

Use it wisely ...

The Persuasive Power of Swearing

Post image for The Persuasive Power of Swearing

Light swearing at the start or end of a persuasive speech can help influence an audience.

Lack of passion can be fatal to our attempts to persuade others of our point of view. Even if all the right facts are trotted out in an intelligible order, even if the argument is unassailable, when the speaker doesn't appear to believe it themselves, why should anyone else bother?

Show your passion, however, and people have one more emotional reason to come around to your point of view.

But how can we convince others of our conviction?

Up the intensity


One unconventional way is by using a little light swearing. The problem is that we run the risk of losing credibility and appearing unprofessional.


To see whether swearing can help change attitudes, Scherer and Sagarin (2006) divided 88 participants into three groups to watch one of three slightly different speeches. The only difference between the speeches was that one contained a mild swear word at the start:


"…lowering of tuition is not only a great idea, but damn it, also the most reasonable one for all parties involved."



The second speech contained the 'damn it' at the end and the third had neither.


When participants' attitudes were measured, they were most influenced by the speeches with the mild obscenity included, either at the beginning or the end.


It also emerged that the word 'damn' increased the audience's perception of the speaker's intensity, which was what lead to the increased levels of persuasion. On the other hand, swearing did not affect how the audience perceived the speaker's credibility.


So it seems that light swearing can be useful, even in a relatively formal situation like a lecture. When you show some feeling, the audience notices, credits you with sincerity and takes your message to heart.


How far you can go is difficult to know. Certainly things have changed a lot. In the 1939 film Gone with the Wind, after Rhett Butler's famous line "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn", the producer, David Selznick, was fined $5,000 for this 'shocking' outburst.


That was a long time ago but audiences are diverse and will respond in different ways. It's likely that stronger or more persistent swearing would adversely affect credibility. But a little damn and blast is more likely to be seen as a genuine display of emotion, which is refreshing. If nothing else, swearing is persuasive because it's human.

Read more at www.spring.org.uk
 

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

The singing and dancing #robot...

All I can say that we are #doomed ...


Never giving up and pushing forward will unlock all the potential we are capable of. - Christy Borgeld #quote http://bit.ly/aVlN1B

The Economic crisis vs. The Ecologic crisis

ZARAGOZA, SPAIN - JUNE 13: Guests arrive for t...Image by Getty Images via @daylifeOkay, I know everybody heard enough of this topic to be sick of it, but I have to say that most of the articles that are on this topic, only tell us about the consequences of the economic crisis. Here I will tell you my opinion on this interesting and intriguing topic.
Well, we all know that the economic crisis hit the whole world, and this is because the loan-based economy worked, that banks gave way to much money and things did not went well, but I tend to think otherwise. Just give it a thought, as Tim Jackson said :
Our economy is :
“Spend money we don`t have, on things we don`t need, to create impressions that will not last on people we don`t care about” (link).
What this means exactly ? It means that a lot of people, want to get rich, to have better lives, and this is quite normal, all human beings aspire for a better life, but the problem is how you achieve it… In this new industrial hype (which happens mostly in the developing countries) a lot of business owners decided to cut a lot of major and important corners in order to make a big profit a lot faster, they decided to leave out concepts like “Sustainable Development” , “Waste Recycle”, “Energy Efficiency” and a lot more other important business and management concepts, which are not only greener, but if they correctly applied to almost any business, they generate more profit and less losses, but this is in the long run…  
Yes, in the long run, and this is one of the most important reasons that the economic crisis happened, because of the people that wanted to get rich over night, without respecting the rules of management, durability etc…
LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 28: Simon Little, the ...Image by Getty Images via @daylifeWell, now you say that if a person does not think and is a bad manager he will go out of business, and you are right, but, let me ask you what happens when to many people go out of business in the same time ? What happens with all the employees they had ? Exactly,  they go home, and nothing happens… they lose their job , by loosing their job they can not afford to pay the loans, bills, and suddenly, other companies go out of business … and this is a chain reaction that led to the economic crises.
If you want to understand more, and what the ecological implications of the ecologic crises are in the economic crises are, I advise you to go and watch a great Ted Talk of Tim Jackson (link)…

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Old Wine barrels turned to Hotel Rooms

A great eco friendly idea

Amplify’d from www.treehugger.com

Recycled Hotel Rooms from Wine Barrels for the Oenophile

holland wine hotel photo

Today's special is for the wine lovers among us: it is a hotel in Stavoren, a very old port in northern Holland. The rooms where you sleep are in 15,000 litre wine barrels. There are four of them, each created from Swiss drums that used to contain Beaujolais wine from the French chateau area. To learn more about this great recycled hotel and see pictures of its interior, click below.

wine barrel hotel photo

The rooms look quite cozy, wood panelled, of course, with room for two narrow beds. No comment on the smell in the room; foxy, fruity, but all with plenty of body. Maybe you chose by flavour: red or white. Each one comes complete with a t.v., radio shower and toilet for this rare wine treat. There is a porch/ sitting room attached so things aren't quite as cramped as they appear.

hotel view photo

Read more at www.treehugger.com
 

Stacey Kramer: The best gift I ever survived

Amplify’d from www.ted.com
Stacey Kramer: The best gift I ever survived
See more at www.ted.com

the #internet is a #playground

One of the best talks, funny , inspiring, about a men who is using the internet to do good deeds and having a good time also making everybody at least smile ...

http://www.zefrank.com/chillout/
See more at www.ted.com

Thursday, October 14, 2010

The marvels of data visualization

This is about the evolution and development of the human society, about the western worlds and the developing worlds, after watching the videos in this story you will surely change your mind ... 

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Value of friendship

About friends and friendship...

Friendship love and truthImage via Wikipedia


I thought I should review and share some things on the importance of friends and friendship itself, a quite sensible topic, which a lot see in various ways. 
To start width, here are some friendship quotes :






"A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out."
- Anon

"Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow. Don't walk behind me, I may not lead. Walk beside me and be my friend.
- Albert Camus

"Everyone hears what you say. Friends listen to what you say. Best friends listen to what you don't say."
- Anon

"Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart."
- Anon
And here are some traits that you will encounter in a true friend :

Concern:
A matter that engages a person's attention, interest, or care, or that affects a person's welfare or happiness. Caring about people and vice versa comes with looking out for their well-being. When I, personally, think of this, I think of friends offering advice I might not necessarily want to hear. In they end, friends will try to do what they can to end up with a positive resolution to anything happening in their friends lives.
Compassion:
A feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering. This could be running to Wal-Mart and picking up meds for a viral plague of a friend, forcing them to change out of a hideous outfit before they're seen in the public eye, and other endless opportunities to bring out a silver lining from a cruddy situation.
Honesty:
Truthfulness, sincerity, or frankness. You may have heard that this is the best policy, even if the truth hurts. It will sometimes test your strength and bravery at some point, but this isn't something you can just brush off; you have to face it. Whether it's an opinion on a significant other, their professional work, or which phone they should upgrade to, tell the truth. Tell the truth. Tell the truth. There are times where it might hurt, but it'll never be worse than being lied to.
Understanding:
A state of cooperative or mutually tolerant relations between people. The word "tolerant" in this definition made me laugh. In healthy relationships, the parties involved are able to be themselves from the most modest to the most looney of the crazies. I'm not sure how it is with your posse, but most of mine are very different from each other; this leaves room for teasing, laughing, and embracing the fact that we're all individually ourselves and not afraid to show it.
Support:
To sustain (a person, the mind, spirits, courage, etc.) under trial or affliction. We're all going to face new challenges, people, tastes... people are constantly evolving themselves as a person and we need secure relationships around us to keep going (whether or not we're conscious of this fact). I know for sure that if I didn't have support from friends and family when I changed my major a handful of semesters ago, I would probably have been hesitant and lacked the confidence that I do have. This is probably the most reciprocated of all the friendship ideals: watch their back and they'll watch yours. Encourage their endeavors and they'll watch yours. Motivate them and... well, you get the picture by now, I imagine.
Companionship :
One value of friendship which many find extremely important is the companionship aspect of it. Whether you are hanging out with your friends in between classes or going to the movies with them during the weekend, you will find that having friends is a really great thing. Friends are companions who will keep you occupied and individuals who you can have a great time with all the time.
Conversation : Even if you can't get together with your friends you can usually get a hold of them by phone, email or text messaging. Conversation, whether actual or virtual, is another value which people consider with regard to friendship. Everyone needs to talk and share their thoughts and feelings and friends are great in providing this for you. Good conversation usually equals a great friendship.

Helping Hand When Needed:

Friends also lend a helping hand when it is needed. Every once in a while you will find that you have a problem which your friends can often help you out with. Whether it deals with a fight with your parents or boy/girl issues, your friends are there for you. This is a valuable trait when it comes to friendship.


Laughter:


Those who have good friends will also find that laughter is a big part of the relationship. No one can make you laugh like your friends and laughter is so good for keeping your spirits up and making your day bright. You will find that the more good friends you have, the more laughter and happiness you will have in your life. Just keep in mind, though, that it is often quality of friends and not quantity of friends which make an individual happy overall.


Advice: 



Another valuable aspect of friendship is that friends often provide helpful advice for one another. When teens have a problem they usually turn to their friends or their parents. Sometimes they may find that their parents are unable to help out in a certain situation and this is when they truly need the advice of their peers. Having friends means that you will have someone to help you get through a situation that you need help with. This, too, is a great aspect of friendship. The advice may range anywhere from what clothes to wear to what you should do in a certain circumstance. No matter what the issue may be, having a friend to provide advice is quite valuable.


Although this are not necessary found in a friend, but you need to find at least a few of them in each an every one of your friends...


And you need to keep in mind that, friends are one of the most important ingredient in the recipe of life. 

Friday, October 1, 2010

The Importance of leaders, followers and consequences...

Incredible home made project, Images from outer space

Well, a photographer with his kinds made this cool home project, to send a weather balloon to the upper atmosphere and record a HD footage over there using a normal HD camera and an iPhone for gps to retrieve it, i think this is just amazing what you can achieve with some imagination, testing and low tech solution ... you will see in the video, that the craft is as low tech as it gets... a balloon, some regular ice cream insulation and that`s about it ... enjoy the video :)


Homemade Spacecraft from Luke Geissbuhler on Vimeo.

source : geekosystem