We used to make a big deal out of Casual Fridays at work.  But now that we're entering the dog days of summer, is anyone dressing up?

Mark Austin Thomas: Business analyst Mark Lacter, dare I ask what you're wearing?

Mark Lacter: This is radio for a reason, Mark!  And certainly, don't ask that question at the L.A. Daily Journal newspaper, which recently issued a memo that laid down the law on what's not considered appropriate attire.  As in, no jeans, no sneakers (except for messengers), no sandals or flip-flops, no halter tops, no spaghetti straps, no tee-shirts.  Also, no shorts, leggings, or exercise pants.  And, if you don't measure up, you may be sent home to change clothes - without pay for the time you've missed.  Now, to be fair, the Daily Journal is a legal newspaper, and law firms - along with the courts - remain kind of a bastion for traditional business attire.

Thomas: And that means jackets and ties for men...?

Lacter: ...and skirt suits and business dresses for women.  It's the same deal for many offices in New York and Chicago.  Matter of fact, dressing down is still not especially popular in many parts of the country, according to a new survey I came across.  More than half of the respondents say it suggests an employee doesn't have respect for the workplace.  In other words, not a team player.

Thomas: But L.A. has this huge creative community where jeans and tee-shirts are almost part of the uniform.

Lacter: Yeah, the only people wearing suits at these places are the high-level executives who are actually called "suits."  This has been true in Hollywood for years, but now you're seeing it with the growth of tech companies.  Imagine how confusing it must be for an attorney who wears the standard business uniform, and who has one of these companies as his client.  And, maybe that's the point - there is no single workplace culture, even within the companies themselves.

Thomas: Is being comfortable just not on the radar at these places?

Lacter: Well, not to pick on the Daily Journal, but so what if someone who is stuck in front of a computer all day wants to be a little more comfortable in jeans?  Will the world as we know it come to a halt?  You know, the workplace is far different than it was even 10 years ago.  People are doing their jobs in all sorts of ways, whether it's working from home, or as independent contractors.  And, this is really all about common sense - so, maybe it's time the stick-in the-muds realized as much.

Thomas: Attire aside, how is the workplace itself changing?

Lacter: Some of those downtown law firms have been cutting back, which means that they don't need as much space.  Not every attorney needs a giant office.  Same with the downtown accounting firms - when folks do go to work, the office may include a fancy kitchen, a ping pong table, workstations that double as treadmills, a place to do yoga or even to take a nap.

Thomas: All this is supposed to boost productivity...

Lacter: ...which it probably does, though you do have to wonder whether having a yoga room really enhances output, or is just a way of keeping employees from not taking a job somewhere else.  My favorite perk, and I say that facetiously, is the office kegerator, which not only seems like a dumb idea, but a great way for a company to get sued if somebody has one too many.

Thomas: Quickly Mark, any news in the dispute between CBS and Time Warner Cable?

Lacter: Not good news.  Time Warner Cable offered what it said were two possible solutions to the standoff, but CBS has came back and called it a sham.  Time Warner Cable subscribers have been without CBS programming since Friday, which is already going on longer than analysts had first expected.  The fight is over re-transmission fees - the amount of money that a programmer receives from a distributor- in this case, Time Warner Cable.  CBS apparently wants a big increase, and Time Warner Cable doesn't want to pay.

Mark Lacter is a contributing writer for Los Angeles Magazine and writes the business blog at LA Observed.com.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Ganezza’s Visual Identity: A Dynamic Branding Journey

DUSHANBE, 29 July 2016 – The OSCE Office in Tajikistan today donated audio-visual equipment to the Police Academy of Tajikistan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs with the aim of supporting the Academy’s lecturers to use interactive teaching techniques on the investigation of crimes related to the trafficking of human beings.

The equipment includes a computer, a projector, a screen, speakers, a printer, and an Uninterruptible Power Supply device (UPS). An external hard disk drive was also donated to allow for the storing of an electronic library of thematic video films and other informational resources in this field.

“This equipment will improve the teaching of the Course on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, and will therefore enable the police to more effectively address this serious social problem,” said Fabio Piana, Deputy Head of the OSCE Office in Tajikistan.

Karim Soliev, the first Deputy Director of the Police Academy, thanked the OSCE for its continued support in building the capacity of future law enforcement staff and Police Academy cadets in combating human trafficking and domestic violence in Tajikistan. “This equipment is of great help to lecturers who will now be able to apply more interactive teaching techniques,” he said.

In previous years, the OSCE has provided expert support to the Police Academy, including the development of the Lecturer’s Guidelines on teaching this specialized and compulsory 20-hour course. The OSCE has also trained the team of lecturers on modern interactive teaching techniques and has recently updated the Course on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings with regard to new legislation in this field.

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https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42105869

Samsung usually launches its latest Galaxy S series phones in late January or February. The South Korean tech giant is yet to reveal a possible date for the launch of the Galaxy S25 lineup, but a newly leaked survey suggests that we may see the phones earlier than usual this time. Samsung launched the Galaxy S24 series in January this year. Last year's Galaxy S23 series was unveiled in mid-February.

An earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale jolted Kashmir Valley. No casualty or damage to any property has so far been reported.

1. Exclusive: McLennan urges RA to put Super team in Sydney's west with 'NRL's worst nightmare' Suaalii as marquee  The Roar
2. Ten touches and eight magic moments in Suaalii’s stunning debut  Sydney Morning Herald
3. Proof NRL will survive without Suaalii; why Rugby should be thanking league bosses: Crawls  Fox Sports
4. EXCLUSIVE: How new Wallabies 'freak' plans to get even better in encore against Wales  Nine
5. No regrets for Nawaqanitawase after Suaalii’s Wallabies debut  Daily Telegraph

Irish mixed martial artist Conor McGregor claimed to have had consensual sex with a woman who is accusing him of rape, a court has heard.

Goal-directed visual attention is a fundamental cognitive process that enables animals to selectively focus on specific regions of the visual field while filtering out irrelevant information. However, given the domain specificity of social behaviors, it remains unclear whether attention to faces versus nonfaces recruits different neurocognitive processes. In this study, we simultaneously recorded activity from temporal and frontal nodes of the attention network while macaques performed a goal-directed visual search task. V4 and inferotemporal (IT) visual category-selective units, selected during cue presentation, discriminated fixations on targets and distractors during the search but were differentially engaged by face and house targets. V4 and IT category-selective units also encoded fixation transitions and search dynamics. Compared with distractors, fixations on targets reduced spike–LFP coherence within the temporal cortex. Importantly, target-induced desynchronization between the temporal and prefrontal cortices was only evident for face targets, suggesting that attention to faces differentially engaged the prefrontal cortex. We further revealed bidirectional theta influence between the temporal and prefrontal cortices using Granger causality, which was again disproportionate for faces. Finally, we showed that the search became more efficient with increasing target-induced desynchronization. Together, our results suggest domain specificity for attending to faces and an intricate interplay between visual attention and social processing neural networks.

Casual wedding dress style again. Soon the bride should pay attention to this point. Decided to use the less formal wedding dress can make your own wedding, and infinitely more memorable.

Informal dress additional...

Google’s new AI-powered ‘Learn About’ experiment will adapt to users’ interests and learning goals, per the company, but it is not yet publicly available in India

George Whitefield and John Wesley did not see eye-to-eye on a theology of grace however. In 1740 Wesley published "Free Grace," saying that God's grace was extended to all. Wesley rejected the concept of divine election. Whitefield was a Calvinist. He once wrote, "God, himself, I find, teaches my friends the doctrine of election. If I mistake not, my dear and honored Mr. Wesley will hereafter be convinced of it also." -- The two men were never to agree on divine election. Whitefield thought Wesley's was preaching universal redemption whereas Wesley thought Whitefield's preaching implied Christians need not take moral responsibility. They parted ways but managed, in the end, to maintain a respect for each other in that their hearts were the same in terms of unity in Jesus Christ. After Whitefield's death, John Wesley preached a memorial sermon. -- Wesley said: "Let my last end be like his!" How many of you join in this wish? Perhaps there are few of you who do not, even in this numerous congregation! And O that this wish may rest upon your minds! - that it may not die away till your souls also are lodged "where the wicked cease from troubling, and where the weary are at rest!"

On January 3, 1521 the Vatican published the bull Decet Romanum Pontificem ([It] Befits [the] Roman Pontiff), excommunicating Martin Luther for Luther's refusal to recant. The pope [Leo X] had issued a previous bull, Exsurge Domine (Arise, O Lord), giving Luther 60 days to recant and another 60 days to make his recantation known to Rome. Meanwhile, Luther's books were being burned for allegedly containing heresy. On December 10, 1520 Luther responded by publicly burning his copy of Exsurge Domine. -- The Church usually handed excommunicated persons over to civil authorities to be burned at the stake. However, circumstances prevailed that spared Martin Luther this fate and paved the way for Luther's stand at the Diet of Worms in April 1521. The pure teaching of Scripture would not be snuffed out by the flames. -- Luther wasn't looking to split the Church; he wanted the Church to institute reforms and took a more conciliatory tone at first in his writings. When it became clear that the pope cared not at all for Scripture and reason, only for Luther's recantation, Luther rose to the challenge and prepared to take his stand. The truth of God's Word, long muffled or distorted by the noise of human traditions, would find a voice in Martin Luther and others willing to risk everything on the authority and benevolence of Sola Scriptura.

I found that persuasion plays a critical role in personal relationships and business relationships. Whenever two or more people get together to complete a task, whether it be a social actively like picking a restaurant or being part of team, there is always the possibility of an argument instead of agreement, which is where the power of persuasion comes in. With persuasion, there are no winners or losers. Persuasion is the art of convincing others to do what you want them to do because they want to, not because they are forced to. And it can be tapped using these simple techniques.

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Interesting visuals can make a huge impact on your website and online marketing efforts, whether they be photos, videos or other forms of media. Social platforms like Instagram, Pinterest and even Meerkat have made these visual forms of media even more prominent.

Members of our small business community have some tips for using each of these visual platforms and for including visual elements on business websites. Read on for the full list of tips in this week’s Small Business Trends community roundup.

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Did you know that nearly 96 percent of your first-time visitors are not ready to purchase from your website right away? That means in most cases, in order to make a sale, you need to encourage your visitors to return more often to your site.

Retargeting is the best way to target your first-time visitors on different marketing channels and encourage them to return to your site. Since retargeting helps you to target your existing prospects, it will likely boost more engagement than untargeted ads, making your entire campaign cheaper and cost-effective.

complete article

(EMAILWIRE.COM, October 30, 2024 ) The Integrated Visual Augmentation System market is valued at USD 1.0 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 1.7 billion by 2029, at a CAGR of 11.1% from 2024 to 2029. Integrated Visual Augmentation Systems (IVAS) are advanced solutions enhancing military...

1sr casualty of the sailing season. Dropped my favourite stainless steel Otter water bottle overboard. ;-(

As part of a general discussion with veteran Tulsa projectionist Scott Linder about Tulsa theaters and equipment, we see a photo of the webmaster as Audio Visual guy in 1967 or 8 at Lewis and Clark jr. high in GroupBlog 325.

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In video editing, one key aspect that can significantly enhance the visual appeal of your videos is...

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Frederica interviews Tim Mehok of Saints Peter & Paul OCA Church in Lorain, Ohio. Tim is a catechumen and is blind. He talks with Frederica about what Orthodox churches could do to make their worship, parish life, and websites more accessible to the visually impaired.

“Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” The father of the young man in today’s gospel lesson cried out these words with tears in response to the Lord’s statement that “all things are possible to him who believes.” The father in this passage provides a good example of how we should respond to the spiritual challenges posed by our current public health crisis.

Fr. Apostolos Hill preaches on the Gospel reading about the difference between casual, ineffective prayer and the fervent prayer required of us in our present difficulties.

n 1 Corinthian 4:9-16, the Apostle Paul gives a portrayal of a style of life very much in contrast with the style of life preferred by the Corinthians. In this homily from 2009, Fr. Pat looks at the contrasts enumerated by St. Paul.

Because social proof has become such a mainstay in marketing, it's easy for marketers to grow numb to it. You forget that social proof is one of Cialdini's most persuasive principles. So here are 5 new studies to remind you about the persuasive power of social proof.

The post Social Proof: 5 new studies that prove its continued persuasive power appeared first on Coaching and training to scale your copywriting business, plus programs for new copywriters, startups, and marketers.

Visual IVRs (Interactive Voice Response) combine traditional IVR technology with visual elements such as images, videos, and menus that make for a fast, user-friendly experience. In call centers where there’s a large volume of incoming calls and customer inquiries to handle, visual IVRs can help customers get their answers more […]

The post A Visual IVR Can Do This One Thing That Regular IVR Can’t appeared first on .

The technology allows people to scan a code and get information on navigating buildings.

LightSounds runs 23-24 November.

In this paper we introduce eXVisXML, a visual tool to explore documents annotated with the mark-up language XML, in order to easily perform over them tasks as knowledge extraction or document engineering.

eXVisXML was designed mainly for two kind of users. Those who want to analyze an annotated document to explore the information contained-for them a visual inspection tool can be of great help, and a slicing functionality can be an effective complement.

The other target group is composed by document engineers who might be interested in assessing the quality of the annotation created. This can be achieved through the measurements of some parameters that will allow to compare the elements and attributes of the DTD/Schema against those effectively used in the document instances.

Both functionalities and the way they were delineated and implemented will be discussed along the paper.

Physical and social aspects each make up a separate part of servicescape. Together, these make up the servicescape. Although previous research has frequently investigated these aspects separately, the purpose of this study is to simultaneously find out the impact of both aspects within the casual dining restaurants' context. In total, 462 customers in Delhi were polled for this study, and structural equation modelling was used to analyse the data. According to the results, both the social and physical parts of the servicescape have the ability to affect how satisfied customers are, which in turn can affect how they behave in the future.

Aim/Purpose: Although many computer science measures have been proposed, visualizing individual students’ capabilities is difficult, as those measures often rely on specific tools and methods or are not graded. To solve these problems, we propose a rubric for measuring and visualizing the effects of learning computer programming for elementary school students enrolled in computer science education (CSE), which is independent of the programming language being used. Background: In this research, we proposed a rubric based on existing CSE standards and criteria having a programming education-learning goal. We then applied this rubric to actual lessons to visualize the educational effects. Methodology: The proposed new rubric for teaching computer programming, based on existing standards and criteria, was applied to fourth- and sixth-grade students in Japan. We assessed which skills were cultivated through quizzes before and after the teaching. Contribution: This paper contributes on how to make and utilize a rubric for programming education in computer science. We evaluated and visualized the proposed rubric’s learning effects on children and found that our proposed rubrics are independent of any particular method or tool. Findings: The results of this survey are twofold: (1) we proposed a rubric of programming education in computer science, independent of the programming tools used and (2) we succeeded in visualizing students’ learning stages by applying the proposed rubric to programming education conducted in a Japanese elementary school. Recommendations for Practitioners: Evaluating educational effects in CSE is important. In particular, graded assessments of learner abilities can reveal individual characteristics. This research is useful for assessing CSE because it focuses specifically on programming education. Recommendation for Researchers: The rubric’s suggestions and quality improvements in CSE help learners assess their learning progress and will clarify the cultivated computer science skills. Impact on Society: This research evaluates CSE based on a rubric in the programming education field. Future Research: Future work is needed to improve the proposed rubric’s quality and relevance. Also, this rubric should be applied to many classes to increase the number of evaluations and analyses.

As academia in general, and research funders in particular, place ever greater importance on data as an output of research, so the value of good research data management practices becomes ever more apparent. In response to this, the Innovative Design and Manufacturing Research Centre (IdMRC) at the University of Bath, UK, with funding from the JISC, ran a project to draw up a data management planning regime. In carrying out this task, the ERIM (Engineering Research Information Management) Project devised a visual method of mapping out the data records produced in the course of research, along with the associations between them. This method, called Research Activity Information Development (RAID) Modelling, is based on the Unified Modelling Language (UML) for portability. It is offered to the wider research community as an intuitive way for researchers both to keep track of their own data and to communicate this understanding to others who may wish to validate the findings or re-use the data.

The article describes the integrated adoption of Fedora Commons and MediaMosa for managing a digital repository. The integration was experimented along with the development of a cooperative project, Sapienza Digital Library (SDL). The functionalities of the two applications were exploited to built a weaving factory, useful for archiving, preserving and disseminating of multi-format and multi-protocol audio video contents, in different fruition contexts. The integration was unleashed by means of both repository-to-repository interaction, and mapping of video Content Model's disseminators to MediaMosa's Restful services. The outcomes of this integration will lead to a more flexible management of the dissemination services, as well as to economize the overproduction of different dissemination formats.

The study aims to review the literature on mobile wallet payment and align research trends using a systematic literature review with bibliometric and network visualisation analysis over two decades. It uses bibliometric analysis of the literature research retrieved from the Web of Science database. The study period was from 2001 to 2021, with 1,134 research papers. It also provides the indicators like citation trends, cited reference patterns, authorship patterns, subject areas published on the mobile wallet, top contributing authors, and highly cited research articles using the database. Furthermore, network visualisation analysis, like the co-occurrence of author keywords and keywords plus terms, has also been examined using VOSviewer software. The bibliometric analysis shows that the Republic of China dominates mobile wallet payment, and India is a significant contributor. Furthermore, the constructions of the network map using a co-citation analysis and bibliographic coupling shows an interesting pattern of mobile wallet payment.