You are reading the article Pressure As Support For Change: When Applied Positively, Good Things Happen updated in December 2023 on the website Cattuongwedding.com. We hope that the information we have shared is helpful to you. If you find the content interesting and meaningful, please share it with your friends and continue to follow and support us for the latest updates. Suggested January 2024 Pressure As Support For Change: When Applied Positively, Good Things Happen
I was working with a group of principals a while back around how to provide building-level leadership in a district that is committed to making effective use of technology to engage students and support their achievement. “Pressure and support,” I told them, “are what you have to provide.”
The mention of the “p” word caused some obvious discomfort with the group, and so I stopped and went deeper, discovering that most, if not all, of those in attendance saw the application of pressure as a negative — that it was an inherently “bad thing” to do. They were wonderful supporters of their teachers, but hesitated to say out loud that they should, or would, apply pressure to individual teachers.
How can that be, I wonder, if change does not happen without pressure? Support is an important factor as well, but pure support appeals to those who are already eager for the change, and no real leader can expect their school community to just go along with the new ideas.
Humane, thoughtful, purposeful pressure that is coupled with support is the key. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the human race behaved as one massive professional learning community, and every member was willing to act in response to an internal pressure to do better, to be a better teacher, a better carpenter, a better farmer, a better nurse, a better parent? But such is not the case. People are, wonderfully enough, people. We resist change naturally, acting decidedly unprofessional at times by holding onto sneakers that should have been let go years ago or by keeping a couch or chair that just seems to fit our bodies when clearly it is time for that particular piece of furniture to be replaced.
As an example from the home front, my wife had talked for years about the need for a staircase of some sort leading up the slope from our driveway to the house. I knew she was right, and I would agree to the need whenever she spoke of it, but I also consistently dodged the work, the “change,” and never found the time to get it done. But my change came when she got smart and applied some pressure, in the form of, “I’m going to start calling landscapers to see how much it will cost to get those stairs done. I know we agree on the need, and it’s clear you just don’t have the time to do it.”
Well, as you can imagine, I quickly found the time to get started, and for the next several weekends I shaped the stairs we still use to go down over that hill. Pressure was what was needed in order for my wife to lead our family forward. She applied it, I felt it, and the change happened. And I needed the pressure. It was a good thing.
So what about in your professional life? When has pressure, artfully applied by an effective leader, proven to be a positive force in your professional growth? How do you apply pressure effectively in your own leadership, either in the classroom, at the building level, or beyond?
Please, don’t let me pressure you, don’t feel you have to respond, but face it, if you don’t, I’ll have the last word, and you wouldn’t want that to happen, would you?
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Tornadoes Are A Little Different When They Happen On The Sun
In pictures, solar tornadoes look like our own planet’s massive whirling twisters (hence the name). That’s except for the fact that they are many times the size of our planet and they contain super-hot plasma instead of wind and rain. But similar to the ones on Earth, they spring up from the Sun’s surface, and then quickly die down again.
The resemblance, scientists have found, stops there. In research discussed at the European Week of Astronomy and Space Science (EWASS) this week, astronomers took a closer look at data collected during these events and found that the ‘tornadoes’ weren’t massive, spinning, vertical funnels after all. Instead, the plasma followed horizontal magnetic lines coming out of the sun. The structures seem to be anchored somewhere on the surface (though scientists don’t yet know by what), and they stay fairly stationary during their brief existence.
“”Perhaps for once the reality is less complicated than what we see,” Brigitte Schmieder, a collaborator on the project said in a statement. “Solar tornadoes sound scary but in fact they normally have no noticeable consequences for us. However, when a tornado prominence erupts, it can cause what’s known as space weather, potentially damaging power, satellite and communication networks on Earth.”
This was a busy week for space news. Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Keep reading.
An artist’s impression of what a mission to look for life in Venus’ clouds might be. Northrup Grumman
Life on Venus?Could there be life in the dense clouds of Venus? That question has been nagging astrobiologists since 1967 when Carl Sagan and Harold Morowitz speculated that the chemical and physical ingredients to make life possible were hanging out in Venus’ clouds. Now, that’s resurfaced in a paper out this week in the journal Astrobiology.
In it, researchers bring up the idea again, with some new insights: Dark splotches that appear and disappear in the Martian atmosphere bear some striking resemblances to algae blooms here on Earth, including being made of the same sized particles and their ephemeral nature. And recent discoveries of extremophile microbes on this planet (creatures that thrive in extreme conditions) give astrobiologists hope that similarly harsh environs on Venus could yield extraterrestrial fruit. But to know more, researchers are going to have to take a closer look.
To do so, Aerospace company Northrop Grumman is developing VAMP, the Venus Atmospheric Maneuverable Platform, which researchers could use to explore the clouds of Venus, hunting for life. It’s still very much in its early stages, but is an intriguing possibility for researchers.
An illustration of the dozen or so black holes found orbiting the supermassive black hole in the center of our galaxy. Columbia University
Buncha Black HolesResearchers found a dozen black holes orbiting a supermassive black hole near the center of the galaxy, Sagittarius A*. That could indicate that there are tens of thousands more black holes in that immediate area, something that astrophysicists have long predicted, but haven’t found evidence for before now.
Black holes are hard to see because they’re ‘holes’ that even light can’t escape. Researchers can see them when gas from a nearby star gets sucked towards a black hole and releases x-rays, but depending on their size and location relative to Earth even those binaries can be difficult to see. But by focusing on the area near the center of the galaxy and looking for weaker x-ray emissions (caused by stars with low masses paired with black holes) they were able to identify 12.
Extrapolating from what they were able to observe and their existing knowledge of the center of our galaxy, the researchers estimate that there could be hundreds of star and black hole pairs like this and tens of thousands of isolated black holes hanging out in an area about 6 light years away in the center of the galaxy.
“Everything you’d ever want to learn about the way big black holes interact with little black holes, you can learn by studying this distribution,” astrophysicist and lead author of the study Chuck Hailey said. “The Milky Way is really the only galaxy we have where we can study how supermassive black holes interact with little ones because we simply can’t see their interactions in other galaxies. In a sense, this is the only laboratory we have to study this phenomenon.”
The Lunar XPrize went unclaimed, will it get a second chance? NASA
Prize-less Lunar PrizeThe Google Lunar XPrize is dead. Long live the Lunar X Prize. Google’s sponsorship of the prize ended without any of the five finalists claiming a portion of the $30 million in award money that was up for grabs. Now, XPrize hopes to give the teams another shot, and is looking for another sponsor to do so.
5 Not So Good But Bad Things About Android 5.0 Lollipop
There are numerous reports that reveal the new features that would arrive alongside the update. For your reference, the Material Design, new notification system, enhanced battery life, multiple user support, 64 bit processor support and many others are welcome and are believed to make the Android Lollipop a good one. However, there are some aspects that need further improvement.
Text MessagesWith the Android 5.0 Lollipop update having made its way to the Nexus 4 and Nexus 5 devices lately, there is a major issue faced by some owners. The update brings an unpleasant bug that is preventing them from sending text messages. According to the complaints that are getting piled up on the Android Issue Tracker, the problem is persistent with some carriers and it should be related to the specific device or software that they are using to send text messages.
As of now, there is a diverse group of carriers including Vodafone and Mobistar and also those virtual operates connected to these networks. It has reported that Google has halted the updates that are affected by this text message bug and that it will resume rolling them once a fix is ready. However, there is no issue in receiving a text message and the problem appears to persist even on the Nexus 6.
Tap & GoThe Tap & Go feature is a NFC and Bluetooth powered data transfer functionality that moves all the Google Account details, data, configuration settings and applications to a new device just by placing the old device against it. It does not spare even the widgets and wallpapers. However, it appears like this feature is only half done. Of course, this feature eradicates the necessity of third party applications or rooting to achieve a smarter setup. But, it fails to restore those third party app settings as in iOS.
BiometricsIt appears like the Face Unlock is similar to TouchID, but it does not require the user to touch. The issue with this feature is that it is not reliable at all times as it does not function properly. Google will have to create a fingerprint biometrics system for Android that can be used by the device manufacturers.
Lack of Silent ModeIt appears like Android 5.0 Lollipop does not let the users to mute the device completely. Well, lowering the volume of a Lollipop device will put it to the vibrate mode instead of going to the silent mode. When the volume is turned to ‘0′ on Android smartphones running on Android 4.3 and below, it activates vibration mode and silent mode is activated by turning volume up once again. On the Android 4.4 KitKat and higher devices, reducing the volume below vibrate mode activates silent mode. But, it appears like there is no silent mode in the Lollipop powered devices as turning down the volume below ‘0′ takes the users only to vibration mode and there is no option to activate silent mode.
Soft Keys Other Annoying AspectsSome Nexus 5 users have raised complaints regarding battery drain and charging issues after receiving the Lollipop update. Several Nexus users claim that Google Now is apparently crashing and freezing. Apart from these issues, there are problems in syncing after downloading the new update and other issues related to Wi-Fi, sound, Contacts and more. These are few issues that the Android Lollipop users are facing and there are many more complaints flooding Google’s forums.
The Concept Of Applied Ethics And Business
Ethics define how people should behave in certain situations. There is no right or wrong when it comes to ethics because it is an individual’s judgment. In simple terms, the majority considers ethics to be good. “Applied ethics” in ethics means the practical aspect of ethics. What would be the practical solution in the given scenario, not the ideal ethical answer that an individual might give without taking the situations and emotions into consideration?
In this article, we will be diving deep into the concept of applied business ethics, what are the benefits of applied business ethics for firms, and how certain companies are practicing it.
Applied Business EthicsApplied Business Ethics asks companies to find practical and ethical solutions that will help the company promote human welfare along with its own. It is a method that ensures that the company is growing with the community. Applied business ethics can also be divided into three categories −
Applied ethical dilemmas at the individual level This deals with the ethical dilemmas that the employees of the organization or its leadership team might face while working for the organization and ensuring its success. There are going to be situations that demand the individual go a little out of their way to ensure that their work has been done, or else they would have to restart the process. In these scenarios, individuals should weigh the pros and cons of the same and try to make an ethical business decision. For example, a salesperson might face ethical dilemmas like
Should I inform the consumers about the negatives of the product?
Should I correct the consumer while he is making wrong assumptions?
Am I hiding certain crucial information that will lead to a loss for the consumer or a sour post-consumption experience? And others.
Applied business ethics at the business or organizational level − This refers to the ethics that a company wants to imbibe among its working culture and the people that are working with it. What the company thinks is right or wrong as a whole Employees can always refer to these ethics or values and use them as a guide in times of turmoil. The organizational level of applied business ethics helps the company and its members understand or address questions like
Is this how we should be achieving our goals?
Is this how we should be responding to our clients and their needs?
Is this how we should be treating your employees?
Applied business ethics at the community level − This helps us understand how businesses and their workings can influence the society that we live in. Businesses influence the laws, rules, regulations, environmental characteristics, and others of a community. Businesses can ask themselves questions to ensure that they are ethical in the community setting as well, and some of them are −
Am I giving back to society what I am taking from it?
Am I helping society in its drive toward a sustainable future? and others.
Instances to better explain the concept of applied business ethics
Samsung, Apple, and H&M These are prominent brands in the industry of technology as well as clothing. They are known to provide consumers with excellent-quality products at somewhat reasonable rates. All of the companies mentioned above now have manufacturing plants in developing countries. In this sense, they are producing high-quality products under their brand names but are using the land, people, and infrastructure of developing countries. Now companies are doing this because of the low cost of living in developing
countries. For example, if these companies produced the goods in their home countries, they would have to hire laborers. These laborers will cost the company approximately $12 per hour, but the same company can hire an employee in India, China, Bangladesh, or elsewhere for the same work at $1.25. So now the question is whether the company is fair. The company knows the actual wage rate in their country but provides labor to developing countries at a much lower rate, thereby kind of exploiting them. Now, adding another point to the discussion, what if the average wage rate in a particular developing country is $1 for the same manual labor done? Is the company now doing right by providing the laborers with $1.25? And if yes, then is it just because it is something that is above the standard of the country?
Bluffing on the negotiation table − There are scenarios in which companies bluff with clients or other clients to crack a deal. Though bluffing may appear unethical at first, it is perfectly acceptable in the poker game, and will be bluffing not be acceptable when the company is doing it to ensure that they are paid according to market value and not exploited?
Benefits of Ethics in BusinessBeing ethically right may cost the company money, opportunities, and clients. It is difficult to succeed in a corrupt world, but an ethically strong company will have the following pillar benefits −
It affects the bottom line − An ethically strong company would not have to bear the cost of the legal fees and doubts from the consumer’s end. In a survey, it was found that half of the consumers in the United States market will not purchase goods from companies that they perceive as unethical, and three out of every 10 consumers will express support for companies on social media that are ethical.
Drives employee behavior − Employees will be more ethical in their work if they see the organization doing the same. The way that the organization performs drives the behavior of employees.
Designs the organization’s working − With automation and artificial intelligence coming into place, it has become easier for businesses to detect unethical behavior. With the world moving toward hybrid, it has also become essential for companies to ensure that they have an ethical working space and ethical employees to minimize the chance and effects of losses because of ethical issues.
Applied Business Ethics helps companies reach the middle ground between the ideal scenario that we do not have and the corrupted ground that we breed in. It provides the company with solutions so that they are not defeated by competitors and can continue to be a prosperous and happy place to work. Companies have to start understanding and investing in business ethics to enjoy the delicious fruits of success in the long run.
What Are Some Good Python Examples For Beginners?
In this article , we will learn some useful basic Python examples for beginners in this chúng tôi article also includes some basic questions that are asked in the python interview. Lets get started!!!
How can I Make a Tuple out of a List?Using the Python tuple() method, we may convert a list to a tuple. We can’t update the list after it’s been converted to a tuple since tuples are immutable.
ExampleThe following program returns the converts the list into a tuple using tuple() function −
# input list inputList = ['hello', 'tutorialspoint', 'python', 'codes'] # converting input list into a tuple resultTuple = tuple(inputList) # printing the resultant tuple print(resultTuple) # Printing the type of resultant tuple print(type(resultTuple)) Output ('hello', 'tutorialspoint', 'python', 'codes') What is a NumPy Array?NumPy arrays are far more versatile than Python lists. NumPy arrays make reading and writing objects faster and more efficient.
In Python, in What Ways can you Make an Empty NumPy array and Numpy array of a Given Shape? ExampleThe following program shows how to create an empty NumPy array and Numpy garbage array of a given shape −
# importing NumPy module import numpy # Creating an empty NumPy array without shape array1 = numpy.array([]) # printing array print(array1) # Creating a NumPy array with given shape and garbage values array2 = numpy.empty(shape=(3,3)) print(array2) Output [] [[4.14578705e-316 1.77863633e-322 0.00000000e+000] [0.00000000e+000 2.37663529e-312 7.87101931e-071] [3.88586518e-033 5.03180591e-091 1.20858772e+161]] What is a Negative Index in Python?Python has a unique feature called negative indexing in arrays and lists.
Python allows for “indexing from the end,” i.e., negative indexing.
This means that the last value in a sequence has an index of -1, the second last has an index of -2, and so on.
When you want to pick values from the end (right side) of an iterable, you can utilize negative indexing to your benefit.
What is the Python Data Type SET, and how can I use it?“set” is a Python data type that is a sort of collection. It has been a part of Python since version 2.4. A set is a collection of distinct and immutable items that are not ordered in any specific way.
How do you Print the Summation of all the Numbers From 1 to 100? ExampleThe following program returns the sum of the first 100 natural numbers −
# printing the sum of numbers from 1 to 100 print(sum(range(1,101)) ) Output 5050 What is the Difference Between a List and a Tuple in Python?List Tuple
Lists are editable, which means they may be mutable. Tuples are immutable, which means we cannot change the elements of a tuple.
Lists are relatively slower. Tuples beat lists in terms of efficiency.
Syntax −
list = [40, tutorialspoint, 100]Syntax −
tuple = (40, tutorialspoint, 100) Is Python a Programming Language or Scripting Language?Although we can write scripts using Python, it is primarily utilized as a general-purpose programming language.
Python is an Interpreted Programming Language. Explain.An interpreted language is any scripting language that is not in machine code before execution. As a result, Python is an interpreted language. Additionally, because it is an interpreted language, it cannot be converted to computer-readable code before running at runtime.
What is pep 8?PEP is an abbreviation for Python Enhancement Proposal. It is a collection of guidelines for formatting Python code for better readability.
What are Decorators in Python?Decorators are only used to add certain layout patterns to a method without impacting the function’s structure. Decorators are typically identified prior to the event for which they will be improving. Before we can use a decorator, we must first define its function i,e decorator function.
The function in which the decorator’s function will be implemented is then written, and the decorator function is simply positioned above it. The @ symbol comes before the decorator in this case.
What are the Most Prevalent Python built-in Data Types?Numbers − Python’s most common built-in data structures are integers, complex numbers, and floating points.
Example 5, 2+3i, 3.5.List − A list is a collection of objects ordered in a particular order. The components of a list can be of multiple data types.
Example [10, ‘tutorialspoint’, 4.89]Tuple − A tuple is a set of items in a specific order. Tuples, unlike lists, are immutable, which means they cannot be changed.
Example (10, ‘tutorialspoint’, 4.89)String − A string is a collection of characters. Strings can be declared using the single or double quotes.
Example “Hello ‘tutorialspoint’”.Set − A set is a collection of unrelated items that are not in any specific order.
Example (5, 2, 8, 1)Dictionary − A dictionary is a collection of key and value pairs in which each value can be accessed by its key. The order/sequence of the items is irrelevant.
Example {10:’tutorialspoint’, 20:python} What is the self in Python?A self is a class instance or an object. In Python, this is explicitly specified as the first parameter. That is not the situation in Java, where it is optional. Local variables help distinguish between a class’s methods and attributes.
The self variable of a class corresponds to newly created objects in the init method, but it refers to the entity whose method can be invoked in other methods of the class.
How do These Commands work: Break, pass and Continue?break − When a condition is satisfied, the loop is terminated, and control is transferred to the next statement.
pass − When a code block needs to be syntactically valid but you don’t want to run it, use this pass statement. In essence, this is a null action. When it is executed, nothing happens.
continue − Control is sent to the beginning of the loop when a specified condition is met, allowing some portion of the loop’s current execution to be skipped.
How will you Convert Every Character in the String to Lowercase Letters?To convert a string to lowercase, use the lower() function.
ExampleThe following program converts every character in the string to lowercase letters −
# input string inputString = 'TUTORIALSPOINT' # converting each character of the string into lowercase # using the lower() function print("Converting every character of the string into lowercase:") print(inputString.lower()) Output Converting every character of the string into lowercase: tutorialspoint ConclusionIn this article, we learned 16 different Python examples. These are also crucial questions for Python interviews.
Search Engine Updates : Spot Them Before They Happen
Search Engine Updates : Spot Them Before They Happen
Over the past few weeks we’ve seen all the major engines update in some form. From major Google updates to minor MSN And Yahoo updates. Sometimes these updates catch website owners off guard.
It wasn’t too long ago that you could set your watch (almost) by a search engine update. And at that time Google was the one most watched. For a few days during the end of the month and spilling into the next month Google would do a complete update of it’s index. Those days are long gone in favor of a constantly updating index, however they do throw in major updates here and there to keep us on our toes.
Similarly, Yahoo! Also does that all inclusive update occasionally. Before I go into the indicators for these two lets take a look at the third of the big 3:
MSN – MSN launched their own crawler based search engine earlier this year. They claim to use a neural network to help index pages and improve results over time.
They also subscribe to the belief of an perpetual update where new content is added as its found, and results are tweaked on the fly.
However, in monitoring MSN since its inception I’ve found occasions where there have been updates which are noticeable. I think I’ve even discovered how you too can watch for them.
Usually, just before a shakeup of MSN’s results, there’s a dramatic change in either pages indexed or back links for a bunch of sites.
Usually I check these factors across all the engines for my clients on Monday mornings, first thing.
And almost without fail, before a major MSN change I will see pages or back links indexed drop from a high number to a low number or even 0. It isn’t the usual change you see in MSN – where new pages or links are added a few at a time. This is a major change in the numbers.
In every case I can think of this precedes a major update by a few days to a week.
In other words, if my client had 15,434 pages indexed, it would drop to 27. This was a precursor to an MSN update. Conversely if the client site went from 15,434 to 15,994 I wouldn’t consider that as an update indication.
Yahoo! – There are a couple indicators for Yahoo! That I’ve noticed in the past.
For one thing, they do something similar to MSN. That is you will see a change in the days leading up to the update. For example, for one of my clients, their back links had remained steady at just under 1 million for the past few weeks. Then in the weeks leading up to the most recent update they began to drop. Now they are at about 760,000 – a 25% loss in back links.
Similarly, the indexed page count followed a similar pattern. For this same client the indexed page count sat around 2.3 million for the past few weeks. 2 weeks before the update it dropped to 1.8 million then to 1.5 million the next week. Now it’s back up to just under 2.3 million.
One other thing I’ve noticed with Yahoo! is that they seem to plan major updates every 3-6 months and these updates take place either just before or just after their earnings report.
I’ve noticed this for the past couple years now and for a few updates you could almost gauge how drastic an update it was going to be based on their earnings report : if Yahoo! had a good quarter then the impact on search engine rankings as a result of the index shift was greater.
These days, however, Yahoo! only seems to have one or two major shakeups per year, with a series of smaller ones throughout the year.
Google – Google, of course, is the engine most people watch.
And while Google too has moved to a perpetually updating index, much like MSN, they do have major updates when algorithms are tweaked.
In fact, we have just completed one such update. And as with previous major updates, I was expecting this one.
There were similar indicators as with MSN And Yahoo! In that there was a subtle shift in the number of back links indexed, but the largest indicator for me was the recent doubling of the index.
You see, back when Yahoo! proclaimed ‘Ours is bigger’ Google retaliated with a massive crawl and index. In almost every case I’ve seen the number of indexed pages roughly doubled.
But since many of the sites in question didn’t actually have that many pages I new an adjustment was coming.
At the end of October, the week before Halloween I noticed that the back link counts for all my clients changed significantly. To me this was the beginning of the update, yet no formal announcement from the “traditional” sources happened until a few days later. That’s when Webmasterworld began calling it Jagger. It was still a few days after that that Matt Cutts acknowledged the update on his blog.
And this isn’t the first time I’ve noticed updates before official announcements, this is about the third Google ‘major’ update that has been preceded by either a page or back link count change.
So what does this mean (if anything?)
As you can see, in all three cases there are good indicators preceding an update.
Either you see major changes in links or pages indexed, or even a positive earnings report after which an update happens.
Granted this is by no means scientific. This is just observations I’ve made on a couple dozen client’s websites over the past few quarters.
But when I see the same things happening to these clients at roughly the same time, this to me is an indicator. One which I will be sure to pay attention to in the future.
One final note, I’ve also noticed in Google that updates seem to follow themes. In other words, the update doesn’t happen all over at once. Sure different data centers update at different times, but the update seems to hit different parts of the index at different time.
For example, I don’t see rankings changes on legal sites at the same time as rankings changes on rental sites. They always happen a week or 2 apart.
These changes don’t seem PageRank or authority based but do seem to revolve around the theme or topic of the sites.
Therefore, if you do see changes happening with your site, check your competitors and you may also see changes affecting them. But if you don’t see changes happening with non-related sites, that doesn’t necessarily mean that there isn’t an update, it could just mean that it’s already affected those other sites or hasn’t hit them yet.
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Columnist Rob Sullivan is an SEO Specialist and Internet Marketing Consultant at Text Link Brokers
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