3/23/2012

Asking prospective employees for facebook passwords not illegal?

By Emma Barnett
Telegraph

The growing trend for bosses asking prospective employees for their Facebook usernames and passwords is not illegal say employment lawyers.

There have been several cases reported in the US of people being asked for their Facebook passwords while being interviewed for a role.
Justin Bassett, a New York-based statistician, had just finished answering some standard character questions in a job interview, when he was asked to hand over his Facebook login information after his interviewer could not find his profile on the site, according to the Boston Globe.
Bassett refused and withdrew his job application, as he did not want to be employed by a business which would invade his privacy to such an extent.
While Lee Williams, an online retail worker from the Midlands, told The Telegraph that he was asked by his managing director for his Facebook login details, after his boss had looked him up on the social network and could not see any details about him as his privacy settings were locked down. The boss thought that Williams was hiding something by not having his profile publicly available.
Williams refused to hand his password over. His boss persisted with his request, but then let it go without taking any further action. Williams still works for the company, but did not wish to name it.

Sarah Veale, head of equality and employment rights for the TUC, has warned that the practice is likely to start happening more and more in the UK.
“Once something like this starts happening in the US, it is likely to come over here – especially in American businesses which have outposts in UK. If interviewers in the US are adopting this practice of asking prospective staff for access to their Facebook accounts, they will start doing it over here.”
She described the request as both “dangerous and unnecessary”.
“I think it’s very dangerous and unnecessary to start asking people for access into their personal lives. Once you start asking people to reveal everything about themselves, which is irrelevant to their ability to be able to do a job, you are getting into a tricky area. It’s the equivalent of getting people to spy on prospective staff down at the pub before hiring them.
“It’s also quite a lazy way by bosses to get a full picture of somebody and shows that their interviewing process is unsatisfactory.”
Erin Egan, Facebook's chief privacy officer, policy, responded: "In recent months, we’ve seen a distressing increase in reports of employers or others seeking to gain inappropriate access to people’s Facebook profiles or private information. This practice undermines the privacy expectations and the security of both the user and the user’s friends. It also potentially exposes the employer who seeks this access to unanticipated legal liability
"The most alarming of these practices is the reported incidences of employers asking prospective or actual employees to reveal their passwords. If you are a Facebook user, you should never have to share your password, let anyone access your account, or do anything that might jeopardize the security of your account or violate the privacy of your friends. We have worked really hard at Facebook to give you the tools to control who sees your information...That’s why we’ve made it a violation of Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities to share or solicit a Facebook password."
Since the rise of social networking, there have been growing number of cases around the world where people have been sacked for writing disparaging comments about their jobs on sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
Two months ago, John Flexman, a former human resources executive, began a tribunal against his former employer, BG Group (a major gas exploration firm based in Reading, Berks), accusing the firm of forcing him out after he put his CV online through LinkedIn. He is thought to be the first person in the country to bring a case for constructive dismissal after a dispute with bosses over his profile on the professional networking site.
Flexman is claiming hundreds of thousands of pounds from BG Group, where he earned a £68,000 salary from his job in charge of graduate recruitment. The outcome is due later this year.
However, these American examples are some of the first reported cases of prospective employees being asked for their logins as a way of vetting them before the job is theirs.
Paula Whelan, an employment partner at Shakespeares law firm, said there was nothing to stop employers from asking for logins into social media. However, prospective employees had every right to refuse to hand over the said information.
“Prospective employees have every right to say 'no' as it is a request to access personal information and has nothing to do with somebody’s capability to do a job. And I cannot see any reason why a boss could not at least ask the question as there is nothing they can do to force an interviewee to hand over their Facebook login,” she explained.
Whelan also said that it would be extremely difficult if a person thought they didn’t get a job because they refused to hand over their login details when asked, to prove it was discrimination.
However, Ed Goodwyn, a partner in the employment team at Pinsent Masons, said that the legal situation was very different if a boss asked a current employee for their Facebook password while employed or continued to access their account post interview without telling them.
He said it would be “a breach of the implied duty of trust and confidence” between employer and employee and urged bosses to draft clear social media policies.

Massive student tuition march paralyzes Montreal


MONTREAL, Canada — A monster crowd, considerably larger than the one at Montreal’s famous 1995 pre-referendum rally, formed a kilometres-long sea of opposition to tuition hikes Thursday.


The protest began in the same downtown square that hosted the pro-Canada love fest just days before the sovereignty referendum.


This one filled the square — and then some.


In a spring laden with demonstrations against the Quebec government, this was easily the largest. The parade of protest was so long that its front end would be a full neighbourhood — or even two — away from the tail end. An organizing group boasted that the protest spanned 50 city blocks.


There were no incidents involving the chanting, placard-waving throng. There were, however, reports of some protesters carrying sticks.


There was also a threat from a major protest group: "If the government doesn’t announce a retreat on the (tuition) hike today the next step will involve actions that disrupt the economy," the C.L.A.S.S.E. group posted on its Twitter page.


The demonstration came two days after the provincial budget and a blunt refusal by Premier Jean Charest’s government to back down on the hikes.


The province is nearly doubling tuition fees over five years, to about $3,800. It will reach its target with a series of $325-a-year increases. However, the tuition fees in the province will still be among the lowest in Canada even after the hikes.


A number of protesters were from other Canadian provinces. One said that, while it might be true that Quebec has low fees, it’s a principle worth fighting to keep.


"Where I was from before we were trying to fight the same idea (of fee hikes) — but a lot of people didn’t get together like they have in Quebec," said Parker Dorris of Cranbrook, B.C.


"That's one of the main reasons I came to Quebec, because it’s such a liberal province and they fight for these kinds of rights."

Living alone 'are more depressed'


Working people who live alone are much more likely to develop depression, a study has shown.
They are 80% more likely to be taking antidepressants than people in any kind of social or family group, scientists found.
Researchers in Finland followed the progress of 3,500 working men and women for seven years while monitoring their antidepressant use.
The number of people living alone has doubled over the last three decades, reaching one in three in the UK and US.
Lead scientist Dr Laura Pulkki-Raback, from the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, said: "Our study shows that people living alone have an increased risk of developing depression.
"Overall there was no difference in the increased risk of depression by living alone for either men or women.
"Poor housing conditions (especially for women) and a lack of social support (particularly for men) were the main contributory factors to this increased risk."
She pointed out that studies of this kind usually underestimated risk.
This was because people most at risk of depression tended to be those who were least likely to complete the study. Rates of untreated depression were also unknown.
The findings are published in the online journal BMC Public Health.
Living alone was already known to increase the risk of mental health problems for the elderly and single parents, but its effect on the working population was unclear.
While the study identified some reasons why people living alone became depressed, more than half the increase in risk was unexplained.
Possible additional factors may include feelings of alienation, lack of trust, or difficulties arising from critical life events, say the researchers.

Bankrupt Japanese town to rent naming rights to companies

A nearly-bankrupt town on the outskirts of Osaka has proposed renting out the name of the community to a company or organisation.

The unorthodox effort to raise cash for the city that is presently known as Izumi-Sano has yet to be approved by the local government but it could see maps being changed to include Sonytown, Mitsubishiville or Seiko City.
Large sporting arenas have already adopted the name of sponsors, in Japan and the rest of the world, but this would be the first city in Japan to sell its name, local officials told the Yomiuri newspaper.
"We will employ every means possible to solve our severe fiscal condition," a senior city official told the newspaper. "As our city is home to Kansai Airport, we believe that companies will have the ability to transmit information to the rest of the world."
Home to just over 100,000 people and just to the south of Japan's second-largest city, Izumi-Sano hosts the headquarters of new budget airline Peach Aviation, the Rinku Gate Tower Building – at 840 feet tall the second largest building in the country – and a campus of Osaka Prefecture University.
In conjunction with the opening of Kansai Airport in 1994, the city authorities embarked on a major expansion of its facilities in the belief that it would attract numerous firms to the region. The global slump halted those ambitions in their tracks and tax revenues have failed to grow.

For the last three fiscal years, Izumi-Sano has been supported by funding from the national government.
Forced to take drastic measures, the government is proposing to accept applications from companies, both foreign and domestic, between June and November. Firms applying to rename the city will have to specify how much they are willing to pay for a contract of between 12 months and five years.
The city is also willing to have the name of the city hall sponsored, as well as roads throughout the municipality.
Companies will also be invited to place advertisements on the uniforms of municipal employees, including refuse collectors, library staff and bureaucrats in the city hall.

Healthy at 100 !

At The Gold Slipper, in Dunlap, Iowa, bartending is energetic, fun and not just for the young as patrons of bartender Ray Nauroth know.

Visit the bar on any Wednesday, Friday or Saturday and what you are likely to see is 100-year old bartender Ray Nauroth, doing his thing. The centenarian has worked at the same supper club for more than 46 years.
Owner of the restaurant and bar, Nick Behrendt says Nauroth does an amazing job and is easy to work with. He claims everybody who comes in loves the man. For this reason, the club threw him a birthday party for his rare and important milestone. More than 600 people turned out to celebrate Nauroth’s 100th birthday.

Overwhelmed by the outpouring of affection, Nauroth was surprised by all the fuss. He shook so many hands throughout the course of the evening, he told reporters he felt like a politician. The party and large crowd were more than he expected because Nauroth said to him, the day was just like any other.
Behrendt said it was anything but ordinary. In honor of Nauroth’s birth year, 1911, the club served a dinner special consisting of two sirloins with trimmings and a trip to the salad bar for $19.11. The staff prepared and served more than 220 of the meals that night, leaving Behrendt with one of his busiest nights ever.
Behrendt says he has a hard time remembering that Nauroth is 100 years old because he is in such good shape. The fifty year old owner will ask his older employee to carry a case of beer and then remember that perhaps he shouldn’t do that because of his age.
As for Nauroth, he takes care of himself. Able to live unassisted, he cooks and cleans his own 2-story home and drives to work every day. He even does his own laundry. His golf game is the only thing he claims old age has robbed him of.
The full life he has led includes serving overseas during WWI, a marriage to Geraldine who passed away 17 years ago and with whom he raised three sons and a daughter, and a career as a tax collector for the state of Iowa before becoming a bartender in 1965. All the while, his sense of humor has served him well. When asked, to what does he attribute his longevity, he replied, “My secret is waking up every day.”

£100m university research pledge for UK


Chancellor George Osborne has announced a £100m fund to boost university research in the UK through private sector involvement.
The government was committing the cash for "investment in major new university research facilities", he said in his Budget speech.
Few details have been released, but the funding is intended to attract outside investment for universities.
Universities and campaign groups say it will help offset cuts to the sector.
The Department for Business Innovation and Skills said the funds would go to "large capital projects" which bring in "significant private investment", for example joint research facilities.
A spokeswoman said details would be announced soon.
'Step in right direction'
Universities and Science Minister David Willetts said: "Industry and universities have a vital role to play in collaborating to achieve sustained growth in our economy.
"We know from experience that targeted funding can be successful in attracting significant business investment to our university research base. As part of our drive in bringing together the business, charity and university sectors, this new £100m investment could bring in upwards of £200m additional private funding to help stimulate innovation and secure our high-tech future."
Sir Paul Nurse, president of the Royal Society, said the investment was helpful - but not enough.
"These things are very welcome but on their own they are only green shoots," he said.
"In the UK, the government and industry still invest a smaller percentage of our Gross Domestic Product in research and development than our competitor economies and while that remains the case we will not fulfil the Chancellor's goal of making the UK into Europe's technology centre."
Imran Khan, the director of the Campaign for Science and Engineering, said: "Today's announcement is the latest in a string of pledges of extra cash for science and engineering, and shows that the government does understand that we cannot have a rebalanced economy without investment in research.
(BBC)

Thousand-year wait for Titan's methane rain


Places on Saturn's moon Titan see rainfall about once every 1,000 years on average, a new analysis concludes.
Earth and Titan are the only worlds in the Solar System where liquid rains on a solid surface - though on Titan, the rain is methane rather than water.
The calculation is based on findings from the Cassini probe of rainstorms that occurred in 2004 and 2010.
Dr Ralph Lorenz presented details of his work at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC) in Texas.
Titan is a fascinating, "same but different" analogue of the Earth. Wind and rain sculpt the surface, producing river channels, lakes, dunes and shorelines.

"You get centuries between rainshowers; but when they occur, they dump tens of centimetres or even metres of rainfall," Dr Lorenz, from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (JHUAPL) in Maryland, told BBC News.
But here, liquid hydrocarbons take the place of water. On Titan, where the surface temperature averages -179C, it rains methane.
"That's consistent with the deeply incised river channels that we see."
These channels have been observed by both Cassini and the Huygens probe, which plunged through Titan's thick atmosphere in 2005.
Dr Lorenz says the latest results are remarkably close to the theoretical predictions of Titan rainfall he made 12 years ago.

In 2004 and 2010, at different locations on Titan, the Cassini spacecraft observed a darkening of the moon's surface associated with cloud activity - events that scientists interpret as rain showers.
Dr Elizabeth Turtle, also from JHUAPL, presented an analysis of the Autumn 2010 storms observed at Concordia Regio, near Titan's equator.
"In the wake of this storm, we saw significant changes on the surface... a month later, there was this large darkened swathe that's longer than 2,000km, covering an area of about 500,000 sq km," she explained.
"The simplest interpretation is that this is caused by precipitation wetting the surface - possibly ponding in some areas.
"It's the easiest way to cover [an area this large] in such a short timescale. It's also consistent with the fact that the changes revert over several months afterwards."
Ralph Lorenz's analysis of the rainfall represents a global average; but the seasonal cycle on Titan concentrates rainfall during the polar summer.

Hypothetically, he says, if an observer were to sit somewhere at one of Titan's poles for 96 Earth days (six days on Titan), they would have a 50% chance of being rained on directly, and be able to observe five rainstorms.
This is of particular relevance to the proposed space mission that Dr Lorenz is currently involved with.
The Titan Mare Explorer (TiME) would splash down in one of Titan's largest lakes - Ligeia Mare - to spend 96 days analysing its depth and chemistry. It would also gather data on the surrounding environment, including weather patterns. (BBC)

Why your first marriage has a 50% chance of lasting

If you're about to walk down the aisle for the first time, beware there's a 50 percent chance the union won't last to your 20th anniversary, according to a new survey.

That number, however, hasn't budged much in the past three decades of data collected as part of the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG).

The findings "show trends that are consistent with broad demographic changes in the American family that have occurred in the United States over the last several decades," the researchers write in the March 22 issue of the National Health Statistics Report. "One such trend is an increase in the time spent unmarried among women and men. For women, there was a continued decrease in the percentage currently married for the first time — and an increase in the percent currently cohabiting — in 2006–2010 compared with earlier years."

Head And Neck Cancer Research Centre Established in Brisbane

University Of Queensland

The vision of a specialised centre to better understand and treat head and neck cancers will come to fruition — thanks to $15 million funding from Atlantic Philanthropies, the Queensland Government and the Princess Alexandra Hospital.

Premier Anna Bligh announced the cutting-edge research facility this morning at The University of Queensland Diamantina Institute. Professor Ian Frazer, Director of Research and CEO of the Translational Research Institute, said the centre would bring critical new equipment for developing tests to help treat head and neck cancers.

“The creation of this centre is a major step towards reducing deaths from these particularly unpleasant cancers,” Professor Frazer said. Head and neck cancers have a significant impact on morbidity, mortality and health costs in Queensland and in particular, Vietnam, China and India.

The Premier said the centre aimed to deliver novel diagnostic and treatment therapies, and partnership with commercial collaborators as well as training healthcare workers in Australia and Southeast Asia.

“Men are approximately twice as likely to be diagnosed with head and neck cancer as women but every Queenslander is potentially at risk,” Ms Bligh said. “That's why this Centre can make such a huge difference to the lives of hundreds of Queenslanders.”

Head and neck cancers are increasing in incidence in Australia and are considered extremely difficult to treat. A group of Queensland scientists with the shared common knowledge surrounding the severity of head and neck cancers collaborated to realise the need for the Centre.

The inception of the Centre was led by chief investigator Professor Bill Coman, the visionary behind the idea. The concept was a five-year project to better understand, prevent, diagnose and treat head and neck cancer in Australia. The Centre is a Queensland first, and one of only two in Australia.

The facility will be largely based at the Princess Alexandra Hospital and the Translational Research Institute, which is under construction and due for completion in October 2012.

The location of the new centre will allow for strengthened educational and research growth and build on the existing clinical links available at the PAH. The centre will provide prevention through education and training for doctors, health professionals and scientists, vaccination against relevant viruses, early diagnosis using saliva tests, immunotherapy targeting EBV or HPV viruses and other viruses, and better management through accurate staging by MRI and CT scanning.

The centre also will also be home to Queensland's first PET-MRI machine, giving doctors access to high-resolution imaging to better locate tumours and cancers.

There are three main risk groups in terms of head and neck cancers: older males with a history of smoking and alcohol consumption, younger males with oral or tonsillar HPV infection (this group is increasing substantially worldwide), and ethnic Chinese persons with EBV infection.

Lead investigators involved are Dr Chamindie Punyadeera (of the Australian Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology and the UQ School of Chemical Engineering), Professor Ian Frazer (The University of Queensland, Dr Peter Parsons and Dr Chris Schmidt (both Queensland Institute of Medical Research).

“We are indebted to the Atlantic Philanthropies, the Queensland Government and the Princess Alexandra Hospital for their vision in funding this key Centre, and for the benefits it will bring not only to Queenslanders, but also to those at risk of these cancers worldwide,” Professor Frazer said.


http://www.uq.edu.au/news/index.html?article=24492

Prof-In-Residence Helps Create Unique Community



Tulane University

A unique community exists at Wall Residential College, where students and faculty members gather to exchange ideas about academics, sports, music, life after graduation or whatever is on their minds. W Godbey, an associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, joined the community as the Wall professor-in-residence this academic year, along with his family.

“The purpose of the Wall professor is to bridge the chasm between students and faculty,” Godbey says. “We want the students to realize even faculty members are always learning — and since we’re all doing the same thing, we should be able to rub elbows with each other.”

Godbey’s favorite activity is having a couple of students over for breakfast or dinner with him and his wife, Dr. Sherri Godbey, and nine-year-old son, Dustin. “I never know what’s going to come up,” Godbey says, “and it’s always interesting!”

Even Dustin sometimes joins in. “If we talk about molecular biology then he’s pretty quiet,” Godbey says, “but if it’s something like Mardi Gras Indians, well, then he has an opinion.”
The community atmosphere drew architecture senior, Chamberlaine Beard, to Wall Residential College three years ago.

“It gives us opportunities to see professors at our own level,” says Beard. “Having dinners and activities together gives us a chance to talk to them as peers instead of just professors.”

Wall Faculty Fellows, 12 Tulane professors and experts chosen by Godbey, present talks, attend banquets and participate in a program called “flunch” where students join a fellow of their choosing for lunch at Bruff Commons.

“Chats about stuff,” weekly talks held at Godbey’s Wall apartment, have featured jazz musician John Doheny, a Mardi Gras Indian Big Chief and his Big Queen, and a “Girls, Girls, Girls” series about the challenges professional women face dealing with chauvinism, and balancing career and family.


http://tulane.edu/news/newwave/032212_godbey.cfm

CU Students Transforming Science And Math Education

One CU-Boulder professor’s idea of how to help students learn more grew into such a successful program that it is now a model for schools throughout the nation.

Through the Colorado Learning Assistant Program, more than 1,500 learning assistant positions have been filled at CU-Boulder, helping to improve introductory courses in 10 departments and to positively impact more than 10,000 CU students each year. Learning assistants outperform their peers in measures of student learning, and students in learning assistant-supported classes show learning gains two to three times that of students in traditional courses.

A desire to improve the curriculum to help students learn more led Richard McCray, a distinguished professor of astrophysics, to launch a science education program that helps students in science and math courses learn more than students in traditional courses.

The program also encourages high-performing students to pursue careers as science and math teachers in K-12 schools, where their expertise is desperately needed.

McCray’s idea grew into the program, which is now emulated nationally. In a course with 150 students, McCray had one teaching assistant, a graduate student, paid to help instruct the course. He hired a small number of undergraduates to assist in the transformation of the course. Learning assistants would not replace the graduate teaching assistant, but they could increase the teacher-student ratio by quite a bit at reasonably low cost.

McCray collaborated with Valerie Otero, associate professor of science education at the CU-Boulder School of Education, who taught a course in pedagogy called The Process of Teaching to the learning assistants. Several grants now underwrite CU-Boulder’s cutting-edge efforts to integrate science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and research.

“I wanted to see if I could do something innovative in education,” said McCray.

 http://www.colorado.edu/news/features/cu-students-transforming-science-and-math-education

DMU Graduate Collections Delight Royal Party

Already making their mark in the fashion world, the four alumni from DMU’s class of 2011 were selected to showcase their stunning creations at a fashion show when the Royal party came to Leicester for the start of Her Majesty’s jubilee tour of the UK. Two of the graduates, Sarika Pancholi and Shivani Chavda, have internships at Vivienne Westwood.

Sarika Pancholi, 23, from Rushey Mead, Leicester, said: “It was such an amazing opportunity to show my collection to royalty; it has been such a privilege to be part of DMU and part of this.”

Sarika won the prized David Band Award for her innovative knitwear collection at Graduate Fashion Week 2011. Shivani, 24, from London, was named Young Designer of the Year at Clothes Show 2010 and had her collection shown in Harrods and Warehouse’s flagship shop in London after winning the British Council’s Warehouse competition last summer.

Ume Sacranie, 23, from Hamilton, Leicester, also showcased her designs. She had one of her designs sold in New Look stores after being named Textile Designer of the Year 2010 and is preparing to launch her next collection.

Before being picked for the royal fashion show, Becky Burton, 22, from Otley, West Yorkshire, had seen her collection showcased on the catwalk at Graduate Fashion Week 2011, and is now working for high street store Coz.

Dr Julie King, Head of Fashion and Textiles at DMU, said: “We are very proud of our award-winning students who go on to jobs with the biggest fashion names around the world, and it is a delight to know that both the Queen and Duchess saw some of the innovative and excellent collections which our graduates make in their final year of study with us.”

Original source here.

Undergraduate Tuition Fee Decreases by Five Percent


SNU Tuition Review Committee has agreed to lower its undergraduate tuition fee by 5%.
Currently, students are facing many economic hardships due to the rising cost of living. In order to alleviate this pressure students in Korea have demonstrated for a lower tuition fee and student activists were able to make high tuition fees become a national issue.

Last year, there were national protests for the government to come up with a plan to cut college tuition. SNU responded to the concerns of students by stating that the tuition fee for undergraduates will decrease by 5% compared to last year's fee.


Taking into consideration that SNU’s tuition fee has not risen nearly as much as other universities, this is not only a concrete substantial change but also holds a certain significance. Furthermore, because SNU is a national university receiving government funding, the tuition is noticeably lower than that of other Korean universities.

On February 8, the SNU Finance Committee along with the Tuition Review Committee agreed to this percentage-based cut. Among the committee members, two undergraduate student representatives and administration personnel attended the meeting. Since 2009, SNU’s undergraduate tuition fee has been stable and recently students campaigned to maintain the 2012 tuition fee with minimal changes.

The SNU administration guaranteed that the 5% decrease in tuition will not impact the quality of education that the students receive. Although the university’s tuition fee-based income will decrease as a result of this decision, the general budget is said to be set to increase by 30%, thus improving the quality of student education.

A student from the College of Social Sciences stated, "When I went to print the bill I noticed the tuition fee had decreased from last year's 2,780,000KRW to 2,481,000KRW. It was a nice surprise as it shows that the school is in a way responding to our concerns. I am hopeful that the SNU administration will continue to respond, little by little."

Original source here.

Google Overtakes Facebook For Employee Satisfaction


Glassdoor is a jobs and career community where employees can anonymously rate companies and CEOs. Glassdoor has taken a look at how Google and Facebook compare in the eyes of employees and job candidates, and has extracted a number of interesting data points related to CEO approval, benefits, perks and more.
First, Glassdoor says that so far in 2012, Google has overtaken Facebook in employee satisfaction company ratings. In fact, this is the first time Google has overtaken Facebook in the past four years, says Glassdoor. In 2012, Google’s company rating reached a 3.9, surpassing Facebook’s 3.7 rating. From 2009 through 2011, Facebook received a higher company rating from its employees (2009: 4.4; 2010: 4.7; 2011: 4.2), than Google did from its employees (2009: 3.8; 2010: 3.7; 2011: 4.1).
For 2011's ranking, Facebook ranked two spots higher on the list than Google, taking the third spot. Facebook actually slipped from the top spot in 2010 to number 3 on the 2011 list and Google had moved up to the fifth slot from number 30 on 2010’s list. Ratings are based on at least 10 reviews per year per company and on a 5-point scale: 5=very satisfied, 3=OK, 1=very dissatisfied.
Glassdoor also reports that Google CEO and founder Larry Page is currently rating slightly higher than Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Google employees are giving Page a 94% approval (6% disapproval) rating, which is just a tad bit higher than what Mark Zuckerberg earned from his own employees, which is a 92% approval (8% disapproval) rating.
Among employees’ company reviews on Glassdoor, a larger percentage of Google employees talk about the food as a ‘Pro’ of working at the company (Google: 29%, Facebook: 25%). When it comes to benefits, the breakdown is as follows: (Google: 21%, Facebook: 17%) and perks (Google: 21%, Facebook: 12%).
However, when it comes to a favorable opinion on salary and compensation, it is neck and neck (Google: 9%, Facebook: 10%). Specifically, Glassdoor says that long hours and work/life balance are the biggest downsides of working at Facebook. More Facebook employees mention long working hours as a ‘Con’ than Google employees (FB: 9%, Google: 3% of employees). However, more Google employees cite politics and stress as ‘Cons’ over Facebook employees.

Facebook Considering New Laws And Legal Action Against Employers Asking For Users’ Passwords




Following up on disturbing news that some employers are asking applicants to turn over their Facebook usernames and passwords, Facebook’s Chief Privacy Officer on Policy, Erin Egan, hints that the company is looking into drafting new laws to protect users from violations of their privacy like this.
Writes Egan on the company’s Privacy page:
“Facebook takes your privacy seriously. We’ll take action to protect the privacy and security of our users, whether by engaging policymakers or, where appropriate, by initiating legal action, including by shutting down applications that abuse their privileges.”
he issue involving employers asking for users’ Facebook credentials recently caught the attention of ACLU, which had previously become involved in a similar case back in 2010. The case was also cited by an AP report on the trend earlier this week.
During a reinstatement interview at the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, Robert Collins was asked to provide his Facebook username and password, which the agency said they needed to check for gang affiliations. Although Collins said he was shocked by the request, he felt he had no choice but to comply because he needed the job. The agency later reconsidered its policy, asking applicants to “voluntarily” provide their username and password instead.

“Voluntarily,” however, is still wrong, and Facebook seems to agree.

Egan points out that all of this is a violation of Facebook's statement of Rights and Responsibilities, which explicitly states that users cannot share or solicit a Facebook password. The pertinent section reads:

" You will not share your password, (or in the case of developers, your secret key), let anyone else access your account, or do anything else that might jeopardize the security of your account ".


He also notes that, by requesting such information, employers may be unknowingly be putting themselves in other potentially troublesome legal hot water, too. Perhaps they’ll discover someone is disabled, an ethnic minority, LGBT, a senior citizen, etc., and then get into trouble for not hiring them.

“For example, if an employer sees on Facebook that someone is a member of a protected group (e.g. over a certain age, etc.) that employer may open themselves up to claims of discrimination if they don’t hire that person,” writes Egan.

iPad 2 price cut official: Is this the end for low price Android tablets?


Looks like the rumors were true. The iPad 2 is sticking around despite the arrival of the new iPad with insane Retina Display. That’s great news for bargain hunters: say hello to the budget iPad.

Just as Apple continues to sell older iPhone models alongside its latest model – the 2009 iPhone 3GS is still widely available, for instance – the Cupertino company has revealed that for the first time it will adopt a similar approach with its iPad tablet computers.

Alongside the new iPad, which will start at $499 or £399 for the 16GB Wi-Fi only model, the 16GB Wi-Fi only iPad 2 will stay on sale. In the US, it will be priced at $399, while the 3G model will sell for $529. That’s about £63 less than their equivalent new iPad models, so we’d expect a price of arounf £320- £350 here in the UK – we should know more shortly.

Thrifty tablet shopped tempted by a low price Android tablet may think twice, but speaking on stage at the company’s keynote today, Apple senior vice-president of worldwide marketing, Phil Schiller, said it was as much aimed at schools as savvy shoppers. “This is really huge,” he said. “So many more schools can afford to move to new iPad technology in the classroom.”

Original Source

Twitter Brings Back The “RT” Option With TweetDeck Update



TweetDeck, the Twitter client preferred by many of the social network’s power users, has rolled out a major update which brings more of the features that such an audience would require. With the new version, TweetDeck has added the ability for users to create and edit Twitter lists and has added new columns for “Interactions” as well as a stalker-worthy “Activity” feature that lets you track what actions your Twitter friends are taking, too.

Also new is support for inline media previews and an option to use “RT” instead of the previously available “Quote” tweet feature. For Twitter’s hardcore user base, the often neglected “list making” option will be one of TweetDeck’s most welcome additions with the new release. Now, users will be able to create, edit and delete lists directly in the app. All Twitter user profiles will also have a new button that reads “add or remove from lists,” so you can manage list membership on the fly. As with Twitter’s mobile app, TweetDeck now supports”Interactions,” which shows you not only your mentions, but also alerts you when someone follows you, adds you to a list, retweets you or favorites one of your updates. A similar feature called “Activity” provides a new column that lets you watch the activity related to the accounts you follow, including details as to what new accounts they follow, what tweets they favorite and which accounts they’re adding to lists. For those who like to track what their Twitter friends are up to, this should prove to be an interesting feature, too.

Adding a little UI polish to the update, TweetDeck now supports inline media previews, which shows you the images and videos related to a tweet without requiring you launch a separate window or webpage. Instead, these will appear directly within the stream. (If you don’t like this option, you can switch it off in the settings, however). Large previews, which display in a gallery view, are also available, and are accessed by clicking the image or URL contained in the tweet.

And, not to bury the lede or anything, but TWITTER IS BRINGING BACK THE “RT” OPTION!. According to the official blog post on the matter, the company says it found that the “Quote” retweet option was not as useful as the previously available “RT @username:” format. (No kidding). So, in this version, it replaced “Quote” with “Edit & RT,” which lets you edit the tweet before sending.

GO GREEN: 10 of the world's best indoor gardens

Looking for signs of spring? No need to strain those eyeballs – at these ten incredible indoor green spaces, there's always plenty of colorful flora to go around.

1. Phipps Conservatory & Botanical Gardens Pittsburgh


Brightening up winter around these parts since the 1800s, a gigantic Victorian-style conservatory features a variety of fixed and temporary exhibits; visitors can get a crash course in the rich botany of India via the conservatory's upcoming "Tropical Forest India" visit, premiering March 17 (phipps.conservatory.org).

2. Eden Project Cornwall, England


It may be a trek to get there, but the world's largest controlled jungle, beautiful Mediterranean landscapes, all under massive geodesic domes in a former quarry, is well worth a journey. Until the King Abdullah International Gardens in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia are completed – they're under construction now – the Eden Project brags the world's largest indoor gardens (edenproject.com).



3. Gardens by the Bay Singapore


Inside a 250-acre bayfront open space – part of the gigantic Marina Bay development just steps away from the mighty towers of Singapore's banking district – you'll find two of the world's grandest conservatories, showcasing the exotic-for-these-parts flora of mountainous and semi-arid regions. Rather, they will soon -- the gardens open in June. Should you be in the neighborhood before that, this is Singapore, and there's of course greenery everywhere you look. Including inside the impressively-zen Changi Airport, with its popular orchid, cactus and butterfly gardens (gardensbythebay.org.sg).

4. Montreal Botanical Garden Quebec


From desert to rainforest to an acclaimed Insectarium, it's all indoors in this northern city that's short on greenery for nearly half the year (tourisme-montreal.org).
5. Longwood Gardens Pennsylvania

A whopping 4.5 acres of glass-topped greenery make this 1,000-plus acre jewel near Philadelphia a year-round destination. It's hard to imagine once you're here – it's so, so big –but this was once a private estate, just another piece of the DuPont family empire, HQ'd just to the south in Wilmington, Delaware (longwoodgardens.org).

6. Botanischer Garten Berlin


The acres (upon acres) of outdoor garden at this important green space may be in slumber for another few weeks or so, but inside the 1.5 acres of conservatory – don't miss the bamboo forest in the giant Great Pavilion, or the impressive cactus collection – it's green as can be (bgbm.org).


7. Garfield Park Conservatory Chicago


This 100-plus year-old oasis in a tough (but improving) corner of the Windy City's west side is one of the best things most visitors to Chicago will never see; that's good and bad; good because at times, you'll have acres of tropical garden all to yourself (now there's a little thrill, particularly during a Midwest winter), bad because more people need to see – and support – this place, which needs help more than ever, after a brutal 2011 hailstorm that caused tremendous damage ( garfield-conservatory.org).

8. The New York Botanical Garden New York City

Imagine Central Park, but with fewer people. And fancier landscaping. That pretty much sums up this green lung that beats at the heart of The Bronx, just a short ride on the Metro-North Railroad from Grand Central Terminal. While trails through true treasures such as the city's lone old-growth forest are beautiful at any time of year, come winter, the real action's indoors at the 110 year-old Haupt Conservatory, an ornate crystal palace that – if you can believe it – was almost torn down in the 1970s due to decay (nybg.org).

9. Yumenoshima Tropical Greenhouse Dome Tokyo

From carnivorous plants to the unique flora of Japan's Bonin Islands – sometimes referred to as the Galapagos of the Orient – it's all about the unusual at this multi-domed attraction on Tokyo Bay. In all, expect approximately 1,000 species of plant, including a beautiful rainforest section, with waterfall and everything (yumenoshima.jp – in Japanese).

10. United States Botanic Garden Washington, DC


A beautiful conservatory built in the 1930s – designed by the same architect responsible for the nearby Capitol – is a winter highlight of this national garden, brightening up its corner of the National Mall and offering the fastest possible escape from a wet, cold DC winter (and into the tropics) you're going to find (usbg.gov).

Source: yahoo

Kristen Stewart To Make 'Micro-Cameo' In 'K-11'


Stewart will have a 'small' voice-over role in the transgendered prison film, which is her mother's directorial debut.

It seems that "K-11" is once again a family affair. The film's director, Jules Stewart, has managed to find a role for her superstar daughter, Kristen Stewart, who had previously exited the film. Her brother, Cameron, will also be in the film.
Jules told that even though shooting on the film is complete, KStew really wanted to lend her support to the film, noting that Stewart's part is all done in voice-over.

"Kristen has always been supportive of 'K-11,' but you'll have to look very hard to find her. It's a micro-cameo," her mom told the website. "We'd already finished shooting the movie, but Kristen still wanted to be a part of it in some way."
The news of the cameo first broke on Jules' page, when she wrote, ""Excited to say that a final stage addition to @ is Kristen playing a small role. #K11"

So, who will K-Stew be playing? She'll play Goran Visnjic's secretary. The story follows his character, a record producer who binges on drugs and alcohol. He eventually finds himself in Los Angeles County Jail and in the section of the jail occupied by gay and transsexual inmates, run by one of the inmates named, Mousey.

Stewart had been attached to the film before dropping out last year. Her "Twilight" co-star Nikki Reed had also been attached to the film at one point. This film, which marks the directorial debut for Jules, also stars D.B. Sweeney ("Hard Ball") and Portia Doubleday ("Youth in Revolt"). There's no release date for the film yet, but it may be premiering at the Berlin Film Festival.

Source: Mtv

Samsung hints at 'product that defines our time'

Samsung hints at 'product that defines our time'

Samsung has refuted reports and legal filings suggesting it copied Apple's designs adding that it will create the iconic devices of the future

In the wake of countless patent cases and endless lawsuits relating to the range of Galaxy branded devices and their similarities to Apple products, Samsung has hit out at its Cupertino based rival stating it will create products as iconic as the iPhone and iPad.

Denying claims that the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S2 and Galaxy Tab 10.1 took heavy design hints from the iPhone 4 and iPad 2, Lee Minhvouk, Vice President of Design at Samsung Mobile has spoken out on the Korean firm’s plans to be a future innovator and the company’s aspirations to create truly iconic devices.

"As a designer, there's an issue of dignity. [The Galaxy] is original from the beginning, and I'm the one who made it,” Minhvouk said. “It's a totally different product with a different design language and different technology infused."

Paying homage to Apple and its infamous design overlord Jonathan Ive, Minhvouk added: "I might not be at [Ive's] level yet but I believe Samsung will produce such iconic products one day.

"It's not just effort that makes it possible for a new product to be a massive hit. It also has to be timely, and technology should be ready to make a certain design a reality. I'm confident that one day Samsung will make a product that defines our time, and I hope it's one of mine."

Source: t3.com

Adobe refines HDR tool with Photoshop CS6

The free beta of Photoshop CS6 has updated algorithms, options, and presets for those who like high-dynamic-range images. But improved standard editing tools encroach on HDR's turf.

HDR lets people combine multiple shots taken at different exposure levels into a single image that better captures highlight and shadow detail, and Adobe's improved HDR in Photoshop CS6. It's also improved its basic editing, though. From left to right are an original image, the same image edited with CS6's new raw tools, and an HDR image created from three shots merged with Scott Kelby's HDR preset in Photoshop CS6.

HDR lets people combine multiple shots taken at different exposure levels into a single image that better captures highlight and shadow detail, and Adobe's improved HDR in Photoshop CS6. It's also improved its basic editing, though. From left to right are an original image, the same image edited with CS6's new raw tools, and an HDR image created from three shots merged with Scott Kelby's HDR preset in Photoshop CS6. (Click to enlarge.)
(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET)


Adobe has spruced up Photoshop CS6's tool for creating HDR images--at the same time that it's updated editing tools with features that make high-dynamic range photos less interesting to me.
HDR images combine multiple shots taken over a range of bright to dark exposures. That means that the shadow detail can be taken from the bright images and the highlight detail from the dark images.
Used in a tame way, an HDR image shows more of the full range of tones the human eye can see. But plenty of people prefer the more unusual or even outrageous effects that can be achieved--making images look grungy, otherwordly, cripsy, or spooky. HDR is a very adjective-intensive situation.
So what's new with Photoshop's HDR tool?
"We improved the algorithm to reduce halos and added an Edge Smoothness check box to suppress the sharpness of the edge to allow higher boost of the texture or detail of the image," said Jeffrey Tranberry, chief customer advocate for Adobe's Digital Imaging group, in a forum post yesterday.

In addition, there are two new presets with particular HDR styles, according to the Adobe Photoshop CS6 just-do-it list. HDR images can be tweaked through tonal adjustments, and the two new presets come from Scott Kelby, president of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals, and Raphael "RC" Conception, author of "The HDR Book."
In my experimenting with Photoshop CS6, I found I liked Kelby's preset ("scott5") better than most of the existing presets. Such presets are just a starting point, of course--the process of tone-mapping the underlying HDR data to produce a single image has room for endless fiddling.
But here's the funny thing. At the same time that Adobe gave HDR a bit of a boost, Photoshop CS6 also comes with the new editing controls of Lightroom 4 for raw images. I've been using those tools extensively, and I think there's a lot of truth to Adobe's opinion that they do a much better job pulling out that shadow and highlight detail--especially when you're shooting raw to capture the full range of data from the image sensor.
In other words, I find the new standard editing controls does most of what you'd need HDR for--at least when you're not looking for the more over-the-top HDR style.
There are limits to the standard controls. If you're not shooting HDR, brightening up the shadows can still amplify the noise, and pulling in overexposed highlights can show icky posterization effects. But when I'm shooting raw (which is always), the new Adobe tools let me extract huge amounts more out of a photo.
If you're looking for the more dramatic HDR look, the editing controls combined with the new clarity tool in Photoshop CS6 and Lightroom 4 can get you a long way toward what you'd previously needed dedicated HDR tools for.



Source: CNET

The Hunger Games


The Hunger Games is a science fiction action-drama film directed by Gary Ross and based on the novel of the same name by Suzanne Collins. It stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Elizabeth Banks, Liam Hemsworth, and Woody Harrelson. It was released on March 21, 2012 in France and other countries and internationally on March 23, 2012 in both conventional theaters and digital IMAX theaters.

At an unidentified future date, the nation of Panem has risen out of the ruins of what was once known as North America. Due to an unsuccessful uprising by the districts of Panem, a raffle (known as the "reaping") is held to choose one boy and one girl, aged 12–18, from each of the twelve districts to participate in the Hunger Games, a competition in which each contestant, or tribute, battles until only one is left. The winner receives honor, gifts, and enough food and supplies to never worry about anything ever again. The Hunger Games are a yearly reminder to the 12 districts of the Capitol's authority, and punishment for their rebellion over 70 years ago, in which the 13th district was supposedly destroyed.

In District 12, sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) cares for her mother (Paula Malcomson) and her sister Primrose "Prim" (Willow Shields) since her father died in a mine accident when she was 11. Each year, since the age of 12, Katniss' name has been placed in the reaping more than once. In return for taking this extra annual risk, she receives extra tessarae, which is grain and oil for her family. In addition, Katniss has been illegally hunting for food outside the boundary fences of District 12 with her friend Gale (Liam Hemsworth), whose father died in the same mining accident.

Prim, now age 12, has her name placed in the reaping for the first time—only once—and it is unexpectedly drawn. Katniss volunteers to replace her sister in the Games. She competes against other tributes, including "Career Tributes" who have been training illegally for the Games their entire lives, as well as Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson), the male tribute from District 12, who has secretly loved Katniss since childhood, and who once showed her a kindness she could never forget.

Before the Hunger Games begin, she is given a stylist, Cinna (Lenny Kravitz), and a prep team to help her make a good impression with the sponsors. Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks), the official District 12 escort, brings Katniss and Peeta to the Capitol and helps them prepare for the opening ceremony and their interviews with Caesar Flickerman (Stanley Tucci). Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson), a drunk and the only living victor from District 12, mentors both Katniss and Peeta before and during the Hunger Games.

Once in the arena, Katniss must rely on her hunting skills, her stealth and speed, and her wits in order to survive. She may have an unlikely ally in the Games' smallest member: Rue from District 11, and she quickly makes enemies in the Career Tributes from Districts 1 and 2, who are threatened by her popularity with the audience. She also has to fight her anger for the Capitol and 'put on a good show' in order to receive food and aid from sponsors.

Cheema bowls Pakistan to Asia Cup title


Pace bowler Aizaz Cheema grabbed three wickets at key moments to help Pakistan beat Bangladesh by two runs in a thrilling final to win the Asia Cup for the second time on Thursday.

The home side came agonisingly close to becoming the new Asian champions with nine needed in the final over. However, Cheema conceded only six runs and took a wicket in the process to see his side home.
Shahadat Hossain took the strike on the final ball after Cheema bowled Abdur Razzak when a boundary would have done it for Bangladesh. But he could manage just a leg bye as the home side were restricted to 234 for eight in reply to Pakistan's 236 for nine.
Tamim Iqbal scored 60 off 68 balls, his fourth half-century in as many matches in the tournament, and Shakib Al Hassan (68) added 89 runs for the fourth wicket stand with Nasir Hossain (28) to put Bangladesh in control.
Umar Gul broke their resistance, inducing Nasir to hit a catch to Misbah-ul-Haq at mid-wicket and Cheema silenced the roaring Sher-e-Bangla crowd in the next over when he bowled Shakib around his legs.
Skipper Mushfiqur Rahim was caught by Nasir Jamshed on the square-leg boundary off Cheema for 10 then Mashrafe Mortaza struck 18 off eight balls.
Shahid Afridi won the man-of-the-match award after scoring 32 runs off 22 balls and conceding 28 from his 10 overs.
Pakistan opener Mohammad Hafeez scored 40 off 87 balls and wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed contributed 46 not out.
"This was a pressure game, the one who has the nerves in control will perform better," Hafeez told reporters.
"The Bangladeshi team, they played really well. They had all the scenarios they were looking for.
"In all the matches they were chasing well. We were very sure that the bowlers in the end could win the game. Umar Gul and Aizaz Cheema really bowled well in the end.".
Sarfraz took 19 runs off the final over bowled by Shahadat that finally proved the difference.
Mushfiqur said Shahadat's last over had been the turning point.
"If Shahadat had given 10 less runs in the last over than things could have been different," said Mushfiq, who was in tears in the dressing room.
"I was not weeping for myself but for the fans who backed us so much in the game."

Shakib, who also took two wickets for Bangladesh alongside Mortaza and Razzak, was adjudged the player of the tournament. (Reuters) Score Card