Monday, December 30, 2019

Manuscripts Being Accepted for ASCE-ASME Special Journal Issue...

Manuscripts Being Accepted for ASCE-ASME Special Journal Issue... Manuscripts Being Accepted for ASCE-ASME Special Journal Issue... Manuscripts Sought for ASCE-ASME Special Journal Issue on Human Performance and Decision-MakingThe guest editors of an upcoming special issue of the ASCE-ASME Journal of Risk and Uncertainty in Engineering Systems, Part B Mechanical Engineering are currently accepting papers addressing the theme of human wertzuwachs and decision-making in complex industrialenvironments. Authors who are interested in submitting a paper for the special issue, which is expected to be published in the summerof 2019, should submit their papers electronically by Nov. 30, 2018.Complex industrial systems are unquestionably subjected to major hazards, which are of great concern to businesses, governments,communities and wider stakeholder groups. For this reason, efforts are increasingly made to control these hazards and manage risks,supported by improved computational capabilitie s and the application of sophisticated safety and reliability models. However, recent events such as the Air France 447 crash that caused 228 deaths and the Deepwater Horizon disaster that killed 11 people and released approximately 210 1000000 gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico have shown that apparently rare or seemingly unforeseen scenarios, involving interactions between human factors, technologies and organizations, can trigger major accidents and lead to catastrophic consequences.The understanding of human behavioral characteristics, when combined with current technology aspects and organizational context, is extremely important for the safety and reliability field, in particular the role of non-technical competences, such as communication skills, leadership, decision-making capabilities and risk awareness. In addition to examining these matters, the special issue of the ASCE-ASME journal will explore contemporary regulatory approaches that should go beyond rules of compli ance and establish risk-based and goal-setting models in order to challenge academics and industry to develop new methods to assess human performance and anticipate critical issues.Topic areas to be covered in the special journal issue will include factors influencing human decision-making processes and human performance regulatory approaches to human factors, non-technical skills and human reliability analysis qualitative and quantitative models for assessing human reliability in high-hazard environments learning from accidents human factors in design safety culture and leadership risk perception and communication and uncertainty analysis related to human performance.The guest editors for this special issue of the ASCE-ASME Journal of Risk and Uncertainty in Engineering Systems, Part B Mechanical Engineering are Dr. Raphael Moura, ANP, Brazil/University of Liverpool, United Kingdom, rmouraliverpool.ac.uk Dr. Luca Podofillini,Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), Switzerland, luca.podofill inipsi.ch and Prof. Michael Beer, Leibniz University Hannover, Germany, and theUniversity of Liverpool, United Kingdom, and Tongji University, China, beerirz.uni-hannover.de.Papers can be submitted to the online peer review system for Part B. Mechanical Engineering by visiting the Journals Connect web pageat https//journaltool.asme.org/home/JournalDescriptions.cfm?JournalID=27Journal=RISK. When submitting a paper, please select SpecialIssue SI034B, and then assign the paper type as Research Paper.For mora information on the ASME Journal Program, visit ASME Journals.

Wednesday, December 25, 2019

This simple trick will help you plan your retirement

This simple trick will help you plan your retirementThis simple trick will help you plan your retirementIf you want to save more money, you have to create stakes for why saving money matters. Visualizing what your future will look life is one proven exercise to keep you from overspending.According to a new survey of 1,202 American adults conducted by investment management firm Capital Group, visualizing retirement can help people save up to 31% more per paycheck than those who do not think about this future.Why seeing is believing when it comes to saving moneyThe survey got half of the participants to picture the life they wanted to lead in their 60s, 70s and 80s before asking them to determine what percentage of each paycheck they wanted to save in a retirement plan. Those moments of reflection proved to be a great motivator. The visualizers said they would put down 31% more per paycheck, compared to the group that was only asked how much they wanted to save for retirement. For wome n and Millennials, the numbers were even higher. They said they were up to 50% more per paycheck when they visualized their retirement.We know that we need to save. The majority of Americans said they were aware they would need to self-fund their retirement. But it is easy to get caught up in the worries and obligations of the present and put off future worries around retirement for another day.Visualizing is not just tapping into the power of positive thinking, it is how our brains are wired to learn.Imagining our future helps us mentally rehearse how we want our bodies to act when it is showtime. Building a vivid picture of your future helps your brain remember to make it a present goal.One you prepare your body for action, you may feel less paralyzed by indecision. One survey found that people who keep geistesbild boards of financial goals are almost twice as confident (59 percent vs. 31 percent) that they will achieve these goals than those who do not visualize.Images connect us more immediately and emotionally to our personal and financialgoals, and to oursetting andachievingthem. And images help us in our thinking and moving toward these goals, psychologist Barbara Nusbaum said about why visualization works. Im not surprised that people who imagine or picture their goals are better at budgeting and saving, and that these activities in themselves provide a sense of well-being.

Friday, December 20, 2019

Nominations Due in June for Two ASME Awards

Nominations Due in June for Two ASME Awards Nominations Due in June for Two ASME Awards Nominations Due in June for Two ASME AwardsThe ASME Honors and Awards Committee is currently accepting nominations for two ASME Awards - the Gas Turbine Award and the S.Y. Zamrik PVP Medal - with deadlines falling in June.The Gas Turbine Award, which was established in 1963, is presented by the ASME International Gas Turbine Institute in recognition of an outstanding individual or multiple author contribution to the literature of combustion gas turbines or gas turbines thermally combined with nuclear or steam power plants. Nominations for the award, which consists of a $1,000 honorarium and a plaque, should be submitted by June 1 to Thomas Sattelmayer, Gas Turbine Award chair, by e-mail at sattelmayertd.mw.tum.de. For more information on the criteria for the Gas Turbine Award, visit the Honors site at www.asme.org/about-asme/get-involved/honors-awards/literature-awards/gas-turbine-award.The dead line to submit a nomination for the S.Y. Zamrik PVP Medal, which recognizes outstanding contributions in the field of pressure vessels and piping technology, is June 15. Established in 1980 by the Pressure Vessels and Piping Division and renamed the S.Y. Zamrik PVP Medal in 2010, the award consists of a $4,000 honorarium, a bronze medal and a certificate. Nominations should be submitted to Doug Scarth, S.Y. Zamrik PVP Medal chair, by e-mail at doug.scarthkinectrics.com. For more information on the criteria for the award, visit www.asme.org/about-asme/participate/honors-awards/achievement-awards/s-y-zamrik-pvp-medal.To learn more about ASME Honors and Awards, visit the programs web page at www.asme.org/about-asme/get-involved/honors-awards.

Monday, December 16, 2019

Why your well-meaning help to coworkers backfires

Why your well-meaning help to coworkers backfiresWhy your well-meaning help to coworkers backfiresYou may want to think twice before you go up to your colleague and offer unsolicited advice on how they can do their work better. A new study in the Journal of Applied Psychology found that even well-meaning good advice can backfire for both helper and recipient when it is bedrngnis asked for.Why you should not help coworkers unless askedManagement professor Russell Johnson defined the two kinds of help employees are more likely to give at work active helping - providing help when requested- and proactive helping - providing help without being asked.Using daily observation logs and surveys of employees working manufacturing, government, health care and education, Johnson found that we do not react well to proactive helpers. While active helpers got gratitude for their act of generosity, participants were less inclined to give thanks for help they did not ask for from their coworkers.Whe n you go up to your coworker and offer advice without needing to be asked, you may see yourself as a generous coworker going above and beyond. But your coworker could be seeing a colleague acting morally superior. They think I cannot handle this on my own? the offended colleague thinks. On the other side, it can feel like a slight to have your help go unthanked. I went out of my way to help for this ungrateful person? the unsolicited helper thinks. In these cases, it can be best to keep your mouth shut.Being proactive can have toxic effects, especially on the helper. They walk away receiving less gratitude from the person that theyre helping, causing them to feel less motivated at work the next day. More often than not, help recipients wont express gratitude immediately, which makes it meaningless as it relates to the helpers actual act, Johnson said in a statement. As for the person receiving the unrequested help, they begin to question their own competency and feel a threat to the ir workplace autonomy.If your coworker asks your opinion on how they can handle a problem, go ahead and speak freely. But unless you are specifically asked for advice, the most collegial act you can do is to mind your own business.

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Helping Our Heroes Find Work

Helping Our Heroes Find WorkHelping Our Heroes Find WorkHere are some of the many corporations helping military veterans transition back to civilian jobs.Finding a new job is rarely considered easy or fun. Add in a career change and the process seems even more overwhelming. This is how many veterans feel when they return home and start looking for civilian work. If you are transitioning from a military career to one in the private sector (or know someone who is), check out these organizations that are making a difference and helping U.S. military veterans find the right job.General ElectricGE currently recruits military veterans through its Junior Officer Leadership Program (JOLP). Qualified candidates work in a two-year, cross-functional rotational training program that allows recruits to gain valuable work experience and develop skill sets that are necessary for a successful career at GE. Additionally, the company recently created the GE Veterans Network (GEVN), a community dedicat ed to providing career support to its military veterans.The Home DepotIts important to identify and highlight your transferable skills when making a career change. If youre unsure where your military skills can be best applied in the private sector, check out The Home Depots Skill Translator. This feature helps veterans translate their military skills and experience to find career opportunities at The Home Depot that best fit their background.Volt Information ServicesVolt, a global provider of talent, technology and consulting services, created the Military Heroes Program to help veterans transition seamlessly back into corporate America. From resume and interviewing tips to access to employment opportunities, Volt is helping our heroes find work.The Walt Disney CompanyIn 2012 Disney announced Heroes Work Here, a company-wide initiative to hire, train and support returning veterans. To help returning veterans identify where they fit into the Disney family, the organization profiles 17 distinct military occupations in its Career Areas section to help candidates find the Disney career that best matches their skill sets and talents.Adcap Network ServicesAdcap Network Systems, the Southeasts premier provider of complete voice and data networked solutions, offers two unique opportunities for those transitioning to new careers. If youve returned to the Atlanta region, consider applying for one of Adcaps paid apprentice programs in sales or engineering. In plus-rechnen to receiving valuable training and work experience, successful graduates of the program are eligible for full-time positions at Adcap.CitigroupCitigroup has developed a number of programs such as the Veterans Initiative and the Military Veterans Network, which provide assistance with networking, mentoring, resume writing and leadership training for military veterans. Additionally, Citi is one of three banks involved in the Veterans on Wall Street (VOWS) initiative dedicated to honoring former military personnel by facilitating career and business opportunities in the financial services industry.

Friday, December 6, 2019

One of the Most Incredibly Overlooked Systems for Skills for Customer Service Resume

One of the Most Incredibly Overlooked Systems for Skills for Customer tafelgeschirr Resume As you take an increasingly proactive approach to every interaction, you will be able to boost your abilities and performance continually. If you trained other employees, it indicates you have management ability, and a lot of experience. By developing a suitable attitude and comprehension of men and women you will see methods to further improve your customer tafelgeschirr abilities. Everyone can benefit from improving their customer service abilities. New Step by Step Roadmap for Skills for Customer Service Resume Frequently, customer service professionals must verstndigung im strafverfahren with people who might be dissatisfied or in need of experiencing a problem solved. Possessing the experience of handling various customers adds value. When it has to do with providing outstanding customer support, its the men and women who make all of the difference. An experience rep would give them with the alternative for a different style, and throw in a completely free slip cover to coordinate with the required color. A Secret Weapon for Skills for Customer Service Resume An awful customer experience at any moment in the customer lifecycle can destroy your relationship. Perhaps most of all, being a superior communicator means being a great listener. Customer service emphasizes the happiness and satisfaction of current and prospective customers, but every individual you encounter on the work likely has unique requirements or a different idea of succeeding. Even if it looks like theres notlage a thing you can do, theres always a means to enhance the customers experience. The Debate Over Skills for Customer Service Resume Its not that each and every team member should have the ability to construct your product from scratch, but rather they need to know the intricacies of how your product works, just enjoy a customer who uses it every day would. You ought to be wo rried no more. You are able to have the ideal customer service abilities and the very best training on the planet, but if your reps are checked out, it wont matter in any respect. If youre not certain which skills you would like to share, consider your prior experiences. Listening skills are equally as critical as communication abilities. 3 First, you should pick the best skills for your resume. Listing your skills provides a chance to showcase your abilities and experiences to prime employers for the remainder of your resume. The Argument About Skills for Customer Service Resume You should be alert to the job functions of a customer service personnel for you to be aware of the competencies concerning their work processes, which you might write in your resume. You require great customer service skills concerning your diction, clarity of communications and the way you converse with customers as a way to get to the root of their problems. Skills lists generally are tools you may utilize to help craft your application materials before you select a particular position. A top quality sample customer service resume will incorporate numerous suitable key terms and phrases that could include things like phrases like customer satisfaction, customer retention, processes or efficiency, based on the particular job. You would like to describe what you need to offer as concisely as possible. Often, customer service representatives have to catalog their interactions with clients. Some customer service resume samples are offered on the net, and they might have the ability to offer additional ackerschnacker tips regarding inclusions, but they might not always have the most optimum structure. Superior communication and active listening skills have a tendency to go together. Make sure that you have a minumum of one instance of a time you demonstrated every one of the top five skills given below. Hard skills have a tendency to be more technical, and each busine ss or sort of job will often have its personal necessary set. Besides making sure the ideal skills are demonstrated, you have to be sure theyre being demonstrated consistently. If You Read Nothing Else Today, Read This Report on Skills for Customer Service Resume You might find it helpful to practice your customer service abilities. As youre going to learn how to create a kickass customer service resume. An energetic and quick learner whos committed to excellent customer support. Excellent customer service leads to customers that are happy with the service they received, but who may not go on to offer feedback or reviews for you as well as the corporation. There are particular customer service skills that each and every employee must master if theyre forward-facing with customers. If you wish to apply as a customer service personnel, we may give you downloadable samples of consumer service resumes. If youve ever worked in customer assistance, you are aware that it is a job which might not be glamorous, but is totally required. The secret to good customer service is to deal with the customer as you would desire to get treated in case the tables were turned. However proactive youre, you will not ever be able to have before every customer issue. Guarantee the customer understands the plan of action. If he has a problem with a product or service, focus on what you can do to help him or her. Every customer would like to feel important, although your attention could possibly be pulled in lots of directions. If You Read Nothing Else Today, Read This Report on Skills for Customer Service Resume Your Resume Example Skills for Customer Service has to be an exemplary advertising piece or it wont permit you to get off to a fantastic start with a possible employer. To be honest, it is a critical part of any department within a company and is more so in departments that are in direct and constant contact with customers. Customer service workers have to be resilient. Understanding how customers think is a great means to comprehend the reason why they react. The Fundamentals of Skills for Customer Service Resume Revealed While traditionally you might think about customer care for a service from a business to a consumer, its also applicable within an enterprise. The customer service department of a company or an establishment is required to assure that the guests know they have somewhere to go to whenever they have questions or they would like to raise certain matters with respect to the operations of the company or the experiences they are having regarding the services they receive from the organization. Superior customer service skills are crucial for many different kinds of jobs. It is used in many jobs at every level.

Sunday, December 1, 2019

The Pitfalls and Power of Comparisons When We Should [Not] Compare Jobs, Candidates or Anything Else

The Pitfalls and Power of Comparisons When We Should Not Compare Jobs, Candidates or Anything Else Recruiting or job hunting, like just about everything else in life, is impossible without comparisonscomparing one thing or person to or with another, usually in order to choose or decide something. Yet, there are those, including many who are not Zen disciples, who insist that comparisons are corruptions. Who would believe that and why?Among them areTaoism founder, Lao Tzu When you are content to be simply yourself and dont compare or compete, everybody will respect you.NY Giant, Willie Mays I dont compare em, I just catch em.Star Wars actor, Mark Hamill I dont think its fair to compare Dick Cheney to Vaderits unfair to Vader.The Marquis de Condorcet Enjoy your own life without comparing it with that of another.Surrealist painter, Salvador Dali The first man to compare the cheeks of a young woman to a rose welches obviously a poet the first to repeat it was possibly an idiot.Early feminist and female writer, George Eliot Is it not rather what we expect in men, that they should have numerous strands of experience lying side by side and never compare them with each other?Lenny Kravitz, rock star Every night is different you never know what its going to be like. I remember every night. I dont like to compare them.Tim Roth How would you compare Polanski or Kubrick? I try not to do any comparisons.Shirley Williams We really shouldnt be running education like a supermarket where you compare prices.How can we reconcile the obvious, practical or poetic Shall I compare thee to a summers day? need or instinct to compare and choose things with critiques of doing that?Or, at least shouldnt we ask when is it that we should yield to or resist the temptation or preskoranvers to compareeven when it seems we cannot?The Comparison Instinct Comparing is not only a practical necessity. Its also a cognitive, virtually hardwired necessity, like our usually prevailing survival instinct, which it serves, of brain functioning, since the two most important things we notice about any two things are whether they are similar or different.This is a direct consequence of the fact that our brains have an innate and sophisticated capacity for stimulus discriminationdistinguishing two things from each other and stimulus generalizationlumping two things together under the same category.For example, looking at a square and a triangle, we will either notenzeichen they are similar, in being polygons with sides and angles, or note they are different, in the number of angles they have 3 vs. 4 .Perfassoning that discrimination or generalization presupposes comparison. It comes with our brain hardware and operating manual. The question is, when can or should it be over-ridden?So how can a recruiter, job seeker or Zen master avoid making comparisons, despite their shortcomings? Why and when shoul d they even try?How and Why to Not CompareAs for the first question, if we are hardwired to compare, how can we escape it? After all, isnt that hypothetical Zen monk, despite his exhortations not to, comparing a life of comparing with a life free of it and choosing the latter on that basis?The comparison critics, including Zen monks, argue that sunsets, homes, moments, mountains, puppies, flowers, friends, babies, poets, lovers, dinners, jobs and salaries are all diminished and distorted by comparisonsirrespective of whether these are descriptive or evaluative comparisons, i.e., merely an objective noting of similarities and differences in attributes or a judgmental assessment.For those most opposed, any comparison of things we love or desire with anything else transforms or misrepresents them, and, all too frequently, not for the better, byspoiling our harmonious experiences and things experienced into fodder for aggressive competitioncomparing incommensurables, i.e., things that s eemingly cannot easily or comfortably be measured or compared by any common yardsticke.g., if not apples and oranges, then apples and shoelaces, love of your pet and love of your wife.attaching an exchange value to everything we compareinvidiously comparing those values, at the expense of whatever is deemed to be worth lessusing the wrong criteria for comparisondistracting and shifting attention from direct, concrete experience to abstract categorizing and judging of similarities and differencesfocusing on similarities and differences at the expense of essences and existencereducing one thing, person or experience to another, and thereby trivializing itseen by some as a form of mental laziness or envyelevating that which should not be elevated by favorable comparisontesting, measuring, trivializing and otherwise diminishing the value of things by translating them into more familiar, even banal, terms, categories, experiences, etc.corrupting the spiritual or metaphysicalone-ness of t hings and being into two-ness, by perceiving or evaluating one thing only in terms of anotherreplacing concrete engagement with abstract observation and analysis of similarities and differences.The hardcore comparison critics would urge us to refrain from or to minimize making comparisons when any of the foregoing take their toll.Others, less extreme in their stance, urge caution when making comparisons, because in many, even if not all, instances, the comparison is forced, misleading, unnatural, unproductive and, again, diminishing and distorting.If either faction of anti-comparers is right, caution, if not restraint, is advisable when comparing the attributes or merits of anything or anyoneincluding jobs and job candidatesand making or forcing choices based on those comparisons.With these critiques and critics in mind, comparison of one job with/to another or one job candidate with/to another can be examined to determine when and how we should or shouldnt do it.1. After making an employment decision, do not compare your choice with its opportunity costi.e., one or more of its forsaken alternatives as buyers remorse that spoils satisfaction and erodes confidence.2. If you must compare two people or two jobs, be sure to include all relevant aspects to compare. Comparing only the salaries or advancement potential of two jobs will almost certainly be a mistake. Likewise with comparing only years of experience or only degrees of two candidates.This advice may seem obviousexcept when its ignored. One exception when one of the candidates, but not the other, is disqualified by something sufficient to turn you off. Then, that single point of comparison will be enough.3. For the purpose of a balanced assessment, be sure to consider both similarities and differences, including both the commensurable and incommensurable parameters, such as salaries that can be compared and dramatically different job responsibilities software engineer and trombone player that cannot be c ompared so directly, if at all.4. When comparing staff, take care not to inadvertently humiliate anyone i.e., avoid making invidious comparisons in someones face.5. Do not make comparisons that diminish the intrinsic value of anything, e.g., comparing a mountain here with a mountain there, or at least be aware of the risk of that consequence.6. Dont hesitate to compare apples and orangessince they are both fruitor any other things that seem incomparable, if it seems it may be fruitful, e.g., comparing sailors knots with flowcharts which might lead to rich innovations in systems design.7. When comparing the figure foreground, be sure to also compare the ground background. This means factoring in and comparing the backgrounds of two jobs or candidates while comparing the foreground, foremost elements. For example, it is unwise to compare the bubbling foreground enthusiasm of a new assembly-line worker with the apathy of the old timers as a basis for a job evaluation without also facto ring in the effects of years of routine on the job vs. the desire to please ones new bosses.If you follow these suggestions, and compare the comparisons you do make with the ones you shouldnt, youll quickly discover at least one characteristic they all share.They are incomparable.