The authors of the pop-culture books FREAKONOMICS and SUPERFREAKONOMICS (Steven D. Levitt and John A. List) state that “remarkable patterns” found in the data of the Hawthorne Experiment were proved to be “entirely fictional”. From the paper’s abstract:
Psychology
19
Dec 09
A Tale of Two Ivies
One of the more frustrating things about Obama’s economic team and policy has been the use of the same advisors who contributed to the conditions that made the Great Recession possible (Geithner, Summers, etc.).
Some schools, such as the University of Pennsylvania, saw the changing and challenging economic environment and shifted their investments accordingly. An earlier email by Penn President Amy Gutman (via Business Insider) detailed the investment strategy and operating cost-containment measures:
11
Dec 09
What Climategate and Copenhagen are really about…
In a nutshell (Jeff McMahon at True/Slant):
[US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke] said unparalleled economic growth occurred in the 20th Century because of two factors: access to cheap, abundant fossil fuels and ignorance or disregard for the fact that those fuels produced greenhouse gas pollution that caused global warming. Both of those factors, he said, belong to history.
“Those days are over,” Locke said moments ago in Copenhagen. “What’s required is nothing less than completely redesigning the way we produce and consume energy…. We’re talking about creating an entirely new model of economic growth.”The world has spent a century investing in petroleum infrastructure, Locke said: refineries, pipelines, stations.
17
Nov 09
Managing or Leading?
I saw this retweeted quote (via Twitter from Frank Roche) attributed to the recently deceased Russell Ackoff:
“It is better to use imprecise measures of what is wanted, rather than precise measures of what is not.”
On an intersecting tangent, I saw the below at John Baldoni’s Leadership at Work the Harvard Business Blog regarding a recent McKinsey study:
That’s a conclusion that I draw from a recent global survey by McKinsey and Company about what it takes to manage corporate performance. Only 48% of managers surveyed believed that they need to inspire and only 46% believed it was their responsibility to provide direction during this crisis. The numbers for inspiration and direction actually drop to 45% and 39% respectively when considered as behaviors for how to manage post-crisis.
27
Oct 09
Opting-Out
If opting-out becomes a reality in the healthcare reform bill, it is almost certain to be a political wedge and a litmus test of Conservative Values for Republicans. No GOP incumbent will stave off primary challenges without walking the coals and rejecting ’socialized medicine’.
As a anecdote, consider this Wired magazine article about parents who opt-out of vaccination for their children (via kottke):
11
Mar 09
Typealyzer: Seems about right…
The Typealyzer is a webapp that scans a given URL (of your blog, for instance), and evaluates the content to determine the author’s personality type in a method similar to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.
Here are my results:
The active and playful type. They are especially attuned to people and things around them and often full of energy, talking, joking and engaging in physical out-door activities.
The Doers are happiest with action-filled work which craves their full attention and focus. They might be very impulsive and more keen on starting something new than following it through. They might have a problem with sitting still or remaining inactive for any period of time.
30
Apr 08
Trust and Media Richness Theory
In virtual themes, the literature states that rich media (audio and/or video) does a better job than text in building trust. Would it be reasonable to assume that rich media is also more effective at destroying trust? Could trust in society been weakened by our transitions to increasingly rich sources? In going from primitive TV and AM radio to color television and FM, and eventually HD video made it more likely that we can decipher those micro-emotions that aren’t visible at 30fps?
26
Apr 08
Trust and Media Richness Theory
In virtual themes, the literature states that rich media (audio and/or video) does a better job than text in building trust. Would it be reasonable to assume that rich media is also more effective at destroying trust? Could trust in society been weakened by our transitions to increasingly rich sources? In going from primitive TV and AM radio to color television and FM, and eventually HD video made it more likely that we can decipher those micro-emotions that aren’t visible at 30fps?
