U-Blog 6

Jobless rate up again

This is a great article about todays economy and how it could effect us when we get out of school in a year or two. Its is very important to know where we stand from rest of the world, so we can be prepared when we go out to find a job. please read this article and post your comments below.

Beloit's unemployment rate in March rose to 17.7 percent, up from 17 percent in February, according to Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development figures.
Beloit again had the highest unemployment rate among Wisconsin cities tracked by the Department of Workforce Development.
Janesville ranked third again, at a rate of 15.3 percent, up from 14.6 percent in February. Racine had the second highest unemployment rate in March with 16.3 percent, up from 15.8 percent.
“Wisconsin counties and local areas, like the state, are feeling the impact of the global economic challenges facing everyone,” Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development Secretary Roberta Gassman said Wednesday in a press release. “Governor (Jim) Doyle is working hard to ensure that funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is spent wisely and efficiently to get people back to work and enhance our great quality of life.”
The community with the lowest unemployment was Caledonia with 3.5 percent. Madison had an unemployment rate of 5.4 percent in March, compared to 5.1 percent in February.
Rock County ranked fifth in the state for unemployment at 13.5 percent, up slightly from 13 percent in February.
Rusk County again was ranked first in the state for highest unemployment with a rate of 16.6 percent, up from 15.6 percent in February. Taylor County had the second highest rate at 13.3 percent, followed by Oconto County and Iron County, both at 13.6 percent.
Dane County had an unemployment rate of 6 percent in March, up from 5.6 percent in February and LaCrosse County and Eau Claire County both had rates of 7.4 percent in March.
The unemployment rate for Wisconsin in March was 9.4 percent, up from 8.8 percent in February. Unemployment rates increased in 64 of the 72 counties in Wisconsin. Rates decreased in five Wisconsin counties and remained the same in three.
Beloit's high unemployment rate may be affected by the high unemployment rate on the Illinois side of the border as well. Rockford, only 20 miles to the south of Beloit, had one of the highest unemployment rates in Illinois in February at 14.7 percent. Also, nearby Boone County, home of the Chrysler Assembly Plant in Belvidere, had the highest county unemployment rate in Illinois in February at 16.4 percent in February. Belvidere had an unemployment rate of 19.3 percent in February. Winnebago County, with Rockford as the county seat, had the third highest county unemployment rate at 13.6 percent in February. The unemployment rate for Illinois was 9.1 percent in March.
According to 2000 Census data, about 6.5 percent of Rock County residents commute to Winnebago County in Illinois each day to work. With the workforce in Rock County at about 83,000 as of three years ago, that would add up to roughly 5,395 going from southern Wisconsin to northern Illinois each day.

U-Blog 5

This is article found on nytimes.com

Here is the response, When was the last time Microsoft came up with something really helpful for the end users.
This company seems to be drifting further and further away from what the users want and closer to what the share holders want.
That said, cloud computing has a cloud over it when we speak of privacy and no matter how much technology is poured into it to ensure the privacy and integrity in the cloud, there will be greed and other human factors playing a role.
Cloud for the end users is a ticking privacy bomb and much worse than that for corporate users. The days of Cloud scam are not far off.

Microsoft and the Corporate Identity Crisis

By SAUL HANSELL

Do the people who run computers for big companies have an identity crisis? That was the impression I got after spending an hour Wednesday with Bob Muglia, the president of Microsoft’s server and tool business.

The hottest topic among the sort of corporate computing types that Mr. Muglia hangs out with is “cloud computing” — new ways to assign tasks to big data centers, many of which could be owned by independent companies, like Google or Amazon.com. Last month, Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s chief executive drew me a picture of the company’s approach to cloud computing and its new Azure software. So I didn’t spend a lot more time on that with Mr. Muglia.

Instead, we talked about the problems faced by corporations trying to keep track of who is (and isn’t) authorized to use their computers.

One approach to improving verification is federated identity, where different companies can share information about people who are authorized to use their computer systems.

Consider Microsoft’s own employee benefit programs, he said. Right now workers set up one user name and password to connect to their 401(k) accounts at Fidelity, another for Smith Barney to link to the employee stock program, and still more for various other vendors. None of those accounts is related to the identity they maintain with Microsoft’s own computers.

“I have all of these separate identities,” Mr. Muglia said. “None of those are particularly good things. It would be better if I had my identity at Microsoft.com and all the identity would federate.”

With federated identity, Microsoft employees could log onto each site with their corporate user name and the Microsoft computer would be able to vouch for them.

Federated identity is also hot among consumer facing Web sites, by way of programs like Facebook Connect and the OpenID standard.

Mr. Muglia said that the Azure system, set to be introduced by the end of the year, will make similar services easy for corporations. This is a change for Microsoft, which originally planned to build its own system to validate the identity of all of the people using anything built with Azure and in the process create a gigantic directory of computer users.

“We thought there would be a central repository of identities that one company would own,” he said. “Now we realize that it is more likely that identity will be maintained by every organization somebody belongs to.”

For companies that want to handle this themselves, an upcoming addition to Windows Server will have similar features. (That software, known as Identity Lifecycle Manager 2.0, originally announced in 2008, has recently been delayed to 2010.) The new software is also meant to make it easier for companies to assign and change passwords for their users. It turns out that resetting passwords is one of the biggest expenses for corporate help desks, Mr. Muglia said.

Another persistent issue is making sure that traveling executives can get access to information they need without exposing companies to the risk of hackers and snoops. Mr. Muglia described a shift to “user-centric computing,” which would tie what someone can do to their identity, not the device they are using.

The good news, for worker bees who just want to get things done, is that it may be easier to log into any computer and find your stuff. The bad news is that the tools Mr. Muglia is building will give corporate overlords a way to take control of smartphones and impose their pesky rules on them.

“I want to access a broad set of devices,” said Mr. Muglia, assuming the identity of the typical corporate road warrior. “And I.T. wants to protect all of them.”

One development that may win Mr. Muglia more friends among the road warrier tribes is called Direct Access, which is built into the upcoming Windows 7 operating system and the next update to Windows Server. It uses a better way to identify corporate laptops, based on the slowly emerging standard, called IPv6, that changes how all the computers on the Internet find each other.

Right now, most companies require workers to use virtual private network software that identifies the user and encrypts the communication between the laptop and the corporate computer. Using Direct Access, users will find that whenever they hook a laptop up to the Internet, it will be as if they are connected inside their company’s building. Mr. Muglia assured me that this is all even more secure than the current approach.

“Users get happy because they have great experience, and I.T. managers get happy because their servers are more secure,” he said. “It is the only time I can remember in security where users get happy, because usually users get unhappy with secure things.”

U-Blog 4

Today, March 4th 2009. Wednesday I would like to talk about some new technologies that I came across today.

A group of academics is attempting to use flying "quadcopter" robots as a means of deploying self-assembling ad-hoc wireless networks.

The group, led by Professor Andreas Mitschele of the Ilmenau University of Technology, claims that they could be used in the event of disasters, when standard infrastructure is destroyed.

The robots create a network of radios that provide both mobile-phone and standard wireless network access that allow people in distress to call for help. And it's all achieved using off-the-shelf parts.

The system uses cheap "quadcopters" - autonomous flying helicopter-style robots equipped with satellite navigation - bearing radio equipment based on VIA Pico-ITX computers.

The robots can spread themselves around an area and establish a radio network far more quickly than anyone on the ground.

There are limitations though. "The big problem is the batteries," explained Professor Mitschele-Thiel, as one of the quadcopters buzzed over our heads in the FutureParc hall at CeBIT.

"The quadcopter comes in a kit costing only 300 euros, but the batteries are very expensive [around 1,000 euros] and last only about 20 minutes."

However, that 20 minutes is for flight time, giving the robots enough duration to position themselves and land on "high ground or a building somewhere", and provide network coverage for several hours.

So, what do you guys think about this idea? do you think It would be helpful in time of emergency? Post your questions or comments below!

U-Blog 3

Hello everyone, Its February 13th friday. I know Im kinda late for this post but I've been a quite busy with classes, work and stuff. I just got done with taking quiz 2 as well and I think quiz was pretty straight forward from the chapter one, I did read chapter one before taking the quiz but even though It took me exactly 59:45 seconds because I was having hard time finding couple of questions. Overall Im pretty satisfied with my score but next time Ill try to do even better. 

As for article of the week, I found this wonderful article about corporate training survey by company called wistia.Wistia invited 3000 training and leadership professionals to participate in the survey, the results of which point to a definite need to make production, distribution and tracking of video training content easier and more efficient for businesses.

In particular, the survey results suggest a real need to make production, distribution and tracking of video training content much more efficient for businesses. If businesses are to wholeheartedly adopt video training, this must be accomplished without compromising investments that have already been made in equipment and skills (for content creation).

The survey results also concluded that there are numerous benefits to using video training, specifically in cost-effectiveness and convenience.

Finally, the survey establishes that there is great demand for video training in business, but that better tools are required if video training is to realize its full potential as an integral part of training. Video is already recognized as being extremely cost-effective as a communications tool, allowing companies to share knowledge with employees. There is little doubt that video is the future of business communication

U-Blog 2

First, I would like to share the information that I have gathered regarding to future of workforce america. Little do we know there are lots of people out there around our cities whos main concern is to look ahead in the future and try to come up with new ideas and new ways to change how our workforce may look like. Here is the article I found, Please post your opinion below.

City Council Debates Future Of Workforce Development

OMAHA, Neb. - A former employee of Nebraska Workforce Development said the agency has fallen short after the city relinquished control of it and state employees took over.

Some city officials, however, said the agency is working better than ever.

One thing's for certain: The agency's offices are busy these days.

For that reason, Mark Le Flore, the former employee, said it's critical that the agency's programs are serving the citizens.

"Workforce development is geared to assist individuals that may have lost their jobs and need retraining, so they can get hired," Le Flore said.

He worked for the agency when it was administered by the city.

Now, he said, the agency needs help.

Le Flore said it has mishandled federal money and its youth programs are not where they should be.

"We're falling way short on the goals," he said.

Omaha City Councilman Frank Brown doesn't entirely agree with Le Flore's assessment, but Brown does want the agency back under the city's control.

"We need this program back," Brown said.

Joe Gudenrath, Mayor Mike Fahey's chief of staff, said the agency is doing fine under state control.

"The bottom line is getting people back to work, and they're meeting those performance requirements," Gudenrath said.

The City Council on Tuesday heard public testimony on the issue. Gudenrath said he's "cautiously optimistic" that the contract extension will be approved.

If it's not, the city has until July to find another service provider.

U-Blog 1

Here is a article on how resession is effecting Corporate Training. Please read and post your opinion.

Training Is Taking a Beating in Recession, Studies Find
The recession is leading organizations to slash spending on training, two recent studies show.
Average training expenditures per employee fell 11 percent in the past year, from $1,202 per learner in 2007 to $1,075 per learner in 2008, according to a report issued Friday, January 23, by research firm Bersin & Associates.
Bersin said its figures include training budgets and payroll. Bersin also said the U.S. corporate training market shrank from $58.5 billion in 2007 to $56.2 billion in 2008, the greatest decline in more than 10 years.
Bersin’s report echoes a November study by training services firm Expertus and research provider Training Industry. The survey of 84 corporate and government training professionals found that more than twice as many respondents expect training budget decreases rather than increases for 2009.
Forty-eight percent expect their budgets to decrease in 2009, up from 41 percent in 2008. Only 17 percent expect their budgets to increase in 2009. In addition, since 2008 budgets were first approved, far more saw decreases (38 percent) than increases (11 percent).
Bersin president Josh Bersin said organizations funneled money and staff into traditional and “often nonstrategic” training programs in good years.
“When budgets became tight, organizations with a traditional training focus suffered most,” Bersin said in a statement. “Today’s business world demands a combination of formal and informal learning with an emphasis on collaboration, knowledge sharing, social networking, coaching, and mentoring.”
The new reports confirm the old theory that training is among the first things cut during hard times, which today include a U.S. economy estimated to have contracted by more than 5 percent in the fourth quarter, an unemployment rate that rose to 7.2 percent in December and thousands of job cuts announced daily.
Trimmed training budgets also come amid a broader reassessment of employee development. In recent years, experts have argued that workers increasingly see career development as vital in an employer. At the same time, traditional, formal training in classrooms or through computer coursework has come under fire as less effective compared to less-formal modes of training, including on-the-job learning and the use of social networking tools such as corporate wikis.
Peter Cappelli, management professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, has suggested that employees share in the cost of training. In particular, he argues for tuition assistance programs, in which employees invest their time and effort on classes and class work.
The Expertus-Training Industry report found that return-on-investment and business-impact metrics are not often used to evaluate training programs.
“We recommend that organizations make measuring the value and impact of learning a priority,” Doug Harward, chief executive of Training Industry, said in a statement. “This way, training organizations can make better-informed budgetary decisions about which training should be supported and which training needs to be improved.”
In its 2009 Corporate Learning Factbook, Bersin said it found that companies have changed training program priorities; moved to coaching, informal learning, collaborative activities and other less-costly training methods; and increased reliance on outsourcing.

Workplace Learning

Why We Need to Train America's Workers…
The U.S. is falling behind other countries in the race for the world's best jobs. While other nations are spending more to educate their workers, we are spending less. America's comparative advantage in the global marketplace has always been connected to the relative skills and education of its workforce. But will we continue to have that edge in the global economy of the 21st century? As we alreadyt know that U.S. is already lagging behind from lot of other country and we still havent found ways to improve training America's Workers.
And as for workplace learning, U.S. is currently among the bottom. The ways we can change this is to improve our teaching methods by using new technology to help wokers gain more training and experiance so they would have skills and knowledge to lead them in future with out relying on others.