Monthly Archives: July 2019

Retailers Are Watching Us Shop—Should We Care?

Leave a reply

We keep hearing that privacy doesn’t exist anymore, and that we should no longer even expect it. But while most of can understand the need for monitoring the public in some situations, do any of us really want retailers following our movements when we’re in their stores?

It’s already happening. The cosmetic chain Sephora uses Bluetooth to connect to customers’ smartphones and track what they look at. Once that data is gathered, promotions geared to the shoppers’ preferences are sent to their smartphones. Other technology tracks shoppers if they use in-store Wi-Fi, which enables the business to capture shoppers’ data and private information. While Target, Walmart, and Lowe’s have not yet adopted facial-recognition systems that can, among other functions, identify former shoplifters in its stores, these retailers are considering such Big Brother intrusions.

Stores claim technologies that track shopping behaviors help them stay competitive with online retailers. They argue such tracking is being explored to enhance shoppers’ experience. However, privacy advocates claim the risks of abuse from tracking customers physically are too dangerous, and that if allowed to continue, could result in massive data collection that inevitably would be stored and shared. This sharing could theoretically lead to unknowing shoppers being blacklisted, misidentified, or otherwise labeled. If you were purchasing a lot of liquor for a large party, for example, that information could be stored and retrieved by a potential employer who may consider that purchase in a negative light.

Congress is currently considering legislation to protect privacy online and in brick-and-mortar stores. Should lawmakers stop businesses from using our faces and track our every step without permission?

Discussion

  1. If retailers use facial recognition tracking in stores, should customers be informed or allowed to opt out?
  2. Should stores be allowed to use facial recognition technology to monitor employees as a way to cut down on theft or other issues?
  3. How would you feel about a store that used sensors in shopping carts that could track your eye movements?

 

 

New Grads Seek More than Salary…  Be More Savvy about Online Privacy… Yes, You Must Answer E-mails

Leave a reply

New Grads Seek More than Salary

Although 2019 college graduates are earning only slightly more than their 2018 counterparts (and 20% more than those graduating in 2009), they’re not displeased about their pay. Why? Because they want something from a job that money just can’t buy—purpose.

Millennials and Gen Z want to make a difference as much as make a living, so an employer’s culture and the opportunity to grow and learn can supersede salary demands, says a college recruiter from Korn Ferry, a management consultant firm that conducted an analysis of 300,000 entry-level jobs.

Ally Van Duren of Korn Ferry says younger workers prefer a workplace that fosters collaboration with peers across various segments of an organization. She also says that many believe employers should provide them with special training and mentoring on the job.

For the younger generations entering or already in the workforce and who prefer to enjoy the people they work with and the work itself, salary is simply secondary.

From The Wall Street Journal

 Be More Savvy about Online Privacy

Research from the Society for Human Resource Management indicates that nearly half of all organizations use social media or online searches to screen candidates as well as to check up on current employees. What’s more, those searches lead to negative consequences all too often.

These five social media privacy suggestions can help workers and job seekers alike display themselves at their best.

  1. Educate yourself about an employer’s privacy policies. The onus is on potential and current employees to learn about a company’s policies.
  2. Omit coworkers and superiors on private social media. Create a professional social media account; save personal accounts for trusted friends only.
  3. Assume all internet activity on public wi-fi is hackable. Take measures to ensure privacy. Avoid “free” VPN or PPTP protocol.
  4. Remove questionable material posted in the past. Employers don’t care if it happened two minutes or two years ago—they don’t want to see employees in compromising situations.
  5. Pay attention to privacy settings.Always adjust default settings to reveal only information appropriate for the world to see.

From payscale.com

Yes, You Must Answer E-mails

It’s digital snobbery to leave e-mails unanswered, just like not meeting the eyes of an acquaintance when seeing him in a hall, says organizational psychologist Dr. Adam Grant.

Grant, writing in The New York Times, says ignoring messages is code for “this e-mail isn’t important to me now.” Research is showing that managers slow to deal with e-mails are less effective because they are perceived as lacking conscientiousness.

Some caveats apply. Recipients of e-mails from strangers asking favors should not feel compelled to respond, Grant says. Nor should employees feel they must answer e-mails after work hours or weekends.

Still, says Grant, ignoring e-mails entirely is a big no-no. Doing so shows you’re disorganized or worse, don’t care.

From The New York Times

 

 

 

Students Not Reading Your Syllabus? Try One That’s Accessible

Leave a reply

We’ve all had to stifle eye rolls when students ask about a due date or reading assignment, silently thinking IT’S ON THE SYLLABUS! But perhaps our students avoid our course bibles because they have become dated or resemble the small print on contracts or user agreements that nearly everybody skips over. That’s where the accessible syllabus comes in.

An accessible syllabus is based on universal design to enable people of diverse skill sets to engage with it. To do so, an accessible syllabus will contain four elements instead of the standard one—words: images, text, rhetoric, policy. Below is the purpose of each element.

Images. The idea behind using images on a syllabus is the same as inserting images into any document: It allows the reader to skim the content and quickly absorb information. In a syllabus, instructors may choose to include images of the text or its authors, word clouds that support course objectives, a pie chart to show the distribution of final grades, or even a table of contents. Whichever is chosen, images should always serve a specific purpose.

Text. Text cannot be omitted, but the accessible syllabus uses principles of design to break up large blocks of type: bulleted lists, chunked sections, and hyperlinks. A text-heavy syllabus can be greatly improved by using a few strategies. First, cut down the amount of text. For example, if you currently include all course assignments in the syllabus, put them in a separate space or create hyperlinks to them. Likewise, eliminate codes of conduct and the like by creating hyperlinks that connect to those policies on your institution’s website.

Next, make text more readable by dividing it into several columns and keeping paragraphs to no more than 4-6 lines. Use bold face to highlight important key words. Stick to sans serif type for online versions and use 1.5 line spacing. Finally, organize the document to facilitate quick information retrieval. Create a table of contents, headings, bulleting, and enumeration.

Rhetoric. The prose in the accessible syllabus should avoid punishing language and create invitations rather than commands. For example, instead of “late assignments may not be accepted,” write “I’ve found that turning work in on time helps prepare you for success in the workplace, so late work may not be accepted.”

Policy. The final element of the accessible syllabus may affect instructors’ pedagogy. Some research points to the notion that students do better when they have some degree of control in their learning, so course policies that offer students choices become part of accessibility. Inclusive pedagogy—in which the learner and instructor work together—can be manifested in an accessible syllabus in several ways. Instructors can include an inclusive learning statement that voices the instructor’s desire for student success and asks students to discuss accommodations they may need, which may include adjusting due dates or providing extra time for exams.

We’ve included some links to resources for creating an accessible syllabus. Tell us about your strategies and your institution’s guidelines!

The Accessible Syllabus Website

Temple University Accessible Syllabus Template

Stanford’s Designing an Accessible Syllabus