Career Advancement Agencies

I had an interesting experience yesterday.

One of the reasons I have the time to write this blog right now is because I have been laid off from my position as an automotive engineer.  So a good deal of my time is spend in looking for another job.  

On one of the job sites an advertisement was placed for a "career advancement" agency.  Well, I have the time, so I asked them what they could do to help.

When I went to their office, I found a few things that raised some red-flags.  First, there were no other job seekers at the place.  With the Michigan economy as it is, I would expect at least one or two other job seekers.  Then, while reading their literature about how they plan to help me get a job, they suggested I don't talk to anyone about hiring them.

Further, while the head of the office was using a hard-sell to get me to use their service, he very casually mentioned a fee.  So casually that I almost missed it.  Later when the subject of fees came up again he indicated the there was no set schedule for fees, it depended on the customer.  He indicated that the fees usually ranged around $2,000, and laughed about one fee which was over $6,000.  But he wouldn't give me a fixed number at that time.  Finally, he made a big deal about the fact that the fee would be paid in three installments as the work was completed.  However, it appeared from the fee schedule that the three installments would be paid within a couple weeks of signing the contract, long before anyone would hope to find a job.

There were a few other things that raised a eyebrow.  The literature, and the salesman, both made a point of letting me know that 80% of job openings never get posted.  Well, I knew that already.  The literature and the salesman implied strongly that they would be able to tap into that 80%, but they never flat out said they could.  In fact, the salesman did say that they didn't like to take on clients who had sent out too many resumes, which strongly suggests that they are using the same listings as clients.  

So, being unable to get a word in edgewise with the salesman.  I took their literature, and a copy of their contract and left.  One interesting part of the contract was a state-mandated page telling me that the agency is not an employment agency and they are not permitted to schedule interviews or directly put one of their client in touch with a potential employer.  Sounds like I'm not getting a great deal for my money.

However, I'm willing to try something if it works.  Not that they gave me any information about how well it did work.  So, since they said I should ask any questions I want, I sent them an e-mail with two questions.

1.  How many new clients did they get in 2008?

2.  How many clients found jobs through their agency in 2008?

They wouldn't answer the questions.

They said they couldn't answer them, but for a employment company to not know how many clients they get or place is inconceivable.

I gave them one last chance.  For if they could break into that 80% of unposted jobs it would be worth it.  I informed them that I would use their service and pay their fee if they would be willing to modify the contract so that I paid them after I got a job.  

They were unwilling to accept that offer.

I'll hold onto my money.

First Principles - The role of Government part 2

Yesterday we had a short discussion of the social contract, and I suggested that this concept is quite a bit wider than Hobbes or Locke ever used.  In short I suggested that the social contract, in its broadest sense, covers all our expectations of how we (and everyone else) should relate to society.

Let's think about that for a moment.  For I feel this notion can explain a lot of the things we find hard to comprehend about our society.  

Each of us carries about a social contract.  Every one of these contracts is different.  Maybe greatly different, maybe subtly different, but every one is different.  These social contracts include our expectations of behavior, both our own and others.  It defines how each of us relate to society and how we expect everyone else to relate to society.  

Now I'm not suggesting that this is a well-written document floating around in your brain, with sections and sub-paragraphs.  This idea is simply a metaphor for our expectations about society.  If it was a document, a real contract, it would be hundreds of pages long and full of special clauses, exemptions and plenty of contradictions.  

Some of these special clauses are probably hard-wired into our brains.  For example, most of us have a clause which prevents us from feeling sexually attracted to children, which is a trait we share with other animals.  This clause is very likely hard-wired into our genes, which regrettably doesn't prevent a few people from creating personal exceptions to that clause.  

Some of these clauses are contradictory, many a bigot will proclaim that all men are equal then complain about the laziness of men with a different color skin.  This hypocritical opinion is so deep in the psyche that the bigot won't see a contradiction.  If we put it in terms of the social contract, there is a general statement about all men, then a clause which creates an exception about a particular race.   Which may lead to the next exception for personal acquintances, i.e. even though their personal friend has a different color skin, they are not themselves lazy.  An exception clause to an exception clause. 

Nor is this social contract static.  It changes every day as we are exposed to new information about acceptable behavior and unacceptable behavior.  Surprisingly, however, there is a part of everyone's social contract which doesn't seem to change that easily, although there is still wide variation among people.  This section is concerned with the other side of the social contract; that is, what a person expects society to do for them if they fulfill their side of the agreement. 

Which relates, in a big way, to the functions of of modern government, and brings us back to Hobbes and Locke.

First Principles - The role of government part 1

I know there is a lot of scholarly work done on the various opinions of what the role of government is.  I've read a few, and I've probably not even scratched the surface of the writings on the subject.

The earliest government theory book I think I've read was, of course, Plato.  Frankly, while I think Plato had a few good points, he doesn't inspire me as much as some of the others.  One of my favorite authors, and I think the first what I would call modern authors, on the theory of government is Hobbes.

It has been many years since I first read Hobbes' Leviathan but even though I disagree with some of his statements, this work seems to me to be the foundation on which much government theory is based on.  It is clear from the writings of Jefferson, Madison and Jay that they were not only familiar with Hobbes' theory, but believed in large portions of it.  In fact, I would argue that the seperation of powers in the federal constitution of the United States is a reaction to Hobbes' proposition that ultimately a strong authority is necessary for a stable society.  

However, Hobbes' great insight is not his much maligned concept that a stable society requires a single strong authority, but the recognition that without society an individual man's life would be "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short."  Hobbes postulated the idea of a "social contract" wherein people form a society for the betterment of the group.  

But let us be clear on this point, this social contract does not mean centralized government.  In fact, it is a rather nebulous term which describes interactions at all levels.  The customs of a culture are a form of the social contract, an example in our western society is shaking hands when meeting a person for the first time.  Leaving someone's offered handshake in mid-air without an apology or comment is an insult.  A minor insult to be sure, but it suggests a more combatative attitude will ensue in any subsequent interactions.  

But I believe the point is clear even with this trivial example, part of acceptance into a society is through conforming to the customs and practices of that society.  The customs and practices of societies vary, in fact they vary incredibly widely within a society, every level of the social strata within a society has customs which are unique.  Acceptance into a society means conformance to those customs, in return the society will extend the benefits of belonging to that society to the person.  

Societies treat non-conformance in different ways.  Some societies are fairly tolerant of non-conformance, others less so.  Further, non-conformance of a societies expectations in specific areas can result in different tolerance to non-conformance.  Consider the deep-rooted antipathy to providing assistance to the homeless in the United States; for a multitude of reasons they do not conform to what we typically consider social norms and have violated much of our expected social contract.

I know, it seems a long way from a discussion about society to the role of government, but we'll get there.

Science Friday - The Galileo Manuscript

Last Wednesday I attended a showing at the University of Michigan undergraduate library of the manuscript they have written by Galileo in late 1609 and January 1610 which records his initial notes on observing the moons of Jupiter.  

To be honest, the provenance of this document is uncertain.  There are few, if any other Galileo documents outside of Italy and this document appears to have only been traced back to the early 1920's.  On the other hand, various scholars which have looked at the manuscript say it looks like Galileo's hand and the inks and paper look authentic.  According to the Special Collections Director, no scholar has been interested enough in tracking down its history to be able to say for certain if it is genuine.  However, most scholars who have looked at it believe it to be real, and so does the Special Collections Library at the University of Michigan.  That's good enough for me.

Galileo's observations are a good place to start for looking at modern science.  You can make a convincing case that it was Galileo's observing and publishing of his observations in the pamphlet Sidereus Nuncius which started modern science.  (Other scientists were certainly making observations, Thomas Harriot is a good example of another early astronomer who preceeded Galilieo.  But Harriot did not publish.)  Our methods have improved since then, but the combination of making observations, developing a hypothesis based on those observations, and publishing it for everyone to criticise is one of the core ideas of modern science.

In the four centuries since Galileo this apparently simple idea: observe, consider, publish, critique; has changed the world more than the preceeding four millenia.  

On a more personal note, several years ago I took a trip to Florence, Italy.  Knowing that there was plenty to see in Florence, I rented and apartment there for a couple weeks with some friends.  After seeing the Uffizi a couple times and the Pitti Palace and the David and the Boboli Gardens, and etc.  (there was a lot to see), I noticed I kept walking past a place called, Museo di Storia della Scienza.  There didn't seem to be many tourists about, but I thought I'd give it a try.

If you ever get to Florence, make an effort to see this museum.  

It's not huge, and doesn't contain miles of galleries of paintings and sculpture.  It contains scientific instruments.  The collection is somewhat ecclectic, but fascinating.  There are huge armillary spheres, early microscopes, clocks, surgical instruments, a large number of static electricity generators, and Galileo's telescope.

The telescope he likely used in January of 1610 to observe the moons of Jupiter, as he recorded on the scrap of paper which resides in the University of Michigan Special Collections Library we saw earlier.

Of course, any personal reminisce about Galileo artifacts wouldn't be

complete without mention of that one other artifact housed in the Museo di Storia della Scienza: Galileo's finger.  

When Galileo's body was moved from its original resting place to its current crypt in the Church of Santa Croce in Florence, his finger was broken off by Anton Francesco Gori.  Its provenance is well established.  

It makes you wonder why the manuscript Galileo used as a scratchpad for one of the most important observations in history wasn't as important as the finger that recorded that observation.

Visit the Museo di Storia della Scienza on-line.

And the University of Michigan Special Collections site on the Galileo Letter.

If you are in the SE Michigan Area, there is an exhibit of Early Astronomy going on on the 7th floor of the University of Michigan Graduate Library in Ann Arbor until April 19th, 2009.  

Day 2 - More housekeeping and introductions

With the purpose of the blog being understood, there inevitably arises the next question as to why did I name it what I did.  

With all due respect to Funkmaster Flex, I acquired the nickname Flex back in the summer of 1978.  For all I know the Funkmaster was called Flex back then as well, but it was certainly considerably before he became famous.  He would have been ten years old at the time, just as I was eleven.  I'm not claiming priority on the name, just that I'm not him and my nick-name was not influenced by him at all. 

I won't get into any more detail about the story.  Frankly, the story is not particularly entertaining.  Like most nick-names it began as a somewhat derogatory appelation, but as the years went by most people who learned to call me Flex didn't know the origin of the nick-name.  As nick-names go, it was pretty innocuous.  Some of my other high school friends also had nick-names, but as most of them were not suitable for polite company they have returned to using their given name (aside from the rare occasions when we want to tease each other).  

Why should I use my nick-name for the blog title?  Well, for a number of reasons.  First, it's a very familiar name to me.  Most of my friends use it, a number of people I know don't even know my given name, or have to think about it.  

Second, while I'm not attempting to maintain a high degree of anonymity, some of the things I will be discussing will be actions which are occuring in my township.  I am proud to serve my township, and I will not break any confidentiality requirements (which are few enough) of my position as trustee, and I will not explicitly name individuals.  However, I'm also not trying to leverage this blog into a campaign tool, for myself or potential opponents.  I'm going to blur my discussions about how local government works to avoid making the township I represent obvious.  Oh, since I'll be referancing parks and facilities in the township it will probably only take a few minutes to figure out who I am and where I live, but I believe a little anonymity is a good thing.  

Finally, I beleive my observations and arguments should stand on their own merits and not for any associations, good or bad, with the township I live in.  Like I said above, I am proud to represent my township, and I believe we are doing a lot of good things for the right reasons.  The residents have been well served by the township officials, and the township has been so well run that we are considering a minor tax reduction in our millages this year.  There are few townships in Michigan who can say that.  However, be that as it may be, this is not a blog boosting my township, it's a blog about how local government works and why it's important. 

Opening Post

Howdy,

I figured it was time to get writing, and starting on April 1st seemed like an appropriate time.  

This is the opening post of my first blog.  Probably my only blog, but we'll have to see how things pan out in the long run.

Based on my observation, blogs which do well have a theme.  That is, there are popular blogs out there, as well as plenty of personal blogs.  But bloggers appear to attract an audience if they have a theme, and having an audience also seems to encourage bloggers to contine.  I'd like encouragement to continue this work, so I have brought a theme to this blog.  

The theme isn't one I'm very familiar with, but it appears that most other people are not particularly familiar with it either.  The theme is local government.  I know, I know, there are groans from the crowd at this point.  But this is not intended as a political blog.  Far from it.  There are several facets to government work which go far beyond the disagreements between poltical parties.  In fact, I submit that the founders of our nation were far more concerned with the day-to-day operation of government functions than the process of elections.  This is one of the reasons why our Federal Constitution is one of the oldest in the world, that short document deliniates the method by which government operate, its not too concerned about who should be elected to government.  (Although major arguments about the election process have subsequently occurred.  Like the American Civil War.)

So this blog will have the theme of government operations.  It will cover local governments; their policies, powers, and reasons for giving them the power that is granted to them.  Why should I concern myself with local government?  Simple really.  First, I recently was elected to the Township Board of my township, meaning that I can now see the inner workings of our township and can pass those lessons on to any readers.

 Second, the vast majority of dealings we have as citizens are with our local government units.  While the Federal Government takee our tax money and re-distributes it, the spending of that money is often at a local level by local authorities, and the projects and planning which is done to get that money is done by the local authorities.  In addition, the regulations and laws which most strongly affect people are the local ones.  Sure, the big restrictions are covered by national laws, things like murder.  Most of us really don't need to worry about those.  But you are quite likely at some point in your life to encounter zoning policies that you don't agree with, sewer or water concerns, burn restrictions, home owners associations, trash policies, and a whole lot of things which are regulated primarily at a local level.  It would be good to get some insight into how and why these exist, wouldn't it?

So that will be the theme of this blog, and we shall learn together about this topic.  I may have a slight head start, having been following these decisions for a few years now, but you will soon catch up.  I also will be dealing with the Michigan local structure, because that's where I am.  There are a wide variety of local government levels of authority around our nation, so what I write may not apply to your case.  

Of course, I will not restrict myself to this type of posting.  I will write of other things.  My interests, like everyone I know, are varied.  So I may chime in with a description of some of my travels, or commentary on current events.  I'm hoping to write about science on occasion, I'd like to do a peer-reviewed science article every Friday, but we'll have to see how that turns out.  I'm not a scientist, I'm an engineer by training, but if I can help distribute scientific knowledge and curiosity I will do so.

I have no idea of the frequency of my posting yet.  That will have to develop.  I'm hoping a couple of posts a week, but it may be more frequent or it may be less.

It's customary to name a blog-father for a new blog.  There are three blogs which have inspired me to start my own:  Prof. P.Z. Myers' Pharyngula, Orac's Respectful Insolence, and Mark CC's Good Math, Bad Math.  They cover a variety of subjects, and use completely different styles of writing, but share a common theme: rationalism.  I will endevour to continue that theme in my own discussions.