I'm posting this in honor of February which is Black History month. I posted 2 blog posts about race bias/ racism.
Jan. 25, 2018 "Feds try hiring with blocked names": Today I found this article by Paolo Lorriggio in the National Post in the Edmonton Journal. I thought this was going to be in the business section of the newspaper.
However, I then saw another article by him and the similar article about bias in the Globe and Mail from last year.
This article says there is no effect. However, I was watching 20/20. It was probably from 2010-2012. It was about "white- sounding names" like Tom and Harry with similar resumes to diverse, other- race sounding names. The white names got more call backs for interviews than other- race sound names. I remember one black guy's name is Tremelle from that episode:
The federal government says hiding the names of job applicants had no significant effect on whether those who identified as visible minorities were called in for an interview over a six-month period.
A pilot project launched last April by the Public Service Commission of Canada sought to compare the results of traditional screening methods with name-blind recruitment in order to bolster diversity and inclusion in government ranks.
The practice involves removing names and other identifying information such as country of origin from job applications to fight bias against people of diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds.
In a report released this week, the commission says there was no significant difference for candidates from visible minority groups when their personal information was concealed.
It also says applicants from all other groups were less likely to be brought in for an interview under that system compared to a traditional method.
The commission notes that the results can't be generalized to the entire public service because the pilot relied on departments that volunteered and used a non-random selection of external hiring processes.
The project included 27 external job postings across 17 departments between April and October of last year, resulting in a sample of 2,226 candidates, of which 685 self-identified as visible minorities.
The report is "just one of the many ways the PSC is exploring innovative approaches to ensure a diverse and representative workforce while supporting bias-free recruitment within the federal public service," Patrick Borbey, president of the Public Service Commission of Canada, said in a statement.
"We will continue to push boundaries in this area while maintaining the integrity of the federal public service’s non-partisan and merit-based staffing system."
The government said it will conduct audit work beginning in May to look at the success rate of applicants at key stages of the appointment process. It will also examine how name-blind principles could be included in the design of future technology changes to its recruitment systems.
The report said audits have the advantage of analysing decisions that have already been made, which eliminates the possibility that people might change their behaviour because they know they are part of a pilot project.
The federal government has said there is no evidence of bias in its current hiring practices.
A 2012 study by University of Toronto researchers found job applicants with English-sounding names were 35 per cent more likely to receive a call back than those with Indian or Chinese names, which they said suggested an unconscious bias.
Many orchestras made the switch to blind auditions, in which musicians play hidden by a screen, in the 1970s and 1980s, which led to a dramatic increase in the number of women hired, studies have shown.
Apr. 20, 2017 "Federal government to test name-blind hiring for public service": Here's the article by the same writer Paolo Lorriggio and from the Globe and Mail:
The federal government will be testing whether hiding the names of job applicants would improve its hiring practices, in what it calls an effort to strengthen diversity and inclusion in the public service.
The Public Service Commission of Canada project, unveiled Thursday at Toronto's Ryerson University, will compare the results of traditional screening methods with name-blind recruitment.
The practice consists of removing names and other identifying information such as email addresses and country of origin from job application forms in order to combat bias against people of diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds.
"We believe that the public service should reflect the idea that our diversity is our strength and should be a model of inclusion for employers across Canada and around the world," said Scott Brison, president of the Treasury Board.
The experiment will involve some externally advertised jobs in six federal departments, including National Defence, Global Affairs and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship. A report on the findings is expected in October.
Brison said the pilot project is meant to identify best practices before rolling out the technique throughout the public service, which he said the government aims to do before the end of its mandate.
He said name-blind recruitment has already been adopted in some universities as well as several European organizations, such as the British civil service.
Many orchestras made the switch to blind auditions, in which musicians play hidden by a screen, in the 1970s and 1980s, which led to a dramatic increase in the number of women hired, studies have shown.
A 2012 study by University of Toronto researchers found job applicants with English-sounding names were 35 per cent more likely to receive a call back than those with Indian or Chinese names, which they said suggested an unconscious bias.
Philip Oreopoulos, one of the study's authors, said it benefits employers to remove any barriers that could prevent them from hiring the best people.
Oreopoulos, a professor of economics and public policy at the University of Toronto, said there is "general interest" in moving towards name-blind hiring and the government project may give it a boost.
"I do think there may be some momentum here and the fact that the public sector is going to try this out is promising and may attract interest in employers to see how that goes," he said.
Other studies have found that name discrimination was more prevalent at smaller organizations, the professor said, adding companies that can afford to have a large human resources department may be in a better position to curb that kind of behaviour.
The federal government said there is no evidence of bias in its current hiring practices.
This week's theme is about race and gender bias:
"No simple fix to racial bias in the sharing economy"/ "Advertising needs help eradicating bias"
"Study suggests common bias in doctors"/ "What Uber practices tell us about women in tech"
My week:
Feb. 5, 2021 "Do you like snowstorms?": This was a question at LEO opinion surveys.
51% yes
49% no
I don't like snowstorms.
1. That would mean I would have to shovel a lot of snow.
2. It's cold.
3. The roads are filled with snow and it's hard to drive and travel. There would be car accidents.
I was surprised that people like snow storms. Maybe they like being indoors and be cozy. I asked my little brother P and he doesn't like snow storms either.
Feb. 6, 2021 Winter: The first week of Feb. is -20. This week is the same. I always focus on the positive: This makes staying at home easier. Who wants to go out when it's this cold?
Save money: The weather makes me want to stay at home and not go shopping at Shoppers Drug Mart to buy chips and snacks. Though some may be going online shopping.
Feb. 10, 2021 Call a friend: Yesterday I called my friend Dan L. to help me brainstorm some job search tips. By talking it out, we thought of some ways to get a job and get me motivated. We talked for 1hr 7min.
Feb. 13, 2021 The Equalizer: I saw the pilot and thought it was average. The vote is 4.1/ 10 by 2300 votes.
Clarice: I saw the pilot and thought it was average. I liked this more than The Equalizer. The vote is 6.4/10 by 500 votes.
Feb. 3, 2021 "California man leads police officers on epic six-hour chase in Los Angeles": Today I found this article by Ronan Glon on Yahoo:
Suspects fleeing police normally try to drive as fast as possible to augment their chances of getting away. One California man tried the opposite approach: He led police on what some law enforcement officials call the longest chase they have ever heard of or experienced. The driver was arrested, and no one was hurt.
The ordeal started at about 7:00 p.m. on Feb. 2 with a fairly typical traffic stop, according to local news channel NBC4. Officers saw the driver either reaching for an unspecified item or putting one away, and he sped off shortly after. Los Angeles is the world's police pursuit capital, and this chase started out like most others: the fugitive drove erratically, sometimes on the wrong side of the road, and occasionally at speeds of over 90 mph.
He blew through several red lights in a Chevrolet Malibu as officers — some driving Ford Crown Victoria patrol cars — followed him on a quick-paced tour of the Los Angeles area. He then took a more scenic approach.
Traveling on the 110 freeway, the suspect reduced his speed to about 35 mph and sometimes dropped to under 10 mph. You don't need to watch the news to imagine the phenomenal mess that the chase plunged Los Angeles' already chaotic traffic into. NBC4 reported miles of gridlock, and some of the officers chasing the suspect had to leave the convoy for a few minutes to fill up their gas tanks. The news outlet's chopper had to land and refuel, too.
Officers blew out the Malibu's tires, and the 6-hour, 40-mile chase ended when the sedan crawled to a stop after its driver-side front wheel broke off, leaving behind a trail of sparks. The driver was arrested on suspicion of felony evading, NBC4 reported, and officers clarified that he had a pair of outstanding warrants for burglary.
Stopping a suspect is not as easy as Hollywood would lead you to believe.
"Our policy generally prohibits us from conducting a pursuit intervention technique (PIT) maneuver on somebody we believe is armed, because it puts us at a disadvantage when we flip that car around. Now the suspect is face-to-face with us, and it is pretty unsafe," explained Los Angeles Police Department sergeant Juan Garcia.
Officers noted they did not find a weapon when they searched the car, though they say the suspect may have thrown one out of the window during the chase. What's clear is that he had a full tank of gas. Running on empty might not have stopped him, though; we've seen a suspect stop for gas during a pursuit in Los Angeles before.
California man leads police officers on epic six-hour chase in Los Angeles (yahoo.com)
Feb. 8, 2021 "British boy wakes from nearly year-long coma unaware of COVID pandemic":
NOTTINGHAM, England (Reuters) - A British teenager is slowly emerging from a coma nearly a year after being hit by a car, and he has no knowledge of the coronavirus pandemic even though he has caught the virus twice.
Joseph Flavill, 19, suffered a traumatic brain injury when he was hit by the car in the central English town of Burton-on-Trent on March 1 last year, about three weeks before a first national lockdown was imposed to curb the spread of the virus.
During that time his family has been largely unable to be near him and hold his hand due to coronavirus restrictions, mostly trying to communicate with him via video link.
"Recently Joseph has started to show small signs of recovery, which we are thrilled about... We know now he can hear us, he responds to small commands," his aunt, Sally Flavill, told Reuters.
"When we say to him 'Joseph, we can't be with you, but you are safe, this is not going to be forever', he understands, he hears you, he just can't communicate," she said, adding that he now signalled 'yes' with a blink and 'no' with two blinks.
British boy wakes from nearly year-long coma unaware of COVID pandemic (yahoo.com)
Feb. 10, 2021 "'Buffy' and 'Angel' star Charisma Carpenter speaks out on Joss Whedon's alleged 'toxic' behavior: 'I can no longer remain silent'": Today I found this article by Ethan Alter on Yahoo news. This is some crazy news. This kind of adds into #Metoo, but more like Joss Whedon's poor behavior:
Months after Ray Fisher accused Joss Whedon of "unacceptable" on-set behavior during the turbulent production of 2017's Justice League, Charisma Carpenter is speaking out about her own experience working with the writer and director on his signature TV series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. In a two-part Twitter post that was hashtagged #IStandwithRayFisher, the actress reveals that she participated in WarnerMedia's investigation into Whedon's conduct in the wake of Fisher's claims — an investigation that officially concluded in December following Whedon's November announcement that he was stepping away from his HBO series, The Nevers. "I believe Ray to be a person of integrity who is telling the truth," writes Carpenter, adding that Fisher's firing from Warner's upcoming The Flash feature was the "last straw" that encouraged her to speak up.
There was no immedate comment from Whedon, but eponymous Buffy star Sarah Michelle Gellar posted a statement distancing herself from the show's creator on Instagram. "While I am proud to have my name associated with Buffy Summers, I don't want to be forever associated with the name Joss Whedon," Gellar writes. "I stand with all survivors of abuse and am proud of them for speaking out." Gellar's onscreen sister, Michelle Trachtenberg, reposted the statement on her own Instagram, writing that she also had negative experiences with Whedon during her time on the show. "I am brave enough now as a 35 year old woman to repost this. Because this must be known. As a teenager, with his not appropriate behavior — very not appropriate."
'Buffy' and 'Angel' star Charisma Carpenter speaks out on Joss Whedon's alleged 'toxic' behavior: 'I can no longer remain silent' (yahoo.com)
Feb. 5, 2021 "Charlottetown $2M lotto winner happy — and still at work": This was on Yahoo:
It was business as usual inside Linda's Coffee Shop in downtown Charlottetown on Friday morning. Owner Seyedazim Sharif was behind the counter, greeting customers just like he does every day — seven days a week. But this has been far from a normal week. Sharif recently won $2 million on an Atlantic Lotto scratch ticket.
"Now, my family and me are excited, happy," Sharif said. "Sharif said he went to an Atlantic Superstore last week to get supplies for the restaurant. While he was there, he decided to pick up a 200x Multiplier Scratch'N Win ticket as well. Once he had scratched it off, he couldn't believe what he was seeing. "I thought maybe $20,000, maybe $200,000 but I count zeros," Sharif said. "One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six! Yes, $2 million. I'm very happy, I'm very happy. "He went back out to the car where his wife Zeynab was waiting for him. Shaking, he told her that he had won $2 million." She hugged me," Sharif said. Sharif moved from Iran to Charlottetown with his family in 2014. He had retired as a financial manager there.
He said he made the decision to move to Canada for his family to have a better life.
"Here, Charlottetown is safe," Sharif said. "It's friendly. It's very good for children."
After working hard to improve his English, Sharif bought Linda's Coffee Shop for its "good location, good business" in 2017., "Finally yoThen the pandemic hit in 2020, and he had to close it for three months — along with many other Island businesses — and there were very few tourists when he was able to reopen.
He said he had been worried about the upcoming season but the lottery win has changed all that.
His son, Seyed Yousef Sharif, worked as a cook but he had to be laid off because of the pandemic.
He couldn't believe it when he heard about the big win.
"I know my dad had a visualization of him winning the lottery one day so I was like 'wow, this actually happened. This is real,'" he said.
"I was screaming in the house. I just couldn't believe it." You win." Maybe change life."
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