Flash Mob

A flash mob is a group of strangers who organize themselves, using electronic media such as cell phones or the Internet, to gather together in a public place, behave in a predetermined manner for a predetermined amount of time, and then quickly disperse.
A successful flash mob event depends on the element of surprise. Participants, called mobsters, share news about the time and place for an upcoming event through postings on blogs, chain e-mail messages, SMS text messages and social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
Bill Wasik, senior editor of ,Harper's Magazine, orchestrated the first successful flash mob in June 2003 at Macy's department store. A group of 100 people received instructions to gather at one of four staging areas. Further directions led them to the store's rug department, where they told employees they lived together and were shopping for a "love rug."
Waslik's subsequent flash mobs included one group applauding for 15 seconds in the lobby and mezzanine of the Hyatt hotel and another group pretending to be tourists from Maryland in a SoHo shoe store. It wasn't until June 2006, when Wasik published an article about his flash mobs in Harper's, that their source was publicly known. According to Wasik, he created the flash mob, at least in part, "as a stunt that would satirize scenester-y gatherings."

 

Glass Ceiling

While the phrase glass ceiling is metaphorical, many women who find themselves bumping their heads on it find it very real indeed. It is most often used to describe the sexist attitude many women run into at the workplace. In a discussion of ascending the corporate ladder, the word “ceiling” implies that there is a limit to how far someone can climb it. Along with this implied barrier is the idea that it is glass, meaning that, while it is very real, it is transparent and not obvious to the observer. The term glass ceiling is most often applied in business situations in which women feel, either accurately or not, that men are deeply entrenched in the upper echelons of power, and women, try as they might, find it nearly impossible to break through.
Gay Bryant wrote an article in Adweek containing the first documented use of the term in 1984. The term glass ceiling became a permanent part of the American lexicon with a subsequent article in the Wall Street Journal published on 24 March 1986 by Carol Hymowitz and Timothy Schellhardt. While the term may be casually used, the Department of Labor took it very seriously in 1991 when they issued a definition of it, stating that a glass ceiling is made up of "artificial barriers based on attitudinal or organizational bias that prevent qualified individuals from advancing upward in their organization into management-level positions." The Department went on to establish a Glass Ceiling Commission in an effort to “level the playing field".

Modified Angoff Procedure

The Modified Angoff procedure is used to determine the initial passing score for an examination used to certify or license practitioners. It is one of the most popular procedures for setting a criterion-referenced passing point. It is not a norm-referenced method, when a candidate’s pass or fail status is determined by his or her performance in relation to other candidates. Using the Angoff procedure, once the passing point is determined, a candidate’s pass/fail performance is established independently of the group who sat for the exam. Candidates are judged by comparing their performance to an absolute standard, not to other candidates. Theoretically, all candidates can pass or all can fail.

The process begins by selecting a group of job experts to serve as judges. This is typically the client’s examination committee. The group develops a definition of a hypothetical “minimally competent practitioner” (MCP). Then the judges are shown an item on the exam and asked to consider how many of a group of 100 MCPs are likely to answer that question correctly. Initial ratings are discussed, and the judges are allowed to change their ratings, based on the discussion. This process is repeated for each item on the exam. The ratings are averaged across all items and all judges to determine the passing point. Additionally, a 95% confidence interval (CI) is calculated using the standard error of the ratings and the inter-rater reliability of the judges. After the first administration of the initial test form, a “reality check” is performed, i.e., the score distribution is reviewed with the client, and a passing point is selected from within the 95% CI. Once the initial passing point is set the standard is maintained through
statistical equating.

Stockholm syndrome

Stockholm syndrome, the phenomenon in which victims display compassion for and even loyalty to their captors. It was first widely recognized after the Swedish bank robbery that gave it its name. For six days in August 1973, thieves Jan-Erik Olsson and Clark Olofsson held four Stockholm bank employees hostage at gunpoint in a vault. When the victims were released, their reaction shocked the world: they hugged and kissed their captors, declaring their loyalty even as the kidnappers were carted off to jail. Though the precise origin of the term Stockholm syndrome is debated, it is often attributed to remarks during a subsequent news broadcast by the Swedish criminologist and psychiatrist Nils Bejerot, who had assisted the police during the robbery.

Inspirational words from Rocky Balboa to his son

Below are the inspirational words from Rocky to his son in the movie 'Rocky Balboa' -

The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get it and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done! Now if you know what you're worth then go out and get what you're worth. But ya gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody! Cowards do that and that ain't you! You're better than that!

"Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams," Randy Pausch's last speech

Carnegie Mellon Professor Randy Pausch (Oct. 23, 1960 - July 25, 2008) gave his last lecture at the university Sept. 18, 2007, before a packed McConomy Auditorium. In his moving presentation, "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams," Pausch talked about his lessons learned and gave advice to students on how to achieve their own career and personal goals.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo

Carrefour

Carrefour S.A. (French pronunciation: [karfur]) is an international hypermarket chain headquartered in Levallois-Perret, France. It is one of the largest hypermarket chains in the world ( a hypermarket is a superstore combining a supermarket and a department store. The result is an expansive retail facility carrying a wide range of products under one roof, including full groceries lines and general merchandise. In theory, hypermarkets allow customers to satisfy all their routine shopping needs in one trip).

Carrefour means "crossroads" in French