The Precarious Expendable Workforce - Being Under Contract for a Staffing Agency

I am sick of this. 20 years later, I find myself once again doing temp work. The Canadian economy has failed to adapt to international competition and I therefore do not blame myself for this ongoing challenge to find work related to my career. Nevertheless, having to submit to the conditions of a temp agency is not agreeable. It feels exploitative, deflating, and unfair. While I understand the nature of the business, that is a few people find clients and sell off man hours of labour, the difference in hourly wage accounts for :

• Income for workers of the staffing agency
• Overhead - rent, utilities
• Insurance and licencing

I have an advanced degree, yet the opportunities that the agency offers me labour jobs like doing janitorial work in a factory. Without providing details about an "opportunity", only a date, the agency expressed their need of a worker. I said that I would be available. It ended being a moving job which was a little too dangerous for my liking.  The kicker : I was paid $12 an hour, the staffing agency was collecting $19.

The Rise of the Permanent Temp Economy
Erin Hatton's book  : http://www.amazon.ca/Temp-Economy-Permatemps-Postwar-America-ebook/dp/B006K0E58W/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1443354832&sr=1-1&keywords=9781439900826

http://www.propublica.org/article/the-expendables-how-the-temps-who-power-corporate-giants-are-getting-crushe


http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/08/17/1120933/-Staffing-agencies-are-above-the-law

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/jobs/with-temporary-workers-flexibilitys-the-name-of-the-game/article583174/

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/jobs/canadas-shift-to-a-nation-of-temporary-workers/article11721139/

http://inthesetimes.com/article/15972/permatemps_in_manufacturing

http://www.thespec.com/news-story/5677195-a-dime-a-dozen-ontario-s-eye-popping-shift-to-low-wage-work/

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/03/31/too-many-ontario-workers-exploited-laws-need-quick-overhaul-study-urges.html

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/08/17/1120933/-Staffing-agencies-are-above-the-law

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/01/upshot/the-changing-face-of-temporary-employment.html?_r=0

Roadblocks to finding employment - References for the periods of unemployment

For the past 19 months, I have been looking for work. A few short contracts have kept me busy, but they were positions in which I was doing unskilled manual labour.

With regard to my background, I have a university degree the applied sciences and a master's in the humanities. While the fields may not seem related, I felt is was required that I do the latter in order to round out my my knowledge and in turn allow myself to make better decisions in a variety of contexts.

Unfortunately, I have unable to secure employment. I apply to a variety of different positions, some in the technical field, some in social science research.

With regard to my job search roadblocks, I have applied to government positions. I was happy that there are at least some organisations which recognize and will verify my education. Unfortunately, my periods of unemployment have left me without references for those time frames. There was the option to provide the names of dentists, trainers or physicians. Without a source of income, getting health services was not an option. Besides, who goes to a dentist or physician unless they have a problem?

(It may be a weakness or a sign of me being cautious, but I do not use social media. Okay, I do : this blog.  Life doesn't happen on the Internet.)

The folly of technology and fidelity - Ashley Madison Users and Lie Detector Tests

Last year, I had a job interview where I was required to go through a lie detection test. I laughed at the concept knowing that a) memories change over time; b) memories can be induced; c)a simple search through Google Scholar demonstrates that the scientific community does not take the practice seriously.

Apparently suspicious spouses will be looking to book their for a lie detection test. The only way to catch someone in a lie is evidence. If a person admits to something, it doesn't mean that it is true. If a story changes over time, it is also unlikely that what is being told that a person's world can be held as truth.  Participants should not say anything that does not need to be used against them.

In a nutshell, the ones administering, or paying for the tests, are the ones being duped.

More about polygraph testing will follow in an upcoming post about lie detection. In the meantime, take a look a the following posts :

Anti-Polygraph
Pseudoscience:    List of topics :
The Art of Deception: Polygraph Lie Detection by Michael Lawrence Langan, M.D.
What polygraph interviewers are like...
Oh! Fun! A video on Bloomberg

Give me a reason to get a new phone - smart or not

I am currently back on to my BlackBerry Curve 8350 - I tried a touch screen, but got annoyed with muted phone call, erratic auto-correct and the annoying onscreen camera button, or lack of one. 

It is not a modern phone by any stretch, however, I like it. I drop it on the ground, it is just about indestructible. Actually it isn't, but it is small and light enough that its own weight isn't a problem.

As for the uses of this phone to a newer one, I fail to see what a new phone can do. Sure there are tons of apps, but really, I am not sure what I would do with a new device. I can text, e-mail, use GPS navigation, call people, stream audio etc. Browsing sometimes leaves to desire, but I have a computer, and when necessary a really good camera, should I want to take shots that I want to share or print.

I think I'll hold on to it quite a bit longer.

Slight change in tire size : not a good idea with an automatic transmission - harsh shifts, possible damage to transmission

Seeing that my front summer tires were close to reaching the wear lines, I started looking for sales for new tires. I found some at $57 a piece. Unfortunately for my size, a very common one, 185/65R14, it was a whole $13 more. That didn't seem right. If you want to improve fuel economy, it is common to get narrower tires. If you increase the aspect ratio, as I did in my case from 65 to 70, the ride may get more comfortable, but the obvious trade-off is handling as the sidewalls deform more.
Thinking that a small variation up to 185/70R14 would be suitable to save myself $26,  I looked up the size difference at http://tire-size-conversion.com/tire-size-comparison/

I thought, after some reading, : "A 3% difference in diameter isn't much at all. I am sure that there is plenty of play in the tolerances of the different parts, the gear shifting, tire inflation, etc."

After unmounting the old tires and mounting the new ones, I installed the wheels on the front. I am aware that new tires should be mounted on the back of the vehicle, as the the deeper tread improves resistance to hydroplaning and overall stability, however I wanted to be assured that I properly balanced the wheels. A shimmy, or vibration in the steering wheel would be felt if the balancing be off.
Within a minute of driving off with the new tires, the increased size was felt. The gear shifting was harsh, especially between 2nd and 3rd. I drove a little bit more with the new tires in the front, wondering if the transmission's computer would measure changes in pressure when shifting, but I could not feel that the shifting had improved.

I moved the back summer tires back to the front with the correct size, 185/65R14. Since the shifting has gone back to normal. The staggered tires look a little funny, but I spend most of my time in the car when I driving. Actually, when I am driving I spend all my time in the car, so I couldn't care less what it looks like...

Saving $26 with an end result of damaging my automatic transmission would be just plain stupid.  Were I driving a vehicle with manual transmission, I would have been able to compensate with the RPM at which I shift, and not have any problems.

UPDATE 20/8/2015 : Everything is still fine with the tires on the back. As I went to a wrecking yard to pick up a replacement for my rear view mirror which broke on a cold morning, I was somewhat worried to see so many Ford Focus sitting in that lot. Some had a lot of damage, others, I guess it could be the cylinder head. Nevertheless, I hope to never buy new tires again : tires with very little wear with excellent newish steel wheels for $27 a piece. Quite a deal...

Job search experiments

I cannot be bothered to lie on my resume. The document is not legally binding. I would not expect any amnesty from an employer if I were to be found out making false claims.

After these longs months of unemployment, or underemployment, I am considering a couple things to improve my chances of landing a job :

• A white name
• Limiting my experience and education to only a few years back - making it seem like I am fresh out of school
• Numerical figures to job experience 
• A constant work history (many consecutive years of work experience in a given field)

Below are some links that I have found about job search experiments. Should I try some out for myself? How productive will it be? 

Get A Job: The Craigslist Experiment
Are Fake Resumes Ethical for Academic Research?


Man Takes Fake "White" Name To Test Job Discrimination


Fake CVs reveal discrimination against Muslims in French job market


Companies won’t even look at resumes of the long-term unemployed

Racial Bias in Hiring Are Emily and Brendan More Employable than Lakisha and Jamal?


This woman got a lot of job offers when she pretended to be white


The Terrifying Reality of Long-Term Unemployment

It's an awful catch-22: employers won't hire you if you've been out of work for more than six months

Windows 10 is a Keeper

For the past week, I have been using Windows 10. It is an upgrade from Windows 8.1 to the Insider Preview 10240. Using the latest build, with less than 30 days before the official launch, I must say that I am impressed with the new operating system. So far, there have been no crashes nor any big surprises.

Interface

While I was not one who was bothered with the Metro tile based interface, that is a start screen with icons or tiles, the return to a start menu with the tiles is tidier. It pops up with the Windows Key and you can type away to start the application that you need. As in Firefox, where you can enable 'Search for text when I start typing', Windows 10 is very friendly to minimize moving your hands from the keyboard to the touchpad or mouse. Not shown in the screen shot below, when you hit the start menu, the Settings and Power icons are immediately show. That again, isn't very different from the Windows 7 Start menu experience. 

Desktop icons are clutter to me. The idea of double clicking is irks me, however there aren't too many alternatives. The start menu is quite good about minimizing clicks. That may be designed to accommodate touch screen users.

The built in applications are orderly, but I still have a preference for Thunderbird over the Mail application. It could be that I like the simple grey bars and configuration menus, but the ongoing efforts to simplify interfaces does justify the changes. I don't understand why settings gear icon is on the lower left,  but the settings menu appears in a column on the right. 

I usually would look at my watch to know the date, but the time/date in the taskbar is nice when it opens to the calendar. It is just short from being perfect: a right click could trigger the calendar application to set appointments or other.

Performance

There isn't much to say here. I found Windows 8 to be a very snappy and lightweight operating system : boot time is a few seconds on a standard hard drive and switching applications was always very fluid. I could present a number of graphs showing a few percentage changes data exchange rates, graphic processing or other benchmarks, but to the common user, that information is not relevant. Some benchmarks are interesting if you are processing certain types on data, however one would be best to look at specific benchmarks for the applications or software packages that you are using.

Application switching is particularly crisp

The Internet Explorer browser replacement named 'Edge' is fast for the few times that was curious to check it out. I honestly cannot say much about the new browser as I went back to my routine, using my computer as I always have  : Firefox, OpenOffice Writer, Calc, Notepad++, etc.

The applications, or that is those which are downloaded or managed from the Windows Store, are now shown in windows. Somewhat of a revolutionary idea isn't it?  The whole idea of tablets, never really made any sense to me. While it good to have a single application on screen, computer users do not work that way.

If you play games, or just want to record your screenshots, there is a built in digital video recording application in the XBox package. Here are some instructions on how to perform a video screen capture.

Settings and Maintenance 

The Control Panel is still like its Windows 7 model, but you may not need to go there. The settings page is text based, making clearer to find what you are looking for.

Updates

There will be updates as the operating system continues to evolve with new software and hardware requirements. Some updates are for security purposes. Fortunately, Microsoft got it right this time and there is no insistence that the computer be rebooted immediately.

 

Conclusion

Windows 10 isn't significantly different from Windows 7 or 8, however it is fresh, easy to navigate and snappy. As a matter of fact, using computers since the early days of Windows 3.1 hasn't changed that much either : browser, spreadsheet, word processor, database, graphic design, drafting etc. The latest operating system refresh from Microsoft is well appreciated. What I like most is the fact that a flat design was maintained for icons and the use of simple text and fonts for system settings and navigation.