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Tuesday, May 7, 2013
PJs or pinstripes? The tradeoffs of tele-work
Yahoo's Marissa Mayer and other CEOs have called a time-out on telecommuting. It's clear that just as some workers thrive on their own and some need to be in an office, some types work are better done in isolation and others in collaboration. It's also clear that telecommuting is only going to increase in the years to come.
Employees at 2U, a distributor of online courses, enjoy the togetherness of office work in New York.
Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff
EnlargeWho would have thought that well into the second decade of the 21st century water-cooler seminars and hallway chitchat would be held up as the unique value proposition of an office? But thanks to Yahoo?s Marissa Mayer and other managers who have newfound qualms about telecommuting, the serendipitous conversations and informal collaborations that take place in an office ? sometimes also called slacking and breeze-shooting ? are being touted as the secret sauce of business.?
Skip to next paragraph John YemmaEditor, The Christian Science Monitor
John Yemma is Editor of The Christian Science Monitor, which publishes international news and analysis at?CSMonitor.com, in the?Monitor Weekly?newsmagazine, and in an email-delivered?Daily News Briefing. He can be reached at editor@csmonitor.com.
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There is something to that. Silicon Valley in California; Kendall Square in Cambridge, Mass.; and other tech incubation districts are famous for their pizza parties, foosball tables, and networking mixers. Proximity is the point. But at the same time, technology and demographics are driving telecommuting. Which trend will win??
In a Monitor cover story, Eilene Zimmerman digs into that question, paying close attention to the trade-offs: human contact versus isolation, teamwork versus concentration, the distraction of co-workers versus the distraction of the fridge. Whichever camp you are in ? happily productive in your pj?s 24/7 or success-dressed and hopping from conference room to brainstorming session Monday through Friday ? you know there are pros and cons. Working side by side is good for some people and some projects; concentration and quiet are good for others. And there are plenty of jobs where showing up will always be necessary. Remote plumbing, policing, and nursing will never really cut it.?
Let?s imagine what work might look like a decade from now. First, set aside technological what ifs and meet the workers. As Eilene notes, Generations X and Y have a distinctly different view of the daily commute, the structured workday, and the value of water-cooler socializing than their predecessors. For them, the personal and professional blend. The office, while attractive in some regards, is not a place to rely on for job security or social gratification. In short, digital natives are predisposed to telecommuting.
By 2023, this new breed of workers will anchor the workforce, and telecommuting technology will have advanced by 10 years, bringing ever closer the possibility of seamless ?telepresence? from wherever people are. Human contact will still be important, however, and smart managers will make sure that occurs. But fighting traffic and clocking in every day looks like an idea whose time is passing.
If telecommuting is still novel, even controversial, in today?s workplace, it will be normal in tomorrow?s. The real challenge is how to manage it.
?John Yemma is editor of the Monitor. He can be reached at editor@csmonitor.com.
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Four Saudis held over Tanzania church bombing
DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - Tanzania has arrested four men from Saudi Arabia and four Tanzanians in connection with the bombing of church on Sunday that killed two people, an attack that has heightened sectarian tensions in the east African nation.
Investigators said they were still determining the type of device used in the attack on the Catholic church in Arusha, a town in the north of the nation of about 45 million people that is roughly evenly split between Muslims and Christians.
A statement from President Jakaya Kikwete's office on Monday said two people had now died from the blast after the death toll had previously been put at one. Sixty people were injured.
The Vatican's ambassador to Tanzania, Archbishop Francisco Montecillo Padilla, was attending the official opening of the church when the explosion occurred. He escaped unharmed.
"So far eight people have been arrested, including four nationals from Saudi Arabia and four Tanzanians," Arusha Regional Commissioner Magesa Mulongo told Reuters by telephone.
He said the Saudis, aged between 30 and 45, had arrived at an airport near Arusha on Saturday and were detained late on Sunday trying to cross the border to neighboring Kenya. Mulongo said they were being questioned regarding the incident.
Arusha lies near the snow-capped peak of Mount Kilimanjaro in a part of Tanzania that is predominantly Christian.
Highlighting tensions between the religious communities, two Christian leaders were killed in Tanzania's semi-autonomous, predominantly Muslim islands of Zanzibar earlier this year and there have been attacks on Muslim leaders and mosques.
"We are trying to establish if it was a home-made explosive device or a specialized bomb," Tanzania's director of criminal investigation, Robert Manumba, told Reuters.
The president's office said Kikwete had cut short his state visit to Kuwait following the bomb attack on the church.
(Reporting by Fumbuka Ng'wanakilala; Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Alison Williams)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/four-saudis-held-over-tanzania-church-bombing-132553959.html
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Pacers beat Knicks 102-95 in Game 1
New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony (7) fouls Indiana Pacers guard George Hill (3) in the second quarter of Game 1 of their second-round NBA basketball series at Madison Square Garden in New York, Sunday, May 5, 2013. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony (7) fouls Indiana Pacers guard George Hill (3) in the second quarter of Game 1 of their second-round NBA basketball series at Madison Square Garden in New York, Sunday, May 5, 2013. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
Indiana Pacers forward David West (21) drives past New York Knicks forward Kenyon Martin (3) in the second quarter of Game 1 of their second-round NBA basketball series at Madison Square Garden in New York, Sunday, May 5, 2013. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
New York Knicks' Raymond Felton (2) is guarded by Indiana Pacers' George Hill as he drives to the basket in the first quarter of Game 1 of their NBA basketball playoff series in the Eastern Conference semifinals at Madison Square Garden in New York, Sunday, May 5, 2013. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
Indiana Pacers David West is guarded by New York Knicks Carmelo Anthony in the first quarter of Game 1 of their second-round NBA basketball series at Madison Square Garden in New York, Sunday, May 5, 2013. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
NEW YORK (AP) ? Bigger, badder, and so far better.
Physical beat finesse Sunday, as the Indiana Pacers outworked and outmuscled the New York Knicks in a 102-95 victory in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
David West scored 20 points and Paul George added 19 for the Pacers, who outrebounded the Knicks 44-30, showing the smaller team that in the rugged East, size does matter.
"I thought guys did a good job just putting them on their heels," West said. "We were attacking, we were aggressive."
D.J. Augustin had 16 points for the Pacers, who built a 16-point lead while Carmelo Anthony was on the bench in foul trouble in the third quarter, and easily held on to spoil the Knicks' first second-round game since 2000.
Anthony finished with 27 points and 11 rebounds, but was frustrated by the Pacers' tough defense and by the referees. He shot 10 of 28 from the field and was perhaps thrown out of sync having to defend West, a natural power forward, inside.
"Right now they're just being really physical with him, they're trying to bang him, they're trying to frustrate him," Knicks point guard Raymond Felton said. "But we're going to be fine, he's going to be fine."
Game 2 is here Tuesday night, and then the series takes a lengthy break before Game 3 on Saturday in Indiana.
The Pacers, who allowed the second-fewest points per game and the lowest field goal percentage in the league during the regular season, mixed in solid offense as well. They outscored New York 59-38 across the middle two quarters and were comfortably ahead throughout the fourth.
"Just a strong defensive effort and then offensively guys played with great poise," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "Just a complete team effort, very proud of them."
Roy Hibbert scored 14 points in thoroughly outplaying counterpart Tyson Chandler, and George Hill also had 14 for the Pacers, adding seven rebounds and six assists.
Lance Stephenson added 11 points and 13 rebounds playing in his hometown.
J.R. Smith scored 17 points but was 4 of 15. Felton had 18 and Kenyon Martin added 12 for the Knicks, who hope to have reserves Amare Stoudemire (right knee surgery) and Steve Novak (back spasms) back for Game 3 and certainly looked as if they could use the help.
Both teams wrapped up their first-round series Friday night, the Knicks' victory in Game 6 in Boston giving them their first series victory in 13 years and sending them on to face a familiar postseason foe in Indiana, which ousted Atlanta.
The teams met three straight years from 1993-95, then again from 1998-00, splitting their six series, and this was the type of slugfest so many of those matchups were.
Indiana led 60-54 when Anthony committed his fourth foul and came out of the game with 7:48 remaining in the third quarter. The Pacers then outscored the Knicks 21-11 the remainder of the period, opening an 81-65 bulge on Augustin's 3-pointer with 31.5 seconds left in the quarter.
"They did all the little things," Knicks coach Mike Woodson said. "We didn't start playing until we actually got down and it was desperation and we've got to play like that from the start."
Anthony came back on to start the fourth and scored the first six points to get the Knicks back within 10. He picked up a fifth on a questionable offensive foul call with 10 minutes left and appeared to wave off a substitution when Chandler checked in, though Woodson said Chandler was going in for Martin, who was the one who exited.
But there was no final flurry, and Chandler eventually fouled out with four points and three rebounds.
Anthony wore a sleeve under his jersey covering a strap to keep his sore left shoulder in place. It was first hurt against the Pacers in April, then aggravated when Kevin Garnett pulled on his arm while setting a screen during the first-round series.
That may have contributed to his poor shooting but certainly the Pacers had plenty to do with it, as did having to bang inside with the bigger West ? though Anthony downplayed the toughness factor.
"The physicality of this game didn't do nothing to me, to us," he said.
"It's like Coach Woodson said and I agree with him, they beat us on the glass, they beat us to the loose basketballs out there, the hustle plays, and they outworked us. I don't think that had anything do with being more physical."
The Knicks closed the first quarter with a 9-0 spurt, taking a 27-22 lead after 3-pointers by Smith and Felton to end the period. But the Pacers tightened up the defense in the second, holding the Knicks to two baskets in the final 5 minutes.
Indiana outscored New York 13-4 during that stretch, taking a 52-46 lead to halftime after George hit a 3-pointer with 2.7 seconds left.
The Pacers, who also were the league's best team at defending the 3-pointer, limited the Knicks to 19 attempts and actually made more (8-7). Augustin was 4 of 5 off the bench.
Notes: Anthony averaged 29.1 points in the first round, equaling the second-highest ever by a Knicks player. Patrick Ewing had 31.6 per game in a 1990 series. ... Anthony received the one first-place vote that kept LeBron James from being the NBA's first unanimous selection as MVP. "That's the furthest thing on my mind at this point in time," said Anthony, who was third in the voting behind Kevin Durant. "I'll take that vote." ... Indiana won both matchups in the conference semifinals, a 4-3 victory in 1995 and a 4-1 win in 1998. ... Indiana's Jeff Pendergraph was fined $5,000 by the NBA, the first player punished for violating the league's anti-flopping rules in the playoffs. ... Novak said he hurt his back while warming up at halftime of Game 5 against Boston but has been feeling better each day since.
___
Follow Brian Mahoney on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Briancmahoney
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Monday, May 6, 2013
Mass. GOP candidate Gomez on his own for now
FILE - This panel of 2013 file photos show Democrat U.S. Rep. Ed Markey, left, and Republican Gabriel Gomez, right, candidates for U.S. Senate in the June 24, 2013 special election, being held to fill the seat vacated when John Kerry was appointed as secretary of state. (AP Photos, File)
FILE - This panel of 2013 file photos show Democrat U.S. Rep. Ed Markey, left, and Republican Gabriel Gomez, right, candidates for U.S. Senate in the June 24, 2013 special election, being held to fill the seat vacated when John Kerry was appointed as secretary of state. (AP Photos, File)
BOSTON (AP) ? Republican Senate candidate Gabriel Gomez is on his own ? at least for now.
National Republican allies, conservative activists and major GOP donors outside Democratic-leaning Massachusetts are skeptical of Gomez's chances in the state's June 25 special election to replace former Sen. John Kerry.
While local Republicans are excited about the former Navy SEAL-turned-businessman, the early skepticism is blocking the larger flow of money and manpower that helped Republican Scott Brown score an unlikely special election victory here three years ago to replace the late Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy.
Several top Republican donors say they know virtually nothing about Gomez, whose previous political experience is limited to an unsuccessful run for town selectman. The Senate GOP's national campaign committee has yet to decide whether to invest significant resources, and likely won't until it's convinced that the race is winnable. And the tea party movement's national network of small-dollar donors has shied away from the socially moderate Gomez, who acknowledged giving money to President Barack Obama in 2008.
"We are not looking at that Senate race at all," Tea Party Express chairman Amy Kremer said recently. "We cannot get behind someone that donated to Obama."
Gomez, 47, emerged from relative obscurity to win last week's low-turnout three-way Republican primary. In many ways, he fits the profile of a new brand of politician that national Republican leaders described in a March report calling for better minority outreach and more inclusive tones on immigration and social issues.
The son of Colombian immigrants who speaks fluent Spanish, Gomez supports gay marriage and personally opposes abortion, but hasn't advocated overturning Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that established a nationwide right to abortion.
In the general election, Gomez is competing against Democratic Rep. Ed Markey, 66, who was first elected in 1976 and is dean of the state's all-Democrat congressional delegation.
In Congress for more than three decades, Markey has been repeatedly painted as an out-of-touch Washington insider by opponents in both parties. The congressman has also faced difficult questions about whether he maintains a home in his Massachusetts district at all.
But while Markey has weaknesses, the political realities of Massachusetts politics make it difficult for Republicans to win here.
Only around 11 percent of state voters are registered Republicans. All of Massachusetts' members of Congress ? nine representatives and two senators ? and its statewide officers are Democrats.
"In Massachusetts, the numbers are mathematically daunting," said Washington-based Republican strategist Phil Musser, who has worked in the state. "But it can be done."
Indeed, Brown stunned the political world in 2010 by winning the special election for the seat left vacant with Kennedy's death. But the victory was fueled by a flood of tea party volunteers and out-of-state money that allowed the little-known state senator to blanket the television airwaves and generate a sophisticated statewide get-out-the vote operation, taking Democrats by surprise.
Undaunted by the lack of national GOP attention, Gomez spokesman Will Ritter said Monday that the campaign has raised more than $200,000 online and already signed up more than 4,000 volunteers in the days since last week's GOP primary victory. But with Election Day seven weeks away, the donations represent a fraction of the support Brown attracted in 2010.
Brown ultimately raised and spent more than $10 million on his winning bid, though two years later he was defeated by Democrat Elizabeth Warren.
The tea party donors who lined up behind Brown worked against Gomez in the days immediately before last week's primary.
"He's pledged his support for Obama's policies on immigration reform (amnesty) and gun control," says a fundraising appeal for Gomez's primary opponent, Michael Sullivan, released by the Campaign to Defeat Barack Obama, a tea party-backed political action committee. "We must defeat Obama supporter, Gabriel Gomez."
Gomez has one advantage that Brown did not: the ability to tap super political action committees, which emerged in full force after Brown's 2010 race.
He has so far resisted taking the so-called "People's Pledge" that helped prevent outside groups from spending money in the state's last high-profile Senate contest. Without such a pledge, Gomez could be the beneficiary of super PACs that can raise and spend unlimited sums of money on his behalf.
Markey is trying to make Gomez's refusal to sign the pledge a campaign issue.
"I'm going to keep pressuring him," Markey said at a Monday press conference. "Obviously he doesn't want to sign it because the Koch brothers" ? a reference to conservative political supporters David and Charles Koch ? "Karl Rove, would be able to come into this state."
Eric Fehrnstrom, previously a top aide to former presidential candidate Mitt Romney, already is working on advertising to help Gomez through the super PAC known as the Committee for a Better Massachusetts, which raised at least $50,000 in the weeks before the primary election, relying upon just three donors.
But in a race that's expected to cost millions, it's unclear how many donors will bet big on Gomez.
Some of the party's most prominent donors in recent days said they knew very little about Gomez, and that it was simply too early to know whether he could make the race competitive. And none planned to donate until that question was answered.
Many are waiting to take their cues from the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the GOP's formal campaign arm, and to see whether it would devote major resources on the race. So far, the committee has set up websites and low-cost online videos attacking Markey, but it hasn't yet decided whether to make more significant investments in television advertising ? pricey because of the expensive Boston TV market ? until conducting its own polling.
The Republican super ally, American Crossroads, is in a similar position, having yet to determine whether the race is winnable.
Even so, donors publicly suggest that Gomez could have a bright future.
"It's an exciting race," said Charlie Spies, a Washington-based lawyer who led fundraising efforts for the super PAC that worked on Romney's behalf. "Gomez is exactly the sort of candidate that Republicans need to be recruiting. And has the potential to turn into a rock star fresh face for the party."
___
Associated Press writer Bob Salsberg in Boston contributed to this report.
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Despite slowing growth, shareholders' faith in Warren Buffett holds strong
At Berkshire Hathaway Inc's annual meeting, investors acknowledged the company's fastest-growing days have probably passed. But shareholders say they are still confident with Warren Buffett and his hand-picked management team at the helm.
Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett (top l.) gestures to runners at the start of a 5k race sponsored by Brooks Sports Inc., a Berkshire-owned company, in Omaha May 5, a day after the company's annual meeting. Buffett at the meeting gave the most extensive comments to date about the future of Berkshire Hathaway Inc after he is gone, saying he still expects the conglomerate to be a partner of choice for distressed companies.
Rick Wilking/Reuters
EnlargeShort-seller Douglas Kass, Warren Buffett's handpicked bear, raised a concern on the minds of many shareholders at the "Woodstock for capitalists" this weekend: Has Berkshire Hathaway Inc become so big that it will find it hard to grow?
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Many retail investors who converged on Omaha, Nebraska, for Berkshire's annual meeting on Saturday acknowledged that its fastest growth days are likely behind it. But they said Berkshire is still a good long-term bet as faith remains in Buffett and his management team's more than 4-decade-long record of stellar returns, and the company's tentacles into many sectors of the US economy.
"Yes, it is a concern, but I have to get my expectations in line," said Julie Fehrnstrom, a mother of three from Orinda, California, attending her fifth meeting. "They are not driven by short-term decision making and they have really smart management. You really don't always find that."
Sherrie Palmer, a social worker from Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, was attending her first Berkshire meeting, one of 35,000 or so investors.
"The steepness of the growth is leveling off, but it's not a concern," Palmer said. "We like the manner in which decisions are made and I don't worry about this being an organization jumping to a fad that won't pan out."
Patience has served Berkshire shareholders well. Investing in companies with dependable businesses and sound management has helped Berkshire as an investment trounce major competitors since Buffett took it over in 1965. Berkshire is now one of the largest US companies by market value, with more than 288,000 employees in dozens of businesses, covering everything from ice cream to underwear and insurance to railroads.
But its massive size - currently around $268 billion in market value - has made it hard for Berkshire to grow as fast as it once did. While Berkshire performs well in down markets, it can lag in rising markets.
Buffett reminded shareholders that 2009-2013 may prove to be the first five-year period ever when the company's growth in book value per share will lag the Standard & Poor's 500 index including dividends.
"People who buy stocks now and hold stocks for 20 years will make money," Buffett told Reuters Insider in an interview on Saturday evening. "Those who hold for 20 days, I don't know what will happen."
M&A, SUCCESSION
It has also become harder for the company to find deals that are large enough to move the needle. In February, Berkshire, along with Brazilian investment firm 3G Capital, struck a deal to buy ketchup maker H.J. Heinz Co, and Buffett said he was looking for more big acquisitions.
But in an interview on Friday, Berkshire Vice Chairman Charlie Munger said high prices have made attractive deals scare. "With interest rates at zero, the prices being paid for businesses are very high," Berkshire's second-in-command said.
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Solar plane lands in Ariz., 1st leg of major trip
Solar Impulse co-founder, pilot and CEO Andre Borschberg, left, greets pilot Bertrand Piccard at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, early Saturday, May 4, 2013, after completing the first leg of its coast-to-coast flights across the United States. It is the first time that a solar airplane capable of flying day and night without fuel, will attempt to fly across America. Solar Impulse began its journey Friday in San Francisco in its attempt to reach New York. (AP Photo/Scuteri)
Solar Impulse co-founder, pilot and CEO Andre Borschberg, left, greets pilot Bertrand Piccard at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, early Saturday, May 4, 2013, after completing the first leg of its coast-to-coast flights across the United States. It is the first time that a solar airplane capable of flying day and night without fuel, will attempt to fly across America. Solar Impulse began its journey Friday in San Francisco in its attempt to reach New York. (AP Photo/Scuteri)
Pilot Bertrand Piccard talks about Solar Impulse, the Swiss solar-powered airplane, at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, early Saturday, May 4, 2013, after completing the first leg of its coast-to-coast flights across the United States. It is the first time that a solar airplane capable of flying day and night without fuel, will attempt to fly across America. Solar Impulse began its journey Friday in San Francisco in its attempt to reach New York. (AP Photo/Scuteri)
Solar Impulse co-founder, pilot and CEO Andre Borschberg, left, greets pilot Bertrand Piccard at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, early Saturday, May 4, 2013, after completing the first leg of its coast-to-coast flights across the United States. It is the first time that a solar airplane capable of flying day and night without fuel, will attempt to fly across America. Solar Impulse began its journey Friday in San Francisco in its attempt to reach New York. (AP Photo/Scuteri)
Solar Impulse, the Swiss solar-powered airplane, piloted by Bertrand Piccard, is shown at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, early Saturday, May 4, 2013, after completing the first leg of its coast-to-coast flights across the USA. It is the first time that a solar airplane capable of flying day and night without fuel, will attempt to fly across America. Solar Impulse began its journey Friday in San Francisco in its attempt to reach New York. (AP Photo/Scuteri)
PHOENIX (AP) ? Alone in the single-seat cockpit and high above the American Southwest, pilot Bertrand Piccard could hear only his plane's gear box and the quiet whine of four electric motors. No noisy jet engines.
He's flying Solar Impulse, considered the world's most advanced sun-powered plane.
Piccard piloted the craft for 20 hours, first cruising along the California coast after taking off from Moffett Field in Mountain View near San Francisco just after dawn Friday. He passed over Edwards Air Force Base, where other aviation milestones have been made, and then touched down early Saturday morning at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport.
He landed having used only three-quarters of the plane's battery power.
"It's a little bit like being in a dream," Piccard said as he stepped on the tarmac.
The plane's creators, Piccard and fellow pilot Andre Borschberg, said the trip is the first attempt by a solar airplane capable of flying day and night without fuel to fly across America.
But more important than marking another aviation milestone, Piccard said Saturday afternoon that he hopes the journey will provide an exponential boost for interest in renewable energy and clean technologies.
"If an airplane can fly day or night with no fuel, just on the sun's power, of course it means that everybody in daily life can use this technology for his house, for heating and cooling systems, for lighting, for cars, for trucks. There's so much we can do now to have a cleaner future," Piccard said.
From Phoenix, the aircraft will travel to Dallas-Fort Worth airport in Texas, Lambert-St. Louis airport, Dulles airport in the Washington area and New York's John F. Kennedy airport. Each flight leg will take about 19 to 25 hours, with 10-day stops in each city.
Borschberg is hoping to pilot the last leg, which could afford him the chance to fly past the Statue of Liberty.
The plane, which has previously impressed audiences in Europe, is powered by about 12,000 photovoltaic cells that cover massive wings and charge its batteries.
The delicate, single-seat Solar Impulse flies around 40 mph and can't go through clouds. It weighs about as much as a car, making it vulnerable to bad weather.
Its average speed for the first leg of the trip was about 60 knots with a tail wind, Borschberg said. Ideally, the plane climbs up to about 27,000 feet or so during the day to collect solar and charge the batteries.
Borschberg and Piccard were ready for a series of tours over the next few days to show off the technology to Phoenix school children, university researchers and others.
"There are a lot of people who want to see this airplane," Piccard said.
So how hard is it to fly a solar plane?
Despite the aviation advancements made over the last century, Piccard said he and Borschberg have a lot in common with the early pioneers.
"One hundred years ago, the planes had to fly in good weather and there was only one person on board," Piccard said. "Now we have completely new technology, we fly with no fuel at all. But, of course, we need to fly in good weather and we carry only one pilot on board.
"We're starting a new cycle. It's really the beginning of something new."
___
Montoya Bryan reported from Albuquerque, N.M. Associated Press writer Haven Daley in Mountain View, Calif., also contributed to this report.
___
Online:
http://www.solarimpulse.com
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