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5 ways to alienate your project team

Deborah Ike Business Management, Services & Risk Management

The role of project manager isn’t always viewed kindly. Some team members may think you don’t do any real work or that you’re creating extra work for them. To fight against those stereotypes, consider the following ways you could accidentally alienate your team and take a different approach instead.

The pros and cons of standardized tests

Julie Anne Wells Education

There are few topics in the world of education more heavily debated than standardized testing. Is it even necessary? Does it accurately reflect the curriculum for each grade level? Is it an accurate measuring stick for student success? Parents and teachers alike question the validity and accuracy of state-mandated testing for students with diverse learning styles and socioeconomic backgrounds. Here are a few of the pros and cons of standardized testing.

Is your boss planning to fire you?

Catherine Iste Business Management, Services & Risk Management

With jobs, we often go for the salary and stay for the boss — that is, until the boss starts acting weird. We have all either experienced or seen the relationships between managers and employees deteriorate. What follows is a constant stream of awkward interactions, unnecessarily tense discussions and an edgy undercurrent. Here are a few ways to tell whether the boss is considering termination.

Will the safety of houses of worship become a new focus for law enforcement?

Bambi Majumdar Law Enforcement, Defense & Security

If the past years have seen an increase in mass shootings, the past few months have featured a slew of extremist attacks on houses of worship. One of the latest horrifying attacks was on a congregation of worshippers at a synagogue in California. Houses of worship have always been synonymous with places of refuge. But these attacks have turned them from sanctuaries in the truest sense of the word to being targets of hate. Some people are now concerned and fearful when worshipping.

More sellers than buyers for luxury homes

Michael J. Berens Construction & Building Materials

Sales of luxury homes have been falling since the beginning of the year. In most areas of the country, the number of luxury homes for sale has increased while selling prices have declined. Among higher-end properties, demand has especially dropped off as tax changes and fluctuations in the stock market have made luxury home purchases less desirable. Many luxury homes were put up for sale following the tax reform changes that took effect as of Jan. 1 this year.

Texas game wardens have curious stories to tell

John McAdams Recreation & Leisure

While game wardens spend a bunch of time doing thankless work, every now and then they also have some interesting experiences that result in entertaining stories. Texas Parks and Wildlife publishes a few of the more noteworthy events from game warden notes each month, and I've summarized a couple humorous happenings from the notes released in the February 2019 edition. As you’ll see in a minute, both cases involve men that essentially broadcasted their activities for the world to see,

US tariffs on Chinese imports grow

Seth Sandronsky Civil & Government

The cost of trade between China and the U.S. is rising. Tariffs, or taxes, on $200 billion of Chinese imports to the U.S. rose from 10% to 25% one minute after midnight on May 10. "The tariff increase inflicts significant harm on U.S. industry, farmers and consumers," Douglas K. Barry, director of communications and publications for the U.S.-China Business Council told MultiBriefs in an email. "American agricultural exports to China are particularly impacted. According to our recent survey, some states' exports were down 50%. The entire American agricultural sector is feeling the stress."

Despite controversy, HHS releases conscience protection rule for healthcare…

Scott E. Rupp Healthcare Administration

The Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Office for Civil Rights has released a new final rule designed to protect individuals and healthcare entities in HHS-funded programs from discrimination on the basis of their exercise of conscience. It will take effect in approximately two months. The "conscience rights" rule will allow healthcare workers to refuse care based on religious or moral objections and will grant protections to healthcare workers who refuse to provide services such as abortion or transition care for transgender individuals.

Voting rights for formerly jailed felons in Florida limited by new restitution…

Michelle R. Matisons Law Enforcement, Defense & Security

Voting rights activism is a great idea in principle for those seeking to call attention to the extra-punitive measures that haunt formerly incarcerated people. In practice, allowing new voters to register can tilt the national political scene and threaten the balance of partisan power in stronghold states. Such is the case in Florida. Last November, Florida passed Amendment 4, which reinstates voting rights to 1.4 million residents. Sounds simple enough, right? Wrong.

5 tips to make the most of your GSA schedules

Brenda Crist Civil & Government

General Services Administration (GSA) schedules are the largest and most widely used acquisition vehicles in government. Experience shows many companies do not make the most of their schedules for many reasons. Therefore, this article offers five practical tips a schedule-holder can take to optimize their investment in 10 minutes per day or less.

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