Green card dreams in trouble 24 May, 2007

NEW DELHI:
In the immigration debate that is sweeping the corridors of power in the US Capitol, skilled visas — or H1-B — may escape the really acrimonious exchanges.

But on the sacrificial pyre of the US immigration churn will probably fall the much loved and much desired 'green card'. There is a serious case for increasing the number of H1-B visas, though the House version of the immigration Bill barely mentioned them. The Senate version proposes raising the H1-B cap to 1,15,000 from the present 65,000, with optimists projecting an increase to 1,80,000 in future, but a decision on this is still pending.

It will be the green card holders that may face trouble. The centrepiece of the immigration reform, which is to legalise over 12 million illegal immigrants in the US including 3,00,000 Indians, may end up penalising legal immigrants. Indian-Americans don't win by numbers compared to illegal workers, but they are definitely an asset to the American society. Largely law abiding, highly motivated and skilled, by some estimates, these people are responsible for starting up to 25% of the companies in the Silicon Valley.

The new law proposes to restrict the current family-based immigration system that many Indian-Americans rely upon to join their families who live and work in the US.

While the legislation will open the doors for these Indian-Americans to live and work in the US, their future settlement will depend on their education, skills and how they benefit the US economy. Indian-American lobby groups claim this threatens their interests as it moves away from the family-oriented process, which is currently in place, and puts parents, children and siblings of citizens and green card holders in the firing line. The Bill may also completely wipe out the option of green cards for siblings and adult children of US citizens. It may even cap visas for parents of US citizens, besides eliminating the Diversity Lottery Programme, under which US grants 50,000 green cards on a random basis every year.

The Bill also requires applicants who filed their petitions after May 2005 to re-apply, resulting in processing delays. The shape of the Bill shows the more active and powerful lobbying abilities of Hispanic immigrants in the US. Indian immigrants form the largest number of legal and affluent immigrants, but their lobbying capabilities are clearly pathetic, because the proposed immigration Bill will actually target their interests, in the two most crucial aspects: hi-tech visas and green cards.

The bright side is that the US immigration system is moving the Australia and UK way — a merits-based system, under which immigrants with education, skills, backgrounds that benefit the US will be rewarded extra points. Immigrants will also be granted weightage on the basis of their English, technical skills and endorsement by US employers. All of this weighs in favour of Indians seeking to live and migrate to the US. In addition, the heated politics attending the immigration reform debate, particularly in the backdrop of forthcoming elections in the US, it's unlikely that H1-B visas will see a huge jump.

24 May, 2007 l 0326 hrs IST
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

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What is Responsive Listening?

In yesterdays post on Conflict Resolution, one of the techniques mentioned is Responsive Listening and a few folks have e-mailed me on what does that mean?
Essentially it is a method of communication that facilitates problem-solving by using opening acknowledgements, non-responsive listening, confirmation responses, and feedback to help build understanding between the speaker and listener.

Recommended Use

Use Responsive Listening to:
· help a person identify and work through a problem, while keeping the problem with its owner,
· prevent or reduce misunderstandings in person-to-person communication,
· motivate staff through acceptance and empathy,
· help with conflict resolution.

Method

Part 1: UNDERSTAND THE USE OF RESPONSIVE LISTENING

Purpose of Responsive Listening

To listen responsively, listen with the intent of understanding, instead of replying. Use responsive listening to enhance the ability to:

· obtain information,
· identify problems,
· resolve conflicts,
· improve the accuracy of communication,
· solve problems,
· motivate the speaker.

Obtain Information

To obtain and retain information, concentrate on what is being said. We think faster than a person can speak. To increase retention and understanding, use the gap between thinking and speaking to make a mental summary of what was said, relate the information to personal experience, or organize the information into central ideas.

Identify Problems

The first step towards solving a problem is to identify and define the problem. Often a speaker will express a problem subtly. Look for non-verbal clues, provide non-judgmental feedback, and ask questions to help the person clarify the problem. It is important that the owner of the problem keep the responsibility of solving the problem. Avoid taking on a problem that is not yours while assisting with the clarification of the problem.

Resolve Conflicts

Listen carefully to a person that disagrees with you. If you listen, the other person will often listen as well. Frequently, people say the same thing in two different ways, but don’t bother to listen closely enough to realize they agree. If you are a mediator, encourage responsive listening on the part of the people who are part of the conflict.

Improve Communication

When giving information, use responsive listening to obtain feedback and ensure the recipient of the information understands the content. When receiving information, clarify your interpretation by restating your understanding of what the person is telling you.

Solve Problems

Frequently, a number of people work together to solve a problem. In such situations, it is important that each person’s ideas are heard without judgement. Each person must be allowed to speak without interruption. People cannot solve problems effectively when they feel they are being forced to change, or when they feel they are being judged, threatened, insulted, or analyzed. Also, when you listen to people and allow a free flow of ideas, they are more willing to speak and the number of creative ideas increases.

Motivate Others

Listening responsively conveys appreciation to the speaker and can motivate the person to take positive action, rather than negative.

Often a person needs an outlet for feelings of frustration or anger. Responsive listening allows a person to vent feelings without judgement. Expressing these feelings helps diminish them and can eliminate roadblocks to productivity.


Part 2: ELIMINATE BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE LISTENING

Identify Barriers

Every person has experiences, values, and attitudes that can affect their ability to listen. To enhance responsive listening, identify and eliminate barriers that can decrease your willingness to listen. These barriers can include:

· the delivery of the message,
· biases,
· self-interest,
· prejudgment,
· distractions,
· daydreaming,
· failure to provide feedback or ask questions.

The Delivery of the Message

A nervous habit of a speaker or boring delivery can block listening. However, a good listener must focus on the content of a message, rather than how the message is delivered.

Biases

Often we hear only what we want to hear. Words that convey information that is contrary to our opinion can be very difficult to hear. Biases regarding the speaker may also affect our listening ability. Try to listen with an open mind.

Self Interest

We are sometimes so busy thinking of what to say next, we do not listen. In extreme cases, we do not let the speaker finish talking. Concentrate on understanding what the speaker is saying and ask questions to let the person know you are listening.

Prejudgment

Often we are too quick to decide what the message is. Let the speaker finish before you decide what is being said.

Distractions
Distractions make the speaker feel unimportant. Eliminate distractions whenever possible. For example, stop your phone calls if you are in a conference situation.

Daydreaming

People speak slower than we think, so there is time to daydream. Instead of daydreaming, stay involved. For example, during the gap, mentally summarize the ideas presented so far.

Failure to Provide Feedback or Ask Questions

Everyone has their own perspective, so the same words can mean different things to different people. Provide feedback and ask questions to ensure your understanding is the same as the meaning the speaker is trying to convey.

Part 3: HELP PEOPLE START TALKING

Ways to Encourage Talking

People do not want to feel that they are imposing on others. However, a person must start talking before his or her problem can be solved. The person with the problem needs to know that the listener is interested before he or she will continue talking. Use responsive listening to encourage a person to speak freely. For example, use:

· opening acknowledgements,
· passive listening,
· confirmation responses,
· non-judgmental feedback.

Opening Acknowledgements

Opening acknowledgements convey the message that the person with the problem is not an imposition and that the listener is interested. Opening acknowledgements tell the person with the problem that you want to hear more.

Examples of opening acknowledgements are:

· "Would you like to talk about it?"
· "Can I help?"
· "I would like to hear more."
· "I have some free time if you want to talk now."
· "This sounds interesting."

Passive Listening

Remaining silent is usually interpreted as interest and concern on the part of the listener. Often, saying nothing is enough encouragement for people to continue talking.

Confirmation Responses

If the listener is silent for too long, the speaker begins to wonder if the listener is really listening. Confirmation responses from the listener let the speaker know that the listener is listening, without influencing the speaker.

Common confirmation responses include:

· Nodding,
· Eye contact,
· "I see,"
· "Mm-hmm,"
· "Yes,"
· "Go on,"
· "Oh,"
· "Really,"
· "I understand."

Non-Judgmental Feedback

Give the listener non-judgmental feedback that allows the speaker to reflect on his or her thoughts. For example, "You feel the situation is hopeless," rather than "I agree the situation is hopeless." When the listener remains neutral, the speaker is left with the responsibility of deciding whether his or her feelings are valid.

Avoid judgmental responses that can make a person defensive, angry, or silent.

Part 4: DETERMINE WHEN TO USE RESPONSIVE LISTENING

Determine Amount of Responsive Listening

Responsive listening is not always appropriate. There are times, particularly if you are a manager, when you will have to give advice, ask questions, offer solutions, or provide direction. Also, too much responsive listening can seem insincere.

Too Much Feedback

It is not necessary to give non-judgmental feedback on every statement. Door openers, passive listening, and acknowledgement responses can be just as effective. Sometimes, the listener will not sufficiently understand the message of the speaker to provide feedback.

When Listening is not Enough

Responsive listening helps define the problem, but some situations require action on the part of the listener. For example, if an employee complains that staff meetings are running into overtime, causing her to miss her ride home, she requires action on your part to solve the problem. Listening is not enough. She cannot solve her own problem.

Listen When You Have Time

If you do not have the time to give your full attention to a person, you should ask him or her to come back when you can. You will both be better off if you meet when you can listen attentively. Employees will sense when you are distracted. Most problems can wait a few hours or even days until you are ready to devote the necessary time to help solve the problem.

When Listening is Necessary

It is not necessary that you always listen. It is necessary that when you listen, you do so with understanding, acceptance, and caring.


Example

1 – A HYPOTHETICAL CONVERSATION

The effectiveness of Responsive Listening in keeping responsibility entirely with the problem owner (and at the same time be a catalyst to help the person work through the problem-solving process) comes through in the following dialogue between a supervisor and one of her subordinates.

Stewart: "Do you have a few minutes to give me some help on a problem, Nancy?"

Nancy: "Sure, Stewart. I have a half hour before a meeting. Is that enough?"

Stewart: "Oh, plenty. It's not a very complicated problem, but it's sure beginning to bother me."

Nancy: "You're really beginning to feel bothered by this problem?"

Stewart: "Yeah. I really am. I've got a woman working for me that really puzzles me. I just can't figure her out. I thought maybe you might know what to do with a person like her."

Nancy: "Sounds like you're really stumped."

Stewart: "Yeah. I've never seen anyone quite like her. Well, let's see. How should I describe her? She's very intelligent and she knows it. The trouble is, she thinks she has the answer to everything. If I make a suggestion to her, she always finds something wrong with it, some reason why it won't work."

Nancy: "You see her ideas as too novel or too unique or maybe you're saying they would require too much deviation from what you're used to doing on your project."

Stewart: "Well, I don't mind constructive suggestions occasionally. But she gives me the feeling, every single day, that our way of doing things is outmoded or old-fashioned!"

Nancy: "You don't like being made to feel you're behind the times."

Stewart: "Certainly not! Sometimes people coming right out of university have the idea that they know everything, that everything has to be changed. I get tired of hearing that all the time! They don't seem to appreciate the need for following procedures."

Nancy: "You hate to have to explain your reasons again and again, and you get fed up with her trying to pressure you to change things."

Stewart: "I sure do! I've got to admit that some of her ideas are not bad. After all, I should be pleased that she is taking such an interest in her work. I just wish I knew how to get her to appreciate the need for some of our procedures and not assume that everything we do is wrong."

Nancy: "You really value some of her ideas, but you want her to appreciate you."

Stewart: "I don't really need appreciation. We've got our share of problems, but what project doesn't? There just isn't time to deal with all of them."

Nancy: "You're aware of where improvements could be made, but you feel you can't find the time to tackle all those problems."

Stewart: "That's right. I guess we could schedule a special meeting some night after work."

Nancy: "That's a possibility, huh."

Stewart: "Yeah. Then I wouldn't be the only one who has to defend a lot of the things we're doing. The other people on the project might convince her."

Nancy: "You'd like to have others help you, and reach an agreement everyone can be happy with."

Stewart: "I sure would. And we might also make a few changes, which would be fine with me."

Nancy: "You're thinking that a meeting would help improve team communications and also uncover some areas for improvement in procedures."

Stewart: "Yes, I think so. We need to get together as a group more. I'm going to schedule a meeting next week. The earlier the better."

Nancy: "It's such a good idea, you want to move fast on this."

Stewart: "Yeah. I should be getting back to work now. I still have to figure out a way to solve the network problem we found yesterday. Thanks for hearing me out, Nancy."

Nancy: "You're welcome, Stewart."

Did you notice that Nancy never took the problem away from Stewart?

She listened empathetically, she used feedback after each of Stewart's messages, and she avoided being judgmental.

Stewart's lack of defensiveness was apparent, enabling him to come up with a solution that pleased him.


2 – JUDGMENTAL RESPONSES VERSUS RESPONSIVE LISTENING

Explanation Through Example

For each sample message below, two responses are given. The first response is an example of a judgmental response. The second response is an example of responsive listening. Pretend that you are the speaker and imagine your reaction to each response.

Praising, Buttering Up

Speaker: "Why am I always the one that gets assigned this task?"

Listener: "Because you do it so well."

Responsive Listening Response

Listener: "Sounds like you're ready to try something new."

Judging, Criticizing

Speaker: "That's the last time I go out on a limb in a meeting."

Listener: "Let's face it, John. You were out of line."

Responsive Listening Response

Listener: "You're sorry you spoke up during the meeting."

Moralizing, Preaching

Speaker: "Filling out this report is such a waste of time."

Listener: "It's something that has to be done."

Responsive Listening Response

Listener: "I gather, you're finding it too time-consuming and question its usefulness."

Reassuring

Speaker: "I don't feel I'm qualified to do the job."

Listener: "I know you can do it if you try."

Responsive Listening Response

Listener: "You're afraid it will be too much for you."


3 – RESPONSIVE LISTENING PRACTICE

Practice Exercises

Becoming a good listener requires practice. Everyday situations provide ample opportunity to practice responsive listening.

Respond to the speaker's messages below. Determine if any of your responses are judgmental.

Exercise 1

Speaker: "I'm never going to get all of my work done."

Responsive Listening Responses

"Sounds like you're afraid you'll miss your deadline."
"I gather you have a lot of work to do."
"You're wondering where you're going to find the time."

Exercise 2

Speaker: "I don't care what happens. I'm not working this weekend!"

Responsive Listening Responses

"Sounds like you don't want to work this weekend."
"You're afraid you'll be asked to work the weekend."
"It sounds like you've already made other plans."

Exercise 3

Speaker: "That meeting was such a waste of time."

Responsive Listening Responses

"You feel the meeting didn't accomplish anything."
"Sounds like you feel your time could have been better spent."
"You're feeling like you just wasted two hours of your time."


References

Gordon, Thomas Dr. Leader Effectiveness Training. New York: Bantam Books, Inc.

Craig Borysowich(Chief Technology Tactician) Posted 7/21/2006

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Compiled vs. Interpreted Languages

Programming languages generally fall into one of two categories: Compiled or Interpreted. With a compiled language, code you enter is reduced to a set of machine-specific instructions before being saved as an executable file. With interpreted languages, the code is saved in the same format that you entered. Compiled programs generally run faster than interpreted ones because interpreted programs must be reduced to machine instructions at runtime.

However, with an interpreted language you can do things that cannot be done in a compiled language. For example, interpreted programs can modify themselves by adding or changing functions at runtime. It is also usually easier to develop applications in an interpreted environment because you don't have to recompile your application each time you want to test a small section.

So, which is DScript, compiled or interpreted? Actually, DScript is both. When you enter definitions in DScript, they are immediately reduced to a set of basic primitives. If you enter

x:=2+3
DScript reduces this to
_DEF(x,_ADD(2,3))

The original code you enter is discarded and only this simplified code is saved. When you open a saved application and view its node definitions, DScript decompiles the simplified code to generate a presentation that is similar to the code you originally entered.
When you execute an application, DScript interprets the reduced code at runtime. Therefore,

DScript is partly an interpreted language. However, code is interpreted only the first time it is executed. Every time after that, the compiled code is executed.

For example, consider the following loop:
for(var n=0; n<1000;>

In executing this code, each separate expression will be evaluated 1000 times. However, DScript will interpret the code only on the first iteration and use the compiled code for the remaining 999 iterations. Since virtually all CPU time a program consumes is used inside loops, this execution strategy significantly improves performance while maintaining the flexibility of an interpreted language.

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Green Power: The U.S.'s Top 10 Cities

Green Power: The U.S.'s Top 10 Cities
oakland photo: in2jazz
Which of the United State's 50 biggest cities is the greenest when it comes to using renewable energy? Portland, Oregon? San Francisco, perhaps? Seattle? Nope. The top spot goes to Oakland, the city across the Bay from San Francisco whose gritty reputation belies its crunchy environmental policies. Oakland gets 17 percent of its electricity from renewable sources such as geothermal, solar and wind, according to SustainLane, a San Francisco firm that compiles data on government sustainability initiatives. Three other California cities tied for second place with 12 percent of their electricity generated from renewable sources: San Francisco, San Jose and Sacramento.
Here's the rest of the list:
Portland, Oregon: 10 percent
Boston: 8.6 percent
San Diego: 8 percent
Austin: 6 percent
Los Angeles: 5 percent
Minneapolis: 4.5 percent
Seattle: 3.5 percent
Chicago: 2.5 percent
It's no accident that six of the top cities are in California. The Golden State has set aggressive renewable energy portfolio standards for its three big investor-owned utilities - PG&E (PCG), Southern California Edison (EIX) and San Diego Gas & Electric (SRE). And city-owned utilities like the Sacramento Municipal Utility District have been green-energy pioneers. One city to watch is Austin. The Texas capital's government has committed itself to going carbon neutral by 2020, and its municipal owned utility - Austin Energy, a leader in renewable energy - has been given a mandate to generate 100 megawatts of solar power and make all new plants zero emission.

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