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Monday, March 29, 2021

Notations From the Grid (Weekly Edition) : Out & About with the Week That Was....




We present a snapshot of the week that was courtesy the team at the Visual Capitalist on a snapshot of our World as we await a new quarter of service:


 
 
Who Americans Spend Their Time With, by Age

Ever wondered who Americans spend the most time with? This chart assesses how many minutes per day Americans spend with different people.

Suez Canal: Critical Waterway Comes to a Halt

The Suez Canal is an important waterway, connecting trade between Asia and Europe. Here are the details surrounding its blockage.

Gen Z Unemployment Rate, Compared to Older Generations

COVID-19 has impacted us all, but Gen Z has been particularly hit hard when it comes to work. We visualize the Gen Z unemployment rate.

The Rise of Women on Boards of Directors Worldwide

The representation of women on boards of directors is a mixed bag. This graphic looks at the 10-year trend of women on corporate boards.

How to Invest in the Multi-Trillion Dollar Infrastructure Boom

Global infrastructure needs amount to $94 trillion by 2040. Here's how to take advantage of infrastructure investments in your own portfolio.

The Most Used Languages on the Internet

Online content is created and consumed by people all across the globe, but a handful of languages dominate the digital world.

This Week's Flashback Favorites:

The 50 Biggest Video Game Franchises by Total Revenue

Video games generate billions in revenue every year. Where the majority of this revenue comes from, however, may be surprising to you.

Originally from March 2020

Monday, March 22, 2021

Notations From the Grid (Special Weekly Edition): #RandomThoughts

Please Enjoy 



 We have to accept that we cannot get even. That it’s an extra injury to ourselves to lower ourselves to the kind of cruelty, or stupidity of our opponents. They may steal from us… but we ought not steal time from ourselves stewing about them, or worse. There is no pound of flesh that will make us feel better. Only we can make ourselves feel good again—by focusing on what we have to be grateful for, by being good to others, by moving on."

Persian Waltz N.2 - Mahin Zarinpanjeh

Monday, March 15, 2021

Notations From the Grid (Weekly Edition): Leadership Lessons (First in A Series)

 Please Enjoy:


Does Forgiveness Need To Be Earned?

by Randy Conley

While watching a college basketball game today, I saw this statement in the scrolling news ticker at the bottom of the television screen: "From our conversations, he understands that forgiveness must be earned, and he is willing to work for it."

Uh...what? Forgiveness has to be earned? Since when?

Let me tell you the backstory. Gregg McDermott, head coach of the men's basketball team at Creighton University, recently stuck his foot in his mouth, big time. In delivering a post-game speech to his team in which he was trying to emphasize the importance of team unity, he used a racially insensitive analogy that was completely inappropriate. He recognized his mistake and quickly apologized. Last week the university suspended him indefinitely while they investigated the incident. Today, Creighton athletic director, Bruce Rasmussen, issued the following statement:

"Through his immediate apology, ownership of his actions, difficult dialogue with his team, and more, Coach McDermott has demonstrated a commitment to grow. I believe his apology, his commitment to grow from this, to learn, and to regain the trust of his student-athletes and others impacted by his words. From our conversations, he understands that forgiveness must be earned, and he is willing to work for it. His actions during his career reveal an individual committed to his team and his community. As such, coach Greg McDermott has been reinstated for all team activities, including this week's Big East tournament."

Perhaps it was just an awkwardly worded press release, or maybe Bruce Rasmussen was simply trying to emphasize the importance of Coach McDermott working to regain the trust of those around him (which was explicitly mentioned), but the truth is this: Forgiveness can't be earned; it can only be given. (click to tweet)

Forgiveness is not something under the control of the person who committed a breach of trust. Forgiveness rests solely with the person offended. The offended party has the choice to offer forgiveness or withhold it. What McDermott does, or doesn't do, has no impact on whether his players, assistant coaches, university administrators, fans, or anyone else chooses to forgive him. There's no way he can earn it. Don't confuse forgiveness with making amends. Making amends is the responsibility of the party who committed the offense. Forgiveness is the responsibility of the offended.

If forgiveness had to be earned, it would also mean that forgiveness was conditional and could only be granted upon meeting certain criteria. How would that work? If Coach McDermott doesn't say anything stupid for six months, does he earn 25% forgiveness? Maybe six months is worth 50% forgiveness? Or maybe it's only worth 15% forgiveness if the offended party is still holding a grudge? Forgiveness is either given or it's not. Forgiveness is not a weapon to be wielded to manipulate, coerce, or control someone into doing what you want them to do.

There are many misconceptions about forgiveness, like it’s a display of weakness, it lets the offending party off the hook, or opens the door to people taking advantage of you. Those are misconceptions for a reason: they’re wrong. I've written in-depth about the role of forgiveness in restoring trust. It's the most powerful tool at your disposal to move beyond the pain and suffering of broken trust. Forgiveness is a soothing balm to the wounds of broken trust. It works best when applied liberally and frequently.

What are your thoughts about the role forgiveness plays in restoring trust? Do you believe forgiveness is earned or given? Please leave a comment and share your perspectives.

Randy Conley | March 9, 2021 at 5:30 am | Tags: Creighton BasketballGregg McDermott | URL: https://wp.me/p1rYPZ-152

Sunday, March 14, 2021

A Call to Action on Vaccines (A Special Public Service Announcement)

We hereby join Former Presidents of the United States in urging all to get the Vaccine as soon as it is available

 

Monday, March 8, 2021

Notations On Our World (Weekly Edition): Out & About in Our World....


As a new week dawns,  we wanted to begin with a tribute to all the healthcare workers at the forefront of the fight against COVID--We Salute them all.

We present the following snapshot of the Week that was courtesy the team at the Visual Capitalist:


Charted: Money Can Buy Happiness After All

We’ve heard that money can only buy happiness up to a certain point. But a new study suggests the cut-off may be a lot higher than we thought.

Which Streaming Service Has the Most Subscriptions?

From Netflix and Disney+ to Spotify and Apple Music, which streaming service has the most monthly paid subscriptions?

COVID-19 Vaccine Doses: Who's Got At Least One?

Vaccine rollouts are underway, but how quickly are COVID-19 vaccine doses being administered? This chart shows doses by country.

Stock Value vs. Price: What's the Difference?

What are the underlying factors that impact stock value versus price? From investor demand to economic factors, we show the key factors for both.

SPONSORED 
Zinc: The Essential, Sustainable, and Versatile Metal

The uses of zinc in the modern economy are widespread, from infrastructure and construction to health, farming, and renewable energy.

Comparing Luxury Investment Around the World

From artwork to rare whiskeys, see which categories of luxury investment were the most popular in 2020 across nine global regions.

Ranked: The Performance of Restaurant Stocks on the NYSE

Restaurants are increasingly digitally driven, and this shift can be seen in the recent performance of the 18 restaurant stocks on the NYSE.

SPONSORED 
Mining Research, the NI 43-101, and Due Diligence

Mining and mineral exploration is a technical field with complex data. The NI 43-101 is a format to organize this data for mining research.

This Week's Flashback Favorites:

The Richest People in Human History

What do Augustus Caesar, Cosimo de Medici, Mansa Musa, and Genghis Khan have in common? They were some of the richest people in all of history.

Originally from August 2017

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

Notations From the Grid (Special Weekly Edition): On Culture Watch

 



Winter Quarter Event Recordings
Song Sparrow: Film Discussion
Farzaneh Omidvarnia 
February 9, 2021
Beholding Beauty: Sa'di of Shiraz and the Aesthetics of Desire in Medieval Persian Poetry
Domenico Ingenito
February 4, 2021
Islam, Iran, and Democracy: The Politics of Managing Change
Ali Ansari
January 28, 2021
America and Iran: A History, 1720 to the Present
John Ghazvinian 
January 21, 2021
In Solitary: Then the Fish Swallowed Him
Amir Arian
January 14, 2021
Upcoming Events
 Iran's Experiment with Parliamentary Governance 
Mangol Bayat

Thursday, March 11, 10:00 AM PST

Book cover: Iran's Experiment with Parliamentary Governance

For the past several decades, scholars have studied and written about the Iranian constitutional revolution with the 1979 Islamic Revolution as a subtext, obscuring the secularist trend that characterized its very nature. Constitutionalist leaders represented a diverse composite of beliefs, yet they all shared a similar vision of a new Iran, one that included far-reaching modernizing reforms and concepts rooted in the European Enlightenment. The second national assembly (majles), during its brief two-year term, aspired to legislate these reforms in one of the most important experiments in parliamentary governance. In her recent book Iran’s Experiment with Parliamentary Government: The Second Majles 1909-1911 (Syracuse University Press, 2020), Mangol Bayat provides a much-needed detailed analysis of this historic episode, examining the national and international actors, and the political climate that engendered one crisis after another, ultimately leading to its fateful end. Bayat highlights the radical transformation of old institutions and the innovation of new ones, and most importantly, shows how this term provided a reasonably successful model of parliament imposing its will on the executive power that was primarily composed of old-guard, elite leaders. At the same time, Bayat challenges the traditional perception among scholars that reform attempts failed due to sectarian politics and ideological differences. She also describes in detail the role of the European  nineteenth-early twentieth century Great Game in Asia, and more specifically the 1907 Anglo-Russian Convention dividing Iran into two spheres of influence, in causing the abrupt closing of the second majles that temporarily halted the reform project.

Mangol Bayat has taught Middle Eastern history at several universities, including Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Iowa, Harvard University, and Shiraz University (formerly Pahlavi University). She is the author of Mysticism and Dissent: Socioreligious Thought in Qajar Iran and Iran's First Revolution: Shi'ism and the Constitutional Revolution of 1905-1909.

RSVP for Webinar
Co-sponsored Events
"Distant Performances" Music Festival 
Iranian Students of California
February 27 and 28

Doornazavi festival brochure cover page

The ISC proudly invites you to watch the live stream of performances from our Doornavazi Music Festival. The festival features home-recorded musical performances by students and graduates from all across the U.S. plus talks and speeches by renowned cultural and scholar figures such as Dr. Hossen Omoumi, Dr. Abbas Milani, Kambiz Roshanravan and Mahsa Vahdat, in addition to special performances by guest musicians.

The festival will be live-streamed on YouTube on Feb 27 and 28 from 4-6PM PST.

More information and to RSVP
Mapping the Islamic World: The Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal Empires
Virtual Exhibition Opening March 26

Archival map of the Islamic worldDavid Rumsey Map Center Virtual Exhibit: Guest Curator Alexandria Brown-Hedjazi, Stanford PhD candidate, will discuss the maps and cartographic studies of Ottoman Turkey, Safavid Persia, and Mughal India. 

The exhibition opens Friday, March 26 on Zoom: 
2:45pm PST: Zoom opens
3:00pm PST: Talk by Alexandria Brown-Hedjazi, followed by Q&A.

Sponsored by the David Rumsey Map Center, Stanford Libraries, and the Hamid and Christina Moghadam Program in Iranian Studies
More information and to RSVP
News & Updates
Conversation with Mohammad Reza Shajarian (2010)

Now available with English translation subtitles  (click "CC" on video)