Pak girls get hooked to smoking early

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani girls may be getting hooked to smoking as early as 15 years, says a new study.

The study conducted by the Aga Khan University shows that 16 per cent of girls have tried smoking by the age of 15, while over six per cent smoked at least once a month by that age.

Interestingly, the users were found to be aware of the hazards of smoking. The university, which published its study in the International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, interviewed 644 Karachi girls with an average age of 15.

The sample was drawn from both government and private schools in the southern port city. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data.

While most girls admitted to smoking to keep a check on their weight, the findings endorsed other studies which suggest that sex differences in tobacco use are disappearing and that tobacco companies are aggressively targeting women in developing countries.

The percentage of Pakistani teen girl smokers is higher than that reported in some Indian cities as well as neighbouring countries like Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

“It is distressing how often studies of girls’ smoking rates in countries previously protected by cultural and religious factors are finding results well on the way to catching up males of comparable age,” said a report in the Tobacco Control Journal, which cited the study.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Pak_girls_get_hooked_to_smoking_early/
articleshow/2907141.cms

Aga Khan opens Ismaili Centre, first for Middle East

UAE. The Aga Khan, leader of the world’s Ismaili Muslims, this week opened a cultural centre in Dubai for followers of the branch of Shia Islam.

The Ismaili Centre Dubai is the first base for Ismailis in the majority-Sunni Muslim Middle East. The Aga Khan is the 49th hereditary imam, or spiritual leader, of the Ismailis, the second-largest group of Shiites.

“This is a means of establishing a permanent cultural root in one area,” the Aga Khan said today in an interview after opening the centre.

He founded the Geneva-based Aga Khan Development Network, which has established several agencies in Syria and Egypt that focus on microfinance, education and culture to improve local living conditions. Dubai’s Ruler HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al- Maktoum, donated the land for the centre in 1982, a gesture that is a “symbol of the wonderful diversity that characterises Dubai,” the Aga Khan said.

Dubai has become a regional business and tourism destination, attracting expatriates who use it as a base for accessing the rest of the Gulf region.

The role of the Dubai Ismaili Centre, the fourth in the world after London, Lisbon and Vancouver, is to bring together the secular and the spiritual to emphasise the role of “Islam as a thinking, spiritual faith,” according to a statement from the Aga Khan’s secretariat. The United Arab Emirates location includes a prayer hall, as well as a secular pre-school, and will hold conferences and public exhibitions on Islam’s heritage.

“There is a long tradition, certainly in the Emirates, of tolerance and accommodating the practices and beliefs of the immigrant communities,” Anthony Harris, former UK Ambassador to the UAE, said in a Bloomberg interview.

The Ismaili Centre’s Egyptian architects, El Dahan & Farid Engineering Consultants, were inspired by the Fatimid Empire in Cairo, which dominates accounts of Ismaili history for about 400 hundred years after the founding of Islam in the seventh century.

“That’s where Ismaili history lies,” Azim Nanji, Professor of Islamic Studies at Stanford University in California and Director of the London-based Institute of Ismaili Studies, said today during a tour of the Centre. “That period in Egypt was such a fertile time for creativity, and this center is a way to bring that ethos back again.”

Hamdan meets with Aga Khan

Abu Dhabi: Shaikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister, on Monday received Prince Aga Khan, spiritual leader of the Islamic Ismaili sect.

Among those present was Shaikh Tahnoun Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Emiri Flight Authority.

Source: http://www.gulfnews.com/nation/Government/10200089.html

Arif Alibhai - Volunteers distribute AIDS drugs in rural Uganda

U of A health researcher’s pilot project shows treatment on par with the best hospitals in east African nation.

Keith Gerein, The Edmonton Journal
Published: Sunday, January 13

When Arif Alibhai went to Uganda two years ago, he knew the job before him required both scholastic ability and a humanitarian touch.

The east African country had made substantial strides in combatting an AIDS epidemic, yet the progress was tragically uneven. Anti-retroviral drugs were available only at major urban hospitals, effectively denying treatment to patients in many rural areas.

The challenge offered to Alibhai, a University of Alberta health researcher, was to devise a system of dispensing medication in these remote districts.

The catch? Not only would any solution have to be low-cost and sustainable over the long term, it would also have to get around a critical shortage of doctors.

After tossing around a few ideas, Alibhai and his team came up with a plan: Instead of using health professionals to deliver drugs, the job could be done by unpaid community volunteers.

So far, the concept appears to be working.

Early results from a rural pilot project show treatment that is on par with the best Ugandan hospitals — a success story that could potentially serve as a model for drug programs in other AIDS-afflicted countries.

“The whole point was to look at the problem of how rural people access treatment,” said Alibhai, the senior project manager. “We asked ourselves, is it possible to move the treatment to where the people are?”

The site chosen for the pilot project was Kabarole, a predominately rural district on the western edge of Uganda where subsistence farming is the main activity.

A poor area, the prevalence of HIV among adults in Kabarole is 10 per cent, significantly higher than Uganda’s national rate of six per cent.

Such a disparity is a major concern, said Tom Rubaale, a member of the district health team. Since the disease kills people in their prime working years, it has a particularly devastating impact on poor families who depend on their strongest adults for income, he said.

That thin line between survival and starvation is one reason why rural AIDS patients in Kabarole often choose not to be treated. With anti-retroviral drugs offered only in the district capital, many people find it’s too far to go, said Joa Okech Ojony, a district health officer.

“It may take two days for people to make the trip, and they can’t afford that because it’s two days away from their livelihood,” he said. “Others are too frail to travel, and even if they weren’t, the costs of travel are prohibitive.”

The project team knew that bringing drugs into rural areas would solve only half the problem. The more critical conundrum was the lack of doctors. Without them, who would hand out the medication? Who would ensure patients took their pills twice a day on schedule? Who would keep watch for adverse effects?

In searching for answers, team members recalled a study done in Haiti on hard-to-reach patients and thought they could adapt the Caribbean program to sub-Saharan Africa.

“Anything we did had to be sustainable in the long term, meaning it had to be minimal cost,” said Alibhai, who joined Ojony and Rubaale in Edmonton recently at a global health conference. “We already knew that volunteerism is a big part of Ugandan culture, so calling on volunteers seemed to make sense.”

Working out of small rural health clinics — upgraded with funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research — community members were recruited and trained to take on many duties traditionally performed by health professionals.

The most important of these was to make weekly visits to patients to ensure they were taking their medication, and to check for any negative reactions.

After six months, the project has shown strong results. Ninety per cent of rural patients have had successful treatment outcomes, while the drug adherence rate has hovered near 99 per cent — achievements at least equal to the district hospital. Alibhai believes the program’s success is due, in part, to the personal touch patients receive from friends and neighbours assigned to check in on them. Volunteers can outperform doctors when it comes to offering social support, compassion and encouragement.

And success builds success. As people hear of positive results and see neighbours getting better, more patients sign up for the program. Women in particular are more likely to seek treatment when it is delivered in a community-based setting, said Walter Kipp, the U of A health scientist who supervised the project.

Researchers will continue to study the drug program over a two-year period. During that time, one of the biggest challenges will be to avoid complacency, both in keeping patients taking their drugs and keeping volunteers motivated to perform their duties, Kipp said.

Funding is another issue. More money is needed not only to keep the program going in Kabarole — where an estimated 16,000 people will need treatment in the next five years — but also to expand the project to other areas of Uganda and other countries afflicted with AIDS, Alibhai said.

“When you start working in global health,” he said, “you have to make a commitment to stay in it for the long term because the need is great.”

Source: http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/cityplus/
story.html?id=ef3c27f8-01ce-474a-9350-2f507e78305c&k=91768

Bridges that Unite: a way forward for Canada in the world

Victoria, British Columbia—February 1, 2008 - This evening, at the Victoria Conference Centre, the Honourable Beverley J. Oda, Minister of International Cooperation joined Aga Khan Foundation Canada’s Chief Executive Officer Khalil Z. Shariff along with local dignitaries and other guests to officially launch Bridges that Unite, a new, interactive exhibition showcasing our national ability to bridge the developed and the developing world.

The traveling exhibition invites visitors to consider Canada’s role in the world through the lens of a remarkable 25-year partnership with the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) in some of the world’s most isolated and impoverished regions.

“Bridges that Unite is an opportunity to explore what we’ve learned, to build on our experience and to chart a way forward for Canada and the world,” said Khalil Z. Shariff, CEO of Aga Khan Foundation Canada, which is presenting the exhibition. “Canada at its best has had a real impact in a way that is sensitive, thoughtful and sustained,” he said. “The exhibition draws on our rich experience in the developing world to spark a conversation about what Canada and Canadians can contribute to ensure a more peaceful, prosperous and pluralist world.”

“Over the years, as Canada has contributed to the work of the Foundation, we have seen the solid results achieved by the Foundation, often in extremely challenging environments,” said Minister Oda. “In many diverse ways, the partnership between Aga Khan Foundation Canada and the Government of Canada has been a long and successful one.”

Twenty-five years ago, Canada invested in an innovative partnership with the AKDN in northern Pakistan – one of the world’s poorest, most isolated and volatile regions. Since then, this partnership has grown in scope and depth and created a wealth of knowledge and practical experience that has had a ripple effect across Asia and Africa. Visitors to the exhibition will discover that, from Afghanistan to Zanzibar, a ring of chairs, in which people meet to discuss and find solutions to their problems, has become a symbol of lasting, positive change.

Embarking on a national tour following a two-week stop in Victoria, Bridges that Unite offers a vibrant, interactive space in which to explore some of the most pressing questions of the 21st century. Thought-provoking stories of initiatives spanning several continents are told through powerful images, evocative soundscapes and interactive, multimedia components.

This stimulating environment will also provide a compelling backdrop for lectures, workshops, and cultural events. Online discussions and exhibit highlights at www.bridgesthatunite.ca will allow visitors to continue the conversation as Bridges that Unite travels across Canada.

For more information on the Bridges that Unite exhibition including venues, dates and program details, please consult our website at www.bridgesthatunite.ca.

NOTES:

Aga Khan Foundation Canada (AKFC) is a Canadian international development organization, and an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network, founded in 1980. Working primarily in Asia and Africa, AKFC works to address the root causes of poverty.

The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) is a group of non-denominational development agencies founded by His Highness the Aga Khan, with wide-ranging mandates covering social, economic and cultural development.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Jennifer Morrow,
Aga Khan Foundation Canada
613.697.9532

Source: http://www.bridgesthatunite.ca/press-releases/

Bridges that Unite : Interactive, touring exhibition explores Canada’s role in developing world

TORONTO - In the chilly confines of a warehouse, images, voices and words carried from the far reaches of the globe converge, radiating from still photos and video screens.For citizens from at least 40 countries including Afghanistan, Kenya and Pakistan, their common bond is Canada, which plays a crucial role in shaping their communities and lives.

Organizers of the Bridges that Unite exhibition, which had a preview stop in Toronto recently, say they hope these stories will soon be part of a national conversation as they hit the road with the interactive, travelling display designed to engage Canadians and help them explore the country’s role in the developing world.

Bridges that Unite marks a quarter-century partnership between Canada and the Aga Khan Development Network in the region. Aga Khan Foundation Canada (AKFC) is an agency of AKDN, an international group of non-denominational agencies with a humanitarian agenda encompassing social, economic and cultural development.

The network was founded by His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan, the spiritual leader of about 15 million Ismaili Muslims in some 25 countries, including between 80,000 and 100,000 in Canada.

The Canadian International Development Agency and AKFC first collaborated 25 years ago in northern Pakistan employing principles around keeping the community in charge. They’ve seen “extraordinary results” in that part of the world, said Khalil Shariff, CEO of Aga Khan Foundation Canada.

Shariff said there have been improvements in almost all measures, including infant mortality and education for men and women.

“We thought this is an example of Canadian leadership, of thoughtful, sensitive, long-term visionary Canadian leadership, which is unheralded,” he said.

“At a time in the world where that kind of leadership is in real demand, we thought that showcasing it in a way that would make it accessible to lots of Canadians made sense: not only that experience in the northern areas of Pakistan but everything it has spawned across many other parts of the world.”

Just beyond the entrance of the sprawling 465 square metre exhibit sits a ring of chairs, symbolic of the approach allowing individuals to identify their own ideas and priorities for community development. Interactive audio elements allow visitors to listen to those working in the field, including program officers instructing on how to run a community meeting, take minutes and assign responsibilities.

“If we don’t understand, for instance, that the heart of most international development efforts is bringing the community together to discuss over time their problems, it’s gong to be very hard for us to appreciate why it’s complex, why it takes a long time,” Shariff said.

“If all we think (about is) distributing handouts, we’re going to be very poor decision-makers and very poor contributors.”

The Aga Khan University in Pakistan has also developed strong partnerships with Canadian institutions including the University of Alberta and the University of Toronto’s Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. Students can participate in exchanges or earn scholarships to study in Canada in hopes of taking their newfound knowledge back to their communities.

Hamilton’s McMaster University was involved in setting up a nursing school at Aga Khan University in Pakistan 25 years ago. In the past decade, the Aga Khan University went on to establish a growing presence in east Africa. In one of the featured short films, a Kenyan nursing grad speaks of her work at a local hospital while helping to raise her orphaned nephews and nieces.

“What we’re talking about here is investments in higher education so you create the leaders that you need to strengthen society and ensure all the parts are working together so you can have a vibrant, pluralistic, democratic society where people have choices,” said Jennifer Morrow, the foundation’s communications director.

The exhibition also spotlights Canadians who serve as “agents of change.”

Sarah Bandali followed two years of work with Aga Khan’s Geneva office with a two-year stint in Mozambique where she designed and facilitated HIV-AIDS prevention workshops.

She said it’s important to recognize the process of development is incremental, and the aim is to establish longer term changes and outcomes.

“I think working with communities, they have a lot of hope and inspiration and willingly and actively want to participate in enhancing their own development,” she said.

“I think they appreciate that you’re not only wanting to help them but you’re actually actively taking their concerns and voices into account by actively engaging them in the process itself.”

At the conclusion of the exhibition, visitors are welcome to share their thoughts on ways to help push Canada forward with “21 questions for the 21st century.” They can express what they believe to be among the most pressing global issues and how Canada can help address them. The answers will be compiled and posted on the exhibition website, along with details of future tour stops.

While initially greeted with walls of photos of a diverse array of faces, the journey concludes with visitors reflecting on their own image in a mirror and the Aga Khan’s parting words: “Successful experience with democracy, civil society and pluralism are the national genius of Canada of which much of the developing world is in dire need.”

“The significance of the mirror is that we see ourselves as the future, as Canadians who can make a difference, that we do have the capacity as individuals to have a voice of how we want Canada to play a role in the developing world,” Morrow said.

Bridges that Unite is slated to open Feb. 1 in Victoria at the Victoria Conference Centre, the first stop on a scheduled nationwide tour which will be open free to the public.

The Ismaili Imamat and its Institutional Capacity

Imamat, His Highness the Aga Khan, AKDN, Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah, Ismaili, Jamat, Golden Jubilee, Aga Khan University.

“One of the central elements of the Islamic faith is the inseparable nature of faith and world. The two are so deeply intertwined that one cannot imagine their separation. They constitute a ‘Way of Life’. The role and responsibility of an Imam, therefore, is both to interpret the faith to the community and, also, to do all within his means to improve the quality and security of their daily lives.” His Highness the Aga Khan. ¹

In a single sentence, His Highness the Aga Khan IV captures both the role and mandate of the institution of Imamat, historically validated and particularly evidenced in the last 50 years. The exemplary life of Prophet Muhammad has enabled Muslims in every age to understand the links between matters worldly and spiritual. In Shi’a Islam, it is the mandate of the Imam to ensure a social context that maintains a harmonious balance between din and dunya. During the last half century, His Highness has responded, with foresight and determination, to a world where his followers have lived in extremely varying conditions and in which there has been accelerating change. Central to his leadership, work and long-term vision is the untiring pursuit of a better quality of life for current and future generations.

Since acceding to the Imamat in 1957, he has developed a global network of institutions. Ismaili community (Jamati) organisations at local, national and international levels serve the Imam’s murids, while other Imamat institutions, most of them operating under the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), work to improve living conditions and opportunities for people, regardless of their faith. Under the Imamat’s guidance, professional staff and selfless volunteers in large numbers, work to transform lives through these institutions.

Putting a modern complexion on the historic guiding and leading role of Imamat, ordained well over a millennium ago, the Imamat has, in recent history, established religious, social, economic and cultural institutions to respond to the changing circumstances of the Jamat. Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah founded organisations that addressed the conditions of the first half of the 20^th century, when many of the Ismailis lived under colonialism. This institutional structure has evolved and expanded remarkably under the present Imam. He has formalised, consolidated and reoriented existing organisations and has established many new ones. The last half of the century has witnessed significant global changes including decolonisation, Ismaili migration to the West, strengthening of contacts with Ismaili communities in Central Asian, economic and social upheavals, wars, rapid technological advancements, and globalisation. Against this backdrop, the institutions of the Ismaili Imamat have spread over a space more extensive than at any other time in history.

On 13^th December 1986, His Highness the Aga Khan promulgated The Constitution of the Shi’a Imami Ismaili Muslims, bringing the transnational community’s governance under one institutional structure. Ordaining the Constitution, His Highness said, “It is my belief that the Ismaili Constitution will provide a strong institutional and organisational framework through which my Jamat (community) will be able to contribute to the harmonious development of the Ummah and of the societies in which the Jamat lives.” This framework, organising the community’s dini (spiritual) and dunyavi (material) matters, has proved to be an effective and sustainable civil society model.

Ismaili Councils are responsible for social governance at the local, regional and national levels. The Ismaili community institutions also include Ismaili Tariqah and Religious Education Boards, Grants and Review Boards, and Conciliation and Arbitration Boards. Other boards operate in the areas of economic wellbeing, education, health, housing, social welfare, and youth and sports. His Highness determines the roles, responsibilities, composition, powers and jurisdiction of these bodies. He has also established the Leaders’ International Forum (LIF) to whom he refers specific matters affecting the Ismaili community. The Institute of Ismaili Studies is a key academic and educational resource for the community. It addresses, amongst other aspects of its mandate, the Ismaili community’s religious education needs by conducting research on its intellectual, spiritual and literary heritage and provides materials for religious formation.

AKDN agencies deal with the development needs of people regardless of their faiths. The Network is an endeavour of the Ismaili Imamat to realise the social conscience of Islam. It brings together organisations and programmes that seek to relieve society of ignorance, disease and deprivation. In societies where there is a significant presence of Muslims, it also seeks to revitalise and broaden the understanding of Islam’s pluralist cultural heritage. AKDN’s mandate derives from the ethics of Islam which aim for a balance between the material and the spiritual. Islam’s ethical ideal is to enable each person to live up to the exalted status of the being in whom Allah has breathed His spirit. Allah made all that is in the heavens and the earth an object of trust for human beings. Therefore, worship is incomplete without an active social conscience. By grounding societal values in the principles of moral responsibility, Islam lifts the social order to a spiritual level. In the words of His Highness the Aga Khan:

“To the Imamat the meaning of ‘quality of life’ extends to the entire ethical and social context in which people live, and not only to their material well-being measured over generation after generation. Consequently, the Imamat’s is a holistic vision of development, as is prescribed by the faith of Islam. It is about investing in people, in their pluralism, in their intellectual pursuit, and search for new and useful knowledge, just as much as in material resources. But it is also about investing with a social conscience inspired by the ethics of Islam. It is work that benefits all, regardless of gender, ethnicity, religion, nationality or background. Does the Holy Qur’an not say in one of the most inspiring references to mankind, that Allah has created all from one soul?“²

The Imamat’s vast institutional network addresses the needs of the poor, particularly in Asia and Africa. AKDN organisations are structured broadly under three categories: Economic Development, Social Development and Culture. The Network’s long experience in engaging with social and economic development has drawn governments to it for policy advice and partnership. The Ismaili Imamat and AKDN have formalised frameworks for their development initiatives by entering into internationally recognised Protocols, Agreements of Cooperation, Memoranda of Understanding or Letters of Intent with many national governments and international organisations. These serve to strengthen and formalise the Imamat’s and AKDN’s international partnerships, relationships and long-term commitments in the countries and regions within which they work.

AKDN adopts a comprehensive strategy to help people move out of poverty and enable them to participate in the social and economic mainstream. It is guided by a philosophy of human dignity and self-reliance. For development to be sustainable over the long term, local people are engaged in planning and development. This requires projects to be inclusive and respectful of the pluralism of societies. Additionally, encouraging the recognition of merit promotes excellence and continual improvement in standards.

The provision of quality education is the cornerstone of AKDN’s approach to uplifting the human condition. This view emerges from the teachings of Prophet Muhammad and Hazrat ‘Ali that inspired Imam al-Muiz’s establishment of Al-Azhar University, one of the oldest in the world.

The global network of AKDN’s educational institutions, including pre-schools, Aga Khan Academies, Aga Khan University and University of Central Asia, is a testament to His Highness’s conviction that knowledge is vital to the fulfilment of individuals and betterment of society.

Addressing AKDN’s social development mandate, Aga Khan Foundation’s programmes incorporate education, healthcare and environmental safeguards, revitalisation of cultural assets, and the development of appropriate infrastructure, rural support and income generation opportunities. Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance’s not-for-profit programmes, which provide small loans to the less fortunate, constitute a critical building block for an equitable civil society.

The Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development is the only for-profit agency of the Network. Its innovative agenda, based on the AKDN’s strong ethical framework, promotes public and private sector partnership in which investment decisions are primarily based on prospects for improving lives. Taking bold but considered steps to invest in fragile and complex economies, it has assisted in rehabilitation efforts after war or internal turmoil in places as varied as Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Mozambique, Tajikistan and Uganda.

To complete the picture, architecture, urban revitalisation and traditional music are the responsibility of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture. It focuses on culture as a means of enhancing the physical, social and economic regeneration of Muslim communities. It runs the Aga Khan Music Initiative in Central Asia, the Historic Cities Programme, and various education and culture programmes including the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The Imamat’s plans for the coming years include new poverty alleviation initiatives as well as the establishment of additional Aga Khan Academies, AKU’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Global Centre for Pluralism, Aga Khan Museum, Delegations of the Ismaili Imamat, and Ismaili Centres and Jamatkhanas in Dubai, Dushanbe, Houston, Khorog and Toronto. The Golden Jubilee will witness various new initiatives, which will undoubtedly come to be seen by future generations as part of His Highness the Aga Khan’s unique legacy.

Notes

¹ Excerpt of an address by His Highness the Aga Khan to the Tutzing Evangelical Academy, Tutzing, Germany, 20^th May 2006

² Excerpt of a speech made by His Highness the Aga Khan at the opening of the Alltex EPZ Limited plant, Athi River, Kenya, 19^th December 2003
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Source: http://www.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp?ContentID=108987

Your Google reputation could cost you a job

CHAD SAPIEHA

Special to Globe and Mail Update

January 25, 2008 at 11:25 AM EST

When a 20-year-old university student recently Googled himself, he discovered the top result was a 2006 news story that listed him as one of several people arrested on drug-related charges.

The student, who asked that he not be named, recently began applying for work in his profession, which is one that’s prone to extensive background checks. He fears prospective employers might write him off based on what they find out about him online.

“It’s the only real testament to my character that my potential employer would find online,” said the student, who adds that the person named in the story is him, but that the charges were dropped and he has no criminal record. “Likely, I would not even receive a follow-up phone call to allow me to explain the circumstances under which this incident occurred.”

He’s not alone in his concern.

Employers are increasingly turning to online searches or social networking sites to discover information about potential employees. According to research carried out by ExecuNet, a Norwalk, Conn.-based human resources agency, 77 per cent of executive recruiters use search engines to help screen candidates. Meanwhile, employment website CareerBuilder reports that, in a survey of more than a thousand hiring managers, one in four stated they use search engines to help filter applicants.

“I’ve never done my job without Google,” said Cheron Martin, lead technical recruiter at Shore Consulting Group, a Toronto staffing and consulting firm.

However, she pointed out that she’s not conducting searches with an aim to dig up dirt on the applicant, but rather to learn more about their pertinent experience.

“Once I was looking for someone to work as a programmer with the Department of National Defence,” she explained by way of example, “and through online research I discovered that the applicant had previously been with a company that had worked on military applications. It was highly relevant to the position he was applying for, and that information wasn’t on his resume.”

But even if an employer is simply looking to learn more about an applicant’s experience, they sometimes stumble across personal information that can affect how they view the candidate.

One Toronto-based hirer, who asked not to be named, said that a search of a promising candidate’s name turned up a dating advertisement posted by the applicant that contained “sex-related information that could be seen as bizarre.” When she revealed what she had found to a senior executive in her office, he told her that the applicant “wouldn’t be a good fit for their corporate culture.” As a result, the company discarded the candidate’s application.

That screening ability opens a can of worms for human resource professionals.

Hirers can discover information about employees online that, legally, they aren’t allowed to ask about in interviews, such as religious affiliation, marital status and race, says Claude Balthazard of the Human Resources Professionals Association of Ontario (HRPAO).

“If you aren’t allowed to ask about a topic in an interview, you aren’t allowed to use that information if you discover it online,” said Mr. Balthazard. Still, he acknowledged that screening based on inequitable prejudices probably happens, and that most candidates who fall victim to this practice will never be the wiser.

However, there are ways job seekers can manage information about themselves that appears online.

Andy Beal is an Internet marketing consultant with Raleigh, N.C.-based Marketing Pilgrim and co-author of Radically Transparent, a book about managing personal and professional identities online. He works with clients to improve the results returned when their names are searched using Google.

“If a client comes to me with something negative in their search results and wants it pushed out [of the first page of links returned by Google], we have to find ten other pieces of information about them that are positive and get those things to appear before the negative,” he said. “The problem is that scandal is popular. People like to talk about it, and they like to link to negative stories. Google’s algorithm looks at all of those links and thinks that [the page to which these links lead] must be highly relevant to the search query. We have to convince Google that there are other pages with information that is just as relevant.”

It can be an expensive process. Mr. Beal said his clients spend between $3,000 and $10,000 to clean up their search results, and, due to the chaotic nature of the Internet, he can offer no guarantees that, at the end of the day, searching his client’s name will result in nothing but squeaky clean results.

That’s why he recommends that people begin managing their Internet identities before any undesirable information appears online by registering a domain containing a person’s name, or creating personal and professional pages on networking sites like MySpace and Linked In.

“Build up credibility in the eyes of Google,” said Mr. Beal. “You’re being searched all the time, whether you know it or not.”

Some Canadians may already be in the early stages of learning about and managing their online identities. According to an Ipsos Reid poll conducted last fall on behalf of MSN Canada, 76 per cent of Canadians who use the Internet are conscious of the impact that their online activities could have on their image, and 59 per cent have conducted searches of their own names to see what the World Wide Web has to say about them.

As for the student whose name surfaced in a story about a drug bust, he may have solved his problem on his own. He emailed the publication that had originally posted the news story in which he was named, explained his situation, and asked that his name be removed from the article. He received a prompt response stating that his request would be honoured (though, at the time of this writing, the story containing his name was still posted).

Despite his experience of having a negative result associated with his name in online searches, the student doesn’t think it’s invasive for employers to conduct online research into prospective employees. He simply advises they use prudence.

“Discretion needs to be exercised,” he said. “The employer should speak with the person about what is found in online searches before discarding their application.”

The HRPAO’s Mr. Balthazard said this would be an example of best practices in the human resources profession, and he hopes that most hirers take this step. However, just how often employers actually call applicants to give them a chance to explain unflattering information found online is unknown.

Source:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/
RTGAM.20080125.wgtgooglejob0124/BNStory/PersonalTech/home

Interviews: Set the Stage

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Recession-proof your career

Lee-Anne Goodman

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

No one seems to want to say the “R” word out loud, but there are irrefutable signs that a recession may be looming. And that means even the happily employed should get ready.

The U.S. economy is slumping, and some believe a recession may be inevitable despite damage-control measures enacted by the Bush administration. If growth slows south of the border, that could sound the death knell for jobs in Canada, particularly in the manufacturing and export sectors.

Recessions bring down-sizing as corporations struggle to cut costs, and with down-sizing comes genuine anxiety about prolonged unemployment, a lack of future job prospects and a serious depletion of savings. Even though some Canadian economists remain cautiously optimistic that a recession in Canada will be gentle compared to the mayhem that could unfold in the United States, it’s never too early to start recession-proofing your finances and your career.

“Nobody has a crystal ball,” says Toronto financial planner Andrew Rickard. “If I could predict which way the markets or the economy was going, I wouldn’t be here, I’d be controlling the world from my island villa. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t start planning now. Don’t wait until there’s smoke pouring from both engines to strap on your parachute.”

It’s not as hopeless as you might assume, Rickard adds. A few simple and easy measures, taken before a possible recession hits, could make the difference between comfort and anguish during unemployment. It’s no fun scrimping for pennies as you search for a new job, he adds.

Some tips from Rickard:

Start saving now. Ease up on luxury spending, costly vacations, unnecessary big-ticket items, fancy new gadgets and appliances – now is not the time. Ideally, try to have an emergency savings fund equivalent to three or even six months worth of your after-tax earnings set aside.
Don’t even think about raiding your RRSPs to pay the bills. Your retirement savings are for just that, your retirement. They’re long-term investments, so let them do their job. If you cash them in while you’re out of work, especially during a recession when the markets are down anyway, you’ve not only crystallized your losses and triggered a tax bill, but that contribution room is also gone for good. You can’t put the money back in again when you’ve found another job. So don’t borrow from your old age to see you through the present.
Go back to school if you need to upgrade your skills. If you are accepted as a full time student at a university, college or other qualifying educational institution you can take $10,000 a year from your RRSPs (up to a lifetime maximum of $20,000) without penalty under the Lifelong Learning Plan. Your spouse or common-law partner can also participate, meaning one couple could withdraw up to $40,000. After you finish school, you have 10 years to pay the funds back into your RRSP.
No cash on hand? Start saving today by having money automatically transferred from your main chequing account and into a high-interest savings plan on the same day you get paid. Get it out of there so you’re not tempted to spend it. Ask your bank, or look on the Internet. There are lots of high-interest savings accounts available online from places like CitizensBank.ca, HSBCDirect or ING.
Get some credit. If you are concerned about losing your job and don’t think you will be able to accumulate adequate savings quickly, you may have to consider tapping into your home equity - either through a second mortgage or a line of credit - to see you through the rough spots. Don’t wait until you’re out of a job to talk to your banker about a loan. The best time to borrow money is when you don’t need it.
Once you’ve got your finances in order, Rickard says, start making yourself indispensable to your employer. If you’re the type who’s in your supervisor’s office every day to complain about co-workers, the office temperature or the food in the cafeteria, be aware that could be setting yourself up to be the first on the chopping block no matter how many on-the-job strengths you possess. The squeaky wheel doesn’t get the grease in times of recession – instead, it could simply earn itself top spot on any axe list being drawn up by already stressed-out managers.

Pull your weight – and then some. Happily take on extra work. Volunteer to work overtime, weekends and to take work home. Be positive; think of it as short-term pain for long-term gain. Companies remember the employees who made their lives easier during stressful times, and are less likely to lay off their stars in both the performance and attitude categories.
Figure out what challenges are facing your employer, and think of ways to come up with solutions. Come up with cost-cutting or revenue-generating ideas.
This is a tough one, and requires a more sacrificial bent than many of us might be able to stomach: offer to take a pay cut. Your employer won’t forget it, and will likely reward you once tough times have passed.

Get your resume updated long before the first hint of layoffs. Make sure it’s picture-perfect. And start looking around to see what’s out there. Talk to a head-hunter. Talk to people in your field about what companies are growing, not cutting. Talk to former colleagues, former bosses, about what’s going on in your industry and if there are any opportunities for you. If the time is right and you get some good leads about possible employment opportunities, consider making a move.

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