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A detailed analysis of Gen Y in the workplace - from one of our own.

Flags of the world by area of color. Click a flag to see which country.

It is amazing how well connected the US and UK intelligence agencies must be to know that they only need to check for gallon back full of mini 3oz containers at US and UK airports. I’m very impressed that they so easily ruled out flights from every other country that flies into the US or UK and all bus and railway traffic. At least I assume they know that terrorists aren’t planning on using 4oz of liquid explosives via those methods of transportation because they don’t check.

SNL is thinking along the same lines…

Terrorism is an action against people. If people are not terrorized then the actions are ineffectual – some might even argue that if the people are terrorized but fail to respond as anticipated (e.g. Osama Bin Laden wants US influence out of the Mid East and one might argue he’s making very little progress) then the terror has also failed. In any case, the defense against terrorism, i.e. security, is also an action that’s based on people. In protecting people from terror (presumably involving some harm) security is on successful if people feel safe. This is why Security Theater is often effective. Make people feel safe, not terrorized and you are effectively defeating the end goal of terrorists. Conversely, if you trigger an alarm and fail to explain the reason, people feel less safe and in some cases, more terrorized by the very organizations that are trying to defend them.

We were traveling on the London Tube the other day and after stopping at Green Park an announcement came on the loudspeaker that the station was being evacuated. The doors were open and the train was stopped – there was no explanation and so people started getting off the train to evacuate. This apparently was not the intended behavior as the train operator quickly corrected us to stay on the train. With the platform clear the train sped off to the next station. A couple stops later we got out and never again to hear about the incident. Does this make us feel safe? Sudden evacuation and conflicting or missing information, while rarely causing as much physical harm as destructive terrorism can have tremendous psychological effects. Security is not a matter of protecting numbers of people from harm, to be effective security must make people feel safe.

May is a treacherous time in Harvard Sq. The Harvard Seniors, confident with their new diplomas and more careless than the day they were accepted roam the streets of the Square with complete disregard for the commercial and residential traffic that has not miraculously paused in awe of the revelation that they have successfully navigated the halls of Cambridge’s westerly college.

Coincidentally I noticed for the first time on my way home a sign posted: “Caution Seniors.” As any fan of “Eats, Shoots and Leaves” will quickly point out, what the fine city of Cambridge intended to do was warn motorists of elderly that may also be roaming the streets of the square. But it is always amusing to take signs at their word, and so without hesitating to appreciate the timing I Caution all newly graduated Harvard College Seniors: “Watch out for that truck!”