Closing The Gap

The nature of employment is changing: low wage jobs are increasingly common, fewer workers belong to unions, and workplaces are being transformed through the growth of contracting-out, franchising, and extended supply chains. Closing the Enforcement Gap offers a comprehensive analysis of the enforcement of employment standards in Ontario. Adopting mixed methods, this work includes qualitative research involving in-depth interviews with workers, community advocates, and enforcement officials; extensive archival research excavating decades of ministerial records; and analysis of a previously untapped source of administrative data collected by Ontario’s Ministry of Labour. The authors reveal and trace the roots of a deepening "enforcement gap" that pervades nearly all aspects of the regime, demonstrating that the province’s Employment Standards Act (ESA) fails too many workers who rely on the floor of minimum conditions it was devised to provide. Arguably, there is nothing inevitable about the enforcement gap in Ontario or for that matter elsewhere. Through contributions from leading employment standards enforcement scholars in the US, the UK, and Australia, as well as Quebec, Closing the Enforcement Gap surveys innovative enforcement models that are emerging in a variety of jurisdictions and sets out a bold vision for strengthening employment standards enforcement. Closing the Enforcement Gap Research Group Leah F. Vosko Guliz Akkaymak Rebecca Casey Shelley Condratto John Grundy Alan Hall Alice Hoe Kiran Mirchandani Andrea M. Noack Urvashi Soni-Sinha Mercedes Steedman Mark P. Thomas Eric M. Tucker International/Quebec Contributors Nick Clark Dalia Gesualdi-Fecteau Tess Hardy John Howe Guylaine Vallée David Weil

This expansion of Whatever It Takes sharpens the focus on the pyramid of interventions strategy. The authors examine case studies of schools and districts across North America to illustrate how PLC at WorkTM is a sustainable and transferable process that ensures struggling students get the support they need to achieve. They address how to enrich and extend the learning of proficient students and explain how PLC intervention processes align with RTI legislation.

UPDATED EDITION ‘A holistic take on AI from an African perspective, Closing the Gap joins the dots on deploying AI efficiently into everyday business and life.’ – RENUKA METHIL, editor of Forbes Africa ‘This book simplifies complex concepts through relatable stories and awakens fellow Africans to the opportunities ushered in by the 4IR. Closing the Gapmust occupy our waking times.’ – MTETO NYATI, chief executive of Altron Closing the Gap is an accessible overview of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) and the impact it is set to have on various sectors in South Africa and Africa. It explores the previous industrial revolutions that have led up to this point and outlines what South Africa’s position has been through each one. With a focus on artificial intelligence as a core concept in understanding the 4IR, this book uses familiar concepts to explain artificial intelligence, how it works and how it can be used in banking, mining, medicine and many other fields. Written from an African perspective, Closing the Gap addresses the challenges and fears around the 4IR by pointing to the opportunities presented by new technologies and outlining some of the challenges and successes to date.

In 2013, a little known mathematician in his late 50s stunned the mathematical community with a breakthrough on an age-old problem about prime numbers. Since then, there has been further dramatic progress on the problem, thanks to the efforts of a large-scale online collaborative effort of a type that would have been unthinkable in mathematics a couple of decades ago, and the insight and creativity of a young mathematician at the start of his career. Prime numbers have intrigued, inspired and infuriated mathematicians for millennia. Every school student studies prime numbers and can appreciate their beauty, and yet mathematicians' difficulty with answering some seemingly simple questions about them reveals the depth and subtlety of prime numbers. Vicky Neale charts the recent progress towards proving the famous Twin Primes Conjecture, and the very different ways in which the breakthroughs have been made: a solo mathematician working in isolation and obscurity, and a large collaboration that is more public than any previous collaborative effort in mathematics and that reveals much about how mathematicians go about their work. Interleaved with this story are highlights from a significantly older tale, going back two thousand years and more, of mathematicians' efforts to comprehend the beauty and unlock the mysteries of the prime numbers.

Parents: Does your teen withdraw to his or her room at every opportunity? Does she talk with you about her friends? Does he participate in discussions at meals? Does your teen want you to see projects from school? When is the last time you actually went into your teen's room and looked at what's hanging on the walls and sitting on the shelves? Teens: Do your parents hide behind the newspaper? Do they always have to work when you've got a game, a recital, or an open house at school? Is there anything you do together anymore? When was the last time they took a walk, a bike ride, or even a trip to get ice cream with you? When did that sudden gap divide your home into territories staked and claimed, with music blasting through the halls and fists banging on doors to turn down the stereo/TV/video game? Teens, when did you start seeing your parents as your enemies instead of your heroes? And parents, when did you start seeing your teens as crazy little demons instead of your loving children? Finally, there is a solution for both sides, and one that will not only bridge that gap but show parents and teens alike how to prevent it. Jay McGraw is the ideal person to write a book for both parents and teens. A bestselling author by the age of twenty-one and son of number one New York Times bestseller Phillip C. McGraw, Ph.D., known to millions worldwide as Dr. Phil, Jay has seen the parent-teen battle from all angles. In this groundbreaking work, he introduces a new plan for both teens and their parents to work through the issues that divide them and, in the process, rediscover the love that initially defined their relationship. Jay works from both sides -- sharing the perspectives of parent and teen as the former struggles for control, the latter for independence. He explains to parents how their teenagers wish to be treated, cared for, and even disciplined, and he shows teens how gaining power can come only from earning respect. In this entertaining, informative, and life-changing book, Jay gives instructions to both sides of the familial gap on: Dos and Don'ts for Parents and Teens Parent and Teen Myths Discovering Your Needs Tuning In to the Needs of Others Ten Ways to Bridge the Gap and Reconnect In finding a common ground and, even more important, a common respect for each other, parents and teens can break down the walls, unlock the doors, and welcome each other back into one another's lives again.

CLOSING THE EXECUTION GAP Once upon a time strategy was king. Leaders immersed themselves in the matter of planning how best to achieve their company's goals. The subject dominated the attention of senior executives and the writings of consultants and management gurus. Experts of various stripes weighed in on how to put strategic planning processes in place and transform employees at all levels into strategic thinkers. Naturally, leaders assumed all this strategizing would pay off. And yet, for too many organizations the promised results never came to pass. Quite simply, they couldn't execute. Now, the business world has shifted its focus to the consistent delivery of results. If an organization can't execute its plans and initiatives, nothing else matters: not the most solid, well thought-out strategy, not the most innovative business model, not even technological breakthroughs that could transform an industry. As it turns out, the "conventional wisdom" about what it takes to implement strategy and deliver results isn't all that wise. So what really differentiates the companies that are able to get things done day-to-day and deliver consistent results? The answer is found in the pages of Richard Lepsinger's ground-breaking book, Closing the Execution Gap. Based on extensive research and years of practical experience, the book outlines five prerequisites for effective execution and five "Bridges" that differentiate companies that do it best. It also describes six "Bridge Builders" leaders at all levels can use to close the execution gap in their company or team and help people get things done. Specifically, it addresses: What really gets in the way of getting things done—for individuals, teams and entire companies What leaders can do to enhance their organization's ability to close the execution gap and achieve solid business results What it takes to consistently execute plans and initiatives at a day-to-day operational level The book features many case studies of companies that have a track record of effective execution (Hewlett-Packard, Costco, Procter & Gamble) and those who have struggled with closing the gap between creating a vision and delivering results (Dell, American Airlines, GM). As the business world becomes more competitive and less forgiving, execution matters more than ever. This is a book for the times we live in—and one that for many companies could mean the difference between success and failure.