When boilerplate bites you in the butt

[Shivetya]

http://www.justice.gov/oarm/jobs/attorneyvotingoarm2010.htm


Hiring lawyers for prosecutions of Voter Rights Action violations, can you say anyone but certain Philly extremist groups need to be worried. Then again ...

No offense, but why do you get bonus points for Federal jobs simply because of your condition? Its not like we don't have TWO MILLION FEDERAL EMPLOYEES we now have to quota some?


The Civil Rights Division encourages qualified applicants with targeted disabilities to apply. Targeted disabilities are deafness, blindness, missing extremities, partial or complete paralysis, convulsive disorder, mental retardation, mental illness, severe distortion of limbs and/or spine. Applicants who meet the qualification requirements and are able to perform the essential functions of the position with or without reasonable accommodation are encouraged to identify targeted disabilities in response to the questions in the Avue application system seeking that information. For additional information for applicants with targeted disabilities, please contact the Civil Rights Division's Disability Program Manager, Diane Petrie, at (202) 514-3934; see also http://www.jan.wvu.edu/LEAD/index.htm and http://www.opm.gov/disability/PeopleWithDisabilities.asp.

[nbs2]

I'm not sure of the exact inclusions, but I suspect conditions like dyslexia and Aspergers would be encompassed in mental illness. At least, I don't see any other term that would include them. And mild mental retardation can be overcome. It may take longer to learn, but it isn't like it doesn't take forever and a day to become a barred lawyer anyway - whether you are 25 or 35 or 45, if you can do the job, you can do the job.

You're making a story out of a non-story.

Had you limited your comments to pointing out that the DoJ must be shifting gears and actually starting to prosecute voter intimidation, I would have agreed with your assessment. From what I can tell, though, it was a single official that was kiboshed a couple of pro-Obama incidents - the Philly issue and one other one that I read somewhere, sometime.

[.Andy]

Why did you bold mental illess and mental retardation? Why single them out of the list :confused:?

[Peterkro]

I'm not sure of the exact inclusions, but I suspect conditions like dyslexia and Aspergers would be encompassed in mental illness. At least, I don't see any other term that would include them. And mild mental retardation can be overcome. It may take longer to learn, but it isn't like it doesn't take forever and a day to become a barred lawyer anyway - whether you are 25 or 35 or 45, if you can do the job, you can do the job.

you're making a story out of a non-story.

Winston Churchill,much admired by many in the U.S. was bi-polar (personally I think he was a prick of the highest order), many mental illnesses are no bar to doing relatively simple jobs such as a lawyer.

[nbs2]

Winston Churchill,much admired by many in the U.S. was bi-polar (personally I think he was a prick of the highest order), many mental illnesses are no bar to doing relatively simple jobs such as a lawyer.

Exactly. Just because we associate mental illness with fountain-throwing-giant-in'juns and mental retardation with adults in diapers doesn't mean that the entire group fits that description. Most folks with one or the other function perfectly well.

The more I think about it, the more I think these would be the best folks to target. While a WASP can be a champion of voter rights, someone in an affected group may have a better understanding or better chance of relating with victims. I suspect the disabled are among the most affected by voter discrimination issues (lack of basic accommodations for the blind or deaf, denial of voting right for lower-functioning retardation, etc).

[NT1440]

I've read of software companies that are thrilled to have people with certain forms of autism coding for them, which would fall under mental illness.

[Zombie Acorn]

I've read of software companies that are thrilled to have people with certain forms of autism coding for them, which would fall under mental illness.

Are you sure it was coding? I have heard autistic people being hired for testing (pretty monotonous, which seems to appeal to some forms of autism).

[Peterkro]

Are you sure it was coding? I have heard autistic people being hired for testing (pretty monotonous, which seems to appeal to some forms of autism).


Autism is a complex, and poorly understood, neurological disorder which leaves sufferers brains' underdeveloped in some areas, hyper-developed in others. Its effect can vary in severity, but typically it is marked by extreme dissociation, with sufferers unable to form emotional attachments or communicate effectively. Also typical, along with what often appears to be mental retardation in some areas of life, are 'splinter skills' involving complex computational and concentration abilities which put the autistic person way out of the league of most ordinary mortals. Some 'high functioning' individuals with autism have been able to manage their social difficulties well enough to achieve extraordinary success in certain fields of business, particularly computers. Sara Miller, for instance, is president of a computer programming firm in Milwaukee. Although simple obstacles, such as a minute change in routine, can completely throw her if she hasn't had the chance to 'programme' her mind in advance, she can spot flaws in programme coding almost at a glance - an almost 'savant' facility.


http://www.globalideasbank.org/site/bank/idea.php?ideaId=288

[Zombie Acorn]

Autism is a complex, and poorly understood, neurological disorder which leaves sufferers brains' underdeveloped in some areas, hyper-developed in others. Its effect can vary in severity, but typically it is marked by extreme dissociation, with sufferers unable to form emotional attachments or communicate effectively. Also typical, along with what often appears to be mental retardation in some areas of life, are 'splinter skills' involving complex computational and concentration abilities which put the autistic person way out of the league of most ordinary mortals. Some 'high functioning' individuals with autism have been able to manage their social difficulties well enough to achieve extraordinary success in certain fields of business, particularly computers. Sara Miller, for instance, is president of a computer programming firm in Milwaukee. Although simple obstacles, such as a minute change in routine, can completely throw her if she hasn't had the chance to 'programme' her mind in advance, she can spot flaws in programme coding almost at a glance - an almost 'savant' facility.


http://www.globalideasbank.org/site/bank/idea.php?ideaId=288

They pointed out she could find flaws in program code, which would be part of testing. I am not saying that some forms couldn't be good for it, but the part of the article that says "If clear tasks are set, routine maintained and management responsibilities avoided, the results can be just as good as, and often far superior to those from 'normal' employees." makes me wonder if they would be dynamic enough to adjust to constant changes in direction.

[Peterkro]

They pointed out she could find flaws in program code, which would be part of testing. I am not saying that some forms couldn't be good for it, but the part of the article that says "If clear tasks are set, routine maintained and management responsibilities avoided, the results can be just as good as, and often far superior to those from 'normal' employees." makes me wonder if they would be dynamic enough to adjust to constant changes in direction.

I think this bit is the important one

"complex computational and concentration abilities which put the autistic person way out of the league of most ordinary mortals"

Yes there are obvious restrictions on which type of work can be done but left to their own devices they can achieve phenomenal things.Surely looking at complex code and being able to spot problems easily is a valuable skill.

[Gelfin]

They pointed out she could find flaws in program code, which would be part of testing.

Not really. I've never seen a QA department that does code reviews. If they were qualified to do that, they wouldn't be settling for QA money.

[leekohler]

What does this thread title have to do with the topic? Is it at all possible to title threads in a direct and relevant manner? Or do they all have to sound like they came from Fox News?

[Zombie Acorn]

Not really. I've never seen a QA department that does code reviews. If they were qualified to do that, they wouldn't be settling for QA money.

Every QA job I have seen posted requires programming experience so that they can narrow down where a bug was in the code. Ive never programmed in a corporate setting though so I may be wrong. Finding an error is an entirely different thing than coming up with a solution though.

[Gelfin]

Every QA job I have seen posted requires programming experience so that they can narrow down where a bug was in the code. Ive never programmed in a corporate setting though so I may be wrong.

There's a certain amount of coding experience that goes into automating a product, writing integration tests and so forth. It's not the same as what goes into developing the code being tested. It's also just helpful for the QA engineers to have some experience with the sort of logic that goes into software systems. The assumptions of someone who has never seen code can lead to mystifying bug reports.

In my experience testers never look at the source code of the product, which can be a good thing because the developer getting bogged down in the technical details of how it works can be a blinder to the simpler higher-level "what's wrong" described by the QA engineer. Verifying that a single function does what it's specified to is better accomplished by test-driven development and peer review among the engineers themselves.

I'd say this was deeply off-topic, but I have yet to grasp what the topic of this thread was meant to be.

[leekohler]

I'd say this was deeply off-topic, but I have yet to grasp what the topic of this thread was meant to be.

Giving it an accurate title would be good start.

[Peterkro]

What does this thread title have to do with the topic? Is it at all possible to title threads in a direct and relevant manner? Or do they all have to sound like they came from Fox News?

Since the arrival of several posters who try to drag the forum down to Fox type inanity it's becoming almost impossible to have a reasonable discussion.Half the time I think they speak an entirely different language to the rest of us. "when boilerplate bites you in the butt" pretty much sums up the level.

[nbs2]

I'd say this was deeply off-topic, but I have yet to grasp what the topic of this thread was meant to be.

I suspect that the OP was attempting to "highlight" that DoJ is creating quotas for the mentally ill and retarded to fill in as attorneys.

That it blew up in his face from the first reply onwards must have been a surprise to him.