New study finds first impressions may not be as important

New study finds first impressions may bedrngnis be as importantNew study finds first impressions may not be as importantWell heres some good news about first impressions. You can relax a little more because even though you may worry after meeting someone that you came off not in the exact way you wanted, you are probably being a lot harder on yourself than you need to be. According to a new studypublished in the journalPsychological Science, people tend to underestimate how much another part likes them after they first meet.The researchers conducted an experiment in which they paired participants who had never met and had them rate their partner after they had a conversation. Most of the people believed they liked the person more than the other one liked them. Even though the researchers saw visual cues that indicated positive feelings between the partners, the participants were less likely to pick up on them.Margaret Clark, Ph.D., a Yale University psychology professor and one of th e authors of the study, said in anews releaseWere self-protectively pessimistic and do not want to assume the other likes us before we find out if thats really true.The Liking GapThe researchers ran a number of experiments between the pairs with multiple conversations in different settings and found that people still tended to underestimate how positively their partner felt about them. The researchers labeled this phenomenon as the liking gap.The liking gap works very differently. When it comes to social interaction and conversation, people are often hesitant, uncertain about the impression theyre leaving on others, and overly critical of their own performance, wrote the studys authors. In light of peoples vast optimism in other domains, peoples pessimism about their conversations is surprising.So basically if you just met someone and thought you made a terrible impression you are probably mostly imagining it, unless you are just the most awkward person ever,

My Engineers Notebook Steven Unikewicz

My Engineers Notebook Steven Unikewicz My Engineers Notebook Steven Unikewicz Steven Unikewicz (center) on the job, working with other plant engineers to resolve an einzelschrittal issue with motor operated valve at a nuclear power plant.Steven Unikewicz has been working in the commercial nuclear power industry for more than 30 years. He currently is a senior principal engineer with Alion Science and Technology in Vienna, Va. He spent his first 19 years as a design and plant engineer with Northeast Utilities at the Connecticut Yankee and Millstone Nuclear Power Stations and seven years with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation in Washington D.C. He has written papers and presented on such topics as in-service testing of nuclear power plants thermal over-pressurization of power plant piping long-term wear effects on plant components due to operation in post-LOCA (loss-of-coolant accident) environment and spent nuclear fuel storage options. Unikew icz is the current chair of ASMEs Energy Committee, a member of the ASME Code on Operation and Maintenance of Nuclear Power Plants the New Reactors Working Group, and the Air Operated Valve Sub-Committee, as well as a member of the ASMEs Power Division. He previously served on ASMEs Board of Pre-College Education and was a participant in the Societys Leadership Development Intern Program. He has served as member of the Colchester Connecticut Water and Sewer Commission and as a member of the Colchester Connecticut Board of Education. He has a B.S.M.E. from the University of Hartford, Hartford, Conn. He has been an ASME member since 1989.Whats inside your engineers notebook?I have many notebooks. They consist of previous calculations and analysis and notes from past projects. They also include technical and trade magazine articles, old and new reference books, mechanics handbooks, and some out-of-print references collected over the years. Although much now is becoming electronic, muc h is still paper - and I still print fruchtwein of it out. Early on, fellow co-workers and senior engineers encouraged me to do some technical reading every day, learn something new. Many kept notebooks and old binders with their thoughts, operating experience and ways and methods of solving problems - their tools. Perhaps Im just keeping the tradition alive.Whose notebook would you most like to peek into? Why?Rather than a single persons, I would most like to peek into the old power plant maintenance shop libraries or the dusty plant engineers bookshelves from the fossil and nuclear plants built in the 60s, 70s and 80s. Those libraries contained some of the most practical and common sense approaches to problems, hands-on solutions. Certainly with todays technology, we can and have refined ways to solve problems. But as a pure starting point, the old books are invaluable to begin to understand why something was designed the way it was and how the original engineer intended it to w ork.How and when did you know you wanted to become an engineer?This is a two-part answer. My dad was a power plant maintenance mechanic and I can recall at 10 years old walking with him through an old oil-fired plant power plant on a Saturday afternoon. I was enthralled with the huge turbine and plant machinery - I wanted to know everything about them, how they worked, what the insides looked like, what they did. Seven years later after graduating high school, I was working as a laborer/carpenter/mechanic on a construction crew working plant outages, and I decided it was better to design and operate rather than just repair or fix. Until I was at a power plant working, I had never met an engineer and no idea what one actually did. It was their interactions with us in the field - working with us to explain the whys and the hows - that convinced me to go to college and pursue engineering. Whats the most exciting project youve ever worked on?Working with the recovery team at Millsto ne Nuclear Station in the mid to late 1990s. Without question, the Millstone staff and contractors were the most talented and dedicated team Ive ever been honored to work with. As a team, we solved and resolved hundreds, if not thousands of issues. People challenged each other technically and worked through a very difficult time. I have never learned more or have worked harder in my life. What do you think youd be doing if you hadnt become an engineer?A teacher - middle school or high school science or math.Whats your favorite activity when youre not at work?Working with the ASME Energy Committee, or attending baseball and football games, and outdoor music events in the Northern Virginia area.Was there a book or a movie that piqued your interest in science or inspired you to become an engineer?Books by Isaac Asimov, H.G. Wells, and Ray Bradbury. And those old dusty text books from the early 1900s that you find in the back corners of old libraries.Who are your heroes, either within the engineering profession or in the rest of your life?I dont have many heroes, but I admire and am thankful for my early career mentors Don Ray, Josaun Delawence, John Ferguson, Rik Wells, and a few others who encouraged and challenged me both personally and professionally. Perhaps they, and others, are the real unsung heroes of the profession - mentors, senior engineers and friends.Whats the most meaningful or rewarding aspect of being connected to engineering?We get to solve problems. Plus, I get to work with brilliant and fascinating people - professors and academics to rocket scientists to inventors to engineers to mechanics and construction workers - sometimes all in the same day. As Herbert Hoover said, Its a great profession. There is the fascination of watching a figment of the imagination emerge through the aid of science to a plan on paper. Then it moves to realization in stone or metal or energy. What does ASME mean to you?Over the years, its provided professional gro wth and learning opportunities through the Power and Nuclear Divisions. It provides me a way to give back to the community either through previous work on the Board of Pre-College Education or now through the Energy Committee. It provides a way to help shape the future and make nuclear plants safer or reliable through working on Nuclear Codes and Standards committees. Last, it means a number of close personal and professional friends.

Air Force Basic Training Chain of Command

Air Force Basic Training Chain of CommandAir Force Basic Training Chain of CommandAll new airmen must memorize the Air Force Chain of Command during basic training. Luckily, you can familiarize yourself with it while still at home in civilian life, leaving one less thing to induce anxiety during the purposefully stressful time of basic training boot camp. The occupants of positions do change, so consider memorizing only names at the top of the list. You wont meet some of the people youll need to know until boot camp is already underway. Air Force Basic TrainingChain of Command You are required to memorize this information at basic training. The President of the United StatesSecretary of DefenseSecretary of the Air ForceChief of Staff of the Air ForceChief Master Sergeant of the Air ForceCommander, Air Education Training CommandCommander, 2nd Air ForceCommander, 37th Training Wing (TRW)Vice Commander, 37th Training Wing (TRW)Command Chief Master Sergeant, 37th Training Wing (TRW) Commander, 737th Training Wing (TRW)Deputy Commander, 737th Training Wing (TRW)Superintendent, 737th Training Wing (TRW)Squadron CommanderOperations Officer Training SuperintendentFirst SergeantSection SupervisorInstructor TeamDorm Chief Current Air Force Chain of Command The President of the United States at the top of the chain is the easiest one to remember. Other offices tie directly into changes at that level. It may be more difficult to find the current occupants of these positions because online sources can become outdated quickly. Practice and memorize the chain positions so you know the sequence by heart, which will make it easier to switch out names. The Secretary of Defense and Secretary of the Air Force are appointed by the President and approved by the Senate. Those positions are likely to change when there is a change in the presidency. The Air Force has a page of its current Air Force Senior Leaders online. You can use it to find the Secretary of the Air Force, Ch ief of Staff of the Air Force, Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force, and Commander of the Air Education and Training Command. These names are probably as deep as you need togo in memorizing the chain of command before you arrive at basic training. The rest of the list is subject to change more frequently. Other Air Force Command Leadership The next set of leaders from the Commander of the 2nd Air Force to the Command Chief Master Sergeant, 37th Training Wing can be best found with a web search for each position. This may come up with outdated information or no information. The occupants of these positions will only be known to you when you arrive at basic training, and they depend on what squadron you are in The Deputy Commander, 737th Training ?Wing (TRW), Superintendent, 737th Training Wing (TRW), Squadron Commander, Operations Officer, Training Superintendent, First Sergeant, Section Supervisor, Instructor Team, and Dorm Chief.