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<channel>
	<title>Michael's Blog</title>
	
	<link>http://michael.langley.id.au/blog</link>
	<description>Michael Langley - Michael is an Technical Lead for Lavender. He lives in Sydney and enjoys surfing and music.</description>
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		<title>Savoury Chilli Chicken with Capsicum and Snow Peas</title>
		<link>http://michael.langley.id.au/blog/posts/69</link>
		<comments>http://michael.langley.id.au/blog/posts/69#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 10 Jan 2009 05:53:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Michael</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Stuff]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cooking]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://michael.langley.id.au/blog/?p=69</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This dish I cooked up is like a risotto with a combination of spice,  savoury and tang.  The rice takes on the flavours of the spices and vegies.
Savoury Chilli Chicken with Capsicum and Snow Peas
   
Ingredients
1/2 diced onion
1 small diced tomato
1/4 diced red capsicum
4 Buk choy leaves chopped
3 Broccoli flower heads
Lemon (optional)
Handful of diced snow peas
Crushed [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>This dish I cooked up is like a risotto with a combination of spice,  savoury and tang.  The rice takes on the flavours of the spices and vegies.</p>
<p><strong>Savoury Chilli Chicken with Capsicum and Snow Peas</strong></p>
<p>  <a class="tt-flickr tt-flickr-Medium" title="DSC04884" href="http://michael.langley.id.au/blog/photos/photo/3157087445/dsc04884.html"><img class="alignnone" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3217/3157087445_da8e384ed9.jpg" alt="DSC04884" width="500" height="375" /></a> </p>
<p><strong>Ingredients</strong></p>
<p>1/2 diced onion</p>
<p>1 small diced tomato</p>
<p>1/4 diced red capsicum</p>
<p>4 Buk choy leaves chopped</p>
<p>3 Broccoli flower heads</p>
<p>Lemon (optional)</p>
<p>Handful of diced snow peas</p>
<p>Crushed corn flakes</p>
<p>Sauces: Chilli, Tomato, Balsamic Vinegar, Hot Peri Peri, Worcestishire </p>
<p><strong>Method</strong></p>
<p><em>Part A &#8211; The vegies</em></p>
<p><em><span style="font-style: normal;">- Combine all the vegies above into a rice cooker and fill with water, enough to cover the vegies.</span></em></p>
<p><em><span style="font-style: normal;">- Add a generous amount of tomato sauce to the vegies.  Stir.</span></em></p>
<p><em><span style="font-style: normal;">- Add a generous dash of hot Peri Peri sauce.  Stir.</span></em></p>
<p>- Add a dash of Chilli sauce.  Stir.</p>
<p>- Microwave for about 5 minutes on high.</p>
<p><a class="tt-flickr tt-flickr-Medium" title="DSC04867" href="http://michael.langley.id.au/blog/photos/photo/3157913462/dsc04867.html"><img class="alignnone" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3246/3157913462_cf80bf08f6.jpg" alt="DSC04867" width="500" height="375" /></a> </p>
<p><em>Part B &#8211; The rice</em></p>
<p>- Add a generous amount of olive oil to a wok/fry pan.</p>
<p>- Add a generous amount of Worcestishire sauce, proportional to the amount of olive oil.</p>
<p>- Add a small amount of Balsamic vinegar.</p>
<p><a class="tt-flickr tt-flickr-Medium" title="DSC04868" href="http://michael.langley.id.au/blog/photos/photo/3157083357/dsc04868.html"><img class="alignnone" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3292/3157083357_dedd820c13.jpg" alt="DSC04868" width="500" height="375" /></a> </p>
<p>- Drain the water and sauces from the vegies into the fry pan/wok. This serves as our stock for cooking the rice.</p>
<p><a class="tt-flickr tt-flickr-Medium" title="DSC04870" href="http://michael.langley.id.au/blog/photos/photo/3157914314/dsc04870.html"><img class="alignnone" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3267/3157914314_cfe519d9c3.jpg" alt="DSC04870" width="500" height="375" /></a> </p>
<p>- Pour a desired quantity of rice into the fry pan. Generally the water should cover the rice by about a centimetre or two.</p>
<p>- Fry the rice until most of the water has evaporated (see below). Be sure to stir the rice when there is little water left to prevent overcooking.</p>
<p><a class="tt-flickr tt-flickr-Medium" title="DSC04880" href="http://michael.langley.id.au/blog/photos/photo/3157086177/dsc04880.html"><img class="alignnone" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3200/3157086177_57514e9a07.jpg" alt="DSC04880" width="500" height="375" /></a> </p>
<p>- Once the rice looks to be ready split the rice to one side of the pan and add in your vegies:</p>
<p><a class="tt-flickr tt-flickr-Medium" title="DSC04882" href="http://michael.langley.id.au/blog/photos/photo/3157916924/dsc04882.html"><img class="alignnone" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3078/3157916924_2a13441e12.jpg" alt="DSC04882" width="500" height="375" /></a> </p>
<p>- Cook the vegies on that side of the pan for awhile (5 minutes or so) and then mix into the rice.</p>
<p>- Continue cooking until most of the water has evaporated and the rice has a good crispy and clumpy consistency (ensure it isn&#8217;t soggy). At this stage we cook our chicken.</p>
<p><em>Part C &#8211; The Chicken</em></p>
<p><em>- <span style="font-style: normal;">Chop the chicken fillet into bite size peices</span></em></p>
<p><a class="tt-flickr tt-flickr-Medium" title="DSC04872" href="http://michael.langley.id.au/blog/photos/photo/3157914762/dsc04872.html"><img class="alignnone" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3266/3157914762_53a8a34113.jpg" alt="DSC04872" width="500" height="375" /></a> </p>
<p>- In a separate pan, lighlty cover with olive oil.</p>
<p>- Place the chopped up chicken into the pan and cook until the chicken turns white. Drain any fat.</p>
<p>- When the chicken becomes white pour more olive oil in,  such that the chicken is half covered in oil. This assists to add flavour to the chicken.</p>
<p>- Add a dash of chilli sauce to each chicken peice and let it simmer for a couple minutes.</p>
<p>- Once the chicken starts turning golden brown, sprinkle with crushed corn flakes.</p>
<p>- Continue until cooked.</p>
<p><em>Part D &#8211; Serving</em></p>
<p><em>- <span style="font-style: normal;">Serve the vegies and rice first onto a large plate.</span></em></p>
<p>- Place the chicken on top and add a dash of lemon if desired.</p>
<p>- Garnish with a fresh lettuce leaf.</p>
<p>- Enjoy with a Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot.</p>
<p><a class="tt-flickr tt-flickr-Medium" title="DSC04884" href="http://michael.langley.id.au/blog/photos/photo/3157087445/dsc04884.html"><img class="alignnone" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3217/3157087445_da8e384ed9.jpg" alt="DSC04884" width="500" height="375" /></a></p>
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		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Spicy Tomato and Lemon Fish</title>
		<link>http://michael.langley.id.au/blog/posts/59</link>
		<comments>http://michael.langley.id.au/blog/posts/59#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 13 Jul 2008 10:40:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Michael</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Insights]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://michael.langley.id.au/blog/?p=59</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Just cooked this up and it turned out pretty good. It&#8217;s a nice spicy dish with a bit of tang and zest!
Spicy Tomato and Lemon Fish
1. Lay out a sheet of tinfoil and place the following ingredients on it (preferably in order).

3 fillets of your choice of fish.
1 Garlic, diced and then crushed. Place on [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Just cooked this up and it turned out pretty good. It&#8217;s a nice spicy dish with a bit of tang and zest!</p>
<p><strong>Spicy Tomato and Lemon Fish</strong></p>
<p>1. Lay out a sheet of tinfoil and place the following ingredients on it (preferably in order).</p>
<ul>
<li>3 fillets of your choice of fish.</li>
<li>1 Garlic, diced and then crushed. Place on the fish.</li>
<li>1 Tomato sliced and positioned around the fish.</li>
<li>Sprinkle the tomato with black pepper.</li>
<li>Squeeze half a lemon over the fish and place it on top to add flavour during the cooking.</li>
<li>Add a dash of hot Peri Peri sauce.</li>
</ul>
<p>2. Wrap tin foil around the ingredients to seal in the flavour.</p>
<p>3. Place in an oven dish and bake for 20 minutes at 200c.</p>
<p>4. Serve on a large plate, opening the tinfoil and wrapping it across the edges of the plate.</p>
<p>5. Enjoy with a glass of smooth red.</p>
<p>6. Finish with dark chocolate.</p>
<p><a href="http://michael.langley.id.au/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/dsc04187.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-60" title="Spicy Tomato and Lemon Fish" src="http://michael.langley.id.au/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/dsc04187-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a></p>
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		<title>How to climb a palm tree</title>
		<link>http://michael.langley.id.au/blog/posts/58</link>
		<comments>http://michael.langley.id.au/blog/posts/58#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 19 Nov 2007 02:15:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Michael</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Insights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Stuff]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://michael.langley.id.au/blog/posts/58</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I thought I would share with my readers how to climb a palm tree&#8230; considering my newfound experience over the past few days

Firstly,  it&#8217;s very important to toughen up your feet&#8230; so walk around barefoot for a week or two.
Once the soles of your feet are ready for the challenge&#8230; approach the tree carefully
On [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I thought I would share with my readers how to climb a palm tree&#8230; considering my newfound experience over the past few days</p>
<ol>
<li>Firstly,  it&#8217;s very important to toughen up your feet&#8230; so walk around barefoot for a week or two.</li>
<li>Once the soles of your feet are ready for the challenge&#8230; approach the tree carefully</li>
<li>On approaching the tree, wrap your arms around it.</li>
<li>While holding on, jump off the ground and put your feet (bare) on the tree&#8230; at this stage you should look sorta like you&#8217;re squatting</li>
<li>Now we&#8217;re on the tree, slide your arms up again and whilst on the tree jump and move your feet up</li>
<li>Repeat.</li>
</ol>
<p>As a perfect example, please refer to below:</p>
<p><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2358/2041902767_6a6a9f25a8.jpg?v=0" alt="Michael demonstrates how to climb a palm tree" height="500" width="375" /></p>
<p><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/lLPtWFTnfzI"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/lLPtWFTnfzI" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="350"></embed></object></p>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Hosting your own website with a top level domain name</title>
		<link>http://michael.langley.id.au/blog/posts/53</link>
		<comments>http://michael.langley.id.au/blog/posts/53#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 28 Oct 2007 04:54:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Michael</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://michael.langley.id.au/blog/posts/53</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In the time where I should have been coding, my creative procrastination has led me yet again to something perhaps more useful than what I learn at uni.  In my previous article I went through how to setup access to a homeserver through a dynamic dns service. This is all well and good but [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>In the time where I should have been coding, my creative procrastination has led me yet again to something perhaps more useful than what I learn at uni.  In my <a href="http://michael.langley.id.au/blog/posts/45" title="Setting up a home server with a dynamic IP address">previous article</a> I went through how to setup access to a homeserver through a dynamic dns service. This is all well and good but you are using one of their subdomains for access. What if you want to use your own top level domain name (i.e. mydomain.com) to host your website?</p>
<p>It&#8217;s quite easy to do. Here is one way I found to achieve it (of course there may be better ways):</p>
<p><strong>1. Setup a port 80 redirect using No-IP</strong></p>
<p>Most home ISP plans block incoming port 80 which is the default port for viewing web pages. To workaround this, you can setup a port 80 redirect. This means that when someone accesses your domain name, it redirects to another port such as 8080 which isn&#8217;t blocked. To do this you can use No-IP (refer to my previous article on how to install this). Simply add a host, add a domain name (in the example below myhost.hopto.org) and the port to redirect to (most likely 8080 as this is the alternate HTTP port).</p>
<p><img src="http://michael.langley.id.au/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/noipport80.jpg" alt="Port 80 Redirect" /></p>
<p><strong>2. Forward your top level domain name to the No-IP domain name</strong></p>
<p>Now how this is done will depend on your domain registry management tools. I use GoDaddy so i simply open the domain name and forward it to my No-IP domain name. For example:</p>
<p><img src="http://michael.langley.id.au/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/forwarding1.jpg" alt="Domain Forwarding" /></p>
<p><strong>3. Enable masking on your top level domain name</strong></p>
<p>Your domain provider should enable you to apply masking. Masking allows you to customise the title of the page and the metadata and it is important if you want your site&#8217;s address to remain in the title bar (instead of the no-ip address showing after the redirect).</p>
<p><img src="http://michael.langley.id.au/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/masking.jpg" alt="Domain Masking" /></p>
<p><strong>4. Forward port 8080 on your router</strong></p>
<p>We need to forward port 8080 so that people can access your website. To forward port 8080 on your router, have a read of the <a href="http://www.portforward.com/english/routers/port_forwarding/routerindex.htm" title="Guide to port forwarding" target="_blank">guide for your router at portforward</a> . If you’re using Windows Firewall, you will need to make an exception as well. Read <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/security/internet/sp2_wfexceptions.mspx" title="Guide to exceptions in Windows Firewall" target="_blank">Microsoft’s guide here.</a> You will need to allow port 8080.</p>
<p><strong>5. Setup your website on IIS</strong></p>
<p>Finally, to run your website you need to use something like Internet Information Services (IIS) to act as a webserver. Read <a href="http://www.simongibson.com/intranet/iis6/" title="IIS6 Tutorial" target="_blank">this article</a> to learn how to setup IIS and get your website up and running. And we&#8217;re done.</p>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Setting up a home server with a dynamic IP address</title>
		<link>http://michael.langley.id.au/blog/posts/45</link>
		<comments>http://michael.langley.id.au/blog/posts/45#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 13 Oct 2007 01:22:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Michael</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://michael.langley.id.au/blog/posts/45</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It&#8217;s something that&#8217;s been on my mind for awhile and I haven&#8217;t had the time to get it setup but thanks to Adam, who&#8217;s continual delving into the technology undergrounds forced me to compete, I have enhanced my previously simplistic home server.
I&#8217;d like to run through how to setup your home computer so you can [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>It&#8217;s something that&#8217;s been on my mind for awhile and I haven&#8217;t had the time to get it setup but thanks to <a href="http://adam.stiskala.id.au" target="_blank">Adam</a>, who&#8217;s continual delving into the technology undergrounds forced me to compete, I have enhanced my previously simplistic home server.</p>
<p>I&#8217;d like to run through how to setup your home computer so you can access it from anywhere.  One of the big problems for most is the fact that you have a dynamic IP address, which changes regularly and therefore you can&#8217;t really point a domain name to the IP address as it will later change and render it useless.</p>
<p><strong>1. Setup your server to use a Dynamic DNS Service </strong></p>
<p>To overcome this you can use a free dynamic DNS service  such as <a href="http://www.no-ip.com" target="_blank">no-ip</a> or <a href="http://www.dyndns.com" target="_blank">dyndns</a> . These sites require you to install a simple application on your server which then notifies their DNS when your IP has changed.  No-IP is the service I am using and it seems to work well. Basically, you register an account and then under &#8220;Hosts/Redirects&#8221;, add <a href="http://whatismyip.org/" title="Your IP Address" target="_blank">your IP address</a> of your server (if you are using your server to create the account, this will show automatically) and assign a name to it. Select the first radio button &#8220;DNS Host (A)&#8221; as per the screen shot below:</p>
<p><img src="http://michael.langley.id.au/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/dnsaddhost.jpg" alt="Adding a host" /></p>
<p><strong>2. Installing the Dynamic DNS update tool </strong></p>
<p>After you have done this, you&#8217;ll need to install the application on your server from <a href="http://www.download.com/No-IP-DUC-Dynamic-Update-Client-/3000-2165-10055182.html?part=dl-NoIPDUCDy&amp;subj=dl&amp;tag=button" title="No-IP Software Application" target="_blank">here</a>. After installation open the application and click the edit button to login:</p>
<p><img src="http://michael.langley.id.au/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/noipapp.jpg" alt="No-IP Application" /></p>
<p>If your server has been successfully updated to No-IPs DNS, then you&#8217;ll see the server appear in the list and a smiley face. At this stage, you have successfully setup your server to be accessed from the domain name you selected but you won&#8217;t be able to do anything so now we have to get your server applications going!</p>
<p><strong>2. Allow applications access and forwarding your ports </strong></p>
<p>If you want to run server applications, such as <a href="http://www.vibestreamer.com/" title="VibeStreamer" target="_blank">vibeStreamer </a>(to access your music anywhere), an <a href="http://filezilla-project.org/download.php?type=server" title="FileZilla FTP Server" target="_blank">FTP server</a> (to access your files), the <a href="http://forum.utorrent.com/viewtopic.php?id=13694" title="uTorrent Web Interface" target="_blank">uTorrent web interface</a> (for your torrents), or a web server (to run a web applications using <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/iis/default.mspx" title="Internet Information Services" target="_blank">IIS</a>), you will need to forward the ports on your router and allow access on any firewall software you may have. All of these applications have certain port numbers that they require to be open to allow communication. It should be easy enough to find these port numbers within the settings of the applications or by <a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=common+port+numbers'&amp;sourceid=navclient-ff&amp;ie=UTF-8&amp;rls=GGGL,GGGL:2006-19,GGGL:en" title="Common Port Numbers" target="_blank">googling</a>. To forward your ports on your router, have a read of the <a href="http://www.portforward.com/english/routers/port_forwarding/routerindex.htm" title="Guide to port forwarding" target="_blank">guide for your router at portforward</a> . If you&#8217;re using Windows Firewall, you will need to make exceptions as well. Read <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/security/internet/sp2_wfexceptions.mspx" title="Guide to exceptions in Windows Firewall" target="_blank">Microsoft&#8217;s guide here.</a>  You will need to allow the application and also add an exception for the port number (the same as when you port forwarded on your router).</p>
<p>Once this is done, you should be able to access your server apps from your chosen domain name. An example of how you may access vibestreamer for example:</p>
<p>http://myserver.hopto.org:8081/</p>
<p>With any luck, that should work.</p>
<p>Next challenge: ISA Server</p>
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		<title>RTA Driver Qualification Test (DQT)</title>
		<link>http://michael.langley.id.au/blog/posts/44</link>
		<comments>http://michael.langley.id.au/blog/posts/44#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 20 Jul 2007 03:45:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Michael</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Insights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Stuff]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://michael.langley.id.au/blog/posts/44</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Well today I went to get my full license. I passed with no problem thanks to reading about the tricks the RTA don&#8217;t tell you. I can imagine the number of people who would fail the test&#8230; as it&#8217;s utter stupidity. I would like to outline the flaws to the tests and how to pass [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Well today I went to get my full license. I passed with no problem thanks to reading about the tricks the RTA don&#8217;t tell you. I can imagine the number of people who would fail the test&#8230; as it&#8217;s utter stupidity. I would like to outline the flaws to the tests and how to pass it.</p>
<p><strong>The Test</strong></p>
<p>The test is composed of two parts. The first section has 15 multiple choice questions each with 4 choices. This section tests your knowledge on how to drive safely and of good driving practices (e.g. the 3 second rule).</p>
<p><img src="http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/licensing/images/dqt_my_answer.gif" height="122" width="200" /></p>
<p>The second part of the test is the same as the Green P&#8217;s test whereby you have to respond to &#8220;hazards&#8221; in a series of video clips of real traffic from the driver&#8217;s perspective. There are 10 of these video clips.</p>
<p><img src="http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/licensing/images/sample_hp_item.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></p>
<p><strong>Flaws</strong></p>
<p>- The test supposedly tests your knowledge of road rules and good driving practices. The RTA believe that knowing a bunch of statistics on crashes, times when people become most fatigued and the chances of killing a pedestrian at 70 km/h compared to 60km/h are supposed to reflect your driving ability. How is knowing these statistics meant to judge your ability to drive safely? It doesn&#8217;t. It&#8217;s just a memory game that disadvantages those who have trouble remembering numbers.</p>
<p>-  The Hazard Perception section requires you to respond to hazards in the video clip. For those who haven&#8217;t done this test it&#8217;s a bit of a psychology game. In nearly all cases when you are asked to &#8220;turn right when it is safe&#8221; you do NOT have to touch the screen at all. Those who haven&#8217;t done it before naturally feel inclined that they are required to tap the screen even if they are not meant to. This is therefore a unfair assessment of one&#8217;s ability to drive safely.</p>
<p>- The clips only last about 30seconds at the most and as those who have done the tests before know, that by the time the hazard appears it&#8217;s already too late to respond. The time to respond to a hazard on the screen is less than what it would be in real-life because of the difficulty seeing into the distance in a video clip that only focuses 10-20m ahead.</p>
<p>- The touch screen is sometimes slow to respond to your touch</p>
<p>- The videos showing traffic scenarios are compressed ridiculously&#8230; the level of detail is very low&#8230; i could see better looking through a cracked window.</p>
<p><strong>How to Pass</strong></p>
<p>- Read the <a href="http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/licensing/downloads/dqt_prnt.pdf" target="_blank" title="Handbook">handbook</a>&#8230; if you are short on time read the &#8216;Key Points Summary&#8217; of each section. The test actually requires you to know parts of the handbook.</p>
<p>- Learn all the main statistics from the handbook as these are tested in part A. E.g. causes of crashes and fatigue and crashes. Create a summary of all the main stats and learn them. The statistics will be outlined in the &#8216;Key Points Summary&#8217; section.</p>
<p>- Have a run through of the practice tests for <a href="http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/licensing/tests/driverqualificationtest/knowledgetestpart1/samplequestions.html" target="_blank" title="Multiple Choice Questions">part A</a> and <a href="http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/licensing/tests/driverqualificationtest/hazardperceptionpart2/buildyourhazardperceptionskills.html" target="_blank" title="Hazard Perception">part B</a></p>
<p>- When you are asked to press the screen when it&#8217;s safe to slow down, you can pretty much <em>press it immediately</em> (give it no more than 1 or 2 seconds)</p>
<p>- If you are asked to &#8220;press the screen each time you need to slow down&#8221; &#8211; press the screen at each point where you see a vehicle coming towards you, or at the first appearance of a corner (look out for the sign). Do not hesitate to slow down.</p>
<p>- When you are asked to turn right etc, in most cases <em>DO NOT touch the screen</em>. If you cannot see anything moving whatsoever then it might be ok to touch the screen but be hesitant. This can be tested in the practice that they give before the test (the second image above is from the practice test). There are a series of cars passing and you want to turn right. There is one safe gap in the clip. If you don&#8217;t touch the screen at all you don&#8217;t fail but you simply &#8220;could do better&#8221;&#8230; so this practice video is a good example on judging the acceptable distance for a turn in the real video clips.</p>
<p>- Take your time and be careful not to press the screen in quick succession as strange things may happen.</p>
<p>- Also refer to <a href="http://www.bhatt.id.au/blog/tips-for-passing-dqt-nsw-driving-test-p2-to-unrestricted-licence/" target="_blank">these tips</a></p>
<p>Personally, I think the Green P&#8217;s and the DQT are both revenue generators that do not accurately assess an applicant&#8217;s ability to drive safely.</p>
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		<title>IBM and the sexually explicit communities – spam stories part 1</title>
		<link>http://michael.langley.id.au/blog/posts/42</link>
		<comments>http://michael.langley.id.au/blog/posts/42#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 05 Jul 2007 08:56:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Michael</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Stuff]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://michael.langley.id.au/blog/posts/42</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[IBM and the sexually explicit communities
&#8220;IBM introduced a ban on users that came following newspaper reports that thousands of users were joining sexually explicit communities such as &#8220;Dubai Sex&#8221;. Personally-identifiable information that you submit to IBM for the purpose of receiving products or services will be handled in accordance with our privacy policies. It&#8217;s not [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>IBM and the sexually explicit communities</strong></p>
<p>&#8220;IBM introduced a ban on users that came following newspaper reports that thousands of users were joining sexually explicit communities such as &#8220;Dubai Sex&#8221;. Personally-identifiable information that you submit to IBM for the purpose of receiving products or services will be handled in accordance with our privacy policies. It&#8217;s not a dildo you know.&#8221;</p>
<p><strong>The girl with kaleidoscope eyes </strong></p>
<p>&#8220;Picture yourself on a train in a station, with plasticine porters with looking glass ties and suddenly someone is there at the turnstile, The girl with kaleidoscope eyes. The market had crowds of people thronging the space between the stalls watching her.&#8221;</p>
<p><strong>How to make a quality &#8220;appealing&#8221; operating system</strong></p>
<p>&#8220;I know that sex, sex terms, and sexy celebrities always fill search top tens for general search engine sites such as Google, MSN, and Yahoo but addressing these is the right way to develop an appealing operating system. If not instead, it<br />
creates a gaming-console monster that has all the elegance and appeal of a coffee enema.&#8221;</p>
<p><strong>The doctors of the Gulf Stream</strong></p>
<p>&#8220;The tepid moisture of the Gulf Stream makes his clothes feel damp and his hair stick together into curls that straggle over his forehead. Some sorts of truth are truer than others. The men he met in the stream  turned out not to be cooks but doctors, standing beside him who instead of a soup-bowl were holding a gauze-covered white enameled dish containing a hypodermic syringe.&#8221;</p>
<p><strong>The fluorescent red plastic bong and the priests</strong></p>
<p>&#8220;He drew a line connecting two structures. The inhabitant was seated cross-legged on the bed, smoking a fluorescent red plastic bong and staring into a color-bar test pattern on a 21-inch TV. Sevanna eyed the inhabitant sideways, then casually undid another lace of her blouse. Her and the other priests stopped eating and ran around the inhabitant  for hours on end to burn their fat&#8221;</p>
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		<title>A new party trick?</title>
		<link>http://michael.langley.id.au/blog/posts/39</link>
		<comments>http://michael.langley.id.au/blog/posts/39#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 29 May 2007 09:05:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Michael</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Stuff]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://michael.langley.id.au/blog/posts/39</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As you may already know, I can walk on my hands.  On the dance floors of Sydney night clubs, up along Martin Place and on the beaches of Byron I have walked&#8230; but walking on your hands can only stay exciting for so long.  I want to learn something new. Do you have [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>As you may already know, I can walk on my hands.  On the dance floors of Sydney night clubs, up along Martin Place and on the beaches of Byron I have walked&#8230; but walking on your hands can only stay exciting for so long.  I want to learn something new. Do you have some crazy party trick I can learn? Maybe back flipping off a wall&#8230; hmm yep&#8230;that sounds like fun <img src='http://michael.langley.id.au/blog/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':)' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>
<p><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1131/558595517_49d622ee00.jpg?v=0" height="500" width="375" /></p>
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		<title>Michael @ Accenture in 2008</title>
		<link>http://michael.langley.id.au/blog/posts/38</link>
		<comments>http://michael.langley.id.au/blog/posts/38#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 23 May 2007 00:31:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Michael</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://michael.langley.id.au/blog/posts/38</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
After spending the past two months in interviews, and the past two weeks trying to decide which offer I should accept, I have finally decided to go to Accenture next year!
Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company committed to delivering innovation. It is the second largest consulting firm in the world [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.accenture.com" title="Accenture"><img src="http://michael.langley.id.au/blog/wp-content/uploads/accenture.gif" align="top" height="178" width="283" /></a></p>
<p>After spending the past two months in interviews, and the past two weeks trying to decide which offer I should accept, I have finally decided to go to Accenture next year!</p>
<p>Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company committed to delivering innovation. It is the second largest consulting firm in the world after IBM. I&#8217;ll be in the consulting workforce, focusing on Systems Integration Consulting.</p>
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		<title>Effective communication for business success</title>
		<link>http://michael.langley.id.au/blog/posts/37</link>
		<comments>http://michael.langley.id.au/blog/posts/37#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 19 May 2007 05:18:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Michael</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Insights]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://michael.langley.id.au/blog/posts/37</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[by Michael Langley
Copyright © 2006 
Abstract
This paper will detail what effective communication is and present evidence supporting why it is a critical factor for the success of both individuals and organizations. Causes for lack of effective communication will be explained and aspects of effective communication including information distribution, information context and feedback and motivation will [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em><span lang="EN-US">by Michael Langley<br />
Copyright © 2006</span></em><strong><span lang="EN-US"> </span></strong></p>
<p><strong>Abstract</strong></p>
<p>This paper will detail what effective communication is and present evidence supporting why it is a critical factor for the success of both individuals and organizations. Causes for lack of effective communication will be explained and aspects of effective communication including information distribution, information context and feedback and motivation will be presented. Case studies of businesses that have or have not incorporated effective communication will be examined.</p>
<p><strong>Communication and Effective communication</strong></p>
<p>“Communication is a basic human activity” and “enables us to connect with each other” (Pihulyk, 2003). Communication is the method of transporting information and ideas between two or more people (Cole, 2001). Communication is not simply just the flow on information between people but also a process of “creating, shaping and maintaining relationships and enacting shared values, common culture, agreed goals, and means for their achievement” (Clegg, 2005). Communication is critical in all aspects of life, in business and personal relations. Without communication “our whole way of life would crumble” (Pihulyk, 2003)</p>
<p>“The success of communication is measured not by how well the communicator speaks or writes but how well the listener has heard” (Lapin, 2004). This presents the concept of effective communication. According to Shetcliffe (2004), effective communication occurs when “the entire message is clearly understood and responded to completely within the timeframe requested”. Further, according to Cole (2001) effective communication takes place when the listener understands the complete message and the intent of the speaker. In an organization for effective communication to take place employees need to hear and respond to the business. Not only does the business need to provide information to employees, they need to ensure that there is an appropriate context to the information, that it is relevant and employees can provide feedback (Brandon, 1995)</p>
<p><strong>Organizational and Individual Success</strong></p>
<p>According to Princeton University (2006) success is defined as “an event that accomplishes its intended purpose”. In research conducted by Alan C Maltz from the Stevens Institute of Technology in 2001, organizational success should not be defined by traditional measures such as short term metrics like “last quarter&#8217;s profitability and revenue growth” but rather by a multidimensional framework that examines the success in five different areas of the business including “Financial, Market/Customer, Process, People Development, and Future.” The research shows that effective communication is vital to ensure that the business can achieve success in all areas of the business and not just in financial aspects.</p>
<p>Similarly, following the definition by Princeton University, Individual success is therefore the accomplishment of an individual’s goals or needs. In employment, an individual achieves success when they get from the business what they need, in turn motivating them to bring value to the business. For an individual to achieve success in an organization they need to be motivated. Motivation is situated in the esteem and self-actualization phases of Maslow’s ‘Hierarchy of Needs’. Motivation can be broken into either what is termed extrinsic motivation or intrinsic motivation (Clegg, 2005). Extrinsic motivators may include money or a company car, whereas intrinsic motivators may encompass job satisfaction, a family friendly work-place or flexible work hours. Effective communication in an organization contributes to individual success by satisfying the intrinsic needs of the individual.</p>
<p><strong>Causes of failure in effective communication</strong></p>
<p>In order to understand why effective communication is vital for Individual and organizational success it is important to examine the inhibitors of effective communication and subsequent results of this. Effective communication is indeed present if most of the following inhibitors are absent from the organization.</p>
<p>Lapin (2004) illustrates that mistrust is a serious problem in organizations and can “manifest itself in different symptoms and is caused by different issues”. Lapin shows that when mistrust exists between management and an employee there is a break down in communication and that it “will be ineffective and sometimes even a negative factor”. This is because the mistrust casts aspersions on the communicator’s motivation. When mistrust exists, employees do not hear or hear “a message different from the intended one” (Lapin, 2004). This means that effective communication does not take place.</p>
<p>Minfon, a management consulting company was hired to resolve issues of mistrust after “a group of investors from China acquired a US-based service company and hired a CEO without any bi-cultural background or experience working with local Chinese.” (Minfon inc, 2005). The case illustrated that because of the language barriers of the investors, poor communication between the Board and the staff existed. This in turn created mistrust between employees and management. The mistrust presented further communication problems and ultimately resulted in the company filing for bankruptcy in one year and the threat of a key executive leaving the company as well as an imminent lawsuit from a client.</p>
<p>Similarly, there will not be effective communication in an organisation when fear exists. “Not only do people not speak their minds when there is fear, but they also do not listen to others” (Lapin, 2004). Fear inhibits effective communication and in doing so removes the chance of organizational success because the culture of the organization becomes overlayed with fear. Companies cannot achieve organizational success as their “values and visions are marginalized in the minds of employees by the ever-present feeling of apprehension” (Lapin, 2004)</p>
<p>Know Inc., a Toronto-based consultancy company, performed research into the effect of fear on organizational success. Know Inc., found that not only does fear inhibit effective communication but it also costs the business. “Research has shown that fear-based values can dramatically reduce the profitability of an organisation and in the worst cases, force the business into bankruptcy” (Clothier, 2006). Know Inc., surveyed 175 staff at a company experiencing problems. Know Inc., determined that there was a culture of fear and staff found that there were issues in communication. Employees had low morale and no motivation. The company made a loss of $0.7m in the year. Know Inc., calculated that the ineffective communication resulting from fear cost the business $18m. This example emphasises the importance of effective communication for organisational success</p>
<p>One-way communication is another inhibitor to effective communication. Listening is an important aspect to effective communication and is just as crucial as voicing the message well. Without active listening, communication is, in effect, one way â€“ the message is not received. Lapin rightly points out that “people find it hard to listen with an open mind to communicators who do not listen themselves” (Lapin, 2004).</p>
<p>The last major inhibitor to effective communication in business today is the delegation of communication. Lapin (2004) points out that if a manager delegates communication, their message loses integrity and the receiver forms mistrust. Lapin shows that you can “delegate the communication of facts, but not of feelings”. Without direct communication, a manager cannot motivate employees, they cannot inspire them and the employees do not reach their individual success. “How a company communicates, how trusted its communications are, and its capacity to inspire people with its communications all contribute as much to its success as do any other of its strategies.” (Lapin, 2004)</p>
<p><strong>Information Distribution</strong></p>
<p>“An organization needs to regularly communicate to enable employees to feel engaged, to feel valued, to seek their input, to keep them aware and to enable them to manage their jobs” (Lowenthal cited by Grensing-Pophal, 2001). This statement illustrates the importance of effective communication. Not only does the business benefit from motivated and engaged employees but the employees can reach their individual success. Effective communication is the “key for organizational effectiveness and employee satisfaction” (Lowenthal cited by Grensing-Pophal, 2001) However, it is known that words are only 10% effective, body language 35% and verbal communications 65% effective (Delcarson, 2005). “When people mix words and tone with body language, they enrich communication and reduce the chance of misunderstanding dramatically” (Delcarson, 2005). This means that the way information is distributed within an organization is vital in order to enable effective communication and not create misunderstanding. Furthermore, it is critical that management distribute rather than withhold information from employees as “employees who understand the company’s direction and know how to do their jobs to support that direction are more engaged; they have higher job satisfaction and overall morale, and are more productive” (Droppers, 2006).</p>
<p>Delaware North is a food service, retail, recreation and hospitality management company that operates at sports venues, airports, state and national parks and major tourist attractions (Grensing-Pophal, 2001). The company operates in the United States, Canada and the Pacific and has employees in over 110 locations. The company believes that “effective communication is the key to the organization’s success” (Grensing-Pophal, 2001). Without methods of information distribution, communication between the different countries and the many locations would break down and the company would simply not function. To ensure that there is effective communication in the business the company formed a division to handle internal communications.</p>
<p>The division made certain that there was a standard level of communication across the company. The division ensured that employees had easy access to technologies for communicating, the opportunity to give ideas and suggestions, the sharing of financial information, ability for employees to have input into how work is done and that business strategy and goals are shared with employees. The success of the business is attributed to their ability to distribute information to their employees. By providing their employees with the information before mentioned they become engaged and it creates a relationship between the employees and management. This contributes to the individual’s success as well as the company’s.</p>
<p>The importance of information distribution is seen in the major franchising company New Horizons. The company believes that real business success can be gained by “creating a culture of open collaboration and idea exchange” (Delcarson, 2005) which emphasizes the importance of effective communication. To ensure that the company has effective communication across its 260 locations in 54 countries the business runs management training and professional development courses and teams are encouraged to focus on “improving communications and collaboration” (Delcarson, 2005).</p>
<p>The company makes extensive use of technology to distribute information throughout the organization. The importance of distributing information to all employees is paramount as it improves the “interaction, confidence and ability” of employees leading to organizational and individual success (Delcarson, 2005). The company holds “interactive online â€˜executive update’ sessions monthly” which allows “frequent communicationâ€¦on strategic and tactical initiatives, as well as to stress high-priority areas.” (Delcarson, 2005). Further to this the sessions are recorded so that any employee can view at their discretion. This method of information distribution improves communication among the employees and management in the company. The company finds that having effective communication “facilitate[s] rapid results and [allows the company to] react quickly with the end client” (Delcarson, 2005).</p>
<p><strong>Information Context</strong></p>
<p>Not only does the business need to provide information to employees, they need to ensure that there is an appropriate context to the information, such that it is relevant to them (Brandon, 1995). Research has shown that management often makes the mistake of communicating to employees with the same level of complexity that they themselves are comfortable with (Droppers, 2006). This causes issues in communication because the employees see things from a different perspective than managers do. For effective communication to take place it is important for an organization to contextualize information for their employees.</p>
<p>It is essential to comprehend the Shannon and Weaver (1949) model of communication to understand the importance of context in effective communication with employees. The basic elements of the model include the source (the sender), encoder, message, channel, receiver, decoder and noise. The sender is the person with the purpose for communicating and encodes the idea into a message which travels in a medium known as a channel to a receiver and decoded. Noise interrupts the interpretation of the message. Often breakdowns in communication occur when “the receiver may decode the message inaccurately, misinterpret the sender’s intent and respond inappropriately” (Kelly, 2000). According to Quirke (1995) one of the “primary reason[s] for breakdowns in communication is that managers and supervisors are not receiver-oriented; they need to share the context of a message if a receiver is to successfully decode it”. Thus for effective communication to occur it is vital that the managers ensure that the “environment and events relating to your communication confirm what you say” and that the receiver is aware of the “significance or importance of the message&#8221; (Anonymous, 2000)</p>
<p>The importance of context as an aspect of effective communication was revealed in Shaw’s supermarket when the business acquired another company. Rumors of store closer and job loss became apparent. To satisfy the need of the employees to know information of the change, the company published a newsletter. The fact that the context of the newsletter matched the needs of the employees meant that employee’s morale was not lost and the business benefited from this. “They told us they looked forward to getting The Rumor Buster because it focused on the things they were worried about” (Grensing-Pophal, 2001). This case illustrates the importance of context in communication within an organization.</p>
<p><strong>Feedback and Motivation</strong></p>
<p>Examining Maslow’s hierarchy of needs reveals that communication is an intrinsic motivator as it meets self-actualization and belongingness. This means that effective communication is a vital motivator in an organization as self actualization and belongingness are primal elements of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.</p>
<p>Research shows that organizations that have the capability to effectively communicate benefit from 20% lower turnover and 4.5 times greater engagement in work indicating that as the communication between management and employees becomes more effective, the motivation of employees also increases (Yates, 2006).</p>
<p>Employee motivation increases productivity which leads to organization success but also increases job satisfaction, which benefits the employees. Ruccio and Zorn (1998) illustrate that motivation is “central to employee performance and ultimately organizational performance and profits”.</p>
<p>How though is motivation achieved? For motivation to occur effective communication must be in place and crucial to this is feedback. Cole (2001) defines feedback as the method that “turns communication into a two-way process” and when both the sender and receiver try to “reach mutual understanding”. Croft and Cochrane (2005) illustrate that it is essential to “establish two way communications, encouraging your audience to interact”. This is the process of feedback and by enabling feedback employees become motivated which in turn increases job satisfaction and through increased production &#8211; organizational accomplishment.</p>
<p>In Pittsburg, the dilemma facing the motor carrier industry is driver retention (Ozment and Keller, 1999). Statistics indicate some companies experience a 200% yearly turnover rate. Research showed that there was a lack of feedback between dispatchers (supervisors) and drivers. This caused an unsatisfied workforce with low morale causing upset for drivers and large costs for the companies. When new processes were implemented in a particular organization encouraging a new communication framework between drivers and dispatchers, the driver turnover rate decreased dramatically. The feedback process allowed for more effective communication to occur and the motivation of the drivers increased. This meant that the organization could “enhance their competitive positioning by focusing on areas that may help them maintain a loyal satisfied workforce” retention (Ozment and Keller, 1999). This case illustrates the importance of feedback and motivation and how establishing effective communication is critical for leading to both individual and organization success</p>
<p><strong>Conclusion</strong></p>
<p>In summary, when effective communication is in place in an organization it is evident that both individuals and organizations can reap benefits. Aspects of communication such as information distribution, information context, feed back and motivation are important to employees and managers alike as they contribute to effective communication and ultimately the success of the organization and the individual.</p>
<p><strong>References</strong></p>
<p>Anonymous, 2000, The eight “Cs” of good communications, The Canadian Manager, Toronto, Vol. 25, Iss. 3; pg. 27, 1 pgs</p>
<p>Brandon, Michael C., 1995, Employee communication: From nice to necessity, Communication World, San Francisco, Vol. 12, Iss. 3, p.20</p>
<p>Clegg et al. 2005, Managing and Organizations. SAGE publications, London, pg. 315</p>
<p>Clothier, Phil, 2005, The Cost of Fear, Know Inc., &lt;http://www.knowinc.com/pdf/costoffear.pdf&gt;</p>
<p>Cole, Kris, 2001, Supervision: the theory and practice of first-line management 2nd ed., Pearson Education, NSW, pg.44</p>
<p>Croft, Lucy; Cochrane, Natasha, 2005, Communicating change effectively, Management Services, Enfield, Vol 49, Iss. 1; pg. 18, 1 pgs</p>
<p>Delcarson, Steven R, 2005, The 10, 55, 35 Rule of Communication, Franchising World, Washington, Vol 37, Iss. 11, pg. 65, 3 pgs</p>
<p>Droppers, Kristi, 2006, Engage Employees with Effective Communication, Rural Telecommunications, Washington, Vol. 25, Iss. 2; pg. 62, 2 pgs</p>
<p>Grensing-Pophal, Lin, 2001, Got the Message, HRMagazine, Alexandria, Vol 46, Iss 4; pg. 74, 6 pgs</p>
<p>Kelly, Dawn, 2000, Using Vision to improve organizational communication, Leadership and Organization Development Journal, Vol. 21, Iss. 1/2; pg. 92, 10 pgs</p>
<p>Lapin, David, 2004, It’s Communication, Stupid!, PM. Public Management, Washington, Vol. 86, Iss. 1; pg. 32</p>
<p>Maltz, Alan C., 2001, Defining and measuring organizational success: A multi-dimensional framework, STEVENS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, New Jersey, pg. 1499</p>
<p>Miller, George A. et al., 2006, Success &#8211; WordNet Search &#8211; 2.1, Princeton University, &lt;http://wordnet.princeton.edu/&gt;, New Jersey</p>
<p>Minfon, Inc, 2005, Case Study â€“ China, Minfon Incorporated, &lt;http://www.minfon.com/casestudychina.pdf&gt;</p>
<p>Ozment, John; Keller, Scott, 1999, Exploring dispatcher communication effectiveness: Implications for retaining drivers in the trucking industry, Journal of Managerial Issues, Pittsburg, Vol. 11, Iss. 1; pg. 94, 16 pgs</p>
<p>Pihulyk, Audrey, 2003, Communicate with clarity, The Canadian Manager, Toronto, Vol 28, Iss. 2; pg. 12</p>
<p>Quirke, B, 1995, Communicating Change, McGraw-Hill, London</p>
<p>Shannon, C.E. and Weaver, W., 1949, The Mathematical Theory of Communication, University of Illinois Press, Champaign, IL.</p>
<p>Shetcliffe, John, 2004, Managing Regular Communication, Insurance Brokers’ Monthly and Insurance Advisor, Lye, Vol. 54, Iss. 4; pg. 18, 3 pgs</p>
<p>Yates, Kathryn, 2006, Effective Communication: A Leading Indicator of Financial Performance” 2005/2006 Communication ROI Study, Watson Wyatt Worldwide, Washington</p>
<p>Zorn, Theodore E., Jr.; Ruccio, Sarah E., 1998, The use of communication to motivate college sales teams, The Journal of Business Communication, Oct 1998 issue</p>
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