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warc | 201704 | Posts
Things You Should Know About AntifreezePosted on: 15, November, 2010
Do you remember that fairy tale where a lion insults a mouse only to get caught in a trap? The mouse returns to chew the ropes and help the lion become free again? That story taught us the important lesson that even small things can be very useful in the long run.
The same is the case with maintenance of the family vehicle as well. We spend so much time focusing on the engine, transmission and other important and expensive components in the truck that we forget the role of antifreeze in the maintenance of your cars, trucks, motorcycles and vans as well.
To prepare your vehicle for the winter season, make sure your antifreeze is mixed properly, or you could see serious damage to your vehicle’s radiator. Often in Summer, water is the only component used in radiators to ensure the engine remains cool. As Winter approaches, many forget to remove the water when the seasons change and add antifreeze. Temperatures reach thousands of degrees in automobiles and the proper mixture of antifreeze and water is required to keep the engine cool no matter how cold it is outside.
If the mixture is not at the right levels, the water freezes inside the engine, ice will expand and the internal parts of the radiator shall crack. The water will flow out when the engine is running and you end up in a scenario where there is no water left to cool the engine. The end result is that your engine will get overheated even in the middle of a snowstorm and you will get stranded. Antifreeze ensures that this problem does not arise. The water shall be prevented from freezing up and will always remain flowing no matter how cold it is on the outside.
Robert’s Auto Repair is here to serve you and make sure your radiator and engine coolants safely see you through each journey. Call us at 831-373-1534 to schedule an appointment to check your antifreeze levels anytime before or during a service check-up or an oil change. You will receive a FREE automobile safety inspection if you mention this blog before the end of November. |
warc | 201704 | Someone important asked me to write about the biosciences in Phoenix and Arizona as the effort marks its tenth anniversary. This is fitting because I vividly remember the day I was called to the office of then Phoenix Mayor Skip Rimsza where he laid out the opportunity that the city had to lure star researcher Jeff Trent and the International Genomics Consortium. As a columnist for the
Arizona Republic, I wrote dozens of articles to explain and advocate for this unique chance to leapfrog out of an economy that had become dangerously dependent on housing and population growth, and was falling behind on almost every measure of economic and social well-being. One column was an open letter to Dr. Trent — both of us are natives and this was from the heart — that he later told me played a big role in his decision to come home and establish T-Gen.
With Mary Jo Waits, then of the Morrison Institute, I worked to develop a "meds and eds" strategy to leverage biosciences and education; government, non-profits and eventually for-profit organizations, to create a major bio hub. As Waits repeatedly said, what if we could lay claim to the cure for cancer being discovered in downtown Phoenix? I mention my role for the sake of those who constantly yowl that I "hate Arizona," do nothing constructive, am a "quitter" or some guy in Seattle who spends his time picking on Phoenix.
The Flinn Foundation led the development of a strong strategic roadmap, as well as providing $50 million in funding. Gov. Janet Napolitano was supportive and the Legislature was dragged aboard a statewide push including leaders in Tucson and Flagstaff, as well as the Gila River Indian Community. At City Hall, Deputy City Manager Sheryl Sculley marshaled the bureaucracy to assemble land for the venture on the old Phoenix Union High School campus and oversee its redeployment. More land north was available for expansion; it had been set aside for the abortive attempt to win the NFL stadium that instead went to a cotton field west of Glendale. New ASU President Michael Crow instantly grasped the potential and soon the U of A was planning a medical school on the site. When ground was broken for the T-Gen building, even then Rep. J.D. Hayworth, hater of all things gub'ment, showed up to bask in what appeared to be a moment of history on par with the CAP. Hard as it is to believe now, it was a time of breathtaking hope.
The plan was to use T-Gen and evolving research on the human genome to create a dense "(lab) bench to bedside" node on the Phoenix Biosciences Campus. Trent understood that the model should be the Texas Medical Center in Houston, the largest such complex in the world. It includes research, medical schools and other educational institutions, and hospitals in 280 buildings on a 1,300 acre site. Eventually, the Phoenix campus could also lure pharmaceutical and medical device companies, too. Nearby was land for "blue collar tech" sectors such as biomedical manufacturing that would have been relatively easily poached from California.
The usual "veto elite" weighed in against even trying to attract T-Gen and the IGC, prominent among them a
Republic columnist and former political operative. Among their complaints, aside from anything involving gub'ment, was that the effort would not create many jobs. True, only a small number of scientists initially went to work at T-Gen. But the wider meds-and-eds and biomed manufacturing strategies promised very large employment gains, and much better wages than are typical in Phoenix. In Houston, the TMC alone employs 92,500, as well as having 34,000 full-time students.
The anti faction — which is typically against everything that improves Phoenix but somehow is never blamed for "hating Arizona" — had little understanding of what the venture would require for sustained success. For example, the need and relatively long timeline to gain federal grants for the scientists who were leaving existing institutions to take a chance in Phoenix. Or the need for predictability in policymaking: Every time the Legislature balked at consistent funding and incentives for bio research, it sent a message that would make a scientist, entrepreneur or other innovator worry about the state's commitment. Few policymakers understood the competitive challenges or why the "cluster strategy" adopted after the 1990 real-estate crash had failed — and the lessons that were critical to apply to the new endeavor. Why sustained public-private partnerships and focus were essential (it took North Carolina decades of public funding to bring Research Triangle Park into the big leagues). Nor did most of the congressional delegation understand the need to steer federal research dollars to Phoenix. The antis never came around.
Still, not only did the project move ahead, but the Legislature was also strong-armed into helping establish Science Foundation Arizona and recruiting Bill Harris from Science Foundation Ireland to run it. The mission was to fund promising science, including that beyond biotech and biomedicine.
Two influential groups were never on board: The Real Estate Industrial Complex. And, especially as far as the downtown biomedical campus, the big hospitals: Catholic Healthcare West, which operates "Mr. Joes," and Banner, owner of Good Samaritan Hospital and many more. This would have profound consequences.
Ten years later, some progress has been made. But it has been agonizingly slow, especially for the downtown Biosciences Campus. Phoenix has not made the leap we hoped, where it would be at least within striking distance of Boston, San Diego, Seattle, Research Triangle Park and other leading bio centers.
What happened, why, and whether the situation can change for the better are topics I will discuss in a future column. |
warc | 201704 | The Open Door Web Site
The Agricultural Revolution Index
The Industrial Revolution Index
Introduction to the First Industrial Revolution
Robert Bakewell by F. Engleheart
TWO CENTURIES OF REVOLUTIONARY CHANGE
Custom Search
The Agricultural Revolution
Improvements in Farming in the 18th century
Between 1693 and 1700, the harvests were poor due to the exceptionally wet weather. Wheat prices were higher than 48 shillings per quarter. However, from 1700 until 1765, the harvests were much improved and the price of a quarter of wheat averaged around 40 shillings. In fact, between 1730 and 1740, wheat prices fell to an all time low. People found themselves better off and had more money to spend on consumer goods. Prices did start to become higher than 48 shillings once again, around 1770, when the population increase turned England into an importer of wheat rather than an exporter.
The years 1700 to 1770, however, had seen some interesting changes in livestock farming caused by the improved harvests and the introduction of the four year rotation method. Previously, most cattle and sheep were slaughtered before winter set in, since there was no food to feed them and they provided meat during the coldest months. Harvesting turnips meant that livestock could now be fed during the winter. This increased the number of animals and this, in turn, provided a good supply of manure which could be fed back into the soil to improve its nutrient content.
Cattle, Normandy, France © Shirley Burchill
Some livestock experts, such as Robert Bakewell and Thomas Coke, introduced selective breeding programmes to improve the quality of the animals. Bakewell crossed different breeds of sheep to select their best characteristics. At the time, this was known as "breeding in and in". His experiments in selective breeding of sheep produced the Dishley, or New Leicester breed in 1755.
Information from the records of Smithfield market showing the average weight, in pounds,
This sheep had long, coarse wool and produced a high quality and yield of meat. Bakewell also experimented with breeds of cattle. In 1769, he produced the Longhorn; a breed that was a good meat producer but gave a poor milk yield. Bakewell was also the first to hire his animals out for stud. His farm, in Dishley, Leicestershire, became a model of scientific management. Thomas Coke, farming in Norfolk, used similar methods to Bakewell's to produce breeds such as the Southdown sheep, Devon cattle and Suffolk pigs.
Bakewell was one of the first to breed both cattle and sheep for their meat value. Before his breeding programme, these animals were kept for either wool and milk production or for working on the farm. The result of selective breeding was livestock with more market value.
The Open Door Web Site is non-profit making. Your donations help towards the cost of maintaining this free service on-line.
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warc | 201704 | Important Documents Designed for national policymakers, ASA's Medical Cannabis Update keeps you informed about the rapid development of medical cannabis law and public policy. The issue before Congress is whether to continue the federal prosecution of medical marijuana patients and their providers, in accordance with the federal Controlled Substances Act, or whether to relax federal marijuana prohibition enough to permit the medicinal use of botanical cannabis products when recommended by a physician, especially where permitted under state law. Updated April 2, 2010 People living with HIV/AIDS have long used cannabis as an aid to help them with symptoms of HIV related illnesses ranging from wasting and loss of appetite to adherence to medications. The anti-emetic and analgesic properties of cannabis have been particularly useful to HIV/AIDS patients. Consequently, it is estimated that as many as 1 in 4 AIDS patients are using cannabis for medical purposes. AIDS Action and many members of the HIV/AIDS community have long supported the ability of patients to use cannabis for medical purposes along with research on such use of cannabis. ASA's policy recommendations for President Obama and his Administration ASA Government Affairs Director Caren Woodson has been talking to House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers' (D-MI) staff and other Democratic leadership to encourage them to oppose DEA tactics and stand up for patients in states where medical cannabis is legal. On December 7, 2007 Chairman Conyers issued at a statement deploring DEA actions. Then on April 29, 2008 Chairman Conyers sent a letter to DEA Director Michele Leonhart demanding an explanation of DEA tactics by July 1, 2008. |
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If we've been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We're no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It is simply too painful to acknowledge—even to ourselves—that we've been so credulous. —Carl Sagan
In the 1997 movie
Contact, Jody Foster plays Dr. Ellie Arroway, a scientist in a quest to establish contact with extraterrestrials. Written by the late Carl Sagan, this creative and entertaining film is an apologia for scientific materialism—the naturalistic worldview where everything is understood as a product of physical laws, interpretable through the rubric of science. Thus, Ellie’s journey is chartered through the empirical realm of matter and energy, where things like spirit, soul, and the supernatural exist only along paths of the human imagination.
In the story, Palmer Joss (Matthew McConaughey) is Ellie’s romantic interest who also happens to be a theologian; and it is through their strained relationship that the viewer is exposed to the clash of worldviews between naturalism and theism. In one edgy dialogue, Palmer challenges Ellie’s skepticism about God and the supernatural, which triggers Ellie’s response: “I hold to Occam’s Razor that when various solutions are offered to a problem, the simplest is the preferred.”
Though Palmer could have gone for the “slam-dunk” at this point, his passive dissent comes as no surprise, given that this is Sagan’s
tour de force for naturalism. So indulge me in picking up where Palmer left off—in a fantasy dialogue, if you will.
Regis:Dr. Arroway, it is certainly an honor to speak with such a scientific authority as you. I’ve read your work and admire your passion. But if you’ll forgive me, it seems that your passion has an almost religious fervor to it. I mean, this fevered search for extraterrestrial intelligence seems to be a quest to find ultimate answers. You know, to solve all of the world’s problems and make sense outta life.
Dr. Arroway:In a way you’re right, Regis. I guess you could say that my SETI project isa religious pursuit. With the infinite expanse of the universe, billions of galaxies and billions upon billions of stars, there has to be life out there; it’s almost ridiculous to think there wouldn’t be. And surely there must be advanced life—far beyond what we have achieved here—intelligent beings that have evolved and survived all of the struggles and horrors civilizations endure to reach their full potential. My belief is that we willmake contact with these beings—it’s only a matter of time, ifwe apply ourselves to the task. They hold the answers up there, answers for avoiding our own destruction and the annihilation of the planet, answers to put us on the fast track of progress toward peace.
Regis:Wow, that would sure be great, I must agree! But, but . . . huh.
Dr. Arroway:Yes?
Regis:Oh nothing. Say, do you mind if I ask you a personal question, Dr. Arroway?
Dr. Arroway:Sure, go for it!
Regis:I was wonderin’—just wonderin’, mind you—have you ever given any thought to the possibility of a Creator-God?
Dr. Arroway:Oh, yes, when I was a kid. But science is beautiful. It’s a liberator. You’ve heard of Occam’s Razor?
Regis:Oh yeah. Let me see now. I know we covered that in physics at Catholic High: “When various solutions are offered to a problem, it’s usually the simplest that’s correct.” Right?
Dr. Arroway:Right! Isn’t it wonderful that science has taught us we don’t need superstition or the supernatural to explain those things we can’t understand? Which only makes sense. Just think about it. Since everything is the product of natural processes, everything should eventually be explainable by science, right? That’s why science has been such a successful tool in bettering society through technological advancement.
Regis:Gee, Dr. Arroway, I can’t say as I’ve thought about it quite that way before. By the way, I read the other day that scientists now acknowledge that the universe had a beginning, what they call the “Big Bang," some 15 billion years ago. It got my curiosity rollin’ and spun this idea in my head that I couldn’t shake. That is, what do they think existed beforethe “Big Bang?”
Dr. Arroway:Why, nothing!
Regis:Nothing? Seriously? That’s odd. I mean, how did the massive expanse of the cosmos come into being out of nothing? I dunno . . . it seems to me that would violate the first law of thermodynamics: you know, that matter or energy can’t be created or destroyed. I learned that in high school physics, too, from Sister “Wizard”—that’s what we called her.
Dr. Arroway:How interesting?! Well, now, it all makes sense when you understand the principle of quantum uncertainty. Because of uncertainty at the quantum level, energy is allowed to pop into existence, as long as it disappears before its creation is “noticed.” It exists only for a blink of time so that the law of conservation can be maintained over measurable time lapses. The larger the energy, the faster it must vanish.
Regis:Wow! You’re kidding, right?
Dr. Arroway: Not at all.
Regis:It’s just that it sounds so magical, quite contrary to intuition and common sense, dontcha think? Hmm. So what “drives” this quantum uncertainty?
Dr. Arroway: You’re right, Regis. Quantum theory is very counter-intuitive. As to its “engine,” quantum uncertainty is a fundamental characteristic of the quantum field that is infinitely extended throughout the cosmos. It is something that . . . just is!
Regis:Sounds like Aristotle’s uncaused Cause to me. Which, by the way, Aquinas later said was God—the Creator-God, that is. So my question is this: How does all this happen withoutsuch an intelligent agent?
Dr. Arroway:The latest narrative of cosmogenesis says that the wild, fluctuating probabilities of quantum uncertainty caused all of the matter of the universe to appear, suddenly, in a tiny “space-nugget,” much smaller than an atom.
Regis:Now that’s downright spooky! But, come to think of it, wouldn’t that colossally dense nugget immediately collapse under its own gravitational pull? Good ol’ Sister Wizard taught me something about gravity too!
Dr. Arroway:Well, yeah, normally that would be true. But, you see, something else happened in that brief moment of time: inflation. Once that cosmic nugget was formed, the frenetic environment caused “mutations” in physical laws, resulting in something like anti-gravity. And that allowed the universe to instantaneously expand beyond the point of gravitational collapse.
Regis:Gee, now that’s something! But help me understand a little detail I’m having trouble with here. I remember Sister Wizard telling us that Einstein’s theory of relativity says that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light. Wouldn’t instant expanse break that cosmic “speed limit?”
Dr. Arroway:Um . . . a . . . well! You see, relativity says that nothing can travel faster than light in space-time. But during inflation it is space-time itself that is expanding.
Regis:You know, I almost see that. But there’s something strange about it. I mean, doesn’t Einstein’s gravitational theory tell us that space-time is merely the cosmic fabric of matter and energy? If that’s so, I don’t see how inflation avoids breaking the speed of light barrier.
Dr. Arroway:Well, you probably wouldn’t understand all the technicalities of Einstein’s field equations, but trust me—that’s the way it works out!
Regis:You don’t say!
Dr. Arroway:Anyway, the universe exists, and we’re here; what better explanation could there be?
Regis:Just one more thing, Dr. Arroway. Has this phenomenon of inflation or anti-gravity ever been observed or experimentally reproduced?
Dr. Arroway:I can’t say that it has. But it’s our best account for how the Big Bang was sustained and why the universe appears to be so uniform in every direction.
Regis:Dr. Arroway, you could be right. But, as I see it—as a layman, mind you—is that your explanation requires at least two rather strange phenomena, one of which has never been directly observed or replicated. Your explanation also requires unique exceptions to the well-accepted principles of thermodynamics and relativity. It would certainly seem to me that if an experimenter witnessed any one of these phenomena, he could rightly call it a miracle, couldn’t he? But your explanation depends on four such miracles.
Ya know, Dr. Arroway, Sister Wizard also taught me one more thing. Something that explains the universe with only one miracle:
God spoke and it was!According to Occam’s Razor, wouldn’t that explanation be simplest?
Dr. Arroway:( Under her breath) Oh, God—what a throwback!
Regis:What'd you say?
Dr. Arroway:Oh, I gotta go back . . . er . . . a . . . to review the SETI datalogger. I really need to run, but we can talk about this at length another time.
Regis:Oh yeah? I’d really like that. I can’t tell you what a pleasure it’s been to chat. Well, you have a good day, Dr. Arroway.
Dr. Arroway:Yeah, see ya around. •
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warc | 201704 | Despite being in a seemingly insurmountable deficit, the great state of California has signed a new bill into law to allocate $200,000,000 new dollars toward aCalifornia tax credit for first time home buyers and new construction home.
This California tax credit will be for up to $10,000 for people that close escrow after May 1st of this year. If timed correctly, California home buyers will even be able to double up the California tax credit with the $8,000 federal tax credit for a whopping $18,000 on contracts that are signed by April 30th and close by June 30th.
Something to take note of is that the new California tax credit is for a set amount of money, in this case $200,000,000. Of that money, $100,000,000 is earmarked for first time home buyers and the other $100,000,000 is set aside for buyers of new construction. When this money has been exhausted that will be the end of the program. The first come first serve structure is intended to have the effect of creating...
Over the last few weeks I have had many people ask me questions regarding short sales and the different terminology that usually goes along with it all. I thought it would be good use of all our time for me to lay out some of the more common questions with answers so they can be used as a reference. I will be happy to answer any additional questions left as comments.
Q: What Exactly is a Short Sale?
A: In very simple terms, a short sale is when a home owner sells their home for less than what they owe the bank. It's that simple. For example, if somebody owns a property that is worth $500,000 but they owe $700,000, which is quite common in today's market, the only way they could sell it would be to either come up with an additional $200,000, or to have the bank agree to a pay off $200,000 short of what they are owed. The latter would be a short sale.
Q: Does the bank own the property in a short sale?
A: No. The owner and seller of a short sale is the private...
In the last few months I have had many investors approach me about purchasing a San Diego income property with two to four units. Some wanted to find something that was fully rented out and keep it that way. The really nice thing about that approach is that it is not hard to find properties that are fully rented and for what amount. That means that much of the cash flow guess work is eliminated for you and you can just judge it based on the math. At that point the numbers decide for you. It's hard to argue with math.
However, I have also been approached by plenty of potential investors that are also looking for a place to live and figure they can kill two birds with one stone. At first glance it almost seems like a no brainer to find a four unit property where the rent from the first three units will pay for your living expenses in the fourth unit. You get to live for free!.
But not so Fast. See what many potential investment...
Amazing new Listing. Call 858.337.7409 To View This San Diego Condo.
All we need is at least a two hour notice and we will arrange for you to have a private viewing of this luxury waterfront condo. There were many great custom modifications that were done to this already fabulous property that you will want to see in person.
...
There is a reason that real estate agents shouldn't count their commissions until they actually get the check and that's because sometimes real estate transactions fall apart when you least could expect it. Granted the advice and guidance of an experienced agent can help you avoid most jams and keep deals together, but that plays right into one of the top 6 reasons why real estate transactions fall apart (clients don't always listen).
If your list is different or you think I left anything out please let us know. We'd love to hear your thoughts and personal experiences!
Now for the list:
Man vs. Woman In the current market environment buyers have too many options, which can cause some indecision. This is just a simple function of human psychology. Trust me, I know because I am in the market to buy a home with my new fiancee myself. You would think that as a real estate agent with years of experience I would be able to avoid a simple issue like this. Well let me tell you, having...
Not surprisingly, there is a lot of confusion among San Diego home buyers as to what it means when a short sale is in contingent status. The goal of this post will be to clarify what is means exactly for a property to be reported as contingent status, as opposed to pending. You can also visit our short sale questions and answers for more information on other related topics.
What Is A Short Sale?
Also known as short pays, a short sale takes place when a property is sold that is worth less than what is owed. Its that simple. For example, if has a market value of $300,000 but the loan against it is for $500,000 then the owner will need to attempt to sell it through a short sale, unless they were to pay the bank the $200,000 to make up the difference, which clearly most people do not have the ability or often the desire to do. Another way to look at it is when a property is sold that has negative equity. Understood? Good....
San Diego Home Finder is very proud to report that Daniel Beer, the site’s founder, has just been awarded theSan Diego Five Star Real Estate Agent Award for client satisfaction as reported in the March issue of San Diego Magazine for his service helping people buy and sell homes and investment properties in the greater San Diego area. Winner's of the San Diego Five Star Real Estate Agent Award are considered to be the best agents in San Diego County.
The award is given to agents that receive the highest marks for customer satisfaction from their clients. In essence, it is a people’s choice award, which really makes it that much more special.
The San Diego Five Star Real Estate Agent Award is given after an extensive survey across the county. The Best San Diego Real Estate Agent in each part of the city with the highest marks wins the award. Some of the larger areas will have more than one winner. Agents are judged on criteria that is meant to help future clients predict who is the Best San Diego... |
warc | 201704 | Georgia Ports Authority Infrastructure: Port of Savannah / Georgia Ports Authority
Georgia’s deepwater ports and inland barge terminals support more than 369,000 jobs throughout the state annually and contribute $20.4 billion in income, $84.1 billion in sales and $1.3 billion in state and local taxes to Georgia’s economy. (Georgia Ports Authority)
The Port of Savannah The Port of Savannah is the largest single container terminal in the United States. In FY2015, it handled 3.7 million TEUs (Twenty Foot Equivalent Units) in throughput. FY2015 had the highest volume in the Port of Savannah’s history. The Port of Savannah moved 8.2% of total U.S. containerized loaded cargo volume and more than 18% of the East Coast container trade. The port handled 10% of all U.S. containerized exports in FY2014, a total of 1.3 million loaded TEUs. The port serves approximately 21,000 companies in all 50 states, more than 75% of which are headquartered outside of Georgia.
The Port of Savannah offers its customers many advantages:
The most global services among U.S. Southeast & Gulf ports Asian transit times as low as 22 days and 11-day express service to and from Europe GPA is owner & operator of the largest single-terminal container facility (Garden City) in the U.S. which also features the longest contiguous dock in the U.S. – 9,693 feet Largest Southeast refrigerated container export terminal • One-of-a-kind infrastructure featuring two intermodal container transfer facilities located on a single terminal served by CSX Transportation & Norfolk Southern Railroad Inspection offices for U.S. Customs & Border Protection and Dept. of Agriculture are on-terminal Immediate access to two major interstate highways – I-95 (North/South) and I-16 (East/West) • Largest concentration of retail import distribution centers (DCs) along the East Coast Client Relations Center – one-stop customer solutions group for all port users
The Georgia Ports Authority operates two deepwater terminals in Savannah – Garden City and Ocean Terminal:
Garden City Terminal: A 500-foot channel width and a secured, dedicated 1,200-acre single-terminal container facility 1.4 million square feet of covered storage, including 722,000 square feet of cold storage off terminal Ocean Terminal: A 200.4 -acre general cargo terminal features 9 berths totaling 5,768 linear feet Handles RoRo, breakbulk, containers, heavy-lift and project cargo Over 1.4 million square feet of covered storage
For More Information contact the Georgia Ports Authority, www.gaports.com.
912.964.3855 / 800.342.8012
Forecast: The Ports
The Georgia Ports Authority experienced a year of record growth across the board in FY2015: the Port of Savannah moved more than 32 million tons (8.2% of all U.S. containerized cargo), 3.7 million twenty-foot equivalent cargo units (TEUs), and 714,000 vehicular units. TEU growth was about 17% on an annual basis (fiscal year). Although growth declined in the third quarter of 2015, this is attributed to the easing of labor strife at west coast ports, a stronger dollar, and moderating economic growth overseas. Nonetheless, third quarter data remain on-trend and therefore, more likely to be sustainable in 2016 and into the longer-term. In data through September, over-the-year growth is 7.4%.
By deepening the Savannah River channel to 47 feet, the port be able to more efficiently serve the larger vessels expected to call in greater numbers after the expansion of the Panama Canal is completed. Deeper water will allow the larger Post-Panamax vessels to operate more efficiently and experience fewer delays, thereby reducing transportation costs by 20% or more. The nation’s economy is expected to recoup construction cost in four years, according to the Army Corps’ economic impact assessment. According to the Georgia Ports Authority, the 21,000 businesses that rely on the Port of Savannah are projected to save $174 million a year through increases transportation efficiency. It is finally happening! Dredging of the harbor’s outer channel, located 17 miles from Ft. Pulaski, began in September of 2015 and is expected to be completed by July 2018. Currently, there are 40 workers living on the dredge and operating the equipment 24 hours a day. Additionally, several harbor deepening mitigation projects commenced in 2015. Recovery operations for the confederate ironclad, CSS Georgia, are yielding exceptional artifacts, including a 9,000 pound Dahlgren rifled cannon, leg-irons, and unexploded munitions, among other things. The effort is expected to cost from nine to fourteen million dollars. Additionally, a $100 million contract was awarded to install oxygen bubblers in the Savannah River to maintain ecosystem-healthy oxygen levels during the summer months. Lastly, a $40 million contract was awarded to construct a 17 acre reservoir on Abercorn Creek in Effingham County to supplement the City of Savannah’s water supply. Construction will begin in 2016. For More Information contact the Georgia Ports Authority, 912.964.3855 or 800.342.8012. |
warc | 201704 | The number of San Diegans employed by foreign-owned firms nearly doubled over the past 20 years, rising from 25,600 in 1991 to 48,730 in 2011, said a report released Friday by the Brookings Institution and JP Morgan Chase Bank.
But those workers still account for 4.8 percent of private-sector employment in San Diego County, putting it in 48th place among the nation's top 100 metro areas and 23rd place for its overall number of workers.
"Foreign direct investment (FDI) matters because the U.S. operations of foreign firms contribute inordinately to the economy," the report said. "While accounting for only 5 percent of private sector employment (nationwide), FDI accounts for 6.7 percent of total compensation, 12 percent of productivity growth, 15.2 percent of capital investment and 18.9 percent of corporate research and development."
Not all foreign-owned companies are high-paying centers of R&D investment.
The largest driver of foreign-backed employment nationwide — and the second-largest in San Diego — is in food chains, including the German-owned Trader Joe's and the Dutch-owned Stop-and-Shop convenience stores. Foreign-owned food chains employ 288,000 people nationwide, including 3,000 in San Diego.
But other local foreign employment is more tech-oriented, with foreign-owned precision instrument companies employing 9,700 workers; semiconductors, 2,500; communications equipment, 2,400; and pharmaceuticals, 1,600.
Britain is the biggest foreign employer in San Diego, with 11,900 workers, including more than 1,500 at the shipyards owned by British defense manufacturer
BAE Systems, whose other local operations include a center for geospatial intelligence systems in Rancho Bernardo.
Japan is the second-largest foreign employer with 8,700 workers, led by Sony Electronics. Several large Japanese firms have long had back-office operations in San Diego for their manufacturing plants in Tijuana, but the Japanese have also been acquiring local firms, such as
Hydranautics in Oceanside and Althea Technologies in Sorrento Valley.
"It's no coincidence that our top two FDI-generating cities, Tokyo and London, are also the two direct international flights out of San Diego," said Mark Cafferty, president and CEO of the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp., who has been working closely with the Brookings Institution on ways of drawing more foreign investment to the region.
But San Diego lacks direct air access to several other investment centers in the world, such as China, which has recently been engaged in a wave of foreign investment.
A study by the UCLA Anderson Forecast release last week says that China has been targeting most of its investments in the West Coast cities of San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle — partly because of their direct flight links across the Pacific.
530 B St. Ste., 700
sa, CA 92101 |
warc | 201704 | The Security Industry Association (SIA) has stepped in to help broker a deal between the electronic security industry and environmental groups concerned over the energy efficiency of security devices. October 25, 2009
ADT Security Services has put together a list of tips to help prevent carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning this winter season. With the increased use of fuel-burning space heaters and portable generators during the colder months comes an increased need for CO poisoning prevention. October 22, 2009
If a leading fire-safety association prevails, automatic sprinkler systems would be code-required across the country for new construction of single-family and two-unit dwellings. The requirement would open a new business opportunity for companies that install fire protection and life-safety systems, sources tell
SSI. October 18, 2009
Fire and life safety provider SimplexGrinnell highlighted its emergency planning and preparedness capabilities at ASIS 2009 Seminar and Exhibits in Anaheim, Calif. October 05, 2009
NOTIFIER of Northford, Conn., releases its high-speed NOTI-FIRE-NET fire alarm network, which operates nearly 40 times faster than its standard network platform while supporting twice as many nodes, according to the company.
SSI Staff · October 04, 2009
Mull over the safeguarding of a casino and instantaneously video surveillance comes to mind. But how about considering the fire/life-safety perspective? A Reno, Nev., facility serves as an example of what it takes to provide casinos with solutions that satisfy both codes and the unique demands of these customers. October 04, 2009
The National Burglar & Fire Alarm Association (NBFAA) has taken another step toward securing congressional approval of its life safety alarm installation language for colleges. The House Committee on Education and Labor passed H.R. 3221, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, in late July. July 29, 2009
For a business owner, responding to a disaster - be it natural or man made - begins with careful preparation long before the calamity ever strikes. Having a detailed disaster preparedness plan to implement when called for can mean the difference between getting a business running again quickly or rendered entirely ineffective for an extended period. Or even worse. By Rodney Bosch · June 30, 2009
PERS is a term that is gathering familiarity in the electronic security industry vernacular. Known as personal emergency response systems, these monitored devices are designed to summon help in the event of various urgent situations such as when an elderly person falls. May 31, 2009
The Oklahoma Blood Institute called on STAMPSCO Fire & Security to design and overhaul its fire/life-safety system to accommodate multisite operations in two states. The integrator provided a solution that includes voice evac, expandable networking and remote monitoring. April 30, 2009 |
warc | 201704 | Closing Of The Frontier, The: A History Of The Marine Fisheries Of Southeast Asia C. 1850-2000
by Butcher, John G.
About This Book
This book is the first on the history of the marine fisheries of Southeast Asia. It takes as its central theme the movement of fisheries into new fishing grounds, particularly the diverse ecosystems that make up the seas of Southeast Asia. This process accelerated between the 1950s and 1970s in what the author calls "the great fish race". Catches soared as the population of the region grew, demand from Japan and North America for shrimps and tuna increased, and fishers adopted more efficient ways of locating, catching, and preserving fish. But the great fish race soon brought about the severe depletion of one fish population after another, while pollution and the destruction of mangroves and coral reefs degraded fish habitats. Today the relentless movement into new fishing grounds has come to an end, for there are no new fishing grounds to exploit. The frontier of fisheries has closed. The challenge now is to exploit the seas in ways that preserve the diversity of marine life while providing the people of the region with a source of food long into the future.
Please note that this book may not be in stock. We will confirm availability upon receipt of your order. * Actual charges are made in Singapore Dollars (SGD). SGD1.00 = US$0.72 |
warc | 201704 | Capped data plans can be great for saving money, but not if you regularly incur hefty overage charges. Not sure how to track your minutes, texts and data usage? Just download DataMan or VoiceMan apps for iPhones or DroidStats for Android phones and you can track your usage with the touch of a button. Need a little more handholding? You can also set up helpful alerts to warn you when you are getting close to reaching your max.
They say you can’t get something for nothing, but, believe it or not, in some cases you can. Many major cell phone companies offer family and friends plans that allow you to talk to anyone on the same cell phone carrier for free. That means if you can round up enough of your family and friends to get the same carrier as you have, everyone saves money.
It always pays to negotiate when you are working out a new plan with your phone company. Oftentimes, you can get a better deal than what you find advertised on the internet. Even better? Try bundling your internet, home phone, cable, cell phone and any other services together and you can get deeper savings by using the same company for all your communication needs.
Got a teenager in the house who can’t seem to stay within reasonable limits? A prepaid phone could work wonders on your monthly bill. The perfect combination of freedom and control, a prepaid cell phone simply doesn’t make calls after prepaid amount is used up. This is a great way to teach teens how to budget their time and money.
On the other hand, it often pays to keep all the cell phones in the family on the same plan. Family plans offer significant discounts for having multiple phones on the same bill. Adding additional lines is cheaper and you can even share minutes and data plans.
Do you have trouble sticking within your monthly limit for minutes, texts or data? An unlimited plan might be the answer for you. Sure, it might cost a few extra bucks a month, but overall you’ll still save money by avoiding overage charges.
If it’s been a while since you’ve chatted with a representative from your phone company, now’s the time to give them a call. Plans change fairly often and you might just have an outdated plan that costs more than what’s currently being offered now. Feel like you’re getting the shaft? Don’t be afraid to shop around and check out what other companies have to offer.
And you'll see personalized content just for you whenever you click the My Feed .
SheKnows is making some changes! |
warc | 201704 | By John Brown
One of the many things that the NFATCA continues to monitor are the statistics and particulars on NFA transfers. Many of you remember the days of transfers that took, on the norm, 10-12 months. The last thing in the world you would do is call and check the status of your own transfer because you didn’t want to disturb the process. Those days made you feel helpless. Thank goodness those days are long gone.
When the NFA Branch moved to Martinsburg and Ken Houchens, as the new NFA Branch Chief, took this bull by the horns and things seemed to change overnight. Most of us went from being scared of our examiners to developing a good relationship with them. At that time the NFATCA actually went to Martinsburg and presented the examiners with a special plaque recognizing them for their excellence in getting a better handle on transfers for the entire community. At the height of the best times that we have seen, Form 3 transfers were taking a mere 5 days and Form 4s were handled in 22 days, once at the Branch. Did we get spoiled by all of this? You bet we did!
If you had the occasion to go to Knob Creek in October last year you would have seen the new NFA Branch Chief Ed Saavedra explain that Form 4s were holding at 4 months in 2009. In a later article I will detail an interview with Ted Clutter who has taken the lead as the NFA Branch Supervisor and is holding the line of this tidal wave that takes transfers 4 months as best possible with the resources that are available.
Prior to the Knob Creek meeting, resources at ATF and the NFATCA pondered on why the transfer times are running at the rate they are. We all knew that with a new President that the rush was on. NFA purchases went through the roof and purchases of the AR family of rifles were unprecedented. After the election panic and with the fall of the economy everything came to a screeching halt. Not only did the panic purchases come to a full stop but prices began to fall. The decline of disposable income and the fear of a complete collapse in the economy caused an interesting phenomenon in purchasing. Most of the NFA community decided not to spend their disposable income on high end items and instead spend their money on more affordable items, such as suppressors, short barreled rifles and similar more affordable items thereby holding on to as much cash as possible. At least that’s what appeared to be happening. To verify this, we decided to study the overall numbers and present those to our readers on what was actually happening with the types of NFA transfers during the last five years.
If you carefully look over the statistics in the following chart there are some amazing conclusions that can be drawn on how the presidential election and the economy have affected our community.
It is especially interesting to see that the more economical NFA items have increased dramatically. Also of note is how the pace in purchasing machine guns has drastically slowed as compared to any of the other five years. Additional surprises are also apparent in silencer purchases and short barreled rifles over previous years. Take into consideration that short barreled rifles and silencers are more affordable and still being made, it is no wonder that machine gun purchases have fallen off over the last year.
The last point of interest is how this work load has affected the ATF examiners in Martinsburg. Since 2006 their job has been, with the same number of resources, almost unmanageable. Taking a look at what happened for the total in 2009, it is no wonder that the NFA Branch has been forced to institute a multitude of new practices to keep pace with the increases in form processing. It is also important to understand that this chart only addresses Form 4s. This combined with the many other forms that are processed by the NFA Branch has put the NFATCA and ATF at the table together on many occasions to address how the NFTCA can better communicate issues to the community to assist the Branch. Working together has proven to help us both in better managing submission and processing.
On multiple occasions since the inception of the NFATCA we have had the privilege and the honor of working closely with the NFA Branch to better understand and assist the Branch whenever possible.
Still wondering what we do for our community? Continue to follow our updates in future articles to see exactly “What we have done for you lately,” or come join us and make a difference at www.nfatca.org.
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warc | 201704 | Claim:Any car equipped with a remote keyless entry system can be unlocked via cell phone.
FALSE Example: [Collected on the Internet, 2004]
If someone has access to the spare remote at your home, call them on your cell phone (or borrow one from someone if the cell phone is locked in the car too!)
Hold your (or anyone's) cell phone about a foot from your car door and have the other person at your home press the unlock button, holding it near the phone.
Your car will unlock. and it works. Saves someone from having to drive your keys to you. Distance is no object. You could be hundreds of miles away, and if you can reach someone who has the other "remote" for your car, you can unlock the doors (or the trunk, or have the "horn" signal go off, or whatever!)
Origins:Most new cars now come equipped with "Remote Keyless Entry" (or "Keyless Remote" or "Keyless Entry" or "Remote Entry") systems (also known as RKE systems), a mechanism which allows automobile owners to lock and unlock their car doors remotely (from up to about
But what if you accidentally lock your remote entry device in your car along with your keys? (A plausible scenario, as many people carry them together on the same keyring.) If you own a car equipped with a system such as OnStar you can contact an operator and have OnStar unlock your vehicle remotely through a signal sent via a cellular network, but otherwise you have to call a locksmith or get a friend or relative to bring an extra set of keys out to you.
Enter the idea of the poor man's OnStar. No need to pay for a fancy car-unlocking service: just use a cell phone to call someone who has access
Relaying remote entry system signals via telephone might work if the signals were sound-based, but they're not. An RKE system transmits an encrypted data stream to a receiver inside the automobile via an RF (radio frequency) signal, a signal that can't be effectively relayed via cell phone. (In any event, RKE systems and cell phones typically operate on completely different frequencies; the former in the
(More than a few people have inadvertently fooled themselves into believing the cell phone method of unlocking car doors actually works because they tried it and achieved the desired
It's possible this method might work with cars that use something different than standard RKE systems, but it doesn't work with the vast majority of models.
As an owner of a vehicle equipped with an RKE system, I've found that it has reduced the likelihood of my locking my keys in the car in an unexpected way: Since I quickly became accustomed to always locking and unlocking the car with the RKE device, and I carry the RKE device on the same ring as my keys, I have to be standing outside the vehicle with my keys in my hand in order to lock it. Now if I only had something to keep me from losing my cell
Additional information:
Remote Keyless Entry Systems Overview How Remote Entry Works Last updated:13 March 2015
Sources: Partlow, Joshua. "Keyless Remotes to Cars in Waldorf Suddenly Useless." The Washington Post.5 July 2004 (p. B1). Associated Press."Mysterous Force Knocks Out Keyless Entry Systems." TheWBALChannel.com.6 July 2004 (p. B1). Consumer Reports."Myth Busters." September 2013 (p. 9). |
warc | 201704 | Taking a moment aside from MLK’s birthday and the Presidential inauguration I want to bring forward a much discussed topic: Radical Social Work. My dislike for the term stems from the negative connotation I have against it. That doesn’t mean I’m right. Matt, very thoroughly depicted what radical social work means, the textbook definitions, and the historical context of which our entire profession subscribes to. When thinking upon the issue myself, a memory stirred from Les Miserables. A lot of people hate on Javert, the police inspector who seems to have no better hobby than prevent our lead protagonist, and his lovely ward from living a charmed life. He just so happens to be one of my favorite characters in literature. Growing up with Les Mis, I can’t tell you the number of times I have heard the songs, seen the plays, and watched the movie. It is one of those stories that will mold and give forth something different each time you view it.
My understanding of the messages have grown as I have grown, as the play as grown in my mind. Javert is the “bad guy” in the play, and yet, a “textbook” good man. His limitation is that his own view of the world is so cut into black and white, that he cannot accept there can be goodness outside the accepted law. Valjean emphasizes this multiple times, a fact that stood out in the most recent film adaptation. Valjean reiterates the phrase “you’ve done your duty, nothing more,” in what seems a compliment to Javert, is a blatant insult otherwise. Much like Marc Antony’s funeral speech against Brutus to the Romans where he turns “noble” into the darkest of slurs, Valjean turns “duty” into a slap. Going further than duty calls for is how I think radical social workers must be. It is going beyond the norm in order to do what is right and moral, even if it does not seem to abide by the strictures of the day. While far from a cry to become lawless, I think that is the sentiment missing from the title radical social work. What we’re looking for is an ability to go above and beyond what is expected of us, what is asked of us, in order for us not just to do our duty but for us to change the world. |
warc | 201704 | GroupManagementReport management-relevant figures monthly to the Management Board. In addition, both operational and strategic risks are analyzed by means of a structured reporting system. It shows developments in all relevant departments using KPIs and reports them quarterly to the Management Board. b) Finance All accounting decisions relevant to the Company’s financial statements as well as the revenue calculation process are monitored and/or executed by the global Corporate Finance department. This ensures compliance with IFRS accounting regulations throughout the Company. c) Treasury The Corporate Treasury team creates daily cash and weekly hedging transaction reports for the Management Board. All high-risk foreign-currency and hedging transactions may be conducted only by the Corporate Treasury team, which is directly below the CFO. The national subsidiaries are forbid- den by a global treasury policy from engaging in any high- risk transactions with derivatives. Regular internal audits monitor compliance with this policy. d) Internal Audit Software AG’s Internal Audit is an active component of the Company’s risk management system. Through a systematic and targeted approach, it ensures the effectiveness of risk management along with the evaluation and continual im- provement of the internal control systems and the manage- ment and supervision processes. It is also geared to the creation of added value for Software AG by optimizing busi- ness processes. Internal Audit reports directly to the CEO and operates worldwide. Risk management in the financial reporting standards process The risk of financial reporting errors was largely eliminated through implementation of the following processes: for ongoing monitoring of the risk areas identified, which address the development of the entire Company as well as department-specific issues. The Management Board receives ongoing information as to current and future risks and op- portunities as well as the aggregated risk and opportunity situation via established channels. Software AG updates and monitors the applicable specifications for preventing and reducing threats on an ongoing basis throughout the Group. Central responsibility for Group-wide processes Risks and opportunities throughout the world are managed and controlled by the teams at corporate headquarters re- sponsible for risk management for both Software AG and its subsidiaries. Corporate headquarters compiles risk and op- portunity reports, initiates further development of our risk management system and elaborates risk-mitigating guide- lines for the entire Group. We constantly review the func- tioning and reliability of the system as well as the reporting. Software AG’s internal control system has operationalized business risks by way of internal policies on business policies and practices, as well as Group-wide specification of effective internal controls, compliance with which are continually monitored. The defined policies regulate internal procedures and areas of responsibility at the global and local levels. They are designed to provide information for management and to monitor the operating business risks of the Software AG Group. In order to enhance transparency, administration, communication and compliance assessment of the policies are carried out centrally. Another component of risk and opportunity management is the transfer of operating risks to insurance carriers. The General Services department at corporate headquarters coordinates this function globally. Structure of the risk management system a) Controlling Controlling—which is under unified global leadership— monitors operating business risks in real time and reports 99 Corporate Governance Report of the Supervisory Board Consolidated Financial Statements Notes Additional Information Group Management Report Business and General Conditions Economic Report Events after the Balance Sheet Date Risk and Opportunity Report Remuneration Report Forecast Takeover-related Disclosures Statement on Corporate Governance |
warc | 201704 | Open letter to Mr Denis Coderre, Mayor of Montreal
Dear Mr Coderre,
Your decision to lose weight and get into shape in order to participate in the upcoming Tour de l’île de Montréal on May 31 is very inspiring.
We congratulate you for being a “champion” of the 5/30 Health and Wellness Challenge, the awareness campaign that my company SOSCuisine.com contributes to by proposing menus full of fruits and vegetables for the six weeks of the challenge so as to achieve the “5” goal of the challenge.
Hats off to you for having already lost 15 pounds since January 19. We understand that your plan is to lose another 38 more before May 31. Again, it’s very inspiring but perhaps a bit unrealistic, especially if you don’t want to surrender to the yoyo effect that afflicts all those who want to lose lots of weight in little time.
Instead, I suggest that you develop better eating habits that will last even after May 31. If you exercise regularly and follow our personalized menus, you can easily lose 15-20 pounds by May 31. The extra 15-20 pounds will follow naturally and most importantly… you won’t regain them!
It will be a pleasure and an honour for our Montreal-based SME to help you achieve your goal, as we have already done for thousands of other people throughout Quebec and elsewhere. In fact, the CHUM, the Montreal Heart Institute’s EPIC Centre and the Médecins francophones du Canada have all recommended us.
Don’t give up, Mr Mayor! You’re the best mayor that Montreal has had in a very long time and we’re going to help you stay on longer and in good health!
So, please
contact us before the start of the Challenge and our nutrition team will take care of you.
Cinzia Cuneo
President and Co-founder SOSCuisine.com Proud partner of 5/30 Health and Wellness Challenge
Author Latest posts by Cinzia Cuneo (see all) What’s Happening with the Price of your Shopping Basket? – January 16, 2017 How to Cook the Perfect Turkey in a Few Simple Steps – December 18, 2016 Duck Festival – September 18, 2016 |
warc | 201704 | A Times Editorial A question of fairness answered
© St. Petersburg Times
published March 7, 2003
During Thomas Joe Miller-El's murder trial, Texas prosecutors used their peremptory challenges to eliminate 10 of the 11 potential African-American jurors. Miller-El, a black man, was later convicted and sentenced to death. And for the next 17 years he tried challenging the fairness of a trial before a jury stripped of African-Americans. Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court finally gave him a friendly ear.
In an 8-to-1 ruling, the court said Miller-El's claims of discrimination should get a hearing. The court did not grant him a new trial, just an opportunity to question whether his initial trial was fair.
The decision in Miller-El vs. Cockrell could have widespread implications for prisoners both on and off death row. The court directed federal appellate courts to be more generous to prisoners who are challenging the constitutionality of their trials. In effect, the high court reasserted the role of federal courts in policing the fairness and legality of state court proceedings.
The question before the court involved its interpretation of the 1996 Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act. Congress passed the law because it was tired of the way death row inmates were using habeas corpus in what it viewed as frivolous challenges. The law sets up roadblocks to habeas petitions, one of these being an end to the automatic right of a prisoner to appeal a denial of habeas relief in a federal district court. Inmates who seek to appeal the lower court's judgment must first obtain a "certificate of appealability." Various federal appeals courts, including the 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that covers Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, had set a high bar before granting a certificate, essentially requiring the inmate to prove the merits of his case.
In a decision written by Justice Anthony Kennedy, the court reminded the lower federal courts that a certificate of appealability is not the same as an inquiry into the merits of a habeas petition. The court said a certificate should be granted whenever the constitutional claim being made by the inmate has a reasonable basis, not necessarily a winning one.
Opening federal appellate courts to more claims by inmates will reintroduce a layer of review and scrutiny to state court processes that has been missing in recent years. The court's decision was a victory for fairness for Miller-El and the justice system as a whole.
© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South St. Petersburg, FL 33701 727-893-8111
From the Times
Opinion page
Editorial: A question of fairness answered Editorial: Medicare disservice Editorial: Unwelcome surprise at Perkins Letters: Law school at FAMU will be racially diverse |
warc | 201704 | I think the database developer role is on the rise and that it's better suited for agile practices - but guidance is needed make that infusion of agile practices a success. Here's why.
My impression is that fusing agile practices into the DBA role is inherently awkward since administration differs significantly from development. A DBA might be involved in development occasionally or might bundle together a series of items into a project where a SCRUM sprint could apply - but commonly a DBA is frequently interrupted by a broad spectrum of issues and must also attend to routines of ongoing maintenance and support where they're taken out of development.
That said, there are signals that database development is becoming more formalized into its own role unique from that of the DBA - with both roles overlapping each other to some extent of course. One signal is that Database development now has its own separate Microsoft certification with the 70-433 test offering the MCTS certification in Database Development.
Mind you, I'm talking about the broad-sweeping trends. No need to argue about individual cases. I'm suggesting that out in the wild, more places are cropping up for a separate database developer role - and that role could be more suited for the infusion of agile practices.
Another signal is Oslo - an upcoming approach to development involving collaborative modeling. The goal is to get the various IT professionals to work together more effectively which includes getting someone from the database side of the equation into the collaborative development space. That person I suspect is the database developer primarily and the DBA secondarily.
I think that adoption of agile practices are coming to the database world later then the world of software development at large. That's hard to prove. One hint though is that articles relating to test-driven development practices (one area of agile practices) on SQLServerCentral are not frequent and are more recent. It's somewhat of a new conversation. The question is, if agile practices are late in coming to database development, is that an advantage or a disadvantage? An important question is will we learn from the mistakes already made, or will we be doomed to repeat them? It depends, of course, but on what?
To help answer that, let me take a quick step back. I've been talking so far about agile "practices," lumping things together whereas Alistair Cockburn, one of the very founders of the entire Agile movement keenly separates out the "procedures" used in agile from the "properties" of an agile environment. In his influential book Crystal Clear: A Human-Powered Methodoligy for Small Teams, Cockburn suggests that if a small team ensures that their environment has certain properties such as "reflective improvement," then the practices used to foster that property will follow.
That said, we can clarify here that it's the specific practices like teaming up programmers to run in dual-code mode, setting up a walking skeleton and using incremental rearchitecture and so forth, might be more awkward for the database world. The properties, however, are not as awkward.
For instance, one of Cockburn's properties is "personal safety" - (which could end up being one of the most important agile team properties of all) I think can be set up in the database world with no inherent impedance. Personal safety in a nutshell is "being able to speak about something bothering you, without fear of reprisal" (Cockburn). It can lead a developer for instance to admit that an aspect of a project is beyond their ability. They'll get help sooner and the project will move forward.
At this point I think I should lay down another impression about the whole agile movement that is taking hold of software development - because I think it can serve as a warning signal for the database world. I think there are forces acting on the agile movement from the business world to change it into a sort of magical "get something for nothing" proposition. In order to sell an agile methodology, the technical personnel and others emphasize speed and success and tend to leave out everything else.
I think developers are being talked about as if they were processors on a motherboard. Extreme programming is like working in dual-processor mode. The discussions are about efficiency, throughput and keeping developers at maximum productivity.
What doesn't get mentioned or emphasized is the human-powered side of the equation. The result can be project-seizing turnover and morale drain. Set up a series of intense sprints with little time to come up for air, adjust the methodology so that the developers aren't coming up with the timelines, and what do you think will happen?
Here's where I think the database world can sidestep some thorny issues by going back to the beginning and embracing some of the values that were discussed at the conception of the agile movement.
The history, some of which is kept at agilemanifesto.org, is that some experienced developers set up a meeting one late winter day in 2001 at a ski lodge in the Wasatch mountains of Utah. One of the original signatories of the movement, Jim Highsmith, made a statement that I think we should take particular notice of. Highsmith says "I believe Agile Methodologists are really about the 'mushy stuff' about delivering good products to customers by operating in an environment that does more than talk about 'people as our most important asset' but actually 'acts' as if people were the most important, and lose the word 'asset'."
From the beginning, the agile movement was concerned about not just the success of software projects but also about the human sustainability of the software development profession. There is a concern for the developer community. There are costs and trade-offs to be made. So to create a sustainable and humane development environment, an agile methodology can't be sold to the business segment as a cost-free trade-off free proposition. From the get-go, the signatories of the agile manifesto laid out the key trade-offs that they perceived should be made, which can be reviewed here. One of them is "individuals and interactions over processes and tools" where individuals and interactions are valued more.
I'd like to venture one last speculative point in this entry - the validity of which I think doesn't negate the other points I've made. Non-database developers seem to wield suprisingly little political power in general. They're struggling to get control over setting their own sprint timelines. I think the database developers and DBAs might have a little stronger bargaining chip. They preside over not just an RBDMS these days - but with SQL Server and the likes, they've got the reigns on an entire data-centric business platform that handles a gambit of technological needs. If that added leverage exists, perhaps database professionals will become more successful at creating the agile environment that was and is actually intended by the founders.
Lastly, I recommend Cockburn's book, which reviews both the ideal properties of small agile teams, but also reviews some of the successful practices and techniques like walking skeleton, process miniature and so forth. |
warc | 201704 | The private jets have lifted off. The giant congress centre has fallen silent. Tens of thousands of canapés have been consumed. Hundreds of millions of Swiss francs have been injected into the economy of an Alpine town. But what was it all for? What has the world learned from this year's gathering of the planet's economic, political and academic elite at the World Economic Forum in Davos?
Well, we learned that the eurozone patient has been given a massive dose of painkillers by the European Central Bank but talk of a cure is woefully premature. The optimistic blustering of bankers at the beginning of the week about a corner having been turned quickly gave way to gloom after Angela Merkel's negative opening address. The German chancellor said the answer is "more Europe" but her body language suggested she wished it would all just go away. Was this the saviour of the eurozone speaking, delegates asked themselves. Few came away reassured. "These politicians - Sarkozy, Merkel - are too concerned with getting re-elected to do what is necessary," Oleg Deripaska, the Russian aluminium magnate complained to me.
Greece was on the minds of many. Was a deal on debt restructuring really imminent? Should the European Central Bank take a haircut on its Greek bond holdings? Was Germany's apparent bid to control the Greek budget a necessary step, or disastrous over-reach? No one - not politicians, officials or bankers - could provide a convincing answer to any of these questions. Despite the insistence of the politicians present that Greece would be a special case, there were gloomy private predictions from several quarters that Portugal would be next to need debt forgiveness.
Davos taught us that capitalism is in crisis (with news of record unemployment in Spain filtering through to the conference on the same day as confirmation of Stephen Hester's bonus - which he has now rejected), but that no one, not even the Occupy protesters in their igloo camp, have a clear idea of what to replace the system with. One Occupy member who was invited to take part in a panel on the subject tried to get the audience to provide their own answers. The audience said that they'd rather hear from the panel. We learned at Davos that a big liberalisation of world trade would be a boost to flagging global growth but that it's not going to happen. Pascal Lamy, the head of the World Trade Organisation, admitted as much. World Bank chief Robert Zoellick even warned of protectionist forces stirring.
We learned that the super-rich think that philanthropy is a good thing and are worried about rising inequality. However, we also found out that they still don't want to pay more tax. One participant at the Confederation for British Industry dinner harangued Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne about the unfairness of the UK's 50p tax rate.
Some were less than impressed with the charity talk from the super-rich too. "They always talk about philanthropy when they're under pressure, it's really just a smokescreen" one well-connected Davos veteran told me.
But was Davos useful in a practical sense? The World Economic Forum organisers claim Davos enables politicians to meet in a convivial and neutral setting and lay the groundwork for diplomatic breakthroughs. But one UK government minister had a more sceptical take: "You can meet a lot of people who you normally wouldn't bother travelling to meet."
And how about the private sector? Did "Davos man" - the hyper-connected, super-confident, global business leader - have a productive time, locating promising new investment opportunities? The general feeling seemed to be that there is simply too much uncertainty out there (mainly thanks to the eurozone mess), to strike any big deals. Money is hunkering down for safety.
There was the usual confident talk about the investment opportunities arising from the economic expansion of Asia and the internationalisation of China's yuan. But this felt more like a security blanket for the economic movers and shakers of Davos than genuine bullishness.
As the conference wound down, one business delegate blundered into a lift where some of the congress centre's catering staff were wrestling with a trolley. "Where am I?" he asked, a little desperately. Yes, Davos man is lost. What hope, then, for the rest of us?Reuse content |
warc | 201704 | If you find yourself feeling anxious, jumpy, and panicky mid-afternoon, or lethargic, uncomfortable and sluggish, it could be that it's not your job that's stressing you out, but your lunch.
The midday meal for busy workers should be a time to recharge and rest. But the wrong lunch can make you feel worse than ever. Here Stephanie Zinser, whose book, The Good Gut Guide, is out this week, gives her tips on how to eat the perfect lunch.
1. Don't rush your lunch. The faster you eat, the more likely you are to swallow air, which can cause wind, bloating and abdominal pain. People often swallow too much air as a reaction to stress. Smoking, chewing gum, sucking hard sweets and wearing badly-fitting dentures are also hazards.
2. Try to sit quietly during and after lunch. A huge amount of blood - some 40 per cent of your blood supply - passes through the digestive system after a meal, allowing the nourishment to be absorbed and distributed throughout the body. You shouldn't even shop, let alone exercise, after eating because activity will divert most of the blood from the digestive system to help muscles perform.
3. Chew each mouthful slowly, at least 15 times. Saliva contains important enzymes such as amylase, which breaks starch down. The more you chew, the more easily your food will be digested, and the less likely it is that you will suffer indigestion - the classic curse of the stressed-out executive.
4. Although stress is often associated with stomach ulcers, what you eat may be a more important factor. Avoid excessively spicy or acidic foods (such as tomatoes), and lower your alcohol intake.
5. A great lunch is pasta with pesto sauce - basil, pines nuts and garlic. Basil can help relieve sadness, tension and boost the nervous system, and sage can combat post-viral fatigue and nervous exhaustion.
6. A brain booster is a vegetable stir-fry with ginger. Ginger eases headaches and improves memory.
7. You'll pay for eating fast food like burgers and chips. Fatty foods take longer to digest, making you feel lethargic and hampering your productivity.
8. Avoid colas and highly-caffeinated "energy" drinks. Apart from containing caffeine, a stimulant that can worsen feelings of anxiety or panic if you're already stressed, fizzy drinks may make you feel bloated and uncomfortable.
9. Be careful how you drink hot drinks. If you gulp your coffee or tea while it's very hot, you can damage the sensitive lining of your throat and oesophagus. This can contribute to chronic problems such as heartburn and gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (Gerd).
10. Steer clear of chocolate, sweets and cakes. These boost your blood sugar levels, but plummet quickly, leaving you more under pressure than before. Instead, choose snacks such as oat flapjacks, wholemeal sandwiches, brown rice or pasta salads that release sugars into your bloodstream at a slower, more constant, rate.
11. Treat your stomach to a mixed salad with alfalfa sprouts. Fruit, vegetables and pulses provide long-lasting energy, and they help prevent constipation - a common problem if you're stressed. Fibre helps reduce cholesterol by binding to it in the bowel, preventing it from being reabsorbed into the blood.
12. Drink at least eight glasses of water a day. Dehydration causes headaches, performance problems and memory failures.
The Good Gut Guide, by Stephanie Zinser, is published by Thorsons, £10.99.Reuse content |
warc | 201704 | Introduction
America is a complex and diverse web of individuals marked by social stratification, a system by which a society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy (Macionis, 2011, p.204). The film People Like Us: Social Class in America discusses the class system, social stratification based on both birth and individual achievement, which the American people use to define others (Macionis, 2011, p.206). It explores the many variables that contribute to the determination of a person’s class; such as, ancestry, education, and money. Ancestry will be a main focus because it has such a strong influence on the class system of today. The film provided an informative and entertaining basis for understanding inequality within our nation. Description
Part 1-Bud or Bordeaux
The film introduces the concept of Bud or Bordeaux. The meaning of this title displays how language can invoke a “feeling of class” (Alvarez & Kolker, 2001). According to the film, individuals defined class as having money, how you were raised, and your state of mind (Alvarez & Kolker, 2001). In many cases we use status symbols in order to show others were we should be within the social hierarchy. Status symbols can are displayed through what is known as conspicuous consumption, or buying and using products because of the “statement” they make about social position (Macionis, 2011, p.216). In society, the items that we buy may lead to the determination of our social class.
This first part of the film took us through the contrast of classes based on products. We were able to see the pattern of consumption of our nation, such as buying products that are not necessarily needed like a specialty blender. It also discussed the battle between classes when a co-op supermarket took over a Shaw’s supermarket in a working class community. The co-op food was organic and did not sell white bread which exposed the class differences (Alvarez & Kolker, 2001). The working class people tend to be less tolerant and therefore did not want to be told what was good for them to eat (Macionis, 2011, p.225) Part 2-High and Low
The next part of the film, takes the viewer through the visual of the high society and low society of our nation. It reveals the inside life and thoughts of the WASPS and takes us into their world of the inherited rich. The next section displays the relationship between race and social class in the Bourgeois Blues. It’s a glimpse into the black-middle class and the idea that attaining success means losing your roots in African American U.S. society (Alvarez & Kolker, 2001). After that, the film tells the story of Tammy, a single mother struggling in poverty and working at a low-income job. Part 3-Salt of the Earth
Salt of the Earth showed the values and traditions of the working and middle class people. An owner of a lawn ornament shop discusses why American’s like to dress their yards up. She simply states that “It’s America and who has the right to look down on anybody” (Alvarez & Kolker, 2001). It then transitions to the city of Baltimore, where the people value their blue-collar lifestyle and have a street festival. One man said that the working class does 80% of the work and gets 10% of the pay (Alvarez & Kolker, 2001). Many people feel a prejudice against them as being part of the working class. The section closes with a woman named Dana who is native to Kentucky, but now lives in Washington DC. It discusses her problems that she must deal with while trying to belong to the working class people of her hometown and the white-collar people in her new city. Part 4-Belonging
The final part of the film focused on how to gain acceptance into the upper classes of society. The main idea was that “all you need is cash” in order to fit into the most elite communities and that money will only get you “in”, but it will not get you “accepted” (Alvarez & Kolker, 2001). The message is also conveyed that... |
warc | 201704 | OCS is a police recorded measure of crime. One could argue that the police play a key role in how much crime there is in society. Police dispersal is much greater, and targets extra resources in particular localities, such as urban inner city areas, or target areas consisting of working class or ethnic minorities. This can then relate to the police discretion, the interpretations and meanings that the police attach to behaviour and social groups when deciding to make an arrest, this could also be associated with social characteristics of the police officer. This shows that the OCS can be deemed as unreliable, due to the police discretion.
Marxist view OCS as a bad measure of crime and deviance, as most laws are enforced to focus on the lower and working class. This means that there is less focus placed on white collar crimes, which are rarely prosecuted and the law does not define the crimes for the ‘rich’ criminals. Crimes such as embezzlement is most likely dealt with out of the public eye, and in house. Marxists argue that the working class is criminalised and that sociologists’ use of these statistics will only serve to maintain ruling class deception. OCS are seen by Marxists as a part of the ideological weaponry of the bourgeoisie. The Marxist view further highlights the negativity of people in higher status created OCS, in... |
warc | 201704 | “Building Value: Driving Wholesaler Returns through Strategic and Tactical Investment.”
The use of value in management is mostly as a concept and often found in the statement(s) value added or value chain. Wholesalers add value in their services surrounding the products they distribute and as exemplified in the classic service cycle of purchasing, receiving, picking, sales, shipping, payment, credit, warranties and returns.
Within the last decade, however, there has been a growing body of knowledge that measures tangible value and relates it to the market price of the firm. This research has been done in the public markets where data is available and linked to the share price and market capitalization of the going concern.
The output of the logic, as it affects supply chain entities, including wholesalers, is that measuring value is the single best way for wholesaler owner/operators to improve financial returns. Value far and away is superior to focusing on operating profits and variants of earnings or net profit before tax (NPBT).
The issue with value, in supply chain firms, is that service value is the relevant entity under production and worthy of measure. Service value, however, is found in the operating expenses of the income statement. Hence, operating profits have to be assigned or allocated for insight into where value is generated. Too, value is the primary product of two entities: returns and growth. The measure of Return on Invested Capital or (ROIC) needs to be gathered for each investment and where ensuing returns for discrete value are evaluated for their attractiveness and future growth.
The problem with value, for distributors, is that the measures and management process for value generation and creation don’t exist. Distributors overwhelmingly use financial accounting data for management of future value and, in the process, tend to destroy value as fast as they generate it. Our research over the past five years has been to help distributors use new measures with new knowledge of where value exists, what to do about it and how to increase the market value of the wholesale firm.
Fundamentals of valueValue is defined as ROIC of individual investments and the growth prospects of said investments. Distributors invest service labor in fulfilling transactions and investments can be measured by individual transaction, customer, sales territory, market segment and marketing program. Distributors must consider that these entities are investments and the ROIC must be measured specific to the investment to be confident it produces value.
The allocation of operating expenses to investments has been around wholesaling circles for two decades. The predominant problem in allocating expenses is that many allocation models don’t give an accurate picture of how labor is consumed by the investment. In 2006, Robert Kaplan of the Harvard Business School and inventor of Activity Costing in the 1980s, developed new standards for cost allocations including the ability to accurately measure labor capacity, usage of terminology that is actionable in the industry and use of a singular baseline logic.
At Benfield Consulting, we follow Kaplan’s standards and start with base transactions of stock, non-stock transfer, non-stock special, drop ship, counter or retail and rep order. Our work with the model, over the past five years, finds that transaction type is an accurate and actionable singular logic on which to allocate costs. The labor for individual transactions differs and we add components of outside sales coverage or not covered, inside sales entered or e-commerce, shipped to customer or pick up at branch, etc., to each base transaction ending up with 12 to 20+ transaction types for the typical wholesaler.[i] We allocate all costs that have to do with fulfilling the transaction and typically leave out fixed costs of branch overhead and executive salaries.
For all intents and purposes, approximately 80% of the allocated costs represent labor used by the wholesale firm. The explanation of allocation logic is important as we continue to find where the predominance of existing allocation models doesn’t follow Kaplan’s standards and, hence, these models are not recommended for measuring value.
We continue to find outdated and inaccurate concepts such as Average Order Size and Average Order Cost used in certain models. Our work in the costing of transaction types finds that there are significant variations in transaction costs, often exceeding $100, and using the concept of “average” in measuring value is best described by the metaphor, “An average person has one breast and one testicle.”[ii]
The Value Equation, once allocations have been measured, is: Capital Returns/Capital Investments, expressed as a percent and less than the weighted average cost of capital. For example, Bayou Plumbing Wholesaler has as an account, Thibideaux Gator Processing, with purchases of $189,663, margins of $38,829 and margin percent of 21%. These figures are secured from the financial statements of the wholesaler and while of some importance, they
don’t come close to measuring value.
Bayou Plumbing, after developing a transaction-based costing model, finds that the cost to serve is $36,110, which leaves $2,719 ($38,829-$36,110) in transaction profits. The concentration on transaction profits of $2,719, or transaction profits as a percent of sales at 1.4%, has
no meaningful correlation to the value producing ability of the account.
Returning to our definition of Capital Returns/Capital Investment, the ROIC of Thibideaux is $2,719/$36,110 or 7.5%. If the weighted average cost of capital for Bayou Plumbing is 8.5%, then the account destroys value by 1%. Hence, to accurately measure the ROIC on an investment, wholesalers need to
create two new measures, which are not found in financial accounting with a modern-day cost allocation logicand this must be compared to the weighted average cost of capital for insight. Using value for improving the value of the wholesale firmMany wholesalers don’t measure the weighted average cost of capital and consider the measure of limited use. While we find this position in need of change, we accommodate clients by referring to value investments with color codes of red, yellow and green as used in the common traffic signal.
Red Investments are some 40% of customers, transactions, sales territories, segments, etc., that have a negative value or a negative ROIC. We say they literally destroy value.
Yellow investments are typically 20% of investments that have an ROIC below the weighted average cost of capital. In essence, they yield a positive but low return.
Green investments are 40% of customers, transactions, sales territories, segments, etc., that have a positive ROIC above the weighted average cost of capital.
Many wholesalers, when measuring value, are too often “deer in the headlights” struck and fail to move toward a working logic on how to rectify the situation of investing in Red and Yellow entities. From our work, several quick and easy rules apply to improving value and they are included in the wrap-up of this blog entry.
Generating value in wholesale distributionTo create a higher than average ROIC and growth prospects in wholesale distribution, we recommend the following steps: Don’t concern yourself with differentiation between shareholder and customer value. These constructs, when used in tandem, have no technical definitions that we can find and are not actionable.The best value research uses ROIC and investing in growth areas, specific to the firm, as the best means to generate value. In essence, the companies that produce the highest ROIC with the best growth provide value to themselves and to their customers; hence, there is no measurable difference in shareholder and customer value because good shareholder value is good customer value.
A value approach to managing wholesale firms takes the use of a modern-day cost allocation logic and usage of ROIC specific to common investments of transactions, sales territories, customers, segments and marketing programs. The field is new and offers significant hope where most wholesalers, using financial accounting, tend to destroy value almost as fast as they generate it and as evidenced by research that finds 50% to 60% of wholesale firms sell for asset value.
[i] Benfield Consulting’s transaction costing model is Labor Differential Transaction Costing and is filed in the US Patent Office with Patent Pending status. [ii] Attributed to Des McHale, Assoc. Prof. of Mathematics at University College, Cork, Ireland. |
warc | 201704 | FIND EXCLUSIVE JOBS FROM €60,000 SKF: SKF launches aggressive new climate strategy and partners with WWF to reduce greenhouse gas emissions Press release published at The Swedish Wire
SKF today announced targets for their new climate strategy and have partnered with the WWF in their Climate Savers Programme. The SKF climate strategy includes aggressive targets for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for SKF, its suppliers and logistics operations, as well as from its customer solutions. To support its customers, SKF also announced the launch of the BeyondZero portfolio including products and solutions which will both improve energy efficiency and support more environmentally friendly energy production.
"With our new climate strategy, we intend to be a leader in our sector to reduce emissions from both our own operations, but also to lead the way in helping our suppliers and customers reduce their emissions," says Tom Johnstone, SKF President and CEO. "We are very proud to join with WWF as the first industrial engineering company to be accepted into the Climate Savers program and look forward to continue using our engineering knowledge to make the world a cleaner place for us all."
SKF and WWF agree that there is a substantial role for the business community to play as a driving force behind the transition to a low-carbon economy and intend to work together in the Climate Savers Programme to reduce SKF's emissions of GHGs, with particular focus on carbon dioxide (CO2).
"SKF is in a unique position as an industrial engineering company to influence the emissions of many companies within a range of segments. They show their level of commitment through their targets, which go beyond the direct emissions of the company itself and also drive positive change across their entire supply chain. We are particularly encouraged by the way in which SKF is willing to take the lead on quantifying and communicating environmental benefits enabled by their products and solutions," says Håkan Wirtén, Secretary General of WWF Sweden.
SKF's updated climate strategy includes the following targets:
· Reduce the total annual energy use of the SKF Group by 5 % below the 2006 level by 2016.
· Reduce the energy use per production output by 5% year-on-year during the period (2012-2016).
· Require that 100% of our energy intensive suppliers are certified according to the new Energy Management Standard ISO 50001 by the end of 2016.
· Reduce CO2 emissions/tonne-km for all transport managed by SKF Logistics Services by 30% below 2011 level by 2016.
· Increase the revenue from the BeyondZero portfolio from SEK 2.5 billion in 2011 to SEK 10 billion in 2016.
The WWF Climate Savers program works with leading companies to cut CO2 emissions. The partnerships between WWF and corporations aim at delivering real, measurable and additional reductions in CO2 emissions. The targets set must be demonstrably more ambitious than previous targets communicated by the company, and should place the company ahead of its competitors in terms of reducing greenhouse gases. Outside experts monitor and verify compliance with these agreements.
Gothenburg, 08 May 2012
Aktiebolaget SKF
(publ)
For further information, please contact:
PRESS: Rebecca Ehlinger-Janzon, SKF Group Communication, tel: 46 31-337 2400, mobile: 46 727-173880, e-mail: [email protected]
IR: Marita Björk, SKF Investor Relations, tel: 46 31-337 1994, mobile: 46 705-181994, e-mail: [email protected]
SKF is a leading global supplier of bearings (http://www.skf.com/portal/skf/home/products?contentId=876709&lang=en), seals (http://www.skf.com/portal/skf/home/products?contentId=238358&lang=en), mechatronics (http://www.skf.com/portal/skf/home/products?contentId=447144&lang=en), lubrication systems (http://www.skf.com/portal/skf_lub?lang=en), and services (http://www.skf.com/portal/skf_lub/home/services?contentId=867934&lang=en) which include technical support, maintenance and reliability services, engineering consulting and training. SKF is represented in more than 130 countries and has 15,000 distributor locations worldwide. Annual sales in 2011 were SEK 66,216 million and the number of employees was 46,039. www.skf.com
This information was distributed by Cision |
warc | 201704 | People wash their hair and go swimming more often in the summer, and with more water entering the ears along with damage caused by improper cleaning, symptoms, for example, pain, itching, secretions and odors, can also occur more frequently.
Otolaryngologists, or ear, nose and throat doctors, have recently seen a 30 percent increase in cases of acute otitis externa, or swimmer’s ear, which if left untreated could get worse and cause the eardrum to rupture, do damage to the middle ear, and possibly affect one’s hearing.
Swimmer’s ear is very common during the summer months. Wu Sih-wei, director of Taichung Hospital’s Department of Otolaryngology, says that around 90 percent of swimmer’s ear cases are water-related. Water can easily enter the ear when washing one’s hair, rinsing off in the shower or taking a dip in the pool to cool off. When the inside of the ear is wet and moist, people will usually want to dig around in their ears, but because the skin inside the ear canal is quite thin, damage can easily be done, causing inflammation if the water inside the ear is unsanitary.
Many people this summer with ear infections are exhibiting the symptoms of pain and itching, and subsequently digging moist, odorous secretions out of their ears. In severe cases, people are not going to the doctor until pus starts running out of their ears. Most of the cases that doctors are seeing are swimmer’s ear. If the condition grows worse, it could cause the eardrum to rupture or otitis media, commonly called middle ear infection.
Aside from swimmer’s ear, many people are also getting chronic infections due to outer ear infections caused by mold, which also causes pain, itching and secretions.
今日單字
1. inflammation n.
發炎 (fa1 yan2)
例: Inflammation can be caused by infection.
(感染可引起發炎。)
2. symptom n.
症狀 (zheng4 zhuang4)
例: A runny nose and a sore throat are typical symptoms of the common cold.
(感冒常見的症狀包含流鼻涕與喉嚨痛。)
3. cotton swab n. phr.
棉花棒 (mian2 hua1 bang4)
例: Using cotton swabs is not a medically recommended method for removing earwax.
(用棉花棒掏耳垢不是醫界推薦的方法。)
Wu suggests wearing earplugs when swimming to keep water from entering the ears, and says people should not use cotton swabs or Q-tips to clean their ears after taking a shower or washing their hair to avoid doing damage to the ear canal and causing infection. Wu also adds that people should not use the same cotton swabs or Q-tips that have been used by other people when visiting hair or beauty salons.
(Liberty Times, Translated by Kyle Jeffcoat)
夏季洗頭、游泳機會多，耳朵容易進水加上不當掏耳受傷，出現耳朵痛、癢、分泌物濕臭等不適，耳鼻喉科醫師觀察急性外耳炎患者增加三成，如果惡化，耳膜破損、傷及中耳，可能影響聽力。
夏季常見民眾罹患急性外耳炎，台中醫院耳鼻喉科主任吳思緯指出，約有九成患者與耳朵接觸水有關。洗頭、沖涼或是游泳消暑，都使得耳朵容易進水，當耳朵悶濕就會想掏耳朵，耳道皮膚薄，常因不當掏耳造成破皮，一旦水質不潔就容易感染細菌發炎。
今夏許多患者的耳朵出現疼痛、發癢症狀，又動手掏耳朵掏出又濕又臭的分泌物，有人嚴重到耳朵流出膿液才就醫，大多數是罹患急性外耳炎，再惡化可能造成耳膜破裂、中耳炎。
除了急性外耳炎，也有許多患者外耳感染黴菌造成慢性發炎，一樣又痛又癢，出現分泌物。
吳思緯建議，游泳戴耳塞，以避免耳朵進水，洗澡、洗頭後也盡量不要用棉花棒或用掏耳棒挖耳朵，以防耳道彎曲受傷造成發炎，也不要到理髮廳或理容院，與其他人共用掏耳棒清耳朵。
（自由時報記者蔡淑媛） |
warc | 201704 | A cancer-stricken judge in New York has become an unlikely voice in support of legalizing the use of medical marijuana, with the admission that he smokes pot to ease the side-effects of his treatments.
Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Gustin Reichbach, who is being treated for pancreatic cancer, wrote in a New York Times article on Thursday that he had been using marijuana provided by friends at “great personal risk” to help him cope with the nausea, sleeplessness and loss of appetite from chemotherapy treatments.
“This is not a law-and-order issue; it is a medical and a human rights issue,” wrote Reichbach, 65, who has spent 21 years on the bench in Kings County Supreme Court and continues to hear cases even as he receives cancer treatment.
In the past, admitting to taking a few puffs of marijuana has been enough to derail some judges’ careers. US appeals court Judge Douglas Ginsburg saw his nomination for the US Supreme Court go up in smoke in 1987 after admitting he had used marijuana several times in the 1960s and 1970s.
Last year, a Georgia judge was removed from the bench for various infractions, including publicly admitting to smoking pot regularly.
New York is not among the US’ 16 states and the District of Columbia that allow medical marijuana. Cannabis remains an illegal narcotic under federal law.
Under New York’s Code for Judicial Conduct, judges are required to “respect and comply with the law.”
First-time possession of less than 25g of marijuana is punishable by maximum fine of US$100.
While Reichbach’s editorial amounted to an admission he broke the law, his story is more likely to elicit admiration than condemnation, judicial ethics experts said.
“It’s brave and wonderful, but it’s heart-wrenching,” said Ellen Yaroshefsky, a law professor at the Benjamin Cardozo School of Law. “There are key moments in history where a judge makes a bold stand. This is one of the moments, and we should be proud of it.”
In New York, disciplinary actions involving judges are handled by the state’s Commission on Judicial Conduct, which reviews allegations of criminal activity and other wrongdoing and decides on an appropriate reprimand. That could range from a confidential cautionary letter to dismissal, although more serious forms of punishment require approval from the state’s chief judge.
Counsel for the commission Robert Tembeckjian declined to say whether any inquiry could or would be opened into Reichbach’s statements.
“Information relating to the conduct of judges that appears in newspapers is routinely reviewed by the commission,” he said.
The Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office did not immediately comment on whether any action was being contemplated against the judge, but first-time possession of a small amount of marijuana is classified as a civil offense.
State court system spokesman David Bookstaver also declined to address whether Reichbach might face consequences for the editorial, saying only that “everyone’s thoughts in the court system are with Justice Reichbach as he battles a very serious disease.”
One potential conflict that could arise from Reichbach’s comments is his ability to hear cases involving marijuana possession said Monroe Freedman, a law professor at -Hofstra University.
“He has admitted to unlawful conduct,” Freedman said. “Ordinarily, that could be a problem, but it is a very narrow, specific situation and I would hope nothing would come of it that would be adverse to the judge.” |
warc | 201704 | Tefillin is among the most potent mitzvahs in the Torah. We are commmanded to bind them on the head and arm: “You shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be for a reminder between your eyes” (Deut. 6:8).
We bind the tefillin close to the heart, as a reminder to devote our intellect, feelings and actions to the service of G‑d. Buying a a set of bar mitzvah tefillin allows your son to fulfill this important mitzvah every day.
Although all tefillin consist of the same basic components — carefully formed leather boxes, parchments inside and leather straps — the price of set of tefillin varies considerably, depending on the type of construction, the caliber of the writing on the parchments and the type of straps. Purchasing a first pair of tefillin can be a bit daunting for the uninitiated.
Types of Tefillin for the Bar Mitzvah Boy
All tefillin look pretty much the same to the untrained eye, but they are divided into three categories based on the way the leather boxes are constructed and how the materials used. If you come across a tefillin referred to as “bar mitzvah tefillin,” chances are they are either tefillin peshutim or tefillin peshutim mehudarim.
Tefillin Peshutim – Tefillin made from several pieces of leather glued together are known as tefillin peshutim. They are relatively flimsy, do not hold up over time and their kashrus is often questionable. Tefillin Peshutim Mehudarim – Tefillin crafted from two separate pieces of leather are known as tefillin peshutim mehudarim, specially folded like origami. Tefillin Dakkot – Tefillin made from a single piece of thin leather are called tefillin dakkot (or tefillin dakkot ohr echad). Tefillin Gassot – Tefillin formed from one a single piece of thick leather are known as tefillin gassot, thick tefillin. These are the most durable (and expensive) type.
Tefillin peshutim are often problematic and in recent years tefillin dakkot have been phasing out of the market, so most people buying a set of bar mitzvah tefillin choose between tefillin peshutim mehudarim and tefillin gassot.
Celebrating a bar mitzvah can be expensive, even for parents who budget sensibly, so many parents are looking for tefillin under $300 for their bar mitzvah boy. But keep in mind that if you spend $500 for tefillin gassot, in many cases you are getting a much better value over time. Not only do tefillin gassot often hold up well for decades, but even if they take a bang or somehow get a dent, usually it can be repaired, whereas in the case of tefillin peshutim mehudarim, the tefillin expert might tell you there is nothing that can be done. Also, the caliber of the parchments on the inside and the level of finishing work on the outside is generally superior. |
warc | 201704 | By Teachers, For Teachers
Provided by the K-12 Teachers Alliance
I recently had the enriching opportunity to collaborate with author Marc Prensky whose term “digital native” has become the moniker for today’s students since 2001 when it was first coined. Marc watched me teach a lesson and helped me guide my Mandell Prep students through a discussion regarding digital citizenship.
In our reflections afterwards, he challenged me to rethink the way I was using technology to enhance the learning experience with this question: Are we using technology to do old stuff in new ways, or are we using technology to truly transform learning?
Until he posed that question to me, I could have sworn I was doing the latter. In many ways I was, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized I probably was not doing enough of that transformative stuff. In the week following our conversation, I was stuck. I asked myself,
How can we take the solid knowledge of what digital citizenship means live and make it truly action oriented and transformative?
The answer occurred to me one beautiful Saturday when I headed outside with the goal to explore new places all day. I started posting inspirational pictures from around the city spaces to Instagram, and I watched as my two new student followers liked and commented on nearly all my posts. Then came an email from them suggesting I use some popular hashtags to gain more “likes” on my posts and a bigger following.
This experience on a Saturday was an ah-ha moment for me in a number of ways. I realized that we adults, or to use Prensky’s term, we “digital immigrants” spend a great deal of energy discussing content management with our young natives. Mostly we stay in the finger-pointing mode indicating what they should and should not post lest they be immortalized online in a negative light during their teen days; at best, we coach them on designing their image to market who they are. On the other hand, despite an often blatant disregard or naive understanding of content management, our youth counterparts have an insatiable desire to learn the most effective way to increase their reach and bring attention to their posts. These are skills I do not have...which led me to the conclusion: we could form a great partnership.
I had been listening to my students discuss how to increase awareness of their service project Finding Green, a documentary call to action focused on creating and preserving green space in our urban environment. They were reaching out by phone and email to local representatives and groups to tell them about the initiative and were very actively promoting it to friends. While promoting it via our social media profiles had been a noted goal, none of us thought of using the power of social media to create a profile for the cause itself. It was relatively easy to meet, discuss parameters of involvement, and set up a FindingGreenNYC profile on Instagram, Twitter, and Foursquare.
It started like this:
And it quickly led into this:
Three weeks later, we have reached several milestones. We have our feeds live with a growing following, we have participated in two city park events, including one planting event and one post-Sandy clean up, we have presented at one EdCamp event (the native & the immigrant together) and are speaking at the upcoming TEDxYouth@TheSchool conference. I’ve watched the students grow in their roles as citizens, native both to New York City and the digital world; I’ve seen leadership emerge and creativity ignite.
In short, the question posed to me by Marc Prensky is a tough one to think about. I’m still stuck in many areas, and the digital immigrant in me cries out frequently, “Some old stuff is good!” However, this one project has illustrated for me the importance of transformational design in our use of technology. The best applications of technology will not only inform students on the proper use of tools but will erase boundaries between the digital and offline world, merge social, learning, and community spaces, and build agency in the the development of accountability standards in our shared digital world. They were born into it, and they will lead from it. |
warc | 201704 | President calls for concerted efforts to save the planetJune 26th, 2008 - 11:31 pm ICT by IANS
Mumbai, June 26 (IANS) President Pratibha Patil Thursday called for concerted efforts to save the planet for the future generations and tackle problems of poverty, terrorism and disasters. Inaugurating an international conference on “Responsibility to the Future: Business, Peace, Sustainability” here in the evening, Patil said in the contemporary world, technology horizons are expanding fast, providing unparalleled opportunities for creating wealth and prosperity.
At the same time, issues like poverty, terrorism, disasters, pandemics, energy security, food security and climate change confront humanity. The approaches adopted to tackle them would be fundamental for peace, development and sustainability.
The president pointed out that though the World Domestic Product achieved a level of over $48 trillion in 2006, the distribution of wealth and income is becoming more distorted.
“Two percent of the world’s richest people own more than 50 percent of the world’s wealth, while the poorest 50 percent of people own one percent. This situation is unsustainable. Such a large proportion of the world’s population cannot be left on the periphery,” she said.
Calling for the need to address disparities, Patil said this would mean including women into the process of development - they constitute half of the world but their potential remains largely untapped.
“Without women’s empowerment and their participation in all areas of human activity, there cannot be sustainability in any sphere of human endeavour,” the president pointed out.
Discussing technological advances that have changed the concept of physical distances, she said more revolutionary developments are likely to happen in the next 25 years in the fields of biotechnology, nano-technology, robotics, genetics and space technology.
She said it must be considered what this would mean for life on earth, negative fallouts and whether the new technologies would be chanelised for global welfare. In this regard, she mentioned how cost-effective technology could be employed for de-salinating seawater since the world is facing a water stress situation.
President Patil said that our planet belongs to all of us and to sustain it as well as to preserve it for the future generations requires action by all of us.
Present on the occasion were Maharashtra Governor S.C. Jamir and Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh.
Tags: climate change, concerted efforts, contemporary world, creating wealth, distribution of wealth, energy security, fallouts, fields of biotechnology, future generations, half of the world, human endeavour, life on earth, physical distances, president pratibha patil, revolutionary developments, space technology, technology horizons, time issues, unparalleled opportunities, wealth and prosperity |
warc | 201704 | I Gusti Ngurah Semarajaya, 34 and a Mengwi native, is a lifeguard on the island’s iconic Kuta Beach. He shared his day with The Bali Times.
I wake up at 5am, usually before my alarm clock goes off. Before I even get out of bed I do some stretches. After that I wash, and pray.
I’m from Mengwi, but I live in Batubulan. My wife, Eratnawati, works in a spa. We have a little girl called Danti. She’s three and a half, so she’s not at school yet. If both my wife and I are working we leave her with my in-laws.
I have breakfast at home – bread and water – then I leave. I come to work by motorbike, and I’m usually at the beach by about 6.30. There are six lifeguard posts on Kuta Beach, each of them with eight lifeguards. Each post is responsible for about 500 metres of beach.
The first thing I do when I arrive is check the situation, how the tides and the waves are. It’s different every day, and we have to know where to locate the flags. The red and yellow flags are the swimming area; the red flags are the places where you shouldn’t swim.
After that it’s just a case of doing my job and keeping a check on people. Being a lifeguard is really about giving people information. People who get into difficulties are usually people who can swim, but who don’t know about the conditions here. The other main cause of accidents is collisions between swimmers and surfers.
If we spot someone in difficulty we assess how best to rescue them. If they are in deep water we’ll use the rescue board. Occasionally we pull people out of the sea unconscious. I’ve had to give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation before.
I am very happy doing this job because I love sports, and I really love the sea. Many Indonesian people are scared of the water, but not me. When I was a small child growing up in Mengwi I often played around the river. When I fell in I had to get myself out; no one would help me. That’s how I learned to be confident in the water.
I have lunch at about 12pm. Usually I bring a packed lunch from home, some rice and whatever else we have. After that I’m on duty for a couple more hours. If I start work at 7, I finish at 2pm. I have to brief the lifeguards coming on for the afternoon shift about what’s happened so far in the day, and then I usually just relax and chat with my friends at the lifeguard post for a while.
People say that lifeguards must get a lot of attention from the girls, because it’s some kind of heroic job, and that maybe lifeguards are playboys. But that’s just a perception. The truth is that to be a lifeguard you should just be someone who likes to help people. Our goal is for people to come to the beach with a happy heart, and to leave with a happy heart. The perfect day is when there are no incidents – nothing, zero – for a whole 24 hours.
You have to be strong and healthy to do this job. You have to like sports, and you have to be prepared to take responsibility. But if any young person wants to become a lifeguard, the first thing they need to do is the basic lifeguard training. It takes about 10 days.
I get home at about 3pm. I have a drink of water as soon as I get in, and I look to see where my daughter is, and then I chat with my wife about what’s happened during the day.
We usually eat at home. There must be rice, and usually we have tempeh or tofu with it; but my favourite is fish. I like anything to do with the sea, including food! I drink water with my dinner. I don’t like tea or coffee, though I’ll have a beer on special occasions.
After that I read, or help to teach my daughter. I prefer reading books about life to watching TV.
Last thing at night I take a look outside to make sure everything is safe and secure, and I’m in bed by midnight. The last thing I think before I fall asleep is how happy I am with my life and the job I do, but I also worry a little about the idea of losing it.Filed under: One Day |
warc | 201704 | Islamist terrorists have exploited the lawless Sinai to perpetrate vicious attacks on Egyptian Christians there, as reported recently by the
New York Times. Indeed, throughout Egypt, the Copts continue to be targeted and scapegoated for the ousting of the Muslim Brotherhood.
As defenseless and abandoned as Mideast Christians seem today, it is worth remembering their historical roots, and recognizing just how much the plight of Middle East Christians has deteriorated. Over 2,000 years ago, Christianity was born as a religion and spread from Jerusalem to other parts of the Levant, including territories in modern Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, and Egypt. The Christian faith flourished as one of the major religions in the Middle East until the Muslim conquests of the 7th century.
Despite Muslim domination of the region, Christians comprised an estimated 20% of the Middle East population until the early 20th century. Today, however, Christians make up a mere 2-5% of the Middle East and their numbers are fast dwindling. Writing in the Winter 2001 issue of Middle East Quarterly, scholar Daniel Pipes estimated that Middle East Christians would “likely drop to” half of their numbers “by the year 2020” because of declining birth rates and a pattern of “exclusion and persecution” leading to emigration.
The “Arab Spring” has only worsened conditions for the indigenous Christians of the Middle East. Like the Kurds, Middle East Christians are a stateless minority, struggling to survive in the world’s toughest neighborhood. But the Kurds at least have enjoyed partial autonomy in Iraqi Kurdistan since 1991 and most of them are Sunni Muslim, making it easier for them to survive in the Muslim-dominated Middle East. Christians, on the other hand, are a religious minority that controls no territory and is entirely subject to the whims of their hosts. These host countries – with the exception of Israel – offer a grim future to Middle East Christians.
Home to one of the oldest Christian communities in the world, Egypt also has the largest Christian population in the Middle East, totaling 8-12 million people. But because Christian Copts make up only about 10-15% of Egypt’s estimated 80 million people, they have for decades lived in fear as second-class citizens, subjected to attacks on churches, villages, homes, and shops; mob killings; and the abduction and forced Islamic conversion of Christian women compelled to marry Muslim men. Such abuse took place under the staunchly secular regime of Hosni Mubarak, but grew much worse under the rule of Mohammed Morsi, the jailed Muslim Brotherhood activist who succeeded Mubarak, and they are now being blamed for Morsi’s ouster.
In Lebanon, Christians represent a bigger portion of the population, so their fate is for now less precarious than that of their Egyptian coreligionists, but their long-term prospects are worrisome. The Christian population is estimated to have dropped from over 50% (according to a 1932 census) to about 40%. Over the last few years, the de facto governing power in Lebanon has become Hezbollah, the radical and heavily-armed Shiite movement sponsored by Iran. With all of the spillover violence and instability produced by the Syrian civil war and Hezbollah’s open involvement in it, and/or the next war that Hezbollah decides to start with Israel, the emigration of Christians out of Lebanon will probably only increase in the coming years, leaving those who stay increasingly vulnerable.
In Syria, 2.5 million Christians comprised about 10% of the population and enjoyed some protection under the secular and often brutal regimes of the Assad dynasty. But as jihadi groups fighting Assad extend their territorial control, the past protection of Christians is often the cause of their current persecution by resentful Sunnis who revile the Assad regime and seek to impose Sharia law wherever they can. Christians have been regularly targeted and killed by rebels, and the sectarian chaos and violence that will likely prevail in Assad’s wake will only increase the number of Christians fleeing Syria.
In Iraq, the bloody aftermath of the 2003 invasion demonstrated how dangerous life can become for a Christian minority when a multicultural society in the Middle East explodes into sectarian violence. By 2008, half of the 800,000 Iraqi Christians were estimated to have left, rendering those remaining even more insecure. In 2010, Salafist extremists attacked a Baghdad church during Sunday Mass, killing or wounding nearly the whole congregation. Such incidents turn any communal gathering into a potential massacre, forcing Christians across the Middle East to ask the ultimate question of faith: “Am I prepared to die for Christian worship?”
The so-called “Arab Spring” threatens to exacerbate matters in much of the Middle East, as Islamists now either control the government or influence it enough to persecute Christians with impunity. As new Islamist regimes in the Middle East condone religious intolerance and introduce Sharia and blasphemy laws, the long-term trend for Christians in their ancestral lands will only grow bleaker.
The one bright spot is the state of Israel – “the only place in the Middle East [where] Christians are really safe,” according to the Vicar of St. George’s Church in Baghdad, Canon Andrew White. Home to Christianity’s holiest sites and to a colorful array of Christian denominations, Israel has the only growing Christian community in the Middle East.
Because Israel is the only non-Muslim state in all of the Middle East and North Africa, it represents a small victory for religious minorities in the region, and serves as the last protector of freedom and security for Jews, Christians, Bahai, Druze, and others. Without Israel, how much more vulnerable would Christians in the Middle East become?
Noah Beck is the author of The Last Israelis , an apocalyptic novel about Iranian nukes and current geopolitical issues in the Middle East. |
warc | 201704 | The percentage of U.S. teenagers in grades nine through 12 who reported having had sex remained stable between 2001 and 2003 at 45.6% and 46.7%, respectively, according to the CDC
's 2003 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey, which was published in the May 21 issue of the agency's
Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report
, the
Washington Times
reports (Wetzstein,
Washington Times
, 5/21). The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System
monitors six categories of health risk behaviors among U.S. teens, including behaviors that contribute to unintentional injuries and violence; tobacco use; alcohol and drug use; sexual behaviors that contribute to unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV; unhealthy dietary behaviors; and physical activity. The report summarizes the results of a survey administered to teens in grades nine through 12 between February and December 2003 (Grunbaum et al.,
MMWR
, 5/21). The report, which includes findings from 15,214 completed surveys, presents national data and results from 32 states and 18 large cities (CDC release
, 5/20). YRBSS has conducted the anonymous survey every two years since 1991, according to the
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
(McKenna,
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
, 5/21).
Gender Differences, Condom Use The percentage of teenage girls who reported having had sex increased in all ethnic groups and in most grades, according to the survey, the Washington Times reports. Compared with results from the 2001 survey, the percentage of black teen girls who reported having had sex increased by 7.5 percentage points to 60.9% in 2003, and the percentage of white and Hispanic teen girls increased two percentage points to 43% and 46.4%, respectively, over the same time period. However, the percentage of teen boys who reported having had sex declined among whites and Hispanics and increased only among black teen boys, according to the survey. Among teen boys, sexual activity among whites fell 4.6 percentage points between 2001 and 2003 to 40.5%, and the rate among Hispanics dropped 3.8 percentage points to 56.8% over the same time period. The sexual activity rate among black teen boys increased five percentage points between 2001 and 2003 to 73.8%, according to the survey ( Washington Times, 5/21). Although boys historically are more likely to have intercourse for the first time at a younger age than girls, there was a decline between 1991 and 2003 in the percentage of boys having sex before age 13, the Chicago Tribune reports. In 2003, 10.4% of male teens said they had started having sex before age 13, compared with 15.1% in 1991 (Graham/Miller Rubin, Chicago Tribune, 5/21). Overall, the study found that teen condom use during last intercourse increased five percentage points between 2001 and 2003, with 63% of teens surveyed in 2003 reporting having used a condom during their last sexual encounter ( Washington Times, 5/21). Since 1991, teen condom use during last intercourse has increased almost 17 percentage points, according to the survey ( Atlanta Journal Constitution, 5/21). In addition, the percentage of teens who reported having had sex with more than four partners in their lifetime dropped from 19% in 1991 to 14% in 2003, the New York Times reports (O'Connor, New York Times, 5/21). Reaction CDC Director Julie Gerberding said, "Too many young people still engage in activities that place them at risk for serious injury, sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV infection, and chronic disease such as heart disease and cancer," adding, "We need to continue to provide them with the information and skills that can help them make the right choices today so that they can live a long and healthy life" (CDC release, 5/20). Kristin Moore, president of the Washington, D.C.-based not-for-profit research group Child Trends, said that the survey findings show that "[w]e can't just inoculate kids and they will avoid alcohol, sex and drugs. We really have to focus on this continuously" ( Washington Times, 5/21). National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy spokesperson Bill Albert said that the reasons behind the survey results are "[l]ess sex, fewer partners, more contraceptive use" ( Chicago Tribune, 5/21). Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States President and CEO Tamara Kreinin said, "The overall decline in sexual activity and increased condom use among high school students since 1991 is a healthy and positive trend, but we still have a long way to go," adding, "Parents, lawmakers, community leaders and educators must recommit themselves to giving young people what they want, need and deserve -- medically accurate, life-saving sexual health information, communication skills and the relationship skills to help them become sexually healthy adults" (SIECUS release, 5/20).
Back to other news for May 21, 2004
AdvertisementReprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/hiv. The Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of the Kaiser Family Foundation, by The Advisory Board Company. © 2004 by The Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved. |
warc | 201704 | There are naked people at Harvard and they're not just posing for a figuredrawing class. "Oh, "you may scoff, "I haven't seen all that many of my classmates naked" (or "nekkid" if you're from the South). All I can say is, they may not show up in the buff to the Omelet Station at Special Dinners, but there are nudists among us and their name is Legion.
Actually, one of their names is Kitt. Kitt Hirasaki '96 is most comfortable sitting around his room or running up and down the halls not completely nude, but clad only in his tighty-whities. "It's a pretty recent development," he said, speaking of his penchant for pantlessness. "I guess since I came to college. I'm from Texas, where it's not that socially acceptable to sit around in your underwear in public. Still, I used to walk around in my underwear all the time when I was at home and when I came here I didn't see any reason to change that and I figured, the whole place is my home. My roommates don't seem to mind."
Mitch McClure, '96, one of the roommates in question, upholds Hirasaki's assertion. "It doesn't bother me," he says of his roommate's exhibitionistic tendencies. "But I hate to be naked. I always wear clothes, especially in the shower."
It's not just a few aberrant personalities like Hirasaki who frolic around the houses half-dressed (or undressed). Some entire sub-groups embrace nudity as a bonding ritual. The First-year Outdoor Program, in particular, has a reputation for exhibitionistic excess.
I once attended a party where four men and one woman, wearing bobby socks, penny loafers and a red scrunchy in her hair, danced completely naked. When I brought up the subject in a later conversation, the person next to me said "Oh. FOP people were there." Although skinny-dipping is a ritual part of the FOP experience, some FOPpies like to preserve the magic by getting naked whenever they're together.
Certain sports teams also like to undress en masse, to various degrees of nudity. Gaelen B. Phyfe '96 says that the women's sailing team falls into this category of athletes with a penchant for taking their clothes off. "Sailors get topless more than they get naked--at least at Harvard," Phyfe reports. "Usually late at night at a party, one person starts it...by taking another person's top off."
When asked why sailors shed their tops, Phyfe conjectured, "People are probably comfortable in their bodies. I don't know why they do it, but I don't know why they wouldn't. Everyone's pretty mellow and self-assured." After all, if you've got it, flaunt it. Many do.
Still, it's not quite as simple. There are more important issues here, questions that must be answered. For example, why are some of us more likely to enjoy getting naked than others? There are those who think that in such a diverse community, cultural background may have something to do with it.
Julia E. Starkey '95 supports those theorists who think that enjoyment of nudity, gymnophilia, may have cultural roots. "I'm naked a lot," she says. "I'm perfectly comfortable being naked when most people aren't because my mom's Swedish and in Sweden kids run around naked until they're 10. My mom never raised me to think it was wrong."
Upon arriving at Harvard, Starkey was dismayed to discover that not everyone shared a similar nonchalance Puritanical. I walk from the shower to my dorm room in my towel. She changes in the shower a lot."
As promised in the admissions brochure, Starkey and her roommate learned from each other's cultural differences. "Now she's not as traumatized if I run around half-naked. Or what she'd consider half-naked-a T-shirt and my underwear."
Starkey's ideas of what is appropriate in terms of public exposure have been modified with time, she explains. "It never occurred to me until I was in middle school that you're not supposed to run around naked."
"You're not. You are NOT," added a shocked Nathan Lump '96. Clearly Lump is not among the Harvard minority which believes that clothing is a harmful artificial construct that is far better avoided in favor of the purity of nudity, the ultimate in meta-fashion.
Starkey, on the other hand is strongly in favor of mass nudity. "I think it's weird that people don't walk around naked. If more people were naked more, it would be a better society. At this point we've all taken bio, we've all see people naked, or at least a picture of someone naked. I refuse to believe that people make it to college without ever seeing a person naked, at least obliquely if not personally."
That's tough logic to dispute, but there are those who love their clothes and believe that only the select few should exhibit their wares. Even Hirasaki, for all his love of lounging in lingerie, admits, "We thought about having a naked party, a party where everyone would have to come completely naked, but then we realized--most people, you just don't want to see them naked."
FM could not disagree more.
*Editors' Note: As true menschen, it is our Duty to inform you about fashion. |
warc | 201704 | The House GOP’s Big Immigration Fail
Despite a string of embarrassing and disheartening mistakes, the Obama administration does not have to worry about a suddenly resurgent Republican Party. The GOP has its hands full. Even with this year’s primary season behind them, sharp divides between insurgents and establishment remain. The door is sliding closed on replacing Obamacare, and Republicans won’t get another shot at running our foreign policy until at least 2017. Just because the president has lost the initiative does not mean the GOP has regained it.
Now, Republicans are held captive by narratives, not just events. And the main narrative staring them down for the rest of Obama’s term is “obstructionism.”
It’s an old story, but this time it has some bite, because now, Republicans are obstructing themselves. What’s more, they’re doing it on what leading political and media figures want to be the next big marquee issue for sweeping, top-down reform.
A critical mass of influential figures now demands the GOP act on immigration, one way or the other. And that means the House GOP.
House Speaker John Boehner has stalled on immigration with great vigor. This year, however, something’s got to give. In the Senate, big-time personal politics forged a team of Republican egos that can’t tolerate playing second fiddle to mere Representatives. They know that if there’s no vote by August, immigration is dead for the year—and the Senate will have to pass it again next year if it’s ever to return. The pressure is on from the left, as well. Democrats have given activist groups their marching orders: “Train all your fire on House Republicans from now until August,” as Politico sums them up.
As part of the Democrats’ offensive, the Center for American Progress has dutifully whipped up a survey showing that almost half of Latino respondents would blame the GOP for Congressional inaction on immigration, while just 16 percent would blame Democrats.
Those sorts of numbers are just the start of the House’s troubles, as Majority Leader Eric Cantor knows all too well. This election year, he was caught in a withering crossfire of immigration criticism from right and left alike—slammed for being pro-amnesty on the one hand and anti-reform on the other.
The justifiable concern this spectacle raises is that Republicans stand to lose no matter what they do. That same CAP poll puts a spotlight on the pitfalls: 45 percent of respondents said they’d be more “favorable” toward Republicans in general, and 61 percent more “open” to their ideas, if only the House GOP would “support immigration reform.”
Like many polls, CAP’s was carefully tailored to encourage the results desired. But the dilemma for Republicans is clear enough. Chasing after mere favorability and openness is an unbecoming act of desperation. The nightmare scenario for the GOP is a marginally more GOP-friendly Hispanic population that still breaks strongly Democratic, cycle after cycle. And there’s just no indication that, politically speaking, the Senate approach to reform will yield anything but that.
What House Republicans need, but do not have, is a cohesive approach to immigration that can be stacked up against the Senate’s. It’s got to be an approach that doesn’t go full remember-the-Alamo, like the grassroots’ preferred approach, or full dollar-sign-eyes, like the Chamber of Commerce wing of the party. But it’s also got to avoid the cloying, off-putting sentimentalism of the RINO wing that sees government as a salvific, nationalistic Santa Claus, bestowing the blessings of full American-ness on a people stuck in the “shadows.”
Now would seem like a strange time for a dispassionate, de-politicized immigration solution to emerge from the House. But there’s one waiting to be cobbled together, if only Boehner and company would think it through.
It would take shape in accordance with a three-step acknowledgement of the basic realities we confront on the issue. First, the “illegal immigration crisis” is over. Whether we keep border security about where it is or whether we ramp it up dramatically, there just isn’t going to be the kind of massive influx that got us where we are today. A future economic boom might bump up the numbers, but right now they’re around net zero—a figure that has more to do with Mexicans and Mexico than it does with the U.S. economy.
That means, second, that we’re dealing with a finite, specific population of undocumented immigrants. They’re not going to clone themselves. Like all of us, they’re going to get old, and they’re eventually going to die. The political and legal problem posed by “illegal immigration today” is only going to get smaller over time. In fact, as we all know, the American-born children of those undocumented immigrants are all going to be citizens from Day One.
And third of all, and in sum, the “immigration problem” boils down to a far more specific and narrow situation than so many of us have allowed ourselves to think. Although the Obama administration has done an energetic job of deporting some people, there just isn’t a strong enough consensus to kick out the finite population of undocumented. On the other hand, although a blanket amnesty is a far more elegant, enforceable, and principled policy than a patchwork of half-measures that plays favorites on the basis of ethnicity or education policy, there just isn’t a strong enough consensus to deliver that outcome, either.
So one thing we know for sure is that we’re not going to give the boot or give amnesty to the finite, specific population of undocumented immigrants who crossed the border illegally. And another thing we know is that birthright citizenship means we don’t have to worry about their kids’ status.
Critics of immigration reform harbor one of two justified fears. Some critics worry that reform would be like an on/off switch—suddenly and irreversibly changing America forever. Others worry that reform would be the opposite—a never-ending morass of bureaucracy, legalese, and special status, hardwiring yet more regulatory complexity and intrusive government into everything we do.
By focusing solely on the actual humans whose legal status needs to be finalized, however, we can act swiftly, safe in the knowledge that a policy tailored to them won’t transform America or make implementation a permanent process.
Give the undocumented some documentation, but not citizenship. Let them pay some back taxes. Let them learn English if they like. And let their American-born children be American citizens.
Is that a “perfect” approach? Is it “comprehensive?” More importantly, do we need to care? It sidesteps most of our political and culture-war drama, attending to our present needs in a way that wins us back the most valuable commodity of all in a democracy: time to think and talk in relative peace and quiet. |
warc | 201704 | BRUNSWICK — The School Board received updated costs for building a new school or doing repairs as it decides how to update aging schools.
Coffin Elementary School and Brunswick Junior High School were built in 1959, and have never had major renovations, according to a report for the School Department by PDT Architects. The result is that both buildings fail to meet basic standards for fire safety, accessibility and hazardous materials.
The School Board initially voted to send a $12.5 million bond to repair the schools and update portable classrooms to the Town Council, but the council blocked it from going to a public hearing in August.
Since then, the School Board has resurrected the possibility of building a new school on the site of the former Jordan Acres Elementary School.
Architect Lyndon Keck of PDT presented updated costs for that project at the board’s Nov. 12 meeting.
The price of building a new, 99,000-square-foot, 660-student school for kindergarten through second grade at Jordan Acres would be just more than $27.7 million, Keck reported, up from a previously estimated cost of $26.3 million.
Keck also presented two more “simplified” floor plans, which could still house 660 children, which would cost $24 million and $24.5 million, respectively.
The cost of “light” renovations at Coffin went up to just under $17 million, “major” renovations went up to more than $19.5 million, and a new building was estimated to cost $25.2 million.
For BJHS, light renovations and small additions ranged from just over $16 million to just under $20 million, a large addition was estimated at $22.8 million, and a new building would be $34 million.
Board members did not expressly endorse a plan, and sent the numbers to the facilities committee for a recommendation.
At that committee’s meeting Tuesday, Nov. 17, board members struggled with the baggage of the past attached to the newly updated plan.
The original Jordan Acres floor plan was presented to the public at a meeting in January 2014, where it was widely criticized. Many in attendance argued its K-2 grade structure would break up educational “continuity,” compared to a K-5 school.
Board member Sarah Singer worried that the revised plan for Jordan Acres would be shot down if sent to a bond referendum.
“(The January 2014) meeting, if anything, showed that we did not have support for this,” she said. “I cannot be convinced that rushing (this plan) … will not blow up in our faces.”
Board member Rich Ellis agreed that the plan needed substantial public support to pass, but argued that delaying the decision further could be dangerous.
“We’ve been meandering through this for four years,” he said.
The four-year meander started in 2011, when the original Jordan Acres Elementary School was closed.
An inadequately designed connection caused a ceiling beam to crack that year, but was quickly stabilized. However, facing a $4 million budget gap due to declining enrollment after the closing of Brunswick Naval Air Station and the loss of high school students from Durham to Regional School Unit 5, the board voted to close the school to save $800,000, according to Superintendent Paul Perzanoski.
Brunswick now has a new elementary school, Harriet Beecher Stowe, that is over capacity to accommodate the loss of Jordan Acres, Perzanoski said at the facilities committee meeting Tuesday, and another elementary school that needs significant repairs.
“We have to do something,” he said. “Otherwise there will be another 4 1/2 years of chasing our tail, and getting nothing done, and continuing to have schools which are falling apart.”
Committee members Singer and Ellis agreed not to endorse a specific proposal for a new school Tuesday, but to go back to the board for a discussion on how to get public involvement on the plan through a workshop or series of workshops.
“I am OK with a new K-2 school (at Jordan Acres), but it has to be something special … to get a groundswell” of public support, Singer said.
“What if (the public) is supportive of a new school,” Singer asked, “but this is not the school they want?”
A preliminary rendering of a new elementary school at the site of the former Jordan Acres Elementary School in Brunswick. |
warc | 201704 | If you met the man of your dreams and he was HIV positive, would his HIV status keep you from dating him?
Tyler responds:
However, you asked how you could reject someone because he is HIV-positive in a polite manner. In order to do so, you need to inquire about a person’s status during the first meeting if not sooner. It is not up to the person to disclose their status to you before sex enters into the equation, so if you are trying to weed out HIV-positive folks, you need to screen your date as early as possible. Ask what their HIV-status is in a text or give them a call so that you can turn the situation into a friendly vibe before letting the romantic feels set in.
But before you relax and proceed to your dating life as normal, it is important to figure out why you are against dating someone who is HIV-positive. If it is to protect yourself from getting HIV, it’s my obligation to warn you about your false sense of security. The truth is,91 percent of new infections stem from a person who is either unaware of their HIV status or has yet to begin treatment. And from someone who knows a thing or two about reading into statistics, it would be safe to assume that a person who has yet to start treatment
would also be hesitant to disclose their HIV status when asked. It’s not science, but I’d put 20 bucks on it anyway.
You may think this next thing I am going to say is just a ploy to convince you to date poz guys, but you and your sexual health would be remiss to dismiss it. A person who willingly discloses their HIV status to you and who has achieved an undetectable viral load through treatment is probably your safest bet for two reasons. One, because they gave you the information you need to take the proper steps to protect yourself, whatever your method of protection may be. Two, because there has never been even one reported case of a person with an undetectable viral load transmitting the virus.
If, however, the reasons you don’t want to date an HIV-positive person have nothing to do with the safety of your sexual health, then by all means, avoid them. Maybe you don’t want people thinking that you are HIV-positive. Maybe you are too afraid to be with someone who has dealt with such hefty life issues. Don’t feel bad about it; you do you. It doesn’t matter, because any self-respecting person with HIV probably wouldn’t want to be with you either.
There is one thing, though, that you may be surprised to find. As more people become educated about HIV and invested in fighting the stigma that comes with living with it, you may find HIV-negative guys who are turned off by your “negative only” mentality.
But I digress… Find out their status right away and end things before they begin. That way, you save yourself from getting to know someone who has a disease that has nothing to do with the person he is, and he can find someone who is worth his time.
Do you agree with Curry’s response? Let us know below.
h/t: Instinct |
warc | 201704 | A memorable moment in the gangster film
Pulp Fiction finds Uma Thurman’s character near death from a heroin overdose, then speedily revived when an adrenalin-filled syringe is plunged through her breastbone and into her heart.
That’s not at all how Toronto Public Health’s new opiate-reversal kits work – their antidote can be shot into any muscle. Nonetheless, distributed under the auspices of the city’s needle-exchange program, the kits’ results have been almost as dramatic in cities such as Chicago where they have been put to use.
The kits contain naloxone, an injectable antidote for overdoses of heroin, morphine, oxycontin and other opium-based narcotics that is highly effective and has long been deployed in hospital emergency rooms. Now it has a wider, buddy-system use. Toronto physician Philip Berger, who has spent decades administering to drug addicts and other street people, applauds the city’s new initiative, launched Aug. 31. So far about 75 of the kits have been handed out, worth about $25 apiece, comprising two new syringes and two 1-cc doses of naloxone.
Years ago, a patient of Dr. Berger was charged with manslaughter (later acquitted) when his girlfriend died of an accidental heroin overdose. Had naloxone been available, Dr. Berger suggests, the woman’s life might have been saved.
“It’s part of a general approach for reducing the harm, illness and death associated with drug use, rather than trying to eliminate drug use, which is totally hopeless.”
Shaun Hopkins oversees Toronto’s needle-exchange program, which dates back to 1989, and reaches perhaps a few thousand (recipients do not have to supply names) of Toronto’s estimated 10,000 to 25,000 intravenous drug-users.
Since naloxone distribution began, she’s aware of at least four instances where an addict in serious trouble was revived with a shot of the drug, also known by its brand name Narcan; two went to hospital for observation, two did not. Roughly 100 people die in Toronto from drug overdoses each year, chiefly heroin-related, and the hope is to dent those numbers.
So why now?
“I was hearing more and more about these programs and how important they’ve been in other cities,” Ms. Hopkins said.
These include Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Boston, and naloxone is also used at Vancouver’s InSite drug clinic, which last month got a green light from the Supreme Court (Toronto is currently studying the feasibility of a similar project, which Mayor Rob Ford strongly opposes. Mr. Ford’s office said he was unaware of the naloxone program).
The only other Canadian needle-exchange program that distributes naloxone is the Edmonton agency Streetworks.
“It has been very successful, we are seeing lives saved,” said Ashley Cherniwchan, the registered nurse attached to Streetworks who oversees naloxone distribution. Since the full program began in 2007, she’s aware of eight instances of successful intervention, but is sure many more have been unreported.
Junkies usually overdose for two reasons – they underestimate the strength of the drug, or they’ve resumed injecting after a break – and administering the antidote is not complicated.
Drug users are coached in spotting the warning signs: slow, shallow breathing, bluish lips, general unresponsiveness. The naloxone is injected into the muscle, even through clothing, rather than into a vein, and revival starts within one to four minutes.
The partner is also instructed to do chest compressions, roll the person on to their side to facilitate breathing, and call 911 – whether they stick around for the ambulance or not.
Naloxone has no side effects, but its main function – rapidly purging the system of opioids by blocking receptors in the brain – can be cathartic.
“The only problem is that it puts the person receiving it in a state of acute withdrawal, so they’re going to wake up and feel like using,” Dr. Berger said. “But it gives them an opportunity to use judiciously and carefully.”
---------------------------------------
Naloxone's success in Chicago
The first street agency in North America to distribute naloxone was the Chicago Recovery Alliance, and as in Toronto and Edmonton, several years of groundwork came first.
In a city whose population is slightly larger than Toronto’s, more than 22,000 overdose prevention kits have been distributed by the CRA since 2001, and executive director Dan Bigg knows of a remarkable 2,720 instances in which a heroin or morphine overdose was reversed.
“It’s such a model of hope, even UN Global Fund has caught on to it,” he says of naloxone, which he has personally administered many times.
“It strengthens everything you do in outreach: Safer injections, safer sex, all of a sudden you have a consistent, life-affirming approach.”
In a program built around one drug user saving another with a quick, easy shot, one particular do-it-yourself client stands out: A bricklayer from Cicero, Ill., who would shoot up heroin while in the other hand holding a syringe of naloxone as he drifted off, in case he needed it.
“He just plunges it in, and he says he’s done that two or three times and revived himself,” Mr. Bigg said. “But that’s very unusual.”
As for that overdose scene in Pulp Fiction – fiction it truly is, Mr. Bigg says.
The adrenalin ostensibly used to revive Uma Thurman’s character is principally used for heart-attack victims.
“And when you overdose on opiates your heart is fine initially, the people I revived, their hearts were beating rapidly. The problem is, you don’t breathe enough, although finally with a lack of oxygen your heart will begin to stop and then you die. So keep the person breathing, that’s the primary thing we teach.”
Timothy Appleby
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warc | 201704 | The top Republican tax writer in Congress has proposed cutting the U.S. federal tax on business profits to 25 per cent, a pitch that would narrow Canada’s advantage over its biggest competitor for international investment.
Dave Camp, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, also would simplify the tax code by replacing the current seven personal tax brackets with two. American taxpayers who currently pay between 25 and 39.6 per cent on their income would pay 25 per cent, and those who currently pay between 10 and 15 per cent would pay 10 per cent under Mr. Camp’s plan.
The corporate- and personal-income tax cuts headline a 979-page bill that stands as the most ambitious attempt to overhaul U.S. tax law in three decades. Odds are slim that the bill will move forward quickly, but Mr. Camp’s proposals could shape a debate that both Democratic and Republican leaders say they want to have.
“There are a couple of reasons to be optimistic about it,” Josh Earnest, a White House spokesman, told Bloomberg News. At the same time, “there are some aspects of this proposal that we do not agree with,” Mr. Earnest said.
When measured against the size of its economy, the United States collects relatively little tax revenue. The tax code is loaded with a myriad of tax breaks and loopholes that economists say hurt productivity because companies devote energy to lowering their tax bills that could be put to more productive uses. Yet the U.S. corporate rate – at 39.6 per cent – is the highest among developed countries, discouraging international companies from claiming profits in a country that often is the source of the bulk of their revenue.
“If we don’t act, we will continue to fall behind,” Mr. Camp said at a press conference in Washington, singling out Canada as a country that has lowered corporate taxes to become a more competitive place to do business.
Canada’s federal corporate tax rate is 15 per cent, while provincial and territorial rates range from 10 per cent in Alberta to 16 per cent in Nova Scotia. U.S. states tax corporate profits at rates that range between 3 per cent and about 9 per cent.
Predictably, lobbyists swarmed to attack various aspects of Mr. Camp’s plan that would hurt the industries they represent.
Banking associations, especially, were incensed over a provision that would add a levy on the assets of the country’s biggest banks. The American Petroleum Institute took issue with Mr. Camp’s intention to end an accounting method favoured by oil producers. Charles Schumer, a leading Democratic senator, called Mr. Camp’s plan “dead on arrival” because it would end taxpayers’ ability to deduct state and local taxes from their federal tax returns.
Mr. Camp also had his supporters, as lowering the corporate tax rate is broadly popular with U.S. business. The politics are working against him in the short term because Republican and Democratic leaders are reluctant to attach themselves to something as potentially controversial as tax reform ahead of midterm elections.
The political backdrop will change after the midterms, and many in Washington say tax overhaul is possible in 2015. Barack Obama has advocated lowering the corporate tax rate for much of his presidency. He differs with Mr. Camp on the need to lower individual rates, and the president also wants the richest Americans to pay higher taxes. Mr. Camp’s plan is revenue-neutral.Report Typo/Error
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warc | 201704 | The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and 12 other accounting institutes have sent an open letter to political leaders at the Copenhagen conference calling for universal accounting standards for relevant financial reporting on climate change.
The 15 organisations come from the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Honk Kong, Japan and South Africa. Among the signatories are the UK’s Accounting for Sustainability project, which has been pushing for standards for several years.
The open letter is a call for a single set of universally accepted standards for climate change disclosure in mainstream financial reports. The letter maintains that an independent, stakeholder-led body with appropriate links to public authorities should be established to develop and adopt the accounting standards.
There are de-facto standards out there, including the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) surveys and in 2007 the World Economic Forum created the Climate Disclosure Standards Board which proposed a framework for climate risk-related reporting by corporations in May 2009.
It’s clear that some sort of minimum standard is required, as any sift through the annual reports from corporations shows. There are too many ways that information can be interpreted and comparisons can be well-nigh impossible.
As far as the IT implications go, most carbon management and reporting solutions offer a number of ways to slice and dice the data and even more formats for reporting, so it’s probably not going to have much of an impact on the market (except, perhaps, to lower the market entry barrier for new suppliers). |
warc | 201704 | Career focused education proposed as solution for Louisiana’s failure rates
NEW ORLEANS, La. – A new Harvard School of Education study, “Pathways to Prosperity,” recommends that educators place a stronger focus on vocational education and apprenticeships, rather than aim to send every high school student to college.
“We are the only developed nation that depends so exclusively on its higher education system as the sole institutional vehicle to help young people transition from secondary school to careers,” says Robert Schwartz, academic dean of the college and co-author of the study.
The study sought to address the failure of young adults to either finish four-year degrees or find fitting vocational opportunities.
Currently, 70 percent of American students fail to earn a four-year degree and face limited employment prospects. However, Georgetown’s Center on Education and the Workforce, cited in the Harvard study, projects that by 2018 nearly half of all job openings that require post-secondary education will go to people with an associates degree or occupational certificate.
The implication is that students failing out of four-year programs would find better prospects in these targeted professional programs. The study also calls for elementary and high school educators to develop a curriculum with these alternative programs in mind.
Louisiana typifies the observed educational mismatch. According to the Southern Regional Education Board, 70 percent of Louisiana’s high school graduates enter college within one year, but only 38% graduate within six years. That compares to a national average of 55 percent. Louisiana students who fail out of college have almost four times the unemployment of those who graduate.
While concerned about low graduation rates, Penny Dastugue, president of the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, notes record numbers of students in Louisiana’s community colleges – in her view a positive trend worthy of encouragement.
“We need to do a better job exposing our students to different career pathways so that they understand what options are available to them after graduation.” However, she is resistant to students being “tracked on a certain pathway as early as middle school that limits their options upon graduation.”
Frederick Hess of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, claims that it is not a lack of opportunities available for students, but rather a problem of education institutions lowering their standards.
“A given credential does not have an absolute meaning. For instance, a high school diploma 50 years ago doesn’t represent the same amount of learning as a diploma does today.”
He continues, “Someone can assert that an employee will need a two year degree for certain employment opportunities in 2015 or 2035, but what really matters is what skills and knowledge are represented by that degree – and that can vary across institutions and over time.”
Click here for a transcript of the interview with Penny Dastugue.
Robert Ross is a researcher and social media strategist with the Pelican Institute for Public Policy. He can be contacted at [email protected], and you can follow him on twitter. . . |
warc | 201704 | Sell in May and go away could be the oldest stock market adage but new research indicates that it is not the most fruitful strategy — if only because you will forego the interim dividends paid by many companies. A study from Bestinvest, a wealth management group, shows that investors who kept their money in the market in the summer enjoyed average annualised market returns of 10.9 per cent — including dividend payments — over the past 25 years. Those who left received an average return of 9.8 per cent.
The “Sell in May” advice harks back to the era when City boys |
warc | 201704 | “Work used to be tiring and my legs would ache and swell. Now I have more energy and no longer have pain and swelling in my legs after work.”
– T. A. What is postpartum swelling?
Postpartum swelling is normal following delivery. Symptoms may last up to several weeks and slowly resolve.
Possible Symptoms Swelling in extremeties High blood pressure Severe headaches Upper abdominal pain Nausea What causes postpartum swelling?
During the delivery, not all the extra blood leaves the body. A combination of this extra blood, hormonal changes, and fluid retention make hands, legs, and ankles swell post-pregnancy. It is known as postpartum edema or postpartum swelling.
DIAGNOSIS & TREATMENTS
Persistent swelling of the lower extremities following delivery may be a sign of a more advanced underlying cause such as venous insufficiency. Ultrasound diagnostics are used to determine the cause. |
warc | 201704 | A MAJOR national conference on the uplands will be held at Newton Rigg College next month.
The event aims to address challenges thrown up by the current consultation on CAP payments and its potential impact on the way upland farms, moorland and forestry are managed.
The influential list of speakers includes Defra’s deputy director Mike Rowe, National Trust director general Dame Helen Ghosh, National Sheep Association chief executive Phil Stocker and Lake District National Park Authority chief executive Richard Leafe.
Organisers say the conference provides a forum for debate on ‘the many different and sometimes conflicting’ issues faced by uplands. Newton Rigg, near Penrith, is home to the National Centre for the Uplands (NCU) and the only UK college to have its own upland farm and grouse moor.
It is also unique in offering a specialist degree course in uplands agriculture with land management.
Douglas Phillips, who leads the National Centre for the Uplands, said: “The conference could not come at a more opportune moment, as policy makers across the UK look to finalise changes regarding the re-distribution of CAP funds, which could have a huge impact on how we manage our uplands and on the rural communities that rely upon them economically."
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Mr Phillips continued: “It will doubtless be a lively and informative two days, given the diverse range of speakers which includes practitioners, policy makers, researchers and planners. Our aim is to provide an opportunity for debate that will increase awareness of the different perspectives and thus encourage greater understanding and co-operation.
“We need to ensure that we build a vibrant and sustainable upland economy based on agriculture and positive land management that will ultimately protect some of the most vulnerable and precious landscapes in the United Kingdom for future generations.”
Entitled ‘Future Upland Management: Balancing environmental, social and economic demands’, the conference will take place on May 13 and 14. To register and for further details please contact Michaela Dixon – [email protected] or call 01768-893508. |
warc | 201704 | RUTH SUNDERLAND: Lawsuit against Barclays over 'dark pool' operations in US yet more evidence of scale of Antony Jenkins' task
Thrown in at the deep end
Antony Jenkins can have been under no illusions when he took over from the unlamented Bob Diamond as chief executive of Barclays that changing the culture of the bank would be a gruelling effort.
The lawsuit filed against Barclays by the New York Attorney General alleging fraud, deceit and misrepresentation in its ‘dark pool’ operations in the US, is yet more evidence of the scale of his task.
The accusations are particularly damaging because, if true, Barclays will have been once again caught red-handed in undermining the integrity of markets, as it was in the Libor scandal.
Mountain to climb: Antony Jenkins knew that when he took over from Bob Diamond, changing the culture of the bank would be a gruelling effort
Defenders of Barclays are suggesting there might be political motivation by attorney general Eric Schneiderman, who is up for re-election this year and going after a big bank, particularly a foreign one, is seen as an easy way of courting popularity.
Be that as it may, Barclays will not be helped by the fact that the dark pool operation was known internally as ‘The Franchise’, which sounds like the title of a John Grisham novel.
Whatever the merits of its case, the odds are that Barclays will hand over a large sum to settle it, as Standard Chartered did over sanctions-busting, because the US officials hold all the cards.
Despite the sinister name, dark pools are not necessarily a bad thing in themselves.
They can provide better liquidity and pricing particularly at times when the dealing spreads on conventional markets have widened.
During the Crimea crisis in the spring, for example, the dark pool service run by trading platform Turquoise – owned by the London Stock Exchange and a group of investment banks – saw a surge in activity in Russian names such as Sberbank, as traders could deal at a more advantageous price than on the main exchanges. Allowing predators to lurk in the depths is a different matter entirely.
Barclays is unlikely to be the only bank in the firing line for this. US regulators are taking a long hard look at dark pools, which have proliferated in the past five or ten years as electronic trading has become ever faster and more sophisticated.
The old-fashioned idea that shares are always traded on a national stock exchange is far from reality: in the US there are 13 public markets – the Dow Jones, the Nasdaq and so on, but around 50 alternative trading systems, most of them unknown to the public.
This level of complexity can only make it easier for predators to game the system at the expense of ordinary investors.
According to market aficionados, between five and ten per cent of the 30-40bn euros of daily equities trading in Europe splashes through the pools. On Wall Street, the figure is around 40 per cent, making any malpractice a major concern to large and small investors.
Yet there is no single set of standards laying down common rules on investor protection and keeping out predatory high frequency traders.
As a consequence, some pools are distinctly murkier and more brackish than others. Regulators need to throw a strong searchlight on the dark pools, and not just at Barclays.
Carney’s curbs
The Bank of England’s first attempt at deflating the housing market bubble turned out to be something of an anti-climax.
There were fears that the Financial Policy Committee (FPC) might unleash draconian controls on mortgage borrowing.
In the event, the banks have been given plenty of headroom before they hit the new cap, which stipulates only 15 per cent of their total loans can go to people borrowing more than 4.5 times their income.
At present, only just over a tenth of the market is for loans that high, though the proportion is higher in London.
The impression created is that there is not an undue problem with high loan-to-income borrowers. The reality depends on the definition of ‘high.’
If the benchmark were brought down to four times income – still a very punchy multiple by historic standards – then we are talking about a much higher proportion: around a fifth of the market.
Another fascinating statistic in the Financial Stability Report is that last year almost a quarter of new mortgages taken out will run for 30 years or more, instead of the conventional 25-year term, meaning that more people will be in debt for longer.
Add to that the fact that people with large mortgages in relation to their income are also likely to have significantly higher unsecured debts such as credit cards and personal loans, and you have a chunky minority of people who are very vulnerable to an increase in rates.
Mark Carney’s belief is that household indebtedness is not an immediate risk to financial stability, but these numbers indicate he can not afford to be too sanguine. |
warc | 201704 | Vein opening is unlikely to help regenerate damaged myelin, which causes the movement difficulties, Dake said, but opening blocked veins looks like it may help alleviate fatigue, at least in people with relapsing-remitting MS. "It's a stretch to think opening up veins is going to deal with or reverse an injury that is due to demyelinating plaque, whereas the symptoms that are more general, such as fatigue and brain fog that are much more related to an obstruction in venous outflow from the brain -- those could potentially be reversed," he said.
The above comes from Dr. Dake himself fro, this article.
http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/c ... 48915.html
So what about the people who claim to be able to throw their wheel chairs to the curb after receiving this procedure? According to Dr. Dake opening blocked veins is unlikely to help with movement difficulties so is Dr. Dake incorrect? |
warc | 201704 | heya
i don't have hypothyroidism. my thyroid levels like free t3 etc were tested during the diagnostic process and came back all right. not sure what end of the ranges i was in so i might dig out those results and have a look.
zinc nutrition is important for optimal thyroid function.
research shows zinc deficiency is associated with constipation, loss of libido, tinnitus, eyesight, hair loss, and skin issues.
ms patients tend to have zinc levels in the low end of the normal range. healthy controls have average levels in the high end of the normal range (around 18 umol/L).
here's a study comparing thyroid hormones and high and low zinc levels in apparently healthy controls:
Effect of Zinc on Some Biochemical Indices of Metabolism
Riitta Hartoma, E.A. Sotaniemi, J. Määttänen
Abstract
The role of zinc in some metabolic functions in man was investigated in 14 healthy male volunteers with primarily high or low serum zinc
. In all the subjects, results of laboratory tests reflecting
blood picture, metabolism of carbohydrates, fats and proteins and thyroid function
as well as serum calcium and phosphate levels varied within the normal range
. Significant differences between the subjects classified by serum zinc were found in α1-globulins. Serum thyroxine [JL edit: thyroxine is T4]
, effective thyroxine ratio and the immunoglobulins IgA showed a tendency to lower levels in subjects with low serum zinc
. Substitution with zinc sulphate resulted in an increase of
α1 -globulins, serum thyroxine
and effective thyroxine ratio, and a decrease of albumin. Other tests remained unchanged by the therapy. The results suggest that there is a relationship between zinc and some metabolic functions in healthy subjects without symptoms of zinc deficiency. |
warc | 201704 | Did you know that we are living on a smarter planet? People today are smarter than people who lived before us! Nah, that’s not true, brilliance and intellect has been with mankind since the beginning, but what has changed are the tools, technologies and ways to share information.
In tourism, marketing is a huge part of our business, sharing the right information to the right audience, via the right distribution channels, with the right message, image, video and/or audio – to make a sale! For the longest time if you could master this you were in good shape. That’s no longer the case!
Enter the world of INTER! Today’s travellers are looking towards companies that can demonstrate they skills related to their
INTER connections– how businesses link together to create a stream of opportunity that makes vacationing easy (e.g. weaving together itineraries connected by a theme focused on the visitors interest, or including FIT options within a travel package based on the connections company A has with B, and the list goes on) INTER relations– how are you connecting to, and relating to both your visitors (b2c) and your suppliers/partners/DMOs (b2b). Are you optimizing technology to create open and transparent ways to strengthen relationships, respond in real time and show the ‘human side’ of your business? INTER actions –how are you engaging your visitors? Engaging the senses to interact with people, places, and cultures is vital to differentiating your tourism product in today’s world. There are lots of kayak operators, hotels, restaurants with great chefs, festivals — but what types of interactions are you purposefully staging for your guests that are entertaining, educational, exclusive, exciting, escapist that differentiate you from the masses?
So if you haven’t stopped to think about you INTER – now’s a good time! |
warc | 201704 | Dumb Idea of the Day: Washington State's Electric Vehicle Fee Terrible Idea (At Least for Now)We all know about the concept of "win-win", an action that provides benefits to both parties. Well, Washington State's legislators seem to be more inclined to pass "lose-lose" laws... The state senate has passed a bill that would charge a $100 annual feel to electric car drivers to "to compensate for the lack of gas taxes they pay." The general concept is not without merit and the amount is not that big - after all, electric cars also use the roads and cause some wear & tear - but the timing is bad.
They're acting at cross-purpose with other governmental (state & federal) tax credits for electric vehicles. What's the point of giving on one side and then take away on the other? They'll only raise very very small sums because its so early in electric car adoption, so it won't really help maintain roads. I'm not even sure if they'll raise enough to pay for what it cost to pass that law and enforce it... In fact, the random variation in miles driven by big trucks on any given day probably causes more wear & tear on Washington's roads than all electric cars combined over 10 years. Big trucks cause exponentially more damage (ie. a truck 100 times heavier than a car might cause 1,000 or 10,000X more damage to a road).
So not only won't they raise much money and do anything for roads, but they'll also slow down electric vehicle adoption -- that's what taxes do, when you tax something, you get less of it, which is why it's better to tax bad things like pollution than good things like work. This is too bad because in a state with lots of hydro power, electric cars are particularly clean. |
warc | 201704 | What drives small and mid-sized companies (SMEs) to incorporate sustainable practices into their business? Knowing the answers to this question will aid trade associations and other trusted advisors in developing their outreach and support programs aimed at the SME market. Sustainability4SMEs identified in a previous post that trade associations and a variety of other advisory organizations (e.g. chambers of commerce, economic development agencies) are the primary go-to sources of sustainable business information.
In the largest U.S.-based study to date on sustainability adoption and hurdles to implementation for SMEs, Sustainability4SMEs asked survey respondents to identify the drivers to implementing sustainability. Recognizing that there are myriad reasons influencing company decisions, the participants were allowed to check multiple responses.
The results of the question, shown in the figure below, were startling; inverse to what was expected.
Regulatory Compliance was the least often cited as a sustainability driving factor in spite of ever increasing regulations at all levels of government. This shows that government can impose as many onerous requirements on SMEs as it desires, but it remains unimportant in encouraging them to build sustainable practices into their ongoing operations.
From a carrot-stick perspective, adding more and more regulations for businesses only contributes to a business faltering or worse, failing. Regulatory compliance is an overhead cost adding to business’ balance sheets, certainly not a motivator for the income statement.
Upstream Supply Chain Imperatives and Financial Incentives also reside in the category of least frequently cited driving factors.
Upstream Supply Chain Imperatives include the ability to obtain a steady source of raw materials for a company’s outputs. This data is consistent with an earlier question in the survey identifying the type of business responding to the study. Respondents weigh heavily in the professional services sector (e.g. accounting, legal) which are knowledge-based industries. Raw materials are not a concern to this demographic.
Financial Incentives should have been a strong driver for implementing sustainability initiatives in small and mid-sized firms. A common market perception is that going green is expensive so one might think that the availability of a wide variety of incentives (block grants, utility rebates, federal, state and local rebates, etc.) would be a major consideration. However, based on this body of research, money is almost the least of a business’s concerns when it comes to sustainability. This may be due to a lack of knowledge of available funding sources to pursue. Here is another opportunity for trade associations, chambers of commerce and other trusted advisors to add value to their constituents.
The bulk of the remaining response options all fall within 15 percent of each other. Clearly there are numerous factors driving SMEs to implement sustainability initiatives, with Customer Demand being at the higher end of the scale.
Our study bifurcates between those implementing sustainability initiatives and those who are not pursuing a green strategy. This particular question was answered only by those who are pursuing sustainability. Our last post addressed the hurdles and barriers for those not implementing sustainability.
No matter which side of the fence your company is on regarding sustainability, we’d like your input into this body of work. Click here to complete the 28-question survey. Thanks for reading, participating and engaging with great comments. We look forward to sharing additional data from this research project. |
warc | 201704 | Written by
Staff Reports
The church needs the influences of both, so how do we reconcile the differences?
In the United States today, no two terms are more polarizing in the English lexicon than the words "conservative" and "liberal."
Time Magazine recently reported that political polls reveal an even split among conservatives and liberals. Each now claims 45 percent of the electorate, while only 10 percent remains undecided. Never before has this nation been so polarized, the article said.
What is true in the political landscape is readily apparent in the religious realm as well. While the terms can be used in descriptive ways, all too often they are used in a pejorative fashion. ("You must be one of those liberals!" or "What do you expect of those conservatives!") Both become code words for those other people who don't think or act like us.
Unfortunately, when this happens in the church, such stereotyping not only fails to build up the body of Christ, but it makes communication more difficult between people who usually have far more in common than they have differences. Furthermore, it also implies that truth can be found with only one faction or another when, in fact, the threads of both conservatism and liberalism are woven throughout the history of the Christian tradition.
The church of Jesus Christ—be it the UCC or known by another name—is by definition a conservative institution. The church is, quite literally, a conserver of values and beliefs. As such, part of its DNA is to maintain and resist changing traditional or existing views or beliefs. Anyone who has been part of a church for long understands this. It is by tradition that we are grounded, shaped and nurtured.
But the church of Jesus Christ is also a liberal institution. If we define liberal, as Webster does, as "one who is open-minded in the observance of orthodox or traditional forms," then who was more liberal than Jesus? Not only did Jesus challenge the purity codes of his day (talking to women, eating with Gentiles, healing on the Sabbath), but he also advocated a radical new understanding of God that welcomed outsiders—often at the expense of insiders—and shook Judaism to its roots. It certainly wasn't adherence to existing traditions and beliefs that led to Jesus' death. To this day, the church has been a liberating religious and social force through the world.
The church is both conservative and liberal. To insist otherwise is to ignore the contradictions of human life and the context of each local congregation.
Rather than using these terms as weapons to separate the sheep from the goats, should we not view them as gifts that can help us understand and appreciate how the God revealed in Jesus Christ speaks to so many people in so many different circumstances?
After all, the primary question for the church—including the UCC—is not "Are you liberal or conservative?" The primary question is "Do you know and have a relationship with the God revealed in Jesus Christ?"
The Rev. Stephen C. Gray is Indiana-Kentucky Conference Minister. |
warc | 201704 | Radovan Zak, PhD, 1931-1999
September 21, 1999
A distinguished scientist and a popular teacher, Radovan Zak, PhD, 68, a pioneer in the study of heart and skeletal muscle, died September 21, 1999 at the University of Chicago Hospitals. He was treated for several years for heart disease and died from a thrombosis that occurred after a surgical procedure. Zak was a professor in three departments at the University of Chicago: medicine; neurobiology, pharmacology and physiology; and organismal biology and anatomy. He was also a member of the committee on cell physiology.
Professor Zak was a world authority on the biology and biochemistry of contractile proteins, the building blocks of heart and skeletal muscle. He studied the factors that control muscle-cell growth and differentiation and the genes that code for muscle proteins. His laboratory discovered two of the eight genes responsible for the different forms of myosin, one of the most important components of heart and skeletal muscle. He also mapped out the natural history of cardiac myosin production, charting how different combinations of contractile proteins are produced by the heart of a fetus, a child, an adult, and in response to cardiovascular disease.
His research was particularly important in helping cardiologists understand the abnormal growth and thickening of the heart wall that can occur in response to elevated blood pressure or partial blockage of the aorta.
"Radovan Zak was a wonderful colleague, a brilliant teacher and an exceedingly clever scientist," said cardiologist, Rory Childers, MD, professor of medicine at the University of Chicago. "His research, although it involved very basic science, was immediately real and valuable to practicing doctors. He was someone we often turned to when we had difficult questions."
"He was one of the best loved and most versatile professors in this University and a delightful and sought-after speaker," added Ernest Page, MD, professor emeritus, in the departments of medicine and of neurobiology, pharmacology, and physiology at the University of Chicago, who collaborated with Zak in research projects.
"Professor Zak was a brilliant scientist, a mentor and teacher of the first rank who nurtured generations of students, and a wonderful, gentle man," recalled cardiologist Morton Arnsdorf, MD, professor of medicine. "He was among a core of basic and clinical scientists who brought basic laboratory research to the bedside, making the University of Chicago's cardiology section a powerful national and international force in investigating heart disease. Despite his respected position and busy schedule, he was a modest man and always had time to teach, to listen, and to help other scientists deal with important problems.
Born in Prague, Czechoslovakia, on June 15, 1931, Zak earned a BS degree in chemistry and physics from Prague University in 1952 and an RN Dr. in biochemistry in 1954 and taught chemistry at the Prague University Medical School and later physiology at the Czechoslovakia Academy of Science while he completed his PhD in biochemistry from the Academy.
He came to the United States in 1961 as a research fellow at Northwestern University Medical School, then, in 1963, began a post-doctoral fellowship in the laboratory of Professor Murray Rabinowitz, at the University of Chicago, where he developed his interest in the molecular biology of contractile proteins. He joined the faculty at the University of Chicago in 1965 as an instructor, set up his own laboratory and rose through the ranks to become a full professor in 1978. He won the Quantrell Award for outstanding teaching in 1989 and the University's Gold Key Award, which recognizes faculty for loyal and outstanding service, in June 1999.
The author of more than 200 papers in distinguished scientific journals, Zak also served as an associate editor for several journals, including
Circulation Research and Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, and was a member of the editorial board of several other journals.
He is survived by his wife, Emilia, of Chicago; two sons, Joseph, of Santiago, Chile, and Patrick, of Oakland, California; and one grandson, Patrick's son Nicholas.
A memorial service is being arranged for January at the University's Bond Chapel.
The University of Chicago Medicine Communications 950 E. 61st Street, Third Floor Chicago, IL 60637 Phone (773) 702-0025 Fax (773) 702-3171 |
warc | 201704 | Annelids have radiated into a number of niches. Some are parasitic, notably the leeches and myzostomarians; others filter-feed or prey on other invertebrates. However, probably the most significant ecological role played by annelids is reworking of soil and sediments. Many polychaetes and oligochaetes, and even a few leeches, are burrowers that constantly rework the sediment through which they burrow; in addition, they may ingest and excrete large quantities of sediments or soils. Robison (1987) notes that some sandy beaches may harbor 32,000 burrowing annelids per square meter, which collectively may ingest and excrete 3 metric tons of sand per year. The tubes sticking up from the sand in this picture, taken on a beach at Bahia de las Animas, Baja California, give some idea of how common polychaetes can be in such environments.
Soils may harbor 50 to 500 earthworms per square meter; they keep soils aerated, and their castings fertilize the soil.
Most earthworms and leeches are
hermaphroditic
with both male and female gonads.
Polychaetes
usually have separate sexes;
many polychaetes hatch into a particular type of planktonic larva,
the trochophore, which later metamorphoses into a juvenile annelid.
Some polychaetes, however, can reproduce asexually, by budding. |
warc | 201704 | As a young, African-American girl growing up in Mobile, Alabama, during the time of Jim Crow laws, J. Renee Navarro remembers walking with her mother and having to cross the street because White people were approaching.
Navarro recalls questioning her mother, struggling to understand why that could be, sensing the injustice, indignity and unfairness of the racial segregation laws.
Now as UCSF’s first vice chancellor of diversity and outreach and its first African American woman to serve as vice chancellor, Navarro will lead the University’s efforts to create a culture of inclusion and equity for all.
In many ways, Navarro has been working to open doors, remove barriers and promote equity for women and underrepresented minorities throughout her life.
“I really have spent my whole life working on issues related to diversity,” says Navarro, a clinical professor of anesthesia and perioperative care. “I am pleased to be able to contribute to UCSF by expanding our diversity and outreach efforts which will lead to greater recognition of this esteemed institution. I view this as a wonderful opportunity to expand, coordinate and showcase our programs, opportunities and inclusiveness.”
The UC Regents approved the high-level appointment, effective immediately. The position gives Navarro a seat on the Chancellor’s Executive Cabinet and she will report directly to UCSF Chancellor Sue Desmond-Hellmann, MD, MPH.
“Renee brings to this role a deep understanding of UCSF, a long-standing commitment to diversity and a demonstrated track record for working collaboratively with multiple groups to achieve results,” Desmond-Hellmann said in her announcement. “Renee’s deep personal and professional commitment to diversity and outreach is valued and respected by her colleagues and distinguishes her as a leader in these areas. Her work in mentoring, diversity, and women’s leadership has been recognized campuswide, citywide, and nationwide.”
In the first six months of her new role, Navarro’s first goal will be to develop a strategic plan that enhances UCSF’s efforts to nurture diversity and strengthen outreach efforts, in alignment with the University’s mission and priorities. The new strategic plan will be build upon the one released in 2007, defining and developing specific measures and metrics to achieve the overarching goal to “educate, train and employ a diverse faculty, staff and student body.”
Navarro realizes her new post has a long to-do list and many diverse constituencies to serve at a time when the University is seeking to coordinate and streamline campuswide operations to achieve operational efficiencies and positive results.
“I’m excited because even though the challenges are large and the job is large, the number of people who are so committed and engaged in nurturing diversity is also large,” Navarro said. “I feel that I’m not in this alone and will work together to develop this plan. I will have conversations with students, faculty and staff to ensure everyone has an opportunity to contribute.”
Pursuing a Career in Patient Care
The fifth of six children born to William and Rebertha, Navarro moved with the family from Alabama to California in 1966 when she was six years old. Her father, who was employed by the Air Force, had a choice between relocating to Texas or the Golden State. With her mother’s urging to move to California for its strong public school system, the family settled in Sacramento.
Her mother, who had a knack for getting her way, also provided direction to Navarro’s career path. “My mother started saying, ‘You’re so smart. You should be a doctor.’ But she had no understanding of what it would take for me to attend medical school.’”
At first the notion seemed far-fetched, Navarro says, recalling that she had not seen a black doctor until she was well into her teen-age years. But having come from a family of strong-willed women, Navarro’s interest was peaked. Actually, both she and her mother demonstrate determination and strong work ethic. Her mother, who is the daughter of sharecroppers in the South, went to college when Renee was in middle school and earned her master’s degree in special education. Now in her seventies, her mother continues to substitute teach in public schools.
To get a feel for a career in life sciences, Navarro job shadowed a pharmacist at a local drug store. The experience prompted her decision to pursue a degree in pharmacy and she earned her PharmD degree at the University of the Pacific in a five-year accelerated program. While working as a clinical pharmacist, she was exposed to patient care and enjoyed the interaction with other health professionals.
“While working as a clinical pharmacist, I was exposed to medical residents and it was just a matter of gaining confidence that I could practice medicine, too. I knew I could make a difference in patient care,” she said.
Navarro then applied to and was accepted at UCSF, where she graduated from the School of Medicine in 1986. Her colleagues during that time include Andre Campbell, MD, and Kevin Grumbach, MD, both UCSF leaders in their own right.
She served a one-year internship in internal medicine at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, and returned to UCSF for a three-year residency in anesthesiology. Because of the support of her mentor, Cedric Bainton, Navarro joined the UCSF faculty in 1990 as an assistant professor in residence in the Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Care. She became acting chief of anesthesia during her second year on the faculty.
As a medical student, her first job was working as a pharmacist at the UCSF-affiliated San Francisco General Hospital (SFGH), where she continues to serve with faculty and staff who are strongly committed to providing culturally competent and compassionate care and serving a diverse patient population at the City’s only safety-net hospital and trauma center.
During her 20-year career, Navarro has held many clinical and administrative leadership positions within UCSF and at SFGH, including medical director, chief of medical staff and associate dean for academic affairs in the UCSF School of Medicine. Navarro plans to continue treating trauma patients as an anesthesiologist at SFGH one day a week.
Promoting Diversity at UCSF and Beyond
In August 2007, Navarro was promoted to director of Academic Diversity, a new position created as part of 10 key outcomes outlined in UCSF’s diversity initiative, which was unveiled in February of that year. Navarro, who has served on the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Academic Diversity and now on the Council of Campus Climate, Culture and Inclusion, has been working on several diversity-related fronts at UCSF and beyond. These efforts include:
Developing and implementing the academic demographic system, an academic faculty database to track faculty applicants, national availability data, and providing search committees with recruitment advice; facilitating implementation of changes to the Academic Personnel Manual that recognize contributions faculty make to diversity as a part of the promotions process; reaching out to diverse groups of faculty, students and trainees to listen to their comments and concerns about campus climate; coordinating with school-specific diversity leaders on academic outreach initiatives; representing UCSF in UC systemwide committees, including the UC Office of the President’s Task Force on Faculty Diversity; serving on local and national committees, including the San Mateo Commissions on the Status of Women and Disabilities and chairing the Group on Women in Medicine and Science steering committee of the Association of American Medical Colleges through 2011; and leading efforts to communicate UCSF’s commitment to diversity through annual campus forums and the diversity website.
“I really feel that the campus has done so much and UCSF has so many incredible individuals who are committed to the full breadth of diversity,” Navarro said. “This is an exciting opportunity to be the first vice chancellor working on these issues and to make sure that work is coordinated at the highest level of the organization, cutting across all operational lines, to fully integrate UCSF efforts in diversity. It’s who we are and diversity is what makes us excellent.”
Navarro will play a key role in addressing recommendations contained in a report from a subcommittee she co-chaired. These recommendations included the establishment of a central diversity office to oversee, incorporate and consolidate some existing UCSF programs and offices to further enhance UCSF’s diversity efforts and strengthen their alignment with UCSF’s mission and priorities. Navarro is especially sensitive to gender equity issues since the Center for Gender Equity at UCSF will close its doors this year as part of that effort.
“Diversity is about inclusion and equity and it’s about recognizing the strengths that we all bring to campus,” Navarro said. “Women still struggle to reach levels of parity within our organization. We still have barriers, including unconscious bias, and gender equity will certainly be a top area of focus. More than 50 percent of our students are women and women should have the opportunities to achieve the highest levels of success within the University.”
Navarro also will seek input on another subcommittee recommendation, which is that UCSF establish a campuswide multicultural center to provide space and resources to support collaboration for outreach, recruitment and retention as well as diversity education and training programs. The subcommittee’s report [PDF] is posted online.
Navarro’s personal life reflects diversity as well. Her husband, Ricardo, who is Hispanic and White, is a practicing anesthesiologist whom she met 23 years ago as a resident at UCSF. They are the parents to three daughters, Veronica, Christina and Jessica and one son, Ricky Jr. One of their daughters has a disability.
Navarro realizes her trailblazing role as one of only a handful of vice chancellors of diversity in the United States. She plans to meet with and learn from her counterparts throughout the country.
“Yes there is definitely some trailblazing and that is part of the challenge that I’m most excited about,” she said.
Photo by Elisabeth Fall/fallfoto.com Related Links: UCSF appoints Navarro first-ever Vice Chancellor of Diversity and Outreach News Release, December 2, 2010-12-02
UCSF Seeks New Vice Chancellor of Diversity, Outreach
UCSF Today, August 19, 2010
UCSF Names First Director of Academic Diversity
UCSF Today, August 6, 2007
UCSF Launches 10-Point Initiative to Promote Diversity
UCSF Today, February 28, 2007 |
warc | 201704 | The Italian Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea hosted an informative side event on mercury.
Italy is the lead partner in a major collaborative research project on mercury alongside Canada, Japan, South Africa, the USA and UNEP.
Dr Nicola Pirrone of the CNR Institute for Atmospheric Pollution in Rome presented the preliminary results of the first four years of the research partnership which is examining the natural and anthropogenic sources of mercury and major issues related to the interaction of mercury with land and marine ecosystems.
Seventy scientists from more than 12 countries have so far contributed to the project, which is due to culminate with a final report at the end of 2010, contributing to the work of the Task Force on Hemispheric Transport of Air Pollution (TF HTAP).
Dr Pirrone told delegates that one important objective was to achieve international cooperation between organizations with mercury-related programmes – such as the World Health Organization and
Global Earth Observation System of Systems – to harmonize mercury monitoring techniques and models so that outcomes can be compared.
Acknowledging the topic involved a complexity of issues and solutions, Dr Pirrone thanked the project partners but said further research was required to fill the gaps in knowledge. A meeting to be held in St Petersburg in March 2009 will discuss next steps for the project including the outcomes of GC-25/GMEF. |
warc | 201704 | Early pregnancy prediction of preeclampsia Author Errol R Norwitz, MD, PhD, MBA
Errol R Norwitz, MD, PhD, MBA
Professor and Chair Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Tufts Medical Center and Tufts University School of Medicine
INTRODUCTION
Preeclampsia refers to the onset of hypertension with proteinuria and/or end-organ dysfunction after 20 weeks of gestation in a previously normotensive woman (table 1). The clinical manifestations of preeclampsia can appear any time from the late second trimester to the first few weeks postpartum; however, the blueprint for the disease is laid down in early pregnancy and is characterized by abnormal remodeling of the maternal spiral arteries at the placental site.
Preeclampsia cannot reliably be predicted. There are currently no tests available in early pregnancy that can accurately distinguish women who will go on to develop preeclampsia from those who will not [1-3]. For this reason, obstetric care providers focus primarily on early detection of the disease. All pregnant women are monitored for evidence of preeclampsia at each of their prenatal visits.
While the ability to predict which women will develop preeclampsia before they become symptomatic is of limited benefit as neither its development nor progression from the mild to severe can be prevented in most patients, and no cure exists except for delivery, accurate identification of women at risk may improve the likelihood of timely diagnosis. Early diagnosis may improve maternal and perinatal outcome by ensuring appropriate management (eg, antenatal corticosteroids for fetal lung maturation, treatment of severe hypertension, and early delivery). Furthermore, high-risk women may benefit from the initiation of low-dose aspirin therapy starting at the end of the first trimester as this may reduce the frequency of preeclampsia and associated adverse outcomes.
Screening women in early pregnancy to identify those most likely to develop preeclampsia will be reviewed here. Additional issues related to the diagnosis and management of preeclampsia are discussed separately.
Subscribers log in hereTo continue reading this article, you must log in with your personal, hospital, or group practice subscription. For more information or to purchase a personal subscription, click below on the option that best describes you:Literature review current through: Dec 2016. | This topic last updated: Fri Jul 29 00:00:00 GMT+00:00 2016.The content on the UpToDate website is not intended nor recommended as a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your own physician or other qualified health care professional regarding any medical questions or conditions. The use of this website is governed by the UpToDate Terms of Use ©2017 UpToDate, Inc.References
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An integrated model for the prediction of preeclampsia using maternal factors and uterine artery Doppler velocimetry in unselected low-risk women. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2005; 193:429. Myatt L, Clifton RG, Roberts JM, et al. The utility of uterine artery Doppler velocimetry in prediction of preeclampsia in a low-risk population. Obstet Gynecol 2012; 120:815. Gant NF, Daley GL, Chand S, et al. A study of angiotensin II pressor response throughout primigravid pregnancy. J Clin Invest 1973; 52:2682. Dekker GA, Makovitz JW, Wallenburg HC. Prediction of pregnancy-induced hypertensive disorders by angiotensin II sensitivity and supine pressor test. Br J Obstet Gynaecol 1990; 97:817. Gant NF, Chand S, Worley RJ, et al. A clinical test useful for predicting the development of acute hypertension in pregnancy. Am J Obstet Gynecol 1974; 120:1. Tomoda S, Kitanaka T, Ogita S, Hidaka A. Prediction of pregnancy-induced hypertension by isometric exercise. Asia Oceania J Obstet Gynaecol 1994; 20:249. Baker PN, Johnson IR. The use of the hand-grip test for predicting pregnancy-induced hypertension. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol 1994; 56:169. Cnossen JS, de Ruyter-Hanhijärvi H, van der Post JA, et al. Accuracy of serum uric acid determination in predicting pre-eclampsia: a systematic review. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand 2006; 85:519. Thangaratinam S, Ismail KM, Sharp S, et al. Accuracy of serum uric acid in predicting complications of pre-eclampsia: a systematic review. BJOG 2006; 113:369. Urato AC, Bond B, Craigo SD, et al. Admission uric acid levels and length of expectant management in preterm preeclampsia. J Perinatol 2012; 32:757. Dizon-Townson D, Miller C, Sibai B, et al. The relationship of the factor V Leiden mutation and pregnancy outcomes for mother and fetus. Obstet Gynecol 2005; 106:517. Silver RM, Zhao Y, Spong CY, et al. Prothrombin gene G20210A mutation and obstetric complications. Obstet Gynecol 2010; 115:14. INTRODUCTION CLINICAL APPROACH Evaluation of risk factors Early prenatal assessments of women at high risk Interventions to reduce risk INVESTIGATIONAL APPROACHES Screening tests - Biomarkers Angiogenic modulators Other blood tests - Uterine artery Doppler velocimetry Risk prediction models SCREENING TESTS NOT USEFUL FOR PREDICTING PREECLAMPSIA Provocative biophysical tests Serum uric acid Screening for inherited thrombophilias Screening for antiphospholipid antibodies SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS REFERENCES |
warc | 201704 | In 1974 the Stanford computer science community ate at Loui's. [1] As I sat eating one evening in the fall, Butler Lampson approached me, and in the course of inquiring what I was doing, remarked that the IBM Lucifer system was about to be made a national standard. I hadn't known it, and it set me thinking.
My thoughts went as follows:
NSA doesn't want a strong cryptosystem as a national standard, because it is afraid of not being able to read the messages.
On the other hand, if NSA endorses a weak cryptographic system and is discovered, it will get a terrible black eye.
Hints that Butler was correct began to appear and I spent quite a lot of time thinking about this problem over the next few months. It led me to think about trap-door cryptosystems and perhaps ultimately public-key cryptography.
When the Proposed Data Encryption Standard was released on the 17th of March 1975 [2], I thought I saw what they had done. The basic system might be ok, but the keyspace was on the small side. It would be hard to search, but not impossible. My first estimate was that a machine could be built for $650M that would break DES in a week. I discussed the idea with Marty Hellman and he took it on with a vengance. Before we were through, the estimated cost had fallen to $20M and the time had declined to a day. [3]
Our paper started a game in the cryptographic community and many papers on searching through DES keys have since been written. About three years after the publication of our paper, Robert Jueneman --- then at Satellite Business Systems in McLean, Virginia --- wrote "The Data Encryption Standard vs. Exhaustive Search." [4] This opus was substantially more optimistic about the chances for DES breaking. It predicted that by 1985 a half-million dollar investment would get you a DES key every hour and that by 1995, $10 million similarly spent would reduce that time to two seconds, an estimate remarkably close to one made fifteen years later.
A decade later, Yvo Desmedt and Jean-Jaques Quisquater made two contibutions, one whimsical, one serious. Using a related "birthday problem" sort of approach, they proposed a machine for attacking many cryptographic problems at a time. [5] Their whimsical suggestion took advantage of the fact that the population of China was about the square root of the size of the DES key space.
The year 1993 brought a watershed. Michael Wiener of Bell-Northern Research designed the most solid paper machine yet. [6] It would not be too far off to describe it as a Northern Telecom DMS100 telephone switch, specialized to attacking DES. What made the paper noteworthy was that it used standard Northern Telecom design techniques from the chips to the boards to the cabinets. It anticipated an investment of under a million dollars for a machine that would recover a key every three hours. A provocative aside was the observation that the required budget could be hidden in a director's budget at BNR.
Finally, in 1996, an estimate was prepared by not one or two cryptographers but by a group later, and not entirely sympathetically, called the magnificent seven. [7] This estimate outlined three basic approaches loosely correlated with three levels of resources. At the cheap end was scrounging up time on computers you didn't need to own. In the middle was using programmable logic arrays, possibly PLA machines built for some other purpose such as chip simulation. The high end was the latest refinement of the custom chip approach.
Exhaustive key search is a surprising problem to have enjoyed such popularity. To most people who have considered the probem, it is obvious that a search through 2ö56 possibilites is doable if somewhat tedious. If it a is mystery why so many of them, myself included, have worked to refine and solidify their estimates, it is an even greater mystery that in the late 1990s, some people have actually begun to carry out key searches.
At the 1997 annual RSA cryptographic trade show in San Francisco, a prize was announced for cracking a DES cryptogram [8]. The prize was claimed in five months by a loose consortium using computers scattered around the Internet. It was the most dramatic success so far for an approach earlier applied to factoring and to breaking cryptograms in systems with 40-bit keys.
At the 1998 RSA show, the prize was offered again. This time the prize was claimed in 39 days [9] a result that actually represents a greater improvement than it appears to. The first key was found after a search of only 25% of the key space; the second was not recovered until the 85% mark. Had the second team been looking for the first key, they would have found it in a month.
These efforts used the magnificent seven's first approach. No application of the second has yet come to light. This book skips directly to the third. It describes a computer built out of custom chips. A machine that 'anyone' can build; from the plans it presents --- a machine that can extract DES keys in days at reasonable prices, or hours at high prices. With the appearance of this book and the machine it represents, the game changes forever. It is not a question of whether DES keys can be extracted by exhaustive search; it is a question of how cheaply they can be extracted and for what purposes.
Using a network of general purpose machines that you do not own or control is a perfectly fine way of winning cryptanalytic contests, but it is not a viable way of doing production cryptanalysis. For that, you have to be able to keep your activities to yourself. You need to be able to run on a piece of hardware that you can protect from unwanted scrutiny. This is such a machine. It is difficult to know how many messages have been encrypted with DES in the more than two decades that it has been a standard. Even more difficult is knowing how many of those messages are of enduing interest and how many have already been captured or remain potentially accessible on disks or tapes, but the number, no matter precisely how the question is framed must be large. All of these messages must now be considered to be vulnerable.
The vulnerability does not end there, however, for cryptosystems have nine lives. The most convincing argument that DES is insecure would not outweigh the vast investment in DES equipment that has accumulated throughout the world. People will continue using DES whatever its shortcomings, convincing themselves that it is adequate for their needs. And DES, with its glaring vulnerabilities, will go on pretending to protect information for decades to come.
[1] Louis Kao's Hsi-Nan restaurant in Town and Country Village, Palo Alto.
[2] 40 Federal Register 12067 [3] Whitfield Diffie and Martin E. Hellman. "Exhaustive cryptanalysis of the NBS data encryption standard". Computer, 10(6):74-84, June1977. [4] R. R. Jueneman, The Data Encryption Standardvs.Exhaustive Search:Practicalities and Politics. 5 Feb 1981. [5] Yvo Desmedt, "An Exhaustive Key Search Machine Breaking One Million DES Keys", presented at Eurocrypt 1987. Chapter 9 of this book ( Cracking DES).Jean-Jacques Quisquater and Yvo G. Desmedt, "Chinese Lotto as an Exhaustive Code-Breaking Machine", Computer, 24(11):14-22, November1991. [6] Michael Wiener, "Efficient DES Key Search", presented at the rump session of Crypto '93. Reprinted in Practical Cryptography for DataInternetworks, W. Stallings, editor, IEEE Computer Society Press, pp.31-79 (1996). Currently available at http://www.eff.org/pub/Crypto/Crypto_misc/Technical/des_key_search.ps.gz [7] Matt Blaze, Whitfield Diffie, Ronald L. Rivest, Bruce Schneier, Tsutomu Shimomura, Eric Thompson, and Michael Wiener. "Minimal key lengths for symmetric ciphers to provide adequate commercial security: A report by an ad hoc group of cryptographers and computer scientists", January 1996. Available at http://www.bsa.org/policy/encryption/cryptographers_c.html [8] http://www.rsa.com/rsalabs/97challenge/ [9] June 17, 1997, See the announcements at http://www.rsa.com/des/ and http://www.frii.com/~rcv/deschall.htm (February 24, 1998), http://www.wired.com/news/news/technology/story/10544.html and http://www.distributed.net |
warc | 201704 | 2011 Barrytown College Phone Survey Results Submitted to the President and the Board of Directors Unification Theological Seminary
by Josephine Hauer, Ed.D.
March 24, 2011
Introduction
After reviewing the findings of the Barrytown College Project Survey (July, 2010) that explored the interest of the Unificationist community in America in an undergraduate program on Barrytown campus, the Board of Directors of the Unification Theological Seminary asked for a follow-up survey to target a subset of families and to further explore interest in college majors. The target population consisted of Unification families living in the United States with children who would be college age within the years 2013-2017. This population was estimated to include approximately 650 families based on demographic data from the Blessed Family Association database. 300 families from this population were randomly selected to request their participation in a telephone survey. Telephone surveys were conducted by volunteers over a three month period (December, 2010 – February, 2011) and results were recorded in an online database using Zoomerang. Over 200 families were successfully contacted by phone and asked to participate in the survey resulting in 121 completed surveys.
Description of the Sample
68 males and 55 females completed the telephone survey. 8% of respondents indicated their age as 24 years or younger. 9% were between 25-44 years and 83% were 45 years or older. 94% indicated that they had at least one child between the ages of 12 – 18 years old or at least one child over 18 that had not yet completed an undergraduate college program. 24% of respondents came from New York; 22% from New Jersey; 11% from New England; 23% from West Coast states; and 20% from states in the Midwest or Southwest. 92% rated their child’s ability to speak and write in the English language as excellent.
32% indicated yearly income as $49,000 or below; 35% reported income between $50,000 – $75,000; 18% reported income between $75,000-99,000; and 8% reported income above $100,000.
Chart 1 Total Household Income
Chart 2 shows 56% of survey respondents indicated they were “definitely interested” or “interested” in Barrytown College. 31% reported to be “somewhat interested”.
Chart 2 Interest in Barrytown College
Results showed interest within the Unification community for an undergraduate college emphasizing academic rigor and moral values within a supportive environment for Unificationist marriage and family traditions. Over 70% of respondents indicated marriage and family life preparation and affordability as very important. Other “very important” features were academic rigor and personal relationships with professors.
Chart 3 Important Features for Barrytown College
Participants were asked to rank their preference (from 1-most interested to 6-least interested) in the following proposed majors: Media Arts, Business, Philosophy and World Religions, Psychology and Family Studies, Nonprofit Leadership and Economics. 30% indicated Media Arts as the major of most interest; 23% indicated Business and 20% indicated Philosophy and World Religions. Media Arts and Business were preferred as the first or second choice of major compared to other options (see chart below).
Chart 4 Preferred Academic Majors Participants also identified from one to three other majors of interest. The most frequently occurring majors within the 101 responses were the following in descending order: Arts, Science, Engineering, Education, Business, Media and Music.
After listing these majors, participants rated their interest in attending the college if none of the majors listed previously was available. 13% indicated strong interest, 67% indicated some interest and 20% indicated no interest.
Affordability and Attendance
Respondents rated the likelihood of attending Barrytown College under various cost scenarios. The decreasing blue and gold bars in Chart 5 (from left to right) show that attendance would be greatly influenced by affordability or the expected parental contribution in a financial aid package.
Chart 5 Affordability and Likeliness to Attend
Participants were asked to provide comments at the end of the survey on the development of Barrytown College at UTS campus. Selected quotes are provided below under common themes that were found within the 85 responses to this section.
a) Support for the Barrytown College Project
I think it sounds like a great idea. My answers aren’t meant to sound unenthusiastic but I am already a junior in college and am not looking to transfer. I like the idea that the college would be something that could replace STF – that you could be at school but you would also be with other BCs. When I was looking for school I was looking for something that was interesting to me and was really affordable. In Brigham Young University, almost all of the Mormon tithing money goes to support the school so a lot of kids can afford to go there. Great idea! An important way to influence the culture and leave a legacy. I like the idea that the college would be something that could replace STF – that you could be at school but you would also be with other BCs.
b) Suggestions for majors and importance of career development
Be able to prepare for a professional career. Education must be useful! Degree must qualify student for a job in society.
c) Suggestions for other features, programs
Professors having good relationship with students. Administration is also very important, financial aid, etc. Student’s ability to attend must be flow from start to finish – No STRESS to attend. Team work and good communication with college admin essential. Internships are an important aspect to create hands-on experiences for students – students learn a lot more that way. Academic rigor is very important. Extracurricular activities are important. I would be MOST interested in a 2-year program from which a student could transfer. The first year of college is the most sensitive and I would like to see a 2-year college. At least initially, consider a 2-year possibility so someone could get associates degree after two years. That would be a real plus, whether someone went on directly to a four-year degree, or worked before continuing, an associates program would be a good initial option. The option of a 2 year program enabling students to grow in practical life experience (overcoming obstacles) is attractive. Also the exposure to world religions is interesting for student.
d) Comments about the proposed location or management.
Student life is pillar of education and should well managed. Atmosphere, facility, extracurricular activities. Barrytown is terribly run down and not attractive. Barrytown offers an excellent locale for study and spiritual development. Limitations of the Study
The study aspired to identify a sample of 200 Unificationist families representing a “target market” for the initial years of Barrytown College. A small percentage of families contacted were not eligible to participate in the study because they did not have children in the proper age range. Other individuals contacted who chose not to participate did so because of a language barrier. Many Unificationist families in America have one parent from Korea or Japan who are not fluent in English. The findings of this study may not be representative of those types of Unificationist families or individuals. Recruiting volunteers who speak Japanese or Korean will be important in future studies.
It is important to note that the sample represents a population of “core” or strongly self-identified Unificationist families who have submitted contact information to the Blessed Family Association database. This group does not include couples who have attended a Unification Church Blessing Ceremony where at least one of the partners did not consider themselves to be Unificationist. Some ‘Blessed Couples’ with children who identify themselves individually or as a family as another religion (or no religion) may represent another target market for recruitment. It is important to identify this more religiously diverse group of families loosely associated with the Unification Church in America to gauge their interest in the college.
Implications of the Study
The findings from this survey are, in the overall sense consistent with many of the findings from the previous studies regarding highly valued features of the college and level of interest expressed by participants. Key demographic patterns such as income distribution were also consistent with those in the previous studies. Affordability continues to be a key for college decisions. Highly relevant implications of the findings from this study are as follows:
1) Media Arts is somewhat more preferred than Business as a possible major to consider including in the initial degree program offerings besides Religious Studies (or Religion and Philosophy) and Psychology and Family Studies. Creating partnerships for internships at the Manhattan Center or other organizations/businesses will be an important feature to attract more career-minded students.
2) 80% of survey participants indicated at least some interest in the college even if none of the other majors of interest were offered. This shows that the primary interest in this college is based on factors other than academic major offerings, such as a learning environment that supports Unificationist marriage and family traditions and affordability.
3) Providing opportunities for students to develop a range of professional skills such as communications and public speaking, financial literacy, management competencies, etc. in contexts outside the classroom could be a highly attractive feature for the college.
4) Overall the study suggests that at least 65% of the total 650 Unificationist families in the target market would consider Barrytown College as an option for college attendance for one or more of their children. Another source of demographic information on Unificationist 2nd Generation children born in the United states identifies 1,767 who will turn 18 from 2012 – 2016 or 350 per year. If 28% of this group are similarly “definitely interested” and another 28% are “interested,” it is projected that 42% (all of the “definitely interested” and half of the “interested”) would likely be interested in applying to Barrytown College. It is reasonable to expect approximately 150 applicants per year with a projected 70% accepted, resulting in 100 students accepted for admission per year. Of those admitted, it is expected that 50 would attend in Barrytown College each year. This estimate is supported by the findings from all three studies. If an initial high quality program was priced competitively, Barrytown College would likely be able to admit a class of 50-60 students from Unificationist families living in America per year for the first five years.[1]
[1] Board member Dr. Anthony Guerra, founder and chairman of My College Advisor, a college admissions consulting business, estimates enrollment to be 40-50 American students per year. He explains that he arrived at that by multiplying the 350 students turning 18 each year by 56% (“definitely interested” and “interested”) thus equaling 196 students. Assuming that only 40% of them complete applications we arrive at 78 applicants. With 100% acceptance and at a 60% yield that would lead to 47 enrolled students. A slightly lower acceptance leads to 40 enrolled students per year. He suggests looking for 10 or more additional students from other sources, either international or from families that may not be counted where only one parent is a member, etc. |
warc | 201704 | Books, newspapers, and magazines have not only gone digital, they’ve gone ubiquitous, contextual, and formless. The message is now abstracted from the medium, and the book is a channel-independent experience—whether held in its physical form, heard as the spoken word, or read on an eReader, mobile phone, or desktop computer.
The invention of the printing press transformed the physical object that is a book from the output of human transcription to that of mass production, ushering in the era of information as a
physical object. More recently, mass adoption of the World Wide Web and a plethora of Internet-connected devices has brought us into the digital era of information. But we are on the cusp of yet another technological sea change. The pendulum that swung from physical to digital is now swinging back to the real world. However, this time information has become formless, contextual, and ubiquitous. In the words of Andrea Resmini and Luca Rosati, “[Information] is bleeding out of the Internet and out of personal computers, and it is being embedded into the real world.” [1] Welcome to the new cross-channel, multiplatform, transmedia information age. A Sign of What’s to Come
As goes the book, so goes every product and service under the sun. Seamless, cross-channel experiences are the way of the future, as technology fades into the background and the personal, physical, and social context determine the methods we use to interact with information. But this isn’t a problem for the distant future; designing effective cross-channel experiences is a problem that we must address here and now.
Retail
Most brick-and-mortar retailers mail out the occasional print catalog, provide phone service, and have online stores, with the more adventurous offering smartphone-friendly Web sites or applications, as in the example shown in Figure 2.
However, these channels aren’t isolated from one another; increasingly, they overlap. Forrester’s Patti Freeman Evans found that 70% of consumers research online, then buy offline. [2] A 2010 report by NCR Corporation [3] found that
43% of consumers want to use their mobile phone for price comparison while out shopping. The vast majority of consumers prefer a seamless experience across channels:
According to this report: “87% want a similar way to access products and services whether online, in the store, on their mobile phone, or using a self-service device.”
Travel
Traveling by plane is a quintessentially multichannel experience. Once you know where you want to go, there is the messy business of booking the flight—perhaps using your laptop; checking in 24 hours before your flight on your smartphone; traveling to the correct airport terminal, then using the kiosk to print your boarding pass; interacting with a customer service person to check in your luggage; running the security gauntlet, where you present either your paper boarding pass or an electronic version on your phone; and finally, sitting down in your seat on the aircraft, where you browse the movie selections on the entertainment console.
A 2011 report on the usability of travel Web sites by Webcredible [4]—in addition to placing Virgin Atlantic’s Web site at the top of its list, shown in Figure 3—emphasized the importance of providing consumers with a seamless cross-channel experience:
“As consumers become more and more demanding in the digital space, the travel industry will need to be more dedicated to the usability and user experience across all of their channels to gain customers and build loyalty.”
Banking
Managing your money often results in a dynamic interplay between channels, as Figure 4 shows. But while you could likely achieve many tasks at your local bank branch, a nearby ATM, over the phone, on your home computer, or on your smartphone, each channel is likely convenient in some situations, but a hassle in others. Your mobile phone is well suited to quickly checking your account balance on the go. However, you might find it easier to use online banking on your laptop to pay the monthly bills.
Ernst & Young’s 2011 report on global consumer banking [5] found that, while 66% of respondents were dissatisfied with their existing mobile banking, competition among banks to provide a seamless experience across channels will be fierce:
“Practical innovations across channels that leverage technology to deliver a more seamless and personalized experience will therefore be a major competitive battleground in all retail banking markets.” |
warc | 201704 | When I was in my 40s, I learned I had degenerative joint disease. The doctor
predicted I would eventually need a knee replacement. But since such replacements
typically last about 20 years, I optimistically thought, "I don’t
want to have three knee replacements in my lifetime."
I was able to manage my pain for a while, but soon I knew it was probably
time for the replacement and when my doctor suggested it, I knew it was
the right thing to do. I’m a professor and I scheduled the surgery
for the beginning of the summer break so I could have plenty of time to
recover. Before the surgery, I wore a brace to take some of the pressure
off my knee.
I learned a lot at an information session for patients scheduled for the
surgery and held at Winchester Medical Center. For instance, I didn’t
know that following surgery, I would initially need to use a walker or
that I’d have to have self-administered injections to thin my blood.
During the class, the teacher passed around an actual replacement joint
so we could see what it looked like and how it operated.
Aside from an adverse reaction to some pain medication and other minor
issues, the surgery went very well. I was really impressed with the team
effort. Everybody had their piece to do and they did it, for the most
part, perfectly. Communication between the various team members facilitated
an easy process. I realized that the people involved in my care were there
to help me, and I appreciated it.
My discharge was slightly delayed because of my reaction to the medication,
but I was discharged four days after the surgery and began physical therapy
two days later. During my recovery and physical therapy small achievements,
such as increasing my range of motion and transitioning from a walker
to a cane, made my day. I tired easily in the beginning of the therapy,
but I was determined to return to a normal routine.
Now I can do all the activities I want to do, although I’m more cautious
with some, like descending stairs and avoiding falls. I’m essentially
pain-free today. I highly recommend this surgery and wish I’d done
it sooner. For those considering this surgery, keep in mind that a positive
attitude, determination, and exercise are the essential elements of a
complete recovery. |
warc | 201704 | When Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) unveils the iPhone 5S and 5C tomorrow, what’s going to happen to its stock? Deutsche Bank analysts examined the last six iPhone launches and charted what happened to Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares around the times of each of those launches.
Apple investors sell on the rumor, buy on the news
It is frequently said within the financial industry that investors should buy on the rumor and sell on the news. However, when it comes to iPhone launches, this doesn’t appear to be the case most of the time. In fact, in four out of the last six launches, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s share price actually went up on the day after the launch.
However, analysts Chris Whitmore and Joakim Mahlberg say significant gains were not seen in the stock for months after the launch of the new handset. They note that over the short term, new iPhone launches have had a relatively small impact on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s share price. On average, the stock traded up about 1 percent the day after the announcement, 2 percent after five trading days and then down 2 percent a month after the launch.
They note that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s share price shows more significant returns six months or more from the launch date of the new iPhone models. At six months post-launch, shares were up an average of 14 percent, largely because strong sell-through has become apparent by this time.
Strong stock run ahead of Apple event
The analysts note that the last month has been the second strongest one-month performance before all iPhone releases. They said this recent run could create a “sell the news” event even though they remain optimistic around the new iPhone product cycle.
As of this writing, shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) were up almost 2 percent, suggesting that at least a few investors were buying on the rumor ahead of tomorrow’s event. |
warc | 201704 | Increases in Housing Costs in Austria Have Grown At Twice the Rate of Inflation
Austrian News Brief: March 2008
Austrian households now spend every fourth Euro on housing, according to a new study by Kreutzer, Fischer and Partner Consulting, GmbH, in Vienna.
And while increased energy costs, up 31.7%, are certainly a factor, they are far from the only one and not the largest. The increases include dramatically higher costs for garbage removal (+55.4%), rents (+41%), sewage (+40.6%) and water supply (+21%), against a background inflation rate of 20.1%. In 2006, the average Austrian household spent €875 for housing costs, against an average monthly gross income of €3,500.
These increases in fees reflect a tendency “to use community infrastructure as a source of revenue,” the study’s authors suggested, in a Nov. 16 article in
Der Standard.
An additional explanation is the cost of new construction, now an average of €1,550 per spare meter, and similar increases for renovation. The average Austrian household carries a housing loan of €24,000, the study said.
Additional pressure on costs was traced to the €2.5 million annual housing subsidies, of which 80% goes for new construction, rather than renovation. Of this, most goes to large construction firms building public housing, with too little review of quality and efficiency, or application of modern construction techniques, Andreas Kreutzer who directed the study, told the Austrian daily
Die Presse.
“The construction companies earn money only when they build. Renovation doesn’t interest them,” Kreutzer said. “The results are higher maintenance fees in the older buildings.” |
warc | 201704 | Social media optimization is using social media sites to create publicity and awareness of your products and thereby gain attention and interaction from customers.
Optimizing for social media strengthens your brand and its visibility and thereby attracts new customers. It helps them to know more about your business and recommend it to others. Social media such as Facebook and Twitter are platforms for people to connect and discuss the topics they like. Here are some effective tips with which you can encourage your community to learn more about your brand.
It is very important to create valuable content which your audience will want to experience. Useful and relevant content attracts more customers. Social media posts that make people smile are great because it will make your audience and prospective customers relate more to your brand. Content that is clickable and sharable strengthens a long-term relationship with the customer. Posting emotion based content can also work wonders in ensuring constructive community engagement. Motivational and positive quotes or pictures increase customer attention and persuade them to connect emotionally.
Using the “Like” or “Share” option is one of the best ways to interact with customers. It can be used as a way to ask questions and people can respond using these options. Any audience would love participating in good contests where they can win prizes. Some businesses post content and give extra entry credits to people who share the post, comment on it, or give it a “like”. Giving an incentive to readers such as access to free course, set of videos or an e-book is one of the best ways to create a bonding between brand owners and customers.
Being transparent is another important tip for increasing
social media engagement. It gives more clarity about your brand and its updates.
The other essential tactics for increasing community engagement are
Find out when customers come online so that questions can be asked and valuable suggestions obtained in order to build a strong relationship with them. Post success stories of customers who enjoy the product and share them with your audience. Mention good comments on social media sites. Positive comments expose the brand to a larger audience.
Successful businesses use social media platforms to:
Build a lifetime connection with customers Maintain their brand at the top Expand brand awareness Let customers know about new offers Bring more qualified traffic to the websites Address customer service inquires Build credibility and trust online
It is important to use new techniques to increase community engagement through social media to attract prospective customers and maintain existing ones. It is all about letting people know more about your brand and its updates and create a sense of trust. Obtaining feedbacks is important because it will help to improve your products/services in keeping with customer requirements. When it comes to enhancing your social media presence and engagement, consider obtaining social media optimization services that will prove to be very useful. |
warc | 201704 | Bush administration officials are urging Congress to increase funding for a new office that would promote democracy and stabilization in regions prone to conflict around the world.
Acknowledging that it did not adequately plan for the post-war reconstruction of Iraq, the Bush administration has created the Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization at the State Department so that the United States would be better prepared to coordinate such efforts in the aftermath of future intervention in other troubled states.
The office brings together civilian experts in such fields as political administration, law enforcement and economics, and military officials to plan and carry out stability operations.
Congressional critics have said policy disputes and turf battles between the Defense Department and State Department hurt planning efforts for postwar Iraq, contributing to the rise of the insurgency and the difficulty in restoring basic services, including electricity and public safety.
At a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, principal deputy in the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense Ryan Henry said the new reconstruction office has the Pentagon's backing.
Administration officials say the office was not created because other military missions are planned. They say the office could work to prevent politically unstable states from sliding into civil war or breeding terrorism, making less need for U.S. intervention.
James Kunder is assistant administrator for Asia and the Near East for the Agency for International Development, which will play a role in the reconstruction office.
"The U.S. government needs to better understand exactly what to do when we have a crisis," he said. "And we are looking not just at after states have fallen apart. But we are looking at countries that are beginning to show the signs of instability and trying to generate resources so that a penny spent now saves the taxpayer a dollar later."
Mr. Kunder says some of these countries are in Asia.
"We are not only looking at Afghanistan reconstruction and Iraq reconstruction, but we are also looking at Nepal, and we are looking at the fraying of the social order in Bangladesh," he explained. "We are looking at Sri Lanka. We are looking at continued instability in Mindanao in the Philippines."
Mr. Kunder says promoting democracy by investing in political parties and civil society organizations in areas where political instability appears to be growing can make it less likely that those societies will fall into conflict.
But Congress has not shown the kind of support the administration is seeking. Lawmakers approved only $3 million of the $17 million President Bush requested for the office this year.
Mr. Bush is seeking another $24 million to fund the office next year, as well as $100 million for a new conflict response fund.
Coordinator of the Office of Reconstruction and Stabilization Carlos Pascual warned Congress of the impact it would have if lawmakers do not approve Mr. Bush's request.
"What we will not be able to do is to develop an active response corps that establishes the kind of standby capabilities that allows us to move into the field effectively and quickly," he said. "It will affect our ability to develop a kind of civilian reserve that all of us have underscored as absolutely critical to have that type of transformational skill that is necessary to affect a conflict early in the process so we can influence the dynamic. It will affect our capacity to deploy resources to the field quickly."
The Pentagon, which wants the State Department to take on a greater role in stability operations, has offered to transfer $200 million to support the new coordinator's office. |
warc | 201704 | The International Monetary Fund says the global economic recovery is strengthening.
IMF Economic Counselor Olivier Blanchard said Tuesday the Washington-based agency is projecting that the world economy will advance 3.6 percent this year, up from 3 percent last year. He said it will increase again in 2015, moving ahead 3.9 percent. Blanchard said that the recovery from the depths of the world downturn in 2008 is "not only stronger, but also broader." He said that government austerity measures aimed at cutting national debt levels are being eased and investors are "less worried" about the possibility of government defaults. Blanchard said the world's banks are "gradually becoming stronger." Still, Blanchard said there are economic worries on the horizon, with potential growth in advanced economies “very low,” while the advance in emerging economies is possibly weakening. He also said growing income inequality between society’s haves and have-nots is becoming more of a problem. Blanchard said the recovery across the world is uneven. He said it is strongest in the United States, the world's largest economy, where the IMF is projecting a 2.8 percent advance this year. Blanchard said Germany, the top economy in the 18-nation bloc that uses the euro currency, will advance 1.7 percent. The IMF said that for the first time in two years, economies in the southern tier of eurozone countries will "have positive, if admittedly still low, growth." He said emerging and developing countries will continue to have strong growth - 4.9 percent, up slightly from 2013. The IMF predicted 7.5 percent growth in China, the world's second biggest economy. The IMF sees a 5.4 percent advance in India, as well as in sub-Saharan Africa. The IMF said geopolitical risks have increased, but not yet had a global economic impact. |
warc | 201704 | The earth provides all the necessary resources for human beings to survive and prosper. But as the global population grows and develops, the demand for energy and consumer goods increases. This has led to increased pollution and misuse of natural resources, causing great damage to the environment. In turn, people’s health, food supplies and livelihoods are increasingly threatened.
Be it the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere that contribute to climate change, the overuse of agricultural soil that deteriorates the ground and often leads to deforestation, the contamination of water through bacteria and chemicals or the loss of biodiversity - environmental challenges are plentiful.
Today, many people speak about “sustainability” when highlighting an alternative model of how human beings can develop economically and socially without putting too much strain on the environment. Sustainable development is defined as “development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
This clearly shows that youth are at the heart of the sustainability debate. As politicians sometimes lack the necessary long-term thinking that is needed to effectively address pressing environmental issues, it’s key that global youth have a say in environmental policies, which have a direct impact on the current and future environment they live in.
Researching issues connected to the environment, you might want to
check out these resources:
United Nations Environment Programme -
Tunza
United Nations -
Sustainable Development
YOUNGO -
Youth and Climate
Connect 4 Climate -
Connecting to Tackle Climate Change
Web Ecoist -
25 Environmental Organizations
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warc | 201704 | Where do I buy a walker?
Purchasing Options
Can I receive financial assistance to purchase my walker?
You have several options:
Durable Medical Equipment (DME) stores. These are stores that specialize in supplying one-stop shopping for almost all types of home health care equipment including walkers and wheelchairs. The staff can provide knowledgeable assistance in determining which equipment is right for you and may also be able to link you with a therapist if you need one.
If you are eligible for financial assistance, most government, charitable, and insurance funding agencies will usually require you to purchase your walker from a “preferred list” of DME stores. Most funding programs stipulate that you purchase your walker through a store that offers repair and maintenance service on the equipment.
DME stores often have a pool of used or rental walkers that may be sold at a reduced price. A few DME stores will sell only recycled or second hand equipment at a reduced cost. Please note that many funding agencies will not assist in the purchase of recycled equipment due to the limited warranties offered.
Pharmacies. Major pharmacies such as Shoppers Drug Mart and Jean Coutu as well as local independents often carry medical walkers or rollators.
Department stores. “Big-Box” Warehouse stores, Discount stores such as Wal-Mart, and Costco now carry walkers. This is a good option if you don’t need sales support in selecting the correct walker or if you are paying for the purchase entirely yourself.
Personal classified advertisements. You can look in local newspapers or on-line sources such as Craig’s List and Kijiji.
Bulletin boards. in nursing homes, churches, senior centers and hospitals.
Garage sales. Signs may be posted in your community or news spread through word of mouth.
There may be agencies in your local community that supply equipment free of charge or for a minimal charge if you need a walker on a temporary basis. You can investigate the following options:
Government funded home health care programs sometimes provide equipment depending if you are receiving nursing or therapy at home.
Associations for specific diseases/conditions (i.e. the MS Society, Red Cross, March of Dimes) often have “lending cupboards”.
Can I receive financial assistance to purchase my walker?
You’ll need to consider much more than physical ability.
What about the environment and social supports?
And if so, how do you find a therapist?
We have a number of associations you may contact.
You have options and we have recommendations.
There is also financial assistance available to you.
From basic activities to common mistakes, here’s a guide to help you use your non-wheeled walker or wheeled walker safely and effectively.
Commonly given answers. Feel free to contact us if you’d like to contribute and help others.
Professionally prepared resources that offer guidance to a successful thought process based on past experiences.
Many thanks to these companies for sponsoring Walker Facts. It's their support that keeps this resource free to everyone. |
warc | 201704 | Two of the boons of the Internet are online trading and online banking. This new online arrangement has saved countless hours for both customers and banks. Online trading with firms like Web Street Securities is a major comfort. However, this has captured the attention of cyber criminals as well. The most common method used by these criminals to get bank account information of the customers is called “phishing.”
Web Street Securities would like to advise their users that phishing is a method of tricking the customer into revealing his user name and password for his online banking account. This is done by the criminal sending emails that attempt to panic the customer into the revealing act. It is similar to the popular sport of fishing, wherein bait is provided to lure the fish into biting it Advice on Security Arrangements at Online Banking
The phishing email will usually appear to have come from a bank. The receiver may or may not have an account in the bank that is represented.
Web St. Securities cautions that the contents would be along the lines of this: bank account details need updating, and it is essential to protect the account by furnishing details. The email will also have a link which will take the reader to a secure area to enter the details. The link will take the reader to a page that looks very much the same as the original bank’s web-page, but in reality, it is a fake.
Web Street Securities, found at
http://www.webstreetsecurities.com, requests its readers to be careful not to fall into the phishing trap. The first advice is that banks do not ever send out emails to their customers asking for login details. The user is advised to look at the address. The site of a bank is a secure one, and the address begins with an https in place of the regular http.
Looking for cheap life insurance? This is how to find a life insurance agent first. It is a given fact that your insurance agent should be a professional. But in order to be a professional, does a life insurance agent have to be a chartered life underwriter? Not necessarily, although it certainly may help. Here’s how to look for a professional. When you meet or speak to a life insurance whose services you are considering using to get cheap life insurance quotes, ask direct questions about his or her background, experience, and references. Such questions can reveal the person’s educational credentials and length of time in the profession, as well as evidence that other people are satisfied.
How does someone earn the right to be referred to as a “professional”? A professional is a person engaged in work in a professional field that requires specialized knowledge and often long and intensive academic preparation. The professional person conforms to the technical and business standards of his or her profession. In plain talk, professionals are people who protect the unrealized interests of those seeking their authoritative judgment.
Examples of protecting unrealized interests are:
There are some time-proven techniques to find an agent who will provide you with cheap insurance coverage.
Get a recommendation from a person whose judgment you trust. These include:
When reading publications such as newspapers or magazines featuring articles on life insurance, look for names of people in your area who are favorably written about or quoted by their peers.
In addition to the general standards used in selecting any professional, there are a variety of specific factors you should be aware of when you choose an insurance agent when you shop for cheap life insurance. Becoming knowledgeable about these factors will not only help you during the selection process but also will enable you to get cheap life insurance quotes and better understand the agent you eventually choose and thus to develop a mutually trusting relationship.
A few organizations just actually have more hazard than others. On the off chance that your business occurs to be some of these, you can have been turned around a single credit card processor then another. You even have heard the words “high risk” merchant hurled and then can have thought about whether there are any trader account suppliers want to handle the high-risk credit card processing wants you have. Luckily, there are some trade account providers that concentration, particularly on your necessities.
The credit card is a usually utilized budgetary instrument, and its utilization shapes an essential piece of individual fund. A credit card, however, easy to use has an organized framework and structure that empowers installment through a plastic card with insignificant odds of abuse and extortion. The credit card industry consists of:
Card Provider Cards suppliers are very few in numbers. A portion of the known credit card vendors is VISA, MasterCard, JCB, American Express and so forth. The logos of these card providers are what we very frequently observe on a section of a store. Card Issuers Banks issue a MasterCard or VISA or some other card to card holders. This card will have logos of both the money related foundation and the card supplier. Card Acquirer The card acquirer forms the cards acknowledged by any store, and this administration is known as credit card processing or dealer account officials. Merchant Account The merchant processing company has a record of a card processing policy to empower credit card installments in their store. Every credit card exchange starts a stream of data and trade of cash between the credit card processing association, card guarantor, and the vendor account approved and led by the card supplier. Credit card processing administrations don’t restrain their administrations to the acknowledgment of credit cards alone additionally empower the treatment of different installment mediums, for example, charge cards, electronic checks, blessing cards and different types of payment.
The credit card processing association plays out the important undertaking of approving the credit card when displayed to the vendor right away. The credit card processing organization then charges the card guarantors record and credits their record with the measure of procurement made by the cardholder.This infers that the card backer pays the card processing administrations for the exchange. The card authorities association then makes the installment to the trader in the wake of deducting a transaction processing expense.
Long day at work can be really stressful not only emotionally but also physically. This is most especially true when your work requires physical activities like walking around, talking and meeting with various people from one place to another. At the end of the day, all you want to do is relax and have a good relaxing massage. This is where massage chair enters the picture.
Here are some reasons and benefits of having this type of chair at home:
1. It is accessible – having a massage chair at home is like having an instant access to stress-free and relaxing sleep. When you go home from work, you feel little pains here and there from your back to neck to your feet so before you sleep all you think about is the body pain, well if you have massage chair, you can just sit here, relax and get your much deserved massage. This is very accessible because it is in your own house. You no longer need to go out and visit spa most especially if you have not much time since you are busy with your work and your role in the house.
2. You no longer need to pay lots of money in massage parlor/spa – let us face it, visiting spa is definitely lovely but it can be costly too. However, if you have massage chair, it is like you have invested your money to such a great treat. You no longer have to pay every time you feel like having a massage. This is especially helpful if your seeking relief from injuries from a personal injury. With this, you really were able to save lots of money and not to mention the wise decision of getting this investment.
3. This will make your sleep better – if you have easy access to having great massage then it is guaranteed that you will be able to sleep better. It is absolutely wonderful to feel relaxed before you go to bed. You will spare yourself from feeling the back pain that can be trouble in your sleep, and this is possible because of the reliable stress-relieving chair.
4. It will help your body and mind relax – the best thing about having the privilege of having this type of chair at home is that not only your body is being pampered but you also get to relax your mind which is very essential to facing new day at work. When your body feels great because of the massage your mind will forget about the stress too and that’s definitely beneficial for you. We recommend doing a review of massage chairs that are available and finding one that suits your needs.
5. Everyone in the family can use it – lastly, this chair can be shared to everyone in the family. So if your partner feels tired or maybe your teenager boys feel exhausted for playing basketball all afternoon then they can also use the massage chair and get the nice feeling of being pampered.
These are some advantages of having massage chair at home. If you feel like you are being deprived of relaxing time just because you don’t have the time to go to the spa then massage chair is really perfect for you. It’s also affordable and if you don’t have the cash you could always put it on your credit card.
People apply for personal loans for a lot of different reasons, but sometimes those applications are denied. If you have ever been denied for a personal loan and aren’t sure why you may be wondering why loan applications get denied. Perhaps you haven’t applied for your loan yet, by keeping in mind these reasons that get applications denied, you can work to get your loan application approved.
Bad Credit People that have credit problems are normally seen as a big risk and won’t want to lend you anything. Your credit score may not seem to bad, to begin with, but if there are any issues on your report, like unpaid of late bills, then that shows them that you will be more likely to miss payments on your loan. If you have been a victim of identity theft, it may be reflected in your credit score. Yes, you have no control over becoming a victim of identity theft, but it can take a while to get the issue resolved and even off of your report. Another thing that will show up in your history is if you have defaulted on any loan or credit card payment. This will definitely get your application denied if they see it on your credit history. Low Income If the amount that you make will not be enough to support repayment of the loan, then banks probably won’t lend you any money. Lenders generally want people whose income is enough to be able to pay them back. If you are just barely scraping by and don’t show any signs of getting more or a better income, then you are still a big risk. Employment History If you have not held a job for a while, or hop from job to job, you should expect that you will be denied for a loan. This kind of goes along with your income at times and can make you come off as a big risk to lenders. For those of you who jump from job to job, it shows them that you don’t have stable employment, and therefore you don’t have a stable income. The way they think about it is, if they lend you a certain amount with a certain monthly payment and then you either quit or lose your job, you would no longer be able to afford payments on your loan.
Generally, they like to see that you have not only had a stable job for at least a year, but that you have also had a stable income for that year. So, if you are a contractor for a year and a few months a year make half of what you normally do, they may think that it will happen again and you will miss or fall behind on your payments. They also like to see that you have a credit history that has been built up with three lines of credit for, again, at least a year. Your credit report and score are like a snap shot of your financial stability and bill payments, which hopefully it shows they are all on time. If your application has been denied for any of these reasons, don’t give up hope; there are bad credit personal loans that are available. If you have been denied, it is best to wait to apply again. Work on any of these problem areas then shop around for a personal loan quote before you apply again.
You are probably thinking to sell your home soon or already started making plans on how to sell it but when the time comes There are two options to choose from: Its either you sell it yourself which is the FSBO method or you use a realtor.
Apart from the advantage of having complete control over the price you sell your home if you sell it yourself there are some disadvantages also attached to selling your home yourself. There is the disadvantage of being too emotionally attached to the home and then putting a higher pricing than should be. You might not know you are doing this because obviously you are doing it on your own. There are also several disadvantages attached to selling your home yourself like the time it takes and other factors but for the sake of this article I would just stop there.
Reasons To Hire A Real Estate Agent:
Licensed that is basically their job and they are good at it. They have been doing this and have experiences handling it. You might think it’s really easy to sell a home until you try doing one yourself and then you experience how extremely stressful it can be. Networking These people know people that knows people that knows someone that is probably interested in your kind of home so why waste time about selling your home with a realtor. Experts They would give you up to date information about pricing and mortgages. They have been on the market and they know what works. A realtor would be able to help you set your price according to the value of your home and what is acceptable at the time.
They also provide security for your home during the period it’s on the market so you do not need to worry about how safe you home is. They do not allow strangers into the home. They do their screening properly and also do the necessary assessment of the strangers trying to check your home.
Term life insurance is that which offers a benefit for a set period of time, and there is no insurance following the term ends. In some cases although, you are able to renew the term automatically by buying a renewable term life. Because term life is very straightforward and basic, it usually cost much less to hold than other types of life insurance. The advantages upon death of the insured are what ever the agreed on quantity from the policy is set up for. There isn’t any money worth to this type of insurance, and it does not earn any interest or have a cost savings feature. The purpose of this article is to provide term life insurance information and educate the public on their life insurance options.
Benefits of Term Life Insurance A large benefit of term life policies are their decrease cost and also the insured will get generally much more protection for the money paid as premiums. This often means you are able to carry a larger amount of coverage to help replace your income for the family members. The objective is previous fashioned true life insurance with no frills. Why You Need Term Life The expense of securing a Universal Life or Whole Life Insurance policy can be unaffordable for some people in the level of advantage protection they would prefer to carry. Term Life affords these people the bigger policy amounts for a smaller sized investment, and yet retains the number one advantage of life insurance for the insured’s family members. Term life could be a great purchase as a mortgage policy, which will reduce in benefit as the mortgage gets paid down over time, but still has a lump sum benefit on the insured’s death.
Term life policies are readily obtainable and you are able to choose the duration of term and amount of benefit to match your needs and budget. Make sure to take a look at the term options available for you, review the policy and also the company that’s providing the policies. Term life may be just what you need for your family’s safety. These investments are also known as retirement saving by many whole life insurance policies. On the other hand still there are many people who don’t prefer term life insurance policy to be the ideal policy as it does not provide coverage for the entire duration of your life. But if you only want to protect the financial future of your loved ones for the least cost in the event of your death, term life is your best choice.
The global market for shoes has witnessed diversified trends across different parts of the world such as North America, Europe, and Asia. In the age where we are living today, like 2016, the footwear market is mostly driven by different factors like new designs, geography, healthy and active lifestyle. Increasing population, urbanization and consumerism have changed the standards of living and style. New trends and design are attracting people of diverse backgrounds. Many factors are affecting the shoe industry like the changing environmental concerns, change in lifestyles and fashion trends across different parts of the world. People in 2016 spend more money on various brands of footwear: led light-up shoes is one among them. LED light up shoes are a favorite amongst kids, whether male or female. Children find more attraction in led light up shoes.
There are different brands of shoe industry: the famous among them are Adidas, Nike, Puma, VF Corp, Skechers and New Balance. Some of these brands are limited to Europe or America while others are widespread in every part of the world. For instance, Adidas and Nike are as famous in Pakistan and Afghanistan like in Europe or America. Others like Asics and Puma are popular mostly in European markets. It has been reported that Nike and Adidas have the highest number of retail outlets. New Balance is an American company with strong presence in American shoe industry.
There are different varieties of shoe industry divided on basis of geography, types and consumer group. From the type of shoe industry, we mean the athletic and non-athletic shoe industry. There are further categories in the athletics shoe industry due to various varieties in sports, hiking, and exercises. Most importantly, it has been estimated that sports shoe industry is expected to have the largest market in terms of volume from 2014 to 2020 all over the world. Non-athletic shoe industry has also further categories like casual, fashion, and formal footwear. Casual shoes have been expected to have the largest market in terms of value in 2016.
According to many reports, kids and women dominate buying and shopping shoes. As said before, kids are mostly attracted towards led light up shoes. Led light up shoes, due to its highest demands, are producing by different shoe industries in 2016. The second number is that of women; they are mostly attracted to fashionable stuff in Asia as compared to Europe and America where every category of shoe market has a proper demand.
Many homeowners across the world plan to sell their home because they have probably found a better home or if they are relocating for various professional or personal reasons. No matter whatever the reasons are selling your home is a tough job and therefore homeowners usually look out for agents that can help in selling the home quickly as they have the expertise and experience to get the right buyers that can offer the right price. However, only professionals and agents can sell your home quickly is not true because people can sell their homes better if they know how to sell their home in a better way.
A little bit of research can help you to sell your home in the right way because you need to know the current real estate market especially for your area. Hence, do some research on the home prices in your locality so that you can price your home competitively. It is always important that you know the prices of other homes that are on sale in your locality. You also need to keep an eye on time the home has been on the market. This also gives you a better picture on how much time you might have on your hand. There are many sites that offer such information so you can track down all the information online and keep a note of that while putting a price for your home. Price is right and you will find cash buyers saying we will buy any house in Houston, TX. Cash buyers can close much faster than normal buyers using a mortgage loan.
Organize your home in the right way and make sure that you have repaired your home in the right way to get a better price in the market. You can also keep set of questions ready for the buyers so that they can ask that to you when they come to inspect your home. This will instill faith in buyers that you are offering them a great deal and you are already prepared in the right way to sell your home and that you are not cheating them.
Get a solicitor that can draw up your contract of sale and help you to sell your home privately. This is important because you want to make sure that you have all the documents ready when the buyer has decided to buy your home. This will also speed up the process because all your papers are ready at the right time and the deal can be done in the right way without any legal problems that can annoy the buyer. Want real estate advice? Connect with us.
Imagine what you may do if you were able to get the money you need for best home improvements, to start a small business or to pay for your debt and thus repair your credit score. Do you have a bad credit history? You can still borrow money. Read the following information to discover the quickest solution on how to get bad credit loans.
You could get into this for a variety of reasons. Usually, if you were late in paying the loan that may affect your credit history. So, now you’re labeled being a defaulter or an individual with poor credit history. Bad credit secured loans are just the solution for this sort of situation.
This means you guarantee the loan with a property that you have. The most common is a property. Your home, if you’re the owner. You may as well use as a guarantee your car or any other equity that has value.
Certainly, if you are not able to pay the installments, you’ll lose the home used to secure the loan. But, because you possess a guarantee, the good news is that the interest is lower than other types. The more value the home has, the greater the rate will decrease. Think twice if you need to get a bad credit secured loan. Evaluate properly your power to pay back the loan. Don’t jeopardize your property, if it is not necessary.
After you made a choice to go ahead and obtain a bad credit secured loan, you should discover a lender. Various such people or companies do this sort of business. Although there is a risk, the profit is also good. The interest is higher because of the bad credit history and the difficulty of getting a loan.These organizations are found in phone books, newspapers, TV adverts and around you, on the street. But the quickest solution to get bad credit secured loans these days is by getting fast cash with Click Finance.
Several websites are offering to give you money having a guarantee. Try to obtain their offer by filling the application form, after which an assistant will contact you. Get as numerous such offer as possible and compare them. In this way, you can find the most suitable choice that suits your requirements.
Light up sneakers are trending with their rechargeable LED light displays. Music lovers and artists and even games fans love the LED shoes and they likewise suit clubbing and celebrating. The up-to-date shoes offer distinctive components one brand to another; it is entirely conceivable to discover a couple whose shading modes and lighting alternatives you can control effectively utilizing a little remote gadget. Although this makes them popular to customers, a string of product recalls has consumers on edge.
Use the following tips to ensure your LED light up shoes are safe to wear:
Before wearing, ensure that your pair is fully charged. Fully charged LED shoes will last several hours lit. Some take as little as two hours or three to charge and can last you through the event you are wearing them to. To hasten the charging process, ensure that shoes are turned off, then plug them up. It is also important to ensure that you use a wall adapter when charging the shoes.
Keep your led light up shoes dry. Whereas they are designed to be waterproof, it does not mean that you can soak them up in a downpour because it can be damaging. Light rain and snow may not cause any damage to the battery and lighting system, but when you soak them in a pool of water you will not be very pleased with the results. Therefore, it is not wise to wear them to a lake trip or boat ride or parks where you are likely to take part in water rides.
Keep them off extreme temperatures. Batteries are not that safe when left in very high temperatures so ensure that you do not leave your pair in such areas like a hot resting car. Heat damage is the last thing you want on your shoes so be careful where you leave them.
Learn to clean your light up shoes. To keep them functional avoid tossing them into the washing machine or immersing them in water for a thorough clean. The best way to clean LED shoes is by using a damp cloth and mild detergent that will do no harm to LEDS within the shoes. The charging port, particularly should never get wet.
Choose a style that works for you but make sure you buy a brand that is reputable. There are so many LED shoe options including rubber shoes and leather shoes. Just like buying any other type of shoe, make sure that you choose a style that matches your personality.
Did your LED light up shoe malfunction or catch fire? Let our writers know!
When considering that the population of the entire country is not much more than 300 million, that seems like a staggering amount of vehicles, and it is indicative of society’s reliance on automobile travel as a part of modern life. 7,138,476 registered motorcycles counted in that total, and with such a substantial number of vehicles and a limited amount of roadway space, the unfortunate reality is that some collisions are bound to occur. However, to dismissively refer to them as “accidents” may distract from the fact that most traffic incidents can attribute to the negligence or recklessness of one or more parties.
When this is the case, it is likely in a motorcyclist’s best interest to file a civil lawsuit in addition to seeking insurance benefits. This can be essential to ensuring that a rider has the financial resources that he or she needs to contend with the expenses associated with an accident. Motorcycles are incredibly vulnerable to serious injury in the event of a collision because they do not have many safety features to insulate them from the effects of an impact and can quickly toss off of a bike. The severity of these injuries might temporarily or permanently interfere with a motorcyclist’s ability to execute job-related responsibilities and can otherwise compromise one’s quality of life.
There is a broad assumption by many laypeople that motorcyclists are innately reckless and therefore should be assumed to have caused any accidents in which they have become involved. In truth, in multiple vehicle collisions, it is more often the another motorist whose negligence resulted in the crash.The benefits of a winning lawsuit may include financial compensation for:
Medical bills and therapy expense associated with an accident Motorcycle repairs or replacement Reduced earning potential or lost wages Mental anguish Preparing for a Motorcycle Accident Lawsuit By many accounts, a motorcycle accident is no different from other vehicular collisions. Because the rider is more exposed, the severity of damages and injuries tends to be greater. Although each incident varies from the next, common injuries motorcycle riders experience, range from fractured or sprained extremities to bruised hips to concussions and internal injuries. But while a sprained wrist may heal, the long-term and life-changing consequences of certain conditions veer the rider’s course down a different path – one, possibly, of years of medical treatments and lost wages. At the Scene Unlike truck accidents, which have far more parties responsible for a collision, an incident involving a motorcycle and another vehicle has less red tape. As just the other driver is in charge, all you, as the bike rider, need to do is take down the license plate number of the vehicle that hit you and the name and number of the other driver and all possible witness. As well, contact the local police department to file an accident report.
While, at the scene of an accident, you should ensure your safety, be sure to remove your bike from the road or at least prop it up to avoid any further collisions. Additionally, take pictures of the damage that the vehicle experienced from multiple angles.
Afterwards While working with your and the other driver’s insurance company is advised, don’t settle for an amount if you find medical bills piling up and wages decreasing. Before contacting a San Diego motorcycle attorney, compile all information necessary to presenting your case to show the other driver is at fault, be it because of reckless driving, illegal behavior, or simply not following the rules of the road, and the extent of your injuries. Any items from the scene – the police report, your photos, and witnesses – convey your stance, along with medical bills and statements showing time off from work and lost wages.
A mortgage professional can be of great help in the process of acquiring a real estate property. No matter where you travel across the world, the real peace resides in one’s own home. You spend that hard earned money to acquire the home of dreams. The main target of everyone is to acquire the best home. Due to monetary issues, there are many people who are unable to acquire the necessary down-payment or a solid credit score. Just as a poor credit score can effect your employment it can cause just as much trouble when trying to buy a home.Money is the only element that helps in availing facilities. Hence, in the absence of proper funds, it is impossible to buy the home. If you dream of residing in the perfect home and lack the funds there is no need to worry. It is easy to purchase the home with the mortgage. It is a perfect way to transform the dream into reality. The Mortgage is the boon for those individuals who dream of buying a new home but fail to do so. By checking the internet website to arrive at the mortgage specialist, you will get to know about your financial position. Besides this, the specialist will also help in getting the lowest mortgage rate.
The mortgage specialist is the only way to analyze the current financial position. He will offer the recommendations to enhance the wealth while looking into the future. You need to consult the expert of the home mortgage field to view the bigger picture of your finances. If you are hunting for the mortgage expert, you can start searching online. There are several renowned names in the niche field who work diligently to enhance the financial position of the service seekers and even provide the exact estimate of the mortgage rate. Life’s Great mortgage consulting for example is one firm that has established a strong reputation for giving consultation about mortgage issues. Consulting the celebrated specialist is always the viable option while buying a home. Remember one thing, property always comes with the hard earned money and so you cannot take chances. It is great to seek the advice of mortgage specialists who can act as the middlemen to allow you enter into the best deals. Since the interest rate is fluctuating, it is good to keep the mortgage specialist on the board. Just like someone goes to the doctor for a health checkup, you can move on to the brokers or the financial doctors for the interest rate. Finding the current mortgage rate and then moving forward to buy the property is the finest option. Choosing the right mortgage is the main trick to buying homes conveniently.
You can expect to get a variety of services from the mortgage experts. If you have income which is very tough to document, you can move take the services of property experts to avoid the income tax returns. Even the jumbo loans for the commercial and the residential property will be handled by the experts. If you are facing real estate challenges owing to the low credit score, you may get in touch with the specialists to find the best possible terms and the rates.
If recently you discovered you have bad credit and are ready to get busy to fix your credit, but are wondering where do you start? Who do you need to contact? Who do I need to pay and how much?
To fix your credit report, you may potentially be paying some outstanding debts but this is nothing compared to how a negative report might be perceived by employers. However, you should begin with first getting a copy of your credit report from each major credit bureau a total of three credit reports. Now you need to look at these reports and decide what information you believe is incorrect, and also look for any legitimate outstanding debts. For legitimate outstanding debts, you should contact the lender or collection agency and negotiate a settlement agreement.
In your settlement agreement, you must negotiate that the lender or collection agency stops reporting your account information to the three major credit bureaus in exchange for your settlement payment. We strongly encourage you to get this agreement in writing and if you neglect to get this agreement you may pay the debt but continue to have negative information about this account on your credit report. For any incorrect information on your credit report, you need to file a credit report dispute with the credit bureaus. You can dispute information on your report because it has incorrect balance, incorrect dates, not your account, or the credit card account is paid.
You can also dispute an item on your credits report because it is older than seven years. Federal law states that debt can only remained on your credits reports for a maximum of seven years. According to reports collection agencies regularly violate this federal law and will attempt to report a debt account as long as they can. When the credits bureaus receive your dispute, they will conduct the investigation by contacting the creditor or debt collector that has reported the negative information to that bureau. The credit bureau will request for account verification and confirmation of the dates and amount due, from the lender or debt collector.
If the credit bureau is unable to verify your account, then it must erase the bad credit item from your credits report. You need to keep in mind, that just because you remove negative information from one credit report doesn’t mean it has also been removed from your other two credit reports. For example, if you remove a charge off on your Experian credit report, you are still going to have to file separate disputes with both Equifax and the Trans Union to remove that same charge off but from both of those two credit reports. The point simply doesn’t forget about bad credit items on your other credit reports make sure to clean up all three of these credit files.
You are entitled to dispute your credit report, according to a federal law called the Fair Credits Reporting Act this law requires the credits bureaus to investigate your dispute. It is a good thing that this law exists because it is estimated that up to 25% of all credit reports contain a mistake. You will experience some resistance in getting a credits bureaus to team your dispute valid and thus conduct an investigation into the negative items on your credits report. They are going to require you to jump through some hoops and provide them information that you may have already prior before they decide your dispute is valid.
You must comply, or you can hire a professional credit repair firm to handle the credit dispute process for you. This will require you to forward your credit reports to the firm and communications from the credit bureaus where you will be notified that your dispute is valid with the bureau, and when the credits bureaus finish their investigation often resulting in the removal of an item and a clean credit report. They will notify you by written mail.
However, you move chose to more forward take action today and fix your credit report. Stop paying the cost, embarrassment, humiliation, and difficulty of a bad credits score.
There are some proven ways to fix bad credit and dependable credit repair involves more than just sending dispute letters. So be beware. Many repair agencies offer little beyond discussing negative information. The problem with these companies is that they’ll often dispute just about anything. If you ever plan to get a loan for a home or a car then this article is for you.
Why it’s Dangerous to Dispute Valid Information
Of course, you do have the right to discuss anything on your report that you feel inaccurate or incomplete, but disputing something you know is valid can make your problems worse and it can even result in a lawsuit. So why take chances? There is a better, safer approach to improving your bad credit rating.
Fix Your Credit in 5 Easy Steps Step One: Make a Budget
Budgeting your money may be one of the most important parts of the repair process. Although it is possible to resolve some of your credit problems without a budget, you’re most likely going to have to start saving money and planning for future expenses and additional bad credit repair services. For example, paying off your debts and collection accounts will often require lump sums of money. This is especially important when you have to pay of a credit card to improve and affect your overall credit rating.
Step Two: Analyze Your Credit Scores
If you’re going to start the repair process, you’ll need to know exactly what’s listed on your credit. Every year, you’re entitled to a free copy of your credit report from each one of the three major credit bureaus. A careful examination of your credit score will also reveal potential errors or suspicious information that you may want to have investigated. You must learn what is stopping you from doing what it takes to repair your credit score. in order to fix a bad credit rating, people need to consider what personal loans they currently have on file and that they have applied to over the years. Keeping these tips on file will improve your overall experience and avoid more issues when fixing your credit.
Step Three: Make Corrections to Your Credit Report
Now that have taken the time to learn what is on your credit scores today, you can begin to take action. There are many reasons to have your credit Verified. If you see anything on your credit reports that you feel is inaccurate, it’s probably a good idea to send a verification letter to have it corrected or removed. Even a mistake that seems minor can give you a bad credit score. Checking your credit for errors is an essential part of credit repair. People need to keep a close eye on their credit scores movement as they use their credit cards.
Step Four: Negotiate Debt Settlements
If you have been budgeting your income up to this point, reducing your debt and finally paying it off should be relatively straightforward. Collection agencies are often willing to agree to a debt settlement. Debt agreements are the best way to have your debts reduced to an amount you can afford to pay. Be aware that credit repair certainly requires more than making corrections to your credit. After all, one of the most damaging things to have on your credit is unpaid debt.
Step Five: Establish New Lines of Credit
It’s possible to get approved for new, active lines of credit regardless of your credit history. The moment your finances are under control and your debt has been paid down, you’ll be in a good position to establish new credit. Creating new lines is credit is one of the very best ways to increase your credit score. Lenders are actually looking for you to apply for credit when you have a poor score. Additional credit consulting may be required for this step, especially if the law is involved or you have filed for bankruptcy.
While credit repair may be challenging, it’s very possible–and its rewards are plenty. It is not always the fastest process it will, of course, take a moment to have to save some money to pay off your debt, but it’s usually a sure and safe process. Following these five steps, you’ll see just how easy it can be to fix bad credit. Use our credit repair tips as well to ease the difficulties ahead. How fast you can repair your credit score will directly come from the time you spend following these steps and living today within your means. You can also find a credit company who can help. They normally have a variety of offers and services which can help get you a quick response.
A credit score above 660 is considered to be a good score, while a score between 700 and 759 is an awesome score. Anything above 760 is an excellent score. People with excellent credit scores can enjoy a lot of benefits. Firstly, they don’t have to worry about high-interest rates while applying for any credit. Banks will be readily available to provide credit to people who have great scores.
Credit reduce the hassle of worrying about carrying cash, which can often create problems for many individuals, and most of the commercial establishments support credit cards for making payments. Today, you can use your ATM or debit card to make payments for groceries, book your tickets, buys products from internet websites, and even buy automobiles. There are different types of cards available. The major difference is with debit or ATM cards you make payments from your bank account, while in the case of credit cards you make your payments first, and subsequently, pay for the expenses – within a pre-designated period. The main issue with these cards is that they don’t come cheap.
The following are tips that can help you maintain your good credit: 1. Charge only what you can afford to pay When you get into the propensity for charging just what you can manage, it lets future creditors and lenders know that you are a responsible borrower. You will think that its simpler to obtain cash and get new credit when you prove that you know how only to borrow what you can pay back. 2. Use only a small amount of the credit you have Maxing out your credit cards – or even coming close – is one of the most irresponsible ways of using credit. The chances are that you cannot afford to pay off a maxed out credit card balance. Loan specialists realize that borrowers or entrepreneurs who maximize their cards regularly experience issues repaying what they have acquired. Staying beneath half of your credit point of confinement is wise. Start with only one credit card. Many people start by accumulating many credit cards within a couple of years of using credit. Don’t do this. The more credit you have, the more you will end up using. 3. Pay your balance in full and on time If you are only charging what you can afford to pay, this will not be a problem. By paying your credit monthly it proves that you are able to pay your bills, something lenders and creditors want to see. 4. Carry a balance the right way Having a credit card balance is not bad as long as you do it the right way. Make more than the minimum payment each month to pay off your loan as fast as possible. Abstain from making late charge card installments.
If you want to improve your credit score so that you can qualify for a better loan, you can use the credit score calculator on any website to work out what the score is. The score can range from 300 upward to around 850 so you can then know if you should pay off a few debts first, and ask your bank for a better interest rate so that your score can improve. The credit score calculator can also help you to save money by showing you how to keep your finances in order. The higher your credit score is, the better the interest rates that you will be offered by your bank on a mortgage.
For small business owners and entrepreneurs, it can be very hard to find the best way to plan for the future. Everyone needs to be planning for their future no matter what their occupation if they want to help ensure that they are financially secure during their retirement.
There is no guarantee that investing in any kind of retirement fund or investing at all for retirement will ensure that you are financially sound throughout your retirement. But that doesn’t mean that it is not a good idea. Just speak with the people you trust, see if they have invested in any kind of retirement fund. Small Business Owners and Entrepreneurs
Investing in a retirement fund is a lot hard when you are a small business owner or entrepreneur just based on the simple fact that there is nothing set up for you. If you look at many of the larger corporations, their employees have options all laid out for them.
They have 401(k)’s and different retirement funds to choose from based on their goals for retirement. On top of that, many large corporations will even contribute a certain amount to these retirement funds based on how much the employee is contributing.
These are all great incentives for employees of larger corporations to start planning for their retirements. I don’t see why someone would not start their own retirement fund with these kind of incentives.
They are great.
At the same time, these are all incentives that an entrepreneur does not have. On top of that, all too often their is a much more risky investment that an entrepreneur could make in his or her own business or in a new business as that is the nature of how their minds work. Situations like these make starting a retirement fund and eliminating credit card debt all that much more difficult.
Planning For Your Retirement
If you are a small business owner or an entrepreneur then one of the best things that you can do is visit a local financial planner. Talk to a professional retirement specialist and let them know what you goals are for retirement as well as how much you will be able to contribute to this retirement fund. They can then put together a retirement plan that is customized to your needs. This will give you a better picture of what you will need to be doing in order to help reach your goals for your retirement.
Speak With Other Entrepreneurs
A good way to find out the best route to take as an entrepreneur looking to start investing and planning for your retirement is to network. There are a lot of networking events as well as websites where entrepreneurs can hang out, exchange ideas and learn from each other.
One of the things you can learn is what approach other entrepreneurs are taking in order to plan and save for their retirement. From one entrepreneur to another, they should have no problem sharing that kind of information.
Credit rating should be the concern of most people. For some, who do not have too many loans, their credit status is still their primary concern, but not to the point that it is bothering their lives. This is the advantage of having a good credit status or rating. On the other hand, those people who have bad credit standing find it so hard to get out of the trouble because it is affecting their lives and sometimes even the lives of their loved ones.
Some people take for granted the concept of credit rating especially if they do not need to have a loan or mortgage in the future but still, the legal actions that many credit card companies might bother them in the future. Moreover, people who have bad credit standing cannot just say that they are not bothered by their credit status because they do not need to loan in the future. They would still suffer the effects as they do some financial transactions in their life. For example, some utility companies would deny the application of someone who has a bad credit status. Some landlords, for example, will investigate the credit standing of their tenants before allowing them to live in his house because they are afraid that they will suffer the same thing like the credit card companies– that they did not receive any payment or the payment was not complete. Credit status is sometimes very hard to control because some credit card companies would impose too much interest on credit cards.
Some popular effects of having a bad credit status or rating are; first, the borrower may be denied of getting a new credit. This was the argument presented earlier. Some financial institutions after investigating the credit rating of a borrower and found out that they have bad credit standing, will not approve the request credit of the borrower. Some credit card companies after realizing that a particular borrower has a bad credit rating will impose higher interest rates. Even those companies engaged in car rentals and reservations; investigate a lot on the borrower’s profile before engaging business with them. Moreover, borrowers with bad credit rating are sometimes rejected by employers. Employers are thinking that they are delinquent people, thus, work or tasks cannot be entrusted to them. If you have poor credit, it is important that you consult a professional such as those at creditrepair.com. They can help you navigate the murky roads of credit repair and debt consolidation and ultimately help you get your financial life back on track.
Credit rating is part of someone’s profile. This is like a crime record that will not be deleted into the profile of the borrower. It is better to prevent oneself from having bad credit rating than to suffer from its consequences in the future. Prevention is still better than getting into troubles. By simply being responsible, credit rating will remain good. Hence, responsibility together with doing the obligations will make the life of an individual less complicated.
Business men usually need to adhere to a certain dress code that is expected of them. Normally this outfit comprises of a suit, a shirt and a tie as well as patent leather shoes. This way, one gives a good impression no matter what. In one’s bureau, on a business trip, at the stock exchange or in a restaurant, one’s impression should in no case be underestimated.
Especially when directly dealing with potential client or business partners it is vital to not only look clean and well-dressed and thus follow the dress code but also to display good manners. By behaving politely and courteously one shows one’s trustworthiness and reliability and by doing so increases one’s chances to bring a deal to a conclusion. Furthermore, one should make sure that one’s garments do fit well and are clean. In terms of personal hygiene, men should be clean shaven since a three-day beard gives the impression that one doesn’t care too much about one‘s appearance.
Arriving the stylish way
Often, business meetings do take part in places other than the company building itself but rather in neutral places like restaurants where a specific area is reserved. From the various ways to get there, coming with the company car sure is the most common one. If one wants to leave a lasting impression, however, there is only one choice: getting there with a limousine. A limousine service offers a multitude of advantages while at the same time being just a little more expensive than a taxi, as can be seen on websites like http://www.blacklane.com/en. Some of the advantages are the following:
Modern cars: Limousine services offer some of the best cars in the world so everyone can find and book exactly the car that is desired. Depending on the number of people who are going to be transported there are a couple of different car models available differing in terms of size and storage space.
Experienced and discreet drivers: Drivers with long experience in driving and absolute discretion guarantee a fast and reliable ride.
Space and comfort: Large leeway allows for much comfort during the ride and even enables the passenger to do some work in the car. Browsing through one’s papers once more right before a meeting as well as making phone calls can easily be done.
All in all, it is important to envision that one’s appearance is s factor not to be underestimated in the success or failure in the business world. Making oneself clear the o
A network of contacts is everything in today’s business world. Knowing people and therefore increasing one’s chances of making interesting and profitable deals is often worth more than money itself. In order to come to terms with one’s business partner, it is vital to leave a good impression on him and stay in contact.
This is especially true when it comes to foreign clients and partners since it is often the case that one doesn’t speak the same language. In such a situation it is more important than ever to keep in mind intercultural differences and show one’s good manners.
Foremost if the client comes to a meeting or for the signing of a contract it is important to welcome him and make his stay as comfortable as possible. Not only is this a question of good manners but the more comfortable a client or partner feels the better the chances for a successful business deal. The arrival: limousine service is already waiting
It is a good idea to already offer one’s guest the best service when he has just arrived. Hiring a limousine service like the BlackLane Limousine Service is a good way to show one’s guest that one cares about his well-being. Modern cars and much room for one’s comfort as well as
experienced and discreet driversmake sure that the drive to the hotel is nothing but comfortable. Also, the driver can act as a kind of guide and tell the passenger a bit about the town if he is interested. Next, one should have booked a room in a good hotel that should be too far away from the meeting point. Most of the time, the latter will either be the company building itself or a neutral spot like a restaurant, for example. Showing good manners, and being dressed in an appropriate way will help to bring the business talking to a successful and. Later on, one can have a drink and make a toast to the agreement and afterwards have the limousine get one’s client home. |
warc | 201704 | Bounce houses, aka "bouncy castles" are a huge hit with kids at parties, fairs, and carnivals, but new information out from the medical journal
makes clear that they're also dangerous. About 30 children a day are treated in emergency rooms for injuries related to use of a bouncy structure. The most common injuries are sprains, strains, and fractures — especially in the upper and lower extremities — caused by children falling in or out of the house or bumping into other children inside the house. Pediatrics
The injury rate has increased 15 times since 1995, from less than 1,000 injuries per year to nearly 11,000 in 2010 — with the numbers doubling from 2008 to 2010. Fortunately, only about 3 percent of children injured were hospitalized, mostly because of broken bones. From 2003 to 2007, there were 4 deaths related to bouncy structures due to children striking their heads on a hard surface. More than one-third of kids injured were age five or younger, and the study authors recommend that children younger than six don't use bounce houses.
So how can you keep your child safe when they want to jump around on a bouncy castle? Make sure the structure isn't overloaded with too many children and don't allow smaller kids to bounce with older, heavier kids and adults. If you've got your own structure at home, follow the manufacturers' instructions. Try to keep your kids from colliding with other kids on purpose (easier said than done) and from doing flips.
This warning is similar to that issued a few months ago about the risks associated with
trampoline use. But while that study made clear that pediatricians don't want children on trampolines at all, there's no such recommendation for bouncy houses.
My kids love bouncy houses and I can't imagine banning them from using one, but I do always keep an eye on them.
Do you let your kids use them? Have any injuries resulted while they've bounced? Let us know in the comments section below. Photo credit: stock.xchng |
warc | 201704 | Access to medicines is the most under-utilized opportunity for pharma to communicate with patients.
In Europe, access to medicines has, so far, been regarded a “non-issue”. Given that most treatments are reimbursed by national health coverage, patients usually did not have to worry about obtaining a drug once it had been prescribed to them. Yet, this summer, we witnessed a shift of paradigm. The European economic crisis has shaken one of the pillars of the EU healthcare system: free access to prescribed drugs.
This summer, Greek patients became hostages in a struggle opposing health authorities unable to pay their debts and pharma taking a strong stance against this by withholding delivery of some treatments to patients.
Psychologically, this had a profound impact on patients in Greece, as Kathi outlines in the video below.
The fact that pharma stopped delivering treatments, eroded patient’s trust. If pharma truly cared about its patients’, was it not in a moral obligation to communicate about what happened, why and for how long patients will have to endure this situation? What better way to utilize social media in transparent ways to inform about the motives, reassure about future availability and continuously update on delivery logistics and safety of patients?
There is a lot of talk about how trust is the foundation of any social media engagement. Maybe in this particular instance though, it is the other way around: using social media to engage on the access to your treatments might be the only way to regain trust. |
warc | 201704 | Warm welcome for retention of natural environment quangos Thursday 14th October 2010
In response to today’s publication of the Government’s review of quangos, The Wildlife Trusts warmly welcome the commitment to retain natural environment bodies. The conservation organisation depends on them to help achieve its vision for A Living Landscape and Living Seas.
Stephanie Hilborne OBE, chief executive of The Wildlife Trusts, said:
“We welcome Rt Hon Caroline Spelman’s recognition of the importance of Natural England, Environment Agency, the Forestry Commission and Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Substantial reform is already underway including moves to ask the voluntary sector to take on various functions. We will continue to work in partnership with these vital bodies to make the most of our strong local presence.
Part of the reform will include looking at the future of land. Currently The Wildlife Trusts manage 44 of the 84 National Nature Reserves (NNR) not directly managed by Natural England (NE). The messages are that the rest of the series will now be moved away from the state. Each NNR will be a key element of a local ecological network and The Wildlife Trusts are keen to buy time to ensure the best outcome for each of these national treasures. Also key will be how the Forestry Commission (FC) and Environment Agency (EA) go about any land disposals and the priority they afford to securing the right ownership for their land which is of current or future wildlife value. The recent Review Group made direct reference to this1.
Stephanie Hilborne continued: “The elements of reform that relate to out-sourcing of work to the voluntary sector must be carefully managed. We are looking for open processes which can allow us to play to our strengths. The changes in Wales will also be key2.
Also welcomed by The Wildlife Trusts is the decision to retain the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) as a separate body. The HLF has helped transform the fortune of local wildlife around the UK since its formation. The continued Big Lottery Fund is also a key force for good both for nature and people. The Wildlife Trusts manage a £50m Local Food programme for Big Lottery and it has funded vital programmes which demonstrate the value the natural environment holds for people around the UK.
Stephanie added: “And finally, it is with a big sigh of relief that there is continuity for the Marine Management Organisation (MMO). The MMO will be key to securing delivery of the 2009 Marine & Coastal Access Act, for which The Wildlife Trusts played a pivotal campaigning role.”
Story by RSWT |
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Given Guatemala's record of human rights abuses, its legal system has often been portrayed as illegitimate and anemic. I Ask for Justice challenges that perception by demonstrating that even though the legal system was not always just, rural Guatemalans considered it a legitimate arbiter of their grievances and an important tool for advancing their agendas. As both a mirror and an instrument of the state, the judicial system simultaneously illuminates the limits of state rule and the state's ability to co-opt Guatemalans by hearing their voices in court. Against the backdrop of two of Latin America's most oppressive regimes - the dictatorships of Manuel Estrada Cabrera (1898-1920) and General Jorge Ubico (1931-1944) - David Carey Jr. explores the ways in which indigenous people, women, and the poor used Guatemala's legal system to manipulate the boundaries between legality and criminality. Using court records that are surprisingly rich in Maya women's voices, he analyzes how bootleggers, cross-dressers, and other litigants crafted their narratives to defend their human rights. Revealing how nuances of power, gender, ethnicity, class, and morality were constructed and contested, this history of crime and criminality demonstrates how Maya men and women attempted to improve their socioeconomic positions and to press for their rights with strategies that ranged from the pursuit of illicit activities to the deployment of the legal system. |
warc | 201704 | Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/2/2014 (1076 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
As we get older, we often get consumed by the hustle and bustle of our everyday lives, forgetting to take time to care for our body and mind.
Physical activity is an important part of this, and we regularly put it off to make time for work, family and friends. Fortunately, it is never too late to start living an active life and the many energetic seniors living in Kirkfield Park are proof of that.
Last week, I attended the opening ceremonies for the fifth annual All Senior Games that took place at Sturgeon Creek I and II Retirement Residences. The event, held at 22 All Seniors Care Living Centres across Canada, brought residents together in friendly competition to stay healthy and active during the winter months.
More than 125 residents of Sturgeon Creek I and II participated in the activities, which included hall walking, Wii Bowling and Golf, billiards, bocce, shuffleboard and card games. It was incredibly inspiring to meet this year’s participants. Their spirit and enthusiasm has only increased with time and proves that there are no limits to what you can accomplish — no matter your age.
In addition to the excitement taking place at Sturgeon Creek Residence, another local senior recently made his mark in the pool. Jaring Timmerman, who turns 105 this month, set two world records for swimming last month, and became the world’s oldest masters swimmer.
Mr. Timmerman previously set records in the 50-metre backstroke and 50-metre freestyle for the 100 to 104 age category and this year, simply by finishing the races, he became the first athlete to compete in the 105 to 109 age group. Adding to his impressive feat, Mr. Timmerman was able to beat the previous personal record he set at the age of 100 in 2009.
As always, feel free to come by my office for a chat or to give us a call at 204-832-2318. We would love to hear if you have any upcoming events to feature in our next article! |
warc | 201704 | Feb. 24, 2014 – The Wisconsin Judicial Code would specifically authorize judges to give litigants, including self-represented litigants, information or use techniques to simplify legal proceedings, under a petition that received a public hearing today at the state supreme court.
The supreme court also heard testimony on a petition that would authorize the Office of Lawyer Regulation (OLR) to post public notice on its website when a lawyer is being formally investigated for alleged ethical misconduct (see more on this petition from a recent article in
WisBar InsideTrack).
The court did not discuss either petition as public hearings consumed the entire day and left no time for an administrative conference. Thus, the court will hold both petitions for consideration at a later date.
Judges Turn Out to Support Pro Se Petition
Numerous Wisconsin judges and attorneys appeared in support of petition 13-14, which would amend and create Wisconsin Judicial Code rules to make clear that judges can take “reasonable efforts” to facilitate the ability of all litigants, including self-represented litigants, to be fairly heard.
The petition, submitted by the Wisconsin Access to Justice (ATJ) Commission in 2013, recognizes the significant number of Wisconsin citizens who enter court proceedings each year without a lawyer, especially in family law cases.
It largely codifies the sorts of discretionary acts that many judges are already using, explained former Appeals Court Judge Margaret Vergeront, who testified for the ATJ Commission.
Specifically, judges could use their discretion in “using techniques that enhance the process of reaching a fair determination in the case.” Judges who don’t want to take such measures would not be required as the proposed language simply allows judges to use their discretion. It also aplies to "all litigants," not just pro se litigants.
For instance, judges could take reasonable steps to explain legal concepts in everyday language, provide information about the proceedings, or permit narrative testimony, among other actions included within the petition’s non-exhaustive list.
Judges, attorneys, and associations support the petition as a way to improve access to justice for the increasing number of self-represented litigants and create efficiencies for judges and commissioners who hear their cases.
The State Bar of Wisconsin supports the petition, as does the Wisconsin Trial Judges Association, the Wisconsin Committee of Chief Judges, the Court of Appeals, and the Wisconsin Association of Judicial Court Commissioners, among others.
Appeals, circuit, and municipal court judges testified in support of the petition at today’s public hearing, including Jeffrey Kremers, chief judge of the Milwaukee County Circuit Court. State Bar President Patrick J. Fiedler also testified in support of the petition, noting that the State Bar’s Board of Governors voted 37-3 to support it.
Kremers and other judges said the rule simply authorizes what many judges across the state are already doing to address the high volume of pro se litigants, and judges who are hesitant to use such techniques would have assurance that the rules allow it.
Justice Patience Roggensack raised concern that the proposal undermines the adversarial system, questioning how far judges could go in helping pro se litigants.
“I see a lot of problems,” Justice Roggensack said. “It may be that we need to change our system, but what you are portraying is not an adversarial system. I have concern that our courts could be turned into social service agencies.”
Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson seemed to support the proposal. She suggested the best solution is allowing court appointed counsel in civil cases, but that solution is not currently achievable given the costs involved. “If we can’t do the best thing, we should not be stopped from doing something,” the chief justice said.
Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Mary Kuhnmuench said the proposal addresses a "changed landscape.” Historically, litigants had lawyers, and judges are now dealing with a massive number who do not.
“That’s the bench now,” Kuhnmuench said. “We better recognize it and figure it out.”
Michael Gonring, a partner at Quarles & Brady LLP in Milwaukee and long-time advocate for access to justice initiatives and pro bono programs, said a represented side, in his experience, is grateful when a judge makes efforts to inform a pro se litigant.
“I do not see this as an assault on the adversarial system at all,” Gonring said. “Cases involving pro se litigants can get messy, and we hope the judge takes control and makes things easier because that makes things easier for us and our clients.” |
warc | 201704 | Estimates show that nearly 20 percent of Americans are providing care for a sick or frail loved one or friend at home while also employed.
This contributes to a condition called "presenteeism" -- those times when an employee is at work but not fully functioning due to their own illness or one in their family they are trying to handle.
The impact on productivity
Harvard Business Review reports that about $150 billion is lost each year in time productivity due to presenteeism.
Experts admit that presenteeism is more challenging to measure than its counterpart -- absenteeism -- because employers clearly know when an employee is not at work, but they can't truly tell when an employee is distracted mentally or too tired to focus while physically on the job.
For caregivers, productivity is affected by fatigue, arriving at work late or leaving early, and spending time during work hours on the phone or online tending to caregiving issues. Most employees, however, still aim to give their employers 100 percent while on the job, adding to their stress and exhaustion.
How to help employee caregivers
Many employees take on the duties of caregiving because they don't know any alternatives -- or think they can't afford outside help.
A great way to help employee caregivers is to make sure they know about available community resources that can assist. A variety of services may even be available at no cost to the patient or family.
"We offer comprehensive assistance, including family caregiver skill training, educational online videos and connections to other caregiver resources," said Nicole Bruno, co-founder and executive director of Transitions GuidingLights Caregiver Support Center.
For people with any chronic serious illness, palliative care services help manage pain and other symptoms, including anxiety and stress. A care plan is coordinated with the patient's doctor to keep the patient comfortable and able to enjoy a higher quality of life.
"Palliative care is often provided in tandem with disease-directed treatments such as chemotherapy, and can help offset side effects," explained Laura Patel, M.D., chief medical officer for Transitions LifeCare.
Another benefit is that palliative care is provided by nurse practitioners and other medical staff wherever the patient calls home. Services are covered by Medicare Part B, Medicaid and most private insurance companies.
If a patient has a life expectancy of about 6 months or less, and is seeking comfort rather than a cure, hospice care provides expert medical, emotional and spiritual care. A team of doctors, nurses, social workers, home health aides and specially trained volunteers provide services wherever the patient calls home. Emotional and spiritual support is available for the entire family.
"Through our hospice services, medications related to the terminal illness and necessary medical equipment -- such as a hospital bed, oxygen and a wheelchair -- are included and delivered right to the patient's home. Services are typically covered in full by Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance," said Deb Norcross, RN, CHPN, director of hospice for Transitions LifeCare.
Perhaps the best ways to assist employee caregivers is to empathize with their situation and make sure they know how to get help with the caregiving itself.
This story was written for our sponsor, Transitions LifeCare. |
warc | 201704 | I. Introduction: Until recently I was of the opinion that Pakistani immigrants were highly intellectual learned people that decided to settle in America because they could not completely utilize their education back home, and thought that by staying in Pakistan they were doing injustice to their education. Being in America for over a year and mingling within the local Desi community (as the Pakistani immigrant community is known as) I have learned that the government of United States of America has a big social problem that is developing inside their own borders. I do not in any way intend to be discriminatory as there are some highly intellectual learned Pakistani people present in America but America's political correctness is being misused. In this paper I will try to focus on the life of a Pakistani immigrant, after settling in Southern California, and its social implications.
II. Methodology: I decided to interview three different types of families that belonged to the three classes of the Desi community, upper, lower and median.
Each of these families' shared similar characteristics; a son, a daughter, the wife and the husband. Namely, the Azariah, Mohsin and Saroia family. These interviews would help me analyze my observations about these families. I have known these three families for about a year and have noted some distinct characteristics of each family. These interviews were totally life based i.e. I talked to the families about their life before coming to America and their present life. I asked them about the factors that motivated them to relocate. I inquired about preliminary hardships. What seemed most interesting was the families' dependence upon their children's well being. These thirty minute interviews were crisp and concise and in the end I was left with a lot of notes about each family that when analyzed shocked me even more.
III. Findings: Since my method of fact finding was totally literary and no family shared the same characteristic it was virtually impossible to represent the findings with tables, graphs, pie charts etc. However, following is a jist of collected and analyzed facts about each family.
The Azariah's a small content family that is socially stratified to the median class accurately fulfilled all my speculations. Mr. Azariah a motor mechanic by profession stepped onto US soil about ten years ago. His reason for relocating was that he had dreamt of earning in dollars all his life. He came here on a visitor's visa and took advantage of his religion (Christianity) to seek political asylum. He had put no thought into post-relocating circumstances. Over here he got some teaching credentials by utilizing student loans. He is now teaching English at a public school in Pasadena. His wife is an ordinary housewife and his children have hopes of going to some of the top-notch 4-year colleges for higher education. What really hit me was that though he really wanted to succeed he did not have the means to achieve what he wanted.
The Mohsins whom I would socially stratify into the lower class have a little different but equally interesting story. Mr. Mohsin came here after completing his Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Philippines. He was laid off due to the slump in the Aerospace Industry and now is merely a sustaining engineer in a computer-related firm. He came here to make a better future but could not, this I thought was due to the pride he had. From my observation and his way of talking I deduced that he thought that his biggest accomplishment was migrating to America and for this he should receive respect in the Desi community and in his community back home. It kind of made him different from other Pakistani's because he was a so-called American now. He had no plans of making something out of himself. His wife an accountant in the Metropolitan Travel Agency leaves home at six in the morning, comes back at five, doesn't even look after the household and is always cribbing about things. All the work is left with Mr. Mohsin and his mother-in-law. Even though they both make reasonable money their standard of living is still low.
The Saroias on the other hand have a totally different story. I would stratify them in the upper class of the Desi community and I think they should be the role model for the Desi community. Mr. Saroia himself comes from a very good family and has basically earned the right to reside in America. He came here when the computer industry was short of software programmers, by proving himself in the market he got sponsored for permanent residence. His wife is in the nursing profession. The couple strives for stability and that's what I think is the key to their success. Mr. Saroia had planned everything before shifting to America and he knew that he would be an asset to the industry. Their children display proper upbringing and are planning to attend 4-year colleges. Mr. Saroia is ready for all the expenses. The couple makes good money and is constantly moving higher in their standard of living. Altogether the family is pretty humble.
IV. Discussion: Looking at all of these families one can state that they all want to enjoy the fringe benefits of America. For many of these people depression outweighs risks, as they are all desperate to come out of their community in Pakistan. Most of them don't even have a plan and completely make their decisions of relocating based upon mood swings. Let me first start on discussing the abuse of America's political correctness. The asylum processes have become so easy for these Pakistani Christians that they don't even think twice about applying for it. I mean that procedure was for people that are really in danger of their lives being taken away from them, I know so many people that just applied because they wanted to get their hands on the "dollar". In wrongfully applying they are taking the space allocated for another person who needs it more than them. Excessive and hurried appeals for asylum are one of the major causes for instability among this Desi community they don't plan about what they are going to do after receiving asylum and many resent they even applied for it because the charm of America withers away in two months time. The Azariah's are a family that adopted this process of trying to make a better living. But can you justify a motor mechanic who all his life has been studying in an education system where English is not emphasized teaching English in our public schools, schools that will produce some of our nation's top leaders. People cry that our states academic scores are falling, if they just look into these teachers' profiles they will know why. I am not saying that diversity is a bad thing, introducing our youth to other cultures is a good thing but socially thinking I would not risk the study of our youth in the hands of a motor mechanic the disadvantages of this by far outnumber the advantages. I know that the government has raised the political count of South East Asians due to the success of the ones that came a decade ago and brought prosperity to our economy. Next I will like to discuss the effects this community has on our taxes. When everything else fails for these people they start relying on social security. Not that this is a bad thing, but this is affecting our society in two ways. One, it is increasing the amount of taxes we are paying and, second, it is giving birth to a community that is socially lazy, one that does not want to work and still get all the benefits. All that I am saying is that people like Mr. Azariah, though successful in making the journey out of Pakistan are straining all our resources and are in no way benefiting tour society. These immigrant minorities will soon become majorities and then we will have a problem of unemployment. They will request employment but how can one employ some one who is not academically fit for his respective job, that's a straight loss to multinational companies. That is why many multi national companies are denying permanent residency requests to those who do not prove themselves. Looking closely into these three families one can observe that no matter how hard these individuals try to succeed their internal atmosphere is so instable that rather than working on their jobs to prove themselves they are thinking about family problems and how to get out of their economic slump. With no trace of organization within the lives of these individuals it is not hard to see why even thought they have some access to the means of succeeding they cannot succeed.
According to the Functionalist perspective, I think families like the Azariahs and the Mohsins are dysfunctional. They have no ways of improving themselves as they find themselves in economic situations they cannot get out of e.g. cars, house loans and credit cards. These people cannot succeed because one they do not have the means to achieve what they want and secondly when they have supplemental income coming in they are not motivated.
The conflict perspective says that all this instability is good for the people as if it wasn't there, there would be a lot of monotony i.e. everybody will have equal access to resources. This instability provides competition, a means for making life worth living. But the way that I see it is that if people like the Azariahs and Mohsins aren't willing to live their lives in competition because they receive help from social services how is it good for the society? According to my interpretation of the Symbolic Interactionist perspective I think that all this is a warning for our societies' downfall. We should do something about it and not let people take advantage of us. We should have stronger methods of looking into people and perceiving their future in our society.
V. Conclusion: After all of this research and analysis I can construe that the Desi community has a larger part that is not doing fairly well. With communities like these affecting our society there can be inevitable everlasting effects. I can claim that less than 10% of the Desi community is highly intellectual and learned. It is very important to be organized and disciplined in life to properly utilize the available means of achieving success. Our book classifies people on the basis of access to means of success but I think one can create his own ways to achieve success it is just a matter of focusing. Mr. Saroia was not part of a network he believed that he could achieve success by working hard and he did. There is a famous Sufi saying that emphasizes this and it goes like this "Great achievements come after hard work." |
warc | 201704 | Nesquik, a popular chocolate powder, has been voluntarily recalled by its maker Nestle USA because of possible salmonella risk.
The company said that the recalled Nesquik canisters are the 10.9, 21.8 and 40.7-ounce sizes. The products were produced in early October and sold at retailers around the country.
Nestle says it is issuing the recall after its ingredient supplier, Omaya Inc., decided to recall some of the calcium carbonate used in the product due to possible Salmonella contamination. So far there have been no reported illnesses reported.
The affected products have a "Best if sold by" date of October 2014.The recall includes the following products and unit production codes, which are located on the bottom of the canister.
-40.7 ounce powder with UPC 0 28000 68230 9 2282574810 2282574820
-21.8 ounce powder with UPC 0 28000 68090 9 2278574810 2278574820 2279574810 2279574820 2284574820 2284574830 2285574810 2285574820 2287574820 2289574810 2289574820
-10.9 ounce powder with UPC 0 28000 67990 3 2278574810
No other varieties of Nesquik powder are being recalled.
Consumers who have bought the any of the products listed above should not use them and can return them for a refund. You can also contact Nestle Consumer Services if you have any questions at (800) 628-7679.
Salmonella recalls are not uncommon in the food industry. Most recently a salmonella outbreak at the country's largest organic peanut processing plant lead to a major recall of peanut butter and other nut products over the past two months.
The most common symptoms of Salmonella infection are diarrhea, abdominal cramps and fever, which develop within eight to 72 hours of eating or drinking contaminated food. The illness usually lasts for four to seven days and most people recover without treatment. However, salmonellosis can be severe or even life threatening for infants, older people, pregnant women and those with weakened immune systems. Individuals experiencing these symptoms should seek medical attention.
The Nestle website posted this apology to its customers:Nestle is dedicated to the health and safety of its consumers. For these reasons, the company initiated this voluntary recall. We apologize to our consumers and sincerely regret any inconvenience created by this incident.
Copyright 2017 Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. |
warc | 201704 | We are certain that by now everyone that’s ever imagined a zombie outbreak scenario has put together a must-have survival kit (in their minds, at least).
And we are also perfectly aware that these sort of post have been done over and over again, but nevertheless here’s ours!
We’ve tried to keep it as realistic as possible and within one afternoon’s worth of shopping.
Having a survival kit or a BOB (Bug Out Bag) is crucial if you’re a human. It would take too long to write about all the possible situations which could occur and a few times during your lifetime definitively will. A zombie apocalypse is a good enough reason as any to get one.
Be it sirens signaling incoming strike aircraft or moaning of your neighbors, you do not want to be listening to that kind of sounds while scraping items in a plastic bag and waiting for that bottle to finally fill with water.
Even though modern day survival kits are rather ill equipped to cope with zeds (read: kill them fast, easy and above else safely), they are crucial for something most zombie enthusiast forget to think about that much: YOUR SURVIVAL!
A world in panic and rampaging entropy is not an easily lootable supermarket. Let the noobs fight over pre-apocalypse luxuries and unnecesary items – and that, my friends, is a certainty; when the shit hits the fan everyone goes mental and runs around grabbing everything they see and think has any kind of value.
For that reason it is only logical to be dependant on what you have in your backpack and inside your head than what’s in the local Wallmart’s sports and outdoors department… which will be crawling with scared hopeless humans being run by their most primitive survival instincts. Did I forget to mention there will be infected people among them? YEP! And we don’t want to face that 30 minutes after we find out Z is among us.
So let’s go! This is what your survival kit HAS to have.
For inspecting and healing small injuries like removing splinters for example. Or even for repairing items and starting a fire.
Much easier to start a fire with a candle than just your matches
You can easily make ‘em yourself by dipping the striking heads of the matches in melted candle wax.
A little harder for one person to use on a tree but you probably won’t be chopping down entire forests by yourself.
Something like this will do but try to get a hold of a few bigger needles and stronger thread as well.
Or a similar emergency fire starter.
Fish is food and food is good
… and learn how to use it. Get a hold of maps of your surrounding area and put a good map in your kit.
Be sure to pack extra batteries with it!
Something like this will do but be more prepared, learn about first aid, learn about YOUR conditions.
There’s more in learning than talent to be a good doctor. Research and prepare wisely.
Knife
A good survival knife is not essentially a good zombie knife. (check out our article on the zombie knife). And the best knife is the one you know how to use without hurting yourself (kitchen knives excluded).
With a knife you’ll also need a sharpening stone, nothing special. A small and portable sharpening tool will do.
Kits are small and do not and can not contain everything you need when emergency strikes, they only have the basic. That is why I prefer and advice everyone to have a BOB
Concerning backpacks I find them the most important and vital items you have, right next to the knife, your primary weapon and your brain.
After all, it’s use will be to carry everything you need through thick and thin. And no one want’s to loose their lifeline while running away from zed.
Options are limitless so consider a few factors. For instance; if you’re planing on using a bicycle during the apocalypse then something like this might do DAKINE Shuttle Bike Pack
Do not buy or prepare too large a backpack if you are small in stature; sure, when push comes to shove you can put your gear down and use tactics and outmaneuver the zeds or kill ‘em and return for your backpack… but it’s a risk non the less, a risk you shouldn’t take, unless you’re absolutely confident in your fighting skills.
Something like this could be more of your style
as opposed to this
Imagine what would happen if you tried running with a fully packed backpack like that. I give you half a mile before getting either exhausted or injured.
You do not wanna get pneumonia when hiding or running or fighting with zeds. Most better backpacks and rucksacks have their own inbuilt cover from rain or are made from waterproof material so if you do not have any of that please find some fabric to protect your backpack when you stash it or have to be in the rain.
For obvious reasons
When you can’t get out of a situation you can use them to signal for help or even make a distraction. The good ones tend to be very expensive and the cheap ones are not reliable.
For use with traps, warning systems or when you just need to tie something/someone :D.
Watch a few episodes of Mythbusters concerning duct tape if you’re a non-believer. Everyone needs it!
I personally don’t own such a device cause I don’t actually like electronics that much (yeah, boo me:) ). However, most people have become rather dependent on such devices and a portable solar charger could be an excellent investment for them; with or without an apocalypse. The one listed below can charge USB devices and AA and AAA batteries, which pretty much covers everything.
You can power up your phones, radios… the whole sha-bang.
The duct tape of the zombie apocalypse! If you’re gonna use melee weapons and we all know you’re bound to do that we urge you to get yourself some overgrip tape.
This is the tape that tennis players use to wrap the handle of a tennis racket. Overgrip tape is extremely useful because it will both protect your palms and give you a stronger grip with your weapon making it a lot harder to loose control over the weapon or the weapon itself. It helps you not loose grip when your hands start sweating.
It would be a good idea to both prepare your melee weapons with an overgrip tape and have a few extra rolls if the apocalypse gets all out of control and lasts a long time.
It costs less than a dollar, and can be a difference between spilling food out of a can and eating a nice meal. You can even put it on a string and wear it around your neck,
might come handier than dog-tags when the Z’s come.
A bike repair kit
Even the simplest of transportation devices need maintenance and repair every now and then. It would not be nice to try and outrun a horde with a flat tire now wouldn’t it ;).
I do not have one, but seeing as I’ve been to the dentist a little too much for my taste I am strongly considering buying one.
Cooking equipment
Consider getting a small pot or two or even a Portable Cooking Kit.
And never leave home without a spoon/fork/knife combo.
Everyone needs water and make sure your BOB has it. If you’re gonna use PET bottles to store it make sure you throw away bottles after 6 months cause then they start letting bad chemicals into your water.
Spare clothing and at least a few pairs of good socks so your feet don’t look like the surface of the moon when you start getting blisters on them.
Duplicates of your personal identification and other essential documents.
Books you ought to read and if possible put in a safe storage somewhere or even take with you in your BOB. I can not even begin to emphasize how reading a few of these books is the best survival kit you can have. SURVIVE BY USING YOUR BRAIN!!When Technology Fails (Revised & Expanded): A Manual for Self-Reliance, Sustainability, and Surviving the Long Emergency
This book is basically a guide to do and make anything you want from scratch. From medicine to basic metallurgy. Excellent reading material and incredibly good and sound advice.SAS Survival Handbook
This is THE BEST emergency survival book on the planet… currently.
A notebook and a pen/pencil to write down any and every information you get while in a survival situation. Not everyone has a photographic memory and sometimes, especially in extreme situations, the mind can play tricks on us. So have a blank piece of paper or two to write shit down!How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It: Tactics, Techniques, and Technologies for Uncertain Times
The definitive guide on how to prepare for any crisis–from global financial collapse to a pandemic.When All Hell Breaks Loose: Stuff You Need To Survive When Disaster Strikes
Entertaining and useful
If you don’t like reading :P, there’s always DVD’s but remember… you won’t be able to haul a DVD player and a TV set just like that!
All books say the best advice is to build your own survival kit and be very careful about every object and tool you put in it. If you lack interest in doing that the internet is full of ready made kits. |
warc | 201704 | ArchShowcase
Sumit Singhal
Sumit Singhal loves modern architecture. He comes from a family of builders who have built more than 20 projects in the last ten years near Delhi in India. He has recently started writing about the architectural projects that catch his imagination.
SHIZIMEN CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT in Zhuhai, China by 10 Design
November 26th, 2014 by Sumit Singhal
China Celebrated the Opening of Its World Class Central Business District in Shizimen, Zhuhai
Gordon and Miriam led the design team for the complex from the competition winning entry and worked closely with the client to the completion of the first phase. Recently the team at 10 DESIGN have been commissioned to advise on the future design phases of the development.
The overall development comprises 640,000 sqm of accommodation. The first phaseincorporates 362,000 sqm of convention, theatre, music hall, exhibition, and banquet facilities. These public and civic functions are supported with retail, F&B, serviced apartments, a 548 key Sheraton Hotelopening on 28
As the chief designer of the development, Gordon was invited as the key note speaker at the formal opening ceremony. The core message described “how convention and exhibition facilities if properly considered can play a vital role in the economic development of a region.” He explained that convention and exhibition centres facilitate communication and act as catalysts for trade and commerce regionally and globally. A summary of the keynote speech below:
Commercial sustainability is critical. There are several interactive ingredients leading to primary commercial successes: Location, Flexibility, and Diversity.
In order to cater for a wide audience, it is critical that the convention and exhibition facility can hold a multitude of diverse events with the ability to segregate or inter-mix delegates. This requires a high degree of flexibility in planning. So while the external public amenity functions of retail, F&B and office are sculpted in form, the internal planning requires to be rational and flexible.
The facility holds a multitude of functions including a theatre, a music auditorium, large scale convention and exhibition halls accommodating up to 2,000 people and large scale banquet rooms hosting up to 4,000 people.
A commercially successful development also demands a complimentary mix of uses to make it work as a standalone destination, with continual occupation beyond the requirements of the limited convention and exhibition centre operations. Therefore other functions such as office, hospitality, serviced apartments, and retail have been designed in the first phase, creating a waterfront urban destination.
The civic importance of the facility should not preclude it from being enjoyed by the general public. It was a driving factor in the original design competition concept that the facility should act as a truly public amenity as well as a civic one. This principle has been adhered to throughout the whole design process with the creation of an activated plaza linking the District Road to a waterfront plaza. This plaza is activated continually by retail, F&B, and garden spaces.
The idea of combining public and civic functions brought about the idea of an urban ribbon, linking and defining functions and spaces in the Shizimen CBD.
The ribbon houses purely public functions such as F&B and retail and also physically connects the main road (Nanwan Road) to the waterfront. The ribbon acts as a screen and separator between public and semi-public functions while at the same time framing vistas both internally and externally such as the view towards Macau.
It also wraps around special civic functions such as the theatre and convention, and lifts and opens to create a number of different special entry points to varying zones. For instance the ribbon, wrapping on NanwanRoad, forms a formal entrance by day and a vibrant arch by night while framing the entry to the music hall and theatre on the elevated plaza with its views to Macau.
The ribbon also helps to define a series of more intimate garden spaces which are key circulation areas between zones while providing sunken daylight wells to the carpark drop off areas. The combination of hardscape and planting reflect sculptural forms of the Zhuhai coastline.
The Shizimen CBD does provide a wide range of facilities that are rare to find in even the largest of convention facilities. It combines high quality, flexible exhibition, and convention space with several specialist spaces including a theatre and music auditoriums. With its distinctive coastal setting and a wide range of hospitality and commercial functions provided on site, the Shizimen CBD offers a compelling platform for businesses and communication.
Related posts: Contact 10 Design |
warc | 201704 | GENT, Belgium — (BUSINESS WIRE) — June 21, 2009— With congested roadways and ever-increasing travel times, mapping application users are seeking ways to save time and money getting to their destinations. Digital maps and dynamic content provider Tele Atlas can now help them more clearly see what’s ahead with Tele Atlas HD Traffic, a robust solution for navigation and location based solutions designed to find the quickest routes to destinations using “live” road conditions.
Tele Atlas HD Traffic sets a new standard for traffic solutions, which typically rely on a single data source to judge traffic conditions. Tele Atlas HD Traffic contains up-to-the-minute information from multiple data sources, including anonymous GPS measurements from personal navigation devices and mobile phone signals, road sensors and journalistic data. Using proprietary and tested methods, Tele Atlas dynamically merges this information and makes it available in real time to customers in the personal navigation, cell phone, fleet management, government and in-vehicle markets. When HD Traffic is added to a navigation solution, end users can be automatically rerouted around jams and potentially save time and money, minimize environmental impact, and enjoy a significantly improved navigation experience.
“Market research shows that consumers want traffic information, but the industry has been challenged to deliver a useful solution because it requires access to detailed, live traffic data,” said Rik Temmink, Vice President of Global Product Management, Tele Atlas. “Our offering uses a proprietary data fusing method, whereby we efficiently process large data sets from multiple sources, and thus can instantly deliver far more comprehensive and accurate views of the traffic situation.”
Tele Atlas HD Traffic can be efficiently delivered to any connected, mobile device and features:
“Traffic information is becoming a must-have navigation feature. HD Traffic, when combined with Tele Atlas Speed Profiles, enables us to deliver a much more complete picture of current driving situations based on both live traffic and historical speed information. With these solutions our industry partners can ultimately provide a truly powerful navigation experience,” commented Temmink.
HD Traffic is available immediately for Tele Atlas partners to incorporate into their applications and devices, with initial coverage available for Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland on approximately 90 percent of highways and major arterial roads.
Launched in November 2008 and updated regularly, Tele Atlas Speed Profiles provides highly accurate speed data to help navigation system users find the most optimal routes and far more accurately estimate travel times. Speed Profiles enables route calculations based on highly comprehensive historical travel time and measured speed information. Tele Atlas Speed Profiles is now available in 26 countries, covering 35 million kilometers of both directions of roads and features data derived from more than 700 billion speed measurements shared by consumers in 26 countries over the past two years.
To learn more about HD Traffic, download the latest episode of the Tele Atlas Digital Mapping Podcast Series featuring Rik Temmink, available at: http://www.teleatlaspresskit.com.
About Tele Atlas
Tele Atlas delivers the digital maps and dynamic content that power many of the world’s most essential navigation and location-based services (LBS). Through a combination of its own products and partnerships, Tele Atlas offers map coverage of more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. The company was founded in 1984 and has offices in 27 countries around the world. Today, Tele Atlas products are developed with the insight of a community of millions of digital map users worldwide, who are adding to the company’s unmatched network of sources to track and validate changes in real time, and deliver the best digital maps and dynamic content. For more information, visit www.teleatlas.com. Tele Atlas is a subsidiary of TomTom N.V.
Tele Atlas and the Tele Atlas logo are registered trademarks of Tele Atlas. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.
Contact: PRESS Tele Atlas Erin Delaney, +1 617-721-1923 Email Contact or Sandra Van Hauwaert, +32(0)497 25 18 16 Email Contact or For
IR and Financial Press: TomTom NV Richard Piekaar, +31 (0)20 7 575 119 Email Contact |
warc | 201704 | Berkeley, CA – Governor Rod R. Blagojevich today joined California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and top executives from BP at the University of California, Berkeley to celebrate a new, innovative partnership through which BP will be investing $500 million over the next ten years to establish an
Energy Biosciences Institute (EBI), the first of its kind facility in the world, to expand the energy supply and reduce the impact of energy use on the environment. BP selected the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the University of California, Berkeley, two of world’s top public research institutions, along with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, to host this state-of-the-art institute, which will advance radical research aimed at probing the emerging secrets of bioscience and applying them to the production of new and cleaner energy. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Chancellor Dr. Richard Herman and First Lady Patricia Blagojevich celebrated the news with state officials and university faculty at a simultaneous announcement event at the new Illinois home of the EBI on the campus of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
“We are extremely pleased that Illinois and our flagship public-research university are a part of BP’s exciting new
Energy Biosciences Institute, which will advance important new discoveries to protect our environment and expand our economy. If we make these kinds of investments now in cleaner renewable biofuels like ethanol and other biodiesel, within ten years we’ll be able to produce enough energy from our own natural resources to dramatically cut our dependence on foreign energy and help fight global warming. That means billions of our hard-earned dollars will stay here at home, in our economy creating more jobs, rather than leaving our country forever. As a national leader in corn and soybean production and world-class biofuels research and development, Illinois is uniquely positioned to advance the vision of this new Institute. We look forward to working together with BP and our partners in the State of California to bring even more efficient and effective renewable sources of energy to the marketplace,” Gov. Blagojevich said.
The Energy Biosciences Institute will perform ground-breaking research aimed at the production of new and cleaner energy, initially focusing on renewable biofuels for road transport. However, the EBI will also pursue research in three other key areas: the conversion of heavy hydrocarbons to clean fuels, improved recovery from existing oil and gas reservoirs, and carbon sequestration.
“I thank BP for engaging the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in this noble enterprise,” said Chancellor Richard Herman. “This exciting venture allows two of the country’s greatest public universities to work together to develop renewable energy – an initiative that will play a critical role in the success and security of our nation. Addressing the problems facing society is the business of our institution. The scientists leading this important work are continuing Illinois’ rich heritage of paradigm-changing discovery and innovation.”
Dedicated facilities on the campuses of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and UC-Berkeley will house EBI research laboratories and staff. The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory will carry out supporting research. Up to 50 BP staff located on the two campuses will work in partnership with university faculty and researchers. BP and its partners will share governance of the EBI and guidance of its research programs.
“The proposal from UC-Berkeley and its partners was selected in large part because these institutions have excellent track records of delivering ‘Big Science’ – large and complex developments predicated on both scientific breakthroughs and engineering applications that can be deployed in the real world,” said BP Group Chief Executive John Browne. “This program will further both basic and applied biological research relevant to energy. In short, it will create the discipline of Energy Biosciences. The Institute will be unique in both its scale and its partnership between BP, academia and others in the private sector.”
The primary role of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the Energy Biosciences Institute will be to lead the development of the new crops, cropping systems and machinery needed to provide the biomass or feedstock for the generation of renewable liquid fuels. A major part of this effort will be the application of genomic technologies to the development of these new crops. This initiative will allow the University and the State of Illinois to contribute to a cleaner environment and a nation that doesn’t depend on foreign oil.
Illinois is a leading producer and among the most aggressive promoters of agriculture-based biofuels and other forms of renewable energy. Illinois is the nation’s #2 ethanol producer and #2 biodiesel producer. In 2007, Illinois’ ten ethanol plants will produce more than 1 billion gallons and three biodiesel plants will produce more than 120 million gallons. Gov. Blagojevich has supported a rapid expansion of the 85 percent ethanol fueling infrastructure, and by the end of 2007, Illinois will have more than 200 E-85 pumps. In 2003, the Governor signed legislation making Illinois the first and still only state to completely eliminate the state sales tax on E-85 and biodiesel blends of 11 percent and higher (“B11”), dramatically increasing E-85 sales and biodiesel sales.
Last summer, Gov. Blagojevich announced a comprehensive Energy Independence Plan to reduce our dependence on imported energy, which will allow Illinois to meet 50 percent of its fuel needs with alternative, homegrown sources by 2017. The Governor’s plan would invest $25 million to help build five new biodiesel plants, boosting the state’s production by 200 percent to 400 million gallons per year, or the equivalent to 25 percent of the state’s annual diesel fuel needs, by 2017. This additional biodiesel production will generate another $225 million in business investment in Illinois.
The Governor also proposes investing $100 million over the next 5 years to build up to 20 new ethanol plants across Illinois, which would generate an estimated $1.7 billion in business investment. Additionally, the Governor proposes investing $100 million over the next ten years to build four plants in downstate Illinois using new technology to create ethanol made from plant waste materials like corn husks and wood pulp – or “cellulosic ethanol.” This means boosting the state’s annual ethanol production by more than 200 percent and meeting 50 percent of gasoline needs by 2017. This plan would create almost 20,000 construction jobs and 10,000 permanent jobs.
The Governor has also made important investments in biosciences research and development in partnership with the University of Illinois. This includes $75 million for the Institute for Genomic Biology, which is expected to open this spring and to house more than 300 researchers, who will lead the basic research necessary for next-generation, advanced science-based biofuels technology. The Governor has also committed $3.2 million to design the state-of-the-art Bioprocessing Research Laboratory that will bring together academia and industry and scientific and engineering expertise to advance processing technologies and scale-up promising new biofuels’ technologies to assure their rapid commercialization.
Business Facilities Magazine rated Illinois the top state in the nation for biotech growth in 2005, and last April, Illinois hosted BIO 2006. This was the first time one of the world’s most prestigious biosciences convention was held in the Midwest, which brought in almost 20,000 attendees from across the United States and 62 countries. The BIO conference will be coming back to Chicago in 2010. |
warc | 201704 | "It is not easily followed."
What can I say, a single guy, never a dad, about the importance of traditional marriage? How? Why? Why am I so concerned about something like traditional marriage? One important reason I can think of is because I come from a family wherein marriage was anything but 'high and noble'. My parents were completely irresponsible, negligent, abusive alcoholics. Yes, they did the best they could, but they had huge unresolved, unaddressed issues which affected how they parented. The were indiscreet in their sins, acting them out in full view of the kids, not simply through drunkenness, open sexuality, physical and mental abuse of one another, but their extramarital exploits were not well disguised or unknown.
Immorality is a horrible example to set for kids. It is an abuse.
In our day, single parents, unmarried parents, and kids of divorce are so common - in every economic strata - yet this fact can offer no justification to reorder, or redefine marriage between a man and a woman. Likewise, same sex couples, pretending to be married, cannot present a moral alternative to the failure of marriage in our culture. It is precisely because there is, and has been, such a crisis of marriage that same sex marriage is even considered as a viable and acceptable proposition. It is not.
Anyway. The Archbishops of Westminster & Southwark have issued a Pastoral letter on the redefinition of marriage to be read this weekend at all the Masses. I wanted to share a part of that text:
The reasons given by our government for wanting to change the definition of marriage are those of equality and discrimination. But our present law does not discriminate unjustly when it requires both a man and a woman for marriage. It simply recognises and protects the distinctive nature of marriage. Changing the legal definition of marriage would be a profoundly radical step. Its consequences should be taken seriously now. The law helps to shape and form social and cultural values. A change in the law would gradually and inevitably transform society’s understanding of the purpose of marriage. It would reduce it just to the commitment of the two people involved. There would be no recognition of the complementarity of male and female or that marriage is intended for the procreation and education of children. We have a duty to married people today, and to those who come after us, to do all we can to ensure that the true meaning of marriage is not lost for future generations. Most Reverend V. Nichols Most Reverend P. Smith
They might have added: "Changing the legal definition of marriage will screw kids up."
That said, I'm pretty sure nothing will stop it - it is on a trajectory of its own.
H/T St. Mary Magdalen Blog, Fr. Blake |
warc | 201704 | Abstract
Prophages are phages in lysogeny that are integrated into, and replicated as part of, the host bacterial genome. These mobile elements can have tremendous impact on their bacterial hosts’ genomes and phenotypes, which may lead to strain emergence and diversification, increased virulence or antibiotic resistance. However, finding prophages in microbial genomes remains a problem with no definitive solution. The majority of existing tools rely on detecting genomic regions enriched in protein-coding genes with known phage homologs, which hinders the
de novo discovery of phage regions. In this study, a weighted phage detection algorithm, PhiSpy was developed based on seven distinctive characteristics of prophages, i.e. protein length, transcription strand directionality, customized AT and GC skew, the abundance of unique phage words, phage insertion points and the similarity of phage proteins. The first five characteristics are capable of identifying prophages without any sequence similarity with known phage genes. PhiSpy locates prophages by ranking genomic regions enriched in distinctive phage traits, which leads to the successful prediction of 94% of prophages in 50 complete bacterial genomes with a 6% false-negative rate and a 0.66% false-positive rate. INTRODUCTION
Phages, viruses that infect bacteria, have two lifestyles: lytic and lysogenic. During lysogenic growth, phages infect their host and then remain inside the microbial cell replicating with the genome. In this state, they are called prophages. These prophages will be part of the bacterial DNA in future cell divisions until appropriate environmental conditions cause them to release from their host and enter into a virulent lifestyle. The advantages of a lysogenic lifestyle for phages are numerous, including increased fecundity and increased survival within the protective bacterial environment. Integrated prophages can constitute up to 20% of a bacterial genome (1–3) and play a key role in the bacterial life cycle. Prophage integration can regulate bacterial populations, make inactive or alter the expression of some bacterial genes, and can convert non-pathogenic bacteria into pathogens and some virulent into hyper-virulent strains (4–6).
A prophage normally integrates into a genome by site-specific recombination, which is catalyzed by a family of proteins called integrases (7). These proteins recognize sequences on both the phage (
attP, attachment site in the phage genome) and bacterial ( attB, attachment site in the bacterial genome) genomes, and homologous recombination between these sites results in duplication of a short stretch of DNA in the continuity of the chromosome, resulting in the duplicated sites, attL and attR, flanking the inserted prophage and ready for the reverse reaction, excision of the phage from the chromosome. The att regions vary widely in total length and in the extent of the resulting duplication, which depends on the phage and its specific integration site within a bacterial genome (1,8–11). Phages often integrate into tRNA/tmRNA genes but do not exclusively use those loci as the target site for integration (12).
Identification of prophages in bacterial genomes is a difficult process. Current methodology of automated prophage identification usually relies on protein similarity searches to identify clusters of protein-encoding genes that have some similarity to known or predicted phage genes. Based on this approach,
Phage_Finder (12) was one of the first automated applications for detecting prophages. Phage_Finder screens the bacterial genome with a fixed window size of 10 Kb and searches [using hidden Marokov models and BLAST (13)] for windows with at least four hits against a collection of bacteriophage proteins. These windows are then extended gene-by-gene if the annotated gene belongs to tRNAs, integrase gene, etc (12). ACLAME ProPhinder is another successful phage-finding algorithm that combines protein similarity and statistical methods (14,15). ProPhinder starts by determining phage-like coding sequences in an input bacterial genome by BLASTP similarity analysis against the ACLAME phage protein database. Then, it evaluates each phage-like genomic segment for the presence of potential prophages using statistical methods. Because these applications use homology-based approaches, they are limited to finding known prophages and it is difficult to locate those prophages that are not similar to known phages. An alternative approach for detecting prophages (DRAD) that depends on the dinucleotide relative abundance instead of sequence similarity was able to locate some of those prophages found by Prophinder and Phage_Finder as well as some novel prophages (16). No single tool is able to find all prophages in all bacterial genomes (16). This suggests that combining multiple methods or different characteristics of prophages may identify a larger set of prophages.
In this study, a bioinformatics tool (
PhiSpy) was developed for identifying prophages, which focuses on the characteristics of prophages that exhibit no similarity to sequenced genomes. In particular, five distinctive similarity-agnostic characteristics were identified and their relative capabilities to define prophages were tested in the absence of homology to known phage proteins. These characteristics are protein length, transcription strand directionality, customized AT and GC skew, and the abundance of unique phage DNA sequence words. Optimized metrics were designed to quantify each of these characteristics and the random forest classification algorithm was used to predict prophages by ranking genomic regions based on those characteristics. In addition to each of these metrics, phiSpy also uses similarity-based approaches, thus enabling a complete identification of prophages in a genome. Finally, each predicted prophage region was evaluated by the identification of duplicate att sites and by phage protein similarity. PhiSpy found 94% of prophages in 50 bacterial genomes with a 6% false-negative rate and a 0.66% false-positive rate. MATERIALS AND METHODS Data collection
All bacterial genomes used in this analysis were retrieved from the Phage Annotation Tools and Methods server (Phantome server: http://www.phantome.org). As of March 2010, the server contained 547 complete bacterial genomes (at most 20 contigs) of which only 41 bacterial genomes (Supplemental Table S1) had 190 manually annotated prophages. All other lytic and lysogenic phage genomes were also collected from the Phantome server.
Data analysis Calculation of different characteristics
The first step calculates different parameters for the whole genome. The calculation of these parameters depends on a group of genes rather than a single gene. Therefore, for a complete genome, these parameters were computed using a sliding window of
n genes. The average number of genes of the 190 known prophages is 39; so a window size of 40 genes was considered. The parameters are as follows: Customized AT and GC skew. The customized AT/GC skew was calculated by modifying the cumulative skew calculation (17,18). For a group of consecutive genes, the average skew of A, C, G and T were measured using the following formula: nis the number of genes, A iis the number of A nucleotide in the i thgene and so on. The customized AT and GC skews (described under ‘Results’ section) were developed and were calculated as follows: Difference in median protein length. The median (M) of the lengths of all the proteins in a bacterial genome was calculated. For a group of proteins in a given window, the median protein length (m) was calculated and the difference in median length was computed as (M − m). Transcription strand orientation . For a given window size, the genes were partitioned in such a way so that all consecutive genes in a particular partition pointed in the same direction. The sum of the number of genes in the two largest partitions was taken for the window to maximize the number of consecutive genes in the same direction. Abundance of phage words . A ‘word’ is defined as a set of 12 consecutive base pairs. Each gene was split into 12 bp long non-overlapping words (four consecutive amino acids each). A unique ‘phage word library’ was built based on the 41 bacterial genomes that have well-annotated prophages. The library was constructed as follows:
Bacterial words,
B = {the ‘words’ of all bacterial genes of those 41 genomes but not including genes in prophages}
Phage words,
P = {the ‘words’ of all prophage genes of those 41 genomes}
Unique ‘phage word library’ =
P – B
where
p i is the frequency of those words which are present in the ‘phage word library’. The frequency of words ( F) of a window was calculated by dividing the number of available phage words with the total number of words. For a given window, the abundance of phage words is F/ H. Homology . In a window of 40 genes, if there are at least 10 genes whose functional description is in phage subsystems (i.e. phage functional categories in the Phantome SEED database: http://www.phantome.org/PhageSeed/seedviewer.cgi), the window was considered a prophage window otherwise it was considered a bacterial window. Classification algorithm
The second step of
PhiSpy is to classify a window as a bacterial or a prophage window using random forests (21). A random forest is a classification algorithm that consists of multiple independent decision trees. The random forest requires a training set with multiple variables to build the forest of decision trees. In this case, there were five parameters whose values vary among distantly related genomes. If the similarities between two genomes were evolutionary significant, then they were considered as closely related genomes; otherwise, they were considered as distantly related genomes [the SEED API was used to determine relatedness (22)]. Therefore, for every group of closely related genomes, a different training set was constructed. Training/test set . In the Phantome server, there were 547 complete bacterial genomes that had 20 contigs or fewer (as of March 2010). From these 547 bacterial genomes, 19 groups of closely related genomes were constructed, where each group has at least one genome from the set of 41 bacterial genomes with annotated prophages. These 19 groups included 114 out of 547 bacterial genomes. For each group, one genome with manually annotated prophages was used as the training set for the rest of the genomes of that group (Table 1 and Supplemental Table S2). The genomes that did not belong to any group and had no manually annotated prophages were tested using a universal generic training set (constructed in the same way described above but using all 41 bacterial genomes). The parameter ‘abundance of phage word’ was ignored in the universal generic training set (Table 2).
Closely related genomes a Distantly related genomes b GC/AT rich genome Moderate GC% genome GC/AT rich genome Moderate GC% genome Transcription strand Directionality +++ +++ + + Protein length ++ ++ +/− +/− Customized AT skew ++ + +/− − Customized GC skew ++ + +/− − Abundance of phage words ++ ++ − −
Closely related genomes a Distantly related genomes b GC/AT rich genome Moderate GC% genome GC/AT rich genome Moderate GC% genome Transcription strand Directionality +++ +++ + + Protein length ++ ++ +/− +/− Customized AT skew ++ + +/− − Customized GC skew ++ + +/− − Abundance of phage words ++ ++ − − aThe effectiveness of different characteristics when the training genome and test genome are closely related. bThe effectiveness of different characteristics when the training genome and test genome are distantly related.
The statistical software program, R (http://www.r-project.org), was used to implement the random forest (23). The random forest produces a rank for each window of the whole genome that suggests whether the window consists of bacterial or phage genes.
Processing the final rank for each gene
The third step of
PhiSpy provides a prediction status—either 0 (for non prophage genes) or 1 (for prophage genes) for each gene in the genome. If the window size was n, each gene contributed to 1 to n windows. Therefore, the final rank of a particular gene was measured by taking the average rank of the window in which the gene participated. The prophage prediction status was calculated from the final rank. If the final rank was greater than half of the maximum rank of any gene in the genome, then the gene was considered as a phage gene; otherwise, it was considered as a bacterial gene. Evaluation of the prediction
The final step is to define the
att sites for the predicted prophages and the overall evaluation of the prophages. When phages integrate into their hosts’ genome, they are usually bounded by two att sites—a short repeated sequence that flanks the insertion site. To find this insertion site, for each predicted prophage region (considered an initial prediction), the following steps were followed.
After identifying the att sites, the next step is verifying the att sites. If the att sites lie inside the initial prediction, the number of phage-like proteins was counted for the two gaps (between attL and the start of the initial prediction and between attR and the end of the initial prediction). If the function of one-quarter of the genes in those two gaps belongs to phage subsystems, the initial prediction was considered as the final prediction otherwise the region covered by att sites was considered as the final prediction. If the att sites were outside the initial prediction, the same procedure was followed.
Extending the predicted region up to 2000 bp on both sides.
Identifying all duplicate short DNA sequences in that region.
Finding the repeated pair that has minimum distance (<1000 bp) from either integrase/recombinase or
tRNA/tmRNAgenes or both. If there are multiple repeated pairs, the pair that covers the largest region was considered as the potential attsites. If no integrase/recombinase or tRNA/tmRNAgenes were found, then the initially predicted region was considered.
After verifying the
att sites, the predicted prophages were evaluated by checking the function of all proteins in that region. If there are more than five proteins whose functions belong to the phage subsystems or are unknown and the number of phage-like/unknown proteins is at least half of the total number of proteins in the predicted region, then the region was considered as a potential prophage. However, if a group of proteins, whose functions belong to the phage subsystems, was not considered in the classification step as a probable prophage, then this region was also considered as a potential prophage. Calculation of false positives and false negatives
The manually curated phage subsystems were used to evaluate the accuracy of the approach. A two-step program was designed to automatically calculate the error rate of the prophage prediction (for those genomes which have no information about prophages in their original genome analysis paper). In the first step of the program, true positives (TP) and false positives (FP) were predicted. If the predicted region consists of at least six phage proteins or 50% of the proteins within the predicted region belong to phage subsystems or are unknown, the predicted region was considered a TP prophage otherwise the region was considered a FP and not a prophage (those limits were determined by empirically). Prophages considered as TPs were divided into two groups: (i) known prophages—if the region contains phage-like proteins; we considered that it would be identified by similarity based approaches and therefore denoted it as a ‘known’ and (ii) undefined prophages—if the region has no phage-like protein; thus this would unlikely to be called a prophage. In the second step of the program, a region was considered as a false negative (FN) if there were at least six consecutive genes, whose functions belonged to the phage subsystems and the region was unidentified as a potential prophage. However, hypothetical proteins were ignored in this case, because the presence of several hypothetical proteins was not sufficient to predict a region as a prophage region.
RESULTS Transcriptional strand orientation
The orientation of transcriptional units along the genome highly correlates with the direction of replication (24). Near the replication origin, genes are oriented in such a way that the direction of transcription coincides with the direction of replication (25). In a bacterial genome, which typically has a single origin of replication within its circular DNA, two replication forks can proceed independently (26). Phage genes cluster along the genome as they are organized into transcriptional units that are co-regulated (27). This causes a large cluster of phage genes to be oriented in the same direction, even if it collides with DNA replication (27). To test this hypothesis, 600 complete phage genomes (both lytic and lysogenic) and 110 complete bacterial genomes were analyzed. For both phage and bacterial genomes, the longest stretch of consecutive genes in the same direction was calculated as a percentage of the number of genes in the genome (Supplemental Figure S2). Likewise, the number of gene transcription strand changes was calculated as a percentage of the number of genes in the genome. For phage genomes, most of the consecutive genes are encoded on the same strand (Figure 1). In contrast, for bacterial genomes, the longest consecutive cluster of genes (presumably a co-transcribed region) is a small fraction of the genome, and genes frequently change their transcriptional direction. For bacterial genomes, these clusters of genes that have the same transcriptional orientation are most likely operons although this cannot be determined from the sequence alone. Other studies have shown that the average bacterial operon size is three genes (28) but the average phage operon size has not been reported.
Customized AT and GC skew Amino acid composition and codon usage
Several articles have discussed how the adaptation of phages towards their hosts plays an important role in viral evolution (29,30). By comparing the 190 prophages in 41 bacterial genomes, it was apparent that the overall amino acid usage in prophages and their hosts is very similar (Figure 2), although for some amino acids (notably Asp, Glu, Phe, Gly, Lys, Pro, Arg), codon usage differs between prophages and their hosts’ genomes (Figure 3). For Lys and Phe, the frequency of AAA (in Lys) and TTT (in Phe) is higher in prophages than in bacteria, which is probably caused by the different usage of nucleotides A and T in prophages. Similarly, there are six codons that encode arginine—CGT, CGC, CGA, CGG, AGA and AGG from which CGC is more frequently used and AGA is less frequently used in bacteria. Presumably, this skew maintains the balance of G and C nucleotides in Arg codons.
The GC skew of bacterial chromosomes directly correlates with the direction of replication (31). Local changes or distortion in the cumulative skew distribution may result from the insertion of foreign DNA into the chromosome (17). Therefore, customized AT and GC skew profiles were designed. Unlike the conventional calculations of cumulative DNA skew (18), the customized skew was designed not only for identifying local distortions but also for quantifying the variation of the codon usage in the window of genes.
The customized AT and GC skews (see ‘Materials and Methods’ section) were calculated separately for 41 bacterial genomes and their 190 prophages. For all genomes except
Xylella fastidiosa, prophages have different AT and GC skews (either positive or negative) than their hosts (Figure 4). If there were no bias between the two DNA strands for mutation or selection, the base composition within each strand should be such that A=T and G=C (32,33). This implies that the customized AT or GC skew of the whole bacterial genome would be very small. In contrast, it was hypothesized that the customized skew of prophages should be different than that of the whole bacterial genome. To test this hypothesis, two independent samples were constructed. The first sample consisted of the absolute difference between the customized AT/GC skew of prophage genes and the customized AT/GC skew of regions immediately flanking the prophage insertion. The manually curated prophages were used to construct the first sample, and so the sample size was 190. To construct the second sample, 800 different bacterial regions were randomly selected from the 41 bacterial genomes that have manually curated prophages. The absolute differences of the customized AT/GC skew of these regions and the customized AT/GC skew of the flanking genes of these regions was calculated for the second sample. A permutation test was used to analyze whether these two samples are statistically different (Supplemental Materials) (34). The customized AT skew was significantly different at the 1% level (using both the mean and the median of the sample) between prophage genes and their flanking genes when compared to random chromosomal segments and their flanking genes. The customized GC skew was also significantly different between these samples at the 1% level using the mean value of the sample (but only at 5% level using the median of the sample). Therefore, the calculation of the customized AT/GC skew is useful to distinguish prophage genes from the bacterial genome, but with very slightly different confidence levels (Supplemental Figure S3). Protein length
Anecdotal evidence from the study of mycobacterial phages (35) suggests that phages typically have shorter genes than bacterial genes. The reasons are not clear, but phage genomes may enrich for smaller genes because of selective constraints on genome size, i.e. for faster replication or more efficient packaging. The mean protein length was calculated for 41 bacterial genomes and their prophages (Figure 5) and the result supports the previous study. However, our testing demonstrates that the median length works better than the mean length for discriminating prophage and bacterial genes. As each characteristic was calculated for sliding window (of several genes), using median length calculation, a sharp change occurs at the beginning of a prophage region, but using mean length, the change occurs gradually. The difference between the median of all protein lengths in a genome and the median length of phage proteins in that genome is much higher than the same calculation for bacterial proteins (Supplemental Figure S4).
Abundance of phage words
To find a signature pattern of prophages, the oligonucleotide composition between prophages and their hosts was analyzed for 190 prophages from 41 bacterial genomes. Each gene was split into 12 bp non-overlapping words, i.e. four non-overlapping codons (from empirical testing, we found that nine bp sequences had too few combinations to be discriminatory and 15 bp sequences were too rare for accurate statistical modeling). For a DNA sequence of length 12, there are 4
12 different possible combinations. However, only 27% of the words from these combinations are present in our data set of 41 bacterial genomes with prophages. In total, 25% of the words (4 223 854) are present in bacterial genes, 0.65% of the words (109 533) are present in phage genes and 1.34% of the words (226 228) are common to both phage and bacterial genes. To verify whether these 0.65% words (phage word library) represent the phageness and are uncommon in bacterial genomes, Shannon’s index and the frequency of the presence of these words (see ‘Materials and Methods’ section) were calculated for 600 complete phage genomes and 400 complete bacterial genomes. Shannon’s index was used to measure the presence of the different combination of phage words, while the frequency measurement was used for the presence of phage words. For all bacterial genomes, Shannon’s index ( H) is <1 and the frequency of phage words ( F) is <6%. In contrast, for phages, H varies from 0 to 5.5 and F varies from 0% to 45% (Figure 6). The relation between H and F was given by an equation F = 8.57 H + 0.047 for phages (regression coefficient R 2 F = 5.85 H + 0.014 for bacterial genomes (regression coefficient R 2 P < 0.001; details in Supplemental Materials). The abundance of phage words was calculated as the slope ( F/H) and the value distinguishes phages and bacterial genomes (Figure 6). This indicates that the words from the phage word library are more frequent in phage genomes than bacterial genomes. Importance of different characteristics
All the characteristics described above were used to predict prophages in bacterial genomes. The importance of each characteristic varies between different organisms and depends on the training genomes (Table 2). If a training genome and a test genome are closely related, then for most cases, the abundance of phage words is the most important characteristic. The directionality of the transcriptional strand is a strong indicator in all cases, although short phages are missed when this criterion is used alone. Protein length gives better performance in closely related genomes and can work for distantly related genomes when the genome has similar protein length with the training genome. The customized AT and GC skew calculation works better for closely related genomes and gives better performance in bacteria with extreme AT or GC composition, rather those with approximately even distribution of bases. In general, identification of prophages, even without similarity, was strongly assisted by training sets of closely related genomes with well-characterized prophages.
Performance analysis PhiSpy was used to predict prophages in 95 complete bacterial genomes using the training set of closely related genomes and 412 complete bacterial genomes using a universal generic training set (these predicted prophages are accessible at http://www.phantome.org/Downloads/Prophages/PhiSpy/ and Supplemental Table S3). A detailed flow chart of the performance analysis is described in the Supplemental Figure S5. In the 95 genomes, 320 potential prophages were identified. Among those, three prophages (in Streptococcus agalactiae NEM316) had no phage-like proteins and were considered as previously undefined prophages (Supplemental Table S2). For performance analysis, the predicted prophages were manually checked (based on the phage subsystems) for 50 genomes (out of the 95 genomes). Most of the genomes with manually annotated prophages (1) were not used in the performance analysis because these prophages were also used to parameterize one of the five criteria (abundance of phage words) developed to identify prophages, and so the result will be biased. We did not test whether phiSpy could detect those prophages used in training the classifier, as that would be a biased assessment. However, to compare with the published data, four genomes were considered which have manually annotated prophages (gray colored genomes in Table 1). For Streptococcus pyogenes M1 GAS and Streptococcus pyogenes MGAS315, the identified prophages matched with the published data. In Escherichia coli O157:H7 EDL933, 13 prophage regions were found to contain 17 prophages by phiSpy although 18 prophages were found in the original analysis of this genome (36). Of those 18 published prophages, there were four instances where two adjacent prophages were merged by phiSpy. The prophage that was not identified is a short prophage (∼8.26 kb) and only has four phage-like proteins. The same reason goes for the unidentified prophage in Neisseria meningitidis Z2491 (Table 1). The three unidentified prophages in Pseudomonas fluorescens Pf-5 are defective prophages (37).
To compare the performance of
phiSpy with other phage finding tools, phiSpy, phage_finder, prophinder and the DRAD method were used to predict prophages in 50 genomes (using default settings). For DRAD, no prophages were identified. As shown in Table 1, phiSpy identified 94% of the prophages with a 6% FN rate and a 0.66% FP rate, whereas phage_finder predicted 82% of the prophages with a 18% FN rate and a 1.33% FP rate and prophinder identified 89% prophages with a 11% FN rate and a 12% FP rate (the predicted prophages from phiSpy, phage_finder and prophinder are available at http://www.phantome.org/Downloads/Prophages/PhiSpy/Manually_Verified/). Therefore, phiSpy can identify more prophages than other phage finding tools with the lowest FP rate and FN rate. For prophinder, most of the FP prophages have a low score. Most of the prophages that were not reported by phiSpy were mainly misclassified in the evaluation step, because there were few proteins annotated as phage proteins in those prophage regions. Also, some comparatively short prophages which were unidentified by phage_finder were also missed in our classification step but found in our evaluation step.
From 412 complete bacterial genomes where no closely related genomes with manually annotated prophages were available to construct training sets, 826 prophages were predicted by
phiSpy and 284 of those were considered previously undefined, as they have no known phage genes. Therefore, phiSpy can detect potentially new prophages without relying on a training set. To check whether other phage finding applications can identify the prophages having hypothetical or unknown proteins, phage_finder and prophinder were used to predict prophages in those 412 bacterial genomes (Figure 7 and Supplementary Table S3). Phage_finder identified 378 prophages where 22 of them are undefined prophages and prophinder predicted 339 prophages where 43 of them are undefined prophages (Figure 7). There are 198 known prophages and zero undefined prophages identified in common between phiSpy, phage_phinder and prophinder. There are 52 prophages predicted by both prophinder and phiSpy but not predicted by phage_finder, 120 prophages predicted by both phiSpy and phage_finder but not predicted by prophinder, and only two prophages identified by both phage_finder and prophinder but not predicted by phiSpy. Hence, phiSpy can predict more known and undefined prophages compared to those tools. The prediction of novel prophages in genomes is only the first step: biological experiments are required to investigate whether these phage-like regions are viable or can be induced out of the chromosome. Recently, an approach was described to test prophage viability in Salmonella enterica that could be used to test some of these prophages (55). DISCUSSION
In this report, we describe the identification of prophage regions within bacterial genome sequences. We have advanced the current analysis of prophage identification by introducing five distinctive characteristics of prophages that do not depend on sequence similarities. These characteristics were applied for the initial prediction of potential prophages, and each of these predictions was evaluated by identifying the phage insertion point and the similarity of phage proteins.
PhiSpy was used to predict prophages in 507 complete bacterial genomes and a total of 1146 potential prophages were identified, including 287 putative prophages that have no homology to existing phages and may be novel mobile genetic elements. However, the total number of identified prophages might be different from the actually identified prophages for two reasons: (i) if there are several short prophage regions in close proximity then one large phage region might be reported instead of several shorter ones and (ii) if more than one integrase was found in a single predicted prophage, more than one prophage might be reported.
Despite the use of multiple distinctive parameters to classify genes within a genomic region, the current random forest protocol does not allow the accurate determination of the phage start and end. To address this issue, we resorted to the analysis of phage attachment sites by detecting direct or inverted repeats, which are common at the insertion sites of most phages. As insertions are often flanked by several repeated sequences, two criteria were used to consider for all the candidate
att sites: (i) proximity to tRNA or integrase genes, as phages can integrate into tRNA/tmRNA genes and the integrase gene is often at the end of the prophage (1) and (ii) inclusion of the greatest number of proteins thought to be included in phage subsystems, to provide further confidence in the prediction of the att sites.
The classification step of
phiSpy predicts prophage regions more accurately if it is trained with genomes that are closely related to the test genome because: (i) differences in the GC% between the training genome and the test genome result in an incorrect weight for the customized AT/GC skew; (ii) differences in the protein length between the training genome and the test genome result in the wrong protein length prediction parameters; (iii) different operon sizes between the training genome and the test genome result in incorrect transcriptional strand orientation parameters; and (iv) finally, if the test genome (or a genome closely related to the test genome) was not included in the phage word library, two circumstances might occur: (a) some words in the phage library may match with the test genome’s word and (b) the genome might have some different prophages whose distinct words are absent in the library, which leads to a bad prediction for the calculation of the abundance of phage words.
The prophages not identified by
PhiSpy in the classification step, might fall into one of three categories: (i) if there are few phage genes in a window whose characteristics were dominated by the bacterial genes of that window and those few phage genes were missed; (ii) if several short prophages are located very close together (this often happens in E coli or Salmonella), they were identified either as one long prophage or some of them were ignored in the processing of the final rank; (iii) while processing the final rank, sometimes the prediction of prophages was skewed leftwards by its windowing process (which proceeds left to right). The reason for the prophages identified in classification step but misclassified in evolution step is either there are few proteins annotated as phage proteins in the prophage regions or the function of the phage proteins are not yet annotated into phage subsystems.
Some of the characteristics of prophages used here have been described in previous studies, but none of the prophage identification tools applies them for identifying novel prophages. In this article, we have combined two approaches (similarity-based and composition-based analysis) and come-up with an automated application that can identify prophages with or without the homology to known phage genes.
SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
Supplementary Data are available at NAR Online: Supplementary Tables 1–3, Supplementary Figures 1–5 and Supplementary Methods.
FUNDING
Advances in Bioinformatics from the National Science Foundation (http://www.nsf.gov/) [DBI 0850356]. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis or decision to publish the manuscript. Funding for open access charge: Advances in Bioinformatics from the National Science Foundation [DBI 0850356].
Conflict of interest statement. None declared. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We thank Dr Barbara A. Bailey, for insightful discussion and helpful suggestions on statistical significance analysis. |
warc | 201704 | If you procrastinate, meeting your assignment deadline becomes no less than a terror. You think that you have ample time to complete your assignment, but then moment you realize its just two days left for submission and you can’t do much but stare blankly at your computer. Here are some strategies that will save you from exam stress.
Set clear targets: The moment you receive your assignment brief, go through it and divide it into sections and sub sections. Set specific targets for each section and try completing your work accordingly. Give yourself a break: If you find it hard to concentrate on your work for more than 1 hour, give yourself a break for 5-10 minutes. Relax yourself in this break. Go away from the computer screen and may be listen to some music or do some exercise. Giving your mind and eyes some rest is important in order to stay fresh. Plan your assignment: The more you plan and re-plan, the better. A well planned assignment is always better written compared to a one that is written in a rush. Chalk a proper outline for the topic that you need to cover. Start with a mind map and then group your ideas logically. Discuss your work with your tutor: If you have properly planned your assignment, you can easily be done with an initial draft in no time. The moment you are done with it, ask your tutor to review it. Discuss areas of improvement in the assignment and work accordingly. Talk to your friends: Discuss your assignment with your friends. Find out what strategies they are using to complete their assignment and what topic they are working on. Be open to criticism and think how you can improve your assignment. Read relevant research: Read as much as you can. Look at how other students have been addressing various aspects of the topic. This will help get a broader picture of the topic. |
warc | 201704 | The definition of ID can be best summarized as a theory that holds that “certain features” of living and nonliving things were designed by an “intelligent cause” as opposed to being formed through natural causes.1 The ID concept does not name the intelligent cause, nor does it claim that everything is designed, thus allowing for evolution/natural causes to play a role.
The historical roots of the ID movement lie in the natural theology movement of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The current movement, however, uses more than just philosophical arguments for a designer; it uses scientific evidences drawn from biology, chemistry and physics.
ID uses irreducible complexity2 (meaning that for something to function, it still requires a certain number of parts), to infer that living and nonliving things have been designed. Some examples are the biochemistry of vision and the mammalian blood-clotting pathway.3 These biological pathways consist of many factors, and all the factors are necessary for the pathway to function properly. 4 Thus, evolution—which works via the mechanism of small, gradual steps and keeping only that which is immediately functional—could not have formed these pathways. Evolution is goalless and purposeless; therefore, it does not keep the leftovers.
The question of whether or not a feature of a living organism displays irreducible complexity is answered by using what is called an “explanatory filter.” The filter has three modes of explanation:
Necessity: Did it have to happen? Chance: Did it happen by accident? Design: Did an intelligent agent cause it to happen?5
This is a very logical, common-sense approach used by individuals every day to deduce cause and effect. A feature of the universe or a living organism must be designed if the first two modes of explanation are answered as no.6
William Dembski states, “ID is three things: a scientific research program that investigates the effects of intelligent causes; an intellectual movement that challenges Darwinism and its naturalistic legacy; and a way of understanding divine action.”7 The ID theory focuses on what is designed rather than answering the questions of who, when, why, and how. Those within the movement believe this promotes scientific endeavor by looking for function and purpose in those things that are designed; whereas an evolutionary mindset presupposes waste and purposelessness and aborts further scientific investigation.
Positives and Problems with ID
The ID movement does have several positives. ID may serve as a useful tool in preliminary discussions about God and creation to gain an audience that might be turned off at the mention of the Bible.8 Since the movement is very careful not to associate itself with Christianity or any formal religion, some think it will stand a better chance of gaining acceptance as an alternative to Darwinism in the schools.9 The movement has produced many resources which support the biblical creationist viewpoint.10 It makes clear that Darwinism/naturalism is based on the presupposition that the supernatural does not exist, thus affecting the way one interprets the scientific evidence.11
However, the major problem with the ID movement is a divorce of the Creator from creation. The Creator and His creation cannot be separated; they reflect on each other.
In today's culture, many are attracted to the ID movement because they can decide for themselves who the creator is—a Great Spirit, Brahman, Allah, God, etc. The current movement focuses more on what is designed, rather than who designed it. Thus, leaders in the movement do not have problems with accepting an old age for the earth or allowing evolution to play a vital role once the designer formed the basics of life.
Proponents of ID fail to understand that a belief in long ages for the earth formed the foundation of Darwinism.12 If God’s Word is not true concerning the age of the earth, then maybe it’s not true concerning other events of the Creation Week; and maybe God was not a necessary part of the equation for life after all.
Without the framework of the Bible and the understanding that evil entered the world through man’s actions (Genesis 3), God appears sloppy and incompetent. People ask why God is unable to prevent evil from thwarting His plans, resulting in such poor design, instead of understanding that because of the Fall there is now a cursed design.
God’s role as Creator is foundational to His role as Redeemer.
In addition, because the ID movement does not acknowledge God as Redeemer, there seems to be no final solution for the evil in this world; and by all appearances it will continue to reign supreme. However, when trusting the Bible as opposed to neglecting it, we read that Jesus clearly conquered death with the Resurrection (Romans 6:3–10) and that one day death will no longer reign (Revelation 21:4). Again, the Creator and the creation reflect on each other.
Romans 1:20 states that all men know about God through His creation. However, recognizing that there is a designer is only the first step. Colossians 1:15–20 and 2 Peter 3:3–6 demonstrate how God’s role as Creator and Redeemer are inexorably intertwined. Again, God’s role as Creator is foundational to His role as Redeemer. Recognizing a designer is not enough to be saved; submitting to the Redeemer is also necessary.
The Creator and His creation cannot be separated; therefore, knowledge of God must come through both general revelation (nature) and special revelation (the Bible). The theologian Louis Berkhof said, “… since the entrance of sin into the world, man can gather true knowledge about God from His general revelation only if he studies it in the light of Scripture.”13 It is only then that the entire truth about God and what is seen around us can be fully understood and used to help people understand the bad news in Genesis and the good news of Jesus Christ.
Blood-clotting shows irreducible complexity using the explanatory filter ... The blood-clotting pathway is compatible with, but not required by, the natural laws of biology and chemistry; so it is not a necessity. It is complex because it is composed of many factors; thus, it has a smaller probability that it happened by chance. The blood-clotting pathway does show design because it is complex and information-rich. All the factors must be present and interact with each other in a specified manner in order for the pathway to be functional. Thus, the blood-clotting pathway meets all the requirements for irreducible complexity and so it must be designed.
Although she had became a Christian at a young age,
Dr. Georgia Purdom didn't always think that believing in a literal Genesis was important. But God used the words of a professor at Ohio State University to motivate her to examine what she believed.
“I wouldn’t give a Ph.D. to someone who believed in creation, because creationists don't know how to think critically,” the professor told her. Angered by this, she began to search for scientific evidence to support different viewpoints on origins, including the Intelligent Design movement.
Her search brought her to a creation conference where she learned about the Hebrew word
yom, which means a literal, 24-hour day as it is used in Genesis 1. This caused her whole mindset to change.
After noticing that there were not very many women engaged in creation research, Dr. Purdom felt that God was moving her to work in creation studies. That dream became reality when she decided to leave her teaching position at Mount Vernon Nazarene University (after serving as a biology professor for six years) and join Answers in Genesis–USA (AiG).
This month (June 2006) Georgia, who has a Ph.D. in molecular genetics from Ohio State University, became AiG’s first full-time, female Ph.D. scientist engaged in research and speaking on the book of Genesis. She and her husband Chris have one daughter, Elizabeth, whom they adopted from China in 2005. |
warc | 201704 | While taking in a Roller Derby bout over the weekend, a couple of us Bitch Beer gals were surprised to see an ad for a local brewery in the program. You see, we didn’t realize immediately that it had anything to do with craft beer, because at first glance it looked more like an advertisement for some kind of Affliction-esque clothing line or a PG13 Suicide Girls ad.
The ad (pictured left) was for South Austin Brewing and features a bottomless woman toting a bottle of beer with the tagline “Your Champagne Just Got Jealous!” Now, as opposed as we are to the use of exclamation marks, and as confused as we are about why she’s still wearing her cowboy boots, the more disturbing thing here is definitely the use of a half naked female to sell beer.
Not only did it seem to be an odd fit for roller derby, a sport that’s actually about empowering women to compete versus turning them into oversexed sidelinettes, it seemed a poor fit for craft beer. Yes, from time to time craft breweries have put things like sexy cartoon wenches on their bottle labels, and more on that later, but on the whole, the industry has never slumped to the level of the Super Bowl tit-pedaling macrobreweries of the world. Never before have I been confused about whether a craft brewery is selling beer or sex.
Ironically, Lone Star, a beer brand started by Adolphus Busch and owned by Pabst Brewing Company, advertised in the same program, and produced a female-targeted ad featuring a skater crushing a beer can on her head. The ad (pictured right) was as clever as it was badass. Frankly, if my beer purchasing decisions were based on the contrasting vibes of the advertisements alone, I’m suddenly a lot more likely to shotgun a can of the ol’ national beer of Texas than to pour myself a snifter of saison. For a gal like me, that’s saying something.
Both of these ads feature the same three things–a woman, a container of beer and a pithy tagline, though they couldn’t be further apart in connotation. In the South Austin ad, pantyless and mere picas from a snatch flash, the woman is being portrayed as something you’re pretty much expected to drink up right along with the beer. Conversely, the Lone Star ad features a strong woman interacting with the product in a very different way, I mean she’s pretty much making that can her bitch. Furthermore, in the Lone Star ad, it’s pretty damn clear that the woman is supposed to have consumed the beer herself, while in the South Austin ad it looks like the gal is just offering the beer up to horny/thirsty readers.
Now, before this turns into a full-on debate over whether the South Austin ad is sexist or just sexy, whether it objectifies women, and whether all women are likely to be offended by it or not, that’s not really the main concern here. Rather, what I would deem more troubling is the fact that an advertisement like this is alienating to female consumers.
Here at Bitch Beer, our mission has always been to make craft beer more accessible to women. We met too many ladies who had sworn off beer all together because they never experienced anything better than the watery adjunct crap some frat bro pumped them from a keg in college. To be frank, those efforts, and the efforts of so many passionate female (and for that matter, male) craft beer advocates that came long before us, are hindered when a male dominated industry puts out advertisements that feature women as titillating objects of affection rather than as valued consumers of their products.
If you don’t believe me, believe a British study conducted by Molson Coors that found that 42% of women surveyed believe that ‘changing the advertising’ is the biggest thing that could be done to make beer more appealing to women. That’s a statistic that shouldn’t be taken lightly when you consider that women are actually responsible for 85% of all consumer purchases in America.
It should be noted that South Austin Brewing is not the only offender here, and this post was certainly not made in any effort to demonize them as some kind of lady-haters, nor am I suggesting that the idea of men liking half naked women is some kind of revelation. Seeing the ad was merely a catalyst to have a dialogue about what has been an ongoing issue in beer advertising (plus, you know, like all advertising), certainly as it applies to the Big 3, but, what we’re learning is that craft breweries aren’t innocent either. Clown Shoes has received heat for their “Tramp Stamp” label (pictured right), and Texas BIG BEER Brewery (pictured left) made a similarly classy brew known as Big Ass Blonde (note the horrifying display of denim on denim) before a copyright issue forced them to change the name to Big Texas Blonde. Aw shucks, what a loss.
‘Community’ is a huge word that gets tossed around when it comes to craft beer. Hell, I’m sure a lil’ search of our website for the word would yield copious results. And, it’s true, so much of what is appealing about supporting small breweries is wrapped up in the idea of knowing exactly who is producing the beer you’re drinking and exactly who your dollar is supporting.
“Meet the brewer” nights, brewery tours, pint nights, anniversary parties, etc. all serve to heighten the vibrant community of craft beer, to introduce producers to consumers as allies in a quest for quality and the fostering of a true beer community. But, is it really a community when a brewery’s advertising has the potential to alienate half of the population? Can’t we all agree that if craft beer is ever going to surpass 5.7% of the market share of beer consumed in this country, that it’s going to take the help of more female beer drinkers? Can anybody pull off closing an article with a series of rhetorical questions
without sounding like Carrie Bradshaw?
Of only that last question am I uncertain.
-Caroline *All beer labels and photos of advertisements are displayed for educational purposes and should not be reused. |
warc | 201704 | Imagine that being your daddy was the best thing your father ever did. To hear that would be music to the ears of so many of our nation’s daughters. The little ones and those of us who have grown up to become women, women often still searching for whatever we feel we didn’t get from the first man we ever truly loved or placed upon a pedestal, whether or not he was actually worthy of such. While many of us have grown beyond the stage of finger pointing and the placing of blame, if we look back to revisit our yesterdays it is quite easy to see that our relationship (or lack of) with our father shaped the women we became.
Our feelings of not being worthy or of value in the eyes of our fathers resulted in adult women who struggled to love the face that stared back at them when they looked in the mirror. Our desire to be loved and accepted by the man who we share a genetic makeup with catapulted us to the arms of men who were so undeserving of our hearts despite us often attempting to thrust it into their hands hoping that they would love us back. For so many of us all we wanted was to matter to him, to be loved by him, for him to tell us that we were important and precious. And out of that want we went on a quest to find love.
Eventually, we would come to learn that love wasn’t giving away our body and innocence, love wasn’t spending our money to buy his affection, and love wasn’t standing still and feeling small as you were belittled and mistreated. It is a lesson that some of us are still learning. It is hard not to wonder how different life would have been if as daughters we had a daddy and not just a father. How different would life have been if someone had taught us how a woman should be treated? Had someone helped us to see that we were worthy of love and respect and that we were beautiful beings. What if someone looked into our little eyes, eyes that were brimming with hope and promise, eyes that had not yet seen how painful the world can be and told us we were the best thing they ever did?
I look at the way my husband’s eyes light up when he looks at his girls. And I wonder what that would do for so many of our daughters, to see their daddy’s eyes light up when he looks at them. To hear him say how much he loves being their father.
As referenced on The Root, according to child psychologist, Steve Biddulph, “girls with strong and involved fathers will grow up with higher self-esteem and make smarter choices later in life.” As a woman I know firsthand how true this is. As a mother I know what it means to me to be married to a man who realizes the gift and honor it is to be a child’s daddy. Even so, the reality is that for many children, a father will be nothing more than a memory or a person that we glorified because sometimes it is far too easy to fall in love with the idea of someone.
For some of us our father was the first man to break our heart. For some of us he was the man who taught us to protect it. There are numerous studies and books that will speak to the importance of having a father or father figure in your life but I believe the stories shared by women are the ones that tell it best.
Hi my name is Krishann. My father wasn’t always there and whether or not he could or couldn’t be there, in his eyes, doesn’t matter all that much. What matters is that he wasn’t there the way I needed him to be. We were inseparable and then on the brink of me becoming a teenager we were separate. I spent my teenage years making what I refer to as “a series of poor choices.” But by God’s grace I am here. I am standing, and I am still fighting to love myself and to let my husband love me the way I deserve to be loved. I’m pretty sure my dad thinks I’m awesome. In fact he has told me so but during the time when I most needed to hear that, I didn’t. And at 28 years old I still have to remind myself each and every day that I truly am enough.
While having a father is ideal we know the world we live in does not rotate on account of the things that we believe are ideal. May our children all be so blessed as to have someone who will help them to realize their value and potential. And in the event that there is no one else may
we be that person. BMWK — How did your relationship with your father shape you? Fathers how are you helping your daughters realize how valuable they are? Store
like what you're reading? |
warc | 201704 | The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has this month warned that Desert Locust (
Schistocerca gregaria) swarms are invading cropping areas of northern Sudan. The swarms originated from winter breeding areas on the Red Sea coastal plains and subcoastal areas in northeast Sudan and southeast Egypt. The situation requires close monitoring as more swarms are expected to form in the coming weeks that could move into parts of Sudan and southern Egypt. If no further rains fall and the vegetation dries out, some of these swarms could move into the interior of both countries and also cross the Red Sea to the coast of Saudi Arabia.
Locusts belong to the
Acrididae family (in the order Orthoptera which includes grasshoppers and crickets) and when triggered by certain cues such as increased crowding with other locusts have the ability to change their morphology, behaviour and physiology over several generations. This phase change occurs from a solitary to a gregarious phase, eventually causing the locusts to form dense hopper bands and swarms. One of the most serious locust pests is the Desert Locust.
Locusts can have a major impact on humans as a result of damage caused to crops by sporadic swarming events. Desert Locusts can eat their own weight of food per day, meaning a swarm of 50,000,000 locusts/km² in a large swarm can consume an astonishing 100 tonnes/km²/day of food. Locust swarms also have social and political implications due to their threat to food security and the implementation of management and control strategies. Locust plagues are sporadic and unpredictable, and will only occur if conditions are right to facilitate population outbreaks and upsurge events.
Elements of locust management include population monitoring and population prediction. However there are difficulties involved with estimating locust populations, since the majority of breeding places are remote and inaccessible and adult locusts are highly mobile insects which occupy huge areas of land. The FAO operates a centralised Desert Locust Information service within the Locust Group at FAO Headquarters in Rome, Italy. All locust affected countries transmit data on locust populations to FAO who use remote sensing data, meteorological data, locust development and locust migration models and geographic information systems (GIS) analysis to create monthly FAO Desert Locust bulletins with forecasts and warnings of locust breeding and migration. To see the latest FAO Desert Locust bulletin
click here. This data can then be used to decide whether control measures are necessary and if so, what control measures can be used to reduce the population safely and efficiently.
Control techniques for managing locust swarms include cultural control (digging, burning), baiting (scattering locust food impregnated with insecticides), dusting with insecticide and spraying liquid insecticides (chemical or biological) using ultra low volume (ULV) application. ULV spraying is one of the most preferred methods as it uses very low volumes of liquid in comparison to conventional spraying (0.5-3 litres/ha in comparison to 100s or 1000s of litres for other spraying methods) and uses oil based formulations which greatly reduce evaporation. The method is based on creating small, even sized droplets which are carried and impacted on the target by the wind. Biopesticides such as
Metarhizium anisopliae have previously been applied successfully using ULV methods to control locust populations as part of locust integrated management programs.
Locust control is a challenge and would be greatly improved by better cost effectiveness, efficacy, safety and reliability of management operations. In particular there are difficulties involved in predicting outbreaks given the lack of periodicity of such incidences and the uncertainty of rainfall in locust areas. However technological advances including lower cost satellite imagery, custom GIS systems and improved weather models will continue to improve forecasting of locust populations, and therefore facilitate locust monitoring and management programs.
References: |
warc | 201704 | “Never put in a fence post if there’s a full moon – by golly, it will pop right out!” As farmers, we live our lives by the rule of thumb. “Plant pumpkins on Memorial Day weekend and corn should be knee high by the Fourth of July”!
The rules can be followed, changed, and broken based on a person’s upbringing, culture, and outside influences. They’re simply assumptions, experiences, and stereotypes. My rule book is full of white out in the “when to plant” section, sarcastic comments in the margin about Ball canning recipes and botulism, and Tim’s motivational speech on replay in my head, “Who cares what the rule of thumb is? Just do it… what’s the worst that can happen? They eat ya?”
Probably the most interesting stereotype has been the public’s rule of thumb for organic farmers.
They never eat conventional or processed food – only organic and local, they only support local businesses and wouldn’t be caught dead in a place like Walmart, they’re liberal (personally and politically), they don’t drink or smoke (and if they do…. it’s an organic, local, microbrew followed by a joint grown on the farm *editor’s note to the Portage Co. DEA: I see you fly over weekly, consider this comment a stretch of the truth to humor my readers*), and they’re prepared to chain themselves to a fracking drill rig if it ever tries to poke a hole anywhere near their farm. So yesterday I went to Walmart to buy a case of Bud Light, two sandwiches from Subway and a Diet Pepsi for the ride home when I ran into one of our better customers. I approached her to say hello and she darted to guard her shopping cart that had a loaf of Schwebel’s bread and conventional bananas poking out. She was embarrassed and clearly surprised to see me. I’m not sure what she was worried about, wasn’t I the one breaking the rules?
A few weeks ago we travelled to Pennsylvania to have our soybeans professionally roasted for our new line of stone ground poultry feed. When we pulled up, I saw two old guys leaning against an Allis Chalmers tractor. One was wearing overalls and a John Deere hat (my kindred spirit) and the other was wearing coveralls and a Farm Bureau hat. I was sure they were large scale conventional farmers and I knew how the conversation was going to go, “so you’re an organic farmer, are ya?…” He looks to his partner, winks, and says, “I reckon she uses horses to plow her fields……” I would then passionately rattle off our vision (and extensive equipment list) and then they would figuratively pat me on the head and wish me good luck with my “garden”. I got out of the truck, introduced myself, asked a few questions and avoided small talk. One man started roasting our soybeans with Tim and the other man leaned against our truck, staring at me, “So you have an organic farm?” Here we go.
And this is where the story unexpectedly changes. As I shared our story, I realized he was engaged. He was asking poignant questions, listening intently, nodding in agreement and smiling. It turns out he has a small dairy, he’s been raising his herd naturally and organically for 15 years, and even drinks the ever controversial raw milk. When I asked him if he has considered organic certification, his response was simple, “No way.”
No way? “Nope. I’d lose all my friends.” Lose all of your friends? He explained that his conventional buddies that surround his property tolerate his practices, but organic certification would be the tipping point – he was too old to fight it and, “anyways…. I like hanging out and having coffee with them sometimes.”
I often wonder if my infrequent trips to Walmart or the store bought pizza in our freezer will turn off some customers. We may not follow all the rules of thumb for organic farmers, but we are genuine and there is nothing to hide at Breakneck Acres. We hope that this will be the reason customers support us and keep coming back. And the “rule of thumb”? Some say it used to mean that it was legal to beat your wife with a switch, so long as the switch was no thicker than the husband’s thumb. Tim’s got some big hands…. so we’ve agreed we really don’t need any “rules of thumb” at the farm! |
warc | 201704 | MALAYBALAY CITY – The volume of corn losses due to post-harvest facility wastage is higher than the volume of corn actually consumed in Bukidnon, one of the country’s top corn-producing provinces.
The Provincial Agriculture Office, in its 2011 to 2016 Corn Roadmap of Bukidnon, a copy of which was obtained by Bukidnon News recently, showed that Bukidnon loses 87,766 metric tons or 26 percent of its corn production intended for local markets.
The PAO projected to cut down the losses from 26 percent in 2011 to 17 percent in 2016. The road map also showed that corn for local food use will increase from 21 percent in 2011 to 24 percent in 2016.
Of the 338,684 left for the local market, 21.4 percent or 72,670 metric tons goes for “food use.” Most of Bukidnon’s local corn consumption at 177,710 metric tons or 52.4 percent goes to its local
livestock industry as “feeds.”
About 51 percent of Bukidnon’s corn production of 554, 297 metric tons in 2010 went to “outside” market.
Bukidnon needs to avail of additional units of post harvest facilities (PHFs) from the Department of Agriculture, local government units, and private investors, the five-year plan prepared by the Provincial
Agriculture Office, said.
More PHFs have been identified as among the six interventions needed in the province to obtain its conservative targets for 2016. Bukidnon has produced 554,297 metric tons in 2010. The road map showed that Bukidnon intends to produce 773,995 metric tons in 2016, or 32.4 percent higher from its 2010 production.
According to the projections cited in the PAO road map, with a population of 1.27 million, Bukidnon has total corn usage of 338, 684 metric tons out of its 691,073 metric tons projected production until
December 2011.
With the figure, the province enjoys a 104-percent sufficiency rate, Estellita Madjos, deputy provincial agriculture officer, said Saturday.
The road map also showed that while PAO also intends to increase sufficiency ration to 115 percent in 2016, the share of corn for local consumption will go down from 49 percent in 2011 to 46 percent in 2016.
The Provincial Agriculture Office has also recommended that Bukidnon strengthen its research, development , and agricultural extension programs; and promote innovative farming technologies for sustainable development; encourage strong partnerships and linkages with government and non-government organizations. The road also recommended “strong market linkages with processors.”
The PAO cited in the “infrastructure development” section of the road map that Bukidnon has a total of 1,610 metric tons of post harvest facilities’ capacity.
The biggest three are ran by the Mindanao Grains company in Aglayan, Malaybalay City with a 480-metric ton capacity; Castech in Cabanglasan town with 400 MT and Cagayan Corn Products in Maramag town with 400 MT capacity. Limketkai Grains firm also runs a 200-MT post harvest facility in Malaybalay City.
Farmers’ associations, multi-purpose cooperatives, and local government units also operate post harvest facilities. But their combined capacity, the PAO cited in the road map, is only 50 metric
tons.
For feed millers and processors, San Miguel Corporation operates the bulk, 30 tons of Bukidnon’s 42-ton exiting feed millers and processors, the road map showed.
For dryers, Bukidnon has a total of 2,238 multi-purpose drying pavements, including basketball courts, spread around the province. The PAO also accounted about, three mobile flash dryers, 36 flat bed dryers and 205 columnar dryers in the province. According to the Bureau of Post Research and Extension (BPRE), in 2004, Bukidnon is home to a total of 180 stationary corn mills, 141 mobile corn mill rollers, and about 320 warehouses or storage facilities.
The Provincial Agriculture Office pushed as the top recommendation for more post harvest facilities in Bukidnon even if they cited Bukidnon existing post-harvest facilities. The PAO have set three goals in the road, including the “increase in farmers’ productivity and income,” “production of quality corn for food and feeds,” and to “minimize post harvest facility losses.”(Walter I. Balane)
Truck loads of corn in sacks wait for weigh in at the Mindanao Grains Processing Co. Inc. plant in Aglayan, Malaybalay City File photo by Arthur Fabrigas/Courtesy of Central Mindanao Newswatch
Workers load sacks of yellow corn to a jeepney along the highway in Aglayan, Malaybalay City File photo by Arthur Fabrigas/Courtesy of Central Mindanao Newswatch
Also visit www.mindanews.com for more stories on Bukidnon
Filed under: Development in Bukidnon | Tagged: Agriculture, Bukidnon, Department of Education (Philippines), Malaybalay, Maramag Bukidnon, Mindanao, Non-governmental organization, San Miguel Corporation | 1 Comment » |
warc | 201704 | Stress Management Training in Patients Undergoing Radiation Therapy for Cancer
RATIONALE: Stress management techniques such as muscle relaxation, guided imagery, and abdominal breathing may improve quality of life and decrease emotional distress in patients who are undergoing radiation therapy for cancer.
PURPOSE: Randomized clinical trial to determine the effectiveness of stress management training in helping cancer patients cope with the emotional distress of radiation therapy.
Condition Intervention
Anxiety Disorder
Depression
Unspecified Adult Solid Tumor, Protocol Specific
Procedure: psychosocial assessment and care
Procedure: quality-of-life assessment
Study Type: Interventional Study Design: Allocation: Randomized Official Title: Stress Management Training For Patients Undergoing Radiotherapy
Study Start Date: February 2003 Study Completion Date: June 2006 Primary Completion Date: April 2005 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)
OBJECTIVES:
Primary
Determine whether a modified version of a self-administered stress management training intervention, previously found to be of benefit in chemotherapy patients, is effective in improving quality of life and decreasing psychological distress (anxiety and depression) in patients with cancer who are undergoing radiotherapy.
Secondary
Compare the efficacy of this intervention on improving quality of life and decreasing psychological distress (anxiety and depression) in male vs female patients.
OUTLINE: This is a randomized, multicenter study. Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 treatment arms.
Arm I: Patients receive self-administered stress management training (SSMT) in 3 stress management techniques (progressive muscle relaxation training and guided imagery, abdominal breathing, and coping skills) adapted specifically for use during radiotherapy. Patients initially receive a 5-minute standardized presentation regarding the nature and purpose of SSMT. Patients then receive information and instruction regarding the three stress management techniques comprising a videotape, audiotape, and brochure. Patients also receive their institution's usual psychosocial care. Arm II: Patients receive their institution's usual psychosocial care only. Quality of life, anxiety, and depression are assessed at baseline and then at 1, 2, and 3 weeks. Intervention helpfulness is assessed at 3 weeks.
PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 327 patients (approximately 163 per treatment arm) will be accrued for this study within 2 years.
Learn About Clinical Studies.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00057733
United States, Arizona CCOP - Western Regional, Arizona Phoenix, Arizona, United States, 85006-2726 United States, California CCOP - Bay Area Tumor Institute Oakland, California, United States, 94609-3305 United States, District of Columbia Howard University Cancer Center at Howard University Hospital Washington, District of Columbia, United States, 20060 MBCCOP - Howard University Cancer Center Washington, District of Columbia, United States, 20060 United States, Florida Comprehensive Cancer Care Center at Bethesda Memorial Hospital Boynton Beach, Florida, United States, 33435 H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute at University of South Florida Tampa, Florida, United States, 33612-9497 United States, Georgia Cancer Care and Research Pavilion at St. Joseph's/Candler Savannah, Georgia, United States, 31405 United States, Missouri CCOP - Cancer Research for the Ozarks Springfield, Missouri, United States, 65807 United States, New York MBCCOP-Our Lady of Mercy Cancer Center Bronx, New York, United States, 10466 United States, Ohio CCOP - Columbus Columbus, Ohio, United States, 43206 United States, Texas CCOP - Scott and White Hospital Temple, Texas, United States, 76508 United States, Washington CCOP - Northwest Tacoma, Washington, United States, 98405-0986
Study Chair: Paul Jacobsen, PhD University of South Florida |
warc | 201704 | Hi everyone and Happy New Year. Yes it’s a bit late, I haven’t had a great deal to say so I haven’t said anything. Today however, I have something to say.
I’m getting a bit tired of all the dog theft posts I keep seeing on Facebook and Twitter. With just a little investigation most of them are shown to be scare mongering hoaxes. One I looked into had been reported in exactly the same text and format from as far apart as England, holland, Russia, USA and Canada. The headline grab isn’t DOG STOLEN it’s GANG USES STOLEN DOGS FOR DOGFIGHTING. What a load of bolocks. The headline got you here didn’t it?
Yes dogs are stolen but if you check the breeds that are going missing you will notice a pattern. The majority of breeds that are stolen are the little handbag type yappies as they are very easy to resell. You will also notice a lot of the show-off type breeds like Akitas and Huskies, again because of their resell value.
No Staffordshire Bull Terriers are being stolen as they are unfavourably common and the resell value is nil, A Staffy pup can be picked up for nothing on Facebook so why go steal one? And if you were using dogs for dog fighting, surely you would want something that would at least exercise your mighty K9 destroyer and not run the risk of it chocking on poopoo’s diamanté collar.
This problem is an extension of the “Backyard Breader” issue. If you had to be licensed to breed dogs then you wouldn’t have all of these unqualified idiots letting two dogs shag then trying to sell the pups for a grand a time.
I am the owner of a large thorough bred dog and I got her at 6 weeks old. As soon as her first season had ended I had her spayed. So many people said to me “you could get £500 per pup from her”. My opinion is that if you had to have a certain qualification to get the breeder license, you would cut down on the backyard breeders, you would then cut down on the amount of unwanted dogs going to the RSPCA and other dog rescue centres.
I also think that bitches should be spayed and dogs should be neutered as a matter of course. There is no need for the animal to have the reproductive ability if you are not going to breed from it. If you didn’t have the license to breed then you wouldn’t be allowed to anyway.
Yes I can hear a lot of voices saying “it’s my right to choose” but no it isn’t, it is proven that neutering helps in the majority of cases to reduce aggression in dogs and spaying reduces the risk of certain cancers in bitches. If you want to breed from your own dogs then you would need a license. The penalty for unlicensed breeding should be all animals removed from the home and a complete ban on keeping an animal, no matter how small, for 10 years. It would need to be harsh to enforce it. A mandatory 2 year prison term for those who ignore the ban with their assets being seized to pay for their prison stay would reinforce how we as a nation feel about or four legged buddies.
To get such licenses, as I mentioned earlier, one would need to gain some form of dog husbandry qualifications. This would also eliminate things like interbreeding and would go a long we to reforming the Kennel Club (KC). The KC actively ignore Father/Daughter, Mother/Son and Sibling/Sibling inbreeding to the point that many many breeds of dog are unrecognisable from their original strains. Along with this inbreeding comes the inevitable health issues.
In German Shepherds for example you see Hip Dysplasia and Elbow Dysplasia. This results in the hind quarters of the dog colapsing. In King Charles Spaniels you see Syringomyelia. This is caused by the skull being to small for the brain and has been proved to cause the animal serious suffering. Who in their right mind would allow someone who is willing to do this to a dog to become a breeder or a judge at a dog show? Let alone be responsible for a dogs welfare.
There are other stories of a property being marked with coloured stickers on the garden gate or the letter K being chalked on the path outside a house that contains a desirable dog. Again there have been reports of this from all over the world on social media but no official Police reports have been filed.
So please, please, please. Before you go and click SHARE, have a quick look on Google and see if the subject you are about to pollute my timeline with has been hoaxed. If it has, the chances are you are going to look a bit silly at best, at worst you could be distributing false or illegal information and you could leave yourself open to ridicule or even prosecution.
I feel better for that.
Thanks for reading
Craig xx |
warc | 201704 | Cults use mind control techniques to keep their members from leaving the group and reinforce adherence to the common cause. Damanhur is no exception to this.
If someone unwittingly becomes member of a cult then it is obvious that psychological coercion has been employed in some form. The mind control techniques used by cults are many and varied but a basic list of 26 is shown below: I have added my comments in Italics to the original Ce.S.A.P forum post to illustrate how these techniques manifest in Damanhur.
DIO Editor What is Mind Control? Mind Control techniques include: Hypnosis
Inducing a state of high suggestibility by hypnosis, often thinly disguised as relaxation or meditation.
– Meditation School courses and ‘Serata’ with Falco. Peer Group Pressure
Suppressing doubt and resistance to new ideas by exploiting the need to belong. –
Belonging to the Spiritual and Magic People of Damanhur – a spiritual elite that will save the planet. Love Bombing
Creating a sense of family and belonging through hugging, kissing, touching and flattery.
– Emotional bonding within Meditation School groups – promoting group loyalty and a love of Damanhur. Rejection of Old Values
Accelerating acceptance of new life style by constantly denouncing former values and beliefs.
– The outside world is full of ignorance, the Catholic Church is our Enemy, the outside world does not and cannot understand Damanhur. Confusing Doctrine
Encouraging blind acceptance and rejection of logic through complex lectures on an incomprehensible doctrine.
– Meditation School courses, Falco’s courses and the study of Esoteric Physics and attendant yearly MCD exams. Meta-communication
Implanting subliminal messages by stressing certain key words or phrases in long, confusing lectures
. – Obligatory Serata with Falco on Wednesday and Thursday evenings. Removal of Privacy
Achieving loss of ability to evaluate logically by preventing private contemplation.
– Overcrowded residential spaces, the sharing of rooms, lack of personal time because of endless meetings ‘voluntary’ work and community commitments. Time Sense Deprivation
Destroying ability to evaluate information, personal reactions, and body functions in relation to passage of time by removing all clocks and watches.
– Removal of watches/banning of telephones during Meditation School sessions and Falco’s courses. Disinhibition
Encouraging child-like obedience by orchestrating child-like behavior.
– The ‘Game of Life’ initiatives. Uncompromising Rules
Inducing regression and disorientation by soliciting agreement to seemingly simple rules which regulate mealtimes, bathroom breaks and use of medications.
– The School of Meditation disciplines, preparations for rituals and the practices of certain of the ‘Spiritual Ways.’ Verbal Abuse*
Desensitizing through bombardment with foul and abusive language.
– Not known. Sleep Deprivation and Fatigue
Creating disorientation and vulnerability by prolonging mental and physical activity and withholding adequate rest and sleep.
– Keeping people ‘busy’ obligatory unpaid hours of work ‘Terrazzatura’, work for the Nucleo, Nucleo turns, Nucleo meetings, ritual observances, prayers, spheres, local political commitments, attending conferences, meetings of the Spiritual Ways, ‘volunteer’ construction work in the Temple etc ,etc Dress Codes
Removing individuality by demanding conformity to the group dress code.
– Wearing of Meditation School ritual robes, encouragement to observe the color of the day in personal dress Chanting and Singing
Eliminating non-cult ideas through group repetition of mind-narrowing chants or phrases.
– Group prayers, ritual prayers, Meditation School practices. Confession
Encouraging the destruction of individual ego through confession of personal weaknesses and innermost feelings of doubt.
– Tecnarcato group work, the Tecnarcato Diary, fortnightly and monthly personal reports, personal letters at the full and dark moon, interviews with heads of Spiritual Ways and Tecnarcato leaders. Financial Commitment
Achieving increased dependence on the group by ‘burning bridges’ to the past, through the donation of assets.
– Donation of all personal and inherited wealth to the Community on becoming a citizen A. Finger Pointing
Creating a false sense of righteousness by pointing to the shortcomings of the outside world and other cults.
– The outside world is ignorant. Damanhurians represent humanity on this planet. No other community can match Damanhur‘s achievements. Flaunting Hierarch
Promoting acceptance of cult authority by promising advancement, power and salvation.
– Damanhurians are destined to become Gods in their lifetime. Damanhurians are saving the planet. If you leave Damanhur you will lose your soul. Falco is the reincarnation of Horus. Isolation
Inducing loss of reality by physical separation from family, friends, society and rational references.
– Becoming a citizen A and working inside the Community means there is no time for outside pursuits, old friends or family connections. Visiting family members outside is frowned upon during public holidays. Obligatory rituals and Meditation school meetings are always organized at holiday times to keep people on the territory. Controlled Approval
Maintaining vulnerability and confusion by alternately rewarding and punishing similar actions.
– Meditation School disciplinary procedures without right of appeal. Esoteric grades and Game of Life bracelets. Change of Diet
Creating disorientation and increased susceptibility to emotional arousal by depriving the nervous system of necessary nutrients through the use of special diets and/or fasting.
– Meditation School disciplines, ritual fasting, the disciplines of the Way of the Monks. Games
Inducing dependence on the group by introducing games with obscure rules.
– Battles in the Woods, Horusian Games, Meditation School courses, Magic Journeys in the Woods. Falco’s courses. No Questions
Accomplishing automatic acceptance of beliefs by discouraging questions.
– Meditation School groups and courses. Guilt
Reinforcing the need for ‘salvation’ by exaggerating the sins of the former lifestyles.
– Before Damanhur your life had no direction or meaning. The outside world is doomed to extinction, only Damanhurians will be saved. Fear
Maintaining loyalty and obedience to the group by threatening soul, life or limb for the slightest ‘negative’ thought, word or deed.
– Meditation School disciplines, humiliating apologies before the entire school. Warnings from the Damanhurian Department of Security, disciplinary procedures by the School of Meditation, the College of Justice, and the King Guides with no right of defense. Replacement of Relationships
Destroying pre-cult families by arranging cult marriages and ‘families’.
– The Nucleo is your ‘real’ family. Outside relatives are less important as they are not members of the Damanhurian spiritual elite. In the early years of Damanhur Falco arranged the marriages of citizens. Talon First posted 2008/04/11 21:49 to the Damanhur Forum of www.cesap.net under the title’ LE MIE RIFLESSIONI’. The only aspect of this list which is not true of Damanhur is that of ‘Verbal abuse’. Here is an extract from the UK, Cult Information Centre site on the dangers of mental manipulation ‘The average cult uses a combination of the majority of the above described techniques, which result in a potential recruit being broken down physically and mentally and made highly vulnerable to suggestion. This pressure usually continues to a breaking point referred to as ‘snapping’ by Conway and Siegelman (Conway & Siegelman, Snapping. New York: Delta Books, l979). After snapping, the subject is left in a state of hyper suggestibility where critical ability is severely impaired. Simultaneously there is usually a sudden personality change, a change for the worse. It is this change of personality and the relative inability of the subject to critically evaluate, that provokes family and friends of the average victim to react. Unless they are given some guidance on how to cope, the cult member will rapidly become more and more alienated from them.
With cults representing such a threat to the individual, the family and society, how can we cope?
There are many things that can be done as follows:
1. Society needs to become aware of how everyone is vulnerable to manipulation.
2. People need to be educated about mind control techniques, so they can recognize and leave an environment where psychological coercion exists, before becoming a victim.
3. Society needs to become aware that there is a lot of good material on cults to be found in the media. It is useful for updating one’s information.
4. People need to learn to question, be discerning and feel it is OK to say NO!
5. More mental health professionals need to be trained to help cult victims.
Hopefully some of the popular misconceptions have been overcome in this article. They are as follows:
Exploding The Myths
1. People don’t join cults. They are recruited.
2. People are recruited by a method not a message.
3. People do not stay in cults because they have nothing better to do with their lives, but because psychological coercion holds them there.
4. Cults intend to retain a hold on people for life, or for as long as they are valuable to the cult. It is not a fad or a phase.
5. Normal people from normal families are recruited into cults.
6. Cult leaders should be blamed for the problems caused, not the individual members, ex-members or their families. (Blame the victim syndrome). It can happen to anyone.
7. Cult members are sincere. (Sincere victims, but sincere.)
8. Cult members are victims and need to be treated with love. They are people who need help, not hostility.
9. Cults recruit people of all ages, not just young people.
10. Cult recruiters are rarely visually identifiable. They usually look like quite normal people who appear to be very friendly.
11. Anyone can become a victim of cult techniques of psychological coercion. The safest people seem to be the seriously mentally ill, or those that know how to recognize a cult.
12. Accurate information on cults is not best obtained by trying to infiltrate a cult. This is far too dangerous.’
Ian Haworth, General Secretary, Cult Information Centre Link: Check out these two pages on the ‘Spirit Watch’ site for a description of how mind control works in groups like Damanhur. |
warc | 201704 | Author Tim Talbot and Gary Messing responded to the case in PORAC Law Enforcement Vol. 38 NO.7 July 2006 in the following ways.
Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC) section 625 specifically permits peace officers to take a minor into temporary custody without a warrant when an officer reasonably believes a minor committed a crime.
California courts find no meaningful distinction between a temporary custody and an arrest in the application of WIC section 625. In re Ian C., 87 Cal. App. 4th 856, 860 (2001). Moreover, the warrant less arrest of minors charged with misdemeanor offences has been held constitutional. In re Samual V., 225 Cal.App.3d 511 (1990)
Once inside, a police officer’s rights are limited to the scope of the consent given on entry to the residence. People v. Ramey, 16 Cal.3d 263 (1976). In this instance, Ly merely asked if he could come into the family’s home and the father consented to Ly’s entry.
As for the propriety of arresting a minor at night, Penal Code Section 840 specifically authorizes the arrest of anyone charged with a misdemeanor before 10 p.m.
Certain individuals suggested that because the father paid for the damage to the victim’s vehicle, without ever admitting responsibility for the damage, no crime was committed. In actuality, the law requires the victim to appear in court and acknowledge receiving satisfaction for the injury before the court may dismiss a criminal prosecution. Penal Code 1378-1379.
In People v Tischman, 35 Cal.App.4th 174 (1995), the court stated that misdemeanor hit and run accident can and should be resolved through civil compromise, unless there are extenuating circumstances. It is implied that those responsible acknowledge responsibility for causing the damage, which never occurred in this case.
Tim Talbot and Gary Messing are partners in the Sacramento office of Caroll, Burdick and McDonough. They helped to convince the District Attorney's office to make information about the case public. They are lawyers for the Davis Police Officers' Association. |
warc | 201704 | The only American values we in this part of the world have been exposed to are the values of lie, deception, dictatorship and political persecution by American-backed regimes that deny their people the most basic human rights and civil liberties.
Mr. Obama: Thou shall not lie By Khalid Amayreh
In his remarks marking the passage of nine years since the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington on 11 September, 2001, President Obama said Americans ought to remain true to their values and refuse to paint all Muslims as terrorists.
“The highest honor we can pay those we lost, indeed our greatest weapon in this ongoing war, is to do what our adversaries fear the most – to stay true to who we are, as Americans; to renew our sense of common purpose; to say that we define the character of our country, and we will not let the acts of some small band of murderers who slaughter the innocent and cower in caves distort who we are.”
Well, I would like to comment on these claims highlighted in Obama’s words. First, if true American values are expressed by America’s behaviors around the world, then the US has really very little to be proud of. Indeed, since the end of the Second World War in 1945, no other country under the sun has been directly or indirectly responsible for more murderous killings.
The list of wars, including civil wars, ignited or precipitated by Washington is indeed very long. In fact, one can say with little or no exaggeration that no region on earth has been spared American efforts to sow violence, chaos and death, mostly under the dubious rubric of “freedom, liberty and democracy.” Under these whoring slogans, death, violence, misery, and civil wars crippled entire countries, divided previously undivided nations, and turned brother against brother. The civil war in Lebanon which lasted for many years is a classical example of America’s criminal role in igniting violence and killings around the globe. Most American statesmen, people like Henry Kissinger, saw murder, even on a genocidal scale, as a legitimate tool of American diplomacy. In the final analysis, the end justified the means.
In addition, the US routinely and consistently embraced notoriously tyrannical regimes in countries like Iran, Argentina, Chile and in regions like the Arab world, South Asia, and central America, sowing terror and dictatorship, all under the same whoring rubric of fostering freedom and democracy so much so that democracy has become a despicable word in many countries.
In some instances, like in occupied Palestine, the US has been embracing Israeli Nazism in ways defying linguistic description. This dark, evil embrace of Israeli criminality has brazenly violated every conceivable declared American value from adhering to justice and fair-play to equality under the law.
Thus, American tax money and American political weight as well as the state-of-the-art of America’s technology of death have been instrumental in enabling Israel, a decidedly Nazi-like state, to murder with impunity, steal neighbor’s land with impunity, practice ethnic cleansing with impunity, and brashly discriminate against non-Jews with impunity. Predictably, this was all done under the rubric of democracy and shared-values and other obscenely mendacious slogans.
I am no stranger to the United States and its culture. I lived in the States for many years. I graduated from some of its finest universities. And I would be dishonest if I claimed that the United States is completely devoid of positive values and humanity. None the less, I can safely claim that US political behavior at the international arena has been explicitly incompatible with America’s declared values. For example, America prides itself on having a government of the people, by the people and for the people. However, we all know too well that America actively supports and backs tyrannical regimes that treat their masses as if they were a flock of sheep or herd of cattle. In some of these countries, the regime’s ruthless gendarme is ordered to savagely beat voters who are suspected of having a certain propensity to vote for the opposition. The US also jealously and enthusiastically backs despotic dynasties that deny women (and men) basic human and political rights, including the right to elect their own governments.
In occupied Palestine, when a truly democratic election was organized a few years ago, and Hamas, a truly democratic Islamist movement, won the polls, the US abruptly turned its back to democracy and decided to impose sweeping and draconian sanctions on the occupied territories in order to thwart the newly- elected government simply because Israel and some dictatorial Arab regimes feared the consequences of a successful Islamic experiment..
So, what values is Mr. Obama is talking about? The only American values we in this part of the world have been exposed to are the values of lie, deception, dictatorship and political persecution by American-backed regimes that deny their people the most basic human rights and civil liberties.
Moreover, we know too well that while governments ought to be answerable to their own peoples, our governments are answerable to Washington, first and foremost, and the US is quite happy about it.
I am not suggesting that the peoples of the Middle East are completely vindicated of responsibility for the colossal crime of having thuggish dictators and tyrants holding them by the throat for so many years. In the final analysis, the people can and must do more to free themselves from the stranglehold of the thuggish tyrants.
However, it is crystal clear that “democratic America” is making the task of spreading democracy and political liberty in the Muslim world, especially the Middle East, nearly impossible. Eventually, the people, who spend most of their time trying to make ends meet, can hardly fight the police-state apparatus and the US combined. And should they try, they would be crushed mercilessly and accused of harboring terrorist goals and planning to establish terrorist regimes.
Another point. Mr. Obama says ” and we will not let the acts of some small band of murderers who slaughter the innocent and cower in caves distort who we are.” Well, first of all, the American president shouldn’t think that the world is a free zone for American propaganda.
I am saying this because killing innocent people has never ever been the exclusive craft of those who “cower in caves” and seek to “distort who we are.”
The real distorter of “who we are” is the horrendous crimes America has been committing and continues to commit around the worlds? Have you Mr. Obama asked yourself one morning or one evening how many innocent Afghan or Pakistani civilians your country has killed in the context of the so-called war on terror? You claim to be a Christian, but tell me how can a true follower of Christ justify or even rationalize the slaughter of one multitude after the other of mostly innocent children, women and men whose only “crime” is often existing in the wrong place at the wrong time?
This is certainly more, much more, than the euphemistic joke which you call “collateral damage.” This is a slow-motion genocide, because killing knowingly is killing deliberately. This criminal discourse is affirmed and reaffirmed, asserted and reasserted hundreds of times, if only by making the same “mistake” over and over again.
I strongly believe that America’s ugly crimes in the Muslim world, which are often justified in the name of Christianity, give a bad name for Christianity just as the ugly crimes committed by some nominally Muslim terrorists give a bad name for Islam. Which effectively puts the US government on a morally equal footing with the terrorists? The only difference is that in the terrorists’ case, the crime is called “terror,” while in America’s case, the same crime is called “war.”
But there is another difference: America’s crimes are probably supported by a majority of hopelessly ignorant and/ or misinformed Americans, while al-Qaeda’s crimes are rejected by the vast majority of Muslims. I know what I am saying because I am a Muslim who happens to be living in the heart of the Muslim world.
So, Mr. Obama, I suggest you stop this mendacious propaganda, this “holier-than-thou-attitude” about the US being “the” representative of light while its enemies being the embodiment of darkness.
America, and its ultimate controller, the tiny satanic Israel, may succeed in deceiving the peoples of the world, including their own people, but they won’t deceive God.
One day, both the victims and victimizers will appear before the ultimate Judge. And both will receive their dues. Then there will be no room for lies and propaganda. On that Day every person, including president Obama, will be confronted with all the good he has done, and all the evil he has done, and will wish that there were a great distance between him and the evils he committed. |
warc | 201704 | Rural Andean Bolivia: Needs and Potential Solutions Date2007-01-09 Author
Bolton, Susan
MetadataShow full item record Abstract
Bolton will present a history of the Engineers Without Borders program. She will outline their mission and review the UW Student Chapter history. One of the UW projects, a multi-faceted effort in Yanayo, Bolivia, will be described in greater depth. This project addressed springs, diversions, water systems, roads, bridges, agricultural improvements, rain water catchment, and household infrastructure needs.
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warc | 201704 | All biocidal products must get an authorisation before they can be made available on the market. Companies can choose between several alternative processes, depending on their product and the number of countries where they wish to sell it.
If the product will be placed only on a single market, authorisation from that country is sufficient.
If a company wishes to place the product on the market in several countries, it can apply for mutual recognition for the product authorisation.
The authorisation holder can apply for the renewal of an authorisation to the Member State competent authority (MSCA) who granted the authorisation. In case of mutual recognition authorisation, the application for renewal should be submitted to the reference MSCA and all MSCAs concerned.
The Biocidal Products Regulation introduces a new alternative for companies that wish to apply for an EU-wide authorisation in one go.
There is also a simplified procedure for products which meet certain criteria specified in the regulation, e.g. do not contain any substances of concern.
There is the possibility to apply for an authorisation of a biocidal product, which is either identical to an already authorised biocidal product or identical to a biocidal product for which an application for authorisation is ongoing. |
warc | 201704 | New Zealand is sitting rosy when it comes to education, according to the latest OECD report, Education at a Glance 2016.
Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce and Education Minister Hekia Parata says shows the performance of New Zealand’s education sector, at all levels, compares well with those of other developed countries.
The OECD report measures 35 countries on the output of educational institutions, the impact of learning, financial and human resources invested in education, and participation.
“New Zealand is seeing more of our adults with higher qualifications relative to the rest of the world,” Joyce says.
“The proportion of adults aged 25-64 with a level 4 or higher qualification is in the OECD’s top six. Our completion rates for tertiary study are also comparatively high,” he says.
Joyce says the results are great news for our economy and society.
“We need people with world class skills and knowledge that will boost the productivity of the New Zealand economy. A better educated and skilled workforce is essential,” he explains.
“It’s great to see 68% of adults aged 25-64 participated in either formal or non-formal education. Participation in non-formal education is particularly high with 64% of adults taking part, compared with the OECD average of 46%. The high participation rates extend to vocational programmes and part-time study,” says Joyce.
“Our workforce continues to become more qualified and New Zealanders are becoming better educated than ever before.”
According to Joyce, the Government spends over $4 billion, or 1.7% of gross domestic product, on tertiary education.
“This report shows our careful management of the tertiary system is helping a higher proportion of young people to achieve qualifications at higher levels and gain the skills they need to succeed in the job market,” he adds.
Education Minister Hekia Parata says other areas of education are also performing strongly.
“No other OECD country spends a higher percentage of its public funding on education as New Zealand,” she says.
“Public expenditure in early childhood education (ECE) is in the top third and the teacher-child ratios in ECE are amongst the lowest in the OECD.
“Our Government has a strong record of increasing investment in education which now stands at a record $11 billion. Funding for our youngest learners has more than doubled since 2008 to $1.797 billion,” says Parata.
Parata says New Zealand’s funding in ECE is paying off with the participation of children three years and under in the top third of OECD countries.
“Over the past decade, this growth has been ahead of the OECD average, demonstrating that the work we’ve been doing to encourage students to stay in school longer is having an impact,” she adds.
The figures for participation in this year’s report are from the Ministry of Education’s Early Learning Information database. This means that children are no longer being double counted when they attend more than one ECE provider.
In secondary schooling more 15-19 year olds have been staying in education past NCEA Level 1. |
warc | 201704 | Home economics/How to clean a toilet
This page has been nominated for cleanup for the following reason: There are some broken reference tags..
Please edit this page to improve it. See this module's talk page for discussion.
Caution needs to be used. If you get cleaning solution on your skin, wash it off with soap and water. If you get it in your eyes, rinse your eyes with water for twenty minutes.
[2] Some people also worry about breathing in air born particles of cleaning chemicals.(24) [3] They use cleaning wipes instead of spray.(118) [3]
Toilet cleaning follows the general principals of cleaning any hard surface. Sweep the loose dirt and debris away. Soak the stuck dirt with cleaning solution. Wipe it and the solution away with a dry towel.(9)
[4] Outside[edit] Step one[edit]
Put on rubber gloves. Pull a disinfecting wipe from the center of the roll up through the hole in the top of the container. To get one wipe to tear off from the next, pull the first wipe with one hand and stop the next wipe with the other hand. Close the little door on the top of the container each time to keep the wipes from drying out.
Step two[edit]
Rub part of the outside of the toilet with the wipe. This gets it wet with the cleaning solution in the wipe. Some of the dirt is picked up by the wipe. The rest starts floating in the cleaning solution. Get as much filth as possible off of that part of the toilet and on to the wipe. Throw the dirty wipe into a waste basket lined with a plastic bag.
Step three[edit]
Tear an absorbent paper towel from its roll. Rub it on the area that was just wet by the wipe. The cleaning solution will be pulled off the surface and into the paper towel. The dirt floating in the cleaning solution will also. Dirt not floating but wet will be wiped off the area as well. Throw the dirty paper towel into the waste basket.(92 & 110)
Step four[edit]
Repeat the process. Clean the top of the tank then the sides of the tank. Clean the bowl rim: first around the hinges. After cleaning the entire rim, do both sides of the lid and both sides of the seat. You might want to rinse the top of the seat with a wet paper towel and dry it with another paper towel. Next comes the back, sides and front of the toilet between the seat and the floor. If there is trash on the floor around the toilet, throw it away.(92)
Within[edit] Step five[edit]
Put on protective clothing, goggles, and rubber gloves. Do not get toilet bowl cleaner on clothing, skin or in eyes. It burns the skin, causes irreversible eye damage, and is very harmful if swallowed. If it gets in eyes, rinse eyes gently with water for twenty minutes keeping them open, removing any contact lenses after the first five minutes. If it gets on skin, remove contaminated clothing and rinse skin for twenty minutes. If any is swallowed, sip a glass of water if able to swallow. In all cases call a poison control center or a doctor. Wash contaminated clothing before wearing again.
Step six[edit]
With the toilet seat up, flush the toilet. Use the toilet brush with just the water to brush away any loose filth. Be cautious. Brush down to prevent liquid from being flicked at you by the bristles. Flush the toilet to rinse the bowl and the brush. Return the brush to its caddy. A looped toilet brush is able to lower the water level just a little.
Step seven[edit]
Position the plunger so it covers the drain in the toilet bowl. Push downward on the plunger with both hands. Stop pushing and let the plunger fill with water again. Push downward on the plunger again so it forces the water within it down the drain. Repeat the push and release action several times, slowly enough for no splashing and fast enough to pump the water down the drain. The water would dilute the cleaning solution and might splash, so the water level needs to be as low as possible for safer more effective scrubbing.
Step eight[edit]
Open the bottle of toilet bowl cleaner being careful not to squeeze the bottle while doing so. With the toilet seat still up, slowly pour the toilet bowl cleaner from the bottle and into the toilet bowl. Carefully pour it around on the inner sides and no higher than under the rim. Close the cap and wipe the bottle with a paper towel if needed. Use a toilet scrubber or swab to brush the toilet bowl cleaner on to all the inside surfaces of the toilet bowl including under the rim. Wait a minute to allow the solution to soak into the dirt stuck on the surface. Scrub away the calcium deposits and dirt, or if it wasn't that dirty use a toilet bowl swab. Flush the toilet, rinse the scrubber or swab in the clean water and put it into its bucket. Wring the swab first. If the toilet bowl is still dirty wash it again with a bottle of stronger toilet bowl cleaner, if not already using the lime and calcium and rust removing kind.
Conclusion[edit]
The disinfecting wipe is more convenient than spray. Spray might miss the toilet and go on to the wall. It might run down the toilet and form a puddle on the floor. Pouring bathroom cleaner in a bucket and using it to clean the sponge or washcloth used on the toilet is more work than throwing a wipe into the trash.(118 & 119)
Spraying the toilet bowl is awkward. Toilet bowl cleaner comes in a bottle designed to pour the cleaner around in the toilet bowl to cover the inside. There are scrub pads with short and with long handles. Some long handled scrub pads are small enough to scrub the drain. Disposable scrub pads are supposed to be thrown into the trash. A toilet brush can be used to scrub with by using a small circular motion. To use less cleaner the cleaner can be put in the bowl with swab or a folded paper towel.(118 & 119)
References[edit] |
warc | 201704 | The fellowship program invests in graduate education for students who demonstrate the potential to successfully complete graduate degree programs in disciplines relevant to the mission of the National Science Foundation to ensure the vitality of the human resource base of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in the United States.
Strutz's study, titled “Influences on Low SES Students’ Decision to Pursue Engineering: A Qualitative Investigation,” will be conducted at Purdue. Applying her dual training in civil engineering and gifted education, Strutz will work with undergraduate students enrolled in various engineering departments. Based on the National Science Board’s prediction, an estimated 1.6 million engineers will be needed by 2014 to support the U.S. job market. Strutz intends to capitalize on the results of her research to create workshops and programs that prompt more students from low-SES backgrounds to pursue and complete engineering studies to meet this nation’s engineering employment demand.
Strutz received a BE in civil engineering from Vanderbilt University and worked as an engineer for 13 years. She returned to academia and completed an MA in gifted and talented education at the University of Connecticut and an MA in curriculum and instruction at Boise State University. At Purdue, she is beginning her doctoral studies in engineering education and completing her doctoral studies in gifted education.
NSF Fellows are expected to become knowledge experts who can contribute significantly to research, teaching, and innovations in science and engineering. These individuals will be crucial to maintaining and advancing the nation's technological infrastructure and national security as well as contributing to the economic well-being of society at large.
In 2009, National Science Foundation funded 1,243 Graduate Research Fellows out of 9,347 eligible submitted applications. Applicants came from 852 different baccalaureate institutions and proposed attendance at 415 different graduate institutions. |
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