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Saint Paul, Minnesota, Oct. 31 – This month, the Twin Cities Arby’s was named an Outstanding Disability Employer by the Minnesota Organization for Habilitation and Rehabilitation. This recognition happened as part of a state-wide celebration of National Disability Employment Awareness Month. Ben Kopnick, coordinator of the grant program that supported Arby’s to hire more employees with disabilities spoke about “working to integrate them in their workplace culture” and the employees with disabilities learning to “push themselves and grow their skillsets.”
Arby’s is one such example of how the North Star State is working to continue expanding job opportunities for Minnesotans with disabilities.
In a statement released earlier this month, Gov. Tim Walz proclaimed October to be “Employers Hiring People with Disabilities Month.”
“Individuals with disabilities are proving themselves as valuable and productive contributors and taxpayers in the workforce,” Walz said in his statement. He also discussed how employing more Minnesotans with disabilities would “benefit Minnesota’s economy and its competitiveness in the global marketplace.” Lastly, he spoke about how the entire state government “is committed to providing Minnesotans with disabilities with a continuum of work options that best meet individual needs and choices in a person-centered manner.”
This proclamation follows a solid year of job growth among people with disabilities living in Minnesota. In 2018, 145,697 Minnesotans with disabilities had jobs putting that state’s disability employment rate at 47.8 percent. According to the Institute on Disability, that is well above the national disability employment rate of only 37 percent. That total includes people who are blind or deaf or have other visible conditions such as spinal cord injuries, as well as people with invisible disabilities including learning disabilities, mental health or Autism.
An annual celebration, National Disability Employment Awareness Month is dedicated to raising awareness about disability employment issues and celebrating the incredible contributions of people with disabilities. According to RespectAbility, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that works to fight stigmas and advance opportunities so that people with disabilities can participate fully in society, found that Minnesota ranks 5th in the nation on jobs for people with disabilities.
Minnesota’s tremendous outcomes are no accident. These differences are the results of deliberate strategies implemented by leaders in the community, in government and in the school system. Employment First is one such strategy. It is a strategy where critical social programs are oriented towards ensuring that getting a job is the top priority for individuals with disabilities. That goal is reinforced with high expectations among the teachers, coaches and parents.
Minnesota can further capitalize on past successes by following the example of states that show constant improvement such as Florida and Ohio. Both can attribute a portion of their growth in disability employment to Project SEARCH, a program for young adults with disabilities to improve their skills, learn from job coaches and ultimately find a job. Data shows that 70 percent of SEARCH interns who complete their training obtain competitive employment. By expanding such critical programs, Iowa can greatly increase the number of people with disabilities entering the workforce.
Companies that embrace employees with disabilities clearly see the results in their bottom line. According to Accenture, disability-inclusive companies have higher productivity levels and lower staff turnover rates, are twice as likely to outperform their peers in shareholder returns and create larger returns on investment.
The fact is that disability is part of the human experience. It is nothing to fear because all of us will be affected by it eventually, whether by accident, aging or illness. Opening more job opportunities to people with disabilities will mean stronger communities and a better economy for all. Achieving that requires all of us working together because people with disabilities are the right talent, right now.
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- Type of project
- Basic research
- Research Council of Norway
About the project
This research project explores the potential of a more active role for the architect as a mediator and a key agent in shaping the future, and study innovations in urban practice. How may urbanists and architects contribute to a sustainable future for our cities by operating intelligently in the space between grassroots initiatives and top-down approaches?
During the last decade, we have seen a growing number of architectural practices who explore new ways of working, operating in the gaps between the domains of formal institutions and the realities of the urban, everyday environments. The primary focus of this research is therefore the work of architects and urbanists operating as mediators and agents – their strategies, tactics, projects, experience and reflections. Thus, it is not a research on them but with them.
The next step of this research project will be to explore how the many individual design-oriented, bottom-up initiatives may add up and move beyond a single change at the single site to form more extensive moves? What policy changes would support such initiatives, and also maximize the capabilities of design to secure basic needs and improve the urban environment? The perspective is global, yet with a focus on the Norway and the Nordic countries.
The project continues the research developed by Lisbet Harboe in her PhD thesis (AHO 2012): Social Concerns in Contemporary Architecture: Three European Practices and Their Works.
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Nutrients in avocado oil
- Monounsaturated fats like oleic acid, which makes up 63% of the fat content, and lecithin, a kind of fat molecule
- Polyhydroxylated fatty alcohols or PFA, unique lipid molecules in avocado
- Vitamin E (chiefly alpha-tocopherol)
- Carotenoids, the chief one being lutein (some carotenoids generate vitamin A)
- Phytosterols, including beta sitosterol
- Vitamin D
Avocado oil is not a recent fad. The 16th-century Spanish historian Bernabé Cobo who visited America in 1596 also reported the use of avocado oil for cooking. Food historian Sophie D. Coe writes in America’s First Cuisines that, with a high oil content of 30% in its flesh, the avocado was a staple in the low-fat diet of pre-Columbia America.1
And why not? The benefits of avocado oil for skin, hair, and health include moisturizing; fighting sun damage; reducing signs of aging; healing acne, psoriasis, and wounds; treating dandruff; preventing heart disease and cancer; relieving pain and inflammation; aiding fat burning; and protecting the eyes.
Avocado oil is extracted from the pulp of the fruit and not the seed. It’s best to use the unrefined, cold-pressed, extra-virgin type that retains some of the nutrients that may otherwise be lost in the heat of the conventional extraction process.2 The water-soluble vitamins like B and C, though, are lost during extraction.
While cooking with avocado oil has still not caught on, the cosmetic industry leverages the many benefits of avocado oil for skin and hair. Many creams, cleansers, moisturizers, and sunscreens contain avocado oil. Here’s why.
1. Provides Deep Moisturization
Tip: Apply extra-virgin avocado oil on your face after cleansing your face. Wash it off the morning after so as not to clog the skin pores.
Avocado oil can penetrate into the second layer of the skin (dermis) and provide deep moisturizing with its oleic acid and phytosterols. People who have a dry and sensitive skin type are usually advised to use oils rich in oleic acid. The lecithin in avocado oil helps boost collagen, and the pro-vitamin A carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin enhance the skin’s natural antioxidant store.3
This makes avocado oil an ideal night cream that aids in the skin repair process. Unlike most night creams, it contains the antioxidant vitamin E, which is essential to undo the ill effects of the UV rays you encounter through the day. The skin-damaging effects of the sun can continue long after you have been exposed.
2. Prevents Skin Damage From Sun Rays
For most people, exposure to the sun and its harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays is unavoidable. As a result, the skin undergoes damage in the form of photo aging or premature skin aging. These rays have the power to also damage the DNA and lead to skin cancer. Tanning beds and sun lamps are similarly harmful.
Studies have found that avocados, and by extension avocado oil, can both prevent and treat skin damage, thanks to their PFA. In a study, when PFA was injected into skin cells before they were exposed to UVB rays:
- The skin cells showed increased ability to recover.
- The secretion of inflammation-inducing chemicals was decreased.
- DNA repair was enhanced.
PFA could also repair skin cells already damaged by the UV rays.4 Along with the PFA, vitamin E helps fight UVA rays and reverses skin damage.
That said, applying just avocado oil before stepping into the sun might not be a wise idea. Instead use a sunscreen enriched with avocado oil. After you come back in from the sun, clean your face and apply some avocado oil or avocado pulp to help skin repair.
3. Fights Signs Of Aging
Tip: Mix 2 tsps of avocado oil with 1/2 tsp castor oil for cleaning away makeup. This is a safe and gentle alternative to the harsh alcohol-based makeup cleansers that disturb the acidic balance of the skin.
Avocado oil has benefits not just for a sun-damaged skin but any skin that shows the signs of natural aging like wrinkles, dryness, and flaccidity.
- Vitamin E and lecithin in avocado help boost the collagen in the skin, giving it firmness.
- Vitamin E and carotenoids also prevent inflammation and keep wrinkles from showing on the skin.
- The fatty acids in avocado oil penetrate into the second layer of the skin, moisturizing it well and preventing aging-related dryness and wrinkles.
Just dab some cold-pressed organic avocado oil on your face at night and wake up to hydrated and smooth skin in the morning.
4. Prevents And Treats Acne
You can prevent and cure acne by using avocado oil. This oil keeps the skin hydrated without leaving it too oily, which reduces the risk of acne. It can also help with its linoleic acid content since the lack of linoleate in the sebum-producing skin cells is linked to acne.5
5. Relieves Eczema And Psoriasis
Avocado oil mixed with vitamin B12 has been found to relieve the symptoms of psoriasis, a condition where skin cells build up to form dry, scaly, and itchy patches on the skin. In this, the avocado oil and B12 mixture is even more portent than a vitamin E cream.6
6. Heals Wounds Faster
An animal study in the journal Evidence-based Alternative and Competitive Medicine found that avocado oil heals wounds better than petroleum jelly. The oil reduced inflammation and made the skin firmer and stronger by boosting the collagen density and tensile strength of the skin.7
7. May Reduce Dark Circles
It’s difficult to find a mild under-eye cream to remove dark circles and wrinkles. Avocado oil’s ability to penetrate into the second layer of the skin and spread well makes it good for the delicate skin around the eyes. It may also help with dark circles as it also contains vitamin A and E which, combined with vitamin C and K, have been known to help reduce dark circles and under-eye wrinkles.8
8. Helps Hair Growth
Apply avocado oil onto your scalp and massage well.
Apart from its monounsaturated fats like oleic acid that moisturize the scalp, avocado oil contains vitamin D, which is crucial for the generation of new hair follicles. Some researchers claim vitamin D to be vital to people suffering from hair loss.9
9. Fights Dandruff
Dandruff is a result of scalp dryness. With its monounsaturated fats, avocado oil can prevent dandruff formation by alleviating the dryness of the scalp.10 Avocado oil can also cure dandruff caused by psoriasis. But avoid avocado oil if the dandruff is caused by seborrheic dermatitis as oleic acid is known to worsen the flakiness.11
10. May Improve Nail Health
If you have rough, dry, and brittle nails, avocado oil may help. It can penetrate deep into the inner layers of the nail cuticle and provide adequate hydration and nourishment to the nails. Apply avocado-based cuticle oil or rub the extra-virgin oil onto your nails.
11. Lowers Risk Of Heart Disease
If you do not have access to fresh avocados or do not like the fruit’s taste, cook your dishes with cold-pressed, extra-virgin or virgin avocado oil. While the extraction process may remove the water-soluble vitamins and the fiber, the oil will still contain a high amount of healthy monounsaturated fats. Just 1 tablespoon of the oil contains 14 g fat, of which 9.8 g is monounsaturated and 1.8 g polyunsaturated.12
Because of its high chlorophyll content, the extra-virgin oil will have an emerald green color. The flavor depends on the type of the fruit. While cold-pressed Hass avocado has a typical avocado flavor, with a hint of buttery flavor, the Fuerte variety has a mushroom flavor.
Use the unrefined oil for light cooking and as salad dressing. The refined one, with a high “smoke point” of 255 ºC (490 F), which is much higher than that of olive oil, can be used for deep frying.
The fatty acids and the plant sterols in avocado oil make it good for people with high cholesterol. While it increases the good HDL cholesterol,13 it reduces both LDLs and triglycerides.14 For people with normal cholesterol levels, it can maintain the balance between HDLs and LDLs.
Avocado oil also fights inflammation in the body, thereby reducing the risk of heart disease.15
12. Fights Inflammation
As mentioned before, the bulk of the fat found in avocado oil is oleic acid, which reduces inflammation in the body. In one study, it was seen that the levels of high sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of inflammation in the body, were inversely related to oleic acid intake.16 This anti-inflammatory effect is what gives avocado oil the power to reduce the risk of heart disease and heal the pain related with arthritis, which brings us to our next point.
13. Can Improve Symptoms Of Arthritis
As per the Arthritis Foundation, avocado is the fruit to eat to relieve the symptoms of osteoarthritis, a painful condition that causes inflammation of the joints. Besides oleic acid, the carotenoid lutein and vitamin E in avocado oil can help alleviate symptoms with their anti-inflammatory properties and help lower the risk of joint damage.17
In one study, 1 part avocado oil mixed with 2 parts soybean oil could help block inflammation, reduce degeneration of cells lining the joints, and even regenerate normal connective tissue. This extract was found effective in treating patients with symptomatic hip osteoarthritis.18
14. Increases Absorption Of Certain Nutrients
It helps to drizzle some avocado oil on your fruit salads or cook your carrots in avocado oil. The antioxidant carotenoids in food need an oil base to be absorbed into the body. Avocado oil helps in this. A study found that adding avocado oil to a salad could significantly increase the absorption of alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, and lutein.19
15. Improves Eye Health
The carotenoids lutein and xeazanthin are good for your eyesight. In fact, lack of lutein in diet could cause age-related eye dysfunction. But diets rich in monounsaturated fatty acids have a protective effect against this dysfunction as they help in the absorption of these carotenoids. This carotenoid-monounsaturated fatty acid combination is what makes avocado oil good for eye health.20
16. Aids In Weight Loss
When you are trying to lose weight, choosing the right cooking oil is important. Most nutrients, apart from fiber, that make avocados good for weight loss also make avocado oil a good cooking oil when you are trying to shed pounds.
Avocado oil has a high oleic acid content, and it has been seen that a diet containing oleic acid can increase physical activity by 13.5% and post-meal metabolism by 4.5% compared to a diet rich in saturated fats.21
By increasing insulin sensitivity in the body and improving glucose metabolism, it also helps distribute the fat all over the body and not just in the belly.22
17. Helps Prevent And Treat Cancer
The oleic acid in avocado oil as well as the carotenoids and vitamin E can check the growth of precancerous and cancer cells and even induce cell death in abnormal cells. The carotenoids also reduce the side effects of chemotherapy.23 24 25
Remember to always buy the unrefined, cold-pressed, extra-virgin version whether you want to cook with avocado oil or use it for your skin and hair.
Your Doubts Answered
Can I Swap My Regular Refined Oil With Avocado Oil For Cooking? If Not, What Can I Cook It With?
[expert_opinion expertname=’tomsokolowski’ opinion=”Avocado oil is rich in heart-healthy monounsaturated fatty acids and has a high smoke point so is a great choice for cooking. Refined vegetable and seed oils tend to be high in inflammatory omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids. When a chemical bond is unsaturated it is very reactive and the more bonds there are the more reactive a molecule is. This means that polyunsaturated vegetable and seed oils tend to form inflammatory lipid peroxides when exposed to light, heat, and oxygen. Monounsaturated oils such as extra virgin olive oil and avocado oil are more stable for cooking and saturated fats like coconut oil are even more stable.”]
[expert_opinion expertname=’jenniferkanaan’ opinion=”You can use avocado oil for anything, sautéing, pan-frying, baking, roasting, marinating, dipping and drizzling.”]
|↑1||Coe, Sophie D. America’s first cuisines. University of Texas Press, 1994, p. 45.|
|↑2||What is unrefined, extra virgin cold-pressed avocado oil?. The American Oil Chemists’ Society.|
|↑3||Palombo, P., G. Fabrizi, V. Ruocco, E. Ruocco, J. Fluhr, R. Roberts, and P. Morganti. “Beneficial long-term effects of combined oral/topical antioxidant treatment with the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin on human skin: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study.” Skin pharmacology and physiology 20, no. 4 (2007): 199-210.|
|↑4||Rosenblat, Meretski, and Segal. “Polyhyroxylated fatty alcohols derived from avocado suppress inflammatory response and provide non-sunscreen protection against UV-induced damage in skin cells.” Archives of Dermatological Research (Volume 303, Issue 4, p 239-246).|
|↑5||Kanlayavattanakul, M., and N. Lourith. “Therapeutic agents and herbs in topical application for acne treatment.” International journal of cosmetic science 33, no. 4 (2011): 289-297.|
|↑6||Stücker, Markus, Ulrike Memmel, Matthias Hoffmann, Joachim Hartung, and Peter Altmeyer. “Vitamin B12 cream containing avocado oil in the therapy of plaque psoriasis.” Dermatology 203, no. 2 (2001): 141-147.|
|↑7||de Oliveira, Ana Paula, Eryvelton de Souza Franco, Rafaella Rodrigues Barreto, Daniele Pires Cordeiro, Rebeca Gonçalves de Melo, Camila Maria Ferreira de Aquino, Paloma Lys de Medeiros, Teresinha Gonçalves da Silva, Alexandre José da Silva Góes, and Maria Bernadete de Sousa Maia. “Effect of semisolid formulation of Persea americana Mill (avocado) oil on wound healing in rats.” Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2013 (2013).|
|↑8||Mitsuishi, T., T. Shimoda, Y. Mitsui, Y. Kuriyama, and S. Kawana. “The effects of topical application of phytonadione, retinol and vitamins C and E on infraorbital dark circles and wrinkles of the lower eyelids.” Journal of cosmetic dermatology 3, no. 2 (2004): 73-75.|
|↑9||Aoi, Noriyuki, Keita Inoue, Toshihiro Chikanishi, Ryoji Fujiki, Hanako Yamamoto, Harunosuke Kato, Hitomi Eto et al. “1α, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 modulates the hair-inductive capacity of dermal papilla cells: therapeutic potential for hair regeneration.” Stem cells translational medicine 1, no. 8 (2012): 615-626.|
|↑10||Malmgren, Janice K., and Sonya K. Moreno. “Conditioner that provides skin like an angel.” U.S. Patent 6,544,534, issued April 8, 2003.|
|↑11||DeAngelis, Yvonne M., Christina M. Gemmer, Joseph R. Kaczvinsky, Dianna C. Kenneally, James R. Schwartz, and Thomas L. Dawson. “Three etiologic facets of dandruff and seborrheic dermatitis: Malassezia fungi, sebaceous lipids, and individual sensitivity.” In Journal of Investigative Dermatology Symposium Proceedings, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 295-297. Elsevier, 2005.|
|↑12||Full Report (All Nutrients): 04581, Oil, avocado. USDA.|
|↑13||Kritchevsky, David, Shirley A. Tepper, Scott Wright, Susanne K. Czarnecki, Thomas A. Wilson, and Robert J. Nicolosi. “Cholesterol vehicle in experimental atherosclerosis 24: avocado oil.” Journal of the American College of Nutrition 22, no. 1 (2003): 52-55.|
|↑14, ↑20||Dreher, Mark L., and Adrienne J. Davenport. “Hass avocado composition and potential health effects.” Critical reviews in food science and nutrition 53, no. 7 (2013): 738-750.|
|↑15||Carvajal-Zarrabal, Octavio, Cirilo Nolasco-Hipolito, M. Guadalupe Aguilar-Uscanga, Guadalupe Melo-Santiesteban, Patricia M. Hayward-Jones, and Dulce M. Barradas-Dermitz. “Avocado oil supplementation modifies cardiovascular risk profile markers in a rat model of sucrose-induced metabolic changes.” Disease markers 2014 (2014).|
|↑16||Yoneyama, Satoko, Katsuyuki Miura, Satoshi Sasaki, Katsushi Yoshita, Yuko Morikawa, Masao Ishizaki, Teruhiko Kido, Yuchi Naruse, and Hideaki Nakagawa. “Dietary intake of fatty acids and serum C-reactive protein in Japanese.” Journal of epidemiology 17, no. 3 (2007): 86-92.|
|↑17||Best Fruits for Arthritis. Arthritis Foundation.|
|↑18||Maheu, Emmanuel, Christian Cadet, Marc Marty, Dominique Moyse, Isabelle Kerloch, Philippe Coste, Maxime Dougados et al. “Randomised, controlled trial of avocado–soybean unsaponifiable (Piascledine) effect on structure modification in hip osteoarthritis: the ERADIAS study.” Annals of the rheumatic diseases (2013): annrheumdis-2012.|
|↑19||Unlu, Nuray Z., Torsten Bohn, Steven K. Clinton, and Steven J. Schwartz. “Carotenoid absorption from salad and salsa by humans is enhanced by the addition of avocado or avocado oil.” The Journal of nutrition 135, no. 3 (2005): 431-436.|
|↑21||Kien, C. Lawrence, Janice Y. Bunn, Connie L. Tompkins, Julie A. Dumas, Karen I. Crain, David B. Ebenstein, Timothy R. Koves, and Deborah M. Muoio. “Substituting dietary monounsaturated fat for saturated fat is associated with increased daily physical activity and resting energy expenditure and with changes in mood.” The American journal of clinical nutrition 97, no. 4 (2013): 689-697.|
|↑22||Paniagua, Juan Antonio, A. Gallego De La Sacristana, I. Romero, A. Vidal-Puig, J. M. Latre, E. Sanchez, P. Perez-Martinez, J. Lopez-Miranda, and F. Perez-Jimenez. “Monounsaturated fat–rich diet prevents central body fat distribution and decreases postprandial adiponectin expression induced by a carbohydrate-rich diet in insulin-resistant subjects.” Diabetes care 30, no. 7 (2007): 1717-1723|
|↑23||Paul, Rajkumar, Paresh Kulkarni, and Narayan Ganesh. “Avocado fruit (Persea americana Mill) exhibits chemo-protective potentiality against cyclophosphamide induced genotoxicity in human lymphocyte culture.” J Exp Ther Oncol 9, no. 3 (2011): 221-30.|
|↑24||Menendez, Javier A., and Ruth Lupu. “Mediterranean dietary traditions for the molecular treatment of human cancer: anti-oncogenic actions of the main olive oil’s monounsaturated fatty acid oleic acid (18: 1n-9).” Current pharmaceutical biotechnology 7, no. 6 (2006): 495-502.|
|↑25||Lu, Qing-Yi, James R. Arteaga, Qifeng Zhang, Sergio Huerta, Vay Liang W. Go, and David Heber. “Inhibition of prostate cancer cell growth by an avocado extract: role of lipid-soluble bioactive substances.” The Journal of nutritional biochemistry 16, no. 1 (2005): 23-30.|
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According to data from a 2017 UN report, around 1.3 million people who were born in the UK now live in other EU countries. Of these, around 900,000 were long-term residents of those EU countries in 2011, when the census was last conducted. The former figure is actually an extrapolation of the first one, so while the 2011 data might seem outdated, the 2017 numbers is far from perfect. Moreover, some countries define an immigrant differently to others, which means complicates things even further.
For the UK-born people living in the EU, Spain is the most popular destination, with France, Ireland and Germany following just behind. But after Brexit happens (if, indeed, it does happen) these people will certainly face challenges. Even three years after the referendum, it’s difficult to be certain what form these challenges might take. Let’s look at a few scenarios.
It might be that, after the election, the government decides to abandon its withdrawal agreement and head for no deal. The European Commission has advised that the twenty-seven member states make life easier for British expats, provided that the UK government does the same thing for EU citizens settled here. Freedom of movement between the UK and the rest of the EU would immediately end, and the UK would immediately become a ‘third’ country, no different than any other non-member state.
Will I be thrown out?
Many will understandably be concerned about the prospect of being forcibly evicted from the land they’ve called home for years. But action to remove British citizens en masse from EU states would be at odds with article 19 of the EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights, as well as article four of the ECHR, which prohibits ‘collective expulsion of aliens’. Sudden changes to your situation, then, are protected against.
Given the uncertain nature of Brexit, and the varied nature of the EU member states and their immigration laws, you might find that you encounter legal difficulties at some point along the way. In such a case, it’s vital that you have expert representation to fight your corner; a specialised immigration lawyers like Withers will provide advice that’s tailored to your case.
The Period Immediately After Brexit
Many of the states in which UK-born citizens are living will provide a small window of leeway, in order that the stranded citizens have time to apply for long-term residence. If you’ve been settled in Germany for more than five years, for example, you’ll hold onto all of your rights for a transition period of nine months. In Spain, you are protected for a very generous 21-month grace period. During this window, you’ll need to settle for a new residence permit, and you’ll keep all of the rights you had as a full EU citizen.
In almost every case, it’s advisable that this process be started as soon as possible. You can find a full list of EU states and the citizen’s rights associated with them over on the EU commission’s website.
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In 2014 when California voters overwhelmingly passed Proposition 47 — the ballot initiative calling for the release of non-violent drug offenders from state prisons — they were told more than $100 million would be available for rehabilitation services to prevent recidivism.
Officials in Sacramento estimated state savings from the thousands of newly released inmates would provide the largess for programs aimed at behavioral health, substance abuse, education and crime victims.
But now as Gov. Jerry Brown and the Legislature are crafting the first fund for such programs, the proposed amount is drastically less — maybe $50 million, depending how much remains in the 2016-17 budget bill to be signed into law by the end of the month.
This has outraged initiative advocates, who say it makes no sense to undercut the anti-recidivism programs that are a fundamental component to helping former inmates lead productive lives.
The current working number is an substantial under-estimation of the state’s cost savings, showing government representatives are not in step with the electorate, say officials from Californians for Safety and Justice in Oakland, which pushed for the initiative.
“The voters have spoken,” said Patricia Guerra, a justice policy coordinator for the Community Coalition, an advocacy organization in south Los Angeles, noting 60 percent approved the initiative.
“The only way to reduce the prison population and stop the recycling of mass incarceration is to invest in local community programs.”
Indeed, in February when there was a better understanding of the measure’s impact, the state savings was pegged at $130 million the first year, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office, the Legislature’s non-partisan fiscal/policy advisor.
For Orange County, less money available means its chances of winning funds for local programs are worse — as counties will compete for funds from a pool, with that process starting in August and awards early next year.
This is because interviews show Orange County has been slow to prepare for the competition, and has no local representative on state panels developing the new system.
A Brewing Budget Battle
Within the next week, officials in Sacramento say the Legislature is expected to hash out the final budget, which then is to go to the governor by June 15. He then can pare items before signing the budget package of about $170 billion.
“We are hoping for grass roots support with behind-the- scenes lobbying” to increase the money for services, said a proposition advocate.
But that bet may be a long shot.
Sensitivities about the initiative are such that several legislators shepherding the measure declined repeated requests for information. Even some advocacy groups declined to comment on the fight for more money.
An indication of the tensions was a recent legislative scrum over extending the initiative’s requirement that court petitions to reduce certain felonies to misdemeanors must be filed by November 2017.
Earlier this year, Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, D-San Diego, introduced a bill eliminating any sunset clause for seeking such conviction reductions — given there are an estimated million people statewide who could benefit, but not enough time for court proceedings.
But this didn’t sit well with the pro-incarceration forces, officials say, so the bill moving through the Legislature now extends the petition deadline to 2022.
After recent legislative deliberations on rehabilitation services, the working proposal called for about $40 million in the first year. Then a week ago, the state Assembly added $10 million, as a one-time boost, bringing the total to $50 million.
This $10 million was harvested for redistribution after the Legislature recently eliminated $250 million the governor had proposed for building new jails — yet another sign of the move away from incarceration to anti-recidivism programs.
But this addition — put forward by Assemblyman Phil Ting, D-San Francisco — is now up for debate in the Legislature’s conference committee over the entire budget.
A Ting spokesman said a decision is expected in the next week. And then the governor could still cut line items.
Debating the Number of Prisoners Released
An indication of the political complexity is shown by the issue of determining how many inmates under Prop. 47 were released from state prisons in 2015 — the base year the proposition cites for computing savings. [In the years thereafter, allotments are to be increased substantially.]
After considerable debate, Brown administration officials recently agreed 5,250 inmates were released from state prison in 2015 under Prop 47. [For the first nine months of the year, a Stanford report showed about 175 were from Orange County convictions.]
When the proposition went before voters, the state was under federal fire for gross prison overcrowding — which prompted California to ship inmates out of state to contract facilities, many operated as for-profit institutions.
State officials say the typical direct annual cost to house a California inmate out of state was $30,000. This contrasts sharply with the direct cost of $9,000 to keep an inmate in a California prison.
Such costs were used to compute the range of Prop. 47 cost savings, officials say, particularly by the Legislative Analyst’s Office.
The legislative analysts assumed that for every California prisoner released under Prop. 47 the savings could be as high as $30,000 per year, officials said.
This is because for every inmate released, the state could reduce an inmate in a more expensive contract facility — since such an inmate then could be moved into a cheaper California prison bed.
Such scenarios prompted the Legislative Analyst’s Office before the election to predict Prop. 47 would produce: “A net state criminal justice savings in the low hundreds of millions of dollars annually.”
It is this analysis that prompted independent groups, like the California Budget & Policy Center in Sacramento, to infer proposition savings would be in an often-quoted $100 million to $200 million range.
But a legislative aide noted that the proposition’s language included a loophole for the governor — it stated that the savings would be computed by the state Department of Finance.
This was seen as allowing the finance department to use “whatever number they wanted,” said the veteran aide.
Proposition advocates wouldn’t comment directly on how the savings-determination provision was included, but interviews indicated the decision was “political” — likely at the request of Brown to win his endorsement of the initiative.
Earlier this year, the finance department claimed a higher cost savings estimate was no longer valid because of court-ordered and/or realignment inmate releases.
But whatever the number, no one questions there is enormous need in communities for the programs.
In fact, the total number of inmates released from state prisons by Prop. 47 is at least 1,000 more than the 5,250 in 2015, according to court records from the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in Sacramento.
These other inmates were released from Nov. 5 to Dec. 31 in 2014, state records say — as prisoners rushed to contact their attorneys [typically at county public defender offices] to file petitions for freedom.
And, of course, there are many others who may benefit from the new rehabilitation programs.
The Board of State and Community Corrections [BSCC] in Sacramento is to distribute 65 percent of the state savings to county programs for behavior health and substance abuse. The remaining 35 percent will go to education and victim services.
After the town halls, the BSCC established a panel of officials from around the state — including the formerly incarcerated, but no one from Orange County — to help devise a request for proposals for the competitive grants from applying counties.
Under the current budget proposal, the competitive pool now would be $25.6 million, up from nearly $20 million. And if the added $10 million stays in the budget, the pool would increase by $6.5 million, officials say.
BSCC officials say they await a final budget to determine what amount to plug in for the competitive pool.
Rex Dalton can be reached directly at email@example.com.
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|Title||Clinical Experience of Cerebrospinal Fluid-Based Liquid Biopsy Demonstrates Superiority of Cell-Free DNA over Cell Pellet Genomic DNA for Molecular Profiling.|
|Publication Type||Journal Article|
|Year of Publication||2021|
|Authors||Bale TA, Yang S-R, Solomon JP, Nafa K, Middha S, Casanova J, Sadowska J, Skakodub A, Ahmad H, Yu HA, Riely GJ, Kris MG, Chandarlapaty S, Rosenblum MK, Gavrilovic I, Karajannis MA, Pentsova E, Miller A, Boire A, Mellinghoff I, Berger MF, Zehir A, Ladanyi M, Benayed R, Arcila ME|
|Journal||J Mol Diagn|
|Date Published||2021 06|
Cell-free DNA (cfDNA) from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) offers unique opportunities for genomic profiling of tumors involving the central nervous system but remains uncommonly used in clinical practice. We describe our clinical experience using cfDNA from CSF for routine molecular testing using Memorial Sloan Kettering Integrated Mutation Profiling of Actionable Cancer Targets (targeting 468 cancer-related genes). In all, 148 cfDNA samples were assessed, comparing results of cfDNA versus genomic DNA (gDNA; gDNA from cell pellets) derived from the same CSF sample and the primary tumor. Of these, 71.6% (106/148) were successfully sequenced. Somatic alterations (mutations and fusions) were observed in 70.8% (75/106) of the samples; 97.3% (73/75) comprised variants confirming central nervous system involvement by a previously diagnosed tumor, 14.7% (11/75) had additional variants consistent with a therapy-related resistance mechanism, and 2.7% (2/75) had variants that independently diagnosed a new primary. Among samples with paired cfDNA and gDNA sequencing results, cfDNA was more frequently positive for at least one mutation [43.6% (55/126) versus 19.8% (25/126)] and harbored 1.6× more mutations (6.94 versus 4.65; P = 0.005), with higher mean variant allele fractions (41.1% versus 13.0%; P < 0.0001). Among mutation-positive cfDNAs, the corresponding gDNA was frequently negative (44.6%; 25/55) or failed sequencing (17.8%; 9/55). Routine molecular profiling of cfDNA is superior to gDNA from CSF, facilitating the capture of mutations at high variant allele frequency, even in the context of a negative cytology.
|Alternate Journal||J Mol Diagn|
|PubMed Central ID||PMC8207471|
|Grant List||P30 CA008748 / CA / NCI NIH HHS / United States |
R35 NS105109 / NS / NINDS NIH HHS / United States
Related Faculty:James Solomon, M.D., Ph.D.
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Publication Date: June 07, 2011
Source: Darden School of Business
The case details the history of AIG, its organizational structure, and involvement in the market for credit default swaps and the financial crisis. Edward Liddy has been appointed by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson as CEO and chairman of AIG during the government's bailout of the insurance giant. He is preparing to address the U.S. House of Representatives' Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government-Sponsored Enterprises to provide testimony related to AIG's payment of $165 million in bonuses to several of its managers at the same time the government had been injecting billions of dollars into the company to help keep it afloat. Students are asked to reflect on the bonus payments, what factors in the organization might have contributed to the issues AIG faced in the financial crisis, and how to ensure the company did not face similar issues again in the future.
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Child Prodigy With IQ of 162 Asks for Cryptocurrency as a Christmas Gift
There's no doubt that we are fans of child prodigy stories. They have the right amount of weird and entertaining to keep us engaged.
Last July, we brought you the news of a child prodigy, age 11, that had risen in status to become one of the youngest-ever college graduates after earning a bachelor's degree in physics from Belgium's University of Antwerp. In September, we covered 10-year-old genius Adhara Pérez Sánchez whose IQ score is actually two points higher than Albert Einstein's and Stephen Hawking's.
She dreams of being an astronaut to change the world, traveling to space, and even colonizing Mars and she's pursuing two engineering degrees. In October, we brought you the story of 12-year-old Caleb Anderson who had started his second year at Chattahoochee Technical College in Marietta, Georgia, in aerospace engineering.
Finally, last month, we reported on Alena Wicker, a 12-year-old who had been accepted to Arizona State University (ASU) and who aims to become a NASA engineer by age 16. Now, for the Christmas season, we are bringing you news of a child prodigy that allegedly wanted a cryptocurrency portfolio for Christmas and got it, according to Coin Telegraph.
Barnaby Swinburn, 12, a resident of Bristol, England, also asked for a Mensa test to evaluate his IQ and discovered he had a score of 162. For reference, famed physicist Albert Einstein only scored a 160.
This allowed the young man to become a member of the high-IQ society, which accepts only the top 2% of the highest Mensa scorers.
What about his crypto portfolio? Well, the Swinburn family did not reveal how much they had invested and which cryptocurrencies were chosen but they did say that their son wants to grow up to become a programmer. The child prodigy wants to go to Oxford and has already started looking at courses. Merry Christmas little genius! May all your dreams come true.
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On January 1, 2016, the world’s seventh largest economy, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (“ASEAN”), inaugurated the ASEAN Economic Community (“AEC”). The AEC aims to create a single market and production base for the free flow of goods, services, investment, capital, and skilled labor within ASEAN.
What is the purpose of AEC?
The primary objective of the AEC is to “implement the initiatives to achieve a single market and production base, allowing the free flow of goods, services, investments, and skilled labor, and the freer movement of capital across the region” (ADB). Simply put, it aims to make ASEAN into a single market.
What is AEC region?
What is the AEC? Meaning ASEAN Economic Community, was established in December 2015 between 10 member states: Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Philippines, Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand. Its ultimate goal is to allow for the free movement of goods, skilled labor, services, and investment.
What is AEC community?
THE ARCHITECTURE/ENGINEERING/CONSTRUCTION (AEC) COMMUNITY
Establishing a presence on the web. Doing business on the web via electronic commerce. Finding suppliers of goods and services, as well as product information.
What are the four Asean Economic Community AEC pillars?
The AEC is characterised by four pillars: single market and production base, highly competitive economic region, a region of equitable economic development, and a region that is fully integrated with the global economy.
What is AEC development?
AEC Development Partners is a commercial general contractor and provider of design-build services. … We partner with highly experienced design consultants to guarantee the best design alternatives for project time and cost optimization.
What are the key characteristics of AEC 2025?
The AEC Blueprint 2025 consists of five interrelated and mutually reinforcing characteristics, namely: (i) A Highly Integrated and Cohesive Economy; (ii) A Competitive, Innovative, and Dynamic ASEAN; (iii) Enhanced Connectivity and Sectoral Cooperation; (iv) A Resilient, Inclusive, People-Oriented, and People-Centred …
What has AEC achieved?
The AEC’s greatest achievement is using tariff elimination to realize a free trade area with a high level of trade liberalization. … Although ASEAN’s economic integration has various issues, as a whole, it can be evaluated as successful because of its implementation of flexible liberalization over time.
Why is integration important in ASEAN?
Its purposes, as stated in the ASEAN Declaration, are: (i) to accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region, and (ii) to promote regional peace and stability through abiding respect for justice and the rule of law in the relationship among countries in the region and adherence to …
Who is Rcep?
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership or RCEP was signed last year by 15 Asia-Pacific countries. The countries are the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and five of their largest trading partners China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
Why did Asean establish free trade areas FTAS?
The AFTA agreement was signed on 28 January 1992 in Singapore. … The primary goals of AFTA seek to: Increase ASEAN’s competitive edge as a production base in the world market through the elimination, within ASEAN, of tariffs and non-tariff barriers; and. Attract more foreign direct investment to ASEAN.
Did the Philippines benefits as a member of Asean?
MANILA, July 30 — The Philippines has benefited from a substantial increase in trade and investments with the economic integration of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) which created a wide choice of goods for consumers thus supporting local businesses to expand overseas.
Who among the Asean members has the richest economy?
|Rank||Country||GDP (PPP) per capita USD|
What are the characteristics and elements to make the AEC effective in its purpose?
Based on the above and taking into consideration the importance of external trade to ASEAN and the need for the ASEAN Community as a whole to remain outward looking, the AEC envisages the following key characteristics: (a) a single market and production base, (b) a highly competitive economic region, (c) a region of …
What is the most important ASEAN pillar?
The three pillars of the ASEAN Community, namely the ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC), the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC), are the most crucial areas deemed necessary for the progress and evolution of ASEAN and its peoples.
Is the ASEAN already fully integrated economically?
The AEC is the realisation of the region’s end goal of economic integration. It envisions ASEAN as a single market and production base, a highly competitive region, with equitable economic development, and fully integrated into the global economy.
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By Gabriela Flores
Reporting Assistance by Radwan Farraj
Before the pandemic closed Brooklyn College down, a student group called the Emergency Medical Squad (EMS) was a call away from providing pre-hospital and ambulatory services for college members and locals. After recent complaints of unresponsiveness from students interested in joining EMS and new student leaders joining the organization’s board, there are plans for increasing the club’s student participation.
EMS members and other students are looking to revive the organization after a two-year hiatus brought by the pandemic and a year of setbacks they faced last fall and spring.
“This school [Brooklyn College] is home to a lot of students who are itching to get their hands on any sort of pre-health experiences. I think this club is a great opportunity for them, and I want it to be as an alum now,” said Dave Dodson, a recent graduate and former Undergraduate Student Government (USG) senator who first brought the complaint about EMS’s lack of communication to his colleagues.
Currently, there are six members in the group. EMS is a referendum student club, meaning its club policies and procedures are overseen by USG. The organization, however, receives funding directly from the college instead of USG.
“Referendum groups are established based on a campus-wide vote of the student population. In the case of EMS, undergraduate students voted in favor of allocating them a set portion of the activity fee on an annual basis,” Ron Jackson, the college’s Vice President for Student Affairs, wrote to the Vanguard. EMS receives $2 of student activity fees paid by all BC undergrads during the fall and spring, and $1 from summer undergraduate fees. Given that it is a student group, all BC undergraduates are able to apply.
The group’s recent budget of $47,600 was initially tabled during a Brooklyn College Association (BCA) meeting in May, where all student activity fee-funded clubs proposed how they plan to spend their allocated money for next year.
The student representatives who form part of the BCA pushed back the proposal due to concerns about EMS’s transparency on qualifications for students to join and lack of responsiveness to those who inquired.
“The goal should be for students to participate, and when you create obstacles, that’s a problem,” said an anonymous student representative who previously voted to postpone EMS’s budget. “You need to give people an opportunity. What we saw this year with EMS, we saw the lack of recruitment, the denial of opportunity.”
Last November, an emergency medical technician (EMT) certified student applied to EMS with the help of Dave Dodson but had their application rejected because “there was an issue with the application.” The student received the notice months after submission and has not heard back from EMS after resubmitting their form in March.
“I know there are a lot of students from Brooklyn [College] itself that are looking to volunteer or get patient care experience,” said the student who wanted to remain anonymous.“But because Brooklyn’s [EMS] is unavailable, it’s difficult for them to get that same experience.” The student noted they are still interested in joining if the organization’s members reply.
Dodson, who recently graduated from Brooklyn College, had similar experiences after reaching out to EMS members and its administrative director, Fred Kneitel. After becoming EMT-certified and being appointed to the college’s Presidential Advisory Committee for Emergency Medical Care, Dodson first reached out to EMS in August 2021 after the pandemic shutdown. But most of his inquiries were ignored. Once Dodson submitted an application last November, he was later rejected because he was a graduating senior, and the duration of an interview process and training required to volunteer with EMS were said to be longer than the one semester he had left at Brooklyn College.
“This was difficult to hear because all of this started almost a year prior to that [application rejection], so I’m only being told this so late in the game, and maybe there would’ve been a chance. Or in some capacity, I wish I could’ve helped – I didn’t need to do the job and the exact qualifications, maybe I could’ve done something to help otherwise,” Dodson said, noting possible clerical work or ambulance cleaning.
BC’s Undergraduate Student Government later intervened and wrote a resolution to address EMS’s previous inaction. Though USG oversees EMS’s club policies and constitution, the organization’s administrative director, Fred Kneitel, is responsible for the ambulance’s maintenance, insurance, and registration. He also provides basic training and ensures BC’s EMS complies with NYS, NYC, and college regulations. Though USG attempted to address its concerns with EMS’s ways of communicating and operating, some misunderstandings arose along the way.
“The problem arose when the two got confused – in other words, the director [Kneitel] got involved more with student club business, which he shouldn’t be. And the student government thought they could tell the director how to run the agency, and I hope we have that straightened out now,” said Professor Yedidyah Langsam, EMS’s faculty advisor and chairman of the New York City Regional Emergency Medical Council, a non-profit that coordinates and regulates emergency medical care services city-wide.
Langsam has been EMS’s advisor for decades, noting how valuable the squad is to the college community and others.
“At the time, before COVID, the students provided an extremely important service to the college. They had coverage all hours of the day,” Langsam said. “Obviously during COVID, they didn’t take any calls because they weren’t allowed on campus, and right now, the club membership is very low.”
Like many student organizations on campus, EMS’s student participation dwindled in COVID’s wake as fewer students were allowed to work in person due to safety concerns.
“When nothing happens, people don’t join, people lose interest, the student leaders of the club lose interest. It [EMS] needs to be revitalized, it’s critical,” said Langsam, who noted the club’s new president, Patricia Dabrowski, recognizes the importance of accepting more members. Dabrowski was not available to speak to the Vanguard in time for publishing.
Since EMS has a working ambulance that must abide by New York State’s regulations, only students who are certified EMTs can treat patients. Before the pandemic, EMT-certified students provided free services to the “Brooklyn College community, Midwood High School and P.S. 152” through EMS, per the group’s constitution and New York law that prohibits ambulances from operating beyond its designated area. By law, those who are part of EMS could also provide said services to their family members when needed.
Free training for dispatching, driving an ambulance, and administering first aid should be available for all undergraduate students, according to Brooklyn College’s website. However, the Vanguard could not confirm in time for publication if EMS will continue training this fall.
To regulate the ambulance’s maintenance, EMS has a Presidential Advisory Committee that consists of the group’s president, administrator Kneitel, advisor Langsam, a Public Safety Officer, and other college administrators. EMS has had several meetings alongside committee members and USG, who accepted EMS’s budget on the condition that constitutional changes are made. Many overall are hoping EMS’s membership increases.
“We had several meetings, and I’m very positive that everybody understands what needs to be done,” Langsam said.
Details of EMS’s plans and goals for revamping this fall are developing. The Vanguard will continue reporting on the organization as updates become available.
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The United Nation’s latest climate change report forecasts bad news for a host of issues from rising food insecurity to increasing social inequality in North America unless steps are taken now to reduce global carbon emissions.
There is perhaps no one in the Inland Northwest who understands the dire consequences laid out in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) report better than Tim Kohler, a Washington State University emeritus professor of archaeology and evolutionary anthropology.
Kohler holds the distinction of being the first archaeologist to contribute to an IPCC report as a lead author. He is also the only lead author from Washington state on the recently released 157-page section of the IPCC’s report on North America.
“One of the things archaeologists see that most other IPCC authors do not is that the changes are going to come more rapidly than we have ever seen in the past,” Kohler said. “Contributing to the report is really a small breakthrough for archaeology and shows that the IPCC is starting to take longer sweeps of history into account when assessing the significance of the coming climate changes.”
In the Pacific Northwest, increased summer temperatures and reduced precipitation are expected to pose a major risk to semi-arid landscapes such as Eastern Washington, according to the report. Forest disturbances, including wildfire, drought, insects, and pathogens are also expected to increase with warming, potentially altering or threatening local ecosystems.
Warming-induced reductions in mountain snowpack and earlier seasonal snowmelt are expected to affect everything from local stream ecology and water supplies to winter tourism. For example, the report predicts with high confidence an 80-100% reduction in the length of the cross-country skiing and snowmobiling seasons in North America by mid-century, depending on future greenhouse-gas emissions.
Reduced snowpack coupled with more frequent droughts will increase water scarcity during the summer season especially in regions like Central Washington that have extensive irrigated agriculture. This could, in turn, lead to economic losses and increased pressure on groundwater as a substitute for diminished surface water supplies.
In Seattle, the report predicts sea level rise will threaten low lying areas, near shore habitats, stormwater drains, roads, homes, and businesses. Communities of people that are socially or economically vulnerable are expected to bear the brunt of the impact.
On the Pacific Coast, an increase in the intensity and frequency of marine heat waves is expected to threaten aquatic ocean life, and projected river warming of 1-3 C (1.8–5.4 F) is expected to reduce habitat for salmon and trout species by as much as 31%.
Overall, the report predicts major losses to North American biodiversity, hundreds of billions of dollars in economic losses in the U.S., and spikes in heat-related human mortality and crime during the hot summer months.
“All organisms on the surface of the Earth—plants, animals, and people—are adapted to specific climate conditions,” Kohler said. “Increasing temperatures will ultimately result in movement (or possibly disappearance in some cases) of the locations on Earth’s surface that these plants and animals are adapted to, with dire consequences for organisms that cannot move.”
The IPCC released the climate assessment last week which included contributions by 195 UN member countries on how global warming is influencing nature, agriculture, and human health. It leaves little room for debate the planet is at its tipping point, and some of the damage is already irreversible. For example, the planet is already, on average, 1.1 C warmer (2 F] than 1850-1900 levels and is on pace to reach 2 C (3.6 F) degrees or more, according to Kohler. The IPCC report explains how these patterns will worsen over time, in some places affecting how long humans can be outside for work or recreation because the heat would be intolerable.
As far as what can be done to mitigate the fallout of climate change, the IPCC authors provide a detailed roadmap for policy makers that lists many of the strategies and innovations that could be used to help humans adapt. For example, advances in weather forecasting are expected to provide vulnerable communities ample warning time before the occurrence of many extreme weather events, and major water agencies throughout North America are using climate scenarios to identify vulnerabilities and evaluate adaptation options. Other adaptation responses include modifying structures and the urban landscape of major cities through the planting of trees and other green infrastructure, which increases climate resilience and quality of life by reducing urban heat effects while improving air quality.
Much of Kohler’s research focuses on how humans have adapted to a changing climate in North America throughout history. He explained that people were able to flourish across the continent at the end of the last ice age almost 12,000 years ago because the world entered a period of climatic conditions conducive for agriculture called the Holocene.
“The Holocene helped us to become agriculturalists,” Kohler said. “It helped us grow cities and have really productive agriculture systems that would allow for the development of writing and all the various sorts of superstructures we’ve had in our societies. And we are in danger of kicking ourselves out of this precious Holocene climate envelope.”
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All families with a mentally ill member as well as caregivers need help, say researchers at Case Western Reserve University.
Co-investigator M. Jane Suresky wondered if a previous study of women caregivers of mentally ill family members missed important information about their other family members. Previous studies missed understanding the level of a caregiver’s guilt and shame, and the impact of mental illness on family function. Researchers have reported that shame can prevent families from seeking professional help. She recommended that data from a 2008 Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing study of female caregivers of people with mental illness be re-examined.
The 60 study participants were between ages 23 to 65. The participants cared for family members with panic disorder (3 percent), depression (8 percent), schizophrenia (45 percent), or bipolar disorder (45 percent). “We were so focused the first time on the women family member that we missed the impact of the illness on the family,” Suresky said.
The follow-up study examined risk factors such as caregiver strain, client dependence, and stigma, vulnerability due to type of diagnosis and time since diagnosis, and protective factors such as resourcefulness. This information was correlated to how well a family is able to function. The amount of time that passed since the diagnosis of mental illness did not affect family dysfunction. A diagnosis of depressive disorder had a stronger association with family disruption than a diagnosis of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.
Factors that contributed to greater family disruption were caregiver strain, stigma by association, and the dependence level of the mentally ill family member. Families functioned better when caregivers were resourceful and were consistent and logical. Life was also easier for the family when the family supported the caregiver.
Families with members who were diagnosed with bipolar disorder and depression are on often on alert for potential suicide risk and had the greatest level of family turmoil. Families with members who were diagnosed with schizophrenia had less strain and stress over time as the family learned to cope with the illness. Cohesive families who function well provide greater support for caregivers, while families whose caregivers had little family support were dysfunctional. They felt more strain, the stigma of having a family member with mental illness, the dependence of the mentally ill person on the primary caregiver.
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How far is haymaking normal of jones poetry
Haymaking is very common of a composition by Edward Thomas. This is certainly shown through many prevalent devices which might be present in Haymaking as well as a lot of his additional poems. I actually shall describe and elaborate these on these devices with this essay. Haymaking is a description of a overview in time. There is a thunderstorm the night before as well as the reader is usually initially generated believe that the storm is the reason that everything is really still inside the poem, nevertheless half way through the composition, Thomas starts to describe the actions of the Haymakers who are having a break alone as they leaned on their rakes.
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So the quietness of the composition can work upon many levels. There is the thought of the quiet after the surprise and the Haymakers having a rest. Likewise, however , there is the fact that the poet, Edward cullen Thomas, is definitely writing his poem via a snapshot in time exactly where if having been describing a photograph, everything will be still inside the picture. One of the most recognisable devices that Edward Thomas uses in his beautifully constructed wording is referring to England while old. This could imply several things. Thomas would use the term aged in the exacto sense that it is ancient, predetermined and with a sense of permanence in the world even though it have been threatened simply by war.
It may also signify England is growing wise due to the age and has skilled many things. Along with these ideas, Thomas results in as extremely patriotic towards England. In Haymaking, Jones refers to Almost all is older so although he doesnt actually say that England is usually old, we as the reader know that he’s subtly including England. Inside the Manor Farmville farm, Thomas immediately refers to England as Old already with the use of a capital letter for old which in turn helps to straight associate the term old with England.
Throughout much of his poetry, Thomas uses extremely in-depth points of top features of England like the countryside and nature on the whole. He doesnt just describe things virtually as he perceives them both. It is as if his information are more his point of view of things. Just like in Haymaking when he can be describing this particular in the mill as having tossing uric acid, happier than any audience of children. The same device can be used in the opening sentence for the Manor Farm building where Thomas is talking about the dirt ran and sparkled straight down each side from the road since it defrosted.
In this instance, the very tasteful description which is used glorifies dirt and the audience almost does not remember that it is off-road that is staying described. In numerous of Jones poetry, he uses a large number of references towards the seasons and also the contrasts between them. An example in Haymaking is usually when Jones informs someone that the hollys Autumn falls in June. This forms a contrast among what we, you, normally connect autumn to be around Sept till November with June, that we consider as the start of summer.
Mar is all about early spring and how Jones knew that spring normally starts in March yet because of the cool burning climate that was actually occurring, though he understood that planting season was approaching he realized it had not really come. This also offers the effect of a contrast among seasons, specifically the compare between the weather conditions of early spring and the period it uses on via, winter. In the majority of Jones poetry, there exists a reference to the seasons or the climate which reveals how normal a composition Haymaking is definitely.
Rarely in Thomas beautifully constructed wording does this individual refer straight to people so when he will, he often keeps his distance and limits their very own involvement in the poetry. It will help to emphasise his love of England, the countryside and nature. Usually in his beautifully constructed wording, Thomas runs on the clever technique of getting a snapshot of your image or scene he’s viewing in his poetry, and then descriptively he zooms in or out of that image, going into additional information about what he can witnessing in the process until this individual reaches a certain feature he was concentrating on in particular.
The best sort of this is in Haymaking where Thomas describes the location of the farmers house, at the areas far advantage, the maqui berry farmers home, a white property crouched in the foot of the great woods. The effect it has is creating an image to get the reader of this snapshot photo zooming-in within our minds along with Jones descriptions. One more popular system for Edward Thomas that also delivers contrasts in much the same approach as his contrasts with seasons can be his utilization of binary resistance. He initially uses it in Haymaking during the starting two lines where he details After night times thunder a long way away had rolled the fiery day
It is, however , just a comparison of the night and day rather than the specific descriptions of which as the thunder and fiery produce a similar graphic to the target audience. So far, I possess concentrated around the visual descriptions and imagery that Thomas poetry creates. Thomas uses phonetics a lot in his beautifully constructed wording too to aid build the picture of the poem with its sights and sounds in the readers mind. In Haymaking, one among his best uses of sound can be when he not directly links the sounds in the watermill. He first explains the mill-foot water that tumbled white colored and lit with throwing crystals.
In that case immediately after Thomas describes the children as pouring out of school aloud. This produces amplifies the sound to the target audience of the large numbers of drinking water at and surrounding the mill as well as the gushing noises it creates since it runs up and down the generator wheel. The sounds developed in Adlestrop is by using onomatopoeia the place that the trains vapor hissed. The poem, Haymaking is very standard of Jones poetry because the majority of methods used in his poetry feature in this one. However , in some of Jones poems, you will find subtle parts that could be associated with war and battle, generally there do not seem to be many referrals in Haymaking.
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While most women breathe a sigh of relief after their baby’s delivery, those with gestational diabetes are often even more relieved. Finally, after weeks of managing diabetes and carefully watching what you eat, you are looking forward to getting back to your normal routine.
What is gestational diabetes?
Gestational diabetes is diabetes that develops during pregnancy. All pregnant women are screened since it is most often a silent condition that develops in later pregnancy. It is thought to be caused by a combination of factors (genetic, hormonal, and obesity) that ultimately make it more difficult for the body to process sugar and carbohydrates. Since it is caused by pregnancy-specific factors, it often resolves at the end of pregnancy. In a small percentage of people, the diabetes does not resolve, likely because they had preexisting diabetes that was not picked up before pregnancy.
While it’s true that gestational diabetes resolves itself postpartum for many women, it can still have other implications for your health. If you’ve had gestational diabetes, your risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life is seven times the risk of the average woman. Typically, the risk of developing diabetes is highest in the five years after pregnancy. The risk extends to the child, as well — children whose mothers had gestational diabetes were at increased risk of developing obesity and diabetes later in life.
Beyond diabetes, there are some heart health factors to consider. After gestational diabetes, women are at increased risk of high blood pressure and elevated cholesterol, increasing the likelihood of developing heart disease, the leading cause of death in women.
How to stay on top of it
Life gets busy after the birth of a child, and it can be difficult to stay on top of your health when when juggling pediatric appointments, vaccination schedules, and more for a new baby. But the good news is that it is possible to prevent the development of diabetes for those who have experienced gestational diabetes. There is evidence suggesting that increasing exercise and eating a diet low in fat and calories is effective in preventing diabetes. A medication called metformin which helps regulate the body’s metabolism of sugar and carbohydrates can also be effective in preventing diabetes and may be recommended in specific cases. Finally, evidence suggests breastfeeding may have beneficial effects on weight loss and glucose (sugar) metabolism.
Still, follow-up is very important for women after gestational diabetes since many of the complications of diabetes can be prevented if it’s caught and treated early. After about six weeks when your hormones have started to return to normal, your primary care provider (PCP) should recommend testing for diabetes with an oral glucose tolerance test to make sure your diabetes resolves. Depending on the results, your PCP may recommend testing every one to three years.
If you’ve had gestational diabetes once, you’re at increased risk of developing it again with future pregnancies. However, you can take steps to minimize it.
First, talk with your provider before getting pregnant again. He or she may recommend that you start monitoring your sugars earlier in your pregnancy or take an oral glucose tolerance test earlier than you would have otherwise. If you were overweight during pregnancy, try to limit your weight gain between subsequent pregnancies — it has been associated with increased risk of gestational diabetes. There is also evidence to suggest that improving diet and exercise during early pregnancy can prevent the development of gestational diabetes.
Gestational diabetes is your body’s early warning sign that you are at increased risk for developing diabetes. It is a chance to make some positive changes in your life and to develop good habits and routines for you and your family which can help prevent the development of diabetes later in life. Still have questions? Make an appointment to talk with your One Medical provider today.
The One Medical blog is published by One Medical, a national, modern primary care practice pairing 24/7 virtual care services with inviting and convenient in-person care at over 100 locations across the U.S. One Medical is on a mission to transform health care for all through a human-centered, technology-powered approach to caring for people at every stage of life.
Any general advice posted on our blog, website, or app is for informational purposes only and is not intended to replace or substitute for any medical or other advice. 1Life Healthcare, Inc. and the One Medical entities make no representations or warranties and expressly disclaim any and all liability concerning any treatment, action by, or effect on any person following the general information offered or provided within or through the blog, website, or app. If you have specific concerns or a situation arises in which you require medical advice, you should consult with an appropriately trained and qualified medical services provider.
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Are you looking for a way to clean stucco with a pressure washer? If so, you've come to the right place. In this blog post, I'll show you how to clean stucco using a pressure washer. I'll also provide tips on how to avoid damaging your stucco. So, if you're ready to learn how to clean stucco with a pressure washer, keep reading!
Table of Contents
Can you clean stucco with a pressure washer?
Yes, you can clean stucco with a pressure washer. However, it is crucial to use the correct nozzle and to adjust the pressure accordingly. You also need to be careful not to damage the stucco by using too much pressure.
Is it safe to pressure wash stucco?
It is generally safe to pressure wash stucco. Still, it is vital to use the correct nozzle settings and to be careful around windows, doorways, and any other areas where water could seep in and cause damage.
It is also important to note that high-pressure washers can remove the protective sealant from stucco, so it's important to use a low pressure setting and avoid direct contact with it.
What can I use to clean the stucco?
Stucco is a type of plaster that is used to coat walls and ceilings. It is made from a mixture of water, sand, and cement.
Stucco is a very durable material that can become stained or dirty over time. There are several different supplies that you can use to clean stucco, depending on the type of stain or dirt.
For example, if you have a grease stain, you can use a degreaser or a detergent. If you have a mildew problem, you can use bleach. And if you need to remove some dirt, you can use a power washer.
Here are some specific supplies that you can use to clean stucco:
- Power washer
- Stiff brush
- Soft cloth
- Mild soap
With any of these supplies, you must use caution and test a small area before applying it to the entire surface. Of course, you should also always follow the manufacturer's instructions.
How to clean stucco with a pressure washer?
It's no secret that pressure washers are one of the most versatile tools in any homeowner's arsenal. Not only can they be used for various tasks, but they can also save you a ton of time and effort. So when it comes to cleaning stucco, pressure washers are definitely the way to go.
If you're unfamiliar with stucco, it's a plaster made from cement, sand, and water. It's commonly used as an exterior finish for homes and buildings and is known for its durability and resistance to weathering. Over time, however, stucco can become stained or grimy and need to be cleaned.
Here's a step-by-step guide on how to clean stucco with a pressure washer:
- Before pressure washing stucco, it is important to inspect the area for any cracks or damage. If there are any cracks or holes, they should be repaired before pressure washing.
- It is also important to protect any areas that you do not want to get wet, such as windows, doors, and landscaping. Cover these areas with plastic sheeting or tarps.
- Pressure washing stucco requires a pressure washer with a tip designed for use on stucco. A standard pressure washer tip can damage stucco.
- Begin pressure washing at the bottom of the stucco surface and work your way up. Overlap each pass to ensure that all areas are evenly cleaned.
- Use a back and forth motion as you pressure wash stucco. Do not hold the pressure washer in one spot for too long, as this can damage the stucco.
- Rinse the area with clean water after pressure washing to remove any soap or cleaners that may have been used.
- Allow the stucco to dry completely before painting or sealing.
- Inspect the area again for any cracks or damage after it has dried. Repair any cracks or holes before painting or sealing.
- If you plan to paint or seal the stucco, it is important to choose a product that is compatible with it.
- Follow the manufacturer's instructions for painting or sealing stucco.
Pressure washing is an effective way to clean stucco without causing damage. Following these simple steps, you can pressure wash your stucco and keep it looking new.
How often to clean stucco?
It is recommended to clean stucco every 3-5 years. However, it is important to first assess the condition of your stucco before starting any cleaning process. For example, it is best to call a professional if visible mold or mildew is present. They will be able to determine if any damage has been done and recommend the best way to proceed with cleaning the stucco.
Tips on how to avoid damaging your stucco when cleaning with a pressure washer
If you have a stucco home, it's important to take care when cleaning it. A pressure washer can be an excellent tool for cleaning stucco, but if you're not careful, you can damage the material.
Here are ten tips to help you avoid damaging your stucco when cleaning with a pressure washer:
1. Use the right pressure setting.
Pressure washers come with different settings for different tasks. Use a lower setting when cleaning stucco to avoid damaging the material.
2. Start from the bottom.
When washing stucco, start from the bottom and work your way up. This will help prevent streaks.
3. Use a wide nozzle.
A wide nozzle will help distribute the water pressure evenly, which will help prevent damage to the stucco.
4. Move the nozzle in a circular motion.
When cleaning stucco with a pressure washer, move the nozzle in a circular motion. This will help avoid damaging the material.
5. Hold the nozzle at least 12 inches from the surface.
Holding the nozzle too close to the stucco surface can damage the material. Keep the nozzle at least 12 inches from the surface to be safe.
6. Use detergent if needed.
If the stucco is very dirty, you may need to use detergent. Be sure to use a mild detergent and rinse the area well after cleaning.
7. Rinse the area well.
After cleaning with a pressure washer, it's essential to rinse the area well. This will help remove any detergent residue and prevent streaks.
8. Let the area dry completely.
Be sure to let the area dry completely before walking on it or applying any sealant or paint.
9. Protect any exposed areas.
If you have any exposed areas, such as windows or doors, protect them from the pressure washer. Cover them with plastic or tape to avoid damage.
10. Follow the manufacturer's instructions.
Be sure to follow the manufacturer's instructions when using a pressure washer. This will help you avoid damaging the equipment and prevent injuries.
Following these tips can help avoid damaging your stucco when cleaning with a pressure washer. Be sure to use this powerful tool to clean your home.
Tips to keep your stucco clean longer
If you're like most people, you probably don't think much about your stucco until it looks dirty. But just like any other part of your home, stucco needs regular cleaning and maintenance to keep it looking its best. So here are five tips to help you keep your stucco clean and looking new for longer:
1. Sweep or hose off your stucco regularly.
Sweeping or hosing off your stucco regularly is the best way to remove dirt, pollen, and other debris that can build up over time. Be sure to use a soft-bristled brush or hose attachment to avoid scratching the surface.
2. Use mild soap and water for tougher dirt and stains.
If sweeping or hosing off your stucco doesn't seem to be doing the trick, you can try using a mild soap and water solution to remove tougher dirt and stains. Just be sure to rinse the area thoroughly afterward to avoid leaving any soap residue.
3. Avoid using harsh chemicals or abrasive cleaners.
Harsh chemicals and abrasive cleaners can damage the surface of your stucco, so it's best to avoid them altogether. If you must use a cleaner, test it in an inconspicuous area first and always follow the manufacturer's instructions.
4. Pressure washing is generally not recommended.
While pressure washing may be effective at removing dirt and stains, it can also damage the surface of your stucco if not done correctly. If you decide to pressure wash your stucco, use a low pressure setting and hold the nozzle at least 12 inches away from the surface.
5. Regular maintenance will help prolong the life of your stucco.
Just like any other part of your home, regular maintenance is key to prolonging the life of your stucco. Be sure to inspect your stucco regularly for any cracks or damage and have any repairs made as soon as possible.
Following these tips can help keep your stucco clean and looking new for longer. Consult a professional if you have any questions about cleaning or maintaining your stucco.
Cleaning stucco with a pressure washer can be a daunting task. However, if you follow these simple steps, you will be able to clean your stucco in no time. Always use caution when using a pressure washer and read the manufacturer's instructions carefully. Are you looking for more tips on how to care for your home? Check out my blog for more helpful advice.
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Sugary Drinks Tied to Obesity in Young Children
Sugary beverages have long been associated with obesity in older children, and now new research suggests that sugar-sweetened drinks may have similar effects in young children.
The study, published online on August 5, 2013, in Pediatrics, analyzed the relationship between the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and the body mass indexes (BMIs) of 9600 children 2 to 5 years of age in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey. Sugar-sweetened drinks included soda, sports drinks, and juices with added sugars.
After adjusting for race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, mother’s BMI, and time spent watching television, the results indicated that higher rates of sugary beverage consumption were associated with higher BMIs in children aged 4 to 5 years. Five-year-olds who consumed more than 1 sugar-sweetened drink a day were 43% more likely to be obese than children who did not drink these beverages or those who did so infrequently.
The researchers also found that children who drank sweetened beverages regularly drank less milk and were more likely to watch more than 2 hours of television a day compared with infrequent drinkers and nondrinkers. Although an association between obesity and sugary beverage consumption was not observed among children 2 years of age, those who drank sugary beverages regularly had greater increases in BMI over the next 2 years than children who did not.
The study authors suggest that parents and pediatricians discourage the consumption of sugary beverages and instead offer children milk and calorie-free drinks.
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Another important academic historical vista has recently been opened with the publication of José Honório Rodrigues’ multi-volume O Parlamento e a evolução national. Compiled with the assistance of Octaciano Nogueira and Professor Rodrigues’ tireless aid and lovely wife, Lêda Boechat Rodrigues, this set of volumes critiques and sets forth the most important issues debated in the Câmara dos Deputados and the Senado in the years 1826-40. Though, in his initial paragraphs, José Honório talks of a definitive parliamentary work from 1826 to the present, the vastness of this effort sobered him to concentrate on the early (and to me most exciting) national period. Professor Rodrigues and the reviewer were co-directors at the recent Regency Symposium (August, 1974) at the Arquivo Nacional in Rio de Janeiro where his contribution on Regency and early national historiography was one of the highpoints of the symposium. I recall a difference of opinion between us on the Evaristo-Feijó axis and the ascendancy of the conservatives from 1837 on as a minor confrontation.
O Parlamento is a compilation of the more important debates in the Cámara and the Senado. The volumes are based on three principal sources for their issue delineations; the Anais da Câmara dos Deputados, the Anais do Senado and the Revista Histórico e Geográfico Brasileira. The debates focus with clarity and brilliance on the articulate and masterful group of politicos and statesmen who rendered to Brazil’s early national period its constitutional democratic orientation. Professor Rodrigues’ fine academic and artistic hand brings the parliamentary force and acumen of Nicolau Vergueiro and Bernardo Vasconcelos (Brazil’s greatest parliamentary figure) into sharp prominence in the 1826-31 parliaments. From 1831-37, the moderate liberals are the “Lords of the Situation,” led by Evaristo da Veiga and Padre Diogo Feijó, the “grand old man of the party.” The 1837-40 years heralds the coming to power of the saquerema conservatives guided in parliament by the imposing Honório Hermeto Carneiro Leáo (later the Marquis of Paraná) and in the ministry by the former moderate chieftan Bernardo Pereira de Vasconcelos, with the Regent Pedro de Araújo Lima as the figurehead ruler. Also, we must not slight in these pages, the singular importance of Paulino Soares de Sousa, the architect of the conservative program with his Interpretive Act (1840) and later the Viscount of Uruguay.
The parliamentary debates from the Câmara and the Senado encompass the issues of press liberty, citizenship, ministerial responsibility to the Parliament, the criminal code of justice, the Cisplatine War, church-state relations and the role of the Câmara in Dom Pedro I’s autocratic monarchy (1822-31). After the April 7, 1831 Revolution, the debates centered on the Regency Act (1831), the role of the ministers (particularly Feijó’s Justice Ministry), finance, commerce and currency and the new relationship and balance between the provinces and Rio de Janeiro, as concretized in the Additional Act (1834). Volume IV, the last volume of the debates, concentrates on the battles for the passage of Paulino’s Interpretive Act, the “codicil” to the Additional Act as it was called, in which Teofilo Otóni fought a valiant losing battle to prevent its passage, and the parliamentary majority coup of 1840 which brought a young sixteen year old boy to the throne as Dom Pedro II. The machinations of the Andradas and other politicos to make this a reality contrasts rather poorly with the nobility of the statesmanship in the earlier parliaments. Professor Rodrigues also explores and comments upon the early history of the parliamentary process in Brazil and the roles of the ministers and Councils of State. O Parlamente is an impressive effort in synthesizing and concretizing parliamentary power when the Câmara dos Deputados was at its zenith. It is a valuable and welcome addition to Brazilian historiography which highlights and characterizes Brazil’s search for a democratic identity in the seedtime of its early nationality. The index volume, volume V, is an excellent aid to the events, issues and statemen who people the fabric of the preceding four volumes.
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Fresh from her highly publicised debate with Jacqui Lambie on ABC’s Q&A, inspirational community activist Yassmin Abdel-Magied, made her way south to share her thoughts with Canberra’s community.
Yassmin, 26 is an Australian Muslim engineer of Sudanese-Egyptian background and an author, TV and radio presenter and a community activist on multiculturalism promoting diversity and inclusion in society.
As part of the YWCA She Leads In-Conversation series, Ms Abdel-Magied was the focus of the question/answer/discussion event held at the University of Canberra’s Ann Harding Centre on 22 February.
Facilitated by Dr Alice Williamson, co-host of the ABC podcast, Dear Science, the discussion covered a range of subjects, which included questions from the audience.
Asked about her view about how to address bias, Yassmin drew parallels in her own industry with how work, health and safety has over time been culturally ingrained in the workforce and the same cultural change needs to occur from the top down with regards to discrimination and bias.
Yassmin also made the point about intersectional bias, that is when more than one aspect of your life affected by discrimination, for, as an example, a black woman, and how it isn’t enough to address one type of bias at a time but all bias in parallel.
On paying respect to the Ngunawal people, she said, “We always pay respect to the custodians of the land but . . . think of every great civilisation you have ever heard of – the Aztecs, the Greeks . . . the First Nation of this land are all older than them . . . and that’s something we should really be proud of and appreciate.”
On why she chose to be an engineer, she answered, “Making things and designing solutions to problems and having a tangible thing at the end of the day is so satisfying.”
She constantly referred to her own parents for inspiring her and also supporting her through some of the recent tough times.
On working on an offshore rig as a woman, she said, “I thought it was something I would do for just a little while . . . initially I saw it as an adventure . . . different rules operate on rig life. Half the time its figuring it out as literally there is no other woman around.”
On her ability to communicate across different groups, she explained, “The one things that is universal . . . is the power of the story. By making it individual . . . to broaden your ingroup is through empathy. Empathy is through human connections, friendship, getting to know each other beyond the surface as human beings.”
During the event in Canberra Yassmin gave away signed copies of her book Yassmin’s Story, Who Do You Think I Am, her account of different perspectives about growing up in Australia.
Born in Sudan, Yassmin and her parents moved to Brisbane when she was two. At the age of 16 she found the Youth Without Borders, an organisation focused on helping young people to work for positive change in their communities.
Schooled at Islamic College of Brisbane and John Paul College in Brisbane, Yassmin graduated in 2011 with a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering, first class honours from the University of Queensland and then worked as an engineer on an offshore oil rig.
In 2012 she was named Young Leader of the Year in the Australian Financial Review and Westpac’s inaugural 100 Women of Influence Awards as well as an InStyle cultural leader and a Marie Claire woman of the future.
Yassmin was awarded Young Australian of the Year for Queensland in 2015 and during the same year, she was named in the top 100 most influential engineers in Australia by Engineers Australia.
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Layer 1 devices view network topologies as physical (as opposed to logical). Physical topologies include a bus, ring, or star. The data transfer medium has a physical and electrical component. This includes cables, jacks, patch panels, punch blocks, hubs, and multi-station access units (MAUs). Data is represented as binary expressions on a computer network. At the physical layer, data is represented as binary (a series of ones and zeros). A binary expression is a combination of bits, where a bit is either a 1 or a 0. These bits are represented by voltage (copper wiring) or light (fiber optic cable). When voltage is present or absent on a wire, it represents either a binary 1 or binary 0.
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Today was super busy and we didnt get a lot of pictures.
We finished making our homemade applesauce and had it with our lunch . I think the kids really liked it.
The things I didnt get a picture of:
We made predictions about what would happen when I put an apple in a bowl of water. We got answers like ” It will get caught ” or ” it will drown.” This was our first sink/ float science activity. Hopefully the next time we try this we will get answers like it will go down or it will float.
We graphed which way we like apples better this week. The choices were carmel apples, apple pie, fresh apples, apple juice or apple sauce . We do activities like this to use math and to introduce terms like more and less or least.
We made an emergent reader. The purpose of emergent readers is that each page is predictable . When the child looks at the pictures he can ” read” the book.
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[Relevant documents: The Eleventh Report from the Transport Committee, Session 2005-06, on Bus Services across the UK, HC 1317, and the Government’s response thereto, (Third Special Report, Session 2006-07, HC 298).]
Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House do now adjourn.—[Kevin Brennan.]
To many people, buses are a lifeline. They give people access to health-care, jobs and shops, and allow them to stay in touch with family and friends. To other people, buses are a convenient option—an alternative to using their car, and an alternative that we want more people to choose.
Over the last half century, the number of people using our buses has fallen dramatically in many parts of the country. Deregulation two decades ago was supposed to reverse that, but it did not. Since 1997, the decline has slowed down, but not enough. It need not be like this. In places such as York, Cambridge and Brighton, buses are thriving because they are delivering the kind of service that people want. Passengers want local bus services to be regular, affordable, reliable, comfortable and safe. They want pleasant, well-lit bus stops giving good information, easy-to-use ticketing systems and services that link up smoothly with other transport, such as rail services. At a time when we are trying to tackle congestion and promote more environmentally friendly travel, it is vital that the public have good public transport choices.
My hon. Friend mentioned the environment. We have all sat behind buses that are emitting filthy diesel smoke. Is there anything that the Government can do—through either the grant system, incentives or perhaps a direct mandate—to insist that, within a fairly short period, buses have engine systems installed that do not emit carbon dioxide and that are compatible with the highest environmental standards? Will the Minister take up that challenge?
I will certainly respond to that point in more detail later in my speech. My right hon. Friend rightly says that we need to look at the way in which the present bus service operator grant is working, to see whether it is properly incentivising people to use cleaner engine technologies. We also need to continue to work with the European Union on the directives that cover the improvement in pollution standards for diesel engines. He has put his finger on an important issue, and it is one that the Government and industry are closely interested in and are already looking at.
The headline statistic for passenger use is striking: two out of three public transport journeys in Britain are made by bus—more than 4 billion passenger journeys a year in England alone. In some areas of the country, provision is good, with bus operators and authorities working in partnership. In others, however, it is poor. We want to see bus services work in every community, in every part of the country.
That is why, last year, the Government decided to take a long, hard look at bus services. That work was led by the Secretary of State and the Under-Secretary of State for Transport, my hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln (Gillian Merron), who will wind up this debate. We published our conclusions in the document “Putting Passengers First; the Government’s proposals for a modernised national framework for bus services”. Those proposals are designed with one thing in mind—to give passengers a better service.
The measures that we have put forward are aimed at ensuring that the punctuality of services improves; creating better partnership working, including making what are called quality contracts—in which bus operators can bid to be the sole provider of a service in a given area—a more practical option where appropriate; and giving community transport a bigger role in providing services in areas poorly served by other transport. One further issue that we are considering is whether changes to current bus subsidies would help better to deliver the Government’s objectives on congestion, the environment and accessibility, which relates exactly to the point raised by my right hon. Friend a moment ago.
Have the Government looked at the subsidy regime in rural areas? There is a clear misuse of funds in such areas—not corruption, but misuse in the sense that we are not benefiting from the best use of the money. Is it not time for a wholesale look at some of the Spanish practices that exist? I am told, for example, that bus companies receive payment in connection with bus stops that have not been used for donkeys’ years. That needs to be brought into the open and dealt with.
If my hon. Friend has specific examples of what he describes as “Spanish practices” he should report them to his local authority, which is responsible for ensuring that matters are dealt with properly in the community. As for his general point, we said in our document that we wanted to know people’s views on the way in which subsidies operate. For instance, the current bus service operators grant is based on consumption of diesel. Is that the right way in which to subsidise bus transport if we want it to become more environmentally friendly, and is it robust from an accounting point of view?
May I pursue the point made by the hon. Member for Stroud (Mr. Drew) about problems in rural areas? The Minister said that he wanted every community to benefit from bus transport. There are 120 villages in my constituency, a large number of which have no bus service at all. Some, like my own village of Witham Friary, officially have a bus service, but there is only one bus a week, and such a service is not of enormous value. How can we provide a proper public transport system with the flexibility that people need in rural areas? Have the Government a real strategy for that?
We want to provide improved services for every community and every type of community, but doing so cost-effectively is obviously a problem, and in rural communities it is particularly difficult. We are providing substantial subsidy around the country— about £2.5 billion a year in England alone—but it is up to local authorities, which know most about their communities and where the problems are, to create partnerships that can deliver services to those communities. They need not be commercial services: community transport is an option, and we have suggested ways in which that might be made more sustainable and effective. I encourage the hon. Gentleman and his council to respond to the consultation document by suggesting ways of dealing with problems in rural communities.
We in London are particularly proud of the investment and the partnership between the Mayor and the Government, which have helped to increase bus use. Indeed, in recent years London has seen the only major modal shift towards buses in any world city.
Does my hon. Friend share our grave concern about the fact that, in their alternative budget, Conservative members of the Greater London authority propose to end free transport for those under 18, and the fact that councillors in the London borough of Ealing are expressing enthusiasm for the removal of free public transport for older people? Does he agree that the decision to invest in free transport for children and elderly people in London is one of the reasons why we have achieved such phenomenal growth in bus use in the city?
I entirely agree. It is not for me to comment on the specific position in London, but I was very surprised when I heard about the Conservatives’ proposals, which are in complete contrast to comments that they make in public. I thought it extraordinary that they should wish to limit bus services in that way. I have no doubt that my hon. Friend and other London Members will make their views known forcefully, possibly even in this debate.
I am grateful to the Minister for giving way. He is being very indulgent.
So far, the Government have not responded to the suggestion that some bus companies are virtually blackmailing local authorities by saying that if they enter into the quality contracts that the Minister has recommended to us today, they will receive no co-operation from them—that is, from the private bus companies involved. In the event of legal action, will the Government undertake to indemnify local authorities against this wholly pernicious attack?
If there is evidence that that is happening, we will react to it very strongly. We will engage with local authorities that feel they are under such pressure to find out how best we can support them and deal with it. If a local authority decides that it is in the best interests of its local public to enter into a quality contract and wins the case, a private operator that does not go along with that decision will find itself unable to provide services and will lose out commercially. It is therefore in operators’ interests at least to co-operate in the planning of such schemes, but if my hon. Friend has specific examples we would like to hear about them, and we will certainly take them up.
I should like to make a little more progress first.
We are also introducing separate, but perhaps related, legislation to help our most vulnerable citizens by improving access to free bus travel. From April 2008, some 11 million older and disabled people will be entitled to free off-peak local bus travel anywhere in the country. That builds on recent improvements in the scheme introduced last April which allows free off-peak bus travel in local authority areas. The improvements will enable concessionary pass holders to use buses free of charge in other local authority areas in order to use important services, and to keep in touch with friends and family who may not live just down the road.
Obviously, it is good news that England has followed the example of the Labour-led Scottish Executive in introducing a national concessionary scheme, but it does not quite cover the entire country. Although it is possible for pensioners to travel from Cornwall to Northumberland—or, under the Scottish scheme, from Berwick to Orkney—there are no cross-border arrangements. I am not suggesting that people should be able to travel from Cornwall to Orkney, but it would be quite convenient for older citizens in Newcastle to be able to travel to Edinburgh, and vice versa.
I am extremely grateful to my hon. Friend for eventually giving way to me. May I return him to what he was saying about quality contracts? The Government obviously wish to make them a more realistic option, but the process described in “Putting Passengers First” seems unduly convoluted. Has he or his right hon. Friend the Secretary of State made any assessment of how long it would take from start to finish?
It is true that making quality contracts more practical is a key objective in the document, but I do not agree that the process is convoluted. It seems quite straightforward to me. We propose that if a local authority considers it to be in the public interest and can make a case for its being in the public interest, it should be an option. If the authority opts for the contract and local operators disagree with it, there will be an independent appeal process. If local authorities consider that too convoluted, they can respond to the document and to our consultation on the draft Bill, and we will try to deal with their concerns.
May I return the Minister to the subject of concessionary fares? A national scheme has been operating north of the border, and one is being proposed for Wales. Does the Minister agree that if a national scheme operated in England, it might be possible to reduce fraud and disadvantages such as passenger transport authorities being forced to cut spending in other areas? If a scheme were administered nationally, we would know where the money was going, and some authorities would not lose out.
I thought that the Liberal Democrats were in favour of devolution and taking power away from the centre and giving it to local authorities, but I think that I have just heard a bid for us to take control of bus services away from local authorities and bring it back into Whitehall, which is a bizarre suggestion.
We are proposing—there will be plenty of opportunities for this to be discussed in the House—a scheme under which we will provide additional funding to make it possible to have a system in which older and disabled people can travel anywhere in England for free, and after discussion with the devolved Assemblies we might be able to expand that to anywhere in the United Kingdom. I do not think that the idea that we should backtrack on local authority control of bus services is a goer, but I will be interested to hear the contribution of the hon. Member for Rochdale (Paul Rowen).
I thank my hon. Friend the Minister for giving way, and I join him in welcoming the free bus passes for the elderly. They have been tremendously welcomed in my North Durham constituency, but many of my elderly constituents are now finding that because Go Northern has removed bus services from isolated villages in my constituency, they have no access to a bus at all. The latest example of that is the community of Pelton Fell having its No. 739 bus removed without any consultation with local people. Therefore, although elderly people have got a free bus pass thanks to a Labour Government, thanks to a heartless bus company some of them have no access to a bus.
That is why it is right that we give control of such issues to local authorities and to local passenger transport authorities. Local people who know what the local issues are, and who know when local services are being withdrawn, can try to build partnerships with the private sector to fill gaps in services. If the private sector is acting in the way that my hon. Friend suggests, it is up to the local council to decide whether it wants to step in and provide a subsidy for a particular scheme, or to provide the service by means of a community transport option, or—if it cannot build a successful partnership—it might need to think about having a quality contract in future in order to be able to put in place the sort of service that will provide buses to such isolated villages.
Given my hon. Friend’s welcome comments on community local governance, does he consider it appropriate that traffic commissioners or transport tribunals should sit in judgment on the merits of a quality contract? Should not local government make such decisions in consultation with local people?
Under our proposals, it will be for local government to make a public interest case for a quality contract. Having made such a case and having moved towards having a quality contract, if commercial operators feel that they have been unfairly disadvantaged and not properly consulted, there must be an appeal process for them to go through. We have suggested that there should be such an independent appeal process, but I hope that it will never be used because I hope that local authorities that decide to go down that route will involve everybody in making their decision.
I wish to make an important point. What the Minister is trying to explain is slightly different from what appears on page 43 of “Putting Passengers First”. It says there not that there can be an appeal when a local authority has reached a decision about going ahead with a quality contract, but that that automatically goes to a senior traffic commissioner, acting together with a panel of experts, who decides whether to approve it. Beyond that, there is an appeal to the transport tribunal. However, at the interim stage involving the traffic commissioner there is no appeal. The commissioner has a right to determine whether the local authority, acting in the public interest, is correct or not. That second guessing of an elected body causes great concern.
I have heard my hon. Friend’s point and it will be taken into consideration. He is right that a senior traffic commissioner and a panel of experts review the decision to go to a quality contract to make sure that it is appropriate and in the public interest, and there then is an independent appeal process that operators can go through. If some hon. Friends feel that that is too convoluted or that it is unfair, they should put their comments to us and we will take them on board. I think that there is an appropriate protection in the light of the evidence that we have so far received, but I encourage hon. Friends to communicate their views.
I welcome the draft Bill, but I remind my hon. Friend that some of us warned Ministers in 2000 that the voluntarist approach would not be successful, and I think that it is fair to say that it has not been successful to date. The intention behind the draft Bill is good, but will the Minister assure me that the powers that local authorities and passenger transport executives will be given will mean that I can be sure that trains stop at my Swinton stations and that the bus routes will be kept going through my constituency of Eccles?
I would be surprised if the draft Bill included a specific Swinton stations and Eccles clause, but my hon. Friend can table an amendment on that if he wishes. The voluntarist approach has worked in some parts of the country—in some communities it has worked very well, but in others it has completely failed. We have put forward our proposals because we want everybody to have top quality bus services and the opportunity of increased bus patronage. My hon. Friend might have been prescient when the proposed legislation that became the Transport Act 2000 was being discussed in respect of his own local authority, but he should not assume that that is the case for everywhere in the country.
Let me make a little progress. Many colleagues want to speak—at least many Labour Members do. That there are so few Members present on the Opposition Benches shows what the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats think about the importance of buses, and I note in particular that the Liberal Democrats have been able to put up only a Front-Bench spokesman to contribute to this important debate on public transport.
The House has debated on many occasions the issue of why no quality contract or franchising schemes have been made under the Transport Act 2000, although a number of local transport authorities have supported them in principle. The Government’s review has concluded that the barriers to quality contracts have been set too high. We recognise that they are not the right model for everywhere, but we want to make them a more realistic option for those authorities that consider that they would best address the problems facing their areas. They could be particularly valuable where they are part of a package of measures to improve public transport and reduce urban congestion.
We also recognise the need to safeguard the legitimate interests of bus operators. Currently, a quality contract can be offered only if it is the only practicable way to improve services in a given area, and the “only practicable” test is set out in legislation. We propose to replace that test with a more objective and measurable public interest test, and in order to protect operators we will replace the Secretary of State as approval authority with an independent body chaired by the senior traffic commissioner, and give a right of appeal to the transport tribunal. Those changes will make quality contracts a realistic option for authorities to pursue.
It is also clear that one of the biggest factors that will put off existing and potential passengers is lack of punctuality. If services are late—or, if I dare say so, early—or do not turn up at all, they will not be an attractive alternative to the car. Currently, bus operators are not required to provide records of punctuality, although many monitor that for their own purposes. We propose to work with the industry to develop a new performance regime that will place bus operators under a duty to keep records of the punctuality of their services, and to provide regular, reliable data to the traffic commissioner.
We also recognise that many matters affecting punctuality are outside the operator’s control, so we want to give the traffic commissioners more leverage over the local authorities as well, and to encourage them to work with operators on remedial measures. If performance fails to improve, there will be penalties that they can impose on operators. If the traffic commissioners are dissatisfied with performance on the local authority side, we propose that they should apply to the Secretary of State to use his intervention powers under the Traffic Management Act 2004.
Another thing that puts off passengers is hikes in bus fares. Lancashire county council is looking to plug a big hole that it has in its budget. Last year, it put up fares, which put a lot of youngsters off the idea of going to school by bus. This year, it is cutting real services, which the hon. Member for North Durham (Mr. Jones) said earlier is happening in his constituency. What protection can the Government give to the people of Lancashire—particularly those living in rural areas—in order to ensure a future for their bus services?
Of course, it is up to local authorities to build partnerships with local bus operators and to make sure that subsidies are properly targeted where they can best be used, in order to guarantee the success of these services. If they are unable to do that under the current powers, they might be in a better position to do so under the proposed new ones. I should point out that under this Government, the public purse is now providing £2.5 billion a year to subsidise bus services throughout the country. That money is spent on ensuring that services are available in isolated places, and that the hon. Gentleman’s constituents, for example, have access to decent services. I fail to see, however, how his party’s proposal to cut public expenditure by £16 billion would allow local authorities to receive more of the funding that they need to improve services.
The transport innovation fund will also allow local authorities to develop and deploy smarter, more innovative solutions to congestion in their areas. Up to £200 million a year—and possibly more—is being made available to authorities from 2008. Hard demand-management measures, including road pricing, will be introduced alongside significant improvements to public transport. As we have seen from the example of London, the introduction of road pricing will create a growing market for buses. The provision of improved bus services will be integral to establishing the bus as a viable alternative to the car.
I thank my hon. Friend for giving way once more; he is very generous. Is not one of the key measures in delivering better local bus services the exemption of such services from competition legislation, which is getting in the way of through-ticketing and sensible timetabling?
My hon. Friend needs to look at these proposals in the round. If it is not possible through the voluntary or the statutory partnership arrangements to deal with the issues that concern her, her local authority might want to look at a quality contract. Such a contract does not put an end to competition in a particular area; rather, it offers a different way of providing competition, and it will enable us to deliver to other parts of the country some of the benefits of a franchising scheme that we have seen in London.
I am grateful to the Minister for giving way. He talks about building partnerships, which we all agree is very important. Milton Keynes unitary authority is geographically very small, and it is surrounded by Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire. Most buses go into Milton Keynes, but many people in the surrounding doughnut do not want to commute to Milton Keynes, but to Northampton, Bedford or Buckingham. What can the Minister do to encourage the building of partnerships between local authorities to enable the creation of such routes? At the moment, that is not happening.
It is not for central Government to do everything. There is not a steel fence around Milton Keynes that prevents its authority from talking to other authorities in the area, or vice versa. It is for local authorities to get together and address these issues for themselves. We provide the powers and the funding, and it is for local authorities to use them to best advantage to make sure that the services are of a type of which constituents such as the hon. Gentleman’s can make use. Of course, we are not only providing bus services, we are rapidly expanding train services and making a lot of funding available for local authorities. If a local authority wants to bid for funding from the transport innovation fund and to convince us that it is a good bid, it will have to look at issues such as the surrounding areas and the partnership arrangements between local councils.
I am very grateful to my hon. Friend for giving way again. Just before Christmas, my hon. Friend the Member for City of Durham (Dr. Blackman-Woods) and I had a meeting with our local bus companies and the county council, and one issue that we talked about was through-ticketing. They said that, as my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Hillsborough (Ms Smith) pointed out, competition law prevents through-ticketing and they could not legally implement it. Through-ticketing would, however, be very beneficial to my constituents and others.
We are working closely with the Office of Fair Trading in examining such issues. If authorities have received legal advice that they would be in breach of competition law if they provided what would be sensible new arrangements, we need to know about such examples and to address this issue as part of the review. That is certainly what we will try to do.
If my hon. Friend will forgive me, I will not give way. A lot Labour Members, in particular, want to speak, so let me make a little more progress.
It is clear that a key factor in areas where buses are popular is the strength of partnership working between local authorities and bus operators. Although there are statutory powers in the Transport Act 2000, all the arrangements currently in force have been purely voluntary. I am pleased to note that a statutory scheme has recently been created in Sheffield—my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Hillsborough (Ms Smith) will be glad to know—and will soon come into force. Such voluntary arrangements often work remarkably well, but there are limits to what can be done in locations where there is more than one operator, because of constraints in competition legislation. We propose to develop a new legal test to determine when multi-operator agreements are permissible.
As well as changes to the voluntary model, we also want to extend the scope of statutory partnership schemes, so that they can cover minimum frequencies and co-ordination of timings and, possibly, allow some control over maximum fares. We also want to make the schemes more flexible, so that the facilities provided by local authorities and the service improvements made by operators can be phased in over time.
Although the bus review was mainly about commercial provision, we also fully recognise the important role that the voluntary transport sector plays, and realise that it could do even more if certain restrictions were lifted. Community transport groups are major providers of specialised services for older and disabled people, but their powers under section 22 of the Transport Act 1985 to provide local services for the general public are underused. We therefore propose to lift the restriction on paying drivers on those services more than expenses, which will encourage more drivers to come forward and allow the sector to expand. We also propose to lift the restriction regarding vehicles with more than 16 passenger seats, so that larger buses can be used. We hope that that will encourage more local voluntary groups to fill the gaps in commercial services and to reach the places that buses cannot realistically go.
We also need to consider whether local government, particularly in metropolitan areas, is empowered to take the hard decisions that need to be taken for the effective delivery of transport in local areas. For instance, there are concerns about the decision-making split in passenger transport authority areas, whereby the passenger transport executive has no powers over roads, traffic, parking and bus priority measures. We consider that governance reform in PTA areas should be an important part of establishing a quality contract scheme in a metropolitan area, and we propose to address that issue through the draft road transport Bill.
Finally, I come to bus subsidy. After declining in the decade after 1986, bus subsidy in England has almost doubled in real terms since 1997-98. Some £2.5 billion of revenue funding supports bus services in the form of reimbursement of concessionary fares, service subsidies and the bus service operators grant. We need to ensure that that spending contributes effectively to our wider objectives. For example, BSOG is currently a grant from central Government related to fuel usage. We will consider whether there is scope for reforming BSOG to link it more directly to bus operators performance or environmental outcomes. We recognise the importance of understanding fully the potentially adverse impact or unintended consequences of any reform, so as I have said, we will consider these issues with stakeholders.
I thank the Minister for giving way. The Oyster card system is very popular with people who travel on the buses in London because it is a pre-payment system and there are concessionary fares, for example. The other good thing is that it enables bus operators to know exactly who is travelling on their buses. Will his proposals make it easier for Greater Manchester passenger transport authority to introduce such a system for the convenience both of passengers and of bus operators?
I would certainly hope so. My hon. Friend is right. The convenience of the Oyster card is one more factor that encourages people on to the buses in London, and I would like to see similar arrangements throughout the country. I hope that our proposals facilitate such schemes and if anybody has any reason to think that they may be a barrier to the introduction of schemes, we would like to hear about it as part of this debate.
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for emphasising that point, although I was aware of it and I was reminded by my hon. Friend the Member for Regent's Park and Kensington, North (Ms Buck) earlier. It is a baffling proposal and could only come from Conservatives. I may be misleading the House, because it could also have come from Liberal Democrats in other areas, who make equally silly suggestions. In London, it could only come from the Conservatives. It will be interesting to hear how the hon. Member for North Shropshire (Mr. Paterson) justifies that proposal.
Is my hon. Friend aware of real concerns that some bus operators are trying to milk the concessionary fares system for pensioners? First has just put fares in Sheffield up by 10 per cent., which means that it will want 10 per cent. more for every concessionary fare. The bus grant is going up by 4 per cent. to compensate the PTE for the concessionary fares. At that rate, within five years all the money that the PTE has to spend on bus services will go on concessionary fares with nothing left for tendered services, unless the system is significantly reformed.
I hear what my hon. Friend says. It is for the local authority, especially when renewing arrangements with local operators, to ensure that they get value for money from the concessionary fares scheme. If they do not feel that they are getting value for money from the schemes, they need to take appropriate action. If they feel that they do not have the powers to take appropriate action, I hope that they will feed that into the consultation so that we can be made aware of the problem. If the situation in my hon. Friend’s area is as he says, we should all be concerned.
Local authorities and private operators know that they need to work together to deliver modern, integrated transport services, and we are committed to giving those areas that want them the powers to provide better services that meet the needs of the local population. The publication of “Putting Passengers First” was intended to get people talking and there will be further public scrutiny of the proposals when we publish the draft Bill.
No one says that it will be easy and there is no one-size-fits-all solution, but the opportunities are there, provided we are bold and the right local solutions are put in place. The prize is a transport system that will meet the challenges of the future and bus services across the country that give passengers in every community what they rightly expect.
It is a pleasure to speak in this debate on the future of buses, but it is worth first looking back at what has happened over the past 40 years. The standard of living has improved over time and, to put it bluntly, as people have become more prosperous they have migrated from public transport to cars. Some of the most interesting passages in the Eddington report were the details of how car travel in Great Britain doubled in just seven years between 1953 and 1960. It doubled again between 1960 and 1967. By 1990, the distance travelled by car had increased to more than ten times the 1953 figure.
It is no real surprise, therefore, that bus travel should have declined. It was at its peak in the 1950s, when there were 16,455 million passenger journeys by bus per year. By 1971 that figure had halved. By 1999 it had halved again, to about 4,350 million. The number has picked up in recent years, to 4,719 million.
That is the point that I am making. With general prosperity, people have chosen to go by car and it is against that background that we should consider the use of buses. If the hon. Lady will let me develop my theme, I will come to that point.
Buses are still very important. The bus and coach sector today has approximately one seventh of its market share in 1952, when the industry accounted for some 42 per cent. of all travel in Great Britain. That share had fallen to 28 per cent. by 1960 and by 1973 it had dwindled to 14 per cent. Since 1991, the market share has stabilised at around 6 per cent. The overall cost of motoring has remained at or below its 1980 level in real terms. By contrast, public transport fares have risen in real terms since 1980. In 2004, bus and coach fares were 37 per cent. higher than in 1980. Over the same period, average disposable income increased by more than 95 per cent. in real terms. It is also worth pointing out that council tax receipts increased between 1995 and 2000 by 94 per cent.
Transport by any mode has therefore become more affordable, but with a significantly greater improvement in the affordability of car use than that of public transport, especially buses. Despite those external factors, the bus continues to remain critical. Many cities have been working hard to reverse the downward trend of bus use, as wealth creation has raised the importance of environmental and quality of life factors, as the Minister mentioned. There are still some 4.1 billion bus journeys per year in England, equivalent to some 187 bus journeys per household. Although the sector accounts for just 8 per cent. of all journeys, the bus remains the most widely used public transport mode. Interestingly, across the UK the number of bus trips is twice the number of rail and underground trips put together.
Does the hon. Gentleman therefore support the measures that have been taken in London by the Mayor, including congestion charging, which has helped to speed up public transport journeys? Will he take this opportunity to make it clear that he dissociates himself from the initiatives by London Conservatives to undermine free transport for under-18s and the freedom pass for pensioners?
I am happy to discuss that issue and I shall come on to the issue of London in a moment. There has been a huge increase in subsidy in London, which has unique circumstances. On the issue of fares for under-18s, it is a devolved issue, but as I understand it, my Conservative colleagues are concerned that the service is sloppily administered and it is not clear who qualifies for it. There is also a problem with public disorder and vandalism. However, the hon. Lady should take the issue up with Conservative members on the GLA, because it is a devolved issue.
Buses are critical in supporting labour markets in urban areas. A quarter of the work force in cities such as Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield and Leeds travel by bus. A quarter of all households in England—two fifths in London—are without access to a car and that is a principal driver of continued bus demand.
As the Minister said, buses also have a role to play in tackling road congestion. In the right circumstances, buses can be important in encouraging modal shift from the car in congested areas. Although buses typically tend to support non-business trips, without them some such trips would, potentially, be made by car. Buses can therefore play a valuable role in attracting leisure and commuter travellers off the road network, freeing up road space and reducing travel time for business and freight traffic. Inevitably, there is a price to pay for that and it can be too high, as was beginning to be the case before deregulation.
At this point, I wish to pay public tribute to the late Nicholas Ridley, who became Lord Ridley of Liddesdale. I am completely partisan on the subject, because he was my wife’s uncle. He was one of the most remarkable members of that Conservative Government. He had many talents and was a brilliant cook, water-colourist and architect.
I had the delight of opposing Nicholas Ridley when he introduced the Transport Act 1985 and he always had great clarity of thought. He had the simple attitude that buses cost too much, the people who used them were mainly poor and that they should be removed from that category as soon as possible. He was a sensitive colourist and a most insensitive Secretary of State for Transport.
I am very grateful to the hon. Lady, who is my near neighbour, for that intervention. I predicted that it might come along. However, 85 per cent. of the decline in bus use over the past 40 years took place before deregulation, and 15 per cent. happened after it. Nicholas Ridley arrested the decline—[Interruption.] That is what the figures show.
It is appropriate that the hon. Gentleman should reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Crewe and Nantwich (Mrs. Dunwoody) with humour and not objective facts. He is well informed, and will have read the report from the Transport Select Committee entitled “Bus Services Across the UK”. Does he agree that table 2, which disaggregates the effect of deregulation in the metropolitan areas from London, shows that deregulation added to the general decline in bus use?
No, I do not. As I said, 85 per cent. of the decline of the past 40 years occurred before deregulation. That decline continued afterwards, but tapered off. In London and some other places, bus use has recently increased. The difference between us is that I believe that the decline would have remained precipitate had not deregulation taken place, but it is interesting that the Minister has had to battle today against a barrage of demands from Labour Members for more regulation. At no time in their 10 years in office have the Government hinted that deregulation should be reversed.
That is a good point. London is unique, as I shall explain in a moment.
The 1985 Act deregulated the bus industry outside London, and road services licensing outside London was abolished from October 1986. At the same time, proposals were introduced to change the structure of the bus industry through privatisations. As the hon. Member for North Durham (Mr. Jones) said, London was treated differently: the bus companies were privatised but the capital retained a regulated regime, and all services were secured following competitive tendering.
A complete change took place. In 1985, 75 per cent. of bus services were in the public sector, but the proportion amounted to only about 7 per cent. by 1997.
I travelled on a bus from Euston station at about 2 pm yesterday.
The most obvious gain of deregulation was that it forced the franchise market in London and the deregulated markets in other urban areas to achieve substantial and dramatic reductions in operating costs. The largest real-terms reductions in operating costs between 1986-87 and 2005-06 were achieved in Scotland, where they fell by 48 per cent. The PTA areas achieved 47 per cent. cost reductions, and London 34 per cent. That shows that there had been huge waste in the industry, and that deregulation brought about a remarkable change.
The decline of the bus market has continued since deregulation, but it has slowed down. Overall, passenger numbers in Great Britain have fallen by 19 per cent. since 1985-86, although they have risen again in recent years. A rise of 8.5 per cent. since the lowest point has been driven by London, which now accounts for 38 per cent. of the market. The London market has grown by 59 per cent. since 1985-86, but other areas have suffered major declines in passenger numbers, with the PTAs losing 49 per cent. of passengers and the English shires 57 per cent.
Labour Members want to believe that regulation works, but a look abroad shows that it does not. In France, in the 10 years to 2004, passenger numbers using urban transport rose by an average of only 1.4 per cent a year. In the same period, the proportion of costs met from fares fell from 51 per cent. to 39 per cent. That compares with average falls of 1.4 per cent. a year in England outside London, where passengers met 68 per cent. of the costs of bus services through fares. Many people look to France as an example of regulation, but the costs are high and the benefits are small.
In Italy, buses are the main component of public transport use. Between 2002 and 2004, that use fell by 14 per cent. in the largest cities, where all services are regulated and co-ordinated by public authorities. That shows that Italy has not been well served by a regulated public transport system. In Northern Ireland, where the market is still regulated, bus use fell by 3 per cent between 2000 and 2005.
The Government placed much reliance on the work of Sir Rod Eddington. His report was emphatic about buses, and it is worth quoting what he said in full.
“This study is strongly of the view that competition forces rather than the alternative model of State ownership and control are the appropriate mechanisms for securing successful economic outcomes in urban areas and delivering bus services that users value. Competition forces create on-going incentives for efficiency and responsiveness of provision to the needs of users. The former has clearly been evident since deregulation, which led to a fall in operating costs in some markets of 50 per cent. There has also been considerable innovation in the bus market following deregulation including improvements in bus fleet, variable bus sizes, out-sourcing of maintenance, smart ticketing and the introduction of part-time working arrangements for employees in the sector.”
A little earlier in the report, when discussing the three broad options that urban areas might adopt to deliver bus services, Eddington said:
“Underlying each of these options is the principle of employing competitive forces. There is no evidence to suggest that there should be a return to the pre-1986 era where government owned buses.”
I am sure that Ministers are aware that the former Secretary of State for Transport, who is now Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, told the House:
“I would be wary of saying that we should go back to the pre-1986 situation.”—[Official Report, 2 July 2003; Vol. 408, c. 404.]
The document being discussed today does not suggest going back to that. The hon. Gentleman is trying to argue that bus deregulation slowed down the decline in patronage, but that slowdown has taken place largely since 1997. Is it not possible that this Government’s doubling of bus subsidies to £2.5 billion a year has had rather more to do with it?
The Minister needs to be practical. The 1986 measures were not going to have an instantaneous effect in changing people’s behaviour. The smoky, clattering old nationalised buses that used to bumble around Shropshire, for instance, had to be got rid of, but that took time. I am trying to help the Minister by giving him some arguments to counter what Labour Members are saying to him.
Deregulation slowed the decline in bus use but, 20 years later, it is worth looking at imaginative techniques for improving the deregulated regime. My contention is that, without deregulation, the precipitate decline would have continued.
Does the hon. Gentleman accept that deregulation has destabilised the bus system? It has led to services constantly being chopped and changed, and diminished passengers’ confidence in their reliability. People in Leeds have voted with their feet and taken to their cars—not because they want to, but because there is no alternative.
I am sure that the debate will reveal major variations around the country. I shall come to some good examples of how local authorities have made use of the benefits of deregulation and entered into good partnerships locally. However, I do not dispute the hon. Gentleman’s knowledge of his area, and it is clear that deregulation has not been so successful in some parts of the country.
My party is very much in favour of partnership working, but I am adamant about the basic contention that, without the huge efficiency improvements that followed deregulation, the headlong decline in bus use would have continued at a faster rate.
The Minister pointed out that the biggest change wrought by the Government has been the huge increase in subsidy to £2.5 billion. That has mainly gone on concessionary fares and increased expenditure in London. Indeed, the subsidy has rocketed from £572 million to £711 million recently. What have we got for this in London?
Has it worked? It is interesting to look at the passenger figures. The Transport for London annual travel report 2005 stated that the average load was 15 passengers per bus. The mayor’s target for 2011 is to increase that average load by 40 per cent. to 19 passengers per bus. Yet the average capacity for a London bus, taking in all types, is 93. The Assembly’s transport committee recently commissioned a value for money study of London’s buses. Its consultants, Colin Buchanan and Partners, showed that the productivity of London’s buses has collapsed. In 1997-98 the buses ran without a subsidy and the average bus carried 13 passengers. By 2005, the buses consumed an annual Government subsidy of £550 million and carried an average of 15 passengers per bus. The subsidy given is like paying the additional passengers to ride the buses.
My constituents in Greater Manchester would love the equivalent to a London bus service operating in their area. Does the hon. Gentleman not recognise that in places like Greater Manchester, where there has also been a massive increase in subsidy to private bus operators, we have not got a lot in return? The benefit of the London system, with its franchising arrangements, is that bus companies cannot just cherry-pick the profit-making routes; they must take on a whole network. Integration is part of that.
I will cite some examples of partnership that have worked. The trick with partnerships is not to overegg the arrangement and kill the advantages of deregulation. The debate will probably reveal great regional variation. The London service is devolved. My Conservative colleagues are convinced that while the increased investment in buses has been good for London, we need to run them so that the services they offer better reflect when people need to use them. The contract should cater for that. However, most of the day buses are running around empty, and at the same frequency as in the rush hour because the operators pay the same either way. That means that the roads are getting more congested during the day because the operators are paid to provide a rush hour service for a fraction of the passengers.
I am enjoying the hon. Gentleman’s analysis of the situation. He seems to be suggesting that the provision of public support for bus services has led to them becoming less cost-effective. As I am keen to learn about Conservative party policy, and I suspect that most of our constituents are too, can he confirm that it is Conservative party policy to withdraw or cut the current public subsidies for bus services?
No, I do not know where the Minister got that idea from. We are talking about spending money more effectively. I have just quoted some independent consultants who have shown that bus service productivity in London has collapsed. The Minister stood up and trumpeted that he was cleverly spending a record £2.5 billion; I am quietly trying to analyse whether the money has been spent effectively and for the public good.
I got that impression from listening to the hon. Gentleman. If subsidy has led to the collapse of a cost-effective bus service, it follows that his party will do something about that. He obviously intends to cut the bus subsidy. Our constituents would like to know that the Conservatives do not support buses, do not want to see a successful bus service throughout the country and will start withdrawing bus subsidies. That will inevitably mean under a Conservative Government that the most vulnerable services, particularly to rural and isolated communities, will disappear first.
This is all very depressing. I thought that we were going to have a sensible debate. We are talking about spending a titantic slug of public money more effectively. With this extra money the Minister and his colleagues in the London Assembly have increased bus ridership in London from 13 to 15 passengers on average. I am just asking whether that is a good way of spending public money. My colleagues in the London Assembly are seeing how existing subsidies can be spent more effectively and efficiently. [Interruption.] The Minister cannot misinterpret what I am saying. He stands up and says that the Government have done a great thing by increasing bus subsidies. I am quietly trying to look and see whether those subsidies have been spent wisely. I am suggesting that my Conservative colleagues in the Assembly could spend that money more effectively.
We should not get too hung up on London because, in many ways, the London model is unique. First it has had a big increase in subsidy by 548 per cent. at constant prices between 2001 and 2005. That is a 30p subsidy per passenger. The metropolitan areas have had their subsidy reduced by 2.5 per cent. That is a massive contrast.
The hon. Gentleman is being uncommonly generous in giving way. Does he accept that another failure of the deregulated system in areas such as west Yorkshire is that it has created a virtual monopoly? When the passenger transport executive puts subsidised services out for contract, it invariably gets just one tender. Is that a good way of spending public money?
Again we get regional variation. If hon. Members will let me make some progress, I will give examples of excellent partnerships, in some cases involving one and in others two operators. It can work. It would be helpful if, when the hon. Gentleman catches your eye, Madam Deputy Speaker, he explains why that arrangement has not worked in his area unlike in places such as Hove, Oxford and elsewhere.
London has had a huge increase in subsidy, but other factors should be taken into account. London’s population has increased by 9.2 per cent., whereas in the metropolitan areas the population has declined by 1 per cent. and, if west Yorkshire is excluded, by 2.9 per cent. For huge numbers of people in London, using a car is simply not an option. Unlike other met areas, the city is filled throughout the day by commuters who arrive by train or tube. In London, 80 per cent. of the public use public transport, compared with the west midlands where about 30 per cent. of people use public transport. Furthermore, almost 12 million tourists visit London. That is more than a third of the total tourist traffic in the United Kingdom. Few of them have cars.
The hon. Gentleman is gravely underestimating the impact that the additional investment and new strategies on bus policy have had in London. The result has been half a billion additional passenger journeys. From what the hon. Gentleman is suggesting, we are led to understand that, if his colleagues have their way, the services most impacted upon will be those to the vulnerable—people who do not fall into his category of economic efficiency—older people, families and young people who have benefited by the equivalent of £1,000 a year through free travel, night services and services to areas that have not been best served by buses hitherto. Is it not true that his drive for efficiency will impact on precisely those vulnerable individuals and communities?
I do not see that. I do not see what is good about wasting public money or what is bad about trying to spend existing sums better. The hon. Lady is talking about a nil sum gain. It is not a case of subsidies as they stand: good; any change in the regime: bad. My colleagues in the London Assembly are looking at spending the money more efficiently. I would have thought that she would endorse that, as would her taxpayers. London has seen an increase in its population and attracts many tourists. We must be careful because London is unique in many ways.
In some urban areas bus usage has been increasing. Eddington was interesting on this and talked about York. Those urban areas tend to be historic towns where car restraints can be easily applied and where there is usually a widespread cultural acceptance of the need for alternative transport.
I represent part of York and it is true that on the arterial routes in and out of the city partnerships have worked quite well, but in many of the villages that I represent, such as Wheldrake and Elvington, there have been cuts in bus services. There is the big controversy in the city about the level of fares. York is often used as an example, but there is great disquiet in the city about the operation of buses.
That is a helpful intervention. I was deliberately citing the examples in the Eddington report. As the report was partly published by the Department for Transport and the Treasury I would have thought that the facts would be accepted on both sides of the House, particularly by those on the Labour Benches. The hon. Gentleman has detail on those services in York and it would be interesting to hear more. Indeed, Eddington tells us that York has achieved growth of 50 per cent. over the past five years, 30 per cent. of which was due to park and ride schemes, where one principal bus operator works in voluntary partnership with the unitary authority to run high quality services. The old city centre is obviously unsuitable for cars, so a tough parking regime has been imposed.
Eddington also refers to Oxford, which offers another example of how congestion can be reduced by a sustained and coherent policy. There has been a 30-year partnership between Oxfordshire county council, Oxford city council, bus operators and others. Growth has been achieved there, while it has been falling in other places. Bus use grew by 80 per cent. between 1988 and 2002 and it continues to increase. The local authority has maintained successful partnerships with two competing operators, but without restraining competition. There are park and ride schemes and the large student population must help to increase bus use, but the overall environment seems to work.
The Brighton and Hove system was cited by Eddington. The number of passengers has gone up by 62 per cent.,—equivalent to 14 million journeys—between 1993 and 2005. A unitary authority with distinct geographical boundaries operates a voluntary partnership with a single bus operator. What successful schemes have in common is that control and management of the roads and decisions about who runs the buses are in the same hands.
My hon. Friend the Member for Wimbledon (Stephen Hammond), who sadly cannot be in the Chamber today, recently received a letter from Roger French, managing director of Brighton and Hove’s bus and coach company, which stated that
“the key ingredients that we have put into the partnership mixture are frequent services—80 per cent. of our passenger journeys are taken on a bus that runs at least every 10 minutes; simple pricing offering value for money; continued, sustained investment in new buses taking advantage of constantly improving technology and comfort and a passion for excellent customer service … The Local Authority’s ingredients are the installation of effective bus priority measures on the road; a robust parking management and enforcement regime; effective enforcement of traffic regulations associated with bus priority measures … accessible bus stops which are pleasant to wait at with real time information … As we discussed the private sector is best placed to deal with the first five ingredients … and … local authorities are best placed to deal with the second five ingredients”.
That happy pattern does not appear to work in rural areas, about which I have a little local knowledge, like the hon. Member for Somerton and Frome (Mr. Heath), who has left the Chamber. My constituency has 98 villages and I think one of them has the greatest length of road of any village in England—100 miles in Whixall. People in rural areas who do not have private transport are massively and disproportionately disadvantaged if there is no public transport.
There are some good schemes and I was delighted by the Minister’s comments in response to the Transport Committee’s report. Changing the number of passengers allowed to travel in voluntary vehicles and changes relating to driving seem thoroughly worthwhile. Since deregulation, some imaginative schemes have been developed. I will not give too strong a plug to North Shropshire Community Transport Ltd., which is a registered charity and a company. NSCT does not operate buses on a strictly defined route; in effect, there is a dial-a-ride system. On certain days, a bus travels from Wem to Ellesmere and people in a broad swathe of country between the two towns can call it up. Such imaginative schemes should be encouraged, so I am pleased about the changes the Minister proposes to the size of buses and the number of passengers that can be carried by volunteer drivers. Those volunteers do a terrific job and their work is vital.
Community car schemes are also vital in areas such as mine, where the council pays 48 per cent. and the passengers pay 52 per cent. of the costs. When the Under-Secretary of State for Transport, the hon. Member for Lincoln (Gillian Merron) replies to the debate, will she tell us whether existing subsidies could apply to community car schemes? A bus is not needed in some areas and a small car would be adequate. As I said, isolated people in rural areas are hugely and disproportionately disadvantaged; they cannot live a proper life, so imaginative local schemes are well worth developing and it is fair to say that they have blossomed since deregulation.
I take issue with the Government about their separation of funding, organisation and operation. Changing funding distribution from the Countryside Agency to regional development agencies has not helped. Local authorities close to the ground are much better qualified to decide where funding should be allocated, so I would like the Minister’s comments on that point.
More control should be given to local government rather than to traffic commissioners, as has been said. In country areas, the county council is always seen to be the provider of public transport, but it has to conform to regulation by the traffic commissioners and to funding decisions made by the RDAs, which is unsatisfactory.
The Government are in trouble over disability rights. Since January 2001 all buses coming into service have been required to be accessible, which means they should be fitted with ramps and low floors, and space should be set aside for wheelchairs. By 2017, all buses in Britain must comply with those regulations. The latest figures from the Department for Transport show that only 47 per cent. of buses are accessible. There are exceptions: 100 per cent. of London buses are accessible and the figure in Edinburgh is 75 per cent. However, 38 per cent. of disabled people do not travel on buses or other public transport. They lack confidence in the transport system.
I am interested in the hon. Gentleman’s two examples. In London, where accessibility is 100 per cent., the transport system is regulated and many Members are happy with that. In Edinburgh, although the system is not regulated, the bus company is municipally owned and there is 75 per cent. accessibility. Does the hon. Gentleman think some conclusions can be drawn from those coincidental facts?
I cannot comment on that situation. I am merely asking how the Government intend to implement national legislation and why it is so patchy across the country. The hon. Gentleman may have a point; the franchise system may work in London, but the disability legislation is national and affects a large number of people.
Twice as many disabled people as non-disabled people have turned down a job interview, medical appointment or social engagement due to difficulty in using buses or other forms of public transport. That is a major problem for them. Fifty-two per cent. of disabled people have difficulty in getting to essential services such as a GP surgery or a hospital, so when will the legislation be implemented?
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 required buses to be fully accessible to disabled people, including wheelchair users. It was proposed that new large single-deck buses and new double-deck buses would have to comply by January 2000 and that all single-deck buses would have to comply by 2015. There have subsequently been changes to the legislation. When and how will all those requirements be universally applied?
Another aspect that has been brought to my attention relates to audible and visible announcement equipment. The regulations for change include provisions on systems to make audible and visual announcements of stations, but it was not possible to include such provisions in the regulations for buses because the technology was not sufficiently well developed at the time. However, there have been improvements, based on global positioning systems, and Transport for London says that the information systems will be fitted for all London buses by 2009. In the Government’s view, what is a sensible timetable for the rest of the country? Without those systems, it can be difficult for people with visual impairments and for some people with learning difficulties to use buses, so I would be grateful for the Minister’s comments.
At the Labour party conference, we heard that the Government intended to give local authorities more control, and they set out their policy in “Putting Passengers First”—yet another document. We need to put it in context. It is 10 years since the Government came to power and we are entering the final quarter of their much vaunted 10-year plan for transport. We all remember the glorious words of the Deputy Prime Minister when he said that their goal was
“the integrated transport system this country needs and deserves. A system fit for the new millennium and of which we can be justly proud”.
There has been much activity by the Department for Transport. We have had the 10-year plan, White Papers, debates on transport Bills, numerous strategic plans and now we have “Putting Passengers First”. We have had multi-modal studies, setting out transport priorities, which have then been ignored—a fraught issue in my case, because the A5 is not going to be dualled. We have had a drive from the Government to improve the quality of local transport plans. We have blue skies thinking. We have had Lord Birt and Rod Eddington.
So, what about “Putting Passengers First”? There has been a lot of surface activity. Is “Putting Passengers First” going to go the way of the previous false starts, the changed directions and the worthless promises? It is full of pious, self-evident truisms, and some extraordinarily banal comments.
I have listened to the hon. Gentleman’s address to the House with considerable interest, but, apart from cutting public expenditure, I have not heard a single policy proposal from the Conservative party. What are his policy proposals on bus travel?
At no stage have I talked about cutting subsidies. I have talked about spending subsidies better and analysing whether existing subsidies are being well used. If the right hon. Gentleman will let me make a little progress I will touch on the Conservative party towards the end of my speech. Is he thrilled to support a Government who, after 10 years in power, bring out what is supposed to be a great new radical strategic paper, which says:
“An efficient transport system is an important ingredient of a strong and prosperous economy”?
“An efficient transport system contributes to stronger and deeper labour markets”
“A large bus has the potential to carry the equivalent of several fully-loaded cars”.
We are told:
“Buses must have the right environment in which to prosper.”
I mean, why write this stuff? What does it achieve after 10 years? I am astonished that that he stands up and says what he does when, after 10 years, we are still getting strategy papers with that sort of guff in them.
It is completely bland. There is not a single person who would disagree with it, but we do not progress. What we are looking for is some action. I would have thought that he would have been pressing his Government for that for 10 years. His Government set a target in their 10-year plan of increasing bus journeys by 10 per cent. by 2010. They also wanted to improve the punctuality of services nationally. Then they gave up. They recognised that the target was unattainable and it has been revised twice since 2000. We now have a combined target of increasing bus and light rail usage by 12 per cent. We are changing again.
There are two key proposals in “Putting Passengers First”. We are concerned about quality contracts. There has been concern among passenger transport authorities that if they involve multiple operators in discussions, that might be decreed as anti-competitive. We are concerned about the test. We would not want to see re-regulation by the back door, throwing out some of the advantages that we have seen from deregulation. We are interested in discussing with the Government how the schedule 10 test will be made appropriate. We will be able to see that only when we see the draft Bill. We will have to examine in detail what is meant by a “significantly adverse effect” and a “substantial benefit”.
We are much more in favour of voluntary partnerships. I touched on some examples earlier from Eddington. We would want to look carefully at the tests imposed by the Government. Having looked at the examples abroad, we are not at all convinced that a huge increase in regulation would work. We are seriously concerned about what is being proposed in relation to quality contracts. We would look to see much more work done on voluntary partnerships.
I cited cases earlier where that worked with more than one operator. It might not work for 70 operators. That might involve the creation of a new idea of a partnership. What one has to have is control of the roads and the road network, and of decision making in the allocation of bus routes.
So, let me talk about our thinking. I am conscious of time moving on and I know that other Members want to speak. As the right hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, East and Wallsend (Mr. Brown) knows, the Conservative party is reviewing its polices. As I have just said, we are convinced that we will be studying carefully the development of voluntary partnerships, rather than quality contracts. We would like to see the much wider use of modern technology such as transponders, and information technology. We accept that we must review what extra statutory powers beyond their current powers local authorities and PTAs need to make partnerships work. We will review the tools of demand management available to PTAs. We will also review the obligations on private operators within partnership arrangements. That includes the minimum duration of the operation of a service—that was touched on earlier in relation to bus wars—co-operative ticketing arrangements, and data storing. We would also look at the request from some local authorities for minimum acceptable standards of operation to be increased.
Not entirely, no. There was an attempt to misinterpret my comments on subsidies and to say that we were demanding a cut. What I think is interesting is that the Minister has had to defend his position against a wall of opinion behind him, which we will hear later. We probably have quite a lot in common. We believe that deregulation worked. He has quite clearly stated that he is not going to unwind deregulation. What we are both looking at is how we can use subsidies more sensibly and effectively, and how we can get local authorities working more effectively with private operators. There probably is not an enormous difference between us, but he has to think about why he is debating this matter after 10 years and whether he is really satisfied and convinced that the huge increase of £2.5 billion is being well spent in every case.
My final point relates to the environment, which the Minister did not really touch on. We would definitely look at targeting existing subsidies to see how we could promote more fuel efficiency and improved emission standards.
In conclusion, we believe that deregulation arrested the headlong decline in bus use. We would strongly oppose any re-regulation, but we are open to imaginative improvements to the current arrangements.
I welcome the Government’s White Paper, “Putting Passengers First”. Thinking about that title, one wonders where they have been for the last 20 years. But it is a good title and I trust that my hon. Friends on the Front Bench will put into practice some of the ideas and proposals in the document. I am not going to use the time available to me to go into why I think that the hurdles in the White Paper are too high to replace the only available alternative test, because the Minister has made it clear that he is open to detailed suggestions. I guess that other hon. Members will make those suggestions during the debate. I also agree with my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Attercliffe (Mr. Betts) that the concessionary fare scheme looks as though, financially, it could run out of control. That is a great worry to all the passenger transport authorities in England. Again, the Minister has said that he will look at that and I am content that he will do so.
Before I get on to the meat of what I want to say, I want to make one or two statistical points in relation to some of the comments that have been made. We are all proud that passenger numbers are going up for the first time for some years, but, in looking at those statistics, we need to be careful that we are comparing like with like. The new concessionary fare scheme came into force from last year and obviously the comparison no longer involves the same scheme as before. People who need to get to a hospital or to work may well still not be getting buses, although the overall headline figures are improving considerably. I hope that my hon. Friends on the Front Bench will look at some way of taking the statistics apart so that we can make a real comparison between what happened before the start of concessionary scheme in 1986 and what is happening now.
I would also like to look at the comparisons that have been made by Members on both Front Benches in relation to areas where quality partnerships or the current deregulation system are said to work. I just want to point out two or three facts.
Although passenger numbers have increased, the route network has declined in almost all small towns. Some people do not have access to services, even though more people are using them. That statistical point is similar to the one that I made previously. As my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh, North and Leith (Mark Lazarowicz) said, those towns and small areas are often served by what are essentially monopoly providers, or municipal bus companies. It is difficult to understand how one can compare such areas with the great cities of Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield, Leeds, Newcastle and Liverpool. However, those are not my main points.
I have great respect for the Minister and the Under-Secretary, who are tough debaters. By the end of the consultation process, I want to feel that they are up to the fight with the bus companies. Some of the debate over the past 10 to 20 years has lacked reality. We hear talk of a Panglossian world—a Jack and Jill world—in which if only the naughty children in the passenger transport authorities and the bus companies would get on a bit better, shake hands and make friends, everything would be nice. We hear phrases such as, “We want constructive partnerships; they are the key to delivery”, but if we look at what is happening we see that, in the case of the five biggest bus companies, we are dealing with avaricious, multinational companies that are public subsidy junkies. A terrific amount of public money goes into those companies and they are aggressively anti-PTAs and anti-county councils because they think that they are fighting for their lives—fighting to continue their main-lining of public subsidy. They operate not competitively, as the hon. Member for North Shropshire (Mr. Paterson) seems to hope is the case, but, essentially, in monopoly or near-monopoly situations. I thus want to test whether Ministers are up to the fight with those groups.
We have heard about, or read Committee reports outlining, the thinking in the Department for Transport. Although this might be unfair because the civil servant in question has retired, the former permanent secretary in the Department has said some extraordinary things. He was completely wrong when he appeared before the Public Accounts Committee on 23 January 2006 and said that the real difference between the system of public transport in London, which works, and that in the rest of the country arose from the fact that London had made different choices. That statement demonstrated his inadequate knowledge of the situation. While London uses the stream of money that it receives for its bus system well, authorities in metropolitan areas face all sorts of different issues, not least of which is the threat of council tax capping if their priorities are changed. It was worrying that the permanent secretary did not seem to understand the system. I will not bore the House by going into further detail, but if people want to read further analysis of the situation, it is in the excellent report by the Transport Committee, “Bus services across the UK”.
Even more worryingly, trade weeklies, such as Bus & Coach Buyer, contain boasts from ex-civil servants that they have more influence, by going to the Department for Transport and talking to their old pals about what they would like for the major companies, than us mere Back Benchers, by tabling early-day motions. I could supply the Ministers with quotes about that. When the Transport Committee quizzed the permanent secretary about that situation, he was complacent—that is the fairest comment that I can make. I hope that Ministers will examine the regular visits made to old chums in the Department by consultants who are paid large amounts by the bus companies. We need a greater understanding of why, over the past 20 years—certainly over the past 10 years of a Labour Government—there has been a steady stream of advice to Ministers that bringing some form of regulation back to the metropolitan areas would be a bad thing, despite the fact that that goes against most of the available evidence.
The hon. Member for North Shropshire said—this is always in the briefing notes that my hon. Friends and I receive—that we should not go back to the 1985 system. There might be a Labour Member who wants to go back to the situation in 1985, but I cannot honestly name him or her, or point to a relevant reference. I am fairly familiar with the views of the Labour Members in the Chamber. None of them wants that to happen, so the point is irrelevant. We want better services and better use of the public money that goes into public transport.
Let me say a few words about the financial structure of the industry itself. I was disappointed by the Government’s response to the Transport Committee’s report on buses. We asked a simple question, although we could perhaps have made its wording more elegant or comprehensive. We wanted the Government to tell us the level of profit at which buses become viable, or, to put it another way, the point at which bus companies start ripping off and exploiting the public sector. We received the response that that question was too difficult to answer—I am paraphrasing because I have not written it down—but that worries me a great deal. We are considering the viability of these companies. They know where the subsidy is going and understand completely how to manipulate the system, whether that is achieved through concessionary fares or by withdrawing from subsidised routes.
I will try to illustrate what is happening by citing some figures from Manchester. The national figures are very simple and round: the big five companies make about £400 million profit each year, while £2.5 billion of public subsidy goes into them. However, the local situation in Manchester shows significant evidence of monopoly behaviour. The number of supported services has increased by 25 per cent. for no obvious reason. When those services are put out to tender, only one bus company applies, which means that the cost for each mile travelled goes up by more than 30 per cent. above inflation.
A subsidy of about £100 million goes into the bus system in Greater Manchester, but that gives no control over what happens, except on subsidised routes. What percentage of the bus operators’ costs do Ministers think that that represents? I have done some calculations to demonstrate what is happening and to explain why there will be a very tough fight—we are not dealing with nice, chummy bus companies that have the public interest at heart. First Group runs a near-monopoly in my north Manchester constituency. I estimate—I can show the working figures to anyone who is interested—that 47 per cent. of its operating costs are paid for by the taxpayer. The taxpayer has thus paid about 50 per cent. of all costs before a bus gets out of the depot. As soon as First saw that it could get extra subsidy out of the concessionary fare system, it put up its fares by 10 per cent.—it would like a little more public subsidy, thanks very much.
I suspect that the hon. Member for North Shropshire has more faith in quality partnerships than I have. The prospect of the White Paper, which I welcome, led these rather unpleasant companies to threaten to withdraw their services and leave passengers high and dry if PTAs and councils did not get into partnerships with them at that time. Effectively, they are saying that they will leave the people we care about—who they do not care about—high and dry. That is the real fight that is going on. These people are fighting for their lives, as they are totally dependent on public subsidy.
Brian Souter, who runs Stagecoach, recently took out adverts in the Manchester Evening News attacking the passenger transport authority for not providing park-and-drive facilities. If he is such a great entrepreneur, why does he not do it himself? Why does he not buy the land to do it? He has huge profits in Stagecoach, as he is running more or less a monopoly in south Manchester, but that is not his attitude. He has the attitude of a 19th century mill owner, but one who wants some public subsidy as well. There were some pretty unpleasant cotton barons in 19th century Lancashire, but at least they did not ask the local authorities or the Government for money while they were grinding the faces of the workers into the ground. They did so without public subsidy, but not so in Souter’s case. He wants to be feather-bedded by public subsidy against real competition.
At the same time, Souter, along with UK North and GM Buses, which have now gone bankrupt, was prepared to destroy the economy of Manchester’s city centre by blocking it up unnecessarily. They knew exactly what they were doing. They were putting pressure on Manchester city council and the passenger transport authority to co-operate with them and give them more cash. In effect, they were saying that they could wreck the city centre by stopping people coming into hospitals or offices. That is their attitude.
To take a slight international diversion, I would like to provide a glimpse of the future. I am aware of the provenance of that phrase and that it is not usually a happy provenance when people say that they have seen the future. At the expense of the Service Employees International Union, the largest in the US, I went to look at the operations of First Group in America. I went to Jacksonville and Minneapolis-St. Paul and I also talked to drivers in Cincinnati. Together with the Transport and General Workers Union, we were extremely concerned that the practices that First Group was following in the US would soon be seen in this country.
What I saw was horrifying, although I do not have enough time to provide all the details. First Group, operating as First Student in the US, one of the three biggest bus companies, made me feel ashamed. People who were trying to organise and form trade unions were having the wheels changed on their buses so that they were unsafe in the deepest mid-winter around Minneapolis-St. Paul, where it is often minus 20° or minus 30°, making the roads dangerous. I spoke to many drivers and many people who were trying to organise unions and the response was always the same. First was anti-trade union activity; it acted aggressively and with hostility, showing itself willing to put children’s lives at risk. I spoke to the managing director over there and to the people back here. What was happening was completely unacceptable and I was ashamed that a British company was acting like that. I use that example to illustrate the fact that we are not dealing with people who have the public interest at heart.
I have two further points before finishing. The White Paper is part of a welcome general change in attitude to public transport. The Government are saying that the deregulated system has not worked in part, which I suppose is progress. They say that it has worked in other parts, but I disagree. The Government are going to look further into having quality contracts and a change of governance. They are saying that if people want the cash to improve public transport, they will in some cases have to have road pricing and congestion charging.
I can tell Ministers that I am not against road pricing in principle. I believe that a thoroughly sound intellectual case can be made for it at the right time, but forcing it into urban areas where it may not be appropriate—it could be a hindrance, barrier and hurdle even though it may be a good thing in its own terms—is quite wrong. I have looked into some of the details of schemes proposed for Greater Manchester—there remains more to be seen—and I do not understand why people in Manchester should pay a higher tax for using the roads there in order to get a bus, tram and possibly a rail system that should be available to them in any case. There may be a case for it, but if we ever get road pricing, I would expect either fuel duty or road tax to be decreased, which cannot happen if an experiment goes on only in one place. I therefore hope that Ministers will look further into that.
I would like to clarify the position. My hon. Friend is absolutely right that we cannot go for national changes in the taxation of road use when we are just talking about pilot schemes. We need to talk in great detail to the local pilot partners about how they want the revenue to be used. We entirely agree that we will not be able to sell a package to motorists in a local area if they think that the money will be spent on some purpose that they may not support. That is very much one of the key issues that the pilot areas have to address and I have no doubt that Greater Manchester will address it, before proceeding with the proposal.
I am grateful for those comments, but my main point remains. In our current debate about quality contracts, in previous debates about improving tram systems and in future debates about improving metropolitan rail services, these issues stand on their own. Congestion road pricing is a national issue and I am unconvinced that an experiment that puts the economy and people of Manchester—or Birmingham or anywhere else that tries it—at a disadvantage in comparison with elsewhere will work.
I respect the Minister’s work and I agree with many things that he says on transport, but I must make this point. In a deregulated system or partially deregulated system—this is the key to understanding why deregulation has not worked in metropolitan areas—where car restraint and bus priority measures are in force, it becomes anti-public transport. What the private bus companies do is focus their resources on the radial routes where cars have been moved out of the way, because they make a better return on those routes, and they withdraw services from more marginal areas where many of my constituents and others live.
Although the proposals to target subsidy have not been widely discussed, I hope that they will work with the proposals on quality contracts. I hope that the Minister will be tough and will realise that he is in for a fight with some very tough multinational companies, which do not want this to happen. They are employing rooms full of lawyers to stop it happening, so it will not happen without a fight. I know that the Minister is tough and up to that sort of fight. I look forward to joining him in making public transport in our metropolitan areas and the rest of England a lot better. “Putting Passengers First” is a great title for a White Paper; I hope that we can make a reality of it.
I welcome the comments of the hon. Member for Manchester, Blackley (Graham Stringer) as I, too, welcome the White Paper, which came on the back of the excellent work of the Select Committee on buses and public transport.
I start by making it clear that Liberal Democrats, although not very happy with deregulation or how it is operating now, do not want to go back to 1985. We agree with the hon. Gentleman about that. One of the first campaigns I got involved in was trying to get GM Buses, as it was at the time, to alter the bus route. I well remember the way in which the public monopolies in existence then were extremely unresponsive to local and necessary changes that would not have cost a huge sum of money. That said, most hon. Members, with the possible exception of Conservative Members, accept that the current policy is not working.
We have seen a 50 per cent. collapse in bus usage. Fares have gone up 86 per cent. in real terms since deregulation in PTE areas. As the Minister has said, subsidies have risen from £1 billion to £2 billion. At the same time, 15 per cent. of all buses that are stopped by the Government’s Vehicle and Operator Services Agency are issued with prohibition notices, despite all the subsidy and all the talk about quality bus contracts. What would people think if something similar applied in the rail industry?
I agree entirely with the hon. Member for Eccles (Ian Stewart). Back in 2001, my party called for local authorities to be given much more control over quality contracts. The fact that the Minister today, after seven years, can announce only one quality bus contract is clearly testament to the fact that the policy has failed. In fact, a NERA report estimated in August 2006 that, if the current policies were allowed to continue for the next 20 years, there would be a further rise of 20 per cent. in fares and a further drop of 20 per cent. in ridership. Clearly, if congestion, air quality, climate change and all those issues are to be addressed, we must do something now.
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for that, and he will know that, when the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities leaders met two weeks ago, the two leaders from Liberal Democrat-controlled councils in that area insisted on the four tests that were buried in the report being made part of the deal that had to be done before that could be accepted.
We also said that, if the Greater Manchester passenger transport executive has got its plan, we need to see it within the next two months. Clearly, while we support the policy, we want Manchester to get the investment and we also want a proper debate about what is going into that plan. Hiding it away until after the local elections is not acceptable. We want to see the changes and the investment.
I want to put a couple of questions to the Under-Secretary about the quality bus contracts, and I hope that she will respond to them. I do not know whether she has seen the article on the front page of last week’s Transport Times. She probably attended the conference, where Jonathan Bracken, a partner at Bircham Dyson Bell, said that nothing suggests that quality contracts were
“a legal silver bullet to solve our problems”.
There is great concern about the length of time that it will take to conclude the quality contracts on the new framework, and I would be very interested to know, first, whether the Government have done any assessment of that and, secondly, whether they have looked at the process proposed in the White Paper of removing the Department for Transport and involving an appeal process. It seems to us that they are putting in place more hurdles and more stages.
I wonder why the hon. Gentleman quoted the only article in Transport Times that contained any lukewarm comments about the Government’s proposals, instead of the articles on almost every other page of that edition that said that the Government’s proposals could take the industry forward.
It is a fair point—[Interruption.] No, no. Like the hon. Member for Manchester, Blackley, when I hear one of the people who runs a bus company say that it is wonderful, I am very cynical, having seen the operations of those bus companies at close hand. I have seen the way that they have manipulated our communities, as the hon. Gentleman said, in moving subsidy about. They have moved bus fleets into areas to crush competition. As soon as the competition has gone, they put up prices and bring back the old, clapped-out buses. In my view, that is the quality bus contract scheme, and I wonder why all those bus moguls are suddenly now interested in the scheme. In my view, they see it as yet another way in which they can tie the Government and local council’s hands.
I hope that we will have more of these discussions when the Bill is published. There is a need for regulation. There is a need to give local communities control over transport. There is also a role for urban PTEs and PTAs to take on more of the transport highway functions that currently reside with highway authorities.
No, I happen to believe that people must operate a scheme that is right for the purpose, and although I believe that local communities—[Interruption.] I was going to come to concessionary bus fares later, but let us look at the results that the current scheme has delivered. I am not criticising the Government’s decision to introduce the scheme—in fact, I welcomed it—but in a Statutory Instrument Committee, when we were discussing the introduction of concessionary fares, I warned the then Minister, the hon. Member for Regent’s Park and Kensington, North (Ms Buck), who is not now in her place, about some of the consequences. Those consequences arise because of the way that the revenue support grant system operates: some authorities gained; other authorities, such as Tyne and Wear, lost out.
The big concern about the scheme is that, as the hon. Member for Manchester, Blackley knows, the Greater Manchester passenger transport authority has just lost £3.4 million because the bus operators have played the game and the patronage has gone up, so they have put up the bus fare, and they are now claiming a greater proportion of the fare. That has cost Greater Manchester council £3.4 million this year, and concessionary bus fares for others have gone up from 50p to 70p. Therefore, I want the system to be regulated.
I want a smart card to be introduced that operates nationally, so that it does not matter in which authority it is used and so that accurate data can be collected. I want a system that does not allow bus operators to hold local authorities to ransom because so many people have gone on the bus in the past. If people are negotiating a contract, they should agree what they will spend in the coming 12 months.
A standard fare, very much as the Mayor of London has introduced for concessionary bus travel, will allow local authorities to take on the big bus operators. Otherwise, we have already seen what is happening: they are milking the system. There is a need for a national framework, not necessarily a totally national scheme, that has certain parameters that allows us to develop a truly national scheme. If that is good enough for the Scots or the Welsh, why is it not good enough for England?
To return to my main point, I believe that there is a need for regulation. I welcome the introduction of the statutory partnership and the removal of the public interest test that was used previously.
I also welcome the increased role of traffic commissioners, although my party would like that role to be extended. Earlier, the Office of Fair Trading was mentioned, but it has lamentably failed to do anything to regulate fares and competition for buses; in fact, it has gone completely the other way. We would like the OFT’s powers to be transferred to the traffic commissioners, but with an exemption, so that common fare schemes could be introduced, and so that there could be some control over prices. We would like the traffic commissioners to play a role in helping to control and regulate bus timetables and fares. That is the system under which the railways operated, before the Department for Transport decided to take all the powers back for itself. The only way forward is to give traffic commissioners that role, and to ensure free competition for buses; that is what is needed.
We need a commitment from the Government that road-user charging will not be used as a Revenue-funder, but will instead bring about greater investment. We have a long way to go in the next few months to make sure that changes are made, but we have finally made a start. We want statutory quality partnerships, and we want local authorities and passenger transport executives to have a say in setting them up. We want an enhanced role for traffic commissioners, and we want a national framework for concessionary fares. If we get all that, we can move forward and begin to experience benefits. It has taken the Government 10 years to reach this stage; the bus is late, but it has arrived at last.
I have a warm feeling of nostalgia, because I remember sitting through the proceedings on the Transport Bill in 1985 and watching the Conservative party explaining their views quite plainly. In their view, the public subsidy for buses was not only very large but indefensible. It could not be explained, and should be removed as far away as possible. All that we needed was to return to the high uplands of open competition, and all would be well. If I may say so without being unduly harsh to the hon. Member for North Shropshire (Mr. Paterson), who is no longer in the Chamber, it was delightful to hear him struggling hard not to make plain the position that Conservatives still hold. It is comforting to know that some things never change.
May I tell the hon. Lady, who chairs the Select Committee on Transport, that when we come to my winding-up speech, she will hear about one of the most interesting schemes in bus development, which is being introduced by the largest Conservative authority and rural county?
I am delighted to hear that, and I hope that the hon. Gentleman’s speech will not undermine his position on the Front Bench; if he says something new, strong and policy-led, it will be such a departure that his position in the shadow transport team will not last long.
The Government should take a clear look at what is happening in the bus system. It is true that large sums of money are being spent, including on the concessionary fares scheme, which is a delight. It has opened up all sorts of vistas, and it is a real improvement in the quality of life for many people in my constituency. It is wholly to be applauded. Also, amounts are being spent on ensuring that services are provided by an ever smaller number of private companies. In his estimable speech, my hon. Friend the Member for Manchester, Blackley (Graham Stringer) made it plain that five major companies are responsible for 90 per cent. of the bus services, and they not only wantonly dictate terms and conditions, but behave in a manner that cannot be defended. It is clear that many local authorities are faced with a series of faits accomplis, as companies simply remove services, without any justification, and then tell county councils or PTEs, “Fine; if you want that service to run, replace it with a subsidised service, and we will accept the extra money with thanks.”
If we are to consider doing more than stopping the decline of bus travel, and are instead to consider expanding bus travel, as the Government are doing under many of their schemes, we need to examine the behaviour of those who provide the services and those who accept the public subsidies, and they inevitably do not compete with one another. It is nonsense to say that the bus companies in this country compete, because the reality is very different. I believe that the Government are sincere in wanting not only to improve the situation in the bus industry but ensure that ever more people use buses, with all the environmental advantages that that would bring. It is no accident that large numbers of Labour Members want to debate the subject today, but that Conservative Members think that the matter is of no interest. That demonstrates clearly the difference between the two parties.
On the Government’s response to the Select Committee’s inquiry, the Committee looked into bus services across the United Kingdom because we were so concerned about what is happening, given not only the concessionary fares regime but all the recent changes that have come about. The Government said in their answer to the Committee that they
“would not want to see local authorities introducing a Quality Contracts scheme for the whole of an urban area at the same time under one contract”.
Why not? What is the advantage of letting contracts for smaller parts of the network? There is no justification for doing so. Part of the reason for introducing a quality contract is so that local authorities and passenger transport authorities can create a co-ordinated network in their area, and that is where the real benefit lies. To have several contracts within an area would complicate matters, raise costs and fail to ensure the co-ordination that the contracts are designed to provide.
I am convinced that there is a rather endearing commitment to the idea that bus companies somehow compete. The reality is that they do nothing of the kind. They take good care to make sure that if there is any question of competition, they deal with the matter any way that they can.
On that theme, may I ask the Minister the question to which I did not get an answer earlier? If PTAs are legally challenged by bus companies in the event of a quality contract being introduced, will the Department indemnify them from legal action? It is unacceptable that bus companies should, in effect, threaten locally elected authorities and say to them, “If you persist, even though what your are doing is in the interests of your constituents and the general public, we will challenge you in the courts.” I regard that as straightforward blackmail, and I should like to know whether the Government intend to make it clear that they will neither accept that nor allow local authorities or PTAs to cope with the matter on their own.
Does my hon. Friend agree that that is an extremely important issue? To a PTE, the cost of a legal case in the courts would be a significant part of its budget, whereas to the bus companies, compared with the amount of profit that they could lose if a quality contract was brought in, the cost of a legal case would be insignificant, and they would always have a vested interest in proceeding with such a case.
That is an essential difference, and one that we should be aware of. It is ratepayers who will have to foot the bill, and they who will suffer.
The Committee considered that traffic commissioners were an important part of the traffic system and should be given rather more powers and more resources. During the debate some Members have expressed worries about the role of the traffic commissioners if they were allowed to adjudicate on new schemes, but they are an independent service and they have responsibilities. Were they given greater powers, they would be able to extend what they do at present—make a valiant attempt, not always fully supported, to bring the bus companies into some kind of order and to provide a high quality service. Not only should they have more resources, but they should be consulted on extended powers.
We believe that the Government were wrong when they said that it was not intended that traffic commissioners would enforce any quality contract schemes, and that that would be the role of the contracting local authority. There is no justification for that. Independent enforcement of quality contracts, if operators are persuaded to join them, should be the responsibility not of the local authority that will be a party to the contract, but of an independent force such as traffic commissioners, who can not only be trusted, but can demonstrate why they reach particular conclusions.
The Government rejected our suggestion that they should undertake a study of operators’ excess profits, on the grounds that
“a general statement about the appropriate profit level would not be tenable.”
That is nonsense. The Government already do that in other fields, and I can give chapter and verse. There is absolutely no justification for allowing the five very powerful companies to escape proper surveillance.
The Government said that the amount that local authorities have to spend on subsidising routes was not acceptable. They pointed out that funding had increased under the Government. We agreed that that was good, but it is not the real point. Local authorities are having to make greater and greater subsidies because of the behaviour of the operators in surrendering the less profitable routes and rebidding for the same subsidised service.
Many hon. Members want to speak and they will undoubtedly lay out in considerable detail what is good and bad about the systems in their areas. I make a more general point to my hon. Friend the Minister. There is no great sophistication or glamour about the bus industry. It does not have those dearly loved fans who follow railway engines round the country, take their pictures and keep them carefully in books, but it can make a difference to the lives of women in particular, in a way that no other service can do. It is the difference, especially in rural areas, between being able to get to the doctor and to the local town to get the shopping done—between having any kind of social contact and being totally isolated. Yet for some reason the bus industry is regarded, perhaps not only by the Conservative party, as a service that has constantly to be justified because it is costing the ratepayers money.
Nobody demands better value for money than I or my Committee do, but before we remove from the powers of the local authorities the right to control the way that money is spent on behalf of the ratepayer and taxpayer, we should think very carefully indeed. We are already committed to providing good services. We are already committed to a most imaginative scheme that has made an enormous difference to many pensioners.
Let us not, for other reasons, undermine all the good things that have been done by allowing a small group of enormously greedy bus operators to dictate exactly what they want to do without any concern for the common good or the common purpose. I know that my hon. Friend the Minister will never allow that, but I want an undertaking from her that neither will the silly men whom she sometimes has to deal with.
I wish to speak as a London Member of Parliament who uses public transport on a regular basis. In fact, this morning I was very grateful for public transport, because without it I would not be here. I walked through the snow to the station, having been unable to use the No. 150 bus as I usually would, and the underground got me here, even if it was in conditions that we would not allow animals to travel in.
I want to speak in a way that is not party political.
I apologise to the hon. Gentleman in advance.
I want to talk about some ideas that I have come up with. I apologise to my Front-Bench colleagues for not sharing those ideas with them beforehand, but as I am on the Back Benches and will probably be staying here, I feel latitude in being able to do that.
One of the main reasons why people in my constituency do not wish to travel on buses is the safety factor. Recently, bus drivers in my area have refused to travel along certain routes because of antisocial behaviour by young people. We heard earlier about proposals made by a group in the London assembly. As that is a devolved assembly, I do not intend to give it advice on what it should or should not do, but it relates to the problem. When the Mayor introduced concessions for young people, he promised that there would be extra British Transport police on buses where there were problems and that anyone who abused the system would be stopped from using those buses. That has not happened. Constituents, particularly the elderly, regularly contact me to say that they are scared to travel, particularly late at night or in the winter when it gets dark early, because they do not feel safe due to the vandalism and irresponsibility of people who abuse the system. I recognise that the vast majority of young people do not abuse the system, but it is always the minority who spoil it for the majority. If such schemes are to be rolled out elsewhere, I ask the Minister to consider extra British Transport police coverage to protect people.
The hon. Gentleman served on the Transport Committee when we produced the buses report and will remember that when we investigated safety on buses one of our concerns was that the operator should take some responsibility for the security of passengers. Does he agree, and can he tell the House what measures bus operators in his area are taking to improve passenger security?
I thank the hon. Gentleman and agree with his comments.
Recently, when the police have tried to bring prosecutions they were told that the closed-circuit TV on the buses was not functioning because it had no film and therefore could not be used in evidence. Companies must be made to have that in motion all the time so that it can be used and prosecutions brought. The onus for that is on the bus companies. I have said that locally and will continue to do so. Equally, however, there needs to be British Transport police back-up.
Having mentioned my journey to the House this morning, I should like to refer to an incident that happened on the way, by which point I was on the tube. I recognise that that is not the subject of the debate, but it still has relevance. Two gentlemen decided to try to knock seven bells out of each other because one of them could not get off the train. We tried to separate them and were successful, and one of them, in good east end terms, legged it and got away. There was no one there to try to stop the fight. No staff were available. If we are to encourage greater use of public transport, it can be done only with better policing.
I said at the beginning of my speech that I would not be party political. I commend the Mayor of London for the fact that we have more buses. However, we need to go further. People in parts of my constituency and the nearby area cannot access the buses because they do not run to the places that are slightly further outside the town centre and the shopping areas. They cannot get into those areas to use facilities such as libraries and swimming pools.
There should be partnerships, as my hon. Friend the Member for North Shropshire (Mr. Paterson) said. Partnerships work in some parts of the country and they should be extended further, with pilots to ascertain how we can get smaller hopper buses to run to the main services that access the main hubs. If that is done, we will have a first class bus service, which I support.
My hon. Friend the Member for North Shropshire referred to disabled people who use buses. There is 100 per cent. coverage in London. Again, I congratulate the Mayor and Transport for London on that. However, many users tell me that they cannot access facilities because some of the staff are not trained to help them. I ask for training to be put in place and rolled out throughout the country so that disabled people who cannot currently access services can do so. I have heard reports of people missing interviews and appointments and being unable to go shopping because buses do not offer the necessary facilities.
When I was a child—my memory serves me well; that was a long time ago—I got the No.148 bus from the Green Man roundabout to Ilford every day to go to school. Was I ever told off for misbehaving on the bus? I was. In those days, you got a clip round the ear and you did not do it again. I got the clip and I did not do it again. However, I used the services all the time. I want a first-class service for the people of our country. I commend the work of our Committee and its Chairman and I shall continue to support it in every way I can.
The hon. Member for Ilford, North (Mr. Scott) made his initial point about the need for security on buses and other forms of public transport well. It applies equally to other parts of the country.
The hon. Member for North Shropshire (Mr. Paterson) repeatedly made the point that London is unique. In many respects, it is. It is a capital city with a larger population than anywhere else in the country and it has some unique characteristics. However, there are similarities between London and other city regions that we should not overlook. We should not be seduced from the view that things that happen in London would be equally appropriate in other city regions.
My city region of Merseyside is a case in point. Indeed, my constituency makes the point well. City regions are not homogenous areas. They are not entirely urban—they have rural parts. In my constituency, Kirkby, Stockbridge village and North Huyton are classically urban areas, mainly consisting of estates and town centres. My hon. Friend the Minister, who opened the debate for the Government, knows the area well—indeed, he was brought up there. Aintree and Maghull are suburban areas, Knowsley village and Lydiate are semi-rural, and Sefton village and Ince Blundell are rural. So, although it is a city region, it has many different areas, even within one constituency.
I thank the right hon. Gentleman for giving way so early in his speech. Like a number of others, he has attacked my hon. Friend the Member for North Shropshire (Mr. Paterson) for suggesting that the London experience cannot easily be replicated. In fact, the Government’s own response to the Select Committee report states:
“The Government agrees that it is not clear that the London experience can be replicated wholesale in other metropolitan areas. London is unique on many counts and it is not easy to isolate the reasons for their success on increasing bus patronage.”
I have read those words as well. It might have escaped the hon. Gentleman’s attention that I am making a speech from the Back Benches rather than from the Front Bench. Although I shall express my support for some of the Government’s proposals in a moment, I hope that he will allow me to make my speech in my own way, using my own words.
As I was saying, there is a mixture of areas even within a single city region, and my constituency illustrates that point well. One thing that all those areas have in common, whether they are urban, rural, semi-rural or suburban, is that they all have problems with bus services. Moreover, the problems are not that different from one area to another. We sometimes make too much of the differences between areas, when, in my experience, the problems are more common to most of them than we acknowledge. With £2 billion of subsidy going into the system, we should not have so many problems. That point was well made by my hon. Friends the Members for Manchester, Blackley (Graham Stringer) and for Crewe and Nantwich (Mrs. Dunwoody) in relation to difficulties with certain bus companies, and I shall not repeat those arguments.
Successful city regions need many things but, above all, they need an efficient and reliable transport system, and buses are an essential part of that mix. May I also say, as I never miss an opportunity to raise the subject in the House, that the people of Merseyside would be really pleased if we could have a light rail system? The Under-Secretary of State for Transport, my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow, South (Mr. Harris), who is responsible for these matters, is in discussion with us to see whether we can revive the Merseytram Line 1, and I hope that we shall be able to do so. Every city region needs a mix of different kinds of transport.
The transport system in my constituency, particularly the bus system, is not as good as it should be. That applies to urban and rural areas alike—the same problems exist throughout the area. The bus companies are able to change the timetables and the frequency of the services almost without interference. They certainly do so without any consultation and often without giving any proper notice. It is common for a bus service to be changed and for no one to know anything about it until after it has happened. All too often, people do not know about the change until their bus does not turn up at the expected time. Some services have been entirely withdrawn, which has left places such as Melling in my constituency totally isolated. Other services have stopped running in the evenings. This has happened in some parts of Kirkby, which is an urban area, and in Knowsley village, which is semi-rural. After a certain time in the evening there are either no buses at all, or a very limited service.
So, there are problems. I do not say that in order to criticise the Government. I am sure that my hon. Friend the Minister will accept that that is the reality of the situation. I welcome the consultation document “Putting Passengers First”. As others have said, it is a well-named document: putting passengers first ought to be our objective. The document provides a reasonable and reasoned approach to the problems that have been described in the debate today.
I would, however, like to raise some concerns, and I hope that my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary will be able to address them when she winds up the debate. I should say, Mr. Deputy Speaker, by way of an apology, that owing to the difficulties of travelling on the west coast main line today, I might not be able to stay here long enough to hear my hon. Friend’s wind-up speech. However, I shall read it avidly on the intranet tomorrow.
I am glad that quality contracts, which have been mentioned a number of times, form part of the Government’s mixed approach, but I hope that my hon. Friend will ensure that the administrative tests are not so onerous as to put off local authorities— indeed, no more onerous than the tests that already exist. It is important to be flexible and allow PTAs to be imaginative about how they enter into partnerships.
As we have heard, the costs of concessionary travel are causing concern, but there is also concern about the potential for fraud. I believe that smart cards will help to deal with that. Although municipal bus services were not always perfect, I think that in an ideal world they would be the best option, but it is probably impossible to get to where we would like to be from a standing start. However, I have a suggestion.
My hon. Friend the Member for Crewe and Nantwich will be familiar with Merseyrail Electrics. It has a 25-year contract with Merseytravel allowing it to provide what is known as a publicly specified and privately operated electric rail service. The long contract period gives time for any necessary improvements to be measured and introduced over time. The contract also gives the passenger transport authority a good deal of control. According to all the national measurements that have been taken, the service is efficient and reliable. I think that that model could prove very successful if applied to buses, and I hope my hon. Friend will consider it. Certainly my constituents who use the Northern line appreciate the service.
Before I entered the House, I spent 14 years as a member of a local authority, Knowsley council, and of its predecessor, Huyton urban district council. I continue to believe strongly that the more control we give to local authorities, the more likely they are to administer services in a way that meets local needs. I was pleased to note from his speech that my hon. Friend the Minister was taken with that idea.
Merseytravel, my local PTA, is a very good authority. Its chair, Councillor Mark Dowd, is a great political leader and a great advocate for public transport for Merseyside, and for the whole country in respect of some of the bodies on which he serves. Its chief executive, Neil Scales—I think that his full title is chief executive and director general—is well regarded by the Department for Transport, in transport circles and by those of us who regularly deal with Merseytravel. People like that represent the future of public transport, and people like that are the right people to deal with bus services. I hope that through the measures in the consultation document, we can transfer more power and control to such people because I trust them to deal with bus services—and although I trust my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary, I am not entirely convinced that I trust her Department in its entirety instead of a local authority.
It is a rare pleasure to follow my right hon. Friend the Member for Knowsley, North and Sefton, East (Mr. Howarth) in debate, as it is unusual for a Labour Member to speak immediately after another Labour Member. It is worth pausing to reflect on why that has happened. In fairness to the Conservative party, it is being consistent. Conservatives do not like bus travel, they are not wedded to public transport and they have not turned up for this debate. They are at least being consistent in not being present. However, the hon. Member for Rochdale (Paul Rowen) is the only Liberal Democrat who has attended this debate. When I think of all the “Fib Dem” “Focus” leaflets that have been shoved through my letter box—I am sure other Members have had the same experience—saying how much they care about where the bus stop is, the frequency of the bus service, how wrong it is that somebody else, either the Labour Government or the Labour-controlled passenger transport authority, has not done this, that or the other, I would have thought that their parliamentary representatives might have found time to have attended the debate.
I am sure that the right hon. Gentleman is not surprised that a Member rises to respond to that comment. He is right that the debate is on an important issue, but let us look at the timetable for it. On what day is the debate taking place? This is the last day before recess and we are having a discussion about buses. Why was the subject of the debate not expanded? Does the right hon. Gentleman not agree that we should have a wider debate—one that is not only on buses, but on transport? If that were the case, we would find that not only Opposition Members but Labour Members would be more inclined to join in the debate.
Order. I think that we ought to debate the matter that we are in the Chamber to debate.
I fully accept that, Mr. Deputy Speaker, but I wish to observe that the conditions that pertain to today’s debate pertain for all Members equally. It is not easier for Labour Members to get to the House than Conservative Members—or easier even than Liberal Democrats. However, I shall follow your guidance, Mr. Deputy Speaker, and return to the subject of buses.
The case for public bus transport has never been stronger. The arguments for it have been well rehearsed in the House. Bus transport is liberating for those who do not have access to other means of transportation. It is socially inclusive for those on low incomes, including pensioners and those who do not receive a wage. The economic case for bus transportation in broadening the range of jobs that are available to people has an important part to play in the Government’s “making work pay” strategy. There is, and always has been, a strong case for bus transportation in terms of the impact that it has on relieving traffic congestion. Perhaps the most important argument in favour of bus transportation is the environmental case; a bus journey produces far less carbon dioxide per person than individual car travel for the same journey.
I want to pay tribute and give due credit to individual Government Departments for their recognition of the role of bus transportation in achieving their departmental objectives. For example, the Department for Work and Pensions has provided financial support for bus transportation defined specifically to link rural communities with larger neighbouring labour markets. Through its agencies, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and its predecessor, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, have supported rural bus schemes, including minibus schemes, to mitigate the isolation of those in rural communities who do not have access to their own transport. Some of those schemes have been highly imaginative, taking careful account of people’s preferred journey patterns. The Chancellor has provided funding for concessionary bus travel for older and disabled people in his last two Budget statements, and the latest proposal from the Department for Transport is to take forward the quality contract idea in the Transport Act 2000, which I think has so far found only one taker. So if there is merit in the idea—I think that there is—it needs revisiting.
Having said all that, the question that the House ought to be considering is why the use of buses outside London has been in sharp decline since bus deregulation in the 1980s. Bus use in Tyne and Wear has declined by 48 per cent. in the past 20 years, and part of the explanation might be found in the level of expenditure on transport. Public spending on transport in London stands at £631 per head. The equivalent figure for the four English regions of the north-east, Yorkshire and Humberside, the north-west and the west midlands is £239 per head. That is a substantial difference. Deregulation of the bus industry outside London has not brought the benefits claimed for it, and it seems that the application of competition policy in this area has turned out to be more of a hindrance than a help.
With declining passenger numbers, bus companies are slow in investing and short-termist in their decision making, and there has been little innovation from the private sector. Now that the private sector bus market has settled down following initial deregulation, there has been a marked tendency toward the establishment of effective private sector monopolies area by area. That is exacerbated by the fact that the cost of entry into the market for new competition is high, so it is rarely attempted. Whatever this is, it is not competition policy. Bus companies are also not slow in coming forward to demand public subsidies for every social element of the service that they provide—a point that my hon. Friend the Member for Manchester, Blackley (Graham Stringer) made very effectively. The most obvious example is concessionary travel. Bus companies seek to reclaim from public authorities the full cost of pensioners’ and older people’s travel. If a real private market were operating, surely all bus companies would introduce concessionary travel arrangements of their own. However, because the state is paying, those private companies want to charge full fare.
I am pleased that the right hon. Gentleman has moved on to concessionary fares. What is his view of the Government’s revenue support grant settlement for Tyne and Wear, which resulted in massive cuts in bus services and an increase in concessionary fares? Does he think that the Government got it right?
It will come as no surprise whatsoever to the hon. Gentleman to learn that I will have quite a lot to say about that issue later. Indeed, I have asked questions of the Minister about it, met various Ministers to discuss it, had an Adjournment debate on it and introduced a ten-minute Bill in an attempt to remedy the problem. So it is not as if I have been silent on the matter, and nor will I be silent this time. I should add one cautionary note, however. The difficult situation in which Tyne and Wear finds itself is not the responsibility of the Ministers opening and responding to today’s debate. Indeed, the previous Secretary of State for Transport went out of his way to be as helpful as he could to Tyne and Wear; the blame lies elsewhere.
I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for giving way a second time. On his substantive point, he has made an intricate, detailed and effective attack on the way in which the subsidy is being applied. Surely that bears out the point made earlier by my hon. Friend the Member for North Shropshire (Mr. Paterson), who said that one does not have to disagree with the level of subsidy in order to argue that it is none the less being extremely ineffectively applied.
The hon. Gentleman—I hope that I do not do him any harm in saying this—is absolutely right. An appropriate sum of money was allocated to the policy; it is the way in which it has been distributed to individual authorities that has given rise to the problem. Some authorities were given too much money and were reluctant to give it back. That is understandable, but the area that I represent was not given enough money. It says that it needs more, and it does, as I shall point out.
I suspect that the hon. Gentleman will also agree with me about the dangers before privatisation. Unresponsive, complacent, inflexible and inefficient public monopolies are no more acceptable than their under-funded private sector equivalents. Many of my hon. Friends have said that they do not want to go back to the situation of the early 1980s. I endorse that sentiment and I shall propose a better way forward.
The issue is important for the whole country, and especially for English conurbations outside London. It is especially important to the community in Tyne and Wear that I represent, partly because car ownership is substantially lower than the national average and partly because the usage of public transport is substantially higher than the national average. It is those facts that, as well as underpinning the importance of public transport, have got us into the budgetary difficulty that the PTA, Nexus, faces. For those who do not know the area, Nexus covers the five metropolitan district authorities in Tyne and Wear. The funding arrangements for the Government-inspired concessionary travel scheme have left the authority with a shortfall of £5.4 million.
I have raised the issue in an Adjournment debate and in a ten-minute Bill. The Tyne and Wear MPs have had meetings with Ministers and even with the Prime Minister to try to resolve the issue, but it remains unresolved. It is completely unacceptable that the injustice has remained unresolved for 18 months.
No, I have made my point about unfairness, and other hon. Members, at least on this side of the House, wish to speak in the debate. I do not want to use up their time.
Nexus has tried to deal with the problem by drawing down its reserves to bridge the funding gap. That might be a reasonable short-term strategy, but it can only do it once. The reserves cannot be drawn down again, so some other means will have to be found to meet the budget shortfall. That inevitably means cuts in services and the withdrawal of other concessions that do not have the statutory underpinning of the arrangements for pensioners and persons with disabilities. That is desperately unfair—and even more so because the pressure to cut other arrangements is not being put on other passenger transport authorities. In any event, such pressure is contrary to the public interest.
I wish to conclude my short contribution to today’s debate by suggesting a way forward. The debate about city regions offers in its analysis some very important points on economic development and public transport, although it is unwise to draw more general conclusions about political structures from it. What is needed is a combination of the ideas proposed by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport for taking forward the quality contract proposals, which have much merit, combined with an empowering of passenger transport authorities.
I took great heart from the Minister’s comments on the issue. I shall await the details of the proposals, but it sounds as if they are on the right lines. I strongly believe that passenger transport authorities should be able to make strategic alliances across their existing boundaries with neighbouring communities. They should be led, as they are now, by elected local representatives. However, I am not taken with the idea that they should comprise the leaders of the district authorities in the area. Council leaders are very busy people: a mixture of other councillors, in proportion to party representation in the area, would be able to specialise in transport matters, and make that their main contribution to local public service.
The PTAs need to have the power to assert specific bus routes. They do not have it at present, but instead must allow routes to be chosen by the bus companies. They should be able to impose bus-only lanes and make arrangements with the police for their enforcement. They should be able to assert the frequency of service on specific routes, and they need to be adequately funded so that they can support innovative public transport projects.
A strong case can be made for funding short or environmentally friendly journeys, such as school bus journeys in urban areas that might replace the car trips that parents make when taking their children to school. That idea has much to commend it on environmental and congestion-reduction grounds, but the obvious objection is that parents pay for their journeys by car to school, whereas the public purse would end up paying for the bus. Nevertheless, the time has come for such ideas, and the PTAs should be able to innovate in that way.
If bus travel is to make the contribution that many Ministers want it to make, we have to believe in it and create enthusiastic public authorities to champion it. The new proposals from my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport will have their greatest impact if local PTAs are empowered to act as strong advocates for them.
I am honoured to follow my right hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, East and Wallsend (Mr. Brown), who remarked on the sequence of speakers in the debate and made many of the points that I want to make about the importance of buses in public transport.
To whom are bus services important? My hon. Friend the Member for Crewe and Nantwich (Mrs. Dunwoody) mentioned the large number of female bus users, but many older people use them too. We are moving from the perception that to be pro-bus is to be anti-car, and a consensus is forming about the need to deal with climate change and reduce carbon dioxide. To that end, we need coherence and consistency in the public transport initiatives adopted by all parties, at both national and local levels.
Buses play a crucial role in the provision of quality choices for modal shifting. I was a county council leader between 1993 and 2001, and introduced various public transport initiatives. A number of park-and-ride schemes were deployed around Ipswich, and it was interesting to hear what people said about buses when they had not been on one for years. They were pleased to see innovations such as double glazing, which showed that their resistance to public omnibuses was based on entirely outdated perceptions about what it was like to use them regularly.
If this debate had been held last month, I might have been tempted to say that Ipswich could provide some glimpses into the future of bus services. Buses provide an alternative to private car use on some journeys, and they are very useful for getting people to work or to the shops. Indeed, as the leader of the county council I used to look forward to receiving a letter from someone who wrote annually when the county council re-approved a rural bus route subsidy, saying, “Thank you very much for doing this again. It means that I can continue in my employment for another 12 months.”
If this debate had been last month I would have liked to invite hon. Members to come to Ipswich to see a glimpse of the future. I would never have thought to claim that we were in any way leading the pack on every possible initiative. Obviously, when we hear of the achievements in London, we recognise that some of the best practice is already in our capital. I would have said that over the years, particularly when Suffolk county council had a Labour leadership, we had a Labour borough council and a Labour Government, bus services were beginning to motor. We saw the introduction of a guided bus way, giving buses priority in avoiding congestion on one of our busiest radial routes out of town. We had bus priority and gating measures at traffic lights that, unfortunately, were opposed by local Conservatives at every turn. Since 2004 when they took over leadership of Ipswich borough council they have messed about with bus lane priorities and bus gating measures annually. That is hugely regrettable given the evident advantage that that gave to buses in reducing journey times and increasing reliability and adherence to timetables.
To those infrastructure measures introduced by the local authority, I would add real time passenger information. On the few routes into which we have managed to tiptoe with RTPI, the public have shown an appetite for it. One route used a satellite space technology, so bus users could monitor buses over the internet. That was developed in co-operation with local business. I should have liked to see that develop into a local texting-based bus alerting system.
Investment in frequency is critical in passenger psychology. Services should be frequent and reliable. Some of the methods around RTPI are an attempt to bolster passenger confidence that when they go to the bus stop, the bus will turn up. The more frequent the service, the more confident are passengers that if they turn up, the service will be along shortly and if they have just missed the bus, they will not have to wait too long for the next. That is critical to ensuring that services are financially viable and have a high level of ridership. Tinkering with service frequencies is a dangerous game.
Park-and-ride schemes have been an enormously successful element of the central Ipswich transport system. The first two schemes were introduced without Government subsidy and the third was supported through local transport plan arrangements. Their success is measured by a monthly increase in passenger usage of between 2 and 3 per cent., and they are the mainstay of the increase in bus ridership to and from Ipswich. The schemes are operated under parking regulations rather than the bus service regime, but they have taken 1.5 million car journeys off the roads in Ipswich over the past few years.
Another feature of a sustainable future will be a co-operative—partnership—approach between local authorities and bus companies to meet the needs of new developments. Ravenswood in Ipswich is a major development on a former airfield, where we secured support from the developers for the introduction of an up-front bus route. The service is one of the fastest growing in the town in terms of usage. People moving into the development have had the option of quality public transport from day one, so they have not got into the habit of using cars.
That example shows that we have a forward-looking bus company. There have been many claims of uniqueness in this debate, but Ipswich is the only non-metropolitan district that still has a corporately owned bus company. Ipswich borough council is the sole shareholder in Ipswich Buses and has provided proactive partnership in the initiatives that I have described.
Last month, I was pleased to be invited by Ipswich Buses to the launch of its new fleet of six Scania buses for service 13, which shows the company’s forward thinking on how best to meet the needs of passengers. For me, the most pleasant surprise was that the new buses had leather seating. It had been fitted in the confidence that if the quality of the environment was high, people would respect the buses and they would be less subject to damage. However, there are also eight CCTV cameras on every bus, which are linked to the borough’s safety system.
Some Members asked about security on buses. Bus companies are frequently subject to ill-founded claims for damages that people say were sustained on buses, in the hope of reaching an out-of-court settlement because the company will not want the cost of an expensive court hearing. There is some early evidence from Ipswich Buses that, when people discover that what has happened on every bus journey has been recorded, quite often some of those unfounded claims for compensation are withdrawn and the bus company saves the expense that it might otherwise have been put to.
I was pleased that a bus company that is as forward looking as Ipswich Buses was introducing six excellent new buses on one of its services and that those buses were going to be fully accessible and compatible with the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee—DPTAC—standard, as is true of 100 per cent. of the existing fleet. Had we had this debate last month, I might have told Members that they should come to Ipswich for a glimpse of the future.
The public have a simple perspective. It is all well and fine to talk about the regulatory regimes, but the public’s perspective is clear. If a service is withdrawn by a private operator or the frequency of buses is reduced, they think that the local authority is responsible. They think that services should be frequent, that buses should be clean and smart, and that fares should be reasonable. The public do not think that there should be the absurd complexities associated with through-ticketing. I urge my hon. Friends on the Front Bench to look closely at what they can do to work with their colleagues in the Department of Trade and Industry to look at the application of competition law to through-ticketing. It does appear to create some nonsenses that I know we would have overcome in Ipswich.
Although we would certainly have overcome those difficulties last month, this month is a different story. Not a week after I was pleased to be involved in the launch of the six new buses, I discovered that the shareholder—the now Conservative and Liberal Democrat-run Ipswich borough council—had told the bus company directors that it wanted to withdraw £975,000 of share dividends and that it required a dividend of £162,000 every year until 2009, when it was going to introduce a £500,000 annual rental on the depot.
That will have a huge impact on services. The proposals are enormously regrettable and there has been much hostile reaction from my constituents. They will mean that—whereas we were able to launch six new vehicles last month—there will be no investment in new vehicles for the period of the plan. They will mean the withdrawal of the present day-rover ticket, which has been a boon to many, and a reduction in evening and Sunday services on many routes. Buses on routes 5, 7, 11 and 15 would be reduced by the Tory and Liberal council from four per hour to three per hour. Buses on the No. 2 route would go from half hourly to hourly, on the No. 12 route from three per hour to two per day, and on the No. 16 route from three per hour to two per hour. The No. 14 service would be cut entirely.
I said earlier that the public have a very simple view of these things. They expect a good standard of frequency. There is a huge danger that the proposal made by the Conservative and Liberal-controlled council will lead to some of the four routes with reduced frequencies that I identified becoming less patronised because people will be less confident that if they turn up at a bus stop, they will be able to get a bus and go. There is a risk that profitability will thus decrease and that the routes will become subject to more financial scrutiny.
I would have liked to have been able to say that if hon. Members came to Ipswich, they might have a glimpse of an aspect of the future of bus services. However, despite the fine words about the environment of the Conservatives and Liberals who run our council, they plan to do something else. It is time to put an end to that, so I hope that the good people of Ipswich will put every pressure on Ipswich borough council to reverse the proposal because it would be enormously damaging to all people who use buses for leisure, to get to work and in every aspect of their daily lives.
I have spoken in and secured several debates on buses in recent years because buses are one of my constituents’ highest priorities. We need to look at transport in a new light: we need to see it in relation to health, education, employment and the environment, and look at it in an integrated way across all those public interests.
I welcome the publication of “Putting Passengers First”. As one of my constituents, Mrs. Connor, wrote:
“it is now some time since the meeting at Swinton Town Hall was held to discuss the problems caused by the cancellation of local bus services. I am hoping that there will soon be some good news.”
My constituents, like others, hold local politicians and the transport authorities responsible when their bus disappears, but we know that that is not the case. We have a problem that all Governments face: how do we reconcile competition with co-operation, or, as I put it, how do we achieve “co-opetition”? That might not be achievable, but we must try to work towards it. As we do so, we need to try to achieve a negotiated partnership-approach settlement. However, achieving that will depend on the balance of power. I think that that lies too much with the bus operators, rather than with local government and local transport authorities. I hope that the forthcoming Bill will go some way towards redressing that balance so that effective action can be taken in the interests of the public.
As we all know, good, reliable, affordable and safe bus services are vital for social inclusion, economic renewal, the reduction of congestion and the improvement of our environment. Bus services are now predominantly provided by five large companies. We have heard that buses account for 31 per cent. of the turnover of the big five, but for 47 per cent. of their profits. Taxpayer subsidy to the industry continues to rise; in 2004-05, it was estimated at £1.86 billion. We all want value for money, and passengers expect their elected representatives, be they MPs or councillors, to deliver the services that they want and need. Like other Greater Manchester Members, I am proud of the Greater Manchester passenger transport authority. I know that PTAs are working hard to deliver high-quality services for local people.
With 20 years’ experience of deregulation, we can say with some certainty that voluntary co-operation does not work and that further initiatives are needed. The quality contracts for which the Transport Act 2000 provided have not materialised, as some of us predicted. The Passenger Transport Executive Group has proposed that only minor changes to the 2000 Act are needed to solve our present difficulties. Local authority franchises or quality contracts can be introduced only if it can be demonstrated to be the only practicable way to achieve a local bus strategy. That is too high a hurdle. The PTEG says that the practicable test should be removed, leaving the existing tests of economy, efficiency and effectiveness. It also believes that the current five-year time limit on such franchises should be extended to act as an incentive for operators to invest. I agree with those two things.
The key changes that the Government are considering include improving arrangements for public performance controls across the network and giving local authorities a say over frequencies, timetables and fares. I would welcome such initiatives. The Greater Manchester passenger transport authority is committed to the principle of local transport authorities being given greater control over the bus network.
I want the final legislation to include powers to enable local transport authorities to act as the procurer of local bus services through a franchising process. There should be powers that enable PTAs to stipulate networks and frequencies so as appropriately to marry capacity and demand; powers to direct capacity where and when it is required, including to integrate rather than compete with other modes; and powers to enable the specification of minimum quality standards across the network. There should be mechanisms to guarantee network stability, potentially by all operators being required to register services with the GMPTA and executive. There should also be powers to require compliance with the specific integrated multi-modal ticketing arrangements and powers to enable PTAs to set the level and structure of bus fares.
I also want provisions to override existing competition law to enable PTAs and executives to invite individual operators either individually or jointly to bid for services against set frequencies—fully integrated with existing modes across the network. There should be powers to enable competition between bus operators off road; powers to devise, enforce and operate an incentive regime; powers to allocate slots for services passing through congested centres; and powers to ensure that customer and commercial data are shared in the interest of the public.
“Putting Passengers First” strengthens the arrangements for voluntary and statutory partnerships by allowing the inclusion of fares and service levels. It also seeks to make it easier to achieve options for improving bus services through quality contracts. It says that franchising and quality contracts should be made a more realistic option via a new approval process. However, the process set out in PPF has the potential to be lengthy and convoluted. The traffic commissioners and transport tribunals—currently the regulators of vehicle safety and performance—are earmarked to determine a quality contract proposal. I hope that the Minister will reassure us today that, whatever changes are made, the introduction of quality contracts will be a speedy process.
There are also concerns about the continuing influence of the competition authorities over local bus services. It is not clear from the Government document to what extent the Office of Fair Trading has agreed to step back from its stance that on-street competition is in the passengers’ interests. The Government need to ensure that the OFT does not undermine the Government’s bus policy and, by extension, their wider transport policy by continuing to obstruct sensible co-ordination and co-operation between operators. That is where co-opetition is really needed.
I have some questions for the Under-Secretary, which I hope she will take away for serious consideration. I apologise to her as I will not be here for the summing-up. I would have liked to be, but some pressing matters at home mean that I will have to leave. Have the Government made any assessment of how long it would take for a quality contract to go from proposal to implementation under the process set out in “Putting Passengers First”?
Will the new process for quality contracts set out in “Putting Passengers First” make quality contracts a more realistic option than the process set out in the Transport Act 2000, when the new process appears to have more stages to go through and a longer time scale? The new process could entail agreeing a plan with the Government on funding for associated bus priority measures, an inquiry by the traffic commissioners, an inquiry by a transport tribunal and the possibility of a judicial review.
In addition, do the Government consider it appropriate for the traffic commissioners and transport tribunals to sit in judgment on the merits of a quality contract, when that proposal is central to wider transport strategies, including traffic management strategies and even road-user charging pilots?
How will the Government ensure that traffic commissioners and transport tribunals have the necessary resources, skills and capacity, which would be relevant in determining the wider planning, social exclusion and regeneration implications of a quality contract proposal?
Why do not the Government seek block exemption from competition legislation for local bus services, when that legislation is clearly hampering sensible co-operation on fares and timetables between operators against the interests of the public? What evidence do the Government have that schedule 10 to the Transport Act 2000 has encouraged operators to co-operate with one another on fares and timetables without fear of prosecution by the competition authorities?
We have problems in the city of Salford. Buses have been withdrawn on the three main radial routes—from Little Hulton through Swinton to Manchester; from Worsley and Boothstown, through Eccles to Manchester; and from Cadishead and Irlam through Eccles to Manchester—and on other routes. Why cannot we allow PTEs and PTAs to buy and run buses where no private operator wishes to do so? I have no problem with the concept of competition, where appropriate; but where competition means that our constituents on the social routes are not serviced, that cannot be in their interests. I seriously ask the Government again to consider allowing the PTEs and PTAs the power and the resources to fill that public interest need.
In conclusion, I ask the Government to ensure that the White Paper gives local government the power to get the balance right and to deliver the service in the interest of local people. That is what my constituents in Eccles want, and it would benefit not only my constituents or those in Greater Manchester, but those throughout England, too. The Government have taken a good step forward with the White Paper, and I hope that we can convince them that there are ways to improve their proposals even further.
There is always a danger in making regular contributions in the House about buses of being categorised, or even caricatured, as being something of an anorak, and I should like to make it clear from the outset that I do not collect bus numbers or bus ephemera, but I do collect hundreds of constituents’ letters complaining about the quality of bus services and cuts in them.
As I looked around the Chamber earlier today, I saw a lot of familiar faces—some of them have now gone—including my hon. Friends the Members for Eccles (Ian Stewart), for Manchester, Blackley (Graham Stringer) and for Sheffield, Attercliffe (Mr. Betts) and my right hon. Friends the Members for Knowsley, North and Sefton, East (Mr. Howarth) and for Newcastle upon Tyne, East and Wallsend (Mr. Brown), who has got form as a lobbyist on PTEs and quality contracts.
For years, we few, we happy few, we band of brothers and sisters have banged the drum in favour of having more local powers for bus services, and we have continually banged our heads against a brick wall. That is why the debate, initiated in Government time, is such a massive watershed for us, and the Minister is smiling in acknowledgement. As my hon. Friend the Member for Eccles said, we have made our case in numerous Adjournment debates. Successive Ministers have read their briefings from civil servants, and they have dead batted our demands. In fact, it has been like facing a procession of Geoff Boycotts, quite frankly.
At the Labour conference in autumn, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport said that he would
“act to empower local communities. I will act to give the local transport authorities that need them real powers to make a difference.”
Amen and alleluia to that! At the time, I did not believe that such comment was possible; I had to pinch myself, and I even scoured the internet for reports of it, but I have confirmed that the Secretary of State did indeed say that.
However, to echo a point made by previous speakers, including my hon. Friend the Member for Eccles, there is a “but”. As is often the case, Old Nick lurks in the thicket, and the devil is in the detail, to use the cliché usually employed in the Chamber. Talking of Old Nick, I noted that the hon. Member for North Shropshire (Mr. Paterson) paid overt and eulogistic tribute to Nicholas Ridley. I submit that, when it came to bus policy, and several other areas of policy, Nicholas Ridley approached with his bow doors well and truly open, because bus deregulation has been an absolute disaster. The hon. Gentleman paid tacit and implicit tribute to Margaret Thatcher, too, because it was she who said, when in office, that any man who travelled on buses at the age of 26 had to regard himself as a failure. That characterised Tory policy then, and, despite all the embellishments to it that we have heard today, it characterises Tory policy now.
I thank the hon. Gentleman for that extremely helpful intervention. The point was made well by my hon. Friend the Member for Manchester, Blackley that we do not want to go back to the deregulated days, although that has its attractions. We want a system of regulation. The Conservative spokesman, the hon. Member for North Shropshire, said that if we tightened up the way in which we use the subsidy system, everything would be okay. The reason that the subsidy system does not work is that we do not have any way of regulating it, as there are no contracts to which to keep people. In many areas, there is, in practice, a monopoly, and bus operators virtually get away with murder, as has always been said.
As I was saying before I was interrupted, though not rudely, I cannot stress how important it is that quality contracts are made a more realistic option, as is suggested in the Select Committee report. We cannot have another false dawn, which is what a number of us predicted when quality contracts were introduced in the Transport Act 2000. Since deregulation, quality and standards have undoubtedly fallen, irrespective of what has been said by Conservative Members. In west Yorkshire, fares have gone up by over 50 per cent. in real terms, and that is a disincentive for people to travel by bus. The number of passengers has fallen by almost 40 per cent., which, in round figures, is some 100 million passenger journeys. Declines in other PTE areas have been even more precipitous.
As has been said, bus companies can pick and choose what services they provide and where they provide them, and they can continue to make profits even when they are providing a poor service—services that are chopped, changed, missing or late. Passengers simply feel powerless in the face of that, and many people are denied a reliable and affordable service to work, school, college, the shops, health centres and hospitals.
We heard some pious comments about the needs of people with disabilities. People with disabilities in my constituency plead for one thing: stability. They want services that they can trust, so that when they go out, they have a fair chance of the bus actually turning up. That is something that the deregulated system has simply failed to provide.
When services are trimmed or cut, people understandably, as we have heard, turn to their MPs, their councillors or the passenger transport executive, only to find that there is precious little that they can do. What we get from the operators when they cut services is what I call the two-finger response. First, they say that the services are not profitable, and secondly, they suggest that we ask the PTE to give the operators even more subsidy to continue to run them.
Passenger transport executives such as Metro in west Yorkshire currently subsidise about 13 per cent. of services. The rest are out of their control. In its own terms, deregulation has been an abject failure because it is impossible to gauge whether the taxpayer is getting value for money in a monopoly situation where only one company tenders for each contract.
The network in my area is pretty typical of comparable areas. I cannot speak for urban areas. There are high frequency routes, such as the No. 4 to Pudsey, No. 16 to Farsley and No. 42 to Old Farnley, together with a combination of routes on the Leeds-Bradford corridor. The reason why those services are so frequent is that it is in the interests of the bus operators to maximise their profit by concentrating on routes with a captive market. Off that beaten track, in areas where there is a social need, such as council estates, the picture is dramatically different. The Opposition need to recognise that.
The area has been subject to successive service changes, which have led to a concentration of resources and a move away from the unprofitable but socially desirable services. Last year, for example, a whole community was cut off a route without notice, leaving many residents, especially older people, stranded.
Great play has been made of the use of partnerships. In the civil service briefs and speeches that we used to get from the Minister until recently there was a strong emphasis on partnerships. It must be accepted, even by people like me, that they work in certain circumstances, but only in locations such as those described by the hon. Member for North Shropshire and where the partnership is established entirely at the behest of the bus operator. If there is a profit in it for them, they will do it. If not, there is no prospect of a voluntary partnership arrangement.
Changes have been made in my area to services such as the No. 97, No. 647 and No. 651 in the Guiseley and Yeadon areas. We could all recite a litany of problems, and a number of us have done so. The changes cause tremendous problems for regular travellers who depend on those services, quite apart from those who might be attracted out of their cars to use them if they were available and reliable. Frequency has been reduced on services that penetrate local housing estates and provide links to important shopping centres like Pudsey and the Owlcotes centre in my constituency.
Links to facilities such as health centres, post offices and supermarkets are often ignored because the operator has no interest in meeting the public need, only in making a profit. Notable examples are the fact that there is no public transport link from my constituency to the newly rebuilt Wharfedale hospital in Otley or to the primary health care facilities at Eccleshill in Bradford, which are extremely important to many of my constituents who do not have ready access to alternative forms of transport.
The decline in bus services, as has been said repeatedly, affects everyone, not just those who depend on buses or those who would like to use buses more. Poor services lead to increased car use, which creates even more congestion, pollution and road safety hazards in all our communities. On carbon emissions, we know from research carried out by the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research that per passenger mile, coach and bus travel produces only 30 per cent. of the CO2 created by petrol fuelled cars and 40 per cent. of that created by diesels.
Over the years, bus operators have won two important public relations battles. The first is to suggest that deregulation has worked; they clearly have dupes on the Opposition Benches to support that notion. The second is that local authorities and passenger transport authorities are not fit for purpose as regards commissioning bus services. That will continue to be a major bone of contention between certain Labour Members and our Front-Bench colleagues.
Replacement of the “only practicable way test” is extremely welcome, but concerns have been expressed about the new process. If there is one message that I would like to convey to my hon. Friends on the Front Bench, it is that we do not want an insuperable legal high jump to be replaced by an interminable bureaucratic marathon, nor do we want a period of instability and uncertainty to be created by unnecessary tinkering with local structures.
It would be interesting to know whether Ministers have carried out any assessment of how long it would take for quality contracts to go through to implementation under the process set out in the document “Putting Passengers First”. It is a convoluted process that, if traced through step by step, could take an incredibly long time. PTAs and PTEs may have to negotiate with civil servants, especially as part of the QC approach requires Government funding. There may then be intervention by the traffic commissioners, an appeal to the transport tribunal, and almost inevitably, given that bus operators will fight this tooth and nail, a judicial review. That is why the comments of my hon. Friend the Member for Crewe and Nantwich (Mrs. Dunwoody), to whom we all genuflect on these issues, are absolutely right and require a response. I hope that Ministers understand why my hon. Friends and I do not think that the process sits squarely with what my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State said at the party conference about giving
“local transport authorities that need them real powers to make a difference”.
My hon. Friend the Member for Eccles asked several questions that are of interest to those of us who represent areas with PTEs, and I do not intend to reiterate those.
Turning to concessionary fares, I know from a recent meeting that my hon. Friend the Minister is fully aware of my personal concerns regarding the concessionary fare scheme. At the moment, the system appears to be giving a blank cheque to operators, who are in some areas jacking up their off-peak cash fares to up the ante in terms of raking in more and more public money by way of subsidy. This firm message needs to go out from my colleagues on the Front Bench: “If you continue to operate those sorts of manipulative and profiteering approaches to fares in order to milk the public purse for money, that will be held in the balance when we come to look at issues relating to regulation and quality contracts.”
The comprehensive spending review process that is moving towards a conclusion is an opportunity not only to meet some of the broader investment requirements of city regions such as Leeds but to deal with issues relating to concessionary fares. It is crucial, as my right hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, East and Wallsend (Mr. Brown) said, that local authorities are reimbursed for running the concessionary fare system. At the moment, unless we get a grip on the matter and bring some control to bear, more and more services and concessionary schemes for other bus users will be cut to fuel the monster that we have created.
I am most familiar with Leeds because I am one of its Members of Parliament. In the past 20 years, Leeds has created more jobs than any other major city apart from London. Between 1981 and 2002, it added 86,000 new jobs to its work force and is expected to provide approximately 46 per cent. of the region’s additional 60,000 jobs between 2004 and 2014. Although jobs have been created in Leeds, many of the people who take them up live outside the city boundary.
Passenger transport executive areas have some of the worst concentrations of deprivation in the country, with 84 out of the 100 most deprived neighbourhoods located in metropolitan areas. Investment to boost transport, especially buses, because of the proportion of public transport journeys for which they account, is essential to our areas.
As I have said previously, even in Leeds, where there are sceptics like me, we have examples of effective partnership working. We have quality bus corridors, guided bus lanes and the free city bus service that links key points in the city with the main rail station. Welcome though those schemes are, it is clear that the resources available to PTEs are not enough to keep pace with the needs of the growing economies of our major cities or to boost the initiatives that make a genuine difference to bus travel.
I make no bones about reiterating the point that was made about transport spending. In 2001, spending in London was £233 per head. By 2005-06, it had increased to £631 per head. London is our capital and needs a decent transport system, so no one begrudges priority being given to it. However, in Yorkshire and Humber, spending on transport in 2001 was £117 per head. By 2005-06, that had increased to £197 per head. The increase is welcome, but compared with what is happening in London—and other parts of the country—it is grossly inadequate.
“Putting Passengers First”, the Bill that will emanate from the discussions and the comprehensive spending review provide enormous opportunities for improving bus services in Leeds, west Yorkshire and the United Kingdom. I hope that my hon. Friends will seize them.
It is a genuine pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Pudsey (Mr. Truswell). I intervened in the Westminster Hall debate on bus services in October that my hon. Friend the Member for Eccles (Ian Stewart) initiated. My hon. Friend the Member for Pudsey was present, and he should be commended for his good work on bus services. I also agree with him that it is good that the subject is being debated in Government time.
Bus provision is an important feature of our country and, with concerns about access to services for all sections of society, growing congestion on our roads and the effects of transport on the environment, it is appropriate that the House should discuss the subject, which is rightly rising up the political agenda, in Government time.
If there is anywhere in the country outside London and major metropolitan areas where bus services, as part of a co-ordinated public transport system, should work, it is Hartlepool and the wider sub-region. My town is a very centralised community, concentrated to a large extent on an urban core. I understand from research carried out as part of Hartlepool borough council’s second local transport plan that some 99 per cent. of the borough’s residents could access Hartlepool town centre in half an hour by public transport, even at peak times.
The vast majority of journeys in Hartlepool are in the constituency itself. Unlike the experience of my hon. Friend the Member for Pudsey, 72 per cent. of all travel to employment takes place in the borough of Hartlepool. Those two factors—the centralised population, together with journeys being concentrated within the town—should mean that Hartlepool is ripe for a successful bus transport system.
In addition, more than two in five households in Hartlepool do not have access to a car. That is almost double the national average. That fact, combined with high levels of deprivation and economic inactivity, means that a high-quality bus service would allow access to a range of provisions for my constituents, including employment, education, health care and leisure. Yet access to—and take-up of—good bus services is simply not happening. In the period from 2001 to 2005, bus passenger numbers in Hartlepool declined by 3 per cent. year on year—a compound fall of about 9 per cent. This is consistent with the 10 per cent. drop in the use of buses and light rail in the north-east region in that period—the biggest fall anywhere in the country. Although car ownership in Hartlepool is about half the national average, as I mentioned earlier, the number of people who use a car to travel to and from work is higher than the country’s average. There is no need for that, given the circumstances that I outlined earlier.
Hartlepool is part of the Tees valley, a relatively small and self-contained sub-region. Travel within the Tees valley by public transport should be easy, cheap and reliable. Clearly, however, it is not. Bus patronage has fallen by 1.5 million passengers between 2001 and 2005. The existing bus network is largely based on patterns planned about half a century ago, which no longer reflect the employment, education and health needs of the population.
Although I commend the five local authorities in the Tees valley for working together to pull services up—they are working to ensure that the concessionary fare for older people is co-ordinated on a Tees valley-wide basis, for example—clearly more needs to be done. The Tees valley has the potential to enjoy high economic growth in the next 20 years, but that will be hampered if there is too much congestion on the main roads. Even now, the A19—the major road through the Tees valley linking the sub-region with Tyne and Wear to the north and Yorkshire to the south—is heavily congested at most times. Equally, the potential for economic growth will not be realised if, as now, people cannot access education and employment because of inadequate public transport.
Does the hon. Gentleman agree that it is important for people to have better transport links to hospitals, as many people in Hartlepool are worried about the distance that they have to travel to access health care?
I might have to take the hon. Gentleman to the Standards Board over that intervention; he has obviously been reading my speech. My next paragraph is about access to health services, and nowhere are these problems more apparent.
North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust is currently a two-hospital site, with some services at the University hospital of Hartlepool and some at the University hospital of North Tees. Bus provision between the two hospitals is extremely poor. Anyone attending an appointment in a hospital outside their town, whether it be Hartlepool or Stockton, will find it time-consuming and stressful, and attending the appointment will probably require two or three changes of bus, which can take hours and cause stress. There is also the prospect of access to health services getting worse without active and imaginative intervention.
A review of acute services in the area by the independent reconfiguration panel concluded that a single-site hospital should be built between Hartlepool and Stockton. Because of the poor level of bus provision, I suppose that that option would be ideal because, at present, any location will be equally inaccessible to both communities. Any planning with regard to changes in acute services will need to adopt accessibility and the provision of bus transport to the new hospital as fundamental principles. I am concerned that that might not happen, however, based on current experience and on what my hon. Friend the Member for Pudsey said on this issue earlier.
One of the most modern, high-quality hospitals in the country is James Cook hospital in the south of the Tees valley. However, the bus service that allows Hartlepool people to travel to James Cook is due to be withdrawn soon because the private bus operator wants a greater level of subsidy to continue running the service. There must be a reason for that. There must also be a reason why, despite all the ingredients in my constituency and the surrounding area being in place for a co-ordinated and accessible first-class bus service, it is not happening.
I think that the reason is deregulation. I agree with the Transport Committee’s observation that the deregulated regime has exacerbated the decline in bus usage over the past 20 years. Deregulation has meant that bus operators are free to pick and choose which services they operate. They are free to concentrate on the more lucrative routes in an area, at the expense of the routes that could improve accessibility for more passengers, particularly the more vulnerable and disadvantaged in society.
With deregulation we have the worst of all possible worlds. Either there is fierce competition among bus companies for the profitable services, with operators racing—quite often literally—to compete for the same customers on the same routes, causing chaos and confusion among passengers, or more commonly, certainly in my area, a single operator has a monopoly and therefore has the local authority and passengers over a barrel. Services can be chopped, changed or stopped with very little notice or consultation. The threat of cancelled services can extract extra subsidies from the local authority, or services are merely stopped abruptly, as happened recently in my constituency. Coupled with the GP surgery’s move from West View to the Headland, the cancellation of the No. 5 service in the north of the town, which served the West View and Headland areas, means that hundreds of people in one of the most deprived parts of the country and suffering from appalling health inequalities no longer have access to health care.
I fear that, to maintain profitability, bus operators may concentrate on cost reduction rather than trying to raise revenue. That means cuts and reduced investment. It means, for instance, that older buses are not renovated. Some bus drivers in my constituency are worried about increasing working hours, which are part of the same problem. It is all about worsening terms and conditions and cutting services, and it results in a vicious circle. Cuts impair the quality and reliability of the service, which in turn leads to a reduction in the number of passengers. Passengers who are unhappy with the service will want to go elsewhere. In the context of confusing service provision, it is little wonder that potential passengers vote with their feet or their cars—if they have cars—or by reducing the quality of their own and their families’ lives by not taking up employment, training, health or leisure opportunities.
It is essential for the Government to intervene to resolve those problems. I agree with my hon. Friend the Minister, who wrote in her foreword to the Confederation of Passenger Transport’s 2006 document “On The Move”:
“buses can only deliver their full potential if they are given the right conditions. Frankly, the creation of the best conditions cannot be left to chance. Active participation by operators and authorities working together is the way forward”.
That is why I think the proposals in "Putting Passengers First", the Department’s 2006 document, are so important. The statutory quality partnership and quality contract schemes are important principles that will raise the quality of bus service.
Quality contract partnerships should be explored in more detail in Hartlepool. The local authority should be given a clear responsibility for developing and supporting the infrastructure that is necessary to provide a first-class bus network in the area. The authority should be responsible for high-quality bus stops, real-time timetable information, bus priority lanes and signalling priority for buses. My hon. Friend the Member for Ipswich (Chris Mole), who is no longer in the Chamber, made some interesting suggestions about the possibility of texting passengers information about when buses would arrive. I think that we need to be innovative in that way, and the local authority could provide the necessary infrastructure.
In return, a single operator or group of operators should have responsibility for providing a comprehensive and socially inclusive bus service, incorporating not just lucrative routes, but routes that are considered to be socially important. There should be modern, environmentally friendly, accessible buses that all members of society can use. All the research I have seen suggests that the impact of every £1 spent by local authorities on bus priority schemes is equivalent to that of £3 of direct bus subsidy for private companies.
Partnerships can be effective and efficient and provide a way of improving bus services, but they need extra teeth. I welcome the changes that the Department proposed in December, including the proposal to replace the “only practicable way” test in the terms of quality contract schemes with a public-interest test. As my hon. Friend the Member for Pudsey said, the devil will be in the detail, but I am pleased that the bar has been lowered. I hope that the change will bring an end to deregulation for local authorities and their communities, and revised and modern regulation for the benefit of passengers.
I want to say a little about the terms and conditions of bus drivers. Although I am not part of the Transport and General Workers Union, I welcome its campaign on the subject. I am concerned, as are bus drivers in my constituency, that the drive for cost cutting by bus operators has led to longer bus driver hours, without breaks. Driving on increasingly busy streets for periods such as five and a half hours or six hours at a time, with increasing road rage from fellow drivers, is not conducive to safe and alert driving. I am worried that longer hours put at risk the safety of drivers, their passengers and other road users.
I hope that my hon. Friend the Minister recalls that I have tabled written parliamentary questions to her on the matter under discussion, and I hope that she will address that in her winding-up speech, as well as the TGWU campaign to drive down driver hours and for there to be more frequent breaks. I look forward to hearing what the Minister has to say and, more importantly, to seeing that there is a better regime of regulation for the benefit of existing and future passengers and for the country as a whole.
I congratulate the hon. Member for Hartlepool (Mr. Wright) on his speech. He spoke with passion, knowledge and concern about the issues affecting his constituency. I certainly agree with his concluding comments about bus drivers and their requirements, and I hope that the Minister will address them in her winding-up speech.
I made an intervention on the right hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, East and Wallsend (Mr. Brown), who is no longer in his place, about the timing of the debate. That was prompted by his comment about the number of Members of all parties who were present to participate in the debate. It is interesting that the debate has fallen on the last day before recess, and also that the subject is limited to buses alone. I would have preferred a more general debate on transport, because the subject of buses cannot be isolated from transport in general. I do not think that any Member who has contributed so far has spoken solely about buses; they have all talked about a transport system or an integrated network, and about the role of cars and trains as well as buses—and, importantly, about the use of different forms of transport by passengers.
Will the hon. Gentleman accept from me, as one of the usual suspects who turns up religiously for debates on such subjects, that we have had many debates on transport, encompassing rail, bus and other forms of transport, many of which were initiated by the Front-Bench team of his own party, but that they have all shared the characteristic that little has been said in them about buses?
The hon. Gentleman will not be surprised to learn that I do not agree with what he says. What I am emphasising is that if you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, had been strict, many contributors to the debate would have been ruled out of order for straying from talking simply about buses. I, too, am likely to stray.
There is a certain irony in that we are having this debate on a day when there is a lot of snow outside and much of our transport system in Britain has ground to a halt. I cycled into work this morning, as I do on most mornings, and I was amazed at how few cars were on the roads—and at how few buses there were, as well. That might have been because many people decided to stay at home.
The backdrop to this debate—on buses, transport, or however else we might address it—is the Transport Act 1985. Following that, we have had the various Transport Committee reports, which the hon. Member for Crewe and Nantwich (Mrs. Dunwoody) has been involved in and spoken about. Most recently, the Eddington transport study was produced in December last year.
However, I want to focus on an aspect of the Stern review. It addresses climate change and the role that public transport can play in cutting emissions. We must not forget that emphasis if we are to take global warming seriously. Increasing the use of public transport is pivotal to achieving our aims in that regard.
It has been said that problems have been caused as a result of the privatisation that stems from the 1985 Act, and they must be looked at. Currently, just five companies manage 95 per cent. of our bus network. That raises questions about competition and diversity of use. It is also worth noting that there has been a net decline in the use of buses outside London. Members of all parties must address that.
I have heard many times that the Labour party thinks that the Conservatives are in love with the motor car. No doubt that observation will be met with nods approval. In fact, there are many Members in all parts of the House—
I hope that the hon. Gentleman will forgive me for saying this, but I am probably not as old—and probably not as wise—as him. I was not a Member of the House when that comment was made, but I can speak for the party as it stands today and update the hon. Gentleman on our position, which is very clear. There is a role for the motor car in our lives, but there is also a role for public transport. People’s reliance on the motor car is often based simply on the lack of faith in public transport. If we improved the standard and efficiency of public transport, there would be a huge shift toward being passengers instead of drivers. I hope that that clarifies the Conservative party’s position, in contrast with the more archaic view that the hon. Gentleman tried to tease out of me.
We face a huge dilemma in trying to get more people to use their cars less. As has been said, we need timely and continuing investment in our bus services, and legislation that provides reliable, safe, affordable and—most importantly—accessible travel. Unfortunately, that is not the situation in my constituency. As many Members will be aware, their having attended party conferences over the years, Bournemouth is renowned for having an elderly population and a student population, and a large service industry because of the tourists whom it attracts. Many of the people in those groupings do not own cars, so they rely on public transport. However, last year the Liberal Democrat council decided to sell off the “yellow” bus company, as it was known. In fact, it was part-owned by the council, which was allowed not total but a little control, in order to ensure that the system covered the whole town. The council gained £13 million from that sale, but I have not seen where the money has been invested. It has also sold all sorts of other things, but that is a separate road that I will not wander down.
As a result of that full privatisation, commercial interests have overtaken the need to provide a responsible service for the people of Bournemouth. Routes have been cut and commercial priorities have prevailed, and as a result, profit is winning over diversity of service. A good example is to be found just down the road from where I live, in Boscombe. Boscombe pier is one of the big tourist attractions, but for some five months there was no public transport to take people to it from the main bus depot. There used to be the No. 27 bus, but the service was simply withdrawn. When I, along with many others, wrote to the company, it said that the service simply was not viable as not enough people were using it. Only after a huge campaign by the good local newspaper the Daily Echo and many local representatives, including me, was a service finally reinstalled. As Members will be aware, where there is a social need, local authorities are required to provide such services. However, I am afraid to say that the Lib Dem council has been very slow in meeting its obligations in this regard. Consequently, Bournemouth has a bus service that leaves much to be desired.
The hon. Member for Hartlepool spoke passionately about the problems that the elderly—or, indeed, anyone else with health needs—experience when visiting hospitals and so forth. Public transport services play a huge part in that regard, but in Bournemouth it is now very difficult to get to the hospital or to get across town to the university; indeed, it is even very difficult for children to get to school during the school run, simply because there are now so few bus routes.
I turn to infrastructure, on which the Eddington report places great emphasis. Bournemouth’s infrastructure has changed little in the last 20 years. However, following the Kate Barker review, some 20,000 new houses have been built in Bournemouth, and about 1,000 houses are being built there every single year. That means an increased population, with more people living in a confined area. The increase in the number of cars and buses causes all the roads to become very congested. We need investment in infrastructure if we are to have a transport network that actually works. There are bottlenecks across Bournemouth because buses do not have access from one side of the town to the other.
I would like the Government to consider ways of introducing monorail systems in various towns. Places such as Miami, Sydney and Vienna have introduced light railway systems that whisk people from one side of town to the other with ease. We will not be able to solve our transport problems unless we have massive investment in infrastructure. I cannot envisage that investment being made, but that solution would enable people in Bournemouth to travel from the airport to the hospital, on to the football club—which has huge attendances, involving many people travelling back and forth—and then to the main railway station and the sea front. Those places are practically in a straight line, and a monorail would solve much of the congestion in Bournemouth overnight. Where the money would come from is another question, but from an economic perspective the investment of that money would save Bournemouth huge sums, increase investment in the area and make it more attractive to businesses. Therefore, in the long run, it would cover the costs of improving Bournemouth’s transport and help to meet our climate change obligations.
In his endearingly unlikely speech, the hon. Gentleman is inducing a state of near panic in his Front-Bench colleagues. Is he seriously suggesting that his monorail scheme, which is not the cheapest form of transport, should be subsidised by the ratepayer or the taxpayer?
The tone of the hon. Lady’s question makes me regret giving way to her. If she had listened to my hon. Friend the Member for North Shropshire (Mr. Paterson)—no doubt it will be repeated when my hon. Friend the Member for Canterbury (Mr. Brazier) winds up—she would have heard about the local initiatives and solutions. That is not a top-down approach or an attempt to say that the Government in London should tell local authorities what to do. I am advocating the idea for Bournemouth and there is huge support for it. The question is where the funding comes from—[Interruption.] The hon. Member for Crewe and Nantwich suggests from a sedentary position that it would cost money. My point is that heading towards gridlock is already costing Bournemouth a huge amount of money. It is one of the most popular seaside towns in Britain, but it is losing its attractiveness because we cannot solve our transport problems.
I do not know whether the hon. Gentleman is aware that the hon. Member for Wimbledon (Stephen Hammond)—I believe that he is an Opposition transport spokesman—has proposed a 10 per cent. cut in the rate of corporation tax, which equates to £20 billion. Does the hon. Gentleman think that is consistent with the call for greater investment that he has made?
I am not familiar with those proposals, so I cannot comment on them now. I am surprised by the reluctance to consider such ideas, as we must think outside the box when it comes to meeting future transport needs. Simply suggesting a bus lane when there is no space for one will not work or solve the huge problems that we have identified in Bournemouth. In 15 or 20 years, we will see such schemes in many towns across Europe, given the need to move people swiftly from one side of town to the other by public transport.
We have an environmental and economic obligation to improve public transport, but as more and more passengers are dissatisfied with bus services, they are using the buses less and less. I hope that in the little time that the Government have left in office we will see some serious initiatives that will turn around our bus services and make them work for Britain.
I welcome the Government’s consultation document, “Putting Passengers First”, and this debate in Government time. I also welcome the Minister’s clear commitment to further and wide consultation on the proposals, which is the right way to approach making legislation.
For some time, it has been fairly obvious to bus passengers and would-be bus passengers in Sheffield and south Yorkshire—and to the PTA, local councils and local MPs—that the current arrangements do not work. I welcome the Select Committee report that supports that conclusion, and it is nice to see that Ministers now agree that there has to be a change.
I listened with some amazement to the hon. Member for North Shropshire (Mr. Paterson), who opened the debate for the Opposition by saying that deregulation had arrested the decline of bus usage in this country. What has happened in south Yorkshire since 1986 has been a complete disaster.
It is probably not surprising that the number of bus passengers is only one third of what it used to be, nor that the total mileage covered by the bus companies is only two thirds of what it was formerly. Since 1986, fares have risen by 1,300 per cent., compared with an increase in the retail prices index of 100 per cent. in the same period. Buses have become a very expensive form of transport, especially for people on low incomes.
The arrangements in south Yorkshire and Sheffield mean that, effectively, there is no comprehensive bus service or network. Because there is no through-ticketing to speak of, there is no integration of service. The original idea behind Sheffield’s Supertram was that local bus services would feed into its route, thus achieving co-ordinated local transport provision. As soon as the tram was built, however, the bus companies altered their routes to compete with it. The result was that they were less user friendly for the local population.
Some of my constituents do not have well paid jobs, but they have to get up early to get to work by 7 am. Having no car, they have to rely on their local bus; yet the bus companies need give only 42 days notice before taking a service away: when that happens, they effectively take away people’s jobs as well. The people who have suffered most in south Yorkshire since 1986 are those who are socially and economically excluded, and that exclusion is often due to the fact that local public transport provision and bus services are so poor.
I accept that Ministers are right to say that local PTAs should be able to choose from a range of options. The partnership arrangements that exist in some parts of the country can work well, although only in certain very particular circumstances. I remember very well the proposals a few years ago for a transport partnership in Sheffield, which promised improved services in the north of the city. We soon realised that those improvements were being achieved by transferring buses from the south of Sheffield. That was how the partnership was being delivered, and the approach displayed by bus companies in general renders many of us highly sceptical about their intentions when they talk about improving services.
Many of us believe that quality contracts represent the best way forward for our localities. We do not want to go back to 1986, with municipal bus companies and full regulation; instead, we want to draw on the London experience, because we recognise that the capital has certain unique features. I welcome the proposals in the document to remove the “only practicable way” test, as it is clearly a major obstacle to the introduction of quality contracts, and to remove the role of Secretary of State in second-guessing what local transport authorities do. Both proposals are eminently sensible.
Are Ministers sure that they have got right the process for instituting quality contracts in the future? The governance of local transport authorities—that is, whether members are directly or indirectly elected—has yet to be finally determined but, ultimately, those members will be accountable. If an authority decides that a quality contract is the best way to deliver services for bus passengers, and would-be passengers, there needs to be a simple and effective way to introduce such a contract.
What must not happen is that, in five or six years’ time, we find ourselves asking, “Why haven’t quality contracts happened? We know that they are the right way to deliver bus services in many parts of the country, but why haven’t they happened for technical reasons?” Those are the questions that the current legislation has forced us to ask.
Last night I asked the director-general of South Yorkshire PTE about extra resources. A lot of extra money has been spent on delivering bus franchising in London, but he said that he believed there is competition out there if we can tap into it. The steps that South Yorkshire has taken down the quality contract route have shown that a number of bus companies, some of which do not currently operate in this country, are interested in tendering for franchises. He believes that if we move to quality contracts now, an enormous range of benefits will result: a single network, integration between bus services and other forms of transport such as trains and trams, through- ticketing, removal of the oldest buses, removal of congestion on some routes where there is competition and buses are falling over themselves, diversion of buses on to routes to communities that are currently not served at all and smoothed out timetables, such as the one for the route from Mosborough in my constituency, from where four buses an hour run into town but where there is a 25-minute wait twice an hour because the buses run close together and are from different companies between which there is no co-operation. Franchising would provide stability of service for the passenger, thereby avoiding the 42-day change, which costs people their jobs, and ensuring that operators know where they stand.
The director-general also believes that by increasing services we would get better value than we are currently getting from our tendered service, whereby bus operators increase the price every year and fewer routes are run at an increased cost to the PTE. All those benefits could be delivered with no extra funding. If we had more funding, we could do even better. All those improvements—an integrated network, newer buses, better dispersal of buses, better co-ordination of timetables and greater stability—could be delivered for the same sum. We must, therefore, look seriously at that and, if there are obstacles in the way, we must remove them.
I have already expressed concerns, as have others, about the way in which bus operators are using the concessionary fares scheme. We want a really good scheme that is valued by pensioners throughout the whole country. Bus operators are increasing fares cleverly. They are not increasing fares on weekly tickets as much as one-off fares because they know that those who pay for weekly tickets use the bus regularly. They are increasing the one-off ticket fares, knowing that they will get compensation for concessionary travel. They have increased fares by 10 per cent. We know that the PTE will get only a 4 per cent. increase in its grant, so the gap has to be filled by cuts in tendered services. That is what will happen unless we change the scheme.
There is not the same problem in London because the concessionary scheme is part of the package and operators have to tender for the whole package, including the concessions. There is an element of competition for the pricing of concessionary fares, which does not happen outside London, where operators are simply handed a sum of money. They then go to appeal, so it is not even within the control of the PTE to come to an arrangement with operators. It would greatly benefit local bus users, PTEs and the Government in the proper use of public money if we made different arrangements for funding concessionary fares through a quality contract arrangement.
Let us make sure that we get it right. Let us make sure that we do not simply have a good idea that could deliver enormous improvements in bus services for our constituents and could get people who do not currently use buses to use them, but then, for all our good intentions, fail to deliver a workable practicable system.
As I say, I was talking to directors-general of PTEs last night, including Roy Wicks for South Yorkshire. He has been progressive in looking at these issues and I commend him for the initiative that South Yorkshire PTE has taken so far on quality contracts. As professional technical officers, they believe that the process to put passengers first could take even longer than the current arrangements. The best guess is that it would take at least 21 months to implement current arrangements, considering what a PTE and executive would have to go through—probably rightly—followed by the traffic commissioner, followed by an appeal to a tribunal, followed by a potential court appeal and a potential judicial review. That could take much longer than 21 months. If the process even takes 21 months, it will not happen. Other Members have spoken about timetables and it is important for Ministers to address those points.
Before a transport executive decides whether to recommend a quality contract to the transport authority, it should fully assess the transport needs in the area. It should consult the public and local authorities and reach agreement on bus priority measures. It should assess the financial implications, which are important. It is absolutely right to do all that before recommending that the authority go ahead with a quality contract. My concerns are about the next two steps, however.
First, I shall deal with the appeal mechanism. I understand the Minister’s view that appeal by judicial review is a messy, time-consuming business, but will appeals to a transport tribunal be made on the same basis as a judicial review, in that they will not second-guess the policy reasons why the PTE and the PTA came to a view, or will they be held on the same grounds as judicial review? In that case, the appeal would simply determine whether the PTE and the PTA had gone through the right processes to reach their decision. That is a crucial question in terms of democratic accountability, so it is important that Ministers give a more thorough explanation.
Secondly, if there is a mechanism for appeal to a transport tribunal, will there still be the possibility of judicial review, too? I take the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Crewe and Nantwich (Mrs. Dunwoody) about the expense involved. The transport tribunal appeal process will not reduce costs for PTEs—if that is what Ministers intend—but will add to them if there is still the option of judicial review, because bus operators will use every possible stage of the process to delay something that could cost them profits. We need clarity about the role of the transport tribunal in the appeal process. Will it be on the same basis as judicial review? Will it be in addition to judicial review, and will it also be possible to take the case to the Court of Appeal?
I listened carefully to my hon. Friend the Minister’s comments about the role of the traffic commissioner. He used the word “appeal”, but according to “Putting Passengers First”, there is no appeal as such—it is simply a required stage in the process—and he used the word “review”, whereas according to the document, the word is “approve”. After all the appropriate consultations and considerations, a scheme decided on by the PTE and the PTA has to go before a traffic commissioner, who, sitting with expert assessors, decides whether to approve it.
The Government are legislating on local government devolution so that powers can be transferred back to elected local representatives. Local councillors on the four South Yorkshire councils were elected on a manifesto that supports the introduction of quality contracts. They formed a passenger transport authority, which instructed the passenger transport executive to go through all the necessary procedures to decide whether quality contracts were right. At the end of the process, having obtained local support, they decided in favour of quality contracts, yet a non-elected, appointed traffic commissioner could overturn that decision and refuse to approve it. After 10 years in office, is that a feasible approach for a Labour Government who believe in more devolution of power to local representatives and local councils?
I have no problem with giving traffic commissioners extra enforcement powers, but I question their role in approving the policy decisions of elected members. No one is against expert advice, so if Ministers want to keep a role for the traffic commissioner and the independent panel of advisers, the PTE could be asked to consult them as part of the consultation and assessment process. The PTE could take account of those expert views before making a recommendation to the PTA. If the transport commissioner were brought in at that stage—so that they are not second-guessing a democratic decision, but are asked for their advice, which has to be part of the democratic process—that would be eminently sensible and would shorten the process, because it would take place in parallel rather than as an after stage.
I hope that the Minister will take on board those comments not as criticism of the Government’s ultimate intentions, but as helpful suggestions as to how they might better get towards the ultimate objective. In five years’ time, we could come back and look at a piece of legislation and say that Ministers had many good intentions, but the legislation has had no practical effect, or we could find that we have passed legislation that has dramatically improved the quality of life of some of the most socially and economically excluded people in our community. That is the opportunity that we have. I hope that we are going to take it.
It is a pleasure to follow the speeches of my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Attercliffe (Mr. Betts) and the hon. Member for Bournemouth, East (Mr. Ellwood). It was good to have at least some interest in this important subject from the Opposition Benches. Perhaps it was standing in Worsley in the 2001 general election that first ignited the hon. Gentleman’s interest in the subject.
When we start to plan ahead, it is important that we reflect on the day-to-day reality of the bus services that people are living with. The Transport Committee report says that there is a perception
“that bus services are generally unreliable and of a poor quality; that vehicles are old and inaccessible; that drivers are rude; and that passengers are … uncomfortable.”
My constituents’ current and recent experiences of their local services bears out the Committee’s view. In fact, our services have recently become much worse than that.
Like most MPs, I had a regular low level of grumbling from my constituents about bus services. Bus timings were unreliable and some drivers were rude, particularly when they refused to pick up parents with buggies because they already had one buggy on board. Commuters into Manchester said that they found bus vehicles dirty and cold on many morning journeys. However, that all became much worse when the main provider, First, decided to reorganise the routes and timetables of bus services to and from my constituency. First labelled its reorganisation of bus services an attempt to reach a service that “better matches” user demands. The result turned out to be completely the opposite.
The extensive remodelling of services has had a profound effect on the way in which many of my constituents are able to carry on their daily lives, because in many cases it has proved to be both restrictive and extremely disruptive. A group of hundreds of my constituents were so unhappy about the changes and so dissatisfied with the services that they presented me with a petition, which I presented to the Minister a few months ago.
As my hon. Friend the Member for Ipswich (Chris Mole) said earlier, older people are among those who most rely on bus services. Many of my older constituents need public transport to complete basic, everyday tasks such as going to the shops and picking up prescriptions or their pensions. I have been contacted by many elderly constituents who have been adversely affected by the remodelling of bus services. They are finding it harder, if not impossible, to continue with their essential, regular local bus journeys.
I will give just one example. The 553 service from Leigh to Bolton has undergone major route and timetable changes. It started as a half-hourly service. It is now only hourly. Furthermore, the service used to travel from Walkden, at the centre of my constituency, to Bolton via Farnworth, a local centre for work and shopping. Since the bus service remodelling, Farnworth has been cut out of the route altogether, thus removing the only means of direct public transport between Boothstown in my constituency and Farnworth. An elderly constituent informed me that many pensioners that she knows travelled from Boothstown to Farnworth because it has the only Asda store locally. However, to get there now, pensioners would have to change buses in the middle of Walkden, cross a busy dual carriageway, and walk 500 m uphill to a different bus stop. As my constituent made clear to me, many elderly people are now simply unable to make that journey to do their shopping, because that changed route is too difficult.
Talking to constituents, I have found that alterations to their bus services are debilitating and that they are effectively chipping away at older people’s independence, leaving many of them feeling isolated and frustrated. Many hon. Members have referred to the welcome concessionary fares, but elderly constituents have been telling me that it is absolutely no good having concessionary fares that allow them to travel for free if there are no suitable services.
The changes are also having a severe impact on people with families, especially those with caring responsibilities. Such people often rely on commuter bus services to get them to work and back home again quickly and reliably. I was recently contacted by a constituent who found that the changes to the services were making it difficult for her to ensure that she could get home from work in time to be there for her children. She is a single parent living in Tyldesley and relies on the bus to travel 10 miles into central Manchester, where she works. She has arranged her working hours completely around the 32 bus service so that she can care for her children herself, which is important to her. The 32 was the only bus that she could take to work following the removal of the 35 late last year. Indeed, it is the only means of public transport from Tyldesley to Manchester—there is no train or tram service.
It now appears that that service, which my constituent tells me is packed full with commuters every morning, is to be withdrawn, due, the bus company says, to falling numbers. With no other way of getting to and from work, my constituent, like many others, is left with the undesirable choice of buying a car, or changing work location—if she can find a more local job. The Wigan area, which my constituency covers in part, is the part of the north-west with the fasting growing car ownership—it is not difficult to see why. My constituent said to me:
“First’s policy in Worsley is an absolute contradiction to the policies of the Government and the Local Authority. What we’ve got needs improving, yet First Bus seem intent on abandoning us altogether”.
It is, of course, unacceptable that families are being forced to make such large changes to their lives entirely because of poorly scheduled or re-routed bus services. It is unfair that hard-working people who are trying to provide for their families are having that task made harder. They should not be put in a position in which being able to travel to work means compromising their family life.
As my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Attercliffe said, there is an important economic argument to be made because inadequate public transport provision is becoming a major barrier to people’s ability to work. First has recently withdrawn the Little Hulton stop from its 37 and 554 buses to Manchester and the Trafford centre respectively. Little Hulton is in the top 10 per cent. of the most deprived wards nationally. It has the lowest car ownership figures in my constituency, with only 53 per cent. of people having access to a car. There are very few local sources of employment, so my constituents from Little Hulton have to travel to get to work.
Those two bus routes allowed people in that deprived part of my constituency to travel to work. However, their withdrawal leaves many workers with no alternative but to leave their jobs. Additionally, changes made to our local services by the bus companies are tying the hands of people searching for jobs by restricting their options to those few destinations that have a bus link to where they live.
The only substantial supermarket in the Salford wards of my constituency is in Walkden, a once thriving town that used to have a market and a wide range of local shops. Walkden centre is in need of regeneration and I am determined that that will happen. However, people in three areas in my constituency are unable to travel to Walkden by bus, which is a possible contributor to the further decline of the town’s life as a retail and commercial centre. All that completes the picture that has been painted so often in the debate: bus deregulation did not work.
A further serious aspect of the parlous state of bus services in Worsley is the fact that a major service reconfiguration in the NHS will require constituents to travel further—this is similar to the point that was touched on by my hon. Friend the Member for Hartlepool (Mr. Wright). The planned reconfiguration of in-patient services affecting women, babies and children in my constituency would require many to travel to hospitals in either Bolton or central Manchester. Salford has a higher than average proportion of people without a car—about 40 per cent. As I mentioned earlier, the figure is about 50 per cent. in wards such as Little Hulton.
As Salford council’s overview and scrutiny committee commented, the removal of obstetric services from the local Hope hospital would have a “significant detrimental impact” on our pregnant women and families wanting to visit them in hospital. Indeed, the joint committee of PCTs, which has considered the reconfiguration, was told:
“during the peak period for travel times, the journey to Central Manchester is likely to take longer … it is not known to what extent this would change patient flows”.
The hon. Lady is making an interesting point. When they closed some of the facilities at my local hospital—at one point, they were threatening to close the whole hospital—we made those same points. We were told that they were running a national health service not a bus company, so the matter could not be taken into account in health planning.
I thank the hon. Gentleman for that contribution. This is a new aspect and it is interesting to note that it appeared in our more recent reconfiguration discussions. As I mentioned, there was a report to the joint committee of PCTs. One or two of my hon. Friends have mentioned it and it seems that, in view of the reconfigurations, planning for further travel to hospitals will have to take place.
As I mentioned earlier, services to Bolton from parts of my constituency have been either cut or axed altogether. Council members commented in a recent submission to the Secretary of State for Health that travelling to Bolton would be very difficult from the western wards of Salford. Although NHS clinicians favoured moving services to Bolton or central Manchester, our current hospital, the Hope hospital in Salford, is much more accessible for many people living in Salford and other areas such as Trafford and Bury. It has excellent motorway and trunk road links and it can be reached by Metrolink trams.
I very much hope that those considerations, together with concerns about clinical issues, will mean that different recommendations emerge when the hospital reconfiguration is reviewed by the independent reconfiguration panel. However, as I touched on, the thrust of changes to NHS acute services is now becoming clear. In-patients and their families will undoubtedly have to travel further in future to use specialist hospital services and planning for public transport will now have to take that into account.
All these matters have become more controversial in Worsley, Salford and across Greater Manchester since the passenger transport authority and the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities submitted proposals to pilot road pricing as part of a transport innovation fund bid. Many thousands of words have been written about those proposals in our local and regional press. Perhaps the main feeling is summed up in a quote from the Manchester Evening News:
“Before a penny is taken on any given corridor, there must be efficient public transport options, not just unreliable buses or sardine-like commuter trains”.
There were also comments on the need to develop park-and-ride schemes to serve those areas because drivers would be leaving their cars on the outskirts—something that was not done, I have to say, in many places when the Metrolink tram service was initially developed.
As MP for Worsley, I am very concerned that our local authorities are planning for road pricing when our public transport, particularly bus services, is still in such a state. Not only do we have the poor service that I have already described, but passengers have faced bus fare increases of 42 per cent. above inflation. On the future of our bus services, a poll in the Manchester Evening News found that 75 per cent. of people locally supported re-regulation, though as other hon. Members have made clear, none of us is arguing for a return to the 1980s-style regulation of buses.
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport in a recent speech said:
“If we’re to tackle congestion, we need better bus services. If we’re to cut overall vehicle emissions, we need better bus services. And if we’re to develop road pricing schemes… we need better bus services.”
My Worsley constituents need to see better bus services in place and working well long before any consideration of road pricing is made. The level of controversy generated by the idea of piloting road pricing brought to a head how people felt about that.
The Transport Committee stated that in all major metropolitan areas outside London the present regime is not working and, indeed, that current arrangements cannot be made to work. I have highlighted the example of a constituency in Greater Manchester where arrangements have caused such a decline in services that they are impacting on people’s family lives, their jobs and career options and the vitality of local shopping in town centres. We still have a mountain to climb to improve services for my constituents in the way that I would like.
My hon. Friend the Member for Manchester, Blackley (Graham Stringer) described our providers as avaricious public-subsidy junkies operating near-monopolies. I would not have put it quite that way, but I believe that some of my constituents who are trying to use local bus services may well agree with it.
On behalf of my constituents, I hope that the Government’s proposals in “Putting Passengers First”, the quality contracts, the quality partnerships and the role of traffic commissioners lead to better services. But I further hope that the Government and local authorities will continue to develop and innovate to achieve a bus policy framework that works.
I rise to speak briefly in the debate, and I do so hesitantly because the document “Putting Passengers First”, from which the debate extends, essentially applies to England and Wales. I have listened to hon. Members speaking with great authority on these issues, with which hon. Members south of the border will deal on a daily or weekly basis. In Scotland, Members of the Scottish Parliament will tend to deal with the quality of bus services and so on, so I intend to stay out of that side of the debate.
I should like to introduce an aspect that I have not heard any hon. Member mention and that is quite close to my heart: the manufacturing of buses, which should be included under the banner headline of a debate on buses. My constituency contains the leading bus manufacturer probably in Europe, certainly in the UK: Alexander Dennis Ltd—ADL. My hon. Friend the Under-Secretary met the chief executive and other board members of ADL quite recently in Birmingham. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport has visited the site—his surname is the same as part of company’s name, which is an additional link, I like to think, but perhaps I am just dreaming about that.
ADL, in its previous incarnation, was almost bust about three years ago. It was in administration, and there was a serious threat that all 1,000 workers would lose their jobs, as they did in some other sites across the UK. When ADL came in, some of the management were already involved with the company in its previous incarnation and some of them were new. The chairman has previously been the chief executive. They have made a remarkable success, and 900 workers are now employed on the site. They have quadrupled their output in the past three years. They are exporting to north America and to the far east and Hong Kong. They employ 300 additional people in Guildford and another 200 in after-sales service across the world in the places where they sell their buses.
When I take my children on the bus to school on Monday and Tuesday mornings, and if we can get the seats upstairs at the front, it is quite exciting, and I am always proud of the fact that there is a good chance that the bus was built in my constituency. ADL is at the very forefront of all the environmental improvements and modern developments, such as those for access, on buses. I am led to understand that it is the only company that has a double-decker product output that conforms to all the requirements of the new European legislation and the more stringent requirements of TFL. So ADL is doing fantastically well locally.
I spoke to ADL’s representatives briefly about the debate, and they have a great interest in the legislation, of course. Their interest is that a very large part of their market is in the domestic market of the UK. Although I understand that the manufacturers are very comfortable with the general principles that underpin “Putting Passengers First”, there is a concern that the new arrangements—I will not go into the detail, as that is not really for me, given that the arrangements are different in Scotland—might perhaps lead to some uncertainly among the five major operators and one or two smaller ones and therefore to a delay in orders.
It is estimated that between 4,000 and 5,000 jobs were lost in the industry in the late 1980s and early 1990s. I understand that, on the back of the legislation that was passed then, there was hesitation, uncertainty and delays in ordering by the main operators for several years. That obviously led to job losses in the industry. There is no question of that happening on this occasion, but when any policy is reformed, there will always be some ambiguity and uncertainty.
It is very important for the 900 of my constituents who work at ADL and, indeed, constituents who work for bus manufacturers across the UK, that the new arrangements are proposed and executed by the Government and then by the local commissioners and local authorities in a way that removes, as far as possible, the concerns and ambiguities that operators might have, so that there is no hesitation in ordering. The future order book is what keeps so many of my constituents in jobs. Indeed, 900 people in my constituency are employed by ADL directly, but as hon. Members will know, there is also the knock-on effect on many jobs elsewhere in the supply chain to consider. Many components are sourced locally, and other local services are affected, too; for example, the workers buy their chips at the local chip shop, so the company has a big effect. When my right hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, East and Wallsend (Mr. Brown) mentioned the effect of buses on local economies, I think that he was referring to services, but I am thinking of the big effect that the manufacturing plant in my constituency has on the local economy.
To conclude, I hope that when my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary sums up she will allay the apprehension that is felt, as far as she can. It is not a fear or deep worry, but there is apprehension among manufacturers such as ADL that there may be transitional difficulties with local authorities and traffic commissioners. There are concerns about whether those bodies will have sufficient capacity to process the change, and whether there will be delays in the system, which would lead operators to fear that new investment might be wasted, as they could lose routes. Investment in the bus industry is the easiest tap to turn off. If a company wants to reduce costs in the short term, it stops buying new buses, and we have heard hon. Members speak about old stock today. There has been much investment in recent years, and that is a consequence of the partnership between the Government and the major operators. I ask my hon. Friend to allay manufacturers’ slight apprehensions about the new systems, if she can, and to assure us that the transition will be fairly smooth.
When I was elected to Parliament, I was delighted to be asked to serve on the Transport Committee. I had heard much about the chairmanship of the formidable hon. Member for Crewe and Nantwich (Mrs. Dunwoody) and about the hard time she gave those giving evidence, even Ministers, when they refused to answer the question. I very much enjoyed the evidence sessions that we held when preparing our report on bus services. I did not have much personal experience of buses, as I lived in a village that had one bus to our local market town, and it came at a very inconvenient time because it worked around the school bus, which took the same route. There was also a weekly bus to York.
The Committee heard that London’s success in promoting the greater use of buses had not been replicated across the country, and we heard how, following deregulation, problems arose from the fact that buses chased each other on busy routes, whereas on other routes, bus services were withdrawn because they were not profitable. In some cases, less profitable routes were changed and followed other routes in the same town. We also heard how cuts made at short notice affected people’s working lives, their recreation activities and their shopping duties.
There are a number of problems in encouraging people to use buses, and one of them is access to information. When people come to London from Yorkshire, they use the tube because it is fairly user-friendly. We have more to do in helping people to use the bus services in a strange town—for example, there should be better information at bus stops. More electronic information is being provided to let people know how long it will be before the next bus comes, because people do not want to wait at a bus stop in the rain not knowing when a bus will arrive.
A move to quality contracts may well answer some of the problems, but the Government need to be careful to ensure that we do not feel the dead hand of regulation instead of enjoying the freedom of competition, which has in many ways led to improvements in certain bus services. It will be a challenge for the Government to address that problem, and it will be interesting to see how things develop in the areas where quality contracts are first introduced.
It is particularly important to improve the bus services in some of our large towns. Ten years ago, we were told that the answer to our transport problems was better light rail systems. However, in Leeds the supertram has been scrapped, in Liverpool the Merseytram scheme is not going ahead, and the Metrolink extensions to Rochdale and Manchester airport have not attracted investment. Buses will have to fill those gaps. We must also consider the role of the traffic commissioners. I agree with the points made by the hon. Member for Sheffield, Attercliffe (Mr. Betts), who is no longer in the Chamber; he was concerned that local decisions might be overruled by unelected traffic commissioners. If traffic commissioners are a benign and positive force in the process, all will be well and good, but it would not be such a good thing if they were considered to be holding back the wishes of local people.
The UK has a long history of bus and coach manufacturing. Sadly, names such as Leyland and Duple are no longer with us, but we still have bus and coach manufacturing businesses running in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Scarborough. Plaxton was one of the main names in the post-war boom in bus and coach building, and its history dates back 100 years to 1907. It was traditionally a family firm that has been a major employer in Scarborough.
Frederick William Plaxton opened a joinery workshop in Bar street in Scarborough in 1907. He later moved to Marlborough street and took over premises that were known as Castle works and began building bodywork for private cars and charabancs. During the first world war, Mr. Plaxton took over the former skating rink in Foreshore road to manufacture shell boxes and wooden aircraft parts. In 1936, a large new works was built in Seamer road and soon Plaxton coaches were on the road all over the country. Production was halted at the Seamer road works during the second world war and the site was turned into a munitions factory.
Bigger and better coaches began to roll out of the works following the end of the war, and Plaxton began to attract big orders from companies like Wallace Arnold. In 1957 FW Plaxton died and was succeeded by his son, who took a big interest in the Plaxton building services side of the business. By 1970, the coachbuilding company had contracts all over the world and was producing 1,000 vehicles a year. Three years later the number had risen to 1,300 a year, accounting for a third of the entire UK bus force, but recession followed a few years later, bringing problems similar to those at ADL in Falkirk. In 1987 Plaxton closed down its Seamer road works and moved its site to Cayton Low road, which had gradually expanded over the previous 20 years.
Plaxton later became part of the Henlys conglomerate. The Henlys group, which not only manufactured buses but was involved in motor retailing, ran into financial problems towards the end of 2000—problems largely related to its operation manufacturing yellow school buses in the United States of America. It was announced in the summer of 2001 that Plaxton was to shut in August that year with the loss of 700 jobs. That is a large number of jobs in a small place like Scarborough.
The shock was compounded when it later emerged that many former and current Plaxton workers were told that their pension scheme had been wound up and they would receive only 30 or 35 per cent. of the value of their deferred pensions in the scheme. Plaxton’s former owners, Henlys, had gone into liquidation and the pension scheme had an £80 million shortfall. Some workers had transferred from Plaxton pension schemes into the Henlys scheme, and those already drawing a fixed sum Henlys pension would not get the expected increases.
A £20 million rescue package was put together aimed at saving 200 jobs, but the company that bought the firm, Mayflower, then went into administration and all its staff again faced redundancy. However, the firm’s management stepped in to save the firm and completed a buy-out. Since then, the firm has gone from strength to strength and is now almost back to 500 employees. Its chief executive, Brian Davidson, was named 2005 director of the year for manufacturing by the Institute of Directors Yorkshire and Humberside division.
I have been impressed by the enthusiasm, innovation and dedication shown by the whole team at Plaxton in pulling the market together. Despite heavy pressure in the early days from Spanish manufacturers who were receiving European subsidies, the customers have come back to the product made in Scarborough because of the quality of the fittings and of the product in general. It has led the way in innovation, producing coaches with lifts that can be used by disabled people, and the new Plaxton Primo smaller bus can take 27 seated passengers and 15 standing. It meets all the modern Euro 3 emissions standards.
I hope that when the Minister comes to Scarborough, possibly to open the new Scarborough integrated transport scheme and to enjoy the pleasure of driving down the still single carriageway A64, she will find time to visit the Plaxton coach works to see how a phoenix has risen from the ashes of the previous disastrous business. I hope that as it celebrates its 100th anniversary, Plaxton will continue to go from strength to strength and bus manufacturing will continue in Scarborough.
Finally, I should like to say a few words about heritage buses. I am sure that the Minister is aware that many local authorities, including London, are considering imposing punitive levies to prevent heritage vehicles that do not meet modern emission standards from coming into places such as central London. I hope that there will be exemptions for those buses, because it is important that people who travel in the modern, eco-friendly, clean and easy-to-use buses can still enjoy the experiences of yesteryear in travelling in our heritage vehicles, which many enthusiasts still keep on the road.
I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this debate.
I am in an unusual situation compared with most Members, in that I represent a constituency in a city where the vast majority of bus services are operated by a publicly owned bus company—Lothian Buses. It is not publicly owned because of any special legal dispensation that applies to the city, but because of chance factors, the nature of the city and, above all, good management, a good work force and a political determination by the local authorities that jointly own the company.
The bus company has been extremely successful in terms of what it has meant for the public in the Edinburgh area and some of the surrounding local authority areas. There is an extensive network and a reasonably priced fare structure. We have a flat fare of £1, which covers journeys not only within the city but on routes well out into the surroundings areas. We had buses on new year’s day and Christmas day, and we have an extensive night bus service. The fleet is modern, with an average age of less than seven years; that is partly why 75 per cent. of buses are accessible to people with disabilities.
The services are popular with the local community. Of course, there are always occasions when people want buses to go to places where bus companies do not want to run them. Lothian Buses is an arm’s length company, not a direct local authority company, and there are certainly occasions on which I have had interesting exchanges of views with it. Nevertheless, it is generally recognised by the public as running a service that is based in, and working in the interests of, the local community. The company is profitable. In the past couple of years, it has made substantial profits that have partly been repaid as dividends to the local authority, but it has also invested in bus services to provide further improvements. That has contributed to the 25 per cent. increase in bus passenger usage in the area over the past eight or nine years.
Many of the responsibilities for bus policy in my constituency are devolved to the Scottish Parliament, but there are a couple of areas where our experience is relevant to the wider debate in the rest of Great Britain and where UK-wide policy has an impact on what is possible in my constituency. My first point concerns quality contracts. Legislation in Scotland provides for quality contracts in bus services. I understand that it is slightly easier to take up that option in Scotland, but it has not happened in Scotland any more than it has in England. That shows that it is important that the structure of quality contracts that is set up is not so complex that no one can ever make use of them. Experience in my city suggests that that should be taken on board in relation to the measures that the Government are going to introduce.
My second point is that the whole concept of the quality contract rests on the theoretical foundation of a vibrant, competitive market in the bus industry, where different operators are waiting to seize the opportunity to compete in particular areas. However, that is a million miles from being the case in most parts of the country, where there is not, in any sense, a fully competitive bus industry. The Government must deal with the question of how we cope with a system that is based on a concept of franchising and contracts when there is not a fully competitive industry. One of the factors that I experienced in Edinburgh is that when a strong, publicly owned company and a major privately owned bus company operate in the city and some of the surrounding areas, there is mutually beneficial competition between the two. In such circumstances, a publicly owned bus company has to be on its toes because, if it is not, it faces the risk of competition from major private companies that operate outside the city and on some city routes. Similarly, private companies that operate outside the city know that they could face competition from a publicly owned company.
The Government have a great opportunity to promote community bus services or give publicly owned bus companies a role in providing competition in a local area where the market provides none. I do not suggest that municipally owned bus companies should be the only model or type of operator throughout the country. However, in places where the market does not provide genuine competition to the monopoly operators, we should consider ways to facilitate community operators and local authorities—not only to operate residual bus services, but to provide opportunities for good quality services. That would require consideration at UK level because it relates to competition law.
I want to raise two issues that are relevant to my constituency, but also relate to UK-wide policy. First, let us consider the cross-border arrangements for pensioners travel that will become national throughout England in 2008 and are currently national throughout Scotland. There is an anomaly, whereby a pensioner can travel from Newcastle to London, but cannot travel from Newcastle to Edinburgh under the new schemes because there is no link across the border. Some arrangements are in place for short journeys across the border but not for longer journeys. We should examine that. It is not simply a matter of journeys between cities and destinations near borders. As was said earlier, no one will take a bus from Cornwall to Orkney—for geographical reasons, if nothing else. However, pensioners from Orkney—or from Edinburgh—will come to London. They should be able to use the pensioners’ bus pass facility in London, and London pensioners who go to Edinburgh or Glasgow should be able to make use of the free national bus pass arrangement.
It would be a nice gesture in the third centenary of the Act of Union if the Government considered providing for the Scottish and English schemes to be interchangeable. I was delighted by the Minister’s public commitment in his opening remarks to considering such a measure. It is the first time that I have heard such a public and positive comment from the Government on the matter. I welcome the Minister’s statement, to which I shall revert in future—and I am sure that many of my colleagues on both sides of the border will also do that.
Secondly, I want to consider zonal or area cards, which allow passengers to use a range of bus services and possibly rail and ferry services, too. Such cards operate in few areas of the UK. We tried to establish a zonal card in Edinburgh and we hoped that it would involve the rail companies. However, the negotiations became so convoluted that we gave up and did what we could with the bus companies, although I understand that the rail companies are now involved to a certain extent.
The matter has Great Britain-wide implications because some of the rail services in my area are operated by companies that fall within the remit of the inter-city franchise, for which the Department for Transport is responsible. My experience in my area and current experience in London, where it is proving difficult to get some rail companies to take part in the Oyster card scheme, show the difficulty of achieving genuine interchangeability locally.
The experience of many of our European partners is that if we want to encourage people to use public transport, one of the best ways of achieving that is to give them an opportunity to use different modes of travel through a genuine zonal card in their cities, towns and communities. If the Government could act to make that easier, it would be a major achievement that did much to encourage even greater use of public transport.
We have had a broad debate, informed by an interesting Select Committee report and a thinnish Government White Paper. I want to start by dealing with the various comments made about the Conservative Greater London Authority members’ alleged policy to abolish the schemes for under-18s and for pensioners. The allegation about under-18s is misleading. Yes, it is true that they are considering abolishing the scheme, not least for reasons that two of my hon. Friends mentioned earlier, namely, problems with vandalism and antisocial behaviour. However, they want to replace it with a scheme that is tailored specifically towards schoolchildren. The allegation about pensioners is simply untrue. These matters are devolved in our party, so it is a matter for the GLA to decide what it does or does not do. None the less, it is worth putting those facts on record.
One extraordinary feature that permeated the first part of our discussion today was the endless debate about the amount of subsidy. My party is in a policy formulation process at the moment, and I am not going to give any hard and fast answers on that issue. However, as the debate developed, it became clear that the issue of how that money is being spent—and whether it could be better spent—was of considerable concern to people on both sides of the House.
The hon. Member for Manchester, Blackley (Graham Stringer) made some really vicious remarks about private operators, many of which might be well justified. He talked about subsidy junkies. The hon. Member for Rochdale (Paul Rowen) said that the past should not be viewed through rose-coloured spectacles, pointing out that public monopolies had been very unresponsive beforehand. The hon. Member for Crewe and Nantwich (Mrs. Dunwoody) made a number of important points about the possible role of quality contracts, and the fact that there had been no applications for them either south or north of the border. The Government have now acknowledged that they appear to have set up the system to fail. Some of their proposed changes appear sensible—for example, removing the requirement for the Secretary of State to approve the applications. As there have not been any such applications, however, that seems fairly academic.
My hon. Friend the Member for Ilford, North (Mr. Scott) made an interesting speech in which he made several crucial points about people feeling safe on buses. The fact that they do not do so is one of the prime reasons why they are reluctant to use them. That applies particularly to women travelling at night. He also pointed out that more prosecutions could be brought if the CCTV cameras that are now being installed on a growing number of buses had film in them and worked properly.
The right hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, East and Wallsend (Mr. Brown) gave a characteristically robust performance, in which he pointed out that there were many problems before deregulation. He also made some shrewd comments about the problems with the way in which the existing subsidy works.
We have heard a litany of complaints today, including those from the hon. Member for Pudsey (Mr. Truswell). The hon. Member for Hartlepool (Mr. Wright) took us back to the problems of deregulation. He also had one or two imaginative ideas on how partnerships could be made to work better. My party is strongly in favour of locally driven partnerships, and we welcome some of his suggestions. He also made some important points on driver safety and drivers’ hours.
My hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth, East (Mr. Ellwood) made some thoughtful points about his local situation, and dared to dream about monorails. There is no way that I, from this Dispatch Box, can make any promises on central Government money for such a project, but if a local authority has imaginative ideas and a number of players around who might be willing to put some serious money into them, good luck to them.
The hon. Member for Sheffield, Attercliffe (Mr. Betts) was willing to admit that there are merits in competition, and asked some more difficult questions. I am looking forward to the Minister’s winding-up speech! The hon. Member for Worsley (Barbara Keeley) made a very concerned speech about her constituents. Towards the end, the hon. Member for Falkirk (Mr. Joyce) and my hon. Friend the Member for Scarborough and Whitby (Mr. Goodwill) made some interesting points about the supply of buses. Britain is still a strong player in that regard. The hon. Member for Edinburgh, North and Leith (Mark Lazarowicz) reminded us, as had a couple of earlier speakers, that it is rather anomalous to introduce concessionary schemes in England, Wales and Scotland, but no cross-border scheme.
It is difficult to overstate the importance of the bus service to millions of people across the country. Buses are the most used form of public transport, and a lifeline for those who cannot afford a car or, in a few cases, choose to live without one. The hon. Member for Crewe and Nantwich rightly made that point at the start of her speech. The bus service is also an important potential tool with which to cope with congestion, and in that context park-and-ride schemes are playing an important role in the city of Canterbury.
Despite the noxious fumes that sadly emanate from the exhausts of most of our older buses, persuading more people to use the bus and other forms of public transport would be a key way of reducing carbon dioxide emissions. The Library tells me that the average bus journey produces, per person, roughly half the carbon dioxide emissions produced by a car journey. There are many reasons why buses are a good thing, from the very personal to the local to the global.
One or two Members, although not as many as I expected, put the case for re-regulating the bus network. Many came very close to saying that they would like it to be re-regulated, and we look forward to hearing the Minister’s responses. But a number of Members gave sensible reasons why we could not return to regulation. It is worth remembering a crucial fact that the Government have acknowledged: the use of buses was in continuous decline from the 1950s onwards. We had reached a point in the 1980s when they could not go on as they were, and although we can argue about the next route, I do not think there is any point in spending more time doing that. The buses were old, dirty, increasingly empty, becoming more and more expensive to run, and a burden on local authorities and ratepayers. Given rising prosperity and car ownership, a decline in bus patronage was almost inevitable. Since deregulation, the bus fleet has become steadily younger. The Library tells me that the average bus is now just over seven years old; a decade ago, it was nearly 10 years old. Fares have risen more slowly than council taxes, which used to pay for them.
I think that Labour Members were wrong to focus on the late Nicholas Ridley as someone who was supposedly anti-public transport. In fact, the last thing Nicholas Ridley did, nine days before he died of excruciating cancer, was pen an article for The Times—a very articulate, well-argued article, although I did not agree with it—explaining why he disagreed with the then Conservative Government’s plan to privatise the railways. He was a thinking politician to the very end, and a man of colossal political courage.
What is conspicuously absent from the White Paper is any clear commitment to making buses more environmentally friendly. As I said earlier, many buses continue to pump out the most noxious gases. There appear to be no incentives for bus companies to use cleaner buses, or to upgrade old buses to make them cleaner. That was raised by my hon. Friend the Member for North Shropshire (Mr. Paterson) and by others, including the right hon. Member for Rotherham (Mr. MacShane).
Opposition Front-Bench Members have been ambiguous in respect of their enthusiasm for the arrangements in London, but London has, of course, been the primary area for the use of hydrogen buses. The Mayor has been able to test them out there, and the use of such buses is a long-term ambition of everybody involved in the industry. Does the hon. Gentleman recognise that the Mayor has probably gone further than anyone else in achieving the use of hydrogen buses?
The person who has gone furthest in respect of the development of fuel cells across a range of vehicles is President Bush; he is light years ahead of everybody else. The key current difficulty in the development of hydrogen-based fuel cells is that they are impossibly expensive. The hon. Gentleman’s point therefore provides one more example of why London is so different from the rest of the country, as the Government acknowledge in their paper: he mentioned a very expensive project that only London could have trialled. In the very long run fuel cells have much to offer, but at present they are far too expensive.
My party recognises that there have been some cases of serious bad practice on the part of some operators; we know that some companies fail to provide an acceptable quality of service. If the buses are dirty and not cleaned overnight, if the seats are ripped and not repaired, if it is barely possible to see out of the windows, and if no information is provided either on board or at the stop—a point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Scarborough and Whitby—then travel by bus is a confusing and unpleasant experience. More importantly, such bad practice causes potential users to be driven away and a vicious circle develops. It is not unreasonable to allow that a minimum standard of service and bus quality should be demanded.
We know that in some towns and cities popular routes have been flooded with buses as operators attempt to bankrupt the competition on a handful of paying routes; Manchester has been mentioned in that regard several times. The conditions relating to the operation of a particular route could be made more stringent—the local authority could have such powers—perhaps by forcing operators to commit to the route for a specific length of time at a specific price to prevent them from simply dipping in and out of the market in a predatory fashion to kill the competition.
We also know that where local authorities and bus operators work together, real success has been achieved. Several places were mentioned. We have a particularly exciting idea in Kent, which has a model Conservative authority. Starting in June of this year, Kent county council will offer cheap bus travel in two districts, Canterbury and Tunbridge Wells. There will be £50 a year cards for all 11 to 16-year-olds; that will be done in partnership with local bus companies. Canterbury is a bus service hub; it is also an educational hub for east Kent. The travel cards would allow 11 to 16-year-olds to use buses for a range of services, not only for education. If the scheme is a success, it is hoped that it can be extended across the county, and eventually to primary school pupils, too.
I cannot comment on west Kent, but I can say that the fact that Canterbury is the bus hub of east Kent—that point figured heavily in the discussions on the health service that came up an hour or so ago in the debate—makes it an ideal place to conduct a first trial. As the Minister knows, there is considerable poverty in the area I represent; for a long time, Whitstable and Herne Bay in the Canterbury area had an assisted designation.
We hope that measures such as that which I have described will prove that partnerships can work as long as the local transport authority and the bus operators are prepared to have a constructive relationship. We also think that where local authorities agree to make improvements, such as putting in bus lanes and other priority measures that the operator will benefit from, it is reasonable for local authorities to insist that the operator makes some contribution to the public good.
I thank the hon. Gentleman for giving way. I listened earlier to the hon. Member for North Shropshire (Mr. Paterson) and tried to find one clear statement of Conservative party policy. Can the hon. Gentleman tell the House in simple terms what two things he would do differently from Labour Ministers if he were sat on the Government side of the Chamber?
I am coming to a couple of things that we would do, if the hon. Gentleman will wait just a moment.
As a matter of good practice, partnership is likely to work more effectively where partners share information and data. The Concessionary Bus Travel Bill, which was touched on briefly, will fill in some existing gaps in the scheme. We hope that the scheme will be fully funded. Given the demands that the Government have placed on local authorities, the funding should match the demands. However, it is clear that partnerships are a better vehicle for achieving improved services than so-called quality contracts, although there is room for those, too.
I will end by mentioning two areas of disagreement with the Government, one of which the hon. Member for Sheffield, Attercliffe touched on in his speech. We believe that local authorities should be the dominant figure, rather than the unelected bodies that could overrule their proposals. Secondly, local authorities should be given a greater say in fixing the concessions and arrangements that they want to make. In common with Members in all parts of the House, we see the bus as one of the best ways of people reducing their carbon footprint, as well as being a vital resource for less well-off families. We have heard a number of examples of initiatives being taken by local authorities, and I particularly welcome the imaginative initiative in Kent. Any measures that seek to get bus companies and local authorities working together will get a clear ride from us.
I am delighted to have the opportunity to respond to this very important debate. The future of buses is a subject close to the hearts of my Lincoln constituents, and to the hearts of constituents throughout the country. I shall begin by making some general points, and then deal with the specific issues that Members raised.
It is the future role that buses will play in our communities, in the lives of our constituents for the better, and in our determination to tackle congestion and to contribute to a cleaner, greener Britain that led this Government to conduct an extensive review of the bus service and bus sector across England. As many Members know, in the past few months I have travelled around the country to see for myself and hear about the real issues that bus passengers, operators and local authorities face. I have been very pleased to see and hear about the real improvements that have been achieved. I congratulate all those involved on their hard work and on the intelligent partnerships that are making a real difference to the lives of people throughout the country.
On the manufacturing front, I saw at Expo 06 in Birmingham impressive new British-built buses that break new ground—something that we can all celebrate. My hon. Friend the Member for Falkirk (Mr. Joyce) asked about opportunities for industry, and there are indeed tremendous opportunities as bus patronage improves and increases in future. I can tell him that I did indeed see the new hybrid buses from Alexander Dennis, as well as the Wrightbus hybrid double-decker, the Euro 4-engined buses from East Lancs Coachbuilders and—last but not least—the Optare Essex Pullman. That is another example of a bus that is no longer called a bus, but which provides an excellent service.
Of course, we in central Government also have a strong part to play, which is why we are spending £2.5 billion a year on bus subsidy. Following the introduction of the new national bus concession in 2008, the Government will spend some £1 billion a year on concessionary travel for older and disabled people.
In considering the welcome extension of concessionary fares nationwide, will my hon. Friend pay particular attention to counties such as Derbyshire, where we have an excellent gold card scheme covering discounts and many other concessions? As an attractive county, it has many tourists, but we will have to pay back the bus companies for concessionary fares and will not necessarily receive the funding to cover that. Will she take that into account?
My hon. Friend represents an attractive county that attracts many visitors and I can assure her that we are considering that very point in dealing with concessionary fares.
Concessionary travel benefits some 11 million older and disabled people. Despite year on year difficulties in some areas with bus patronage, many communities want a better standard of bus services. Hon. Members have reported many difficulties, and that is why we published “Putting Passengers First” in December. It is important to re-endorse our key proposals as we move towards legislation, because the changes that will arise from the document will enable us to deal more effectively with the issues that cause particular concern to our constituents.
The key proposals include making quality contract schemes a realistic option; working with stakeholders to develop a new performance regime; giving more opportunity to the community transport sector; providing enhancements to the existing arrangements for partnership schemes between local authorities and bus operators; and considering the scope for refocusing the current bus subsidy regime. Those are definite responses to the concerns that have been described to the House today.
The proposals will modernise bus services for the better and mean a long-term, sustainable future for bus services. They have been formulated following discussions with operators and local authorities, and I wish to take this opportunity to acknowledge the support that we have received from all our key stakeholders. I am also grateful to the Transport Committee and its members for their work on the Committee’s report on bus services. The Government’s response to the report has been published today.
We are in the process of further developing our proposals for an overall package of reforms with the transport industry, local authorities and other key interested parties. This debate will greatly inform the work that we are doing and the proposals will be included in the draft road transport Bill. We have heard today some of the reasons such legislation is important.
Opposition Members made spirited, if somewhat rose-tinted, contributions to the debate. I know that the Opposition have apologised for the privatisation of the rail industry, and I wondered whether we might hear an apology for bus deregulation from the hon. Member for North Shropshire (Mr. Paterson), but that was not to be. I am sure that many of my hon. Friends will be disappointed about that. I was delighted, however, that the hon. Gentleman acknowledged the increasing prosperity in this country under this Labour Government, and it is true that that has led to an increase in car ownership. The competition is between the car and the bus. Labour Members are committed to addressing that because many of the more vulnerable in our society have no choice and we have a duty to them. I confirm that the Government see a clear role for public expenditure on buses, but that must work hand in hand with the changes that we seek to make.
The hon. Member for Canterbury (Mr. Brazier) made an interesting remark about young people on buses in London. I was somewhat confused, as I thought Conservative policy was to hug yobs and love them: now it seems that we must turf off them off the buses and snatch their passes away.
It is important to get some perspective on the matter. Not all the young people getting free travel in London cause difficulties on buses, and we must not forget that many young people are themselves the victims of crime. I am worried that Conservative plans to abolish free travel for children and young people in London is disguised as an effort to save the rest of us. In fact, buses are one of the safest ways to travel, and the monthly figures for incidents show only small fluctuations year on year. I consider the Conservative approach to be a complete misrepresentation of the facts.
The Minister said that we proposed to remove travel passes from children, but I thought that I had made it clear that the intention of our GLA team was to replace the existing scheme with one aimed at schoolchildren. There have been many complaints about vandalism and yobbery on the buses by older teenagers, who can now travel on them free. That is why our GLA team is talking about introducing a pass for children.
A cut is a cut, as far as I am concerned. The matter is clear—the young people who have access to free travel under Labour would lose it under the Conservatives.
I was rather disturbed when the hon. Member for North Shropshire described the contents of “Putting Passengers First” as “guff”. The LGA hailed the bus reforms contained in the report as a “victory for common sense”, and the passenger transport executive group welcomed the review as a “fresh start for buses”. Moreover, the Confederation of Passenger Transport said that it welcomed the Government’s recognition of effective partnerships as the key to better bus services, and considered that “a clear way forward” had been set. None of that suggests to me that the report is “guff”.
In addition, there is no evidence that deregulation arrested the decline in patronage. The hon. Member for North Shropshire may wish to look at “Putting Passengers First” again from that perspective.
The hon. Member for Ilford, North (Mr. Scott) mentioned the No. 148 bus. I know that route well as, when younger, I spent many hours travelling through his constituency between my home in Dagenham and school. I was grateful for his support of Labour policies. I noted his wish not to be political, but whether one supports buses or not is clearly a political question.
The hon. Member for Rochdale (Paul Rowen) was another to cause me some confusion. First he said that he wanted regulation, and then that he did not want to return to re-regulation. However, I remember him saying in a Westminster Hall debate:
“I was pleased that at our party conference we were able to pass a motion committing the Liberal Democrats to the re-regulation of bus services.”—[Official Report, Westminster Hall, 10 October 2006; Vol. 450, c. 16WH.]
That seems clear, but people in the House and outside it will want to know what the Liberal Democrat proposals are.
I turn now to some of the points raised by Labour Members. My hon. Friend the Member for Manchester, Blackley (Graham Stringer) asked for confirmation that the Government were up for the fight. I confirm that we are certainly up to do what it takes to improve buses for passengers.
My hon. Friend the Member for Crewe and Nantwich (Mrs. Dunwoody), whose enthusiasm for the Government’s concessionary fares scheme is much appreciated, as is her understanding of the reality of people’s lives and the effect that a good bus service can have, asked whether the Government would indemnify local authorities’ transport authorities, should they be subject to legal challenge. Under the current system we cannot do so because the Secretary of State has a legal role in the process and has to give final approval. For future proposals, we cannot indemnify, but the system will be robust and fair and will allow operators to challenge decisions, as is right. That will mean that operators will have to bear the cost of irresponsible challenges and justify that to their shareholders.
My right hon. Friend the Member for Knowsley, North and Sefton, East (Mr. Howarth) was characteristically generous and gracious in his welcome of “Putting Passengers First”. He asked about smart cards. The Department entirely supports the use of smart cards. We have done a great deal and will continue to work hard to promote the use of smart ticketing. He mentioned light rail. We have always recognised that trams can be effective in attracting people from their cars. We will continue to support light rail schemes where they are the best solution for local circumstances. It is important to say that bus options are likely to offer the most cost effective solutions on many corridors.
My right hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, East and Wallsend (Mr. Brown) asked about concessionary fare funding for Tyne and Wear. I have been very involved with that. The Department for Communities and Local Government continues to talk to the relevant local authorities, including Tyne and Wear, about the matter. It is important to note that local authorities have long argued in favour of unhypothecated single pot funding and, indeed, wanted us to make it available through the revenue support grant. The existence of winners and losers, as has been illustrated today, is not unique to concessionary fares.
My hon. Friend the Member for Ipswich (Chris Mole) described local circumstances arising from the actions of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat council. I regret the council’s decision, but I commend my hon. Friend for being a strong voice for his constituents. I hope that the good people of Ipswich will express themselves, as I am sure they will, in the appropriate manner at the appropriate time.
My hon. Friend the Member for Hartlepool (Mr. Wright) raised the issue of trade unions and concerns about recognition for the work of bus drivers. I confirm that I am aware of the valuable contribution that bus drivers and all the staff who work in the industry make in providing services to millions of bus passengers. I have had talks with unions as part of the bus review and I am keen to see their continuing involvement.
My hon. Friend the Member for Pudsey (Mr. Truswell) asked me to send a firm message from Government about operators who may in some way be fixing the reimbursement they receive. I am happy to send such a firm message. If there is evidence of operators abusing a system, local authorities are at liberty to reduce their funding accordingly. I would also wish to know of any such abuse.
My hon. Friends the Members for Pudsey and for the Sheffield, Attercliffe (Mr. Betts) and others asked about quality contracts and how long it would take to get one through. That is an important question. The direct answer is that the estimate, if there was no appeal, is 14 months and, if there was an appeal, 20 months. It could be longer if there was a judicial review, although that would be unlikely. The time is the minimum to allow proper safeguards, such as those that my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Attercliffe mentioned. There must be a public interest case made for removing any commercial freedoms. That is why we are proposing clearer criteria that will provide the right balance and allow for the public interest case to be made. I am sure Members understand that we must have a proper appraisal system for schemes.
The basis for concessionary fare reimbursement—
It being Six o’clock, the motion for the Adjournment of the House lapsed, without Question put.
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Following the footsteps of the ancient cultures that dwelled here long before us, is one of the most fascinating learning experiences. From our home in the four corners, to the very edges of Lake powell, stretching north into the fish lake national forest. We follow the remnants of ancient civilization, from cliff dwellings to kivas, fragments of pottery to stone tools and petroglyphs. There is so much history hidden throughout this vast desert terrain. The winds finally pushed us down a scenic route to Central Utah in a valley surrounded by the fish lake national forest, to the Fremont Indian State Park.
The Fremont Indian State Park unfortunately runs parallel to I-70, but the ruins and petroglyphs were discovered in the creation of the highway. Therefore the Park is easily accessible as a road trip side stop. There are a series of interconnected trails located in this beautiful canyon, each holds pictographs and petroglyphs from the Fremont people. Keep your eyes open as you drive through the canyon because the petroglyphs are plentiful. Our favorites included the cave of 100 hands and The Indian Blanket.
The cave of 100 hands is a small cave featuring 31 hand prints on the cave walls. Just a short 1.5 mile hike following the clear creek leads you to the cave. The cave is surrounded by lush flora with wild berries growing and cottonwood trees, making the last portion of the hike slightly shaded.
The Indian Blanket story holds more magic, according to legend a new born baby of an Indian woman died and was buried somewhere near the site. During the winter, the mother painted a blanket on a rock face so the baby could use it to keep warm. The energy from this site was so powerful and beautiful. This story opens a door to understanding their beliefs and spirituality.
I have followed the creation story of SpiderWoman from the Navajo tribe to the ancient puebloan tribes surrounding our four corners. SpiderWoman is my favorite legend, she is the symbol of feminine energy believed to have weaved all things into existence with her thoughts.
The Fremont Indians also believed in SpiderWoman, leaving behind pictographs of SpiderWoman on these beautiful sandstone rock faces. Numerous pictographs and petroglyphs displayed stories, tales of hunting quests and rites of passage, helping us to understand a little bit more about this native culture and their way of life.
Walking the paths of this small state park, the lands lay open for us like a book. Our hearts and spirits lifted with each story unraveling before our eyes. We wondered in amazement at the beautiful simplicity, yet complexity to our understanding, of this ancient civilization. We closed our eyes trying to imagine what these lands would have looked like a thousand of years ago where their village once stood. All in all, Fremont Indian State Park was a very cool little spot to check out! We definitely recommend for anyone passing through the area❤️
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In the United States, we can sometimes take education for granted. Public schools offer a learning environment for everyone to learn reading, writing, and arithmetic. Traditional schooling has certainly gone through some massive transitions this year – but many have still had some form of access to education.
Sadly, this isn’t the case across the world. In India, our Mission ONE partners have had immense success bringing God’s word to villagers. In some areas, the entire community has come to Christ, worshipping, gathering, and baptizing even through this difficult season.
But perhaps one of the most endearing victories has been the introduction of an Adult Literacy program by our partners. In regions where schools weren’t available, not all children had the ability to be educated. This added to India’s vital problem with their illiterate demographic which continues to grow 20% over their population.
One such case includes a young woman who at 15 years old was married. She had four children and was never given the opportunity to be educated. In her village, there was no school and even if there was, girls in her community weren’t allowed to be educated. Now an adult attending night school offered through the local church, she has gained the ability to read. With this new-found knowledge, she has also gained an interest in God.
As her education grew, God’s word had more opportunity to reach her, unveiling the beautifully intertwined relationship between literacy and loving Jesus. When considering non-English speaking countries, the ability to dive into the Bible in their native tongue can make all the difference. It stops being a foreign story and becomes a personal journey.
You get to know God on your terms.
Being told a story and reading a story are two different experiences. When we’re being told about the gospel, we are coming to know it through someone else’s lens. When we read for ourselves, we’re given the chance to digest God’s word on our own terms. Reading the Bible gives us the chance to let God into our hearts and speak directly to us.
Shaping your own opinions.
We are just as much a part of this journey as He is. Some are able to “get it” fast, others need time to marinate on concepts and ideas. Your journey to God should be yours and yours alone, so when you get to read and learn independently, you get to come to your opinions organically. In this discovery, the individual can come to terms with the fact that they were made in God’s image – not the church, world, or culture’s image. With that powerful transformation, Christians come to a revelation in their identity, realize God’s deep love for them, and interact in society from a place of grace and glory.
Being able to read His word is transformative.
There is a spiritual change that occurs when you move from hearing God’s word to reading God’s word. Just like studying for a test, hearing something once isn’t what makes information stick. Pouring over a topic on your own and spending time in consideration is what provides a lasting impact. We all have the power to grow in our love of God by experiencing the Bible firsthand.
Remember to return and read and always grow in God.
Not only do we need the ability to read God’s word for the first time in a transformative, initial experience, we have to also acknowledge the power of reading it again and again. Repetitive reading reminds us that His teachings are vital for long-term growth.
The more people who have access to His word, the more this world becomes like the Kingdom. Every person is worthy of the opportunity to grow in God through access, and usually, all it takes to provide access is to ensure the ability to read and be transformed by the Bible themselves. We couldn’t be more grateful for this story and the stories like it that show how hundreds of small acts and build a more beautiful world in His image.
While reading the Bible can be an incredible addition to someone’s life, it’s also important to note that education and literacy can be very transformative outside of a religious context. Reading can inspire confidence, give individuals the resourcefulness to obtain better-paying employment, and provide an overall richness to someone’s interior world. Reading feeds our souls and enlightens our path, bringing us ever-closer to Him.
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3 Ways to Honor God on Your Next Mission Trip
We're sharing three things you should consider before you organize or participate in an international mission trip, seek to do work in the multicultural neighborhood in your own city, or embark on any cross-cultural partnership.
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AMD is really pushing the idea of a single-socket EPYC system as a better alternative to a two-socket Intel system for many server workloads. According to AMD, it will be much less expensive, yet will have plenty of cores, memory, and PCIe 3.0 lanes, along with no NUMA overhead. One key advantage AMD is touting is their Infinity Fabric modular interconnect technology, that works both within a single processor and between multiple processors.
For SQL Server 2016/2017 usage, you would still want the “top of the line” SKU for a given physical core count, to get the most performance for each physical core license that you buy. Unlike Intel, AMD does not increase the base clock speed in the lower core count models. These EPYC systems have a lot of PCIe 3.0 lanes and very high memory density, so they might work really well for large SQL Server DW/Reporting workloads. For OLTP workloads, the key will be how much single-threaded performance AMD is able to get from this first-generation of EPYC, and how they compare to Intel’s new Skylake-SP processors. Figure 3 shows the fastest EPYC processor at each core count, which is what you would want for SQL Server usage.
There aren’t too many hard numbers yet, but the worst case scenario is that they force Intel to improve their offerings.
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WHAT WE STAND FOR
- To provide opportunities for working together in service to school and community.
- To develop leadership potential.
- To foster the development of strong moral character.
- To encourage loyalty to school, community and nation.
To develop competent, capable, caring leaders through the vehicle of service.
Builders Club is an international student-led organization providing members with opportunities to perform service, build character and develop leadership.
- Character building: The ability to do the right thing, even when it might be the unpopular choice.
- Leadership: The ability to listen, communicate, serve and guide others.
- Inclusiveness: Accepting and welcoming differences in other people.
- Caring: The act of being concerned about or interested in other people or situations.
"I pledge on my honor to uphold the objects of Builders Club. To better my school, my community, my nation, and myself. To aid those in need while enhancing leadership capabilities, and to encourage the fellowship of all mankind."
WHO WE ARE
Builders Club is the largest service organization for middle school and junior high students, with more than 45,000 members worldwide.
Members learn to work together and develop servant-leaders skills as they serve their school and community. In partnership with UNICEF and March of Dimes, the clubs are able to expand their outreach to babies and children of the world.
The first Builders Club was chartered in 1975. Today, there are more than 1,600 clubs in Aruba, Australia, the Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Canada, Italy, Jamaica, Korea, Martinique, Netherlands Antilles, Philippines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United States.
Builders Club is a student-led community service organization that operates under school regulations and draws its members from the student body. Community-based Builders Clubs can also be established at churches, libraries, Boys & Girls Clubs, YMCAs, lodges or similar facilities. A Kiwanis club, composed of like-minded, service-oriented people from the community, serves as the club’s sponsor.
Builders Club is structured on the local club level but is supported by the Kiwanis International Office in Indianapolis, Indiana, which provides guidelines, programs, and opportunities to relate to teenagers from countries worldwide.
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Denver, Colorado-based Snap2Save, a digital services development firm, has announced the deployment of two healthy food incentive applications. Healthy food incentives, like rewarding shoppers for purchasing fresh produce and other healthy items, are gaining popularity as a strategy to help battle chronic conditions like diabetes and obesity, which disproportionally affect low-income consumers. However, many existing programs are paper-based and labor-intensive.
Snap2Save’s technology automates these processes, lowering costs and allowing for greater expansion, while connecting retailers to healthcare providers that want to influence healthy shopping habits in patients.
The first application supports GusNIP (Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program) grantees and retailers in their efforts to better serve SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) shoppers, by automating USDA SNAP produce incentives, popularly known as Double Up Food Bucks. Through this application, SNAP recipients receive vouchers for matching funds for the purchase of fresh produce. The program is sponsored by LiveWell Colorado and was launched at Save-A-Lot stores and Colorado Ranch Markets, owned by Leevers Supermarkets, in Colorado Springs and Pueblo.
“We’re excited for LiveWell to be able to offer Double Up through effective technology that puts more produce into SNAP shoppers’ carts,” said Wendy Moschetti, director of Strategic Initiatives at LiveWell Colorado.
The second application is a food prescription (FoodRx) program, through which healthcare providers prescribe fresh produce to patients with vouchers for free produce, that are redeemed at participating retailers. The importance of FoodRx programs has been magnified recently, as conditions like diabetes and obesity are risk factors for severe illness with Covid-19. The application was launched at Leevers Supermarkets’ El Mercado store in Denver, in partnership with a local medical provider, Clinica Tepeyac.
“We’ve been proud to provide customers with quality, value and exceptional service for over 75 years. Now, thru Snap2Save’s healthy food incentive applications we’re able to further expand shopper offerings and help customers live healthier lifestyles,” said Chris Leevers, VP of Leevers Supermarkets.
Jim Garcia, CEO and Founder of Clinica Tepeyac, added that “food can play an important role in preventing disease; any medical condition can benefit from changes in diet. Food-As-Medicine can be applied to anyone no matter where they are in their health and wellness journey.”
These applications are the first steps in developing a broad-based health and wellness incentive platform, focused on independent grocery retailers and aimed at rewarding the purchase of a wide variety of healthy foods, as well as a national platform connecting grocers and healthcare providers for FoodRx. Snap2Save’s goal is to provide independent grocers with the technology necessary to help customers save money and live healthy.
“FoodRx and Double Up Food Bucks are vital examples of the increasing role grocery retailers play in the health and wellness of shoppers. We’re excited to serve all parties in this value chain,” said Sam Jonas, founder and CEO of Snap2Save.
Founded as a health- and wellness-focused loyalty app, Snap2Save has developed technology to automate healthy purchase incentive programs without requiring integration with the retail POS. This enables applications to interact in real-time with transactions, allowing retailers, agencies and clinics to expand popular healthy incentive programs, while lowering labor and distribution costs.
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BOISE, Idaho —
A wildfire reported off of Talon Lane, near the World Center for Birds of Prey south of Boise, has been fully contained. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) estimates it will be controlled by 6 p.m. Tuesday.
The fire was reported at about 8:17 p.m. Monday night. Smoke was visible for miles.
Boise Fire Department crews and Ada County deputies initially responded to the incident, but the fire burned onto land protected by Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and is now under unified command. BLM dispatched four engines and a dozer to the fire.
Boise BLM's Jared Jablonski said that the fire spread to 114 acres and that the cause was shooting-related.
"We also want the public to be aware that even if following the Prevention Order when shooting, starting a wildfire is still possible. Please think twice about shooting on hot, dry and windy days, and always bring water, a fire extinguisher, and a shovel with you," Jablonski said.
A fire prevention order was established in April. That order prohibits certain activities on BLM lands, including using fireworks, discharging a firearm using incendiary or tracer rounds, shooting in an area with dry vegetation, using exploding targets and using explosive material.
The order remains in effect from May 10 to Oct. 20.
National Weather Service Boise temporarily shut down its weather radar due to its proximity to the fire.
At 10:25 p.m. Monday, the BLM reported that the forward momentum of the fire had been knocked down and crews were securing the fire perimeter. The fire was contained at 11:30 p.m.
Crews stayed through the night, mopping up hot spots.
This is an ongoing incident, check back for more details.
Watch more on wildfires in the West:
See all of our latest coverage in our YouTube playlist:
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Imagine being a kid; any age over four. Unless you are well north of age 100, you have never seen anything like this. Adults fighting about everything and demonstrating some levels of rudeness not seen since the school bussing controversy in the 1970s where people fought in the streets over whether or how to promote integration.
Kids can’t understand this. Why are adults so angry? From a child’s point of view, we just did the Halloween thing. It’s time now to slip into Thanksgiving and the magic of Christmas or Kwanza or Hanukah, right?
So this week kids are watching television news about illness rates and death rates and seeing video every bit as sad and creepy as last spring. Then they watch parents of all stripes, from intact and separated families, spar over whether they can cross-township lines, county lines, or state lines to share a single meal with Uncle Sol and Aunt Selma. Mom and dad are yelling at each other, “It’s not safe. Our kids could get sick. Our elderly relatives could die.” In response, “You’re crazy; we need to get back our way of life. This is all exaggerated if not entirely fabricated.”
For a child, could there be a worse way to celebrate “the holidays?” People screaming and swearing on television. They turn it off and then watch it live. All so that we can celebrate our families, right? Nothing like the childhood memories of having mother call father a selfish boor and an idiot while father announces that he could give a damn what mother thinks because his children will celebrate with family this year. Celebration, indeed. Nothing signals celebration more than two parents screaming at each other over whether you will eat turkey at home or the turkey in neighboring Ohio.
I write this as I am presiding over some of this warfare and it makes me angry. Arguably I should be celebrating myself because lawyers charge good money to preside overs fights about where the turkey is consumed.
Then common sense overcomes me. It’s not often. But I ask; what’s to celebrate when you are a child and the people you are taught every day to love and cherish spend their days leading up to a national day of prayer and Thanksgiving by shouting, slamming doors and yelling at children who are upset by this? Now, that’s a holiday, right? Especially when one parent goes nuclear and yells that even though I’m just a kid, if I do go to Ohio, I could DIE or bring about the demise of Aunt Selma. No pressure there, right? Selma and I will be buried as heroes in the wars over freedom to celebrate Thanksgiving.
If you are engaged in this conflict, or about to be, please stop and ask yourself how your kids are supposed to process this. Whatever the cause, a lot of people are dying this year and kids are hearing that something bad is in the air. They are scared because they want to be safe and they want you to be safe because they love you. Respect both their love and their fear even if you think their fear is unwarranted. They get scared because they think there are critters outside who might eat them. The risk posed by those critters, as well as lightning, aliens and terrorists is pretty modest in America. Yet, we do respect those fears. I happen to think the fear of respiratory illness is a bit more real than critters. However, my thoughts are unimportant. Think about your kid’s fear and do the right thing to address it when you plan a day to give thanks.
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Lloyd George went even further. These structures included political, educational, religious, and other social organizations. Neither the dialectical idea of a "tyranny of freedom" nor a streamlined form of tyranny pure and simple can solve "the social question," or, for that matter, any social issue.
Power to declare war could be safely left to the Congress, and leadership of the military to a civilian commander in chief, the president. There was no part of the globe that was not touched in one way or other.
In his mind it was then and not before, that the war to rid the world of tyranny and injustice really began. It may also have to do with catching a second breath after the momentous events that closed the first chapter of this pontificate in Having started as educational and propagandistic associations of middle-class reformers, they had gradually evolved into socially heterogeneous political action groups.
No military breast looked dressed unless rows of ribbons and galaxies of medals adorned it. But it was a success which marked a serious defeat, for the majority which had been returned was almost exclusively composed of his former adversaries, and the Liberal Party was decimated.
The Prime Minister, Mr. Not only military strategies and tactics, therefore, but also the foreign policy objectives that these new strategies facilitated, were remade by the French revolutionary "nation in arms.
With this, the initial naive harmony of the first days exploded, never to return again. Everything was arranged to the exact specifications that had been previously set before the ceremony.
Should revolution be continued permanently, or should it come to a halt at some point while building its results in the body of the new society. He is presumed to be so until he is judged.
It can be a productive crucible for the remaking of key moral meanings and the strengthening of the sinews of society. Attempts to apply these two techniques of eliminating the controversial aspects of the French Revolution have been made—by republicans and the political right respectively—and the contention that it achieved little or nothing other than what would have happened without it, and thus constitutes not a major transforming set of events but only a sort of stumble on the long path of French history, is one of the main weapons in the intellectual war against those who wish to celebrate its bicentenary.
After the National Assembly moved to Paris, the Club began to admit various leaders of the Parisian bourgeoisie to its membership. He also provides a graphic description of Paris on the eve of the revolution and the social composition of the different faubourgs suburbs.
The academic profession probably leads, with journalism a close second, but lawyers, bankers, and dry cleaners are not far behind either. War tends to break up the cake of custom, the net of tradition. The second was not only equally absurd, but contrary to the pledge given to Germany at the Armistice.
In any case, it was only too evident that the history of the nineteenth century would continue to be dominated by the relationships between the heirs of and the heirs of Year II.
Mars and Venus cavorted, as they always had in time of war, and not least in America. Keeping the Americans happy in their choice of Europe First, Japan Second, was of course vital, imperative diplomacy for the British.
The process was usually peaceful but there were several long bitter bloody civil wars, as in Algeria, Kenya and elsewhere. The development of that capacity among politically conservative Christian and Jewish thinkers has not been conspicuously successful to date.
BoxLargo, FL Lloyd George marked a turning point in the history of the War and the British Constitution. The Report did not merely call for blood but also expounded many of the original ideas of the Revolution, such as political equality, suffrage and abolition of privileges.
Lloyd George, with one eye to his parliamentary majority, had the other on the evolution of his country. Needless to say, the rest of the world, starting with Japan, can only look wonderingly at the U. And yet the stakes are high enough, involving as they do our ability to tell the truth, to believe that there is a truth to be told, to provide the means to get ahead to those who most need it, and to encourage people to have self-esteem, not via ethnic boosterism, but by taking responsibility for their own lives.
But it was Mr. by Mark P - Socialist Party (personal capacity) Wed Jun 13, Two interesting bits of information on the Irish Times site: 1) Patricia McKenna has come out against the deal. 2) There are only Green Party members in attendance at the most important vote the party has ever faced.
The Unexpected Outcome of Robespierre's Socialist Dictatorship in France PAGES 1. WORDS View Full Essay. More essays like this: cardinal robespierre, socialist dictatorship, french history. Not sure what I'd do without @Kibin - Alfredo Alvarez, student @ Miami University.
Public Domain: Luxemburg Internet Archive This work is completely free. “The Republic is in danger! That is why it was necessary for a socialist to become the bourgeois Minister of Commerce. The Republic is in danger!
That is why the socialist had to remain in the cabinet even after the. The France's Outcome for the Robespierre PAGES 1.
WORDS View Full Essay. More essays like this: Not sure what I'd do without @Kibin - Alfredo Alvarez, student @ Miami University. Exactly what I needed. - Jenna Kraig, student @ UCLA.
Wow. Most helpful essay resource ever! France - The Jacobin dictatorship: One of the changes affected by the Convention was the creation of the French republican calendar to replace the Gregorian calendar, which was viewed as nonscientific and tainted with religious associations.
-America bankrupts France because the French help America and fight in the American independence war Before the French Revolution there was a huge gap between what and what? Collective dictatorship. Who de-christianizes France?
Robespierre.The unexpected outcome of robespierres socialist dictatorship in france
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Our recent discussion on the storage of rail tank cars continues as there has been a number of questions from our clients concerning the issue of a “Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) plan”. For those unfamiliar with this plan, it is an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulation designed “to help facilities prevent a discharge of oil into navigable waters or adjoining shorelines.”
How these regulations impact your facility, your railcars and their storage will depend upon their status; transportation vs. non-transportation facility, and where you are in relationship to a navigable waterway or shoreline and the commodity contained within those railcars, loaded or residue. First though, let’s clear up the jurisdictional issue which causes so many problems when deciding whether you are governed by SPCC.
Since we are dealing with railroad tank cars only in this circumstance; it is natural to look at the U. S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) modal agency; Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) as the agency responsible for regulating storage activities, either loaded or residue. While it is appropriate to look to FRA in circumstances involving general storage of railcars, when oils and navigable waterways are involved, FRA cedes regulatory authority to the EPA.
There are many reasons for this, including the expertise embedded within the EPA to protect navigable waterways and shorelines. When we review FRA’s authority to regulate, we must also be mindful of the following:
Transportation is defined in 49 U.S. Code §5102(13) as follows: “transports” or “transportation” means the movement of property and loading, unloading, or storage incidental to the movement.
And for hazardous materials transportation (49 CFR §171.1(c) clarifies the definition even further, as follows:
Transportation of a hazardous material in commerce begins when a carrier takes physical possession of the hazardous material for the purpose of transporting it and continues until the package containing the hazardous material is delivered to the destination indicated on a shipping document, package marking, or other medium, or, in the case of a rail car, until the car is delivered to a private track or siding.
We can only conclude that when railcars are moved into storage (not storage incidental to movement), the cars are no longer in transportation and FRA’s authority is curtailed in this limited circumstance. FRA’s authority is still prevalent in areas such as design and construction, containment and securement, pre-transportation functions, if applicable and other requirements.
As a result, we need to look to the EPA regulations to determine if your storage of railcars meets the threshold of when an SPCC plan applies but first, let me state emphatically that if you think an SPCC plan may apply to you, your duty is to read and understand the regulations (See 40 CFR ß112.7 – General Requirements…) and become familiar with the regulations governing an SPCC.
As a reminder, we are only discussing the storage of railroad tank cars. Operations that are intended to move railroad tank cars and their contents, loaded or residue, from one location to another and not just within the confines of a non-transportation facility, are regulated by FRA and not subject to SPCC requirements. Here we go!
We all know that tank cars have a shell capacity of 1320 gallons or more, the exception being some of those Bromine cars running around West Virginia in the early 1980s but as far as I know, they’re long gone. So, let’s assume that all cars meet the 1320 gallons shell capacity, which is the first indicator that you may need an SPCC plan.
The second criteria is what is in the package? Is it an oil and not just a petroleum-based oil? Does the oil meet the following EPA criteria?
Oil means oil of any kind or in any form, including, but not limited to: fats, oils, or greases of animal, fish, or marine mammal origin; vegetable oils, including oils from seeds, nuts, fruits, or kernels; and, other oils and greases, including petroleum, fuel oil, sludge, synthetic oils, mineral oils, oil refuse, or oil mixed with wastes other than dredged spoil.
Though this is not a comprehensive list, these are the types of oil most likely to be carried in a rail tank car. For a complete list of oils, see 40 CFR §112.2.
Some other factors to consider may have to do with products such as Ethanol, which is an alcohol, so you may think that Ethanol would not be considered as an oil. This may be true if it’s the ethanol going for human consumption but poison it by adding gasoline or other petroleum-based product to the ethanol for refinery use and to ensure nobody has a party on the way and now we have a material that may be subject to an SPCC plan.
Finally, there has to be a navigable waterway or shoreline involved. This doesn’t only mean ship or barge traffic must be on the waterway. It may be a recreational lake or river that is in close proximity to your facility. Even if your stream flows into a navigable waterway and there is a possibility that a spill will reach the navigable waterway then you are likely subject to the SPCC requirements.
To summarize, if you are storing rail tank cars containing or last containing an oil in a non-transportation facility and are near a navigable waterway or shoreline, or a source that will empty into either in the event of a spill, you must comply with the requirements and develop an SPCC plan. It is important to remember, that the 1320-gallon standard imposed by EPA is what the tank car will hold, not what is contained within the tank car.
So, what exactly is an SPCC Plan? Well, as you can imagine its primary objective is to prevent an oil spill into a waterway or shoreline. It also considers countermeasures, as the name implies, to prevent a spill from reaching the waterway through various means of containment but finally, if the spill does reach the waterway, your plan will detail how to minimize environmental damage while restoring the waterway to its appropriate condition.
EPA provides guidance in Appendix C, D and E of part §112 and though they are not compulsory guidelines, they are an excellent indication for addressing specific issues that a plan will require.
Appendix C to Part 112—Substantial Harm Criteria
Appendix D to Part 112—Determination of a Worst Case Discharge Planning Volume
Appendix E to Part 112—Determination and Evaluation of Required Response Resources for Facility Response Plans
Ultimately though, and while all of this may seem a bit overwhelming, there is some good news.
Liquefied Petroleum Gasses (Propane, Butane and other derivatives) are not subject to an SPCC Plan. For those on a navigable waterway, don’t reinvent the wheel! Integrate your existing plans into your SPCC or FRP. Finally, take a look at the EPA Inspector Guidance link (http://bit.ly/SPCCGuidanceforRegionalInspectors) to develop an exceptional plan moving forward. When looking at the guidance document and since our focus is on rail tank cars pay close attention also to the Letter to Mr. Chris Early of Safety-Kleen Corporation (July 14, 2004) This letter clarifies EPA’s position on transportation; when it potentially ends, and when you are subject to the SPCC.
What we have discussed so far consists of a very limited look at SPCC, a complex regulation.
Of course, if you need additional clarification or help or would just like to know whether your facility or the facility you may consider using to store tank cars is subject to the SPCC, contact STARS at the address below. We can help you negotiate the DOT and EPA regulations to make sure you are always safe and in compliance.
Local: (352) 200-5017
Toll Free: (844) 88- STARS
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Waldorf’s Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Criminal Justice is designed to provide the student with a broad base of knowledge in the three primary areas of the criminal justice system: law enforcement, courts, and corrections. This foundation includes the Waldorf general education curriculum, numerous courses in the criminal justice arena, and courses in sociology and business. The program provides students with the general education, discipline specific, and technical knowledge required to succeed in the criminal justice workplace.
Estimated time to complete this bachelor’s degree program is four years with full-time enrollment.
This program is available online only.
B.A.S. Degree Requirements
- Completion of the B.A.S. core curriculum (30 Credits)
- Completion of the required courses in a major field (30 Credits)
- Completion of additional courses (including any supported courses required by the major in other departments) to a total of 120 credits depending on the major
- A grade of C or higher in all coursework in the major and, if applicable, in the concentration(s)
- 2.00 cumulative grade point average for work completed at Waldorf (Some majors may require a cumulative GPA higher than a 2.00)
- Minimum of 30 upper-division credit hours
Review the complete list of core requirements for this program.
*Any Waldorf courses may be selected from the catalog to be used as electives, provided that they are not used to satisfy other program requirements. The provided are sample electives. The concentration options listed above may also be used toward elective credits.
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About the museum
The essential place for cheese-making gastronomy and the sharing of Norman know-how!
The Vimoutiers Camembert Museum, located in the Pays d'Auge, near the Pin national stud farm and the tourist town of Lisieux, offers you an unmissable visit to Normandy. This museum tells the story of the artisanal production of Camembert AOP, that of its famous creator Marie Harel, and will introduce you to a collection of authentic materials as well as an incredible profusion of labels on this famous, world-famous cheese. The collection of labels will show you the history of Camembert cheese through the ages.
Taste the flavors of Normandy (cider, calvados, apple juice, camembert, Livarot, Pont-l'Evêque etc ...): an exquisite experience that the taste buds will not soon forget.
You will discover there:
- A rich collection of old materials retracing all the stages in the production of Camembert cheese;
- An extraordinary collection of several thousand labels exhibited under different themes;
- Two tasting offers with Camembert AOP 100% milk from Norman cows and Livarot AOP farmer, Pont-L'Evêque AOP farmer and Pavé d´Auge farmer;
- An educational and dynamic video in French or English;
- A shop with local products from producers selected for their expertise;
- A "tailor-made" entertainment offer on demand: curdling workshop, butter workshop, drawing of labels, "Camembert trap", ...
Information and information: www.museeducamembert.fr
See you soon !
Plan your visit
- Musée du Camembert, Avenue du Général de Gaulle, La Hunière, Vimoutiers, Mortagne-au-Perche, Orne, Normandy, Metropolitan France, 61120, France
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Use of the system and the mobile guide app is free
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Newcastle-based architects JDDK Ltd have been inspiring pupils at St Teresa’s School in Heaton through the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Architecture Ambassadors programme.
Designed to inspire a passion for architecture in the next generation, the programme has involved JDDK’s Principal Architect Alison Thornton-Sykes, with fellow architect Sam Dixon, linking with the school to talk about their work in a special workshop on Linking Structures. They have also set Year 5 pupils a brief to create their own structure which would link aspects of the natural or built environment.
The programme has involved various out-of-school visits to both their forest school and The Sill, Northumberland National Park Authority’s new National Landscape Discovery Centre at Once Brewed in Northumberland.
The scheme supports creative partnerships between RIBA members, teachers and young people to deliver creative, hands-on experience in classrooms across the country. Thanks to funding from Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners, the RIBA National Schools Programme has engaged more than 4000 school children in England since September 2015.
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May 8, 2020
Countless realities have been unveiled by the planet’s biggest challenge at the moment – the Covid-19 pandemic. From the inadequacy of healthcare systems, the alleged dishonesty of governments, the importance of social and economic safety nets, to the strength of the human spirit, we continue to learn that the functioning of the world as we thought we knew it is even more complex than it seemed. One of the most important realisations is, of course, the role of the international community in dealing with global challenges. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has been at the forefront of the fight against the virus and in the limelight for alleged delays in bringing the gravity of the situation to the attention of the world.
As the virus and its effects have spread across the world, several things have become apparent about our understanding of the global landscape, especially about concerted efforts to face universal challenges. Without a doubt, each country that has reported positive cases of the corona virus (53 of Africa’s 54, as of 19th April 2020 - Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention) has had to rapidly mobilise a comprehensive response. It is not necessary to repeat here what that has entailed, but in nearly all cases, the response has required the import of essential supplies from partners near and far. Given the circumstances, efforts have been made to smoothen the process of importing critical supplies, whether testing kits, personal protective equipment (PPE) or medicines to help ease the effects of the virus. Indeed, some states have seen increased flows of medical and other experts, with some attempting to attract foreign doctors from far and wide. The thread of trade has been inescapable even as the world inches closer to the brink of global economic contraction.
The most significant dimension of global economic depression has been the drop in production of both goods and services, simultaneously due to and resulting in unprecedented job losses, furloughing of workers where operations have become impractical, and the loss of human resource to the disease. This has already had its effects on purchasing power, and even with efforts to minimise disruption to supply chains, there have been shortages due to reduced supply and the hoarding of goods in response to social-distancing measures. One ‘I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t seen it’ effect was the drop of oil prices below zero. Closer to home, the start of free trade under the AfCFTA has been delayed. With ‘lockdown’ measures to remain in place for at least a few more weeks in most places, the shrinkage of global economic output is set to be unprecedented (2.8% drop in global GDP forecast by Oxford Economics).
What can African economic law learn from the outbreak and responses to it so far? In brief, a whole lot. Many of the lessons are things we would consider axiomatic by now, even with differing views on globalisation and the ‘right arena’ for trade. First, approaches can be unique but effective. Following the example of China, many countries curtailed the movement of people within and across their borders to slow down the spread of the disease. This has proved effective in slowing down the spread of the virus, thereby ‘flattening the curve’ and spreading the effect of the outbreak over a longer period. This approach has been the preferred in states where mass testing and contact tracing would have been impractical. The opposite approach, followed by Singapore, Hong Kong and a few others, has been to test widely and trace the contacts of any positive cases for follow-up. This has been effective by keeping track of the spread and attempting to slow it down by reducing contact with positive or suspected cases. In both, a clear understanding of the goal and how to achieve it has been critical to their success.
The second lesson flows almost obviously from the first: whichever approach, it has to be implemented quickly and on a large scale in order for it to be effective. Admittedly, capacity and resource considerations arise, and as some experiences will show, a combination of both approaches might be more effective. Third, there will always be an opportunity cost. Countries considering a lockdown have had to weigh the benefits against the invariably adverse effect it would have on their economies. As the Ghanaian president put it, “We know how to bring the economy back to life. What we do not know is how to bring people back to life.” Another important lesson that I do not need to belabour is the importance of listening to the experts making evidence-based decisions. Just like fighting a pandemic, economic integration and development can only be successful if they are based on more than sentiment, intuition and goodwill.
Perhaps one of the biggest lessons we can learn from this experience is that some challenges (arguably more than we are ready to admit) are not national but international. The role of international trade in the spread of the virus, especially through global travel, cannot be overstated. It is increasingly clear that concerted or at least harmonised efforts are indispensable in slowing down the virus, whether it is by closing borders, or domestic measures aimed at mutual benefit. The role of the WHO and other international institutions in stemming the pandemic only illustrates the importance of strong institutions. Yes, there have been criticisms of their imperfection, but the alternative – a world without them – is prime material for a dystopian world. Collaboration on research is quickly taking the place of ‘first mover advantage’ as it becomes clear that no country is safe from this scourge until all countries are safe. This has highlighted the futility of inward-looking policies and efforts, as we have learnt that personal safety is only as effective as the cumulative/collective adherence to safety measures. As with the defeat of this (and indeed any other) pandemic, there must be a reciprocal reliance on other states to take effective measures to achieve common goals.
The EAC has attempted to coordinate efforts between their respective health ministries, and there is room for more or more effective approaches. There is growing scepticism that the varied responses across the region will undermine the efforts of the more conscientious states, and I would argue that the Partner States’ responses to the pandemic mirror their approaches to the integration project, but that’s a story for another day. The European Union, while it has not been perfect, has been useful in coordinating joint procurement of medicines and PPE for member states. Strangely though, at a time when cooperation is most required, some politicians are taking a swipe at such collaborative efforts, with some even shunning them or creating excuses not to participate in them. There are some arguably valid criticisms, such as the slow response in delivering assistance and leadership to states that require it, particularly those that contend with migration-related problems in addition to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Covid-19 has been said to be an equaliser, as it attacks both the prince and the proverbial pauper, but the evidence suggests that on the contrary, it affects the pauper more than it affects the prince, and the vast differences in states’ abilities to handle the outbreak have been clear in all regions. I do not purport to propose a solution to the inequalities that plague the world today, and I am by no means advocating for a reinvention of the wheel; only its improvement. This outbreak has shown the adaptability of life and most of the processes we have taken as trite, and is an example of human and states’ ability to deal with change, whether gradual, sudden or drastic. Most people have had to learn new ways of doing their work, especially remotely, and we are quickly recalibrating what we consider essential. Can the same be transposed to economic cooperation?
I would say yes, mutatis mutandis. But, we must have the courage to make the difficult decisions. One might argue that economic cooperation or creating an environment that fosters development is not a difficult decision, and will even argue that many of these decisions have been made in the past. However, those decisions have to be backed by action. Like the lockdown/contact-tracing decision, integration decisions must be made quickly and on a large scale and most importantly, consistently followed through to their completion. In much the same way as states have had to learn from those affected by the virus before them, we should learn from the experiences of those who have succeeded or failed before us. The sooner we realise that we are dealing with a common adversary (closed markets, underdevelopment, poverty, resource underutilisation, etc.), the sooner we overcome the challenges we face. This will be particularly important for any recovery efforts necessary to remedy the economic challenges presented by a global pandemic of a scale we now face.
Unlike the situation with the novel coronavirus, however, African IEL has the benefit of history and the hindsight that comes with it. As the virus's name suggests, it presents a new challenge, and a direct result of this has been the experimental, almost trial and error attempts to tackle it. It is nothing our generation has experienced, and we seem partly unable to rely on the lessons from previous pandemics because of the unique nature of each outbreak. African IEL, on the other hand, is less sporadic, and without even close scrutiny, reveals common threads and trends that have all yielded varied results. Is the time ripe for us to step back, look at the evidence and winnow out what has not worked, and refine that which has?
The best ways to tackle any disease are often scientific, whether based on modern, Western-style medicine, or the traditional methods of our forefathers. In both cases, an ailment was observed, a treatment proposed, and if successful, adopted, with the less effective ones being relegated to the realm of pseudoscience at best. The African continent-wide economic integration project has been in motion in one form or other since the 1950s (some might argue earlier). Now, more than ever, is the time to take an honest look at our history and consider whether, based on the depth of integration of our economies, we are on the right track, or whether we need to consider a different approach. We should use the postponed operationalisation of the AfCFTA to consider how best to implement the ideals that have been negotiated the last couple of years, and not serve as a harbinger of another shelved idea.
To achieve any of this, we must consider the relationships between regional, continental, and global bodies on the one hand and national authorities on the other. We might need a rethink of the flow of support (financial, logistical, etc.), to ensure that there is benefit at the grassroots, rather than a system in which the smaller sustain the bigger with no readily evident results. There must be increased real cooperation between states, as it is clearer now, more than ever, that we are about as strong as our weakest link. None of this can be achieved in the absence of a strong central leadership, an argument that benefits from the prime example provided by the United States’ handling of the Covid-19 threat. Whether this central leadership is at regional, continental or even global level (as Gordon Brown proposes), it must be able to harness the differences in values, opinions and interests, synthesising them for the collective good. The questions of whether such leadership is the product of pure charisma or experience, or the most appropriate level for it (regional, continental or global), may be up for debate, but the question of its necessity should not.
May 8, 2020
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Critical edition by Philip Gossett
Principal characteristics of the critical edition:
The principal advantage offered by the critical edition is that it presents in a single publication all the music that Rossini composed for this opera. In fact, the composer personally prepared three different versions of Tancredi:
⦁ Venice, Teatro La Fenice (6 February 1813);
⦁ Ferrara, Teatro Comunale (21 March 1813);
⦁ Milan, Teatro Re (18 December 1813).
None of these has found a place in the existing (traditional) editions of the score which in most cases present a “mixed” version never prepared by the composer.
This is the version found in the principal text of the edition. It gathers together all the music that was performed on the evening of the very first performance of the opera; in particular it presents the original version of the Gran Scena di Tancredi (No. 16) absent in all the existing editions. The opera concludes with the so-called ‘finale lieto’ (Finale II «Fra quai soavi palpiti» (No. 17)).
A few weeks after its opening in Venice, Rossini revived the opera in Ferrara composing a number of new pieces and effecting cuts and substitutions as well as approving the insertion of music not composed by himself. All the specifications relating to the staging of this version are provided in the preface to the score and in the critical commentary. Appendix III provides the newly composed musical pieces, specifically:
- Amenaide’s Cavatina «Ah se pur morir degg’io» (No. 10a), a piece most probably not composed by Rossini;
- A new conclusion to the Gran Scena di Tancredi (Chorus of Knights «Regna il terror» (No. 16.iia) and Tancredi’s Recitative and Rondò «Perché turbar la calma» (No. 16a.iii);
- The Recitative after the Gran Scena di Tancredi «Ah! ch’ei si perde»;
- The new finale to the opera consisting in the Chorus «Muore il prode» (No. 17a), and Tancredi’s Final Recitative and Cavatina «Amenaide... serbami tua fé» interposed by the Recitative after the Chorus « Barbari! È vano ogni rimorso» (No. 18a).
This new finale – the so-called ‘finale tragico’ – is presented here for the first time (none of the existing versions present it) following the discovery of Rossini’s autograph in a private library. This finale represents one of the most important musicological discoveries of last century and offers a surprising perspective on the personality and musical output of the young Rossini.
Rossini almost certainly oversaw the subsequent revival of Tancredi for the inauguration of the Teatro Re in Milan in December 1813. In this case too numerous adjustments were made to the score, all pointed out in the preface and in the critical commentary. Appendix IV provides the newly composed musical pieces, specifically:
- No. 4a: Argirio’s Recitative and Aria «Se ostinata ancor non cedi»;
- No. 8a: the Chorus «Mora l’indegna», and Argirio’s Recitative and Aria «All’armi mi chiama», a piece most probably not composed by Rossini;
- No. 15a: Roggiero’s Aria «Torni d’amor la face».
As well as all the music composed by Rossini for the three above-listed versions, the critical edition provides two further pieces:
- No. 3a: Tancredi’s Recitative «O sospirato lido» and Cavatina «Dolci d’amor parole», composed by Rossini for Adelaide Malanotte in the course of the first performances in Venice as an alternative piece to the original cavatina No. 3 (APPENDIX II);
- No. 9a: Isaura’s Aria «Tu che i miseri conforti», quite possibly not composed by Rossini, but present in a number of the musical sources of the era; what is involved is a different intonation for Isaura’s aria on the same verbal text as the original, but characterised by a higher vocal range (APPENDIX V).
In the face of such a large number of variants, a guide to the staging of Tancredi is offered in the prefix so as to help modern interpreters to correctly realise one of the composer’s three versions or an ‘intermediate’ version according to the spirit and aesthetic conceptions of the era. The vast range of possibilities offered to performers is the fruit of a deep and systematic study of the contemporary sources and as such it makes it possible to realise a range of performance outcomes all philologically correct and plausible.
Finally, a large number of autograph vocal variants are published in Appendixes I and V, a useful guide for modern performers, specifically:
- Vocal variants for Tancredi’s Cavatina (No. 3) composed by Rossini in 1858 (APPENDIX I);
- Cadenzas composed by Rossini for use by Giuditta Past in Amenaide and Tancredi’s Duet (No. 14) (APPENDIX I);
- Other autograph vocal variants for Amenaide and Tancredi’s Duet (No. 14) (APPENDIX I)
- Autograph variants for the Cavatina of Maestro Nicolini added by Sig.ra Pasta in Tancredi (APPENDIX V); these variants of a piece whose introduction into the opera was never approved by Rossini are published here with the sole scope of further documenting the performance practice of the era.
The critical commentary also includes for every number of the score the most significant vocal variants not ascribable to Rossini but found in the principal musical sources of the era.
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- Assoc/Senior Eng (5-yr limited term) »
- Director of Facilities Management »
- Building Assistant »
- Director of Operations »
- HVAC MECHANIC II (Ft. Meade, MD) »
Avoiding Problems With Office Lighting Design
To ensure better lighting quality, facility managers should be aware of mistakes to avoid. One problem is selecting fixtures too early in the process. "You should first decide which patterns of light you want in the space, and the type of color and brightness," says Graf. "You pick the lamps first, and then you pick the fixture." When people carry out this process in reverse, the lighting in the space looks like an accident, he says.
Another issue is equipment sales people making changes in specifications to bring down project costs, and in the process taking out lighting quality features, Graf says. That problem is significant. In fact, it's one element of a four-step process Graf outlines for improving lighting quality: working with a specialist who is aware of new standards; designing a high performance system; not allowing substitutions that adversely affect design; and training employees and management staff.
The final step is easily overlooked. But it's essential that employees and facility managers be trained to understand a lighting design — how it functions and how it should be maintained, Graf says. For example, they need to be made aware of why the lights near the window are turned off in bright sunlight, and how photocells are saving energy.
One tool that can help facility managers prevent lighting quality problems is a mockup. Mockups can be done when converting an existing lighting system or creating a new one. In a new environment, says Hasan, a mockup may be done of a full office or a section of an office, and will include the ceiling system, partitions, and workstations. It is also possible to mock up a private office or one corner of an open office. Mockups add cost and time to construction, but they are preceded by a lot of design work, so changes in a mockup design are usually minimal.
"Facility managers want to see easy maintenance and a decrease in energy use," Hasan says. "They may want to see how to re-lamp a fixture." It is fairly common for project or facility managers to look at samples that will be used on a regular basis. "They may look at 4-foot samples of linear fluorescents, direct or indirect pendants, or recessed, 2-by-2, 1-by-2, or 2-by-4 fixtures," Hasan notes. "These are bread-and-butter fixtures that a manufacture is happy to provide to the design team."
Like many other types of technology, lighting is changing at lightning speed, and new options are regularly coming down the pike. "Lighting changed really slowly in the past, and evolution took decades, but (now) lighting is changing by the month, the week, and the day," says Benya. "If you grew up in the industry, and you think you know everything, you don't. The world is changing faster than you are, and you have to stay up-to-date."
Maryellen Lo Bosco is an Asheville, N.C.-based freelance writer who covers facility management and technology. She is a contributing editor for Building Operating Management.
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Time travel to 60th: Almaty's day celebration at Central Park 22 августа 2014, 14:32
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The Day of Almaty is an important event in the cultural and recreational life of the city. Various concerts and shows open in September to celebrate the city of apples. The Central Park of Culture and Recreation welcomes residence of the city and guests to dive into moments of history through thematic zones installed throughout the park grounds on September 21.
The attributes of the Soviet holiday will include soft ice cream cone kiosks and soviet0style soda drinks dispenses. Park personnel will dress into costumes from different periods. Special photo zones will help submerge the visitors into historical moments. The photo zones will portray the first flight to the moon, Almaty citing during the war and post-war periods, Stilyagi subculture known for contrasting fashion sense and unconventional lifestyle, legendary Beatles (Soviet Union's obsession of the time) and an influential Soviet rock star Victor Tsoy.
“The Central Park is a place where over 5 generations of Almaty folks met and fell in love. The origins of the park goes back to the 50th of the 19th century,” the organizers said.
During the day, young bands and children will perform at an outdoor stage. Old songs and scenes from numerous films of iconic Kazakh director Shaken Aimanov’s will be played throughout the day. In the evening, the visitors will dive into jazz melodies with a Russian band Shtrikh Kod, aGeorgian duet Jazz time, Sault Peanuts from Kyrgyzstan and Victor Khomenko’s jazz band.
Many more events are awaiting the residents and visitors of Almaty in September.
By Gyuzel Kamalova
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Water brand Evian created a storm after its social media post sparked a backlash for apparently offending Muslims observing Ramadan.
On Tuesday, when the faithful were marking the start of a month-long fast between the hours of sunrise and sunset, the Danone subsidiary brand posted a message on its French Twitter page that read: "Retweet if you have already drunk a litre of Evian today."
The message generated an angry response from some users who found it thoughtless and insensitive. “Worst timing,” wrote one person, responding to the post that was retweeted more than 5,000 times in one day.
“There are millions of us fasting in France, right?” another said. There are more than five million Muslims living in France, the second-largest religious group in the country.
Users asked why the mineral water brand decided on the tweet that day, with some accusing Evian of racism and religious insensitivity.
However, other users defended the brand, pointing out how it posts regular statements and questions about water consumption on its Twitter feed.
Its previous tweets never attracted this level of attention, with most barely surpassing double digits in retweets or likes.
A few hours after the message was posted the brand apologised, calling the original post clumsy. Evian said the tweet was not meant to cause offence.
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Search the name of a city:
Here you will find the location of Cochabamba on a map.
To see how it currently looks like outside, below are some pictures of the area from online web cameras.
You can also find the distance to the main cities in the region and to cities in the rest of Bolivia.
Cities in Bolivia that are also found in other countries in the world.
Los Angeles: Westridge2.
Webcams provided by webcams.travel
Where is Cochabamba relative to other places?
Top 10 cities in Bolivia and distance from Cochabamba.
Advice and information about traveling and security in Bolivia.
With a travel advise, tourists can be informed about security risks during traveling or vacation in a foreign country. Be informed about the risks of kidnapping, armed robbery, bombings, natural disasters or war. Know which areas are unsafe in Boliviao. Be vigilant, or avoid certain areas when on vacation in Bolivia.
Information on travel documents, visa applications and the cost of a visa.
Contact information of embassies in Bolivia.
Different types of travel insurance.
Statistics and Geographics
Bolivia is made up of 15900 cities in 9 regions.
The region Cochabamba has 1203 cities.
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SLOW SCHOOL LEVEL ONE (SS1)click to see
Level One Slow School is an introduction to low speed riding techniques. It is a great way to become more familiar with your motorcycle after a recent purchase or build your existing slow speed skills with the bike you love to ride. No one wants to be “THE ONE” who comes into a parking lot with their outriggers’(legs) extended out to both sides. It doesn’t look cool! This four hour class that helps build rider confidence while operating their motorcycle in a parking lot or similar confined areas. Slow School will refine the riders overall control of the motorcycle which will translate into increased skill at higher speeds. Riders are not forced into a specific area but are coached with techniques and tools that allow them to tighten up their turns as they build confidence at their own pace riding in an open pattern with minimal small cones. The exercises are designed to relax the rider as they learn to be successful at lower speeds allowing them to build the skill they are working on in their own time and manage the motorcycle successfully.
Riders are required to provide their own motorcycle with proof of insurance along with:
- DOT helmet with eye protection
- Motorcycle riding jacket, pants, and full fingered leather gloves
- Sturdy over the ankle boots
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Each RodKit will contain all the components you need to build a fishing rod. Each kit should contain the following components:
This is the main structural element of the fishing rod, made from T24 Carbon
Sits on the butt of the rod protecting the carbon blank from damage.
Foam tubes that become the handles / grips for the fishing rod
Sits between the fore and rear grip and acts as a seat for attaching a reel to the fishing rod
#25, #16, #12, #10, and #8 x 2 – The rod guides carry or guide the fishing line. Double coated black stainless steel with titanium oxide shock rings.
Acts as a guide for the tip of the rod – tip can also be wrapped like a guide.
Used for wrapping the rod guides to the blank.
For melting the thermal glue
Holds the Rod Blank during construction
Holds the thread bobbin and creates tension in the thread.
For cutting thread during wrapping.
For tightening and finishing the wraps.
Rotisserie for drying the guide coating.
Removes epoxy bubbles.
Filing down guides prior to wrapping
Used for creating arbors, marking the rod and in wrapping the guides.
Non-permanent pencil used for marking the rod blank. Easy to see and easy to clean.
For fixing the handle assembly and coating the wraps. Includes 2 part epoxy and fumed silica
For cleaning Epoxy
For scoring blank prior to installing handle
Mixing and applying epoxy
For measuring epoxy parts
For applying clear coat epoxy to guide wraps.
For gluing the rod tip
For creating unique or advanced wraps
For cleaning epoxy
An easy to use tool used for finding the spine of a blank with 100% accuracy.
For mixing epoxy perfectly without bubbles
A fantastic tool for holding the guides while wrapping
Creating permanent writing or markings on the rod
Loop for tying off tag end of each wrap
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https://www.ubuildrods.com.au/courses/fishing-rod-building-course/lessons/01-unboxing-the-kit/
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"Ei plângeau degeaba!"
Translation:They were crying for nothing!
4 CommentsThis discussion is locked.
"In vain" and "for nothing" mean two separate things in English.
Crying in vain- the reason for crying may or may not be justified, but crying will not improve the situation.
Crying for nothing- the person has no reason to cry.
It's my understanding that „degeaba" means "in vain". To express "for nothing" I would think „pentru puțin" ori „fără motiv" would be better translations.
Agree. Degeaba is in vain. While I can imagine situations in which a foreigner might say "for nothing" in English and mean "in vain" and I would understand what he was trying to say, I can't imagine a situation where a native speaker would say "for nothing" to mean "in vain". In vain, fruitlessly, bootless, to no end. For nothing could also imply gratis, free of charge. "That guy's gonna fix my car for nothing!"
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VLC (VideoLAN Client) is a versatile media player software which is free and open source to use. It is available almost for all kind operating system from Linux Window, MacOS to Android, iPhone or OpenBSD; where you can install it easily.
It not only plays the videos but also music including streaming videos from a local or online resource such as YouTube. VLC supports a variety of media formats and streaming media protocols. However, on Windows and other operating systems it is easy to install but when it comes to Linux users still struggle because of command interface. Here in this article, we let you know how to install the VLC media player on RedHat and its based OS such as Centos and Fedora.
Install VLC Media player on RHEL 7/CentOS 7/Scientific Linux (SL 7)
- Go to your Red Hat or CentOS or other RHEL based Linux OS.
- If you have a Graphical interface search Terminal and open it to run the command.
- Switch to root user using the below command.
- Install Epel-release repository refer the below command.
yum install https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-7.noarch.rpm
- Install RPM Fusion for EL7
yum install https://download1.rpmfusion.org/free/el/rpmfusion-free-release-7.noarch.rpm
- Download and install the VLC Media player
yum -y install vlc
- To check the VLC installation you can use the below command
rpm -qa | grep vlc
- Now get back to the standard use of your RedHat and Centos because from the terminal you can’t run the VLC as root user due to security purpose. Once you switch the user just type:
- In case you are using server version then for Minimal/server use the below command to install the VLC core otherwise just leave this step.
yum install vlc-core (for minimal headless/server install)
- Even after installation, you access the VLC form start menu. Just go there on the start menu and search for VLC.
Install VLC Media player on RHEL 6/CentOS 6
All the above steps would be same except the command to install the Epel and rpmfusion. If you are using the RedHat 6 or CentOS 6 version then use the below-given commands to install the VLC media player
su yum install https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-6.noarch.rpm yum install https://download1.rpmfusion.org/free/el/rpmfusion-free-release-6.noarch.rpm yum -y install vlc
To install VLC on Fedora 22, 23, 24,25,26,27,28 and 29
The commands are:
Login as root:
In case you have just installed the Fedora and don’t have set the password then use the below command to set it
sudo passwd root
or just emulate your current user to root by this command
Now download and install the RPMfusion
dnf install https://download1.rpmfusion.org/free/fedora/rpmfusion-free-release-$(rpm -E %fedora).noarch.rpm
Download and Install VLC Media player on Fedora
dnf install vlc
In this way, you can easily install the VLC media player Redhat Linux or CentOSor Fedora using command terminal.
Other Resources to see:
- How to Play and download YouTube videos on VLC Media Player
- How to install VLC media player for Ubuntu or Linux Mint via the command terminal
- Convert media files with VLC Media Player to Mp4, Mp3, Mkv & more
- How to change the language of an interface in VLC player
- Use VLC Media Player as a free screen recording tool
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Works by Marni Parsons
Book Reviews by Marni Parsons
By Marni Parsons
Published in Letters & Other Connections. Spec. issue of Canadian Literature 134 (Autumn 1992): 166-167.
- Don't Bet on the Prince: Contemporary Feminist Fairy Tales in North America and England by Jack Zipes
- The Brothers Grimm: From Enchanted Forests to the Modern World by Jack Zipes
Filter and refine your search using the categories below. If you do not select any boxes, the search engine will return all results by default.
To search for specific phrases, wrap the text with quotation marks. "Bill New" will search for instances where his name appears as a whole, but searching without quotations marks will return all instances where the word "Bill" and "New" appear in th text, separately and together.
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The revolt of the communities
The age of federalism
Personal freedom and social union
The community of christendom
The decline of medieval culture
The dissolution of communal institutions
The great discoveries
Decline of the papal power
The janus head of the renaissance
The revolt of the individual
The "master man" people becomes mob
The national state
National unity as a tool of temporal power
The high priests of the new state.
The revolt of the communities
Every political power tries to subject all groups in social life to its supervision and, where it seems advisable, totally to suppress them; for it is one of its most vital assumptions that all human relations should be regulated by the agencies of governmental power. This is the reason why every important phase in the cultural reconstruction of social life has been able to prevail only when its inner social connections were strong enough to prevent the encroachments of political power or temporarily to eliminate them.
After the downfall of the Roman Empire there arose almost everywhere in Europe barbaric states which filled the countries with murder and rapine and wrecked all the foundations of culture. That European humanity at that time was no; totally submerged in the slough of utter barbarism, was owing to that powerful revolutionary movement which spread with astonishing uniformity over all parts of the continent and is known to history as "the revolt of the communities." Everywhere men rebelled against the tyranny of the nobles, the bishops, and governmental authority and fought with armed hands for the local independence of their communities and a readjustment of the conditions of their social life.
In this manner the victorious communities won their "charters" and created their city constitutions in which the new legal status found expres-sion. But even where the communities were not strong enough to achieve full independence they forced the ruling power to far-reaching conces-sions. Thus evolved from the tenth to the fifteenth century that great epoch of the free cities and of federalism whereby European culture was preserved from total submersion and the political influence of the arising royalty was for a long time confined to the non-urban country. The medieval commune was one of those constructive social systems where life in its countless forms flowed from the social periphery toward a common centre and, always changing, entered into the most manifold connections, opening for man ever new outlooks for his social being. At such times the individual feels himself an independent member of society; which makes his work fruitful, gives wings to his spirit and prevents his mental stagnation. And this communal spirit, always at work in a thousand places, which by the very fullness of its manifestations in every field of human activity shapes itself into a unified culture, has its own roots in the community and finds expression in every aspect of communal life.
In such a social environment man feels free in his decisions, although intergrown in countless ways with the community. It is this very freedom of associations which gives force and character to his personality and moral content to his will. He carries the "law of the association" in his own breast, and hence any external compulsion appears to him senseless and incomprehensible. He feels, however, the full responsibility arising from his social relations with his fellowmen, and he makes it the basis of his personal conduct.
In that great period of federalism when social life was not yet fixed by abstract theory and everyone did what the necessity of the circumstances demanded of him, all countries were covered by a close net of fraternal associations, trade guilds, church parishes, county associations, city con-federations, and countless other alliances arising from free agreement. As dictated by the necessities of the time they were changed or completely reconstructed, or even disappeared, to give place to wholly new leagues without having to await the initiative of a central power which guides and directs everything from above. The medieval community was in all fields of its rich social and vital activities arranged chiefly according to social, not governmental, considerations. This is the reason why the men of today, who from the cradle to the grave are continually subjected to the "ordering hand" of the state, find this epoch frequently quite incom-prehensible. In fact, the federalistic arrangement of society of that epoch is distinguished from the later types of organization and the centralising tendencies arising with the development of the modern state, not only by the form of its purely technical organization, but principally by the mental attitudes of men, which found expression in social union.
The old city was not only an independent political organism, it also constituted a separate economic unit, whose administration was subject to its guilds Such an organization had necessarily to be founded on a Continual adjustment of economic interests. This was in fact one of the most important characteristics of the old city culture. This was the more natural because sharp class distinctions were for a long time absent in the old cities, and all citizens were therefore equally interested in the stability of the community. Labor, as such, offered no opportunity for the accumulation of riches so long as the major part of its products were used by the inhabitants of the city and its nearest environs. The old city knew social misery as little as deep inner antagonisms. So long as this condition prevailed the inhabitants were easily capable of arranging their affairs themselves, because no sharp social contrasts existed to disturb the inherent union of the citizens. Hence federalism, founded on the independence and the equality of rights of all its members, was the accepted form of social organization in the medieval communities, with which the state, insofar as it existed at all, had to come to terms. The church, likewise, for a long time, did not dare to disturb these forms, since its leaders recognised clearly that this rich life with its unlimited variety of social activities was deeply rooted in the general culture of the period.
Precisely because the men of that period were so deeply rooted in their fraternal associations and local institutions they lacked the modern concept of the "nation" and "national consciousness" destined to play such a mischievous role in the coming centuries. The man of the federalistic period doubtless possessed a strong sentiment for the homeland, because he was much more closely connected with the homeland than are the men of today. However, no matter how intimately he felt himself related with the social life of his village or city, there never existed between him and the citizens of another community those rigid, insurmountable barriers which arose with the appearance of the national states in Europe. Medieval man felt himself to be bound up with a single, uniform culture, a member of a great community extending over all countries in whose bosom all people found their place. It was the community of Christendom which included all the scattered units of the Christian world and spiritually unified them.
Church and empire likewise had root in this universal idea, even though animated by different motives. For pope and emperor Christianity was the necessary ideological basis for the realisation of a new world dominion. For medieval man it was the symbol of a great spiritual community, wherein were embodied the moral interests of the time. The Christian idea also was only an abstract concept, like that of the fatherland and of the nation-with this distinction, however, that while the Christian idea united them, the idea of the nation separated and organised them into antagonistic camps. The deeper the concept of Christianity took root in men, the easier they overcame all barriers between themselves and others, and the stronger lived in them the consciousness that all belonged to one great community and strove toward a common goal. But the more the "national consciousness" found entrance among them, the more disruptive became the differences between them and the more ruthlessly was everything which they had had in common pushed into the background to make room for other considerations.
A number of different causes contributed to the decline of the medieval city culture. The incursions of the Mongols and Turks into the East European countries and the Seven Hundred Years' War of the little Christian states at the north of the Iberian peninsula against the Arabs greatly favoured the development of strong states in the East and the West of the continent. Principally, however, profound changes had taken place within the cities themselves whereby the federalist communities were undermined and a way made for a reorganisation of the conditions of life. The old city was a commune which for a long time could hardly be designated as a state. Its most important task consisted in establishing a fair adjustment of social and economic interests within its borders. Even where more extensive unions were formed, as for instance in the countless leagues of various cities to guard their common security, the principle of fair adjustment and free association played a deciding role; and as every community within the federation enjoyed the same rights as all the others, for a long time no real political power could be maintained.
This condition, however, was thoroughly changed by the gradual increase of the power of commercial capital, due primarily to foreign trade. The creation of a money economy and the development of definite monopolies secured commercial capital an ever growing influence both within and without the city, leading necessarily to far-reaching changes. By this the inner unity of the commune was loosened, giving place to a growing caste system and leading necessarily to a progressive inequality of social interests. The privileged minorities pressed ever more definitely towards a centralisation of the political forces of the community and gradually replaced the principles of mutual adjustment and free association by the principle of power.
Every exploitation of public economy by small minorities leads inevitably to political oppression, just as, on the other hand, every sort of political predominance must lead to the creation of new economic monopolies and hence to increased exploitation of the weakest sections of society. The two phenomena always go hand in hand. The will to power is always the will to exploitation of the weakest; and every form of exploitation finds its visible expression in a political structure which is compelled to serve as its tool. Where the will to power makes its appearance, there the administration of public affairs changes into a rulership of man over man; the community assumes the form of the state.
The transformation of the old city in fact took place along this line. Mercantilism in the perishing city republics led logically to a demand for larger economic units; and by this the desire for stronger political forms was greatly strengthened. For the protection of its enterprises commercial capital needed a strong political power with the necessary military forces, which would recognise its interests and protect them against the competition of others. Thus the city gradually became a small state, paving the way for the coming national state. The histories of Venice, Genoa and many other free cities, all show us the separate phases of this evolution and its inevitable accompanying phenomena, a development which was later unexpectedly favoured by the discovery of the passage to India and of America. By this the social foundations of the medieval community, already weakened by internal and external struggles, were shaken in their inmost core; and what little remained in them fit for future development was later totally destroyed by victorious absolutism. The further these inner disintegrations progressed the more the old communes lost their original significance, until at last only a waste of dead forms remained, felt by men as an oppressive burden. Thus, later, the Renaissance became a rebellion of men against the social ties of the past, a protest of individualism against the forceful encroachment of the social environment.
With the age of the Renaissance a new epoch commenced in Europe, causing a far-reaching revolution in all traditional views and institutions. The Renaissance was the beginning of that great period of revolutions in Europe which is not yet concluded today. In spite of all social convulsions we have not yet succeeded in finding an inner adjustment of the manifold desires and needs of the individual and the social ties of the community whereby they shall complement each other and grow together. This is the first requisite of every great social culture. Evolutionary possibilities are first set free by such a condition of social life, and can then be brought to full development. The medieval city culture had its roots in this condition before it was infected with the germs of disintegration.
A long line of incidents had contributed to bring about a profound revolution in men's thought. The dogmas of the church, undermined by the shattering criticism of the nominalists, had lost much of their former influence. Likewise, the mysticism of the Middle Ages, already classed as heresy because it proclaimed an immediate relation between God and man, had lost its effectiveness and yielded place to more earthly considerations. The great voyages of discovery of the Spaniards and the Portuguese had greatly widened the outlook of European man and had turned his thoughts to earth again. For the first time since the submersion of the ancient world the scientific spirit revived again, but under the unlimited dominance of the church it found a home only among the Arabs and Jews in Spain. Here it burst the oppressive fetters of a soulless scholasticism and became tolerant of independent thought. As man then turned toward Nature and her laws it was inevitable that his faith in a Divine providence should become shaken, for periods of natural scientific knowledge have never been propitious for religious faith in the miraculous.
Furthermore, it became ever clearer that the dream of the Respublica Christiana, the union of all Christendom under the pope's shepherd's crook, was at an end. In the struggle against the arising nationalist states the church had been forced into the rear. Furthermore, even in its own camp, the forces of disintegration were becoming constantly stronger, leading in the northern countries to open secession. When in addition to all this we consider the great economic and political changes in the body of the old society we can understand the causes of that great spiritual revolution, the effects of which are perceptible even today.
The Renaissance has been called the starting point for modern man, who at that time first became aware of his personality. It cannot be denied that this assertion is partly based on truth. In fact modern man has by no means exhausted his heritage from the Renaissance. His thought and his feeling in many ways bear the imprint of that period, though he lacks a large part of the characteristics of the man of the Renaissance. It is no accident that Nietzsche, and with him the protagonists of an exaggerated individualism, who unfortunately do not possess Nietzsche's intellect, are so much inclined to revert to that period of "liberated passions" and "the roaming blond beast" in order to give their ideas a historical background. Jacob Burckhardt cites in his work, The Culture of the Renaissance in Italy, a wonderful passage from the speech of Pico della Mirandola about the dignity of man, which is also applicable to the twofold character of the Renaissance. The Creator is speaking to Adam:
"In the middle of the world have I placed thee that thou mayst the more easily look about thee and see all that is therein contained. I created thee as a being neither celestial nor terrestrial, neither mortal nor immortal, only that thou mayst be thine own free creator and master. Thou canst degenerate into the beast or reshape thyself into a godlike being. The beasts bring with them from the mother's womb all they were meant to have; the highest spirits among them are from the beginning, or soon after, what they will remain through all eternity. Thou alone hast the power of development, of growth according to free will. Thou hast the germ of an all-embracing life in thee."
The epoch of the Renaissance wears, in fact, a Janus head, behind whose double brow concepts clash, differences arise. From the one side it declared war against the dead social structure of a vanished period and freed man from the net of social ties which had lost their fitness for him and were felt only as restraints. From the other side it laid the foundation of the present power policies of the so-called "national interests" and developed the ties of the modern state. These have been the more destructive because they have not sprung from free association for the protection of common interests, but have been imposed upon men from above to protect and extend the privileges of small minorities in society.
The Renaissance made an end of the scholasticism of the Middle Ages and freed human thought from the fetters of theological concepts, but at the same time it planted the germs of a new political scholasticism and gave the impulse to our modern state-theology whose dogmatism yields in no way to that of the church and equally with it destroys and enslaves the spirit of man. Along with the old institutions of the community it also destroyed their ethical value without seeming able to provide an effective substitute. Thus the Renaissance developed simply into a revolt of man against society, and sacrificed the soul of the community for an abstract concept of freedom which was itself based on a misconception. The freedom it strove for was but a fateful illusion, for it lacked those social principles by which alone it could survive.
True freedom exists only where it is fostered by the spirit of personal responsibility. Responsibility towards one's fellowmen is an ethical feeling arising from human associations and having justice for each and all as its basis. Only where this principle is present is society a real community, developing in each of its members that precious urge toward solidarity which is the ethical basis of every healthy human grouping. Only when the feeling of solidarity is joined to the inner urge for social justice does freedom become a tie uniting all; only under this condition does the freedom of fellowmen become, not a limitation, but a confirmation and guarantee of individual freedom.
Where this prerequisite is missing, personal freedom leads to unlimited despotism and the oppression of the weak by the strong- whose alleged strength is in most cases founded less on mental superiority than on brutal ruthlessness and open contempt for all social feeling. The revolution of the Renaissance did in fact lead to such a situation. As its chosen leaders shook off all the ethical restraints of the past and contemned every consideration of the welfare of the community as personal weakness, they developed that extreme ego-cult which feels bound by no commandment of social morality and values personal success above any truly human feeling. Thus, from so-called "human freedom" nothing could emerge but the freedom of the Master Man, who welcomed any promising means for gaining power. Contemptuous of all feeling for justice, he was prepared to make his road even over corpses.
The concept of the historical significance of the Great Man, which today is again assuming ominous proportions, was developed by Machiavelli with iron logic. His treatise on the prince is the intellectual precipitate of a time when, on the political horizon, gleamed the gruesome words of the Assassins; "Nothing is true; everything is permitted!" The most abominable crime, the most contemptible act, becomes a great deed, becomes a political necessity, as soon as the Master Man puts in appearance. Ethical considerations have validity only for the private use of weaklings; for in politics there is no moral viewpoint, but solely questions of power, for whose solution any means is justifiable which promises success. Machiavelli reduced the amorality of state power to a system and tried to justify it with such cynical frankness that it was frequently assumed, and is still sometimes assumed today, that his Principe is only a burning satire on the despots of that time, overlooking the fact that this document was written merely for the private use of one of the Medici, and was not at all intended for the public; for which reason it was not published until after its author's death.
Machiavelli did not just draw his ideas from his inner consciousness. He merely reduced to a system the common practices of the age of Louis XI, Ferdinand the Catholic, Alexander VI, Cesare Borgia, Francesco Sforza and others. These rulers were as handy with poison and dagger as with rosary and sceptre and did not permit themselves to be influenced in the least by moral considerations in the pursuit of their plans for political power. II Principe is a true portrait of every one of them. Says Machiavelli:
A prince need not possess all the above-mentioned virtues, but he should have the reputation of possessing them. I even venture to say that it is very harmful to possess them and constantly to observe them; but to appear pious, true, human, God-fearing, Christian, is useful. It is only necessary at once so to shape one's character as to be able when it is necessary to be also the opposite of these. It must, therefore, be understood that a prince, especially a new prince, cannot be expected to observe what is regarded as good by other men, for to maintain his position he must often offend against truth, faith, humanity, mercy, and religion. Therefore he must possess a conscience capable of turning according to the winds of changing fortune and, as we have said, not neglect the good when it is feasible but also do the bad when it is necessary. A prince must therefore be very careful never to utter a word not full of the above-mentioned five virtues. All that one hears of him must exude compassion, truth, humanity, mercy, and piety; and nothing is more necessary than to guard the appearance of these virtues, for men judge in general more by the eye than by the feeling, for all can see, but only few can feel. Everyone sees what you appear to be, few feel what you really are; and these do not dare to oppose the opinion of the mass guarded by the majesty of the State. Of men's acts, especially those of the princes who have no judge over them, we ever regard but the result. Let the prince, therefore, see to it that he maintains his dignity. The means will ever be regarded as honourable and brave by everyone. For the common herd ever regard but the appearance and the result of a matter; and the world is full of the common herd. 1
What Machiavelli stated here in frank words (bluntly because only meant for the ear of a definite ruler) was only the unadorned profession of faith of the representatives of each and every power policy. It is, therefore, idle to talk of "Machiavellism." What the Florentine statesman set forth so crisply and clearly and so unequivocally has always been practiced and will always be practiced as long as privileged minorities in society have the necessary power to subdue the great majority and to rob them of the fruits of their labour. Or is one to believe that our present secret diplomacy uses other principles? As long as the will to power plays a part in the communal life of men, so long will those means be justified which are best for the winning and the maintenance of power. While the outer form of power policy, now as always, must needs adjust itself to the times and circumstances, the ends it pursues always remain the same and hallow any means serviceable to its purposes; for power is inherently amoral and transgresses against every principle of human justice, which feels that all privilege of individuals or special castes are a disturbance of social equilibrium, and consequently immoral. It would then be senseless to assume that the methods of power are better than the ends they serve.
What Machiavelli reduced to a system was naked, unashamed reasons of state. It was quite clear that brutal power policy was unguided by ethical principles. Therefore he demanded, with the shameless frankness characteristic of him (the trait really does not quite conform to the principles of his own "Machiavellism"), that men who cannot do without the superfluous luxury of private conscience had better leave politics alone. That Machiavelli so completely exposed the inner workings of power politics, that he even despised to gloss over the most inconvenient details with empty phrases and hypocritical words, is his chief merit.
Leonardo da Vinci engraved on the pedestal of his equestrian statue of Francesco Sforza the words: Ecce Deus! ("What a God!"). In these words are revealed the fundamental changes everywhere apparent after the disappearance of the medieval social organization. The glamour of the godhead had faded; in its place the Master Man was endowed with new honours, a reversion to the Caesar cult of the Romans. The "hero" became the executor of human destiny, the creator of all things on earth. No one has furthered this hero cult more than Machiavelli. No one has burned more incense to the "strong individual" than he. All devotees of heroism and hero worship have merely drunk from his cup.
The belief in the surpassing genius of the Master Man is always most noticeable in times of inner dissolution, when the social ties that have bound men become loosened and the interests of the community yield place to the special interests of privileged minorities. The difference of social ambitions and objectives, which always leads to sharper contrasts within the community and to its disintegration into opposing castes and classes, continually undermines the foundations of communal feeling. But where the social instinct is continually disturbed and weakened by alteration of the external conditions of life, there the individual gradually loses his equilibrium and the people becomes the mob. The mob is nothing but the uprooted people driven hither and thither on the stream of events. It must first be collected again into a new community that new forces may arise in it and its social activities be again directed toward a common goal.
Where the people become the mob, the time is favourable for the growth of the "Great Man," of the "recognised Master Man." Only in such periods of social disintegration is it possible for the "hero" to impose his will upon the others and to force the mob under the yoke of his individual desires. The true community permits no rulership to arise because it unites men by the inner bonds of common interests and mutual respect,: needing no external compulsion. Rulership and external compulsion always appear where the internal ties of the community fall into decay and communal feeling dies. When the social bond threatens to be broken the rulership of compulsion enters to hold together by force what was once united into a community by free agreement and personal responsibility.
The Renaissance was a time of such dissolution. The people changed to the mob, and from the mob was formed the nation, which was to serve as stepping stone to the new state. This origin is very instructive, for it shows that the whole power apparatus of the national state and the abstract idea of the nation have grown on one tree. It is not by chance that Machiavelli, the theoretician of modern power politics, was also the warmest defender of national unity, which played from then on the same part for the new state as the unity of Christianity had played for the church.
It was not the people who brought about this new condition, for no inner necessity drove them to this division, nor could they derive any benefit from it. The national state is the definite result of the will to temporal power, which in pursuit of its purposes had found a powerful Support in commercial capital, which needed its help. The princes imposed their will on the people and resorted to all sorts of tricks to keep them compliant, so that later it appeared as if the division of Christendom into nations had originated with the people themselves, whereas actually they were but the unconscious tools of the special interests of the princes.
The internal disintegration of papal power, and especially the great church schism in the northern countries, gave the temporal rulers the opportunity to turn long-held plans into reality and to give their power a new foundation independent of Rome. But this disrupted the great worldwide unity whereby European humanity had been spiritually and mentally united and wherein the great culture of the federalist period had had its firmest root. It is solely because Protestantism has been regarded, especially in the northern countries, as a great spiritual advance over Catholicism that the fateful result of the Reformation has been almost totally overlooked. 2 And as the political and social reconstruction of Europe had taken the same course also in Catholic lands, and as the national state had there especially achieved its highest perfection in the form of the absolute monarchy, the enormous consequences of this event, resulting in the separation of Europe into nations, were all the more easily overlooked.
It was in furtherance of the political aims of the national state that its princely founders set up differences in principles between their own and foreign peoples and strove to deepen and confirm them, for their whole existence depended upon these artificially created differences. Therefore they attached importance to the development of different languages in the different countries, and they had a love for definite traditions, which they enveloped in a veil of mysticism and tried to keep alive among the people; for the inability to forget is one of the first requisites of "national consciousness." And since among the people only the "holy" took root, it behooved them to give to national institutions the appearance of holiness and in particular to surround the person of the ruler with the glamour of divinity.
In this matter also Machiavelli served as a pioneer, for he understood that a new era had arrived and he could indicate its trend. He was the first decided supporter of the national state against the political ambitions of the church. Because the church stood as the strongest barrier in the way of the national unity of Italy, and therefore of "freeing the land from the Barbarians," he fought it most determinedly and promoted the separation of church and state. At the same time he tried to raise the state on the pedestal of divinity, although he was no Christian and had definitely broken with all belief in the supernatural. But he felt deeply the implicit Connection between religion and politics and knew that temporal power could only prosper when it stood close to the source of all authority, so that it might shine with the light of divinity. For reasons of state, then, Machiavelli wished to preserve religion among the people, not as a power Outside the state, but as an instrumentum regni, as a tool of government by statecraft. Therefore he wrote with cold-blooded realism in the eleventh chapter of the second book of his Discourses:
In reality no one has ever introduced new laws among the people without referring therein to God. The doctrines would otherwise not have been accepted, for a wise man can recognise as good much of whose excellence he cannot convince other men. Therefore do governments take their refuge in divine authority.
The high priests of monarchistic politics continued to work in this direction. They created a new political religious feeling which gradually took shape as "national consciousness" and, fertilised by man's inner urge for a formula, bore, later, the same strange fruit as did formerly the belief in God's eternal providence.
- 1Niccolo Machiavelli, Il Principe.
- 2Novalis had clearly grasped the deeper meaning of this tremendous political change when he wrote:
"Unfortunately the princes had interfered in this schism, and many used it for the confirmation and extension of their temporal power and income. They were glad to be relieved of that high influence, and took the new consistoria under their fatherly protection. They were most eagerly concerned to prevent the complete union of the Protestant churches, and thus religion was most irreligiously enclosed within state boundaries; whereby the ground was laid for the gradual undermining of religious cosmopolitan interests. Thus religion lost its great political peace-making influence, its peculiar role as the unifying individualising principle of Christianity." (Novalis, Christianity or Europe. Fragment written in 1799.)
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Tesla changed the face of automobile with its autopilot option. But despite of every security option and reliability the company faces few problems in road.
Tesla needs no introduction in automobile industry. Billionaire Elon Musk has this privilege to made such a car in the world. In 2014, Tesla introduces autopilot option in its car. Autopilot defined as The Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) — allows the vehicle to maintain its speed and lane centering. With the ADAS engaged, the driver still holds primary responsibility for identifying obstacles in the roadway or “adverse maneuvers by neighboring vehicles.” It means car drive itself while driver can take a nap or enjoy the ride without getting tired or bored. While few functions are still in human control. But it can identify traffic and change lane all by itself.
Autopilot system installed specially in Model Y, X, S AND 3 FROM 2014 TO 2021. Around 765,000 cars sold in this time period. According to the makers “You get to your destination slightly slower but at least now you don’t have to worry about anything. Just let it go.” They also claims that vehicles with autopilot causes 10 times less accident than any average vehicle.
Accidents by autopilot
On May 7, 2016 a tesla S model car crashed because the software could not identify the 18 feet vehicle coming. Driver was 40 years old, Joshua Brown and he was coming to Williston, Florida. Brown was the first victim of autopilot crash. After the incident company pays their condolences and promised to make the system more secure and reliable. Even company acknowledge their failure and put a tweet about it.
But unfortunately it does not end with that. Until October 2021, 18 crashes reported in which 17 injured and 1 was dead. In few cases the system could not identify the sidewalk barrier. In few cases it unable to take decision and directly budge into another vehicle. It also does not work well in low lights, fog or rain. Mostly complaints are coming from model S and X. But these accidents are raising questions worldwide. One thing that company promised is not delivering efficiently.
Tesla is one of the most expensive car company in the world. The cheapest one costs around $35,000 which is made for middle class drivers. The autopilot system installation costs around $10,000. But if such incidents continuous to happen rapidly it will mark a huge spot in its popularity.
If you sees the numbers the number of accidents are still really low. If it compares to number of vehicles sold and crashed. But in todays world of chaos, a minor mistake in market can put you in a very bad position instantly. So if Tesla wants to bring their numbers up, they have to rectify these software problems in future.
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Credit to Conservative Tribune – February 23, 2017 –
Virginia’s minimum wage is $7.25. California’s burdensome taxes, skyrocketing cost of living and culture of anti-corporate activism plus $16 million in a variety of tax incentives by Virginia all played a part in Nestle’s decision to move the chocolate company out of California.
According to award winning Investors Business Daily, associate editor, Terry Jones calling California, “one of the worst places to do business.”
One relocation expert states from 2008 4hrough 2015, at least 1,687 California companies moved operations out of the state.
What did that do the economics of California? The state is also losing residents as middle class workers pull up stakes to follow the jobs out of state. California lost more than 1 million middle-class residents, representing a net loss of about $26 billion in annual income, from 2004 to 2013, according to IRS data.
Toyota and Occidental Petroleum have both picked up stakes and moved to Texas. In fact, the Phoenix Business Journal reported that $68 billion in capital had left the state in 1,500 “disinvestment actions.” By leaving California, companies are saving 25-35% in operating costs.
If California wants to retain or attract large corporations and create jobs, they better embrace capitalism, start deregulating and stop all the wacky laws that allow any Joe Schmoo to bring a spurious lawsuit, further driving businesses out of our state.
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A thriving economy needs an effective system for training new engineers and technicians, and to continually progress the skills of those in the workforce. We are helping to build the foundations for a new UK skills system.
Supporting national skills systems
In our 2020 report Manufacturing the Future Workforce, we worked with the Gatsby Foundation to develop a holistic approach to manufacturing skills development in the UK. This and our continuing work in the area now forms the basis of the UK Government’s Emerging Skills Programme and supports national skills development.
Skills Value Chain
We identified the key role that research and technology organisations, like the HVM Catapult, could play in a successful Skills Value Chain. We are helping to develop the UK’s skills ecosystem to give our industries a truly competitive edge in global markets.
Foresighting future technological skills
We assemble experts from across relevant groups to identify the likely ‘future-state’ of skills needs in a sector or economy, responding to the relative maturity of new technologies. Comparing this to the ‘current state’, we help to identify the learner groups that will require these future skills and which parts of the existing, adult workforce will need upskilling.
Convening industry and government
Responsive and effective technical education relies on the agreement of industry, researchers and governments to establish themes, standards and structures. We use our unique position to bring these groups together, helping to build a manufacturing skills system fit for the future.
Workforce development is one of the three pillars that supports the commercialisation of new technologies.Our technology areas
Developing new technologies can transform a business, market, or economy. We support commercial research and development, helping manufacturing companies to take advantage of novel new technologies and techniques.See more about manufacturing technology development
Establishing reliable supply chains is vital for the widespread adoption of new technologies. We help manufacturing companies to develop and optimise supply chains for new and existing products and technologies.See more about manufacturing supply chain development
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*Reminder: Friday Writes: Friday Write #2 should be uploaded tonight. This is a Draft only.
*We will go over our short story summary for “Forgiveness in Families”.
*The Metaphor: Essays -You will have time to work on your essays
*Depending on time…..below….
-Today we will read the short story “The Tell Tale Heart” aloud as a class.
*first open up the following link…there is a pre-reading exercise that we will start with…
-“The Simpsons” and Tell Tale heart
Short Story Summary
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California now has more trees than at any time since the late Pleistocene. This green landscape, however, is not the work of nature. It's the work of history. In the years after the Gold Rush, American settlers remade the California landscape, harnessing nature to their vision of the good life. Horticulturists, boosters, and civic reformers began to "improve" the bare, brown countryside, planting millions of trees to create groves, wooded suburbs, and landscaped cities. They imported the blue-green eucalypts whose tangy fragrance was thought to cure malaria. They built the lucrative "Orange Empire" on the sweet juice and thick skin of the Washington navel, an industrial fruit. They lined their streets with graceful palms to announce that they were not in the Midwest anymore. [more inside]
New York Times Bestseller A monumental novel about trees and people by one of our most "prodigiously talented" (The New York Times Book Review) novelists. An Air Force loadmaster in the Vietnam War is shot out of the sky, then saved by falling into a banyan. An artist inherits a hundred years of photographic portraits, all of the same doomed American chestnut. A hard-partying undergraduate in the late 1980s electrocutes herself, dies, and is sent back into life by creatures of air and light....
Forests feel like a place of great stillness but dig deeper and there's a hidden world beneath your feet as busy and complicated as a city. [more inside]
Reports of palm theft have appeared in LA, San Diego, and Texas; palm rustling also gets a mention in Susan Orlean's The Orchid Thief. What the palm tree* means to America, what they're worth, and how they've democratized the California Dream. [more inside]
Doctor Who: In the Forest of the Night Season 8, Ep 10
The Doctor, Clara, Danny and a classful of children find themselves in a mysterious forest that has grown up in central London - and all over the world - overnight. [more inside]
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- This event has passed.
Frederick Douglass Day
September 22, 2018 @ 10:00 am - 3:00 pmFREE
Please join the Frederick Douglass Honor Society, the Talbot County Free Library and the Town of Easton, as we celebrate the life and legacy of Frederick Douglass, Saturday, September 22, 2018.
The celebration will take place in downtown Easton, MD from 10 am until 3 pm, and will feature a variety of activities to educate and inspire the community about Frederick Douglass. The program will include a parade, which will begin promptly at 10 a.m. We will have live entertainment, educational speakers celebrating the life of Frederick Douglass, a Children’s Village, food vendors, craft vendors and our Knowledge Village of community organizations offering valuable information for our citizens. Walking tour of The Hill and much more! Everything will be open throughout the day.
Guest Speaker: Dr. Spencer Crew, Robinson Professor of History, George Mason University and Assistant Curator at the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture.
Vendors will be located in the Town of Easton Parking Lot, which is located directly across from the Talbot County Free Library.
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Gay and Modern World: The Total Guide to Modern Gay Life
A thorough guide to modern gay life, from the developers of the most popular gay website on the internet. This short article is a detailed guide to contemporary gay life, from dating and sex to coming out and residing in a homophobic world. It consists of coming out, hooking up, dating apps, LGBT rights in other nations, and more.
The word “gay” is a term used to describe men and ladies drew in to members of the same sex. Today, many individuals associate it with LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) rights and the LGBT community.
Modern gay life has to do with what it suggests to be a member of the LGBT community in today’s society. It touches on subjects consisting of coming out and residing in a homophobic world, from relationships to public understandings.
What is Modern Gay Life? Mens Chats
Modern gay life is a journey of self-discovery, acceptance, and love. It is a time of terrific social change. It is a time when gay individuals are significantly coming out and living honestly. It’s a time when gay individuals are fighting for their rights and difficult outdated laws. It’s also an era in which more people comprehend that sexuality, gender identity, and gender expression are as diverse as the human race.
Modern gay life is not simply about being who you wish to be; it’s about what you want to finish with your life – who you wish to be with, how you want to live your day-to-day life.
Gay rights are seen as a way to achieve equality – an identity about being part of a group; it’s not just about deciding who you want to be and how you desire to live. Numerous people have moved from the residential areas into city centres where gay life flourishes. Mens Chats
Gay social life is very important in some ways because it is so various from the straight world. Still, it’s also about finding a community and feel supported by others with similar interests. Life in the residential areas is various from living in a metropolitan centre. The residential areas are on the outskirts of a city. They have a different feel than a metropolitan centre, where there are more people and diversity. People residing in the suburbs typically have less cash to invest in socializing, heading out to eat and so on 8 Must-Know Information About Modern Gay Life
- The contemporary world is a far more accepting location for gays than in the past.
- There is more approval, gay life is still not simple in numerous ways.
- In addition to issues still faced by gay individuals, more traditional forms of discrimination are becoming less common.
- Gay people live in a really varied and complicated world now. Still, lots of feel pushed away from their cultures and neighborhoods because of it.
- Numerous gay people have actually come out to their friends and families and have been accepted with no issues.
- There are still some countries that disallow homosexuality, but these countries’ number is reducing day by day.
- Gay people can lastly live their lives in peace without being discriminated against because of their sexual preference or gender identity.
- Gay individuals can now get wed, embrace children, and live a happy life similar to everybody else can do so in the modern world.
The New World of Love & Dating for Gays Mens Chats
The internet has changed everything about our society, and it is no different for gay singles looking for love. The web has produced many brand-new avenues for gay singles to find love, meet a sweetheart online complimentary, or get wed.
The Future of Marriage Equality in America
Marital relationship equality is one of the most important civil rights problems. It’s a matter that has actually been disputed for years, and it’s something that has actually been fought for by many. One of the most current battles was in California, where Proposition 8 overturned the Supreme Court choice to allow same-sex marriages.
This caused a legal battle that went all the way to the Supreme Court and ended with a landmark decision on June 26, 2015. The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 favour marriage equality, indicating same-sex couples can now marry in all 50 states. While there have actually been setbacks, we are lastly moving towards full marriage equality in America.
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force have actually been fighting for marriage equality in America. Every year, the organization gives out their Equality Award to an individual who has actually made a considerable effect on this concern. In 2013, they honoured Rev. William Lazor, pastor of United Church of Christ Parish, who commanded the very first same-sex marriage at his church in 2006.
In the United States, there are over 300 recognized same-sex relationships in all 50 states. In addition, lots of states have their own rules about marriage licenses and how couples are categorized in the eyes of state law. Mens Chats
Gay and Modern World is a thorough guide for the modern-day gay guy. It covers everything from fashion to sex, from dating to social networks, from coming out to being out. It is a book that will teach you about your rights as an LGBTQ individual, assist you find your voice on the planet, and reveal you how to be happy with who you are.
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Despite the wealth of information out there about electronic cigarettes, it’s still difficult to know what you need to buy to start vaping. You cannot imagine the wide variety of electronic cigarette models that exist today. The brand is an important part of ensuring product quality, but it is not indispensable. Obviously, a cheap device will never be the same quality as an expensive one, but what’s most important is the quality of the components.
How Do They Work?
It’s a battery-powered device that looks and feels like a conventional cigarette and meant to replicate the distinction of smoking. Many of the devices are look-alikes while others resemble a simple pen.
When inhaled, the air flows through the cartridge and activates the atomizer producing a vapor mist resembling smoke. The inhaled vapor is a nicotine solution held within the cartridge and can be refilled when emptied. In many models, this process also activates an orange glow at the tip of electronic cigarettes to reproduce an accurate smoking experience.
What Is Needed?
Atomizer/Tank: It is a transparent tank that is located at the top of your electronic cigarette. It is where the e-liquid is stored before you vaporize it, and contains wire coils, which is what heats the e-liquid. Its name comes from gathering the “clear” words (clear) and “spray” (atomizer).
Battery: It is part of the electronic cigarette where the power is generated. They come in two types, manual and automatic, and sizes. Choosing a brand with a good battery will ultimately eliminate the hassle of powering your e-cigarette.
E-Liquid: Commonly found in a variety of formulations with different flavors and different concentrations of nicotine. At the highest concentration levels of nicotine, it realistically mimics smoking a cigarette.
These components are all sold separately, however, most starter kits supply the full initially. Due to a large number of different types of atomizers, batteries, chargers, and electronic cigarettes there are, it is often more sensible to start with a starter kit.
Tips to Choosing Among Electronic Cigarettes
1. Buy two. Batteries typically have a recharge time of about three hours, and once charged, last about seven hours. That timeout means you’re without an e-cig to light up.
2. Choose the Vaporizer Wisely. Keep this in mind, cheap can become expensive, so choose a quality vaporizer. Users often complain about vape coils burning out. To replace you just remove the old coil and replace, but if you’re a heavy user, you’ll probably burn through them every two to three weeks. Quality brands will provide you with long-lasting coils.
3. Which Nicotine Dosage to Pick? Flavored atomizer cartridges are available in various strengths to wean the user from smoking. The user would begin with a higher dosage of nicotine and gradually reduce the amounts until they kick the habit. If you smoke one or more packages of cigarettes a day, initially, you’ll probably be more comfortable with 24mg of nicotine in your e-cigarette. Smoking 10 to 20 cigarettes a day, then go with 16mg of nicotine. If you’re smoking fewer than 10 cigarettes per day, the concentration of 6mg is probably more suitable for you.
Commonly Asked Questions
• Is the taste of the nicotine in an electronic cigarette different from traditional cigarettes? You will not notice a difference because they are available in different flavors and different strengths to suit the user.
• In what way is the electronic cigarette better than other smoking cessation programs? Other smoke-ending programs only address the addiction to tobacco and nicotine; the electronic cigarette addresses both the ingredients and the psychological addictions to smoking.
You’re obviously is looking to simulate the same effects of smoking a traditional cigarette. The look, the feel and the nicotine strength is the significant role here. Keep in mind the expensive more lavish models not only provide you with the up-to-date, modern styles but they also simulate a more realistic experience. Most people start off with a cheaper kit, but honestly, it eventually costs more when ordering the refills and various accessories. You’ll find the more lavish models also come in a complete package, and their nicotine solutions are at reliable levels to meets your needs.
For those looking to purchase a device that closely resembles a traditional cigarette, you’ll probably want something with lots of flavors, simple to use, and offers you a variety of options. But remember, these products and accessories can become expensive so you want something that will last. Electronic cigarettes can easily mimic traditional cigarettes and are a healthier alternative. The right choice depends heavily on the level of quality you expect.
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Food is the material we eat to supply our bodies with the crucial nutrients we require to live. It can originate from animal, plant, or fungal sources and is made up of a variety of nutrients. It can be either a liquid or solid, but both types have crucial nutrients. In other words, food is one of the most vital substance we require in order to work correctly. Nevertheless, it can be puzzling to choose the right food for you. Below are a few helpful standards to select the ideal food for you.
The term “food” describes the compound we eat to preserve our physical well-being. It is comprised of different substances, consisting of carbs, proteins, fats, and also various other nutrients. The absorption of these substances is fundamental to our health. Food is taken in and broken down by the body with food digestion, which is a procedure that facilitates the absorption of nutrients. Food is a source of power for human beings and also pets, and it is likewise necessary for the ecosystem. Plants are the primary source of food, as well as animals eat plants. The outcome is a food web.
Different societies have different methods of preparing food. Historically, cultures have developed specific cooking techniques and also incorporated flavors to create identifiable recipes. As food has an extensive impact on our health, it has actually changed with time, affecting both financial as well as social health. Food profession has aided societies around the world endure economically. Yet today’s intricate food profession is a worldwide problem, and it needs to be solved. Luckily, there are numerous means to combat the issue.
While oils are high in calories, they are likewise important resources of nutrients. For adults, an ample everyday allocation of oils is around 5 to eight tsps, depending upon activity degree. Oils are abundant in monounsaturated and also polyunsaturated fats, which provide energy as well as assist in the absorption of vitamins. Some oils are challenging to measure, nonetheless, as they are naturally existing in foods. If you’re worried concerning dietary fat, you can opt for omega 3 fatty acids or fish liver oil.
To eat a well balanced diet plan, you need to consume a range of foods. Try to fill half of your plate with veggies as well as fruit. While you can still delight in red meat on special occasions, you must restrict it. If you actually enjoy it, you ought to assess how typically you consume red meat and consider substituting fowl or fish and shellfish rather. You can consume a range of foods while eating a low-fat diet regimen. It does not need to be made complex!
A safe supply of food is critical permanently. Without proper food safety, numerous individuals suffer from diarrhoea and also other illnesses. A healthy food supply adds to nationwide economic climates, trade, as well as tourism, and also is necessary to lasting growth. And also, the globalization of food profession, expanding population, and also fast changes in food systems have increased the requirement for risk-free and also nourishing food. The that has 5 standard principles for food safety that can be utilized by both producers and customers.
In tropical areas, roots and also origins prevail foods. Plants like cassava and also yams are a staple food. In West Africa, individuals rely on yams as a resource of carbs. These starchy vegetables and fruits are usually prepared, steamed, and ground into fufu dough. Cassava, also referred to as manioc, come from South America. It was presented to West Africa in the 16th century as well as is now a crucial food source for both African and Latin American individuals.
Refined foods have phytochemicals that affect the vitamins and mineral content of the food. Water-soluble vitamins are most prone to processing, so careful prep work and storage space of food is vital. Eating way too much ultra-processed foods can create weight gain in the short-term, and can result in diet-related illness in the future. Numerous business factors for refining foods are to decrease their danger of spoilage or to improve their shelf-life. Nonetheless, there are methods to consume less ultra-processed foods while still obtaining adequate nutrients.
The scientific research of nutrition has progressed to establish just how much sugar as well as fat a person ought to consume daily. While we were developed to be able to take pleasure in sweet and fattening foods in moderation, modern innovation has made them readily available for everyone to enjoy. This advertises excessive weight. So, what is the very best food for you? Attempt the recommended amounts of each food group to get the best nourishment. It’s easy to understand just how much of each food team you ought to eat, and just how much of each type is helpful for your body.
What is food? Food is specified as anything we consume that offers our bodies with nutrition. It can be animal, plant, or fungal in origin. All these different sources of food consist of important nutrients. Without these nutrients, we would be starving. So what are the necessary nutrients of food? Keep reading to find out. Also, just how can we pick the most effective resources of nutrition? Right here are some pointers for picking the right foods for your body. And also, make sure to enjoy them!
Historically, humans were omnivorous as well as adjusted to a selection of environments. They originally protected their food with searching, gathering, and also agriculture. As human settlements spread, farming technologies emerged and also transformed the means we ate. Location has always had an effect on our diet regimens. Different cultural, geographical, and also weather variables caused various foods and culinary arts. Fortunately, international trade as well as globalization have actually created multicultural exchange of various food traditions.
The interpretation of food is that it is anything we eat that will certainly sustain us for life. It consists of carbohydrates, fat, and also healthy protein. Getting these nutrients from food is basic to human health and wellness. For plants, food can be originated from photosynthesis. For pets, food is stemmed from pet as well as plant resources. Plants provide food for other animals and human beings, and also animals eat them. Hence, the food web is a series of connections that help us comprehend the origin and distribution of food. Additional reading
Several foods have anticarcinogens, but the good news is that several foods have very reduced amounts of both. Some foods are naturally low in both, but others may have very high quantities of health hazards, which might be linked to cancer. It is essential to pick foods that are certified as risk-free, consisting of those with qualifications from Monde Selection, A.A. Qualification, and also iTQi. Despite the source of the food, the very best high quality foods must meet strict security requirements.
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Some homeowners become embeded a rut when it involves making and lack ideas for enhancing before they can place the final touches on their residences. Others just don’t understand where to gain motivation for their creativity and end up with the exact same layout ideas over and over once again. This is specifically true of the youngsters’ spaces, where area doesn’t attend to extravagant design and ideas concerning what children like and also want can become a bit monotonous in the minds of an adult. Nevertheless, if you start with the appropriate children’s bedroom furnishings, you can make excellent points happen in a elegant and also creative style, despite budget friendly youngsters’ beds instead of designer furnishings.
Start with something simple, like the different choices for kids’ beds. You don’t need to include a plain typical double bed or perhaps a full dimension bed in your kid’s space to make magic take place. Rather, obtain a little innovative with your layout. As an example, whether you have a kid or a girl, daybeds can be an option you should not mark down. While this layout element has actually been traditionally proclaimed as a lady’s bed, it can also work in a boy’s space, decorated with deeper, manly shades and also a much less feminine design and material ( probably silver, wood, or functioned iron). This will certainly work for him as it would for a female youngster, providing him with resting quarters during the night and also seats during the day.
Children’ bunk beds will certainly always work for you in a area where two kids must share the area. You have the possibility to sleep two kids in the space of a single double bed, leaving even more flooring room for workdesks to full college work and dressers where clothing can be kept. For the most up to date layouts for children and ladies in this and also other styles of bed linen you can discover excellent items online that are widely diverse, high quality, as well as low-cost.
Youngsters’ storage space beds can be a real blessing as well, removing the requirement for added furnishings like a cabinet and/or a toy box or various other storage device because of the addition of drawers in the headboard and also footboard areas as well as in some cases a big storage bin underneath the bed mattress.
Also children not sharing a space can obtain imaginative and have the benefits of a bunk with loft beds, which rise beds that appear like the leading fifty percent of a bunk bed. This offers living space underneath the enjoyable, elevated bed to make sure that a work workdesk or storage space (like a cabinet or plaything box) can be kept under the bed, therefore removing the demand for additional floor space for these things. As a reward, these beds are equally as much fun for your youngster as a bunk bed would certainly be, with the desired ” leading bunk” being the automated default for the occupant without any additional bunk or roomie over which to fight! These are additionally readily available through a number of high quality makers, including South Coast Furniture, with guarantees of sturdy building and construction as well as constantly the very best materials feasible being used.
know more about montessori floor bed here.
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This page may contain affiliate links, which means if you purchase something through one of the links on this page, we may earn a small commission. This is at no extra cost to you, and helps us continue doing what we love.
We started working on harvesting honey today. Our home smells amazing. There have been some questions asked about the process we use, so we took a lot of pictures this time.
This is the super we’re harvesting today. Each layer in a hive is called a super – it is a box of frames that the bees build comb in. We have 8-frame hives, because the supers are easier to lift than ones with 10 frames. This particular hive had three honey supers on it, but we only took one to harvest today.
Our honey straining bucket can’t hold the honey from all eight frames at once, so this super will probably take most of the day to deal with.
Here’s a look directly down inside.
Let the kids take a peek, and then shoo them out of the kitchen. No need for them to get sticky and messy too. :O)
Here’s a look at a frame that is ready to harvest. The white coating is a thin layer of wax (cappings) that keeps the honey from oozing out.
We take a frame at a time, and cut the comb off with a bread knife. We’ve found it’s easier to cut it into two or three sections, just so it doesn’t fall on the counter and make a huge mess.
Here’s a closer look at the comb:
Then we take a pastry blender to crush the comb. We use the crush and strain method (more info at the blog Linda’s Bees) because we like to use the filtered wax for other things.
The comb once it is crushed:
Then we pour the crushed comb into our straining bucket. The filter holds about three frames’ worth of honey.
The empty frames get placed in a bowl to drain further. When they’re pretty much done, we’ll set them outside for the bees to finish off. They’ll take the last of the wax and honey back to the hive and reuse it.
After about an hour, the wax has filtered pretty well. It’s not done yet, but there’s definitely progress.
When the wax is completely filtered, we’ll rinse it and put it in the freezer for later use.
The next step is pouring the filtered honey into jars. We probably won’t get that far today. We will wait until the bucket is mostly full first – right now the honey is about two inches deep in the bucket. It filters pretty quickly but doing all the frames will probably take most of the day. The main project for today is to get the comb crushed and filtered.
It’s sticky and messy, but the end result is so worth it.
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Some tips from the EFF (https://ssd.eff.org/en/module/attending-protest).
Before the Protest
- Enable full-disk encryption on your device
- Remove fingerprint unlock and FaceID
- Install Signal
- Back up your data
- Buy a prepaid, disposable phone
- Consider biking or walking to the protest (to avoid Automated License Plate Reader Systems)
During the Protest
- Take photos and videos without unlocking your device
- Enable airplane mode
After the Protest
- Scrub metadata on photos
Bridgify may be a good app to have pre-installed also before going to a protest. It’s Bluetooth/peer-to-peer based with mesh network capabilities so you can still message friends (within ~300 feet) if your mobile network is too congested or offline.
Used in Hong Kong protests: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-49565587
Personal instance of nitrohorse (nitrohorse.com).
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Cutaneous warts are a common presenting complaint in children and adolescents.Common, plantar, or flat warts are cutaneous manifestations of the human papillomavirus.Warts are estimated to occur in up to 10 percent of children and young adults. The range of greatest incidence is between 12 and 16 years of age.1 Warts occur with greater frequency in girls than in boys. The peak incidence is at 13 years of age in females and 14.5 years
of age in males.
Treatment of Warts
VISIT YOUR DERMATOLOGIST
- Salicylic acid helps to reduce the thickness of warts
- Carbon dioxide laser
- Local heat with ND:YAG Laser
- Podophyllin and podophyllotoxin used for Genital Warts
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116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
While much is known about birds and why they do the things they do, it is undeniable that much more has yet to be discovered concerning their behaviors.
Birds always will have a mystical component about them no matter how much is actually learned or thought to be understood.
New “phenomena” may pop up every so often concerning new trends in bird adaptations or other witnessed behaviors. My past column on Swainson’s hawk revealed how this species has only recently swung or expanded its spring migration eastward.
Something even more fascinating has been in the works for several years and it now has an Iowa connection. This concerns the recent spread of the limpkin into novel areas of the United States.
The limpkin is an odd bird, looking like the mix between a rail, crane and heron. They have long, dark legs and huge feet, like a rail. Their upright posture is like that of a small crane.
They sound reminiscent of a red-shouldered hawk. This call, usually heard at night, is a loud, unmistakable wailing-like sound.
Limpkin are mostly brown-bodied, but also have white spotting on the wings, back, breast and neck. The bill is long and yellowish. The juvenile yellow-crowned night heron is the only other regular Iowa bird species it could probably get mixed up with.
Limpkin have been seen outside of Florida before, but not in the same way as they are now. A May 1956 record in northeast Mississippi and a June 1971 record in Maryland are two of the earlier “oddball” type vagrancy records. Several of the states in the southeast had limpkins records before the turn of the 21st century.
From 2014 to 2016, limpkin started to hop over the border from Florida to Georgia more readily. Many of these accounts noted birds were eating apple snails. By 2017, there was a nice pulse of expansion with multiple records dotting the southeastern states. Louisiana got its first record of a group of four on Dec. 30.
In 2019, limpkin demonstrated they wanted to expand well beyond the southeast. Ohio and Illinois recorded their first records. In 2020, a year when there was an incredible amount of local to regional bird-watching going on, vagrant limpkin sightings were surprisingly few. Sightings picked back up again in 2021 with Minnesota getting a mind-blowing record on May 30, just northeast of Minneapolis.
This year has seen an even larger number of birds disperse, with many Midwestern states adding limpkin to their “all-time” bird species lists.
Not surprisingly, the Iowa bird-watching community had been anticipating a limpkin sighting. On June 23, it happened in Lucas County. Jay Gilliam, an expert bird-watcher, was actually documenting dragonflies when a limpkin flew out from under a nearby bridge crossing the Charito River. This was right on the heels of Nebraska’s first record, which was found in Omaha earlier that day.
Access to the bird was tough and the discovery came right before a rainy weekend. Only a handful of people got to see and photograph this very special first Iowa record.
Fast forward to July 16. An excellent local bird-watcher named Dana Siefer found Iowa’s second record at Little Storm Lake in Buena Vista County. This limpkin was found in an area with better access and still is present as of the evening of Wednesday. The bird undoubtedly found this spot and decided to stay due to a preponderance of large snail prey, possibly the invasive and firmly established Chinese mystery snail. The snail species it is feeding on will soon be verified by a professor at Iowa State University.
One neat adaptation of the limpkin is at the tip of its bill. The tip is slightly bent and twisted, which allows it to snip a snail from the inner shell anchoring point and easily pull out the soft parts. The Little Storm Lake limpkin was eating well as evidence of a large snail shell midden at the edge of the cattails it occupied.
The limpkin is considered a non-migratory species, so what is the possible driver? The theory is related to the spread of an invasive species of apple snail. The native Florida apple snail, which makes up a significant portion of a limpkin’s diet, is likely why they even exist in Florida.
The invasive island apple snail, native to South America, is now supplanting the native Florida species. Likely introduced via the pet trade at least two decades ago, it has spread very quickly. It can decimate native aquatic vegetation via its feeding habits and also is a disease vector. Its spread throughout the southeast United States has undoubtedly facilitated the spread of limpkin.
It is interesting that the spread of a snail species, via human behavior, has changed the behavior of a bird species once firmly established in Florida only.
There are many fun questions to ponder in the future. Will this limpkin dispersal phenomenon keep occurring every year? Will the limpkin become an annual part of Iowa’s avifauna? Is there now a new population of migratory limpkin? Is limpkin nesting in Iowa going to be possible?
Only time will give us more answers.
BIRDS OF AUGUST
- August is when bird-watching in Eastern Iowa starts to really get good again. Fall shorebird diversity in Eastern Iowa generally peaks in August. To find shorebirds you must find their habitat. Most wading shorebirds in Eastern Iowa prefer muddy to sandy flats along floodplains or ponds and lakes. One rare shorebird to look for is the western sandpiper, a peep, which mostly shows up as fall juveniles. They are similar to the semipalmated sandpiper, but with a much longer bill that droops at the end.
- The very end of the month has produced some great warbler diversity over the past couple of years. This is a little surprising and possibly alarming given the typical peak of fall warbler diversity is usually around mid-September.
- Hit the woods, marshes and grasslands for early bird activity. Then go for shorebirds in the late morning onward. Shorebirds are active throughout the day, feeding so they can store energy for their next leg of migration. Heat rising off water and land surfaces can be a problem when viewing shorebirds on a hot day.
- Sod farms will continue to be the place to look for more terrestrially adapted shorebirds, such as pectoral, upland, buff-breasted and baird’s sandpipers. Linn and Johnson counties have a fair amount of sod farming to search.
- Look for the rare, but always possible least tern. Adults and juveniles should be on the radar. Least terns are slightly larger than a purple martin.
- Field trip to Hawkeye Wildlife Management Area, Aug. 14 (8 a.m.) — For shorebirds and other early fall migrants. Meet leader Chris Caster at the HWMA parking lot on Swan Lake Road, across from Swan Lake. Groups will be carpooling (only those vaccinated for COVID) our way around Hawkeye WMA. Expect moderate hiking at some viewing areas. Dress for the weather and wet and muddy trails. Bring a spotting scope if you have one, however, at least one will be provided by the group leader. Finishing time around noon.
Brandon Caswell has a keen interest in natural and social sciences. He enjoys bird-watching and nature photography in his spare time. He and his wife live in Marion with their two children.
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The consumer society pushes brands to adopt a strong personality and make themselves identifiable at a glance to consumers. Indeed, through branding, a brand will implement different actions around marketing with one objective: that consumers will retain it more easily. How can this be done? All the answers are in this article.
Choosing your brand name is an important step in creating your identity. To do so, you will need to be creative but also position yourself intelligently in relation to your identity. This part of branding is complex. The very nature of the exercise makes the process delicate: choosing a name that will reflect what your company does, the values it promotes and that will be easy to remember.
Another point of vigilance concerns usage. Can your brand be used on the Internet? By buying a domain name, for example? Make sure that the domain name is available for different extensions before making the purchase and registering your trademark.
Before choosing a name, research time should be devoted to three fundamental aspects of :
A name should not be chosen until you know who it is addressed to and what it should evoke. Conversely, you will have a better idea of what you are looking for by knowing who the brand should speak to and what it should evoke.
Brand names fall into four different categories. All of them have their advantages and disadvantages.
These names resonate immediately because they spell out what the company does or what it is. Burger King is a good example because it is immediately obvious that it is a company that offers hamburgers. Other examples such as PayPal are evocative. In the case of this service, it is a payment system. Microsoft, a contraction of microcomputer and software, inevitably evokes computing.
Among the advantages, we will note the ease with which these brands talk to people, even without knowing them. Be careful, however, it is not possible to register a word in everyday language. Indeed, a perfumery that wishes to register the trademark "Les Parfums" could not do so. Similarly, laudatory adjectives such as "Super", "Plus" or "Extra" cannot be registered. Finally, an appellation d'origine contrôlée such as "Bordeaux" for a wine cannot be registered.
DHL, KFC, HP, IBM and UPS are among the brands that have opted for an acronym. This does not prevent them from being popular and finding their audience, while having a name that is easy to use. Indeed, UPS is a much simpler name to pronounce than United Parcel Service.
Easy to pronounce and remember, the acronym is also very simple to file. Unfortunately, it has one major drawback: lack of personality. These names don't mean anything because they are just groups of letters. They have no particular meaning. Therefore, associating them with values in the consumer's mind takes time and money.
It's a double-edged sword strategy to choose a made-up name from scratch. These kinds of names are specifically designed to represent a brand and convey a particular feel.
Clients like to use these names, but it requires a huge communication budget to succeed in getting the brand into people's memories, but also into everyday language. Like acronyms, invented brands have no particular meaning. This does not prevent them from evoking certain things to consumers through sound and pronunciation.
These are by far the most impactful names. Apple, Virgin, Caterpillar and Oracle are good examples.
More than names, they are real slogans that immediately generate expectations or desires among consumers.
The most complicated thing with these kinds of names is to associate the idea of experience with the brand name. The choice of name is important, otherwise the brand will lose its attractiveness, but that's not all. The visual identity and the communication plan around these names play a major role in the perception of the brand by consumers.
Of course, it is not enough just to post through and through to establish your brand identity and work on your brand marketing. Your brand image, in addition to your upstream thinking, will also depend on the actions you take to achieve your goal. If your plan doesn't follow a certain logic, your actions will never have the desired effect.
Here again, an agency can help you find the right strategy according to the targets you want to reach. It can also serve as a guide for your teams to deal with issues related to your brand identity.
A good personal branding strategy involves setting a goal to achieve. How do you want to be perceived by your target? Do you have a strong identity that won't appeal to everyone, or does your name need to resonate with as many people as possible? Who do you want to reach in the long run? Who is your universe for? How are other competitors in your sector already positioned?
Our article is, of course, one of the many resources you will find when researching this topic. Rely on a solid website with good references for managing your brands.
Brands seeking to enter into a proximity approach must understand what the consumer expects. What is their mind open or closed to? Is he or she sensitive to certain subjects: the environment, politics, health, the economy? Do they prefer regular, less frequent, more intense communication? How willing is he to make a mark on his life as an individual?
By tackling these different subjects, you will better understand how to get closer to your target. Depending on criteria such as age, profession, family background and level of education, your consumers will not be in the same place at the same time. For example, a user who is rather young and used to consuming video will certainly be more receptive to a video from you than to a documented article. A simple search can give you access to statistics on the subject. You should probably find a website specialized on the subject.
This article would not be complete without an action plan to build your own branding strategy. We suggest that you follow the following steps until the end of the creation process.
It may seem tempting to consider a strategy without the necessary resources and with a hypothetical future in mind. Keep in mind that creating a brand is a long-term process that must be carried out with full knowledge of the necessary information. So, make sure you have the following before you start :
Why do you offer your product or service? What do you want to accomplish? Your mission should be summed up in one clear sentence. If you're self-employed, this is not about flexibility in your schedule or decision-making power. Look at your mission sympathetically and ask yourself what you can bring to others in realizing your vision. Think big and don't lack ambition. Whether you want to make money, make your clients' lives easier, fight against a large-scale phenomenon or simply innovate out of curiosity and push existing limits, all reasons are valid if they have a broader meaning than your person alone.
Consumers are not fooled. Over-emphasizing your mission, your commitments and your vision will not make them feel confident. It's up to you to be honest in your approach and to talk about what you know and master.
These values will be at the heart of all your future actions. It's about what you're looking for and the things you'll fight for. If you communicate around these aspects, you attract all those who share your values. This means that you will not be able to please everyone, but those who join you will share your vision.
Your values will also guide your choices in certain situations where multiple outcomes are possible. How to make certain decisions, which path to take, or conversely, which path to abandon, are all elements that your core values will determine. A simple example with the Google brand. Known for the simplicity of its search engine, it would not make sense for Google to associate its brand with a service that is too complicated or specialized. The company aims to offer simple services with a clean and intuitive design. This simplicity is part of Google's values, and all the tools produced by this company share the same philosophy. So you will need to adopt values that make sense in your approach, and again, not everyone will like them. It is also what will make you unique.
Differentiating yourself from your competitors involves identifying your strengths and motivations to determine the value you bring to your work. In addition to theory, it is by using concrete examples that you will give credibility to your brand. In concrete terms, how do you put your values into action? This question should lead to a simple, striking and indisputable answer. Naturally, if you deal with consumers, you will want to be sincere, honest and guarantee a certain level of service. Without falling into caricature, try to remain modest and honest.
Think of your brand as a person. How would you like her to behave?
It's not so much about designing a mascot as it is about establishing a behaviour for your brand. Think about her character, her moods, what she likes or dislikes and how she reacts in certain situations. This will allow you to define the tone you will use as well as your editorial line in your marketing operations. Use human adjectives to describe your brand.
You are ready to create your graphic charter with a logo and supports. This creative stage also contains a part of psychology in the choice of your colours and the design of your logo. You are now ready to use your brand.
If all these steps seem difficult for you, there are agencies ready to help you. Do not hesitate to ask them for help, even if you have already started working on the subject.
An identity is more than just creating logos and translating product names into any language. This step requires care and skills in graphic design, psychology and communication. The most successful companies know this. This is why it is essential to remain in a permanent research process. This way, your concept can evolve over time and with your consumers.
It is essential to create a unique branding. However, all brands have to address the same issues:
Many supports exist to work on your branding. Naturally, networks like LinkedIn and YouTube are the first to come to mind, since the former is aimed at professionals and the latter is the most popular online video site for companies to promote products and services to consumers. However, other types of media should not be neglected either:
It all depends on the management of your campaign and the consumers you target. If some are not keen readers, blog posts may be out of the question. Conversely, you will need to work on the title of your content, its structure and offer added value to your consumers. A best practice guide, an encyclopaedia with up-to-date information, definitions for specific words: all this can be part of an approach in which the brand helps the consumer, so that it can then be able to attract their favours.
Choosing a tool is already less obvious since it depends on how you want to convey your message. There is no ready-made solution to create good branding. Nevertheless, we often find the same names among professionals in the sector:
Anything that can strengthen your brand identity, work on your brand image and make it easier to brand your company to the consumer is good to take.
Branding refers to all the techniques that help shape a favourable image of your company in the minds of the general public. Whatever the brand, everyone builds a certain image, and it is at this point that elements such as the graphic charter, the name, and more generally, the universe of the brand come into play.
What's more, the number of brands is so large today that it is essential to have a unique identity to stand out from the others. Ultimately, it seems difficult not to work on these aspects: it is necessary for a company to adopt an effective branding policy.
In the end, the logic of the approach is simple to understand: the more you work on the positioning of the company, the more you will succeed in getting closer to the consumer. Branding therefore allows you to be close to the consumer and fits perfectly into a more global marketing strategy.
Whether it is on social networks, via an advertising campaign, on a website or in a blog article, a brand must be able to extend its universe to reach the places where the consumer is. Over time, the brand will associate itself with certain values, a particular style of expression and a certain design, all of which will contribute to the positioning of the brand. Good branding design should result in a smooth and positive positioning in the consumer's mind.
The subject of creating a visual identity is far from trivial since it will serve as a banner for your brand in all its communication operations. This step is very important in your branding strategy and will prove decisive for marketing, especially when you organize an advertising campaign.
This work begins with an in-depth search for the meaning behind the various graphic design techniques. Indeed, colours, shapes and their arrangement are all aspects that convey a conscious or unconscious message in the consumer's mind. Specialized agencies are used to dealing with these kinds of issues, so you can entrust this work to professionals. Another advantage of using an agency is that it relieves you of a lot of work and guarantees you a result that meets your expectations.
Visually, the following elements are of the utmost importance:
To work on them, you can call on a graphic designer who will be in charge of their production and who can provide you with suggestions in line with your brand's values. Once again, this step is crucial since it contributes to the development of your brand image.
Complementing a quality visual identity, the textual part of the branding relies as much on content as on form to get your messages across to your target consumers. You will find the following elements in this section. Here again, they will be essential in your brand marketing strategy:
By creating an editorial charter, you ensure that everyone who will have to work with your brand will do so with one voice.
Visual design is important to your brand image. You will find it on your website or in your communication operations. In the same way, the way you write your content can make you identifiable in an instant in just a few words. The strength of branding lies exactly here, in the fact that you stand out whatever the medium.
Find other agencies across the globe that might be interesting for your project.
Agencies in other services
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I''m using DateTimePickerAdv in syncfution ver 184.108.40.206.
When I''m typing the date in a "short date" format, for ex. "21/10/04" I get the date "21/10/1904".
In .Net the DateTime class return "21/10/2004".
the logic of the DateTime class is from 00-29 return 2000-29 and for 30-99 the result is 1930-99.
I tried to get the text before the change but there is no Text property.
ADAdministrator Syncfusion Team April 11, 2005 11:25 AM
The DigitYear property controls which century two digit dates are assumed to be in. The default is 1900, but it can easily be changed to 2000 (or any other century) in the Designer. Please let me know if you any further questions on this topic.
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<urn:uuid:3226ed84-e588-42d5-ba3c-e779bb083c29>
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CC-MAIN-2022-33
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https://www.syncfusion.com/forums/27356/datetimepickeradv-dateformat-problem
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| 0.768183
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|150 Watt INDUCTION Ballast. This is required to run a round or square shaped 150 Watt Induction Lamp. A 150 Watt Induction Lamp puts out the same light intensity of a 350-400 Watt HPS or Metal Halide, and has a WHOPPING 100,000 hours rated life, meaning if you ran it for 12 hours a day 365 days a year, you won't have to replace the bulb/ballast for about 23 YEARS!!! THATS TWICE AS LONG AS LED, AND THIS IS AS BRIGHT IF NOT BRIGHTER THAN LED PER WATT! This ballast requires a 150 Watt Induction Bulb (not included, see our Induction Bulb Section).
Save 75%+ off your operating costs (including changing bulbs and energy consumption) per unit compared to HPS or Metal Halide over the same period of time! These bulbs are also great for hard-to-reach locations where re-lamping can be a costly pain. Keep in mind the average Metal Halide bulb lasts 7,000-10,000 hours, meaning every 2 years or so you have to change the bulbs (which retail for $25.00+ PER METAL HALIDE BULB, not including time and labor!). Go with Induction, cut your energy consumption IN HALF, and relamping down to $ZERO! Just install this induction bulb and ballast, and forget about it for at least 20 years! SCROLL DOWN FOR EXAMPLES & COMPLETE SPECIFICATIONS!
SPECIFICATIONS (SCROLL DOWN TO SEE ALL SPECS):
BALLAST WATTS: 150 Watts
VOLTAGES AVAILABLE: Your choice of 120VAC, 240VAC or 277VAC
DIMENSIONS (120V MODEL): 9.4" Length. x 4" Width x 2.4" Height
DIMENSIONS (240V MODEL): 8" Length. x 3.75" Width x 1.9" Height
DIMENSIONS (277V MODEL): 8" Length. x 4" Width x 2" Height
BULB REQUIRED: 150 Watt Induction Bulb Required (not included). You may order this bulb by visiting our Induction Bulb section!
WARRANTY: 5 year warranty from date of delivery
LISTING: CSA, UL
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Three of the Senate’s most enthusiastic hawks, Sens. John McCain (R – AZ), Joe Lieberman (I – CT), and Lindsay Graham (R – SC) have issued a joint statement on Thursday demanding that President Obama publicly order Syrian President Bashar Assad to resign immediately.
The statement made copious references to Libya, which the United States launched a war against last month, and insisted that President Obama should take the same stance that “it is time for Assad to go.”
Whether this is an explicit call for a war is a matter of some debate, as Sen. McCain was rejecting the notion earlier this week. Sen. Lieberman, on the other hand, has been calling for a war in Syria since late last month, saying Libya set a precedent for such an attack.
The White House’s response was vague, as indeed most of its responses have been lately. Spokesman Jay Carney would say only that the White House is considering a “range” of possible options against Syria.
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CC-MAIN-2022-33
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https://news.antiwar.com/2011/04/28/senate-hawks-push-for-obama-move-against-syria/
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BIG TEN STUDENT-ATHLETES INSPIRED BY RISE LEADERSHIP WEBINAR
June 5, 2020
By Jared Shanker
Kragen Metz grabbed her pen and started writing.
She was listening to some of her fellow Big Ten student-athletes during a virtual RISE workshop on leadership co-hosted by Michigan Athletics on, Monday, June 1, realizing how there are multiple ways to spark change in society.
The gathering was already held under strange circumstances given the COVID-19 pandemic, but the recent killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery served as a sobering and unexpected backdrop for the conversation, and prompted her to ask herself a question.
"My biggest takeaway was self-reflection," Metz, a senior field hockey player at the University of Michigan, said. "As we were going through the webinar, I wrote down, 'What's stopping you from standing up?'"
In the hour-long RISE-led digital learning experience, dozens of Big Ten athletes and university staff discussed how leadership lessons realized through sport can be a vehicle for change.
RISE defines leadership as an action that inspires others and galvanizes them around the causes and people who need assistance. Those actions reflect values and can be demonstrated by anyone, regardless of a formalized role or position. If you inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more – you're a leader.
"It's the first time I've seen how sports can really set the platform to create social change," Illinois senior wrestler Andrew Cohen said. "A lot of people say we should separate sports and real-world issues, like the 'shut up and dribble' nonsense we hear. I think this negates all that, showing that being on a sports team and the concepts of sports and athletes can help make these social changes."
The Big Ten and college sports as a whole have been part of many seminal moments at the intersection of race and sports. Using RISE's Road to Progress, which maps out those moments on a virtual timeline, RISE's Dr. Collin Williams and Dr. Andrew Mac Intosh outlined real examples of collegiate leadership.
However, the student-athletes also discussed how leadership doesn't require any grand gestures or barrier-breaking moments. While college teams often represent a mix of races, religions and ideologies, players through their own biases can still gravitate towards teammates who look and think most like them. An act of leadership can be as simple as initiating a conversation with a teammate or even another student on campus or athlete from a rival school that has a different experience and perspective.
Metz said those workshop conversations were reminiscent of ones she was engaged in as part of her business classes. There, part of the curriculum focused on how the most successful teams aren't always the ones with the most accomplished people but the ones with the greatest diversity of thought.
"It makes it easier to be an efficient ally when you have those relationships," Michigan freshman gymnast Adam Wooten said. "I'm real close with the guys on my team, and as a guy of mixed race, I'm also a minority in my group and in my sport. There aren't many black people in gymnastics, so to be able to represent is huge to me."
Being able to educate and empower those around them was a common theme from student-athletes after the event. Gabby Wilson, an All-Big Ten freshman gymnast at Michigan, said she's prepared to live up to part of the Michigan fight song to be the leaders and best.
"I feel a lot more motivated and now I have a lot of tools I didn't realize I had as being on a sports team to be a catalyst for change," she said.
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<urn:uuid:da6e0577-8807-4bce-93ac-d08f5d77376d>
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CC-MAIN-2022-33
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There has always been an interplay between services and expectations; everybody wants to give the best service they can and with it, expectations always grow. When combined with developing better techniques and understanding the fundamentals, a feedback loop is created. This can be seen throughout almost every industry, and with orthodontic care, it certainly has made itself known.
Orthodontic treatment simply means the moving of teeth. It was first referred to in Greek medical manuals that suggested finger pressure over many hours could change tooth location, which is technically true, but it’s pretty inefficient. This has led to lots of tools and gadgets to apply that pressure constantly.
Celebrity standards setting the curve
In the 60s, The Beatles may have been an icon but not for their teeth. Teeth just were not the priority as the free love countercultures defined celebrity! The change may have been gradual, but as pearly whites that were straight and symmetrical became signs of status, it was celebrities that led the way. By the 90s, it was obvious that you could not get away as a celebrity without near-perfect teeth. Some may have taken it one step too far with phosphorescent standards of boy bands and Simon Cowell.
2020’s standards of dentistry amongst celebrities have levelled off albeit at the very top end of what is possible with a healthy dose of photoshop and video editing to boot. Many of these dental goals have moved down to the rest of society, leading people to wonder what they can do to improve the appearance of their teeth; whitening became part of their normal routines, and more adults considered an orthodontist Liverpool more than ever.
Covert treatment options
One of the biggest factors limiting adult orthodontic care, particularly when focused on static goals, is the appearance of wearing braces. Considered infantile and unflattering, many patients simply do not wish to or cannot afford to go through the process of reducing appearance temporarily to reach and assist goals. The obligations of adult life are simply not as flexible as those of high school or full-time education.
Changes in orthodontic practice
Over the same time period from the 60s to today, there has been a big shift in tools from heavy-handed headgear to lighter and thinner braces, with bulky steel archwires being superseded with thin titanium-nickel alloy. With the length of treatments sinking, orthodontic treatment extending more than 2 years was very rare, but historically it was not unheard of.
NHS treatment: then vs. now
It can be easy to forget that the NHS was founded in the late 1940s, and it took a long time to establish the services that many have come to take for granted today. Dentistry was one of the later services; therefore, it is entirely possible for an adult in the 1960s, depending on their economic background, to be completely denied dental care at the most critical stages of their life.
In the more general improvement and, therefore, higher expectations of tooth alignment, there is an expectation of having access to good quality dental care regardless of economic background throughout childhood.
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<urn:uuid:d3e02528-99ab-4ee9-ae99-2200c9ea5600>
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CC-MAIN-2022-33
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https://riosofaustin.com/how-braces-and-aligners-have-altered-expectations/
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A criticism of current diagnostic approaches to gaming disorder is that they fail to take into account that high and repeated engagement is not problematic per se, nor is it necessarily associated with adverse consequences. To tackle this controversy, we used Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) to test, in regular gamers (N = 268), whether high (but healthy) engagement can be distinguished from problematic engagement by using the Addiction-Engagement Questionnaire (Charlton & Danforth, 2007). We then tested whether differential relationships exist between the engagement and addiction constructs, DSM-5 criteria for Internet gaming disorder (IGD), and psychological factors linked to gaming use and misuse (self-reported impulsivity, motives to play, and depression). Results indicated that a model holding engagement and addiction as two distinct, but related, constructs fits the data well. Second, we showed that although both constructs are linked to the number of IGD criteria endorsed, the relationship is more pronounced for the addiction construct. Third, a differential pattern of correlations was observed with the other study variables, further supporting the need to distinguish the two constructs. Our study emphasizes that research is needed to refine the diagnostic approach to gaming disorder to avoid conflating healthy passion with pathological behavior.
Keywords: Addiction; Engagement; Internet gaming disorder; Online gaming.
Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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<urn:uuid:fcb380e0-0f9d-4b94-9e8c-f50a6980ad1c>
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CC-MAIN-2022-33
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https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29522932/
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| 0.915703
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What separates the novice swimmer from the advanced swimmer? Truth be told, there are probably a lot of things. Strength, knowledge, and training all have a role to play. All of that starts at the beginning with good form. While the specifics of good form will vary depending on the stroke you’re using, there are still some basic principles of positioning that are important to have good swimming form.
Your body should be horizontal in the water. The more parallel you are to the surface of the water, the better. That can be easier said than done sometimes. It requires awareness of your body and control over your core. Practice by working your core as you float face down in the water. As you float, lengthen your neck and spine by pulling your ears away from your shoulders. Engage your core by pulling your belly button in towards your spine and squeezing your glutes and hamstrings. Raise your arms to bring them in line with the rest of your body, which should be floating fairly parallel at this point.
As you might expect, your legs will be behind you when you swim. The tricky thing about legs is keeping them in line with the rest of your body. This is in large part dependent on your body composition. If you have a relatively larger amount of muscle mass in your legs, they’ll be more prone to sinking towards the floor of the pool. That’s a problem because it increases your frontal drag, decreasing the efficiency with which you can move through the water. Fortunately, as you work on developing your body awareness and control, you should be able to keep your legs raised so they are even with the rest of your body.
Obviously, as you’re swimming and practicing different strokes, your arms will go through different movement patterns. What counts as good form for any given stroke will depend on the specific stroke. When you’re just working on good form and positioning, however, the starting position for your arms is to have them floating in front of you. That means controlling their level with the muscles in your shoulders and upper back. Aim to have them lifted so that your ears are between your biceps.
Good form is not something that comes naturally to most people. It takes time, effort, and a lot of practice. It’s definitely worth it though. The better your form, the faster you’ll get better at swimming. Considering how beneficial swimming can be as a form of exercise, getting better is only going to be a good thing.
Good positioning is just one thing we teach our swimmers at SwimJim. Learn what else we teach here.
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<urn:uuid:38302de1-6722-4911-abb6-c3ccb00b3250>
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CC-MAIN-2022-33
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https://swimjim.com/blog/what-counts-as-good-form-for-swimming/
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| 0.968088
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Easy-to-use interface with access to full-text nursing and allied health journals, encyclopedias and other reference sources, as well as informational pamphlets. Also includes the Alternative Health suite of resources.
Provides information on many health topics including the medical sciences, food sciences and nutrition, childcare, sports medicine and general health. Features searchable full text for nearly 160 journals including Consumer Reports on Health and Men’s Health, as well as abstracts and indexing for nearly 180 general health, nutrition and professional health care publications.
Full text for nearly 1,200 journals with coverage dating back to 1965. Authoritative medical information on medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, health care system, and much more. Created by the National Library of Medicine. Search abstracts from over 4,000 current biomedical journals.
Indexing for 1,835 journals from the fields of nursing and allied health. The database contains more than 1,000,000 records dating back to 1982. Offering complete coverage of English-language nursing journals and publications from the National League for Nursing and the American Nurses Association.
Provides full-text, peer-reviewed scholarly and scientific articles in psychology. It contains more than 100,000 articles from 59 journals - 48 published by the American Psychological Association (APA) and 11 from allied organizations. It includes all journal articles, letters to the editor, and errata from each journal. Coverage spans 1894 to present.
Salem Health brings online access to Salem Press’ award-winning health reference works. The database covers diseases, disorders, treatments, procedures, specialties, anatomy, biology, and issues in an A-Z format, with sidebars addressing recent developments in medicine and concise information boxes for all diseases and disorders.
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How to Pay International Suppliers & Vendors and Maximise Profits
International business transactions come with plenty of benefits, such as:
- Securing supplies at a cheaper cost
- Expanding your target market
- Sourcing locally unavailable materials
However, international businesses can also have significant supply chain bottlenecks if payments aren’t handled well. Plus, issues of transaction costs and foreign exchange risks can weigh down your profits.
Consequently, it’s imperative to understand how to pay overseas suppliers efficiently and at a reasonable cost to ensure your business stays afloat.
What to Consider When Making International Payments
Determine the Transaction Currency
To avoid delays in payment processing, it’s critical to be on the same page with the suppliers about the transaction currency.
You will typically denominate the invoice in either the vendor’s or your local currency when paying international vendors.
However, you may need to pay in an internationally accepted reserve currency such as the US dollar in some cases. Ensure that you clarify these terms and have them in black and white on the international invoices.
Get Reasonable Costs and Fees
Since your sights are set on making a good profit, it’s essential to keep costs as low as possible. So, compare transaction fees between providers to get the least expensive option.
That said, remember not to compare the dollar price alone. Some providers may quote a low transaction fee but may cost you more through delays and hidden fees.
Have the Right Information
Gather all the information you need to avoid payment delays. Depending on the payment method, you will need the following vendor details:
- Name and full address
- Bank account details for the international bank
- SWIFT/IBAN/BIC/Routing number
- Email address
Different Payment Options You Can Use When Paying Overseas Suppliers
An international wire transfer through the bank or credit union is one of the most common methods of making payments. The transfer typically uses the SWIFT interbank network.
- Safe and reliable
- You can use your regular bank account or credit cards
- It can take more than 5 business days
- High fees per transaction
- Lots of hidden and third party transaction costs
- Markups on exchange rates can go as high as 6%
- Low limits
International Money Order
One traditional money transfer method that you can still use today is international money orders which you can typically purchase at a post office.
- Offers a guaranteed source of funding for the vendor
- No learning curve involved
- High spread on exchange rates
- It uses the snail mail, so it takes longer to get there and may get lost in the post
- Higher risk of fraud and scams
- Low transaction limits
With escrow, you make an advance payment to a third party who holds the money and will only release it when you get your goods.
- Secures both party’s interests
- Third-party fees apply
- It may not be available in some countries
- May hold your money for long
- High charges to access the service
Online FX Transaction Platforms
Dedicated transaction platforms such as Clear Currency offer an uncomplicated way to pay your international vendors over a secure platform.
- Fast transactions
- Competitive rates
- Transact at mid-market rates, so no markups on exchange rates
- Support multiple currencies
- No hidden fees
- No third party transaction costs
- Payments are easy to track
- Higher limits
- Security as in is the business ensuring customer security
- FCA regulated
How to Minimise Risks
International payments come with inherent exchange rate risks. For instance, you can agree on a specific price today and pay more tomorrow due to currency fluctuations.
You need to understand how to manage these risks in advance. Some risk mitigation methods you can use include:
- Hedging through futures, forwards and swaps
- Getting political risk insurance
- Consulting with experts
In addition, cybersecurity risks are one of the most significant challenges of the information age. So you must send money using a fully regulated payment method that ensures that your business money reaches its destination without compromising your data and security.
It’s also important to avoid unregistered and unregulated peer-to-peer transfer options that you won’t be able to track. In the same vein, if you’re operating from a foreign country, ensure that you repatriate profits without contravening the host country’s laws to avoid legal issues.
Key Takeaway: The Best Way to Pay International Vendors
While each method has pros and cons, choosing a safe and secure FX transfer service comes with the most advantages and is therefore the best way to pay overseas suppliers.
Choose Clear Currency; an established FCA regulated transfer platform that offers you:
- Quick and hassle-free payments to keep your supply chain operating efficiently.
- Low transaction costs.
- Fair exchange rates with no extra mark-ups.
- Multiple currency payments.
- A secure and easy to use platform that allows you to track your payment at each step of the transaction.
- Expert advice on FX transaction and risk mitigation strategies.
Here’s what other users had to say about Clear Currency:
Truly helpful and professional. Great rates. You wonder why you would ever use a bank for a currency transfer.
Nathan, verified customer via Trustpilot
Fabulous, safe, efficient, and economical service from this company. Definitely the way to go for international currency deposits.
Pam, verified customer via Trustpilot
So sign up for a free no-obligation account with Clear Currency today. We’ll get in touch to answer your questions and help you with all your international transactions at an affordable cost to maximise your profits.
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|“You four have merely scratched the surface of your full potential.”|
“Chapter Eight: Rickety Old Bridges. Only one way to cross them: fast and first. Last person in line usually doesn't make it!”
The swaying bridge is the first trap in the Aspheera Pyramid.
- If an individual fails, they will fall to the bottom and die.
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Students thrive both socially and academically when they interact while learning. They need to think, explore, create, and apply their knowledge. Interacting with other students, brainstorming ideas with their peers, and sharing work not only enhances social and academic skills but it also stimulates cognitive growth. By being responsive to these needs, teachers will be able to provide a more nurturing and engaging classroom. This Quick Coaching Guide discusses the importance of active and interactive learning, with explanations of energizers and brain breaks along with the Interactive Modeling steps to introduce these. A multifaceted tool for ongoing, embedded professional development, Quick Coaching Guides encapsulate a specific topic through the Responsive Classroom lens and offer educators unique tools for reflection, learning, and planning for change.
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This department specialises in rare and important works of French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish and South American literature from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries.Here you can find first editions and signed or presentation copies of authors as diverse as Akhmatova, Balzac, Borges, Camus, Chekhov, Dostoevsky, Goethe, Goldoni, Hugo, Kafka, Leopardi, Lorca, Manzoni, Pirandello, Pushkin, Schiller, Tolstoy, Zola, and many others. Among the important works which have passed through our hands are the original working manuscript of Turgenev's Fathers and Sons, now in the Pushkin House in St Petersburg, the only known copy of the first edition of Brecht's first play, Baal (1920) with his working notes, and an extraordinary collection of Pushkin first editions.
Gulielmi Paradini Anchemani Epigrammata ...
Lyons, Ant. Gryphius, 1581.
First and only edition of this French historian’s poetry including verses about or addressed to Ronsard, Pontus de Tyard, Claude Rouillet, and the Lyons printers Sébastien and Antoine Gryphe, and Jean de Tournes.
Le Marquis ridicule, ou la comtesse faite à la haste. Comedie … Suivant la copie imprimée a Paris.
[Leiden, Elzevier], 1656.
First Elzevier editions, very rare, of these two plays by Scarron, pirated after the text of the first editions printed in Paris. A finely bound volume with excellent Elzevierian provenance.
CAREL DE SAINTE GARDE, Jacques.
Les sarrazins chassez de France. Poëme heroïque ...
Paris, chez Claude Barbin, 1667.
Rare first edition of this poetic account of the expulsion of the Saracens from France by Childebrand I (c. 678 – 751), written by Jacques Carel de Sainte Garde (1620 – 1684), almoner and counsellor to Louis XIV. Prefaced by a short treatise on versification in heroic poetry, the poem runs...
MARIVAUX, Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de.
Le Paysan parvenu: or, the fortunate Peasant. Being Memoirs of the Life of Mr. ––––....
London: Printed for John Brindley … Charles Corbett … and Richard Wellington … 1735
First edition in English, originally published in French in the Hague in 1734-5. This is the second of the two important novels by Marivaux, which broke new ground in the art of writing fiction. ‘Where La Vie de Marianne belongs to the moralizing and sentimental romance tradition, Le Paysan...
[BERINGTON, Simon, adapted by Jean-Baptiste DUPUY-DEMPORTES.]
Memoires de Gaudence de Luques, prisonnier de l’Inquisition...
Amsterdam and Leipzig, Arkstée & Merkus, 1754.
Second edition of this much expanded and altered translation of Berington’s celebrated utopian novel, Memoirs of Sigr Gaudentio di Lucca (1737). The Memoirs enjoyed immense popularity, undergoing at least twelve eighteenth-century editions in English and contemporary translations...
[HERISSANT, Louis Théodore].
Le fablier françois, ou élite des meilleurs fables depuis La Fontaine.
Paris, Lottin le jeune, 1771.
First edition, rare, of what has a claim to be the first comprehensive collection of French fables from the period after La Fontaine, assembled by the diplomat, lawyer, and historian Louis-Théodore Herissant (1743–1811). Collecting together fables from writers both famous (Voltaire, J.B. Rousseau,...
DESENFANS, Noel Joseph.
Les deux Hermites, dédié a mylord Lyttelton …
A Londres; chez R. Davis … J Ridley … W Owen … 1773.
First and only edition, uncommon, of an epistolary novel by the future art dealer Noel Joseph Desenfans. The scene is Paris in the 1680s, the theme is Enlightenment, and the author’s aim was to inspire ‘l’horreur de l’oppression, sentiment nécessaire à l’harmonie de la Société, & vertu...
Voyage de Sophie et d’Eulalie, au Palais du vrai bonheur; ouvrage pour servir de guide dans les voies...
Paris, Charles-Pierre Berton, 1781.
First edition of this rare utopian voyage written by a woman for a readership of women.
Oeuvres badines …
Paris, chez les marchands de nouveautés, 1797.
Scarce illustrated edition of the ‘frolicsome works’ of the French dramatist and wit Piron (1689–1773), collecting sixty-eight salacious poems accompanied by eight erotic engraved plates. The collection includes the notorious Ode à Priape, the publication of which obliged Piron to...
[SOUZA, Adélaïde de].
Charles et Marie. Par l’auteur d’Adèle de Senange.
Paris, Maradan, 1802.
First edition of this novel describing British society at the beginning of the 19th century, written in the form of an aristocratic young Englishman’s diary.
MAINE DE BIRAN. [MARIE FRANÇOIS PIERRE GONTHIER DE BIRAN.]
Influence de l’Habitude sur la Faculté de Penser.
Paris, Henrichs, 1803.
First edition of Maine de Biran’s first major work, in which he draws a distinction between what he calls passive habits, i.e. sensations and impressions which become dulled with repetition, and active habits, i.e. those which are conscious, and willed. “The effect of this, which was borne out by...
[KRÜDENER, Barbara Juliane de Vietinghoff, Baronne de.]
Valérie, ou Lettres de Gustave de Linar à Ernest de G… Tome...
Paris, Henrichs, 1804.
Rare first edition of Valérie, the most famous novel by the Russian mystic and novelist Madame de Krüdener (1766–1824), who for a time exerted an influence over Tsar Alexander I. The novel created a literary sensation, and became one of the classic novels of the pre-Romantic movement...
JUSSIEU, Laurent Pierre de.
Antoine et Maurice. Ouvrage qui a obtenu le prix proposé par la Société Royale pour l’amélioration...
Paris, L. Colas, 1821.
First edition, rare, of this unsurprisingly moralising novel by the writer, geologist, and natural historian Laurent Pierre de Jussieu (1792-1866), written in response to a competition held by the Royal Society of the Improvement of Prisons to find the best book to circulate amongst inmates.
AZAÏS, Gabriel, and Charles LABOR.
Illustrated manuscript volume of poetry, comprising ‘Vingt-six janvier 1836’ by Azaïs,...
Béziers, c. 1836?
An attractive presentation volume, with poems by Azaïs (1805-1888) and Labor (1813-1900), and fine vignette sketches. Azaïs, later author of Les Troubadours de Béziers (1869) was a member of the Félibrige, the literary organization founded by Frédéric Mistral to promote Occitan language...
MESHCHERSKII, Elim Petrovich.
Les roses noires par le prince Élim Mestscherskï.
Paris, Amyot, 1845.
First edition of this posthumous collection, which includes a short dramatisation of Pushkin’s The Gypsies, ‘un charmant poëme d’Alexandre Pouschkinn, le grand écrivain que pleure la Russie’.
DUMAS, Alexandre, père.
Les Trois Mousquetaires.
Paris, Michel Lévy, 1846.
Rare early edition of The Three Musketeers, first published in 8 volumes in 1844. This is the third edition published in France, although there were several Brussels printings of the novel in the interim. The half-title of the present edition announces ‘Oeuvres complètes d’Alexandre Dumas’, but...
PUSHKIN, Aleksandr Sergeevich. DUPONT, H. (translator).
Oeuvres choisies... traduites pour la première fois en français... Tome...
St Petersburg, chez Fd. Bellizard et Cie; Paris, Au comptoir des Imprimeurs-unis, 1847.
First collected edition of Pushkin in French, preceded in French translation only by some individual poems and stories, and a translation of The Queen of Spades in 1843. This is one of the earliest major collections of Pushkin to appear outside Russia.
NERVAL, Gérard de.
Lorely, souvenirs d’Allemagne.
Paris, D. Giraud et J. Dagneau, 1852.
First edition, second issue, of a collection of Nerval’s writings on Germany. German Romanticism had a great influence on Nerval, and he was drawn to the country, visiting it seven times. At the age of 20, he published a translation of Faust which Goethe himself praised. Lorely opens with a long preface...
GOGOL’, Nikolai Vasil’evich.
Tarass Boulba… traduit du russe par Louis Viardot.
Paris, Librairie de L. Hachette et Cie, 1853.
First separate appearance of Gogol’s story in the French translation by Louis Viardot, published in the series ‘Bibliothèque des chemins de fer’. The translation had previously appeared in 1845 in the collection ‘Nouvelles russes’, where Turgenev is named as co-translator.
Hommage à C. F. Denecourt. Fontainebleau. Paysages – Légendes – Souvenirs – Fantaisies.
Paris, Librairie de L. Hachette & Co., 1855.
First edition of this anthology compiled by Fernand Desnoyers and Auguste Luchet, published in honour of the self-appointed keeper of the forest of Fontainebleau, Claude-François Denecourt. It includes texts by Asselineau, Banville, Baudelaire, Béranger, Brizeux, Champfleury, Dupont, Gautier, Hugo,...
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Bishnupur is a sub-divisional town of Bankura district in the state of West Bengal, India. The main soil of this region has been derived from laterite rocks with intermittent alluvial deposits. In the early stages of the British rule, this region was known as the Jungal Mahal.
The main town of the sub-division is Bishnupur which is situated (23°5 N and 87°20 East) five km to the south of the river Dwarakeshwar. Bishnupur Municipality was established in 1873. The town is connected to Calcutta via the Howrah-Gomo railway line on the South-Eastern Railway. It is at a distance of 201 km from Calcutta. The river Birai flows three km away from the town. The weather of the town is of the dry type, with little humidity.
Bishnupur is a famous centre of business and cottage industries. Bishnupur is well-known for the manufacture of Tussar and silk cloth as well as decorated silk scarves. Silkworms are cultivated in the town. Among the other cottage industries, brass, bell-metal, conch shells, garlands made of the holy basil are worth mentioning. Amburi and Balakhana tobacco of Bishnupur are well-known.
During the times of the Malla kings, Bishnupur was a big centre of Sanskrit studies. The Bishnupur gharana (school) of music is appreciated all over India.
According to traditional texts Bishnupur’s Malla kingdom was established in the Eighth Century A.D. At that time this region was known as the Mallabhum. When the kingdom of the Malla kings was transferred from Laugram to Bishnupur (probably in the 14th Century), the Malla kings came to be known as Bishnupurraj or the kings of Bishnupur. Members of the royal family were Shaivites, although later on they embraced the Vaishnava cult.
King Bir Hambir (c.1591-1616), famous in history, was initiated into Vaishnavism by Srinivas Acharya. It is said that he was the first to establish the worship of Madan Mohan in Bishnupur. The later kings belonging to the Mallas have been Raghunath Singha (c.1616-1656), BirSingha II(c. 1656-1677), Durjan Singha (1678-1694) etc. The construction of the famous temples of Bishnupur was done during the reign of these kings and the two queens of Bir Singha II namely, Shiromoni and Churamoni. Bishnupur had seen the days of strong kings. In the eighteenth century during the reign of Gopal Singha, the kingdom was devastated by the attack of the Bargis and the fall of the kingdom can be traced from that era.
The town of Bishnupur is surrounded by a wall that is approximately 11 km long and the historical monuments and temples of the town carry in them many stories of their past glory.
(Translated from Bharat Kosh, Bangiya Sahitya Parishad)
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The Free Lossless Audio Codec, commonly known as FLAC, is an audio format with no quality loss. If you need to convert files to lossless audio format, it will be a good choice. And FLAC can tag metadata, album cover art, precise search cue sheets and samples.
It is undeniable that your DVD collection always has great music, and sometimes you may need to extract the audio content of the DVD file separately for listening on other players and devices, or to sharing it to your friend via email.
Since there are tons of DVD rippers that claim to decrypt DVD discs and convert DVD tracks to FLAC, it is a daunting task for users to choose a suitable FLAC ripper. In this post, we will recommend a one-stop solution to rip your DVD movies.
WonderFox DVD Ripper Pro has been around for more than ten years and is considered one of the best Windows DVD rippers for converting DVD movies to common digital formats without any quality loss. Next, we will show you the detailed steps about ripping DVD to FLAC.
How to rip DVD to Flac with WonderFox DVD Ripper Pro?
Step 1: Load your DVD movie
Put the DVD you want to rip to FLAV into the optical drive and open the program, you’ll find it’s so easy to use that novices can master it quickly.
After accessing the interface click “DVD Disc” to navigate to your DVD and make the program load your DVD file.
Step 2: Set “FLAC” as the output format
In this step you need to click on the “Output Format” panel to open the format list and select “FLAC” as the output format under the “Audio” category.
Next, click “Open Folder” at the bottom of the interface to select the path to save the FLAC file.
For advanced users, it also provides you a lot of settings to get a better grasp of FLAC audio (bitrate, sample rate, channels). Click “Settings” to access more custom settings.
Step 3: Start converting DVD to FLAC file
This is the last step to convert DVD to FLAC, just click the “Run” button on the bottom right side of the interface and start ripping DVD to FLAC file.
After conversion, you can move the newly created FLAC files to your music library to enjoy them anytime, anywhere.
More features of WonderFox DVD Ripper Pro
- Convert DVD to video formats, such as MPG, MP4, AVI, MKV, MOV, VOB, WMV, M4V, 3GP, MTS, M2TS, FLV, etc.
- Automatically find main movie from 99 titles.
- Add subtitles to DVD.
- Transfer DVD to iPad, iPhone, Apple TV, handsets, etc.
- Backup old and scratched old DVD to digital copies.
- Edit DVD files without any third-party software, trim, rotate, add effects, cut, clip, crop, watermark, merge, etc.
- 1:1 rip DVD Disc to ISO Image and DVD Folder.
- Fastest ripping speed to digitize DVD files.
- The perfect balance between file size, output quality and compression ratio.
- Intelligently detects main movie and removes ads.
- Hundreds of output formats.
- Lack of Mac version.
- Outdated interface.
Since I’m a movie fanatic, I’ve tried to convert a lot of DVDs to formats suitable for my iPhone and Android, so I’ve used many DVD rippers, In the process of using each software, I think the next one should be better. I stopped searching for other ripping programs until I found WonderFox DVD Ripper Pro, all because it not only supports a wide range of formats, but also helps with DVD region codes.
I strongly recommend you to try it as it supports the safest, easiest and fastest ripping without losing your original content, nor leaving any viruses and ads on your PC.
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The innermost layer of a volleyball is comprised of a rubber bladder, the second is made out of cloth and the third shell consists of 18 rectangular leather panels arranged in six identical sections. Just as a volleyball has evolved into a multi-layered invention, so too has the sport, with each layer ushering in a new era.
Consequently, a team’s historic timeline endures various ebbs and flows, and the volleyball program at UTD is no exception to that rule.
The volleyball program at UTD was founded in 2004 — the youngest established program alongside women’s golf. Head volleyball coach Marci Sanders was hired shortly thereafter. Sanders said there were obvious growing pains in being a rookie head coach of a brand new program.
“One of the reasons I accepted the job was because UTD pretty much already had everything in place as far as facilities, for the most part, so that was pretty easy,” she said. “Just as it is now, the hardest part to our job is recruiting. So starting to recruit kids to a program that didn’t really have any history was definitely the hardest part.”
The program had back-to-back losing records in its first two seasons, going 14-17 and 16-17 in 2004 and 2005, respectively. As it stands now, those are the only two losing seasons in the program’s 12-year history.
Amid the early struggles, Sanders said she didn’t necessarily feel any pressure to provide immediate favorable win-loss records as long as there were visible improvements year to year.
In 2006, those visible improvements led to a favorable ASC East championship record of 24-7 — an eight-win improvement from the prior season. The success was in large part due to the talent pool from that year’s recruiting class.
“If you look statistically, we kept getting better. … It took us a few years to get a good recruiting class in there,” Sanders said. “(The success) came down to building a track record and getting our name out there.”
The program reached its peak in the 2008 and 2009, posting a combined overall 49-9 record and a 31-3 conference record. The Comets won their first ever ASC title in 2008 and successfully defended it in 2009 in convincing fashion by going undefeated in conference play. They are only the third team in ASC volleyball history to win back-to-back championships, and the lone UTD athletic program to accomplish such a feat.
“We lost in the conference championship in 2006 and I had quite a few freshmen in that class,” Sanders said. “Obviously they grew up a lot during their time at UT Dallas. So they were learning and we were learning and we just ended up working together (to make) everything fell into place in 2008 and 2009.”
Due to the competitive nature of sports, defeat is inevitable. Despite establishing themselves as a premier team in the ASC, the Comets, unable to recreate their 2008 and 2009 magic, fell short of the conference championship in each of the next five post-seasons.
During that five year span, the Comets had five 20-plus win seasons, including a program high 31 wins in 2013, and never registered more than four conference losses in a single year.
The volleyball program was having relatively successful seasons, but at that same time, Hardin-Simmons was developing into an ASC powerhouse, defeating or eliminating the Comets en route to their four consecutive titles.
“In those years, it wasn’t like we were having bad seasons,” Sanders said. “We just couldn’t really get over the hump. I felt like the other programs in our conference were just getting better.”
For the Comets, success doesn’t begin and end with their ASC accolades. The ultimate goal is still to win a national championship. For the second time ever, last year’s squad advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Sanders explained this year’s ASC championship squad is the best to ever step foot inside UTD’s gym because of the way they gave meaning to the word ‘team.’
“There isn’t one person on this team by the end of the season that wasn’t all in,” she said.
Sanders said she feels the program is taking the proper steps towards winning a national title.
“We obviously know it’s not going to be an easy task but the years that we did lose (in the NCAA tournament), we lost to Cal Lutheran,” she said. “This year they went on to win the national championship and the last time we lost to them they were runner-up. I think it’s nice that the current players that we have are able to see what Cal Lutheran does, which points out weaknesses not only to our players but also to us as a staff on what we have to get better at.”
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Two Cornell anthropology graduate students will conduct their fieldwork overseas with support from the Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad program. Alexandra G. Dalferro and Rebekah M. Cirbassi are among 91 students nationwide who received the prestigious award this year.
Dalferro, from Norwell, Massachusetts, left for Surin, Thailand, in September and plans to remain there until early 2019. She is interested in the tensions between the practices of ethnic Khmer silk weavers and government policies that promote their weavings as “part of a static Thai national cultural heritage,” she wrote in her proposal.
“For Khmer weavers, this official interest and demand is welcome, but it also threatens to erase local meanings, histories and knowledge,” she added.
Her proposed dissertation title is “Shimmering Surfaces and Stray Threads: Weaving State Politics into Silk in Contemporary Thailand.”
The central research question is “how are official and tourist-market desires for ‘shimmering surfaces,’ and materials and dispositions that reflect ‘good culture,’ linked to the prioritizing of particular kinds of knowledge and particular ways of being in the world?”
Dalferro, whose committee chair is associate professor Marina Welker, will conduct her fieldwork in the Thai and Khmer languages.
Rebekah M. Cirbassi, a native of Chicago, will travel to Tanzania in January 2018 to work on a project titled “Sickle cell disease amid intersecting ideologies of kinship in Northwest Tanzania.”
In January 2017, a new diagnostic technology called “Sickle-Scan” was introduced in Tanzania, she explained in her proposal. The test does not just determine whether a person is carrying the disease, but also provides information about genetic relatedness.
“Increasingly, then, diagnostics are becoming integrated into Tanzanian forms of kinship reckoning – i.e., the culturally constructed ways of recognizing some ties as relevant for making families,” she wrote.
Cirbassi plans to study how people in Mwanza “integrate the lexicon of genetic medicine – and the transnational, racialized discourse on sickle cell research – into their sense of national belonging.” She expects to remain in Tanzania until next December. Her committee chair is associate professor Stacey Langwick.
Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad awards support research in modern foreign languages and area studies. The six- to twelve-month awards are sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education.
At Cornell, the program is administered by the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies. The center assists students in the application process and administers the awards for successful applicants.
Jonathan Miller is associate director for communications at the Einaudi Center.
This article orignally appeared in the Cornell Chronicle.
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This means the courses theyalreadytake within the Academy additionally follow a CTE pathway. When a pupil earns an Academy Endorsement by completing all the requirements they mayalsoearn a “CTE Completer” status.Boththe Academy Endorsement and the CTE Completer standing might be printed on the scholar’s transcript.
Good examples are embroidery tools, signal making equipment and restaurant equipment. Also, if a vehicle is required to manage the business, we are in a position to arrange for the acquisition at dealers price and financing together with any instruments and gear wanted to be within the vehicle to function the business. Good examples are the instruments needed to do carpentry, plumbing and pool testing work at a job website. The SBFA is a non-profit advocacy organization devoted to ensuring Main Street small businesses have access to the capital they should grow and strengthen the economy. The minimum acceptable grade for any undergraduate course required for the business administration diploma is “C-” with the exception of MATH 24 which requires a minimal acceptable grade of “C” or higher.
Finance Major Assets
While accounting tracks and organizes your company’s monetary info, business finance makes use of this information that will help you manage your cash and make your operation more profitable. Business finance contains reading financial statements and connecting the dots between your revenue and loss, steadiness sheet and money flow statements. If these documents level to a scarcity of capital, business finance also supplies the tools to plan strategies for bridging the hole.
The city of Yazd due to the cheapness of necessities and rent, and the people of Yazd due to the spirit of business satisfaction, compromise, honesty and kindness and dozens of other reasons, may be one of the first cities to attract a large number of immigrants#شور_دارالعباده
— Mohsen (@Mohsen13638632) May 17, 2021
Students attend workshop periods on financial literacy; private branding and advertising; public talking and presentation; and in-depth interviewing skills—and they produce a case examine providing solutions to real-world business challenges. This broad-ranged curriculum prepares students with a full range of intermediate and superior business expertise in the areas of funding, monetary administration, hedge funds, private fairness, and more. Ray’s Financial Trading Room replicates a real-world buying and selling environment and capabilities as each a classroom and a laboratory. Students have unique access to the same instruments and software program that are used on Wall Street.
In Regards To The Grasp Of Business Administration In International Business
A Financial Analyst may also be tasked with constructing financial fashions and making suggestions to cut costs or grow revenue. Comparing financial ratios with that of major opponents is done to establish whether or not a company is performing higher Business & Finance or worse than the trade common. For example, comparing the return on assets between firms helps an analyst or investor to find out which company is making probably the most environment friendly use of its belongings.
Underwriting is the process a mortgage officer makes use of when determining who qualifies for a mortgage and who does not. Depending on the mortgage officer, they may conduct the underwriting manually, using particular formulas, or use underwriting software. Some firms use a mix of underwriting software program and mortgage officers who can embrace any necessary Finance extra data into the ultimate decision. New staff meet with Human sources specialists for orientation and address any questions about job expectations and advantages. HR specialists first meet with employers, gaining a robust understanding of the worker qualifications the employer seeks.
Merchant Cash Advance
Pursuing graduate coursework in finance only bolsters these fundamentals. Besides bettering a person’s chances of being hired, a master of science in finance can even allow you to hone your critical-thinking and problem-solving skills, which you can then use to make sound financial decisions.
Communication is the key to personal and business success. So now we all together celebrate World Communication Day.#worldtelecommunicationday #telecommunicationsystems #telecommunications pic.twitter.com/Lm7FLiUxNo
— Sanskar Bundela (@SanskarBundela) May 17, 2021
Conference rooms, cafeterias, and different gathering areas may have to be redesigned so folks keep at an acceptable distance whereas at the same time enjoy some social interaction and forge some sort of group. HVAC and different ventilation systems could change to guarantee more optimal air circulation and toxin filtration. Meetings could additionally be limited to a couple attendees in person, spaced appropriately aside, with the other Business participants connecting by video. Just as we submit ourselves to baggage searches at airports, perhaps there might be random, or even routine, temperature checks either at building safety or random tests at the workplace. Further, just as we pass a scanner to realize entrance to our elevator banks, perhaps we’ll all pass heat detectors to gauge whether we now have a fever. All this comes at a cost, once more, unquantifiable to gauge the impact on return on funding.
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Luetkea pectinata (Partridgefoot) is a species of shrub in the family Rosaceae. They have a self-supporting growth form. They are native to Canada, North America, Western North America, Alaska, and The Contiguous United States. They have simple, broad leaves. Flowers are visited by Plebejus anna and Pearl Crescent.
EOL has data for 18 attributes, including:
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In case you have been looking for a wonder food to amply meet your needs in treating wrinkles with other multiple health benefits, coconut should be at the top of your list.
Very few people including health experts don’t understand how coconut water stabilizes blood sugar, lowers cholesterol, heals and hydrated your body and even replaces blood plasma in emergency cases. Coconut palm is now recognized as a top immune booster credit to its antibiotic, antifungal, antibacterial and antiviral properties for centuries across the globe.
What Is Coconut Water?
Coconut water refers to the liquid found inside immature coconut fruit. It has been used as a medicinal tonic in the tropics and in sports recovery drinks. This is due to the fact that it contains antioxidants and crucial electrolytes, such as potassium.
In reference to a naturopathic doctor, Bruce Fife, N.D., it is a useful in treating diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and wrinkles because it is an effective vasodilator which improves circulation and reduce formation of plague in the arteries or the skin.
In treating wrinkles, coconut oil is used due to its ingredients which also help in dealing with other skin conditions like sagging and premature aging.
In reference to Fife, coconut water contains plenty of hormones referred to as cytokininis. These hormones have anti-aging effect on human cells by keeping them smooth, full and young-looking.
These are effective in the treatment of wrinkles and sagging skin. When used topically on your skin, cytokinins found in coconut water works on the connective tissues to restore its elasticity and diminish the appearance of dryness, wrinkles and fine lines that occur with age. Even consuming coconut water can still have anti-aging effects on your body, including your skin from within.
Since it is a great source of antioxidants, coconut water supplies your body with essential nutrients required in the elimination of free radicals which have the potential to damage your skin and cause wrinkles. This is according to researchers from the Vanderbilt University.
Free radicals in your body can also be triggered by stress. The most common cause wrinkle is emotional stress, which can cause a reduction of blood flow to your skin, resulting to premature aging. Though consumption of products rich in antioxidants, like coconut water, is widely known to help in the elimination of free radicals, there exists conflicting evidence to support their ability to improve the health of your skin
According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, dehydration happens when your body loses more water and electrolytes. If this happens, you may start noticing dryness and sagging of the skin, which amplifies the appearance of wrinkles. The elasticity of the skin also becomes poor and slowly rebound when pinched.
You are more likely to get dehydrated if you regularly use the restroom, sweats a lot, or produce more tears. Consumption of coconut water can keep you hydrated as it comes with plenty of essential electrolytes, such as potassium, which your body requires to keep the proper fluid balance in all organs including the skin.
More Health Benefits
It’s just recently that researchers started discovering the many health benefits that come with coconut water. As an example, coconut water was used to safe lives in the Pacific during the Second World War.
This is because blood plasma at the moment was scarce and medics could siphon pure coconut water from young coconuts and use it in emergency plasma transfusions for soldiers who suffered injuries. The stunning thing about coconut water is that it is identical to human plasma and could suit all blood groups.
Coconut water sounds like one of the best treatments for wrinkles. Its ingredients are in deed the requirements in the tightening of the skin and ensuring that the cells are full and smooth. The best thing about coconut water is that it can either be applied topically to reduce the appearance of wrinkles or taken in orally to bring the same results.
Since the formation of wrinkles is a gradual process that takes time, meaning they can be difficult to treat in an instance, prevention in their formation should be taken as the top priority. Thanks to coconut water, you can start as early as today and reap from a host of other benefits as well.
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A capacitive-type touch screen panel (TSP) composed of silver nanowire (AgNW) crossing electrodes and transparent bridge structures was fabricated on a polycarbonate film. The transparent bridge structure was formed with a stack of Al-doped ZnO (AZO) electrodes and SU-8 insulator. The stable and robust continuity of the bridge electrode over the bridge insulator was achieved by making the side-wall slope of the bridge insulator low and depositing the conformal AZO film with atomic layer deposition. With an extended exposure time of photolithography, the lower part of the SU-8 layer around the region uncovered by the photomask can be exposed enough to the UV light scattered from the substrate. This leads to the low side-wall slope of the bridge insulator. The fabricated TSP sample showed a large capacitance change of 22.71% between
Touch screen panels (TSP) have been widely used in electronic devices such as TVs, mobile phones, and laptops. The application area has been broadened with the increasing demand for intuitive user interfaces. [2-4] A resistive TSP senses the resistance change caused by the deformation of the TSP film. It is possible to make a low-cost and high-resolution TSP with the resistive sensing mechanism. However, there are some difficulties in achieving multi-touch functionality, durability, and transparency. On the other hand, a capacitive TSP senses the capacitance change driven by finger capacitance. The capacitive TSP is more costly in fabrication and more problematic to be made in large scale than the resistive counterpart. However, the capacitive TSP has its strength in high resolution and multi-touch functionality. With its multi-touch availability and also durability, the capacitive TSP is preferable in tablet PC and mobile phone applications. A transparent electrode is another important component of a TSP. Several materials including indium tin oxide (ITO), graphene, carbon nanotube (CNT), and metal nanowires have been evaluated for fabricating transparent electrodes of a TSP. [8-12] Although ITO has been used most extensively for TSP electrodes thanks to its high transmittance and low resistance, its brittleness is a severe obstacle to being used as flexible TSP electrodes. Silver nanowire (AgNW) is considered to be one potential replacement for ITO for flexible TSP electrodes. In addition to flexibility, there are some other benefits obtainable by replacing ITO with AgNW such as material cost reduction, panel thickness reduction, higher transmittance, and higher touch sensitivity. Recently, the haze effect which is one weak point of AgNW has also been improved. Thus, AgNW seems to be a quite promising candidate material for making flexible and transparent electrodes of TSP. There have actually been several experimental works reporting the fabrication of flexible and transparent TSP based on AgNW electrodes. [14-16] In this study, we fabricated a highly flexible and transparent capacitive TSP by using AgNW crossing electrodes and Al-doped ZnO (AZO) bridge electrodes formed on top of SU-8 bridge insulators. The continuity of the thin bridge electrode was improved significantly by reducing the side-wall slope of the bridge insulator with scattered-light exposure in the photolithography process. This scattered-light exposure can be an easily-applicable experimental method to ensure the reliability of any flexible TSP adopting bridge structures.
Among all the fabrication processes in our work, the most relevant process is the one for making flexible and transparent bridge insulators with low side-wall slope. In this section, we describe the entire process for fabricating a flexible and transparent TSP sample with a focus on the step to make bridge structures.
The fabrication flow consists of three major steps, which are the patterning of AgNW electrodes, the formation of bridge insulators, and the formation of bridge electrodes. Figure 1 shows the entire fabrication flow together with the plane and cross-sectional schematic views of the patterned structure in each individual step. In the first step, an AgNW film coated on a polycarbonate (PC) film was patterned by using the conventional photolithography process to form driving electrodes (Tx) and sensing electrodes (Rx). The positive AZ5214E photoresist was used and the AgNW film on the developed area was etched with a commercial Aluminum etchant (Al ETCH TYPE A, TRANSENE Inc.). After etching, the remaining photoresist was removed with acetone. As shown in Fig. 1(a), both Tx and Rx electrodes contain diamond-shape patterns but only Rx electrode diamonds are connected to their nearest neighbors by the connecting line in the first step. The touch sensing is accomplished by analyzing the capacitance change sensed by the Rx electrode while a finite voltage is applied on the Tx electrode. Here, R stands for “Receiver” and T “Transmitter”.
[Fig. 1.] The entire processes of fabricating a flexible and transparent TSP. (a) Patterning AgNW electrodes, (b) Forming a transparent bridge insulator (SU-8), (c) Forming a bridge electrode (AZO) over the bridge insulator.
In the second step, the bridge insulator covering the connecting line of Rx electrodes were formed in order to prevent the electrical connection between the Tx and Rx electrodes (Fig. 1 (b)). The bridge insulator acts also as a capacitor for touch sensing. If using the conventional photolithography process, the side-wall of the bridge insulator is formed to be quite vertical, which makes it quite difficult to have the robust connectivity of the bridge electrode. It is necessary to keep the bridge electrode thin enough for high transparency of the TSP. Hence, the coverage of the bridge electrode over the bridge insulator with vertical sidewalls can be bad even when the electrode film is deposited with a conformal deposition method such as atomic layer deposition (ALD). This unstable film connection causes high resistance of the Tx electrode. One efficient way to secure the connectivity of the bridge electrode is to form the bridge insulator with low side-wall slope. It was found that the low side-wall slope of bridge insulator could be achieved by utilizing the UV light scattered from the substrate during the exposure step of the photolithography process. We chose SU-8 as the bridge insulator material. SU-8 is a transparent negative photoresist which has been considered to be suitable for bridge insulators. [17, 18]
As shown in Fig. 2(a), the SU-8 layer was first spin-coated over the patterned Tx and Rx electrodes at 3000 rpm for 30 sec and its thickness reached ~500 nm. After soft-baking at 95 ℃ for 5 min, the coated SU-8 layer was exposed to UV light through a photomask and it was then hard-baked at 105 ℃ for 10 min. Lastly, the whole sample was dipped into SU-8 developer for 1 min so that the SU-8 layer unexposed to UV light was removed (negative photoresist). Fig. 2(b) shows how the UV light scattered from the substrate can affect the shape of the bridge insulator side-wall. The scattered light is weaker than the direct light collimated from the UV source. Thus, the scattered light is almost ignorable when the exposure time is optimally adjusted to entangle SU-8 polymers uncovered by the photomask. This exposure condition is normally preferred to get a sharp pattern identical to the photomask pattern by minimizing the effect of scattered light. In our work, however, the exposure time was extended intentionally to enhance the effect of scattered light. With the overdose of UV light, some part of SU-8 layer near the uncovered region can get enough scattered light to entangle SU-8 polymers. Since the scattered light propagates spherically outward from the scattering points on the substrate, the exposure to scattered light will be significant only in the lower part of the SU-8 layer around the uncovered region (Fig. 2(b)). Hence, the cross-sectional shape of bridge insulator after the developing step will be more like a trapezoid rather than a rectangle as shown in Fig. 2(c). As the amount of overdose increases, the side-wall slope of bridge insulator becomes lower due to the lateral extension of the region exposed to the scattered light by the amount for entangling SU-8 polymers (Fig. 2(c)). The exposure time for overdose was determined to be 10 times the optimized exposure time for forming vertical side-walls. The optimized exposure time is estimated from the following relation.
[FIG. 2.] (a) The fabrication flow of making a transparent bridge insulator with negative photoresist SU-8, (b) The exposure of the lower part of SU-8 layer around the area uncovered by the photomask to the UV light scattered from the substrate during photolithography process, (c) The cross-sectional shape of SU-8 bridge insulator depending on the exposure time.
Here, the required energy density is 100 mJ/cm2 for SU-8 photoresist.
After the bridge insulator with low side-wall slope was formed, an AZO thin film was deposited on the sample surface by using ALD (LUCIDA D100 system, NCD Corporation, South Korea). The ALD deposition temperature of AZO film was set at 150 ℃ to protect the patterned AgNW electrode. It is known that the AgNW film should NOT be heated over 200 ℃ for its stability. The AZO film was deposited under constant N2 flow (50 sccm) by using Di-Ethyl-Zinc (DEZ), Tri-Methyl Aluminum (TMA), and water (H2O) as precursors. One complete ALD cycle was composed of 0.2 sec pulse of DEZ and H2O followed by 10 sec pause and 0.2 sec pulse of TMA and H2O followed by 10 sec pause. Once all ALD cycles were completed, N2 flow increased to 500 sccm and continued for 3 min as a post process. Two different Al doping concentrations (2%, 5%) were tested to find the optimal conductivity and visible light transmittance. The 2% doping was achieved with the ALD sequence of 49 DEZ cycles per one TMA cycle and the 5% doping with 19 DEZ cycles per one TMA cycle. Based on the working principle of ALD, the deposited AZO film is conformal and this is also beneficial for the good connectivity of bridge electrode. Finally, the bridge electrode was formed by patterning the deposited AZO film with the conventional photolithography and wet etching. For the wet etching process, the FeCl3 etchant was used since it could etch the AZO film selectively without damaging the AgNW electrode.
Figure 3(a) is the cross-sectional scanning electron microscope (SEM) image of the bridge insulator formed with low side-wall slope. The dotted red line is the boundary of the bridge insulator and the AgNW electrode. The thickness of the bridge insulator is around 500 nm in the flat area and it decreases gradually from the position where the side-wall slope begins down to the edge. The edge of bridge insulator does NOT have any abrupt jump in height, ensuring the continuous coverage of the bridge electrode deposited over it. Fig. 3(b) is the optical microscope image of a completed TSP sample. The image was captured in dark-field mode in order to make the transparent device structure visible. As designed in Fig. 1(c), the Rx electrode diamonds are connected with a thick connecting line. The Tx electrode diamonds are connected with the rectangular bridge electrode formed over the square bridge insulator. The resistance between the Tx electrode diamonds was measured to be 6.5 kΩ while the resistance between the Rx electrode diamonds was measured to be ~1 kΩ. The somewhat larger resistance between the Tx electrode diamonds is considered to be mainly due to the larger sheet resistance of AZO film than the AgNW film. Fig. 3(c) demonstrates how transparent the fabricated TSP sample containing an array of crossed Rx and Tx electrodes is.
[FIG. 3.] (a) The cross-sectional SEM image of bridge insulator with low side-wall slope: The dotted red line is the boundary of the bridge insulator and the AgNW electrode, (b) The dark-field optical microscope image of fabricated TSP sample, (c) The photo demonstrating the transparency of fabricated TSP sample.
Figure 4 shows the operational principle of the fabricated TSP sample. Before touching the panel with a finger (Fig. 4(a)), the capacitance of the bridge insulator is measured while applying a voltage on the driving Tx electrode. The electric field lines (black lines) are heading mostly to the Rx electrode connecting line. When the panel is touched by a finger, the finger can act as another electrode and some electric field lines will go into the finger (Fig. 4(b)). In this case, the amount of charges held by the bridge insulator becomes smaller and the capacitance of the bridge insulator is measured to decrease. The charges lost from the bridge insulator will be held by the protective layer covering the TSP. The measured capacitance of the fabricated TSP was 295 fF before touching and it decreased to 228 fF during touching. The rate of change was 22.71% which is quite enough to recognize the signal difference. The capacitance can be roughly calculated by the following equation assuming the parallel plate capacitor.
The capacitor area (
Since the area of the AZO bridge electrode on the fabricated TSP is too small to measure the optical transmittance through the electrode, we fabricated separate samples for measuring the transmittance of AZO film. Two 1cm by 1cm PC films each of which had an AgNW film coated on the surface were prepared. AZO films with two different Al-doping concentrations (2%, 5%) were deposited by using the same ALD processes for the TSP sample fabrication. Figure 5 shows the measured transmittances of the AZO/AgNW/PC stacks in the visible light range by using a UV-vis NIR spectrometer (Agilent). The transmittance difference for different Al-doping concentrations is not significantly large in the visible light range. In actuality, the 2% doped AZO film has slightly larger transmittance in the visible light range, which is to be expected for lower doping concentration. However, both films are adequate for the bridge electrode of highly transparent TSP. The sheet resistance of 2% doped AZO film was measured to be ~140 Ohm/sq and that of 5% doped AZO film be ~130 Ohm/sq. It seems that the actual Al doping of ZnO during ALD deposition is not quite tunable due to the solubility limit of Al in ZnO. The electrical properties of both films are also good enough to be used as the bridge electrode material.
In summary, we have fabricated a highly flexible capacitive TSP by using AgNW electrodes and transparent bridge structures. The bridge structure is composed of an SU-8 bridge insulator and an AZO bridge electrode. In order to form the bridge electrode connecting the AgNW electrode diamonds in stable and robust manners, we made the side-wall slope of the bridge insulator as low as possible by extending the exposure time of the photolithography process beyond the optimized value for forming vertical side-walls. With the extended exposure time, the lower part of the SU-8 layer around the region uncovered by the photomask can be exposed enough to the UV light scattered from the substrate, leading to the formation of a bridge insulator with low side-wall slope. We have also developed the ALD process to deposit the AZO film for patterning the bridge electrode at relatively low temperature, 150 ℃. The deposited AZO film was measured to have low sheet resistance and high optical transmittance in the visible light range. The fabricated TSP sample showed good touch-sensing performances. The capacitance change between
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Surveys report that 53 percent of U.S. adults state concern and stress amid the pandemic has actually had an unfavorable impact on their mental health.
deals and offers depending on your present circumstance i know for myself i’m a student so i do also get a discount which equals to around 35 pounds weekly you do have to pay monthly so it works at around 140 pounds each month so as soon as you get on the platform you’ll be able to see which is going to be the best package for you and i do have an unique code for you as well so if you’re wishing to try this platform head to the description due to the fact that i do have a code where you can get the first week of treatment for totally complimentary so that’s it about the platform so let’s now speak about the reason i chose to choose treatment and i want to take it a bit further back in my journey so i have actually openly shared numerous times with my community that i did struggle with anxiety and social stress and anxiety as a teen and back then i was offered therapy in school however back then i wasn’t attempting to talk to any person so i it just didn’t it was ineffective generally due to the fact that i wasn’t willing to speak i constantly had a various counselor so i felt like i wasn’t actually building a relationship with them anyhow so that just made me much more quiet because it resembles what’s the point is this even gon na work is is there any requirement for this so at that time i didn’t truly have a positive experience with counselling or treatment i keep utilizing them interchangeably however to me i can’t it kind of implies the very same
Not everyone is entirely persuaded that shifting psychological health care online is the method forward. “For me, what operate in therapy is when you satisfy someone face-to-face, in the same room,” says London-based psychotherapist Sandra Tapie. “You learn more about not just what it resembles to speak with the person, but how it feels to be in a space with them. Using Skype is the next best thing: it’s ‘sufficient’, however it doesn’t develop the closeness, the intimacy, that really gets people to open and check out things.”
” I have actually carried out some research study into Skype counselling,” states London-based psychotherapist Dr Aaron Balick, “and it’s not the ‘practical equivalent’ of conventional counselling; it’s simply not quite the very same thing. It’s truly crucial that individuals who engage in it are aware that it’s a different experience from being in the room with somebody, speaking in person.”
” In terms of accessibility, it’s a great start and absolutely better than nothing. It’ll hopefully lead them to ultimately revealing up in the room.
In cases of mild depression, the NHS is now directing some patients towards online programmes rather than face-to-face counselling, a phenomenon that worries Dr Balick.
If it’s rolled out simply to conserve cash and there aren’t vital questions being asked about these services, that’s not excellent. Then, I’m constantly extremely sceptical of people who are either really extremely pro or really really versus online psychological health care.
I signed up for four extremely various online psychological health services– ranging in expense from totally free to , 100 a month– and ran my anxieties through them all, at the same time, for a week. Here’s what I found.
Does BetterHelp use licensed therapists? Betterhelp Scam Youtubers
What I’m doing here is examining my experience of using each psychological health service, rather than its efficiency – because even the most wizard-like therapist isn’t going to ‘cure’ you in simply one week. I’m simply comparing each service to the experience of being in a space and blarting on about yourself to a therapist. If you’re with me, nod. Okay, cool – let’s psychological health!
How does it work?
As seen on FB (by me, anyway), United States business is the business behemoth of the e-counselling video game. They claim to have 500 certified counsellors working for them, each with at least 3 years of experience.
After filling in a questionnaire to determine what specific flavour of mental you are, you’re coupled with a counsellor, who you can mercilessly swap for a various one at any time. (I got Dr. Laura Dabney, from Virginia). You then start an instant messaged therapy session that both you and your counsellor can drop in and out of, and which could, in theory, go on and on up until among you eventually passed away.
What does it cost?
You get a totally free seven-day trial – just like a totally free Netflix or Amazon Prime trial, other than with method more questions about what your youth was like. After that, it costs from , 24.50 a week for unlimited message-based counselling and one ‘complimentary’ phone session with your counsellor each month. Yeah, I do not get how it’s free either, however whatever.
How much is BetterHelp monthly?
If you discover the idea of baring your soul to a complete stranger a bit awks, filtering that through immediate messaging might be helpful. You will not get the same connection similar to in person counselling, however the semi-anonymity might make it simpler to open if you have actually been drinking 2 bottles of rum and dancing around in your dead nan’s wedding dress every night.
She initially determined the scale of my anxiety, what activates it– social situations, fulfilling individuals for the first time– and after that dived headlong into my fractious youth (separated parents, strained familial relationships, bullied in junior school). She was pretty nosey tbh, however then that’s her task, isn’t it?
Overall, the service is remarkably slick. The discussion can be a little stop-starty sometimes, however it was actually a far smoother and more on-tap experience than I expected. I even got speedy reactions to messages over the weekend, which was unanticipated.
Talkspace vs Betterhelp
The reality you can modify messages prior to sending them means you’re unlikely to blurt out something revealing and unguarded in the heat of the minute. So extensive moments of realisation may be tough to come by if you can’t get a relaxed flow going.
Who do I think it might it benefit?
Anyone with a low-end psychological health problem who’s cool with getting counselled in a very internet-y, 2016-y way. If you’re living under the blackest, bleakest cloud possible and require severe attention (and perhaps some medications), most likely isn’t for you Betterhelp Scam Youtubers
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Scott MacDonald, geography’s first “A&S Professor for a Day,” and an honors graduate of geography (BA ’2015), joined students and faculty from around campus via Zoom from Redlands, California, to share his journey from Mizzou to his current employment at Esri, the leading geospatial software company in world.
He shared his experiences in environmental geography and his perspective of geography, as well as his thoughts on GIS as a career.
MacDonald, a product engineer on the ArcGIS Enterprise team at Esri, continued his studies in geography at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, and researched greenhouse gas admissions in peat bog areas in Alberta before signing on to Esri.
“His team at Esri helps governments, companies and organizations from around the world,” said Soren Larsen, department chair. “He has gone on to do such great things … and we are lucky that Scott agreed to join us.”
MacDonald emphasized the importance of students understanding their own personal definition of geography based on their unique experiences, and realizing the different dimensions of the field, which is “broad, holistic, and interdisciplinary.”
Geography, MacDonald explained, includes the Earth’s surface, from “slightly below the surface, not quite to the bedrock” to “not quite to the atmosphere.” Geography, in its broad sense, studies the causes and effects of everything that can take place on the surface of the Earth, and therefore encompasses all the sciences, including math, physics, chemistry, earth science, geology, zoology, biology, marine science, atmospheric science and more. On the human side of the equation, it also includes geopolitics, demography and cultural, historical and economic geography.
In addition, there are geographic tools, including statistics, cartography, epidemiology, GIS and much more, used by geographers in their studies. All geographers study place, space, scale and landscape, he added, stating geographer’s most effective tool is the map, which tells a story of place or geographic problems. “Every map answers a geographic question.”
He mentioned the profound influence professors in the geography department had on him, such as Mike Urban, Grant Elliott, Matt Foulkes and Doug Hurt, among others. He praised the small size of the Mizzou geography department, adding its intimacy provides a hands-on academic style and allows for faculty mentorship.
He noted how geographers work on complex problems, usually one that feeds into a larger global problem – but on a smaller scale until they have the knowledge to tackle the larger global problems through asking questions and searching for answers. “Then geographers scale up,” he said.
MacDonald noted geography is a “very employable major” even though professionally individuals aren’t usually called “geographers.”
Some of his advice to Mizzou majors: 1) Make the most of your years at Mizzou (i.e., get involved, be curious, get to know professors, build a network, attend a conference), 2) Be perseverant to get a job (i.e., expect rejections but apply anyway, make meaningful connections, advertise skills and interest, ask questions that matter to you, advocate for yourself), and 3) Embrace who you are (i.e., appreciate your unique perspective, take the window seat, set yourself up for ah-ha moments, don’t forget to enjoy yourself.)
“All these things that we learned in our classes, make life more interesting for us,” he added. “Make life richer for us.”
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In a post-pandemic world, surging contactless payments may soon become the norm. Amid the ongoing Covid-19 crisis, and in anticipation of a new wave of infections this fall, companies are rethinking how they operate and implementing more solutions designed to minimize contact between customers and associates.
The shift means that business is booming for the companies offering contactless payment technology. Contactless payments are loosely defined as any way of paying for goods or services without physically touching another person or object. Swiping cards in a machine is out, and so is passing cash from one person to another. Instead, consumers are tapping their phones at checkout counters or paying through mobile apps.
According to a survey by Mastercard, more than half (51%) of Americans are now using some form of contactless payment. Consumers are most likely to use contactless cards for buying essentials at grocery stores and pharmacies, where 50% of consumers say they worry about the cleanliness of signature touchpads.
Consumers in the U.S. have historically been slower to adopt contactless payments, and that’s something that is tied to a lack of merchant adoption, says Rob Fagnani, vice president of strategy at Formation.ai.
“The U.S. market is much more fragmented than other countries, and likewise, it has taken longer for merchants in the U.S. to roll out new technology and update legacy infrastructure,” Fagnani says.
Retail brands that were already invested in mobile payment technology before the crisis are well positioned for the new push toward contactless solutions. Walmart, for example, had already rolled out Walmart Pay, a touch-free payment solution that shoppers can use with the retailer’s mobile app, before Covid-19.
For brands with popular in-app payment systems, like Starbucks, there is a new opportunity to re-engage customers to download and utilize their apps and associated loyalty platforms.
For years, brands have worked to add value to their mobile apps and loyalty programs. Special promotions and discounts to loyalty members have been effective at getting people to sign up, but the ability to access safer forms of payments could be an even more powerful tool.
In addition to encouraging growth in loyalty programs and mobile app downloads, Fagnani says the shift toward contactless payments means brands will have access to more data that they can use to create personalized experiences and strengthen brand loyalty.
“As many consumers are increasingly sensitive to social distancing and touching surfaces in stores, there is an increased focus on the role of contactless payments,” Fagnani says. “Ideally, retailers can facilitate this through their mobile apps to maximize the potential for delivering personalized experiences throughout the customer journey.”
The savviest brand marketers are tying together in-app payments with customer engagement and loyalty to generate real-time insights on how their customers are engaging in and around the purchase flow. With in-app payments, brands are also getting more access to transaction data, including transaction times, dollar values, and specific products. When this data is connected to customer attributes and other contextual data sources, such as click, location, and weather data, brands can better understand each customer’s motivation and provide highly personalized experiences.
“Many brands leverage these insights to engage consumers with personalized recommendations and offers throughout the mobile experience,” Fagnani says.“We have seen some of the savviest brands leverage gamification to encourage product exploration and upsell.”
One example is Starbucks, which has leveraged artificial intelligence and machine learning to build a personalized challenge for each customer. Fagnani says the combination of gamification and personalization has yielded great results for the company.
Not all brands have been able to act on the insights they’re generating through contactless payments, though. For the best results, Fagnani says companies should be incorporating AI-enabled offer platforms that are purpose-built to handle this level of complexity and scale. They should also be incorporating location data to provide more context and insight on when and how to best engage each customer.
“Location data is arguably more important now than ever for analytics professionals in retail due to the pandemic, since pre-Covid customer data is less effective at predicting near-term behavior due to varying personal preferences and local regulations,” Fagnani says. “Location data can simply help understand whether customers are traveling or staying home, which combined with other customer insights, helps marketers make better decisions on when and how to engage each customer.”
The article Who Benefits from the Surging Interest in Contactless Payments? by Stephanie Miles first appeared on Street Fight.
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A carer is someone who, without payment, provides help and support to a partner, child, relative, friend or neighbour, who could not manage without their help. The people they care for may be frail, ill, disabled or have a mental health problem, learning disability or issues with substance misuse. Anyone can become a carer; carers come from all walks of life, all cultures and can be of any age.
Many carers do not consider themselves to be a carer; they are just looking after their mother, son, or best friend, just getting on with it and doing what anyone else would in the same situation. We recognise that carers are extremely important within families and communities and often help those they care for to live independently for longer.
Becoming a carer can be bewildering, confusing and frightening so in the box below there are links to local and national organisations that can offer advice and support to carers.
If you provide personal help to an adult and would like additional support, you may contact Carers in Southampton’s dedicated team of trained staff.
To identify appropriate solutions we offer a Carer's Assessment for you to complete with the support of Carers in Southampton.
Our Carer Aware e-learning course may also be of interest to you.
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Youth Protest Calls For End To Police Violence
Hundreds of people, including many teens and young adults, chanted "no justice, no peace," "I can't breathe" and "black lives matter" as they marched against police brutality in the streets of downtown Kalamazoo today, beginning and concluding their journey in Bronson Park, where speeches urged a stop to the violence against people of color.
"I'm an African-American female, and I'm tired of me and my people getting racially profiled and killed in the street. And I want to be part of the change," said a young African-American woman moments before she spoke on the bandshell stage. She did not give her name.
"Even though I'm young, that doesn't matter. I'm still doing what I need to do because I noticed that it needs to be changed."
The demonstration was called "Youth PEACEFUL Protest for BLM" (Black Lives Matter) in a Facebook event page inviting teenagers and young adults to come out at noon today, although lots of adults and families with their children participated as well.
I want justice for George Floyd and I want justice for all the lives that have been taken for no reason - a h.s. sophomore
According to the online post, Kalamazoo Central High School students organized the protest to show support for the idea that "Black Lives Matter," which has become a hashtag as well as an international group working to end violence against black people. Local nonprofit Fire Historical and Cultural Arts Collaborative assisted the students.
The Memorial Day death of George Floyd, a black man who died after a white police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes, has sparked protests in Michigan and across the world. As Floyd lay handcuffed face down on the street, he repeatedly said: "I can't breathe." Four Minneapolis officers have since been fired, and charged in connection to Floyd's death.
There have been multiple protests in southwest Michigan, including in Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, Marshall and Oshtemo Township.
Today was the first large-scale demonstration by youth in Kalamazoo since the recent protests began. The crowd was diverse.
Bailee Brown is a sophomore from Vicksburg.
“I want justice for George Floyd and I want justice for all the lives that have been taken for no reason,” she said.
“It’s tiring,” she added, her voice cracking. “It’s exhausting. As a black person, to constantly see a black man be killed for no reason on TV. It’s just tiring.”
Catherine Dunning goes to Hackett Catholic Prep in Kalamazoo. She says she hopes white people will, in her words, “wake up” to police violence.
“I hope that honestly kids are listening or watching because, I’m pretty young. This matters to me a lot, hopefully it will matter to them. It should,” she said.
Adults marched too. Standing in the park at the end of the rally, Susma Mahato said she marched to encourage other South Asians to stand up for black people’s rights. Mahato, who says she immigrated to the U.S. from Nepal, says immigrants owe a debt to the U.S. civil rights movement.
“I want South Asians to speak up against this racism. Usually, we don’t say anything and we think this is not our fight. But that’s wrong. I want to show that is our fight also, like in my South Asian community.”
Public safety kept a low profile at the march. Some demonstrators say the department mishandled protests earlier in the week.
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Is there a way to discern exhaustion due to altitude sickness from exhaustion due to the climb itself? Of course they go hand in hand but the lower oxygen levels would make you feel even more exhausted than near sea level. I climbed a mountain almost 7,000 ft (2.1 km) high this year and it was a steep climb near the summit, I felt very exhausted and had to make breaks very often and sit down thereby. However, I can't tell if the less oxygen at that elevation enhanced it. Sometimes I was hyperventilating, but again I dunno whether it was due to the steep climb only or due to the high altitude as well. When at rest, expecially after reaching the summit, things came back to usual eventually.
The single most obvious indicator is going to be looking at your SpO2 level. If you oxygen saturation is low it is a good indication you are experiencing altitude sickness. The easiest way is with a pulse oximeter. They cost <$20 on Amazon and are both small and light. If you are going to be doing something outdoors where altitude is a concern then just bring one with you. I bring one with me anytime I am sleeping above 9000 feet since I'm at higher risk having gotten HAPE before.
The general signs/symptoms of AMS (acute mountain sickness, the technical term for mild altitude sickness) are going to be headache, nausea, fatigue, loss of appetite, and trouble sleeping (less useful during a hike). You will notice none of those symptoms are particularly unique to AMS. As such it is very difficult to conclusively say if a patient has AMS. You are often going to look at context clues (altitude, rate of change of altitude, sleeping altitude, temperature, hydration history, etc) to make an educated guess if it is AMS or something else. Without a pulse oximeter or other advance equipment a definitive diagnosis isn't possible.
When to be more concerned? If AMS progresses to HACE (cerebral edema) or HAPE (pulmonary edema). HACE and HAPE are both potentially life threatening and are cured by immediate rapid descent but can be temporarily mitigated with supplemental oxygen. HACE is typically indicated by ataxia and altered mental status. HAPE is typically indicated by severe shortness of breath, severe fatigue, and a "wet" cough.
As with all medical topics, I want to stress that you are best served by taking a WFA/WFR course. Real training cannot be replaced by simply reading online forums.
An easy way to tell is simply that your elevation was not high enough to cause even mild altitude sickness. The cabin of a passenger jet has an air pressure equivalent to about 8000 ft of altitude, so there's no way that 7000 ft will cause any kind of altitude sickness. Elevations more like 11,000-13,000 ft are required to produce any significant problems for most people, and life-threatening or totally disabling problems are only likely at even higher elevations.
Blinded studies have been done with people who didn't know what elevation they were at, and it was extremely common for people at essentially sea level to report problems that could have been diagnosed as AMS. This is because the common symptoms of mild illness are nonspecific ones like headaches and fatigue, which can just result from sleep deprivation, unaccustomed exertion, or sudden caffeine withdrawal.
It sounds a lot like exertion, and the reduction in partial pressure of oxygen could easily have contributed, without meaning you were ill.
At this sort of altitude (7000ft/2000-2500m) you're getting about 4/5 the sea-level amount of oxygen per breath. Very very roughly, you might consider that you have to exert yourself 20% less hard to get out of breath - that's quite noticeable. This caught me out after travelling pretty quickly to Yellowstone from near enough sea level, when I ran up a flight of steps and ended up gasping for a minute or two. I've also had a similar experience to you cycling in the Alps, rising in a few hours from ~900m to 2400m.
That shortness of breath alone isn't enough to call it AMS. A headache in combination is starting to get a bit more worrying, but dehydration can easily cause that, and it's easy to get dehydrated when ascending a lot under you own power, whatever the actual means.
The cautious approach is clearly to fear AMS* and go down, moving steadily and safely.
However at these marginal altitudes, rest (+fluids, even some food) is a reasonable approach, especially if you're fit. This is because in fit individuals the after-effects of exertion will soon pass, while AMS doesn't respect fitness levels. So for example your pulse rate should come down pretty quickly if there's nothing wrong with you and any lightheadedness should soon pass.
Then you can come to a decision, which will also be influenced by the routes ahead and behind. For example, continuing onwards and upwards is far more reasonable if it's followed by a proper descent than if the climb puts you between two passes, with the only way out to go over one - that's bad if it did turn out to be AMS after all.
Note that if serious symptoms of HACE* or HAPE* start to appear you should descend immediately and seek medical help. These would include:
- shortness of breath even when resting,
- a headache that doesn't respond to treatment (so if you have a headache and no other symptoms, it might be reasonable to take what you'd normally take for headache, rest for long enough that your painkillers should take effect, then decide)
- confusion and unsteadiness. The affected person may not realise they're not well, so look out for your companions (in this respect hypothermia is similar)
* AMS: Acute mountain sickness. HACE: High altitude cerebral oedema. HAPE: High altitude pulmonary oedema (note that the abbreviations derived from American spelling are used even in British English)
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FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Crime fighter?
Or cuddly canine helping spread a fire prevention message in the community?
Why not both?
The newest addition to Fresno's Fire department is an ignitable liquids detection dog, fondly known as Shilo. Fresno Fire investigator and Shilo's handler Lee Wilding says every day is a training opportunity, but their partnership started with an intense month-long course back east through the State Farm Arson Dog Program.
"The food pouch is her cue that now we're in work mode," says Wilding.
At a recent community event, Wilding demonstrated their training by placing drops of accelerant throughout portions of the room.
The pair does a search pattern throughout the room in a clockwise motion.
"I watch her behaviors. Sometimes she'll show interest in an area or sometimes she'll sit down and make a final alert and those areas we identify," Wilding says.
Once identified, samples are then collected to take to the lab.
That training is put to use on high-profile fires and suspected arson cases.
Just two months into her career with the Fresno Fire department, Shilo has worked 15 fires, identifying and alerting to the smells of ignitable liquids.
Her work includes the arson fire that took the life of a 7-year-old boy in Central Fresno on July 6th.
Police Chief Paco Balderrama said an accelerant was detected on both the front and back doors of the home.
Because it's an ongoing homicide investigation we can't detail Shilo's findings or involvement, but her nose is trained to detect carbon-based fuels, including but not limited to gas, kerosene and lighter fluid.
"We're very lucky to have a resource like this in our agency to pick up on cases like that," says Wilding.
This is Fresno fire's fourth arson dog, made possible through State Farm.
Their program provides public agencies across the US and Canada with canines and training.
The intent is to curb arson and arson for fraud crimes.
"If Shilo discovers at least one arson in the community, it more than pays for the program itself," says State Farm agent Nichole Castech.
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Staying up to date with your business, and google maps.want_mail
Staying up to date with your business, and google maps, is extremely important when you decide to move your business to a new location. The question that is sometimes asked when a business decides to move is why did they decide to move? There could be several factors such as, the former landlord sold the business, and now the new owners want double the price that the previous owner was charging the tenant, so the law firm of Ham & Bacon decide that they don’t agree with the new price so they decide to look for a new location, and they find a new office building for half the price that they would have been paying at their old location, so they decide to put in a change of address with the Postal Service, and two weeks later they move to their new location. The law firm of Ham & Bacon owns several different businesses under the umbrella of their law firm so the letter carrier advises them to submit a change of address for all of their other businesses that they own, because if they don’t submit a change of address then all of their mail will be returned to the sender, and in the process they could miss out on checks from clients, court appearances from the various courts that they represent clients at, licenses for their various restaurants that they own, and manage, and etc., so filling out a change of address will aid in making the moving process smoother for the law firm of Ham & Bacon. Ten months after they move from their old law firm location a client shows up at the old law firm, that now belongs to a luxury builder by the name of Qstruction, and the client walks in wanting to find out about a court date, when the receptionist informs her that the law firm has moved over 10 months ago. The client frustrated said that the law firm is still showing up on Google Maps at the address of 29210 Green Tomato Blvd., which is now the address of the luxury home builder. How can this problem be fixed? The law firm needs to contact Google Maps to inform them that they have moved their law firm to a new location, and update their business credentials, because if they don’t more customers will show up at the old location to try to take care of previous business that they had paid in full to be represented by the law firm of Ham & Bacon. An accurate phone number also needs to be added to Google Maps as well, so in the event that a customer shows up at the wrong location, they will have a number that they can call that will aid, and assist them in finding the business owner’s new location. Staying up to date with your business, and google maps can make a difference. www.iwantmymail.com More than just a blog!
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If building one’s own home is one of the most difficult exercises, in the case of Leon Krier the exercise is even more complicated. After 18 years in the profession as a permanent polemicist, writing and describing what architecture should and should not be, his first construction project, which came so late in his career, could have been a trial by fire. Krier is perplexed at times when he sees his ideas put into practice, to a greater or lesser degree of success, when those very ideas were almost always received negatively at first.
He recently accepted a post in a research foundation within the powerful Chicago firm of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, but at the last minute he decided against taking it. It would seem that Krier carefully weighed the cost of his entry onto the business scene after so many years in another area, that of architectural theory, and realized that other theoreticians have fared badly after making the same transition. Among his examples was surely urban theoretician Camilo Sitte, the old Viennese master so championed by Krier who designed little of true interest throughout his entire life.
The design of his own house, half-way between an order and a test, allowed the architect to take a more relaxed attitude. It is nearly a lark, an amusing joke that combines classicism and its supposed ligneous origin, a combination Nordic cabin, Far West house and Greek temple. Krier had said he would not build unless the circumstances were to his liking, and they apparently were in this case. The house is located in a housing development in northern Florida whose promotors offered him a parcel of land in exchange for his advice in designing the development as a whole. It is somewhat contradictory that real estate developers turned to the man who has fought so hard for a different kind of city; one hopes that the contradiction works out positively and that at last we will see the polemicist become a builder…[+]
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The DA (Dual Action) Sander is a type of sander that can be used for both wet and dry sanding. It was designed in the early 20th century, but it's still one of the most common types of sanders today. The DA Sander has two different discs on its surface - one with coarse grains and another with finer grains. For this reason, it's often considered to be an all-in-one sander because you can use it for any project! This blog post will explore how to choose the best DA Sanders on the market so that you can make your next purchase decision easier!
Table of Contents
- Best Dual Action Sanders Comparison
- 10 Best Rated DA Sanders: An Overview
- 1. DEWALT DWMT70780 Dual Action Sander
- 2. Ingersoll Rand 311G Dual Action Sander
- 3. Dynabrade 58435 Dual Action Sander
- 4. Porter Cable 7346SP Dual Action Sander
- 5. 3M Dual Action Air Sander
- 6. Craftsman CMXPTSG1014NB Dual Action Sander
- 7. Husky H4870 Dual Action Sander
- 8. Mirka MID62520CAUS Dual Action Sander
- 9. Makita PO5000C Dual Action Polisher
- 10. Eastwood 3 In. Pistol Grip Dual Action Sander
- FAQs about DA Sander
- What is a DA sander?
- How many cfm is needed to run a DA sander?
- 5" or 6" DA orbital sander, which is better?
- What size compressor for DA sander?
- In what directions does a DA sander turn?
- What is the best DA electric sander for auto body?
- Where to buy an 8 inch DA sander?
- What psi for DA sander?
- What kind of oil for a DA sander?
- What kind of sandpaper does an air powered DA sander use?
- How fast does a DA sander spin?
- How often should you oil a pneumatic DA sander?
- How much does a DA sander cost?
- What is a hook and loop DA sander?
Best Dual Action Sanders Comparison
DEWALT DWMT70780 DA (Dual Action) Sander
Ingersoll Rand 311G DA (Dual Action) Sander
Dynabrade 58435 DA (Dual Action) Sander
Porter Cable 7346SP DA (Dual Action) Sander
3M DA (Dual Action) Air Sander
Craftsman CMXPTSG1014NB DA (Dual Action) Sander
Husky H4870 DA (Dual Action) Sander
Mirka MID62520CAUS DA (Dual Action) Sander
Makita PO5000C DA (Dual Action) Polisher
Eastwood 3 In. Pistol Grip DA (Dual Action) Sander
10 Best Rated DA Sanders: An Overview
1. DEWALT DWMT70780 Dual Action Sander
At times, providing smooth and comfortable sanding is not possible with the usual sanders. A DA sander becomes a convincing one. And with the best quality and features, we rank the Dewalt dual action sander to be our best pick for the article.
One of the most exciting things about the dwmt70780 review is its ergonomic design. The touch control trigger allows you to get the foremost out of it. You get to work for a long time without having any pain in your hand. No disruptions or breaks will be needed for heavy projects too.
The speed of any sander becomes a factor to look for. When we tested the Dewalt electric dual action sander, its 11,000 RPM amazed us. It worked too much efficiently for material removals.
You will never face any complication with the disc replacement of the sander because the disc of the Dewalt dwmt70780 dual action sander is keyless and can be installed in no time. It makes your work more convenient and easier.
A built-in 1/4" 2.4 CFM air regulator is installed in the sander to regulate maximum airflow in the Dewalt da palm sander. This prevents the motor from getting hot and restraining long time usage.
Versatility stands out to be one of the most vital factors of Dewalt electric da sander. Not only for sanding a wooden platform but also for removing materials, finishing a paint, giving a delicate surface, etc., the device can be used. Professionals get the perfect use of dwmt70780 in their daily life, which deals with woods, furniture, boats, floors, etc.
- Aluminum construction providing uncompromising durability
- It comes with great feasibility
- Provided firm and slip less gripping
- It can be used for different works and professions
- Performs convincingly under any circumstances
- Air regulation inside the sander is perfectly maintained
- There are possibilities of leakage in the sander.
2. Ingersoll Rand 311G Dual Action Sander
Were you searching for a professional DA sander? We got you Ingersoll rand da sander 311g, best for professional uses. Be it at your workplace or anywhere, the sander will be convenient to use.
The power management of the sander is impressive. With a built-in power regulator, the Ingersoll rand 311g sander parts are safe from any risk or extra loads.
The speed generated from the motor can be controlled easily according to your desire.
You won't have to worry about the construction of the device. Highly quality ball bearing construction is implemented in manufacturing the sander. The whole body, as well as the part, can sustain the highest external impacts from outside.
Air ventilation throughout the sander is maintained like a pro. The front exhaust of CFM 4 is so effective that the sander will never misfunction due to excess heating.
There is no fixed profession to use the sander. It will serve all kinds of sanding. Most importantly, you can work it over both metal and wooden surfaces.
At its peak performance, you are sure to get 10,000 RPM from the machine. Perfect sanding, as well as material removal, becomes a simple task with speed. Of course, you get to regulate the speed according to your work.
The dual-action pad motion of the sander gives a perfect touch to produce a swirl-free finish. Also, it is pretty simple to work upon the Ingersoll rand 311g pad removal.
- The dual action can be locked and used accordingly
- The durability level of the sander is beyond any praise
- Speed generation and performance is constant under any circumstances
- Dust management is satisfactory by the pad dust collector
- Ergonomic design that allows you to use the sander in a rough style
- The pad detaches after some use.
3. Dynabrade 58435 Dual Action Sander
How many dual-action sanders are there that comprise two tools in one? Yes, we are talking about the great function of the Dynabrade da sander. You can avail the role of the disc sander and the random orbital sander in this sander.
The da sander aims to provide you with the most efficient sanding. That's why the machine supports generating 12,000 RPM at the peak stage. Again, you get to lock your desired speed and sand accordingly.
This sander is relatively uncommon than the others. While others are specialized for woods, this sander is made to sand the metal surfaces. The composite materials can be sand perfectly with the device.
With the device being an ideal one for the metals, you are sure to avail its usage in different fields. Automotive becomes the most effective medium to implement the sander. Paint stripping and blending, as well as automotive finishing, can be completed convincingly with it.
Leveling glue seams on Corian and other solid surfaces is another prime task of the dual-action sander. It levels the substance perfectly so that it becomes utterly parallel to the base.
For your highest convenience, the switch of the sander is recessed within the tool grip. No chances of any slip or mislead can occur by it.
From the Dynabrade da sander review, we found that you are sure to get premium urethane and hook face sanding pad with it. Changing the pad is easy. Also, the hook holds the pad firmly to sustain a long-time sanding.
- It comes in a comfortable design to hold and work
- Supports to be operated for a long time
- It can be implemented for different purposes other than metal sanding
- Works nicely for material extraction
- It gives a stylish and modern outlook
- The pad becomes loosen too often.
4. Porter Cable 7346SP Dual Action Sander
There are a lot of dual-action sanders that are made for home-usage. But how many of them convinced us to the best? With so much customer feedback and our team's experience, we found the porter cable 7346sp reviews convincing enough to include it in our picks.
The motor of the porter cable pneumatic da sander is really powerful. It values 4.5 amp with AC only. You get to generate variable speeds ranging from 2,500-6,800 RPM. With speed, you already got to know how calmly and perfectly the sander does its job.
When you monitor the porter cable electric da sander, you'll get to see its random orbits nailing the sanding. It generates utterly swirl-free sanding and gives an excellent polish to the surface.
To assure you premium comfort while working, there is a 6-inch proprietary counterbalance. All the vibrations get confronted without affecting your work. We found the gripping to be perfect in the porter cable da sander review because of the counterbalance enhancement.
The 6-inch porter cable 7346sp pads are fantastic. It remains rigid during its operation. Also, you can easily avail yourself of the dust extraction on your sanding surface with the pad. The machine supports 5/16 - 24 spindle thread accessories in it.
One of the outstanding feats of the porter-cable 7346sp using at your home is its superb handling. There usually are two-position removable sides for holding the da sander. Based on your comfort, you can change the porter cable's hands corded da sander anytime you want and avail of the best sanding.
The overall construction of the sander is durable. It is comprised of 100% ball and bearing construction. Also, the most impressive factor of the sander is its 6lbs lightweight. You can use it for professional purposes too.
- It gives supreme sanding possible with the perfect surface leveling
- It comes in a compact and precise manner suitable to use
- The speeds can be set according to your desire
- Restrains any interruption during the sanding
- It can be used on woods, automotive, metals, etc.
- The sander functions slowly at times.
5. 3M Dual Action Air Sander
Professionals always look for an efficient da sander that works efficiently almost for all causes. Versatility and long-lasting become the topmost priority here. We were amazed at the 3m electric da sander's performance and picked it, especially for the professionals.
The motor is what makes it unique. It powers 0.28 HP that lasts long enough to provide you with excellent sanding. You can maintain its constant speed up to 12,000 RPM all the time without any break.
You get to have reasonable control over the 3m palm da sander when executed properly. Starting from its handling and gripping, everything favors for your highest convenience. Works best for the professionals dealing with big heavy projects.
There is a 3M Stikit Disk Pad to generate the perfect use of the sander. You get to tapper it 45 degrees to avail yourself good flexibility of it. This pad also exerts the dirt from the surface on it and maintains a clean environment.
One of the most impressive features of the sander is its pneumatic capability. The sander is air-powered with a 17 SCFM air flow rate.
The construction of the 3m da sander parts is made up of aluminum. That means you are getting the most satisfactory durability you can ask for from any sander. Moreover, it is covered with composite material, reducing cracking risks and 90 pounds per square inch (psi) at the tool.
As this is a professional da sander, the design of the sander is given colossal priority. It is kept low-profile and ergonomic to handle and operate. The 3m 5" da sander comes in a compact size, preferable for anyone to use.
- Ideal airflow through the sander
- Easy and convenient to grip
- It can be used for a long time
- Professionals, as well as general people, can use it for versatile uses
- Highly efficient motor with incredible speeds
- It is complicated to use
6. Craftsman CMXPTSG1014NB Dual Action Sander
As for the usual task, you won't be needing a fancy da sander. Different small tasks like sanding the floor, doors, etc., of woods and metals can be done with the Craftsman da sander. Mainly, you get to reshape your things nicely with the machine.
Its dual oscillation action gives you all the facility to make a great shape of the surface. Also, you get to extract and remove any kind of substance from the surface with ease of implementation.
Using a craftsman dual-action sander is comfortable. The rubberized gripping allows you to hold the sander firmly. Dragging and moving the sander over the surface becomes easier with it.
There is a speed regulator in the sander. Set the desired speed you want to work with and lock it to use further. The speeds can be controlled easily amid the work with easy functioning.
The working environment remains calm when you use the craftsman mini da sander. A built-in muffler is available in the sander that reduces the noise to a great extent.
You'll get a sanding pad with the sander. It is effortless to hook up the pad with the sander. Hardly it gets away from its position after several uses. The craftsman da sander applications tend to fulfill the works of different professional people too.
The motor of the sander is an efficient one. You get to have the highest 10,000 RPM from it. The speeds are adjustable, and the sander can be used for a long time.
The pneumatic craftsman da palm sander is perfectly constructed to maintain the top-notch airflow in it. With 90 PSI and 1/4" NPT(F) air inlet, you are sure to get the most out of this great sander.
- Comfortable to grip
- The pad is very effective in terms of its usage and installation
- Designed to be used for versatile tasks
- Assures you with every capability for home sanding
- The dust management is not good
- Not recommended for heavy works
7. Husky H4870 Dual Action Sander
Just like the other da sanders, we found the husky h4870 reviews amazing. It can be used anywhere based on your purpose. Be it wood or metal components, you can avail the sander without any complications.
Mainly, the professionals can avail the preeminent usage of the husky 6-inch dual action sander. Because of its more power, less noise, and much longevity, the sander came into favor for us.
It comes in a compact size of 6 inches. The weight of the sander is only 2.30 lbs. With extensive usage, the sander becomes an excellent means for the professionals to move with.
We found the motor to be efficient in the husky da sander review. It is entirely a vibration-free motor. One of the remarkable things about da sander is its speed. The machine assures you to get up to 10,000 RPM at the peak stage. You get to control the speed accordingly.
You get to have superior accessibility in using this great sander. Because there is an internal silencer that reduces the sander's noise, it keeps the environment cool and calm and lets you concentrate on your work more.
Coming to its versatility, the machine is enormous. You get to implement the da sander over plastics, woods, metals, glass, etc. The husky h4870 pads are so effective that you can use them on automotive and vehicles. You get the smoothest swirl-free finish with the attached husky dual-action sander sandpaper.
- Environmentally friendly in terms of usage
- Easy to handle and grip while using
- No disruptions occur due to vibration
- The pad hardly remains in its place after some time of sanding.
8. Mirka MID62520CAUS Dual Action Sander
You have seen brushless motor in the palm sanders and 1/4 sanders. That fantastic feature existing in the da sander elevates its function by many folds. That's why we bring you the Mirka electric da sander, which got brushless DC motor technology.
The motor generates a 110-volt outlet. Its brushless feature allows it to operate without any power transformer. Hardly you'll find any electric tool that equals the performance of this great sander.
From the users' Mirka da sander reviews, we found that the speed variation is a wonderful trait of the device. Ranging from 4,000 to 10,000 RPM, you get to set your desired speed and function accordingly. The motor has all the capacity to tolerate any range without any difficulty.
The overall construction of the sander is rigid and durable. The Mirka da sander replacement parts remain confined to their places. As they come in a toolbox, you get to keep them separately that increases their longevity.
There are multiple holes in the sander to be vacuum enabled. The pads remain attached with the hook and loop attachment. With precise fixation, the pad remains rigid to its place.
- Has the most powerful motor
- Can undergo any heavy and challenging task
- The professionals can avail its ideal usage
- Saves a lot of time by completing the work quickly
- Heating issues can arise due to excess heavy usage.
9. Makita PO5000C Dual Action Polisher
At times, it becomes a need to have a great dual action polisher. The floors, furniture, etc., require its demand at the perfect level. But when you have the Makita electric da sander, you no longer have to worry about the issues.
Be it your house floors or for the profession, the da sander can be a fruitful one. Never underestimate because we ranked it low. The efficiency and accuracy of the sander are worth buying.
With a 7.8-amp motor, the sander helps to polish most finely. You get to have up to 6,800 RPM from the da sander. It polishes slowly and steadily, providing every possible flattening.
The pad of the sander provides a 7/32" orbit diameter. Full proof perfect polishing, as well as improved flattening, becomes a small matter of the sander.
The electronic controller of the sander allows you to control the speed of the machine. You get your desired speed and complete the polishing with it. It also applies additional power to the motor in terms of maintaining constant speed throughout the whole phase.
Soft startup of the machine assures your work to perfect by every corner. It gets balanced with the surface and increases the speed simultaneously. The parts of the sander get into the increasing speed and provide its service for a long time.
The pad from the Makita po5000c reviews seemed to be unique. Apart from flattening or polishing the surface, the pad is ideal for extracting all kinds of dirt from the surface. Thus, it works as a bonus for removing materials from surfaces.
- Recommended for automotive as well as wooden surfaces
- Can sustain for a long time with less care
- It perfectly polishes a large area due to its large orbiting
- The pad is efficient in terms of cleaning up the surface
- Needs external pressure to get parallel with the surface
- Pretty much slower than other sanders
10. Eastwood 3 In. Pistol Grip Dual Action Sander
The last da sander in our pick is the Eastwood 6-inch dual action air palm sander. This pneumatic sander is performative under any circumstances. It is better to use it for home sanding rather than professional ones based on its widespread use.
Through the Eastwood palm dual-action sander review, we were amazed to see its feasibility. The tightest and the narrowest spots of the surface can be sanded easily with this sander.
Its motor is a long-lasting one, generating a firm 2,500 RPM; it assures every part of the sander to be rigid and lasting. The machine needs 3 Cfm at 90 Psi air pressure to execute appropriately. It can be worked well with the home compressor.
The Eastwood's Mini Air Sander Buffs is a very effective medium to sand, clean, and polish the painted metal. Even if you have to remove materials from the surfaces, the sander plays an active role.
This unique sander comes in pistol shape. With ergonomic design and rubbery gripping, you get to have perfect handling over the Eastwood brand dual-action air sander. You won't have any kind of pain or difficulty in using it for long hours at a stretch.
- It comes with an outstanding ergonomic design
- Made for regular sanding of general people
- Perfection in terms of serving for a long time
- The parts are durable and show no sign of complications
- Not recommended for heavy projects
- The pads do not remain static after several sanding
FAQs about DA Sander
What is a DA sander?
The DA stands for DUAL ACTION. The dual action means it has two motions. One of those includes continuous moving of forward and backward, and another one consists of a little bit of rotary motion.
How many cfm is needed to run a DA sander?
To run an air DA sander properly, you will need 13-15 cfm at 90-100 PSI.
5" or 6" DA orbital sander, which is better?
It depends on the use case. For large projects, a 6" sander may be better, but if you are looking for precise sanding and working on small surfaces, then 5" might be the way to go.
What size compressor for DA sander?
As an air sander works with compressed air maintaining sufficient airflow and pressure is a key here. For a good DA sander, a 3hp air compressor is considered ideal.
In what directions does a DA sander turn?
A DA sander has two motions. One is moving forward and backward, and another one includes a little bit of rotary motion.
What is the best DA electric sander for auto body?
DeWalt, BOSCH, Black-Decker are some of the renowned and trusted brands for electric DA sanders.
Where to buy an 8 inch DA sander?
You can find one in your nearest hardware or power tool retailers. Also, some shops have doorstep delivery services from which you can get collect one easily.
What psi for DA sander?
It is ideal for pairing a good DA sander with a 90-100 PSI compressor for the best results.
What kind of oil for a DA sander?
You can lubricate your sander with any kind of quality air tool oil. It ensures the longevity of the tool.
What kind of sandpaper does an air powered DA sander use?
You can use any sandpaper discs with an air sander, but you have to choose the grit according to the material you are working with.
How fast does a DA sander spin?
Generally, a good quality DA sander spins around 10000-12000 rpm based on the model, which is enough for most jobs.
How often should you oil a pneumatic DA sander?
If possible, you can oil your pneumatic sander daily for longevity. But if you are working once in a while and most of the time now using it, try oiling it every 20-30 Days for the sander to stay in working condition.
How much does a DA sander cost?
A good quality air DA sander will cost you 60-90 bucks, while the electric ones tend to cost more.
What is a hook and loop DA sander?
Hook-and-loop sandpaper has a backing made of a material similar to Velcro. It has hooks and loops to attach the sandpaper to a machine, such as a random orbital sander or disc sander.
A whole article of the best da sander review has been completed with all the great dual action sanders. The performance and validation of the sanders are unquestionable.
Their purpose is accordingly made with their formation and construction. All the information and insight reviews of the machines have been covered perfectly.
They are the result of our experiment and investigation. So, you can rely upon them without any hesitation and get the suitable dual-action sander you need for your purpose.
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Maze of Injustice: The Failure to Protect Indigenous Women From Sexual Violence in the USA
This report focuses its research on response to crimes of sexual violence on tribal lands and in neighbouring areas. The report is based on research carried out during 2005 and 2006 by Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) in consultation with Native American and Alaska Native organizations and individuals. The research draws on Amnesty International’s interviews with survivors of sexual violence and their families, activists, support workers, service providers and health workers. It seeks to represent the voices of survivors of sexual violence and is underpinned by a conviction that their perspectives must inform all actions taken to end violence against Indigenous women.
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Bone marrow transplantation (BMT) has considerable potential for the treatment of malignancies, hemoglobinopathies, and autoimmune diseases, as well as the induction of transplantation allograft tolerance. Toxicities associated with standard preparative regimens for bone marrow transplantation, however, make this approach unacceptable for all but the most severe of these clinical situations. Here, we demonstrate that stable mixed hematopoietic cell chimerism and donor-specific tolerance can be established in miniature swine, using a relatively mild, non-myeloablative preparative regimen. We conditioned recipient swine with whole-body and thymic irradiation, and we depleted their T-cells by CD3 immunotoxin- treatment. Infusion of either bone marrow cells or cytokine-mobilized peripheral blood stem cells from leukocyte antigen-matched animals resulted in stable mixed chimerism, as detected by flow cytometry in the peripheral blood, thymus, and bone marrow, without any clinical evidence of graft- versus-host disease (GvHD). Long-term acceptance of donor skin and consistent rejection of third-party skin indicated that the recipients had developed donor-specific tolerance.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
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According to Michigan law, sexual harassment is defined as the unwanted conduct which is of a sexual nature, and includes both verbal advances and physical acts Employers are most often involved in the following types of sexual harassment acts: demanding sexual favors in exchange for promotions, creating a sexually offensive work environment, and making sexual advances.
How does Michigan Law Prohibit Sexual Harassment?
First, employers who are located in Flat Rock can be required to create and visibly post company policies regulating sexual conduct. Such policies should include items such as contact information for reporting harassment incidents, procedures for filing claims, and any corrective or preventative measures should a claim be proven.
The laws of the state of Michigan and federal law have both appointed agencies with the authority to investigate sexual harassment claims. These agencies conduct investigations at a given Flat Rock work site in order to verify if a complaint that they have received is true or not. Employers are also prohibited under these laws from taking action in retaliation against an employee who has claimed sexual harassment, such as firing them or denying them a promotion.
How can a Michigan attorney help?
It can be difficult to both investigate and prove a sexual harassment claim without having any expertise in the applicable areas of law. It's not uncommon for federal investigators to be too busy to handle individual claims. Therefore, hiring an attorney in Flat Rock can be the safest way to file your claim within the deadlines for sexual harassment claims that Michigan has defined.
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In researching articles about Albert Sloan, the CEO of Basic Electric motors in the 1920s-1930, I found some considerable analogies in between Mr. Sloan and Expense Belichick, trainer of the New England Patriots of the Nationwide Football Organization. Both accomplished their greatest success versus a foe which appeared unbeatable. Those success were accomplished by taking their challengers greatest staminas and turning those staminas right into weak point that enabled them to loss that challenger Triplle168
This is why social online marketing professionals should study both of these great leaders. An important truth about social media marketing is that often times a brand’s great stamina is great weak point that an challenger can use to loss that brand name in the marketplace place. On the other hand, a great weak point can also become a great stamina.
Before their greatest success, each leader needed to loss a foe which appeared unbeatable. Each used social media, interaction with customers, to produce branding for their companies. Each used their greatest weak point, and produced their greatest stamina.
When it comes to Mr. Sloan, his challenger was The Ford Electric motor Company. In 1923, Ford cars made up up to 90% of the cars when driving. Most business experts, consisting of some execs within Basic Electric motors, thought that GM had no chance at ever surpassing Ford. Albert Sloan, invested a good deal of time speaking with individuals. Because he involved individuals, Mr. Sloan understood that Ford was incredibly vulnerable in Ford’s greatest stamina.
Trainer Belichick’s greatest success was the 2002 Very Dish versus the St. Louis Rams, “The Greatest Show on Grass”. This success is the greatest upset in Very Dish background. The Rams were skilled, they were skilled, they huged, they were fast. Equally as in Mr. Sloan’s situation at Basic Electric motors, no one thought that the Patriots would certainly have a possibility at beating the Rams.
Such as Mr. Sloan, Trainer Belichick used social media, in this situation, extensive interaction with their challenger to produce a brand—in Trainer Belichick’s situation, extensive use video clip was the means whereby he produced his “brand name”. Think about it such as this in regards to example, NFL groups are social media brand names because of their extensive use video clip to produce their brand names.
In Mr. Sloan’s situation, he involved individuals in individual discussion about what they suched as in a car. From this interaction he understood that the car market had changed. The standard of the marketplace didn’t focus on inexpensive, but after variety, convenience, pleasure, as well as inexpensive. He also recognized that individuals bought cars to specify their monetary position in connection with other individuals. Beginning individuals buy Chevrolet, effective entrepreneur buy Cadillac.
Ford had no variety, and was looked up on as an extremely stodgy old brand name. Individuals in 1923, in contrast to 1908 wanted an appealing, cool item. They wanted a car that had a focus on picture and designing. Knowing this, Sloan produced a team of very stylish cars. Ford’s stamina in low cost, which appeared so insurmountable, was just a paper tiger in a globe of social media. Social media experts should understand this in examining the situation of Alfred Sloan at GM in 1923. Alfred Sloan didn’t have Twitter and google, Twitter, and YouTube. If had, he might have overtaken that 90% share in a pair of months, rather than the 3 years that it took him.
In Trainer Belichick’s situation, after watching movie, he noticed that the Ram violation, “The Greatest Show on Grass”, revolved about 2 players—-Kurt Detector and Marshall Faulk. He decided, equally as Mr. Sloan in 1923, to earn the Rams stamina their greatest weak point, the means whereby the Patriots would certainly win the video game.
Belichick didn’t want these 2 gamers from the video game. He wanted them in the video game. He decided to have linebacker Teddy Bruschi darkness Faulk. Teddy’s job was to go where Faulk went and to hit him every chance he had, lawfully. By doing this Faulk was worn by the second quarter. Equally as the 1923 Ford Electric motor Company, the Rams greatest stamina was currently their greatest liability. Faulk hurt the Rams throughout the video game. He wanted Detector to pass, because the more he passed, the greater the risk that a video game changing, big play would certainly be made.
Detector did pass. He passed for 365 lawns in the video game, which is the second biggest in Very Dish background, but he also passed for 2 interceptions that lead to touchdowns, plus a big fumble. Belichick took the Rams staminas, made them right into weak points that the Patriots used to win the video game.
This is the message for social media planners. There are no perfect brand names. Each time you take on a brand name, understand that the brand name has a weak point that you could make use of, with social media
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Writing on PhRMA’s blog The Catalyst, PhRMA’s Emma Van Hook reports that this news confirms the growing role of personalized medicine as an approach to treatment that can improve outcomes for patients and also create important efficiencies in the health care system.
Personalized medicine is an emerging field of medicine that uses diagnostic tools to identify specific biological markers to help assess which medical treatments and procedures will be best for each patient.
In what has already been noted as a banner year for new medicines, with 45 novel new drugs approved in 2015, the new analysis indicates that 28 percent of novel new drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2015 were personalized, or precision, medicines.
This continued growth from the year before, where 21 percent of approvals were found to be personalized medicines, is reflective of the rapid progress we’re seeing in advancing targeted treatments for patients and affirms that personalized medicine has become an established approach to fighting a range of diseases.
Previously, there were just a handful approved each year.
“The new analysis today affirms the biopharmaceutical industry’s commitment to developing personalized medicines. The continual increase of approved targeted therapies indicates where the science, research and the industry are all heading,” noted Edward Abrahams, president of PMC.
In recent years, we’ve seen tremendous advances in targeted therapies for diseases like cystic fibrosis, hepatitis C and many other conditions. But, without a doubt, we’ve seen the greatest transformation in oncology.
A growing understanding of the molecular underpinnings of what was once referred to as a singular disease is enabling targeted therapeutic approaches for many forms of cancer. In 2015, 35 percent of new cancer medicines were found to be personalized medicines.
Some of the personalized medicine highlights from 2015 include:
- Two new medicines for patients with different forms of non-small cell lung cancer;
- A new combination therapy for patients with cystic fibrosis;
- Two new medicines to help patients with a difficult-to-treat form of high cholesterol; and
- A new targeted therapy for melanoma.
America’s biopharmaceutical companies have long been committed to accelerating the development of personalized medicines. The pipeline has never been more promising, with more than 40 percent of compounds in development having the potential to be personalized medicines.
In cancer, that number is ever greater with 73 percent of cancer medicines in the pipeline potentially personalized.
The era of targeted therapy is rapidly transforming care for patients; we’re eager to see what 2016 will bring.
To learn more about the biopharmaceutical industry’s commitment to discovering new treatments and cures for cancer, visit www.fromhopetocures.org/cancer and www.innovation.org.
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) represents the country’s leading innovative biopharmaceutical research companies, which are devoted to discovering and developing medicines that enable patients to live longer, healthier, and more productive lives. Since 2000, PhRMA member companies have invested more than $600 billion in the search for new treatments and cures, including an estimated $51.2 billion in 2014 alone.
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By Lynda Charters; Reviewed by Jonathan Talamo, MD
Boston-An important drug therapy finding in 2013 was evidence that topical besifloxacin 0.6% (Besivance, Bausch + Lomb) used off-label as prophylaxis before PRK causes significant problems with healing of the corneal epithelium and delayed recovery of vision following the refractive procedure.
Jonathan Talamo, MD, and colleagues Kathryn Hatch, MD, and Emily Woodcock, FAOI, reported their evidence in Cornea (2013;32:1365-1368).
“We found that when we applied besifloxacin under a bandage contact lens at the time of surgery in the presence of an epithelial defect there were significant problems with impaired healing, prolonged re-epithelization, corneal haze, pain, and inflammation that ultimately led to scarring and some loss of vision in certain cases,” said Dr. Talamo, associate clinical professor of ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School, Boston.
After laser vision correction with surface ablation, standard medication regimens use off-label topical antibiotic prophylaxis until the epithelium heals.
Besifloxacin was a new drug used by Dr. Talamo and colleagues in the post-PRK treatment regimen. Their records of the use of the drop indicated problems with corneal epithelial healing after PRK in 7 eyes of 4 patients despite no other changes in the practice’s medication protocols use perioperatively.
All of the affected patients reported having substantial pain and photophobia 4 days postoperatively. The specific subjective complaints recorded in the medical records were ocular discomfort for prolonged periods postoperatively.
One patient complained of substantial photophobia 4 weeks after surgery, wheras another complained of photophobia for 1 week and foreign body sensation in the right eye for 2 weeks. A third patient had light sensitivity and pain that was described as hurting while blinking, foreign body sensation, and scratchiness in the operative eye for 1 week. The last patient complained of pain in both eyes for 1 week and photophobia for 1 month.
When Dr. Talamo and colleagues retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 7 eyes of the 4 patients treated with besifloxacin 0.6% applied under their bandage contact lens after PRK, they found that the drug was associated with delayed epithelial closure ranging from 5 and 13 days (mean, 8.85 ± 2.91 days; range, 5 to 13 days).
Substantial haze (grade 1 or greater) developed in 6 of the 7 affected eyes; 4 eyes of 3 patients had persistent haze 3 months postoperatively; grade 2 haze was present in 3 of the 4 eyes 6 months or longer postoperatively; the fourth eye had grade 1 haze at 6 months.
One patient continues to have grade 2+ haze in both eyes, a decreased best-spectacle corrected visual acuity (BSCVA) in both eyes, and glare 2 years postoperatively.
A second patient had grade 2 haze in the right eye 9 months postoperatively but the BSCVA was unaffected.
A third patient had grade 2 haze at 6 months after surgery, but the visual acuity was not affected.
The uncorrected visual acuity was 20/20 or better in only 1 eye of the 7 eyes under discussion 3 months postoperatively.
This was in contrast to 20/20 vision in 22 of the 23 eyes undergoing PRK on the same treatment dates in which besifloxacin 0.6% was either not used or placed on top of rather under the bandage contact lens at the end of surgery.
The best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) recovered over an extended period. Six of the 7 eyes lost from 1 to 5 lines of BCVA 3 months postoperatively. Six months postoperatively, both eyes of one patient still had a 3-line loss of BCVA, at 2 years postoperatively, the same patient had a 1-line loss of BCVA compared with preoperatively.
Dr. Talamo and colleagues speculated that an ingredient in besifloxacin 0.6% (DuraSite) might be the culprit in these patients. This component prolongs the ability of besifloxacin to stay on the eye and it or similar vehicles might be toxic to the eye when applied under a bandage contact lens.
Another theory is that the vehicle may cause sustained contact of the drug and benzalkonium chloride 0.01%, the preservation, with the stroma and a healing epithelial defect.
Dr. Talamo underscored the importance of awareness of the effects of besifloxacin in PRK patients as a public health issue. The American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) Cornea and Refractive Surgery Committees issued an advisory in early 2013 urging caution against the use of such topical ophthalmic medications with vehicles that facilitate sustained release of drug in the presence of a corneal epithelial defect.
“All the patients treated with besifloxacin 0.6% on the stromal bed exhibited significant problems with corneal epithelial healing and delayed visual recovery. We caution the use of besifloxacin 0.6% underneath a bandage contact lens during PRK or other ocular surface surgeries requiring corneal epithelial debridement,” Dr. Talamo advised.
Jonathan Talamo, MD
Dr. Talamo is a consultant to Abbott Medical Optics and OptiMedica.
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Australia has decided to allow foreign visa holders to enter the country. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that the country has decided to allow foreign visa holders to enter from December 1. This step has been taken in order to restart international travel, and also support its economy.
The rules were relaxed in recent weeks to allow foreign family members of citizens to enter, and Morrison said this will be scaled up from December 1 to allow vaccinated students, business visa holders, and refugees to arrive. The relaxation of the border rules is also expected to ease labor shortages, which threaten to stymie an economic rebound.
Many Australian universities have come to rely on foreign students, who make up about 21 percent of total enrolments, and the border closure led higher education facilities to lay off hundreds of staff.
Many students locked out of Australia have said they would switch to alternative universities if they were unable to begin face-to-face learning in 2022.
Australia shut its international border in May 2020 and allowed only restricted numbers of citizens and permanent residents to enter in a bid to curtail the spread of COVID-19. Border rules, swift lockdowns, and tough social distancing rules helped Australia to keep its coronavirus numbers far lower than many other comparable countries, with around 200,000 cases and 1,948 deaths.
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Charles Wright was the winner of the 1996 Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize for his eleventh collection of poems, Chickamauga (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1995). The judges for the award were Yusef Komunyakaa, Laurie Sheck, and Philip Levine, who wrote the following essay.
The year 1995 was the richest year for American poetry that I can recall, the richest in my fifty years of concern for our poetry. When I consider the books I read this past summer, books that failed to win a nomination for the Lenore Marshall Prize, I'm stunned both by their strengths and the fact of their exclusion, but the task of the committee was to choose five finalists and no more. Thus new volumes by such fine poets as Galway Kinnell, Adrienne Rich, Gerald Stern, Jorie Graham, Rita Dove, Carl Phillips, Daniel Hoffman, Michael Harper, Donald Justice, Charlie Smith, Louise Glück, and Stanley Kunitz are not on the list of finalists although the judges were cognizant of their merits.
I trust this fact will give you some idea of how highly the three of us valued the five collections we settled on. For sheer enjoyment it would be hard to equal Billy Collins's The Art of Drowning: laughing and moaning I read it from cover to cover and read it again. The uniquely Western voice that Robert Wrigley has found in his In the Bank of the Beautiful Sins is encompassing and passionate, large enough to speak of the landscapes he memorializes. The wit, the charm, the bite, and the intensity of Ruth Stone's Simplicity reminded me of just how long she has been giving us poetry of the first order. As for William Matthews' remarkably intelligent and moving collection Time & Money, it lost out by the smallest possible margin to the eventual winner, Charles Wright's Chickamauga. Has any other American poet been writing as beautifully and daringly over the past twenty-five years as Charles Wright? Possibly. But I cannot imagine who it would be.
Mockingbird, sing me a song.
Back here, where the windfall apples
rot to the bee's joy,
Where the peach sheaths and pear
sheaths piebald and brindle,
Where each year the orchard unlearns
everything it's been taught.
How many of us have been trying for decades and failing to create passages of such mastery and fullness, such sheer physical wholeness? I would hate to have to count us. The book bristles with the sense of mortality, noted my fellow judge Laurie Sheck, and she went on to write of the "tensions in the book between presence and absence, attachment and detachment, visible and the invisible." "Part of the ambition of the book," she wrote," is that like Keats it can live without irritable reaching after fact or reason.'" I think the key word here is "irritable," for Chickamauga is a book that depicts a single never-to-be-resolved search; Wright has a hunk of the ineffable in his teeth and he won't let go. In poem after poem he plumbs our deepest relationships with nature, time, love, death, creation. Wright's search breaks all the barriers of time, space, action, for its dramatic narrative simply refuses to acknowledge the usual unities, as though all time were this time, all places this place, and all actions one. The poet is in Monterey, California, writing a "journal of over a hundred pages"; he is a boy of ten trekking through the snow with his brother on U.S. 11 West; he is in Verona at age twenty-three caught "in the glow of all things golden"; he is in Charlottesville watching the equinox arrive in September of 1992; on a Saturday night in the summer of 1963 he's watching Sordi and Gassman in a WWI movie; all moments in a journey without beginning or end. There is a motive behind all this voyaging. As he tells us and himself in the poem " Not everyone can see the truth, but he can be it'": "How imperceptibly we become ourselves . . . Take off your traveling clothes and / lay down your luggage, / Pilgrim, shed your nakedness." As Ms. Sheck shrewdly noted, the book is carefully (though almost invisibly) unified as it moves back and forth across the seasons, across landscapes present and remembered, and in and out of the poet's orchard and the sky above with their timeless lessons and their simple but invaluable gifts. And often his old masters are there as guides: Lí Po, Wang Wei, Morandi, Tu Fu, García Lorca, Mondrian, Miles Davis, Elizabeth Bishop. Why make the journey alone when there's such good company? At the core of this half-restless, half-fulfilled journey across the day and night skies and the past and the present and the variety of vistas sight grants us is the single urgent question concerning the nature of our being. What astonished me most of all is that the question does not go unanswered, for the camera of Charles Wright's poetics catches the visible world at that endless moment before it trails into eternity.
"There Is No Shelter"
Each evening, the sins of the whole world
collect here like a dew.
In the morning, little galaxies, they flash out
their charred, invisible residue etching
The edges our lives take and the course
of things, filling
The shadows in,
an aftertrace, through the discards of the
Like the long, slow burn of a struck match.
If this seems like a miracle it's because it is.
A great admirer of Charles Wright's poetry told me last year after he'd read Chickamauga in one enchanted sitting that he thought the book ended too modestly. I went back and reread the book and thought otherwise. In the final poem, the poet at that day's chore of yard work thinks of Sappho: "Her words caught / Between the tongue's tip and the first edge of the invisible." He hopes that she was right, for he feels himself caught "Between the edge of the landscape and the absolute." Then he gets back to the daily business at hand, the yard work, and the poem and the book close as follows: "I take this inchworm, for instance, and move it from here to there." If Blake—one of his masters—and Charles Wright are correct and "Eternity is in love with the production of time," then we have just witnessed another miracle.
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