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January 21, 2013 · 4 Comments
The Martin Luther King Day of Service at the Fabric Workshop and Museum featured a talk by uber-international hot-ticket-artist Theaster Gates (pronounced with “aster” at the end). Gates, whose work includes making utopian spaces in cities, where people can meet and work, also does performance, clay and so much more. He is a guy who is hoping his art can rebuild how the world works, one brick at a time.
He is installing a workspace at the FWM that goes by the stop-you-in-your-tracks moniker Soul Manufacturing Corporation–To Make the Thing that Makes the Things. By time he was done speaking, the word Soul began to resonate in any number of ways, from clay vessels to social empathy to black identity.
The crowd of about 85 listeners, most of whom stood while chairs were provided to a select few, included maybe five dark faces amid a sea of white, even though the Art Sanctuary is a partnering organization involved in the project along with the FWM. Gates himself is dark-skinned, 40ish and political.
As artists go, he’s more of a conceptualist, and what he’s making is spaces for people. But he talks mostly about the value of the handmade object and how to bring respect (and fair pay) for honest hand labor back into an economy that privileges a few hands-off captains of industry.
He’s given to gnomic utterances, like the title of his exhibit. Here’s some of what he had to say:
“We don’t make things the way we used to,” was his opening sally. Manufacturing no longer involves humans and handmade is no longer celebrated.
He observed that he himself was not the hand-maker in Soul Manufacturing, which involves potters wheels, pallets, shelves, clay objects, bricks, even fabric. He noted the irony: “How do I also [share]–instead of just being a capitalist schmuck?” Then he remembered who he was talking to, and added, “Which is OK, all you capitalist schmucks.” He glanced at the seated crowd.
Then the artist, with an excess of space in which to exhibit, talked about sharing with workers and community–partially by bringing in interns from the community to work. “I’m feeling utopic. …Somebody’s doing that work and I want my homies to have a part of that action.”
So the studio assistants–artist Matthew Dercole from Chicago, Taiwan/Chicago artist Pei-Hsuan Wang, and Philadelphia sculptor Andre Ponticello–will make bricks, molds, and the boxes to hold what gets made. The interns from the Art Sanctuary and perhaps other organizations will learn skills from Matt, Pei and Andre. The youth will learn to make the things that make the things. Should I be reluctant to mention Gates called “our 13-year olds little nothings?” He redeemed himself by saying that the learning and the making would be transformative, making nothing into something.
At that point, Gates pointed out the empty shelves lining the installation space. “Even the act of having empty shelves…requires so much something.”
He segued into the technology for creating bratwurst casings before returning to bricks. “Any preservationists here? Because I want to sell you some brick.” In Chicago, when an old building goes down, he said you see black men on the rubble with a pick-hammer, rescuing the old bricks. They are paid a relatively small sum, maybe $25 or $50 per each filled pallet of bricks. The pallets get resold for thousands in places like China.
“Making just a little bit of cash ain’t enough. We expect more of the cherry tree than is natural to the tree.” We expect products that are “better, bigger, brighter.”
Then Gates invited people to stop by the installation and make some bricks.
Still in an empathetic mode, he worried about what making bricks all day would do to Matt’s and Pei’s bodies. In Miami, he provided them with music, yoga and intellectual stimulation. “Here,” he said, “Diego will cook.” If people want to talk to the potters, they should talk to Diego and bring along some food. “There’s still room in the business for the business to be generous,” he mused.
The audience started offering sources for potential interns–a class from a building-trades charter, Mari Shaw suggested ex-prisoners, Rick Snyderman suggested the Clay Mobile crowd. He also asked where the Arts Sanctuary is.
“I want the brothers to get paid–to have some stake in the root. But the system has to want to be generous” and averse to corruption.
The artist is an idealist, a dreamer. He noted that it was inauguration day. “Barack has to think about unemployment and healthcare,” he said. “Soul Manufacturing Corporation is attempting to democratize opportunity.” Then he went off into overweight Americans, diabetes, and health. “I don’t need a diet. I should just make a couple of bricks.” Gates dropped to the floor and began doing pushups–a Jack Palance kind of moment.
He mused: “The show is about making, just the value of having things in your hand. I have more time to administer than be engaged with the thing.”
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Industry carbon reduction programme now extends to over 150 airports worldwide
Turkey's Izmir Adnan Menderes Airport has recently achieved carbon neutral status
Wed 1 June 2016 – During the COP21 climate summit in Paris last December, airport industry organisations ACI World and ACI Europe signed an MoU with the UNFCCC to promote the UN climate agency’s Climate Neutral Now project and jointly encourage airports to reach the highest levels of the industry’s Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA) programme. Nearly six months on, ACI has released an update on progress that shows ACA status has now been earned by 157 airports across the world, which collectively handle 33% of global passenger traffic. Of these, 21 airports have now achieved the highest Level 3+ representing carbon neutrality, with Turkey’s Izmir Adnan Menderes the latest to join the ranks. Originally developed and launched by ACI Europe exactly seven years ago, the ACA was extended to airports in Asia-Pacific in 2011 in partnership with ACI Asia-Pacific and has since been rolled out in all other ACI regions.
“An impressive two billion air passengers now travel through airports certified at one of the four levels of the programme,” said Angela Gittens, ACI World’s Director General. “With over 100 airports now engaged in ACA, Europe is in the lead on carbon management, but other parts of the world are ramping up their efforts as can be seen from the strong momentum in Asia-Pacific and North America, and growing interest in the Latin America/Caribbean and Africa regions. The programme is clearly empowering airports across the world to address their impact on climate change.”
The European airport industry committed during COP21 to increasing the number of carbon neutral airports from 20 to 50 by 2030. “Most promisingly, we are seeing a lot of airports moving up the levels of the programme as they strive to get closer and closer to carbon neutrality,” reported Olivier Jankovec, Director General of ACI Europe. “There are now 20 European airports at Level 3 Optimisation – the level just before carbon neutral status – and they welcome over 29% of European air passengers.”
Since Paris, the 10 French airports in the Vinci Airports group and La Rochelle, Riga, Sofia, Keflavik and Vilnius airports have all joined ACA at the lower levels. With its additional airports in Portugal and Cambodia, in December 2015 Vinci became the world’s first international airport group to have all of its airports certified at one of the levels.
Growth in accreditation has also been impressive in the Asia-Pacific region with 31 airports now certified. “Since ACA was extended to the region five years ago, we have embarked on the journey towards carbon neutrality with our members,” said ACI Asia-Pacific Regional Director Patti Chau. “I encourage more members to become accredited and demonstrate our airports’ dedication to sustainable growth.”
Following the programme’s launch in North America less than two years ago, 13 airports have become certified, including Dallas Forth Worth and San Francisco at Level 3 Optimisation and Denver and Toronto-Pearson at Level 2 Reduction.
“With so many airports in our region applying to the programme in the past 18 months, it’s clear that the North American airport industry is taking significant steps to becoming leaders in environmental stewardship. We look forward to more airports joining the programme in the year ahead,” said Kevin Burke, President of ACI North America.
Understandably, growth in programme membership has been slower in the Africa and Latin America & Caribbean regions with two airports entering in the former and four in the latter region.
The independently administered programme has the support of a number of international organisations, including ICAO, UNEP, Eurocontrol, the European Commission and now the UNFCCC.
Full results for Year 7 of the programme (covering June 2015 to May 2016), which will include details of the carbon reduction achieved, will be released at ACI Europe’s annual assembly in Athens from 20-22 June.
As an adjunct to the programme, ACI has recently released version 3.2 of the Airport Carbon and Emissions Reduction Tool, a free application for airports of all sizes to track their carbon emissions.
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When a driver is accused of drunk driving, the person should not treat this like other traffic violations. A DUI is considered a criminal offense, and depending on the details of the alleged crime, a driver could face serious penalties if the person is convicted. One of the penalties a Tennessee driver could endure if the person is convicted of DUI is the requirement to install an ignition interlock device in the person’s vehicle.
Since July 1, 2013, those convicted of a DUI with a blood alcohol concentration or BAC or 0.08 percent or greater are required to use an ignition interlock device. At the passing of this legislation, Tennessee was the 18th state to pass such legislation. The state requires all offenders to use an interlock device as a means to prevent future offenses. This means that even a first time offender is required to use the device.
The law also requires that an in-vehicle camera be installed with each ignition interlock device. The idea is that a photograph is snapped each time the device is activated, thereby discouraging other individuals from blowing for a potential drunk driver.
There are several ways a violation could be recorded by the device. If it registers a BAC of 0.02 percent or greater, the device will prevent the vehicle from starting. If the vehicle is started without a passing test, this is considered a violation. A violation is also recorded is the user fails to take a rolling test or tampers with the device. After five violations occur, the user must get the device serviced within 72 hours.
While a drunk driving offense might not appear to be a serious offense, it is still a criminal charge that could impact an offender’s personal life. Moreover, if the accused is charged with one or more DUI, could the person can face harsher penalties and fines, which greatly impacts the person’s driving privileges. Such a situation could make it difficult to obtain or maintain a job.
Those accused of a DUI should not take the charge lightly. It is important to consider the available criminal defense options, which could help the accused reduce or prevent penalties such as an ignition interlock device.
Source: Tn.gov, ” Chapter 1340-03-06 Rules of Ignition Interlock Device Program,” accessed Feb. 29, 2016
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North Korea rocket launch fails
North Korea's attempt to launch a long-range rocket has ended in failure after it disintegrated shortly after take-off.
The regime had claimed it wanted to put a satellite into orbit for peaceful purposes, to celebrate the hundredth birthday of the founder of the country.
But the test has been condemned by the United Nations as 'deplorable'.
Lucy Williamson reports from the South Korean capital, Seoul.
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Meet Maeve Merrit. At just 14, she has navigated through multiple school choices in her hometown of Halifax during the past several years to find the right mix of support and strategies needed to excel despite an early diagnosis of dyslexia.
Maeve explains how she and her family worked to find school settings that would provide the tools to meet her educational goals, given her unique needs.
Starting out in a second language
Maeve started out in a French immersion class at her local public school. As the daughter of a French-speaking mother, her parents wanted to ensure that she had access to French-language schooling.
By age 7, however, it became apparent that Maeve was struggling to keep up with her classmates in reading and writing. “We had a reading program in school,” Maeve says, “and all the other kids would be on Level 14 … while I was stuck on Level 2.”
An assessment for learning disabilities soon followed, which was "terrifying" for Maeve: "I had to talk to a stranger, and confess that I couldn't read or write, or even really make out individual letters on the page."
When the results of the testing came in, Maeve was diagnosed with dyslexia, a language-based learning disability that results in difficulties with specific language skills, particularly reading. Students with dyslexia often experience challenges with other language skills such as spelling, writing and pronouncing words.
The first and second schooling switches
In response to her dyslexia needs, Maeve's first schooling switch was from French immersion classes to an English-language classroom within the same school. "It was a relief to be able to function in English in the classroom," she says.
She worked diligently to keep up with her classmates, and by the start of Grade 6 had made her second schooling switch to a local independent school, where she had a strong friend base and classes were smaller. Although she enjoyed her time at this new school, by the end of Grade 8 she was angling for another setting. “They weren’t teaching me at the pace my brain was going, and I was ready for something different,” Maeve says.
Putting private school in the mix
Enter Armbrae Academy in Halifax, a small private school. “I initially wanted to go there because I had a really good friend who attended Armbrae,” Maeve says. “It took a little bit of convincing to get my parents on board, but eventually they said yes – and I enrolled.”
The change from her last school to Armbrae was bigger than she expected, however. “I probably did more homework in the first week there than I’d done all the previous year,” Maeve says. “And it took a couple of months to realize how the school really worked. I had to do a lot of things I wasn’t used to – like wearing a uniform every day.”
Although Armbrae didn't offer classes specific to students with language-based learning disabilities such as dyslexia, Maeve says other features of the school "really helped" her learn to effectively manage her dyslexia. "I had so much one-on-one help," she says.
Although she was “totally overwhelmed” at the start of the school year, she was able to catch up to the faster pace – and even excel. The small classes allowed students to focus on their schoolwork, and “there was always someone available to support me when I needed it. I had classes in study skills, in note-taking – everything that let me develop strategies to improve my school performance.”
It turns out that for Maeve, smaller, quieter classes enhanced her ability to manage distractions; a key element in successfully addressing her learning disability.
At the end of the year, Maeve says she “really learned how to manage my dyslexia.” As a result, she felt ready to make yet another schooling switch, to the local public high school. “This will be the biggest change yet,” she says, “because there are 10 times as many students there as at my last school.”
Key ingredients for educational achievements
For a student with learning difficulties, private schools can provide a broader menu of educational methods – not just in dress code, but in approaches to delivering education that may meet a child’s specific needs. Even a short stint in the right setting can propel a child’s achievements in unexpected ways.
Evelyn Reiss, president of the Canadian Dyslexia Society and principal of the Claremont School in Toronto, a private school for students with dyslexia, echoes Maeve’s story with her own experience in working with dyslexic students. “One of the most profound changes that an effective remedial program can achieve is breaking the cycle of despair and avoidance that a child struggling at school may experience,” she says.
“All children begin school wanting to learn, but students with dyslexia struggle to keep up with their peers when learning to read, spell or recall math facts. Schoolwork for these students is often a chore and a source of anxiety, and with each passing year they slip further behind. Catching up becomes an overwhelming and time-consuming task, often involving hours of extra tutoring after school. Thus, it is crucial to strengthen these students’ skills and help them feel positive about learning as soon as possible.”
Maeve’s story shows that achieving success may require parents to dive deeper into the factors of their child’s educational needs, and to seek out educational settings that can help “create a recipe” for educational wins. Ms. Reiss notes that private schools for children with learning disabilities such as dyslexia can provide a “specific, well-defined mission” to help ensure that students “gain the skills and self-confidence needed for academic success.”
For Maeve, a stint of private schooling was a missing ingredient that had her emerge ready to take on the next challenge.
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What are some common anomalies of the vagina/hymen?
Anomalies of hymen
The hymenal membrane consists of connective tissue attached to the vaginal wall. Variations can occur when there is loss of central degradation of the hymen during development. This results in the presence of “excess” hymenal tissue that can block the opening of the vagina.
Depending on the variation, the hymen can be completely imperforate (covering the entire opening to the vagina) or partially imperforate (only covering a portion of the vaginal opening).
Anomalies of the vagina
Septa are common vaginal anomalies in which there is extra tissue within the vaginal canal. Septa can be oriented either horizontally in the vagina, as in “transverse vaginal septum,” or vertically in the vagina, called “longitudinal vaginal septum.” These septa arise from different variations in the embryologic development of the vagina and also can cause varying degrees of symptoms.
They are each associated with different types of “co-variations” of development. Notably, transverse vaginal septa are associated with a higher risk of renal anomalies, and longitudinal septa are associated with uterine anomalies.
Vaginal agenesis (absence of a vagina)
Absence of a vagina is rare variation in development. Typically, girls are diagnosed in adolescence when they present to a doctor with the absence of a period.
This is also associated with various anomalies affecting the uterus, most commonly, absence of a uterus. Notably, ovaries are typically normal with this type of variation.
What are some anomalies of the uterus?
Defects involving the uterus are commonly referred to as “Müllerian” anomalies. They result from variations in the Müllerian tubes, the “progenitors” to the female reproductive system. As such, the different types of uterine anomalies are often grouped with respect to their corresponding variation in the development of the Müllerian system.
Common examples include bicornuate uretus, unicornuate uterus, acrcuate uterus, and didelphys uterus.
Specialists for Congenital Abnormalities of the Genitourinary Disorders in Women
Northwestern Medicine has compiled a transdisciplinary team of specialists from various backgrounds to uniquely evaluate and care for the needs of women with complicated congenital abnormalities of the genitourinary tract.
Our team includes:
Meet Our Team
These specialists provide customized, compassionate, full-service care for all pelvic floor disorders in a confidential environment.
To schedule an appointment with our team call 312.694.PFDS (7337).
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Bird Starts Fire With Cigarette It carried smoldering butt to roof of London building By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff Posted Mar 7, 2014 12:18 AM CST 20 comments Comments Nine people were evacuated from the building in Stockwell after fire broke out. (London Fire Brigade) (Newser) – Fires started by carelessly discarded cigarettes are nothing new to the London Fire Brigade—but the culprits are usually people, not birds. Investigators were initially baffled by a fire on the roof of a building in south London, but they eventually concluded that it had been started by a lit cigarette carried to the rooftop by a bird, the BBC reports. "No one had been up to there for a long time and there were no electrics that could have sparked a blaze," an investigator writes at the brigade's website. "We looked everywhere, but the smoking gun was found when we discovered a partially burnt birds nest. Neighbors told us they often saw birds flying in and out of a hole in the roof. We believe that one of the birds picked up a cigarette butt that was still smoldering and dropped it into the nest, causing it to catch fire and set the roof alight."
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Purdue University has created a center that could be vital in the national effort to protect the country's food supply against foreign plant pests and pathogens that might be introduced through natural means or terrorism.
"We lack a lot of critical information necessary to protect against agents that could damage our crops and agricultural system," says Ray Martyn, who recently stepped down as head of Purdue's Department of Botany and Plant Pathology to take the helm of the newly created Center for Crop Biosecurity on the West Lafayette campus. "We need a coordinated effort to deal with pathogens and pests that could harm our crops."
The existing Purdue University Plant & Pest Diagnostic Laboratory, which is part of the new center, already is part of the National Plant Diagnostic Network. In addition, Purdue, along with various research organizations and the federal government have discussions under way about establishing a national plant biosecurity center within USDA.
"Currently there is no single place where people can go to get information on invasive plant pests and plant pathogens in case of a national emergency," Martyn says. "We don't have a national strategy, although President Bush signed a directive in January 2004 mandating establishment of a national policy to protect our agriculture and food supply from terrorist attacks."
Most potentially destructive foreign, or exotic species, that have invaded the U.S. since Europeans began settling on the continent, arrived through natural means or as byproducts of global trade, Martyn says. A recent example is the soybean rust-causing pathogen Phakospora pachyrhizi, which Hurricane Ivan brought to the U.S. in late 2004.
Though soybean rust hasn't caused major problems in the U.S., the pathogen's progression in Asia and South America is evidence of its potential to create a crisis. Authorities estimate that soybean rust could cause U.S. economic losses as high as $2 billion annually, with yield dropping as much as 10 percent. An invasion of the pathogen could raise production costs an average of $25/acre, according to USDA Economic Research Service experts.
The purpose of Purdue's new center is to identify plants and pathogens that could cause damage to U.S. crops, to find pathways through which pathogens could invade and to determine how to prevent their introduction.
Although soybean rust and other pathogens and pests have entered the U.S. by natural means or trade routes, the possibility exists that terrorists could intentionally introduce pathogens that could damage the country's economy, Martyn says. "We need to be prepared for both unintentional and deliberate introductions."
Sufficient facilities for conducting research on organisms that pose risks to agriculture and the food supply still don't exist in the U.S., Martyn says. One goal at the Purdue biosecurity center is eventually to add a laboratory and greenhouse with higher security so that pathogens being studied can be contained. Only a few such state-of-the-art facilities currently exist in the country.
Experts at Purdue's center will provide education to those who must be on the front lines in dealing with invasions by harmful pests and pathogens, Martyn says. The center also will supply information for, and coordinate with, the Indiana natural resources and biosecurity departments.
The center will work with USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in an effort to make certain Purdue's center is at the security level needed to study quarantined plants and diseases, he says.
Because so many exotic plant pests and pathogens enter the U.S. by accident, the center's scientists must study more than just those that pose terror threats, Martyn says.
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This week, I was proud to be one of two speakers for a session on social media and government at the Council on Governmental Ethics Laws (COGEL) conference in Washington, D.C. I delivered an adapted version of the talk on social media and government I gave the Social Security Administration’s Open Government Awareness Day earlier this year, focusing on the elements that would be of greatest interest to a group of lawyers, regulators and academics. The presentation is embedded below:
The speaker that followed me, however, was able to share a fascinating view of what social media looks like from inside of government, specifically in the District of Columbia. Alysoun McLaughlin, the public affairs manager for the District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics. Here’s her bio, from the COGEL session description:
She joined the District last year, just in time to implement a long list of reforms for the 2010 election including new voting equipment, early voting and same-day registration. Prior to becoming an election official, she was a project manager for Election Initiatives at the Pew Center on the States. She previously spent a decade as a Washington lobbyist, focusing on election issues for the National Conference of State Legislatures and the National Association of Counties. She is here today to share her experience with social media during the 2010 election.
And share she did. Over the course of half an hour, she talked about Facebook, Twitter, local media, citizen engagement and much more. I captured most of her presentation on my iPhone (sorry about the unsteady hand) and have embedded her presentation, “To Tweet or not to Tweet: Engaging the Public through Social Media,” below.
If you want an excellent, practical perspective of the local government side of social media, these are worth watching. A couple of key takeaways from her presentation:
- How can governments get insights from Twitter without using it? “Just type in the name of your agency and see what they’re saying.”
- On D.C. elections: “We know there are going to be lines. Come to the website to see what they are.”
- Don’t trust this to an intern. You “need someone skilled in crisis communications.”
- “The days that I’m heavy on Twitter are the days my phone rings less.”
- Viral tweets can raise awareness: “…and we just confirmed that a voter used a write-in stamp. on a touch screen.”
Part 1: Introductions
Part 2: Reflections on Twitter and Facebook
Part 3: Twitter and the 2010 DC Election
Part 4: Who follows @DCBOEE
Part 5: Listening and using social media in government
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Updated on 7 June 2013
"I thank China for collecting and communicating such a wealth of information, and for collaborating so closely with WHO. Chinese officials have promptly traced, monitored, and tested thousands of patient contacts, including hundreds of health care workers," she added.
Warning that these microbes has a tendency to deliver surprises, Dr Chan explained, "Constant mutation and adaptation are the survival mechanisms of the microbial world. Going forward, we must maintain a high level of vigilance. I cannot overemphasize the importance of immediate and fully transparent reporting to WHO, and of strict adherence to your obligations set out in the International Health Regulations. I ask Member States to do everything they can to ensure that health occupies a high place on the new development agenda."
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I need to do a shot where something "shoots" or "pops" out of a garbage can. I was thinking maybe some compressed air type of thing or a small platform with a timed spring but not sure exactly what.
The object that is shot out would be light like a empty water bottle. Any ideas are appreciated. Thanks!
Results 1 to 10 of 10
07-14-2008 09:55 AM
Last edited by take2visualmedia; 07-14-2008 at 03:12 PM.
07-14-2008 02:55 PM
Anyway I was thinking that this could be done with some kind of toaster like thing (no heat of course) that could be placed at the bottom of the can and pop the bottle up and out. I just can't figure out what that thing could be.
07-15-2008 11:32 AM
Nothing? I know that there is an easy way to do this I just can't figure out the elements to make it happen. I'm thinking a small springboard with a timer or something?
07-15-2008 01:41 PM
two separate issues here - a spring mechanism (which might not actually use springs), and a trigger.
For the trigger, hiding a small reliable child (or midget! ) in the can is probably the simplest option - all they have to do is pull the trigger when the director yells 'Action'. That's assuming a zero budget - otherwise drilling holes in a real can (for some sort of remote trigger control wires or tubes or cables) would be better, allowing more room in the can for the spring mechanism.
As for the springy thing, hmm, a real can lid (as opposed to a lightweight prop) will require a reasonable amount of force. Springs probably would be simpler and cheaper, although might be less good if the object must actually 'jump' out of the can as there's more risk the springs would be visible. Compressed air sounds the more professional way, but could be quite expensive unless you have a buddy in the business
07-15-2008 01:55 PM
Just to inject creativity into this debate.... consider shooting it in reverse and just tossing the bottle in. You could also try using a wire or fishing line.
07-15-2008 08:52 PM
- Join Date
- May 2006
- North Carolina
A rat trap would shoot the bottle out of the can, but probably wouldn't have enough force to knock the trashcan's lid off, if that's what you need to do.
07-28-2008 06:40 AM
- Join Date
- Mar 2008
Hydrcochloric Acid, Aluminum Foil, and Plastic 2 Litre Bottle. Google IT. JK LOL
07-28-2008 07:02 PM
- Join Date
- Aug 2003
- WI, USA
if you can cut during its flight i would think that a decent greenscreen composite would be the easiest. mask it as it flies out of the can for a split sec, and then cut to where it was just thrown into the scene continuing its flight.
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In one of threads on our Confessing Christ internet conversation we recently discussed the role of emotion versus intellect in Christian faith. It was agreed that these are not mutually exclusive domains, but that different figures have put more emphasis on one or the other.
Under the influence of my friend and fellow Confessing Christ blogger Clifford Anderson of the Princeton Theological Seminary Library I’ve started reading Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920). A fascinating figure, Kuyper was a Dutch pastor, theologian, author, editor and politician, who served from 1901 to 1905 as Prime Minister of the Netherlands. He also founded the Free Univeristy of Amsterdam.
Last night I was reading his 1898 Stone Lectures at Princeton, published as Lectures on Calvinism, and I was struck by this passage:
“If everything that is, exists for the sake of God, then it follows that the whole creation must give glory to God. The sun, moon, and stars in the firmament, the birds of the air, the whole of Nature around us, but, above all man himself, who, priestlike, must concentrate to God the whole of creation, and all life thriving in it. And although sin has deadened a large part of creation to the glory of God, the demand,—the ideal, remains unchangeable, that every creature must be immersed in the stream of religion, and end by lying as a religious offering on the altar of the Almighty. A religion confined to feeling or will is therefore unthinkable to the Calvinist. The sacred anointing of the priest of creation must reach down to his beard and to the hem of his garment. His whole being, including all his abilities and powers, must be pervaded by the sensus divinitatis, and how then could he exclude his rational consciousness,— the λογος which is in him, the light of thought which comes from God Himself to irradiate him? To possess his God for the underground world of his feelings, and in the outworks of the exertion of his will, but not in his inner self, in the very center of his consciousness, and thought: to have fixed starting –points for the study of nature and axiomatic strongholds for the practical life, but to have no fixed support in his thoughts about the Creator Himself,—all of this was, for the Calvinist, the very denying of the Eternal Logos.” Lectures on Calvinism, P. 52. Eerdmans, 1931
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By Dr. Becker
All dog owners know how keen the canine sense of smell is.
That's one of the reasons dogs make excellent partners for human search and rescue teams and law enforcement.
Dogs can be trained to locate disaster survivors, dead bodies, narcotics, undetonated bombs, people who've gone missing – pretty much anything that gives off a scent.
So it comes as no huge surprise to learn dogs are also able to detect lung cancer in humans with their noses.
Dogs Detected Lung Cancer in Breath Samples
According to a paper published recently in the European Respiratory Journal, a five-month study of four canine and 220 human subjects revealed the dogs were able to accurately detect lung cancer 71 percent of the time.
They were also able to rule it out 93 percent of the time.
The dogs were two German shepherds, an Australian shepherd and a Labrador retriever. The humans included a group of 110 in good health, 50 with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and 60 with lung cancer.
The dogs were able to distinguish the lung cancer breath samples not only from healthy breath samples, but also from COPD, tobacco and food odor breath samples.
Researchers definitively concluded there is a specific volatile organic compound (VOC) contained in the breath of lung cancer patients, and dogs are able to detect it at an early stage of the disease. A positive prognosis for lung cancer depends on early detection, and early detection has proved difficult. The presence of a stable marker for the disease – which this study indicates exists – could help researchers develop a diagnostic test to detect lung cancer early.
Before scientists can move forward using the results of this study, however, they must rule out the possibility the dogs were detecting a common chemical in the breath of lung cancer patients -- certain medications, for example.
What Are the Dogs Able to Smell, Exactly?
Chemists consider a dog's nose to be one of the most powerful olfactory 'medical devices' in the world.
Studies of dogs and cancer detection are based on the premise that cancer cells release different metabolic waste products than healthy cells. The differences are so significant dogs are able to detect them even in the early stages of disease.
In research conducted by the Pine Street Foundation, breath samples of 55 lung cancer patients, 31 breast cancer patients and 83 healthy people were presented to five trained scent dogs (three labs and two Portuguese Water Dogs). The dogs were able to detect or rule out lung and breast cancer, at all stages of the disease, with about 90 percent accuracy.
Not only that, they did it consistently through four months of research and over 12,000 separate scent trials.
These recruited animals were 'ordinary household dogs' with only basic behavior training who in a short three week period learned to accurately distinguish among breath samples of healthy subjects, lung cancer patients, and breast cancer patients.
According to PineStreetFoundation.org:
What is important about this study is that (1) ordinary dogs, with no prior scent discrimination training, could be rapidly trained to identify lung and breast cancer patients by smelling samples of their breath, when compared to blank unused sample tubes; (2) dogs could accurately and reliably distinguish breath samples of lung and breast cancer patients from those of healthy controls; and (3) the dog's diagnostic performance was not affected by disease stage of cancer patients, age, smoking, or most recently eaten meal among either cancer patients or controls.
Pine Street is currently conducting a study of ovarian cancer detection using dogs and breath samples. The goal is to distinguish patients with ovarian cancer from both healthy women and women with unrelated disorders like endometriosis or polycystic ovaries. Researchers also hope to use breath sample analysis to predict the probability ovarian cancer will recur after treatment, or be resistant to treatment.
Other Cancer Studies Using the Canine Sense of Smell
According to U.S. News and World Report, a black lab named Marine was able to detect colon cancer in a study of 200 humans with an incredible 97 percent accuracy rate. Marine was more accurate than routine fecal occult blood tests by about 25 percent. She was able to pick up early-stage disease and advanced malignancies.
Trained as a cancer sniffer in 2005, Marine has been able to detect 12 different types of cancer in breath samples.
Dogs can also be trained to detect bladder cancer in the urine of patients with the disease. A study published in 2004 showed dogs were able to detect the scent of bladder cancer with 41 percent accuracy. Watch dogs in training to detect human cancer.
Dogs4Diabetics is a non-profit organization that provides medical alert dogs to insulin-dependent diabetics.
These dogs are trained to not only identify but also to act upon subtle scent changes created by hypoglycemia. These changes are undetectable to the people experiencing them.
According to SFGate.com:
Low blood sugar causes stomach cramps, disorientation and a sweat, but after awhile the system gets accustomed to the lows and stops sending out danger signals. That's where the dog earns the right to sleep in the room with its owner. Everyone's different, but 3 a.m. seems to be the favored time for a crash.
The dogs alert their owners upon detecting the scent of a change in blood sugar level. If the owner is non-responsive, the dog is trained to go for help and lead the way back.
Dogs Get Cancer, Too
Our canine companions add so much to our lives, in an infinite number of ways. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could return the favor by discovering why so many of them die so young of diseases like cancer?
In fact, our dogs are more likely to die of cancer than we are.
There are many organizations dedicated to canine cancer research, prevention and treatment, including:
"He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion."
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We all know global stock market had already affected various investments opportunities in diverse industries all over the world. Investors suffered huge loss and most of them started to find some alternative sector to protect their money. Similarly, giant real estate investors who have taken up the huge market share of this industry, decided to release market share to reduce the total percentage of loss. Such business trends and market conditions generated new investment opportunities for new investors, and allow them to make small investments in property business.† Global economic recession significantly reduced asset prices and created negative impact among real estate investorís mind. Moreover, analysts also predicted very slow recovery rate in the market. This downfall has created confusion in investorís mind and they become reluctant to make further investments in asset business. Experts have also predicted that market will become stable in year 2010 and will be showing recovery during 2011, so itís best time to make profitable investment in this sector. Investors who are ready to take risks of making investments in real estate sector can take advantage of below mentioned tips and strategies of making successful real estate investments.
ē††† Observe Local Economy
ē††† Keep an eye on recent real estate sales
ē††† Explore rental real estate
ē††† Totally avoid assuming anything
ē††† Make a realistic Budget
ē††† Hire a Real Estate Expert in case of doubts
ē††† Planning properly to earn profits
Observe Local Economy
It is of primary importance before making any kind of real estate investment irrespective to the country or region you are going to invest. While observing economy, as an investor you should study behaviors of general business of local community. Whether, it is fast progressing or it is closing all the time? If you are considering purchasing a property and having plans to resale it after making necessary renovations, you must be very sure about locals in the area are purchasing properties. To study local economy of the area they are interested to make investment, new comers can visit online financial magazines and government websites.
Keep an eye on recent real estate sales
After analyzing economy of the area you will be able to make final decision of making investment in any specific area. After obtaining proofs of solid economy, the next step is to study the selling market trends. Try to find out the ratio of property selling of specific property types in the area. If you are going to buy and average priced asset in an inexpensive community, you must not consider buying an expensive huge property in the same area, even if it is available on good prices. Because it has observed that itís very hard to resell expensive properties in inexpensive areas. Moreover, if you are interested in buying a house to flip, in order to earn good profits try to find property in the middle of the road. Donít buy cheap and expensive properties in same area.
Explore rental real estate
If you are new to this industry and planning to make your first investment in the industry, you should consider rental assets. Suppose you are buying duplex or apartment building, rents paid by tenants will release the burden of paying mortgage on the property. Buying a property to flip is tough for new investors. So itís a good to invest in rental real estate.
Totally avoid assuming anything
If you are buying a property with good structure, donít assume you can increase property rent. State laws will not allow you to do that. Take deep interest to study and observe every single aspect of the whole process of making property investment. Make sure about property price before submitting the money. It is very important because every investor want to earn profits in future, thatís why it is your ultimate responsibility to consider all facts to secure profits.
Make a realistic Budget
Like all other sectors, real estate investors are essentially required to set up a budget. For real estate investmentí s budget investors have to include all charges related to search, survey, accountancy and legal fees, insurance cost, interest payments, additional finance if required, connection fee for utilities, taxes, marketing expenses for tenants and buyers, agent fee and property price. Donít forget to add up renovation cost if you have plans to renovate property to get good offers. Try to stick with your budget to avoid bad situations. Setting a budget is very important, whether you are interested to rent or resell your property.
Hire a Real Estate Expert in case of doubts
Hiring a reliable real estate agent is very necessary for those are just stepping in real estate industry as they are not well aware of all trades of this filed. Even if you are experienced investor you may need an expert if you are going to target estate market of new place or any other city or country. In this case you will definitely need assistance of an expert. Experts will help you to take well informed decision and will guide you in better manner. Always double check all the facts and figures about the asset you are going to purchase to eliminate any doubts.
Planning properly to earn profits
New investors can think itís very easy and simple to make good profits in real estate industry. But if you study the real estate market you are going to make investment, you will find investors who are making good profits are working on a well planned strategy. For making a proper plan that will ensure you to earn profits you will have to compare property values across the city and state to know the amount of money you can earn in the form of profit. If you are going to invest in rental property you need to observe rent rates in the market for specific type of asset. Besides other things, profits also depend on proper planning.
My aim of sharing these tips for making successful real estate investments is to only give you an idea about spending time to research and study the market. It is very critically important to spend time to make bullet proof plan and a realistic budget to ensure success. Furthermore, donít limit yourself to invest only in the country or state you are living. You can also try making real estate investment in other foreign countries like USA, Australia, Dubai and Spain etc.
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Howlett, Peter and Velkar, Aashish (2008) Agri-technologies and travelling facts: case study of extension education in Tamil Nadu, India. Working papers on the nature of evidence: how well do 'facts' travel?, 35/08. Department of Economic History, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK.
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This paper is motivated by two broad questions: how is technology transferred from academia to non-academic domains, and how well do facts within these technologies travel? These questions are explored in the context of a particular extension education program in Tamil Nadu, south India. The paper explores the extent to which fertigation technologies (drip irrigation) and other farm and postharvest technologies travelled from the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University to the farming community in two districts of north Tamil Nadu. The extension effort, involving direct scientist to farmer interaction, sought to push facts about such technologies – termed ‘precision farming’ – to the larger community through demonstration effects. We conclude that although facts about precision farming travelled well, the technologies themselves travelled once certain institutional barriers were overcome. This involved not only overcoming the farmers financial inability to invest in a relatively expensive technology, but also fostering cooperative behaviour and improving individual bargaining power through the formation of local farmers associations. This model of an extension education had an strong demonstration effect that encouraged the travel of critical facts about precision farming.
|Item Type:||Monograph (Working Paper)|
|Additional Information:||© 2008 The Authors|
|Library of Congress subject classification:||S Agriculture > S Agriculture (General)
H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions
L Education > LC Special aspects of education > LC5201 Education extension. Adult education. Continuing education
D History General and Old World > D History (General) > D204 Modern History
D History General and Old World > DS Asia
|Sets:||Departments > Economic History
Collections > Economists Online
Collections > How Well Do 'Facts' Travel?
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At least four dairies in Oregon's Willamette Valley have bought into the "new thing" in dairy farming: buying water beds for their cows.
"There's four or five dairies in the Willamette Valley that have them. It's really beginning to catch on around here," Kevin Krous with NW Dairy Service told KGW.
The cow water bed trend reportedly began in Minnesota but is now starting to catch on, on the West Coast. For example, the Van Loon Dairy has purchased more than 300 such beds for their cows, at a cost of more than $100,000.
"As the cow gets ready to lie down, water moves to the front bag where her knees will come first therefore cushion it more. Less sores, less cows being stuck. Happier cows, happier milk," said Ben Van Loon.
DCC Waterbeds is one of the companies producing the beds "with cows specifically in mind." You can watch more videos of the cow water beds in action on DCC's site. The company says its business model has been going international and includes a recent visit from Mexican farmers interested in improving their dairy stock's output and health.
Van Loon and other farmers say the water beds are sound investments, cutting down on the traditional and expensive grass seed normally used for cow bedding. And Van Loon says they're safer for his cows too.
"Moisture and heat are your two enemies. Bacteria doesn't really grow on any rubber," he said.
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January 1916 - President Woodrow Wilson begins an effort to organize a peace conference in Europe.
February 18, 1916 - In West Africa, the German colony of Cameroon falls to the French and British following 17 months of fighting. This leaves only one German colony remaining in Africa, known as German East Africa. There, 10,000 troops skillfully commanded by General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck prove to be an elusive but deadly target, as they are pursued by a British-led force ten times larger.
Battle of Verdun
February 21-December 18, 1916
February 21, 1916 - On the Western Front, the German 5th Army attacks the French 2nd Army north of the historic city of Verdun, following a nine-hour artillery bombardment. The Germans under Chief of the General Staff, Erich Falkenhayn, seek to "bleed" the French Army to death by targeting the cherished city. At first, the Germans make rapid gains along the east bank of the Meuse River, overrunning bombed out French trenches, and capture lightly defended Fort Douaumont four days later without firing a shot. However, the German offensive soon stalls as the French rush in massive reinforcements and strengthen their defenses, under the new command of Henri Petain, who is determined to save Verdun. An early spring thaw also turns the entire battlefield into mud, hampering offensive maneuvers.
March 6, 1916 - Germans renew their Verdun offensive, this time attacking along the west bank of the Meuse River, targeting two strategic hills northwest of Verdun that form the main French position. However, by the end of March, the heavily defended hills are only partially in German hands.
March 18, 1916 - On the Eastern Front, the Russians oblige a French request to wage an offensive to divert German resources from Verdun. Although the Russians greatly outnumber the Germans in the northern sector of the Eastern Front, their poorly coordinated offensive around Vilna and at Lake Naroch is swiftly defeated by the Germans with 70,000 Russian casualties.
April 9, 1916 - The Germans attack again at Verdun, now along a 20-mile-wide front on both the east and west banks of the Meuse River. Once again the attack only yields partial gains in the face of stiff French resistance.
April 18, 1916 - President Woodrow Wilson threatens to sever diplomatic ties between the United States and Germany following the sinking of the passenger ferry Sussex by a U-Boat in the English Channel. The attack marked the beginning of a new U-Boat campaign around the British Isles. But in response to Wilson, the Germans call off the U-Boats.
April 29, 1916 - In the Middle East, the five-month siege at Kut-al-Amara in Mesopotamia ends as 13,000 British and Indian soldiers, now on the verge of starvation, surrender to the Turks. The largest-ever surrender by the British Army comes after four failed attempts by British relief troops to break through to the surrounded garrison.
May 3, 1916 - At Verdun, the Germans begin another attack on the west bank of the Meuse. This time they gain the advantage and within three days capture the two French hills they had been striving for since early March, thus achieving a solid position northwest of Verdun.
May 15, 1916 - Austrian troops attack Italian mountain positions in the Trentino. The Italians withdraw southward, forcing the Austrians to stretch their supply lines over the difficult terrain. The arrival of Italian reinforcements and a successful counter-attack then halts the Austrian offensive completely.
May 25, 1916 - The era of the all-volunteer British Army ends as universal conscription takes effect requiring all eligible British men between the ages of 19 and 40 to report, excluding men working in agriculture, mining or the railroads.
Battle of Jutland
May 31, 1916 - The main German and British naval fleets clash in the Battle of Jutland in the North Sea, as both sides try, but fail, to score a decisive victory. Forward battle cruisers from the British Grand Fleet are initially lured southward toward the German High Seas Fleet, but then turn completely around, luring the entire German fleet northward. As they get near, the British blast away at the German forward ships. The Germans return fire and the two fleets fire furiously at each other. However, the Germans, aware they are outgunned by the larger British fleet, disengage by abruptly turning away. In the dead of the night the Germans withdraw entirely. The British do not risk a pursuit and instead head home. Both sides claim victory. Although the Germans sink 14 of the 151 British ships while losing 11 of 99 ships, the British Navy retains its dominance of the North Sea and the naval blockade of Germany will remain intact for the war's duration.
June 1, 1916 - Germans at Verdun try to continue their offensive success along the Meuse River and now attack the French on the east bank, targeting Fort Vaux and the fortification at Thiaumont. Eight days later, both objectives are taken as the French suffer heavy casualties. The Germans now push onward toward a ridge that overlooks Verdun and edge toward the Meuse bridges. The entire nation of France now rallies behind their troops in the defense of Verdun as French generals vow it will not be taken.
June 4, 1916 - Four Russian armies on the Eastern Front, under their innovative new commander, General Alexei Brusilov, begin a general offensive in the southwest along a 300-mile front. Brusilov avoids the style of predictable narrow frontline attacks used previously, in favor of a sweeping offensive over hundreds of miles that is harder to pin down. Thinly stretched Austro-Hungarian troops defending this portion of the Front are taken by surprise. Realizing their distress, the Germans pull four divisions from Verdun and send them east. By the end of summer, the Germans will send 20 more divisions and merge the surviving Austro-Hungarian troops into the Germany Army.
June 22, 1916 - Germans resume their offensive near Verdun, targeting Fort Souville which overlooks the city and the Meuse bridges. Using poisonous phosgene gas at the start of the attack, they initially take the village of Fleury just two miles north of Verdun, but further advance southward is halted by a strong French counter-attack. Verdun has now become a battle of attrition for both sides with a death toll already approaching 500,000 men.
Battle of the Somme
July 1-November 18, 1916
June 24, 1916 - The Allies begin a week-long artillery bombardment of German defensive positions on the Somme River in northern France, in preparation for a major British-led offensive. Over 1.5 million shells are fired along a 15-mile front to pulverize the intricate German trench system and to blow apart rows of barbed wire protecting the trenches. British Commander Douglas Haig believes this will allow an unhindered infantry advance and a rapid breakthrough of the German Front on the first day of battle.
July 1, 1916 - The British Army suffers the worst single-day death toll in its history as 18,800 soldiers are killed on the first day of the Battle of the Somme. The losses come as 13 attacking divisions encounter German defenses that are still intact despite the seven-day bombardment designed to knock them out. The British also attack in broad daylight, advancing in lines shoulder-to-shoulder only to be systematically mowed down by German machine-gunners. The Somme offensive quickly becomes a battle of attrition as British and French troops make marginal gains against the Germans but repeatedly fail to break through the entire Front as planned.
July 10, 1916 - The Germans attack again at Verdun, using poison gas, and advance toward Fort Souville. Four days later, the French counter-attack and halt the Germans.
July 13, 1916 - The British launch a night attack against German positions along a 3.5-mile portion of the Somme Front. After advancing nearly 1,000 yards, the advance is halted as the Germans regroup their defenses. Two days later, the British once again penetrate the German line and advance to High Wood but are then pushed back.
August 27, 1916 - Romania declares war on the Central Powers and begins an invasion of Austria-Hungary through the Carpathian Mountains. The Romanians face little opposition initially and advance 50 miles into Transylvania.
August 28, 1916 - Kaiser Wilhelm appoints Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg as Germany's new Chief of the General Staff, replacing Erich Falkenhayn following the disappointment at Verdun and recent setbacks on the Eastern Front.
August 28, 1916 - Italy declares war on Germany, thus expanding the scope of its military activities beyond the Italian-Austrian Front.
August 29, 1916 - Germany's entire economy is placed under the Hindenburg Plan allowing the military to exercise dictatorial-style powers to control the labor force, munitions production, food distribution and most aspects of daily life.
September 1, 1916 - Romania is invaded by the newly formed Danube Army, consisting of Germans, Turks and Bulgarians under the command of German General August von Mackensen. This marks the start of a multi-pronged invasion of Romania in response to its aggression against Austria-Hungary.
September 15, 1916 - The first-ever appearance of tanks on a battlefield occurs as British troops renew the Somme offensive and attack German positions along a five-mile front, advancing 2,000 yards with tank support. The British-developed tanks feature two small side-cannons and four machine-guns, operated by an eight-man crew. As the infantry advances, individual tanks provide support by blasting and rolling over the German barbed wire, piercing the frontline defense, and then roll along the length of the trench, raking the German soldiers with machine-gun fire.
September 20, 1916 - On the Eastern Front, the Brusilov Offensive grinds to a halt. Since its launch in early June, four Russian armies under the command of General Alexei Brusilov had swept eastward up to 60 miles deep along a 300-mile front while capturing 350,000 Austro-Hungarian troops. But by the end of summer, the Germans brought in 24 divisions from the Western Front and placed the surviving Austro-Hungarian troops under German command. The Russian attack withered after the loss of nearly a million men amid insufficient reserves. The humiliating withdrawal from the hard-won areas wrecks Russian troop morale, fueling political and social unrest in Russia.
September 25, 1916 - British and French troops renew their attacks in the Somme, capturing several villages north of the Somme River, including Thiepval, where the British successfully use tanks again. Following these successes, however, heavy rain turns the entire battlefield to mud, preventing effective maneuvers.
October 8, 1916 - The German Air Force (Luftstreikrafte) is founded as various aerial fighting groups are merged.
October 10, 1916 - Romanian troops return home after being pushed out of Hungary by two Austro-German armies. The Austro-German 9th Army then invades Romania and heads toward Bucharest.
October 24, 1916 - At Verdun, the French under General Robert Nivelle, begin an ambitious offensive designed to end the German threat there by targeting Fort Douaumont and other German-occupied sites on the east bank of the Meuse River. The attack is preceded by the heaviest artillery bombardment to-date by the French. Additionally, French infantry use an effective new tactic in which they slowly advance in stages, step-by-step behind encroaching waves of artillery fire. Using this creeping barrage tactic, they seize Fort Douaumont, then take Fort Vaux further east, nine days later.
November 7, 1916 - American voters re-elect President Woodrow Wilson who had campaigned on the slogan, "He kept us out of war."
November 13, 1916 - British troops stage a surprise attack and capture the towns of Beaumont Hamel and Beaucourt at the northern end of the Somme Front.
November 18, 1916 - The Battle of the Somme ends upon the first snowfall as the British and French decide to cease the offensive. By now, the Germans have been pushed back just a few miles along the entire 15-mile front, but the major breakthrough the Allies had planned never occurred. Both sides each suffered over 600,000 casualties during the five-month battle. Among the injured German soldiers is Corporal Adolf Hitler, wounded by shrapnel.
November 20, 1916 - Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary dies at age 86. He is succeeded by Archduke Charles who wants to take Austria-Hungary out of the war.
December 6, 1916 - Bucharest, capital of Romania, falls to the Austro-Germans. This effectively ends Romanian resistance to the Austro-German invasion and places the country's entire agricultural and industrial resources, including the Ploesti oil fields, in German hands.
December 7, 1916 - LLoyd George becomes Britain's new Prime Minister. His new War Cabinet immediately begins to organize the country for "total war."
December 12, 1916 - Joseph Joffre resigns under pressure from his position as Commander-in-Chief of the French Army, replaced by General Robert Nivelle.
December 15, 1916 - The last offensive in the Battle of Verdun begins as the French push the Germans out of Louvemont and Bezonvaux on the east bank of the Meuse River. Combined with other ground losses, the German withdrawal ends the immediate threat to Verdun and both sides now focus their efforts on battles elsewhere along the Western Front. Overall, the French and Germans suffered nearly a million casualties combined during the ten month battle in which the Germans failed to capture the city of Verdun.
December 18, 1916 - President Woodrow Wilson caps off a year-long effort to organize a peace conference in Europe by asking the combatants to outline their peace terms.
NEXT SECTION - World War I 1917 - The Rage of Men
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The Sparkle of Tinnley Organization
Meet the Team
What We've Done
In the News
Children undergoing treatment rely on blood, plasma and platelet donations to keep them healthy and feeling good. Donating blood saves lives.
If you could offer hope to someone dying from cancer, would you? You could be someone’s cure. You could literally save a life.
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The U.S. mantra of spend, spend, spend is starting to wear thin on the other side of the pond.
European countries appear to be at odds with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's fresh calls to unleash more stimulus money and free up a half-trillion dollars to lend to struggling countries.
It could lead to a tense discussion as Geithner heads to Britain to meet with finance officials from the Group of 20 nations Friday and Saturday. Those meetings come ahead of an April 2 summit of the G-20 in London.
As the U.S. calls for more spending, more Eastern European countries also are coming to the table hat in hand, looking for financial help from the International Monetary Fund and other groups -- but does the rest of the world have the money to give?
"We're just getting into the worst of the crisis in a global sense," said Ralph Bryant, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who specializes in international economic issues. "Many developing countries ... are just beginning to feel the really bad effects."
But European Union leaders recently rejected a request from Hungary for $241 billion in bailout money for the region.
"I think they're on a different page," Bryant said of U.S. and European financial officials. He said the calls by the U.S. for more stimulus money and international aid likely will stir controversy at the upcoming meetings.
Geithner on Wednesday called for a tenfold increase in the size of an emergency fund the IMF uses to help countries in trouble -- to as much as $500 billion. He also endorsed the IMF's call for countries to enact stimulus packages worth, on average, 2 percent of their GDP.
But in a report last week, the IMF said the U.S. was the only one of the world's seven rich industrial nations -- the Group of Seven -- on track to meet that goal.
"I think that the United States has actually taken a significant lead on a number of these steps that are required," President Obama said Wednesday, calling for "concerted action around the global to jumpstart the economy" at the G-20 meeting.
Some European nations are reticent to take on the kind of national debt the United States has been accumulating in recent months. European critics have charged that the United States' demand for increased stimulus spending was an effort to divert a European call for a major overhaul of regulations governing the financial system to curb the types of excesses in the U.S. that spawned the crisis. At a meeting this week of finance ministers of the 27-nation European Union, officials said they were doing enough already to support the world economy.
"Recent American appeals insisting that the Europeans make an additional budgetary effort to combat the effects of the crisis were not to our liking," Luxembourg Finance Minister Jean-Claude Juncker was quoted as saying after the meeting.
German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck recently said finance ministers from the EU's 27 nations were not pleased at U.S. suggestions that Europe has not done enough to stimulate the global economy.
Germany has been criticized for its reluctance to spend and stimulate its economy, Europe's largest. Their stimulus package was about 1.5 percent of its GDP this fiscal year, according to the IMF report. France's was about half that. (Meanwhile, countries like China and Saudi Arabia met or exceeded the United States' level of stimulus spending.)
However, European nations apparently are preparing to sign on to at least a partial version of the calls by the U.S. for more IMF funding.
The Times of London reported Thursday that the European Union was considering lending between $75 billion and $100 billion to the IMF to boost its lending ability. The Union also reportedly is calling for countries to help double IMF resources from $250 billion to $500 billion.
That $250 billion includes the $50 billion fund that the United States is talking about increasing. Calls to boost the fund have mounted as developing countries hit hard by the global downturn, particularly in Eastern Europe, have so far tapped about $50 billion from the IMF since November.
It's unclear whether European nations will go as far as Geithner is suggesting in helping the IMF, however. Bryant said a number of European countries favor raising some of the money from powerhouses like China, rather than shouldering so much of the cost.
The IMF reacted favorably to Geithner's announcement.
"We welcome the proposal from the U.S. Treasury. It's a very positive step toward assuring the global financial system that the IMF has the appropriate level of resources to meet the needs of its members," IMF spokesman William Murray said. He said the IMF is "optimistic" it can at least double its resources in the way the EU is suggesting.
Japan already has committed to lending an additional $100 billion.
Obama and Geithner kept high hopes about the upcoming meetings.
"Everybody understands that we're in this together. I think the G-20 countries are going to be seeking a lot of cooperation."
Geithner said he would seek to build a "new consensus" in London on how to establish a "substantial and sustained program of support for recovery and growth."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Rick Scott, pressure on Florida's teachers is about to get worse
From the Florida Current, by James Call
Gov. Rick Scott and Education Commissioner Tony Bennett engaged Florida's teachers of the year Thursday in a roundtable discussion of education philosophies. Most of the talk focused on the transition to Common Corestandards and the assessments that will be used to measure student and teacher performance.
“The implication of Common Core will be one of the largest policy implications lifts the states have engaged in the history of education,” Bennett said during the talk with about 40 teachers. “In the very near short-term we’re going to have to make some decisions about what will be the assessment regimen for Common Core -- if you were going to ask me what is item No. 1 for the next 30 to 60 days, that’s item No. 1.”
Florida and 44 other states are adopting a set of achievement standards designed to teach what students need to know to succeed in college and careers. Thursday’s roundtable discussion came amidst concerns about the Common Core transition and expectations that Florida schools are going to post falling grades when school grades are released later this summer.
The roundtable event was scheduled as part of a two-day meeting that brought teachers from across the state to Tallahassee. The idea behind the summit, according to the governor’s staff, is to provide Scott the chance to hear from classroom instructors about best practices and ideas to improve school performance.
The teachers also had a chance to probe the minds of the governor and the education commissioner. In response to a question about a vision for Florida’s education system Scott discussed the importance of preparing young people to work in a rapidly changing world.
“The pressure on education is not going to slow down. I think it’s going to get worse,” Scott said. "Companies that were very successful 20 years ago are gone today. And the change is happening, the expectations of what their employees need to know is going to get more aggressive all the time."
Reporter James Call can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.org.
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Engaging health AND non-health sectors CRITICAL to #endTB by 2030
(Image by CNS (Citizen News Service)) Details DMCA
(CNS): Growing political commitment of governments globally to #endTB is indeed welcoming but governments need to walk the talk too to #endTB and deliver on promises of integrated sustainable development by 2030.
Reality check on any specific indicator to show progress made towards ending TB will raise serious concerns regarding meeting these commitments in a timely manner. For example, TB decline rate is not that encouraging as TB needs to decline annually at least ten times more than the current rate of TB decline. The latest WHO Global TB Report shows that new TB cases in India rose (not declined) to 2.8 million in 2015 (from 2.2 million in 2014) and TB deaths rose to 480,000 in 2015 (from 220,000 TB deaths in 2014). Cases of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) rose by 11% in 2015 in India compared to previous year.
Undoubtedly to #endTB by 2030 globally, business as usual is not an option
"Engaging health and non-health ministries, and other sectors as effectively and as well coordinated as possible, will help to accelerate the fight to end TB by 2030," said Shobha Shukla, Executive Director of CNS (Citizen News Service) and senior advisor to Vote For Health campaign of Asha Parivar.
The WHO and partners are hosting a Global Ministerial Meeting on inter-sectoral response in SDGs era in Moscow, Russia, in November 2017. A high-level meeting on TB around UN General Assembly in 2018 is also on the cards. Indian government recently committed to end TB by 2025. Even with this high magnitude of political commitment, stemming the TB tide is still challenging though seems more doable than ever before.
Cricket with a difference: Every team unites to #endTB
An innovative way to engage different ministers of health and non-health ministries and other sectors such as film stars is the friendly cricket match between Members of Parliament (MPs) team and film stars' team. MPs team is led by MP Anurag Thakur and film stars team is led by Bobby Deol. This friendly match will be held in Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, India, a day after World Health Day 2017 and TB Free India Summit.
JP Nadda, Minister for Health and Family Welfare; Venkaiah Naidu, Minister for Urban Housing and Poverty Alleviation; Minister for Information and Broadcasting; Mark A White of US Agency for International Development (USAID) India; Jose Luis Castro, Executive Director of International Union Against TB and Lung Disease (The Union); WHO India's Dr Henk Bekedam; are among the prominent speakers at TB Free India Summit on World Health Day 2017.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
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Getting Your Internet Site To The Very Top
Implementing proper SEO techniques is the simplest way to get the web site to be recognized. This really is useful to webmasters, just as if the internet site is observed by more people, then many people will visit the site, rendering it popular as well as generating more revenue for that owner. To achieve this yourself, please read on.
If you develop SEO pages, it pays to obtain a lot of shorter pieces on related topics rather than a single long one. An extensive page will not likely allow you to get additional attention from the search engines. Plus, a long article means that the precise info that this visitor wanted will probably be buried somewhere from the long article as well as the visitor will quickly abandon it for one more site.
Make sure to use header tags. Occasionally the headers are way too large, but CSS may be used to make size changes. Search engines like google love headers and use them as a method to position a site. These tags are supposed to underscore tips regarding your offerings as a way to cause search engines like yahoo to take notice.
Always be familiar with how your competitors code their pages. It will help you find out how SEO can be used by others as well as the keywords being targeted. You don’t want to copy their methods but make use of them being a model to formulate your own.
Enhancing your ranking is not solely about drawing in visitors. You also need to place them there. You are able to measure your visits to the site by making use of things like Quantcast Scores. This will have a effect on your PageRank. This influences the PageRank of your site. Discussion mediums such as forums are a good way to interest visitors in spending some time on your own site.
Use a non-profit or education site link to you. Search engines like google view back-links to reputable sources favorably, and they will reward your affiliation with them. Publish high-quality info to encourage authoritative websites to showcase your site. Create content that these particular organizations will find useful and worthy.
Improving content on your internet site is the most effective method to drive customers towards your website. Users won’t remain on a website unless it has the useful information they need, so bettering your content is the easiest way to boost traffic.
Though a web link exchange can be done, it is actually a better idea to switch articles with some other webmasters to increase rankings. This means you post another site owner’s article by using a link straight back to their webpage, and so they do precisely the same to suit your needs. This is superior to link exchanges, since it involves getting fresh content.
Having a site map will make it easier for search engines to index your website.. These maps allow it to be readily available any subpage on your site. A good small site may have a huge impact by using a site map, in how a search engine will rank it.
Congratulations, you know more about search engine marketing. Obviously, the better visitors a website has, the greater number of money it will make. So, individuals who own websites should utilize SEO. While using advice you were given here, search engine optimisation is a thing you may use online..
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Tips for Relieving Stress
Laughter is one of the most effective ways to manage stress. Laughter can help you boost your immune system. This means that you will be less prone to colds and flu and, if you do get sick, you will get better that much faster.
The way you typically see the world and respond to events and people in it is called your personality. A sure–fire way to manage stress is to experiment with different parts of your personality. Be flexible. You don’t always have to be passive or controlling. Do whatever the situation demands, not what your habit or personality dictates. Being more flexible in your personality helps you manage stress by allowing you to try different ways of talking to people and dealing with events rather than acting out of habit or doing what makes you feel safe.
When we become stressed, our bodies start to breath more rapidly and our heart rate increases. However, we also breathe more shallowly so there isn’t a very efficient and healthy exchange between getting fresh oxygen in and getting waste gases out. Poor breathing contributes in this way to anxiety and fatigue, and makes stressors harder to cope with. Relaxed breathing is an effective way to manage stress. Be aware of your breathing. You can also take a few deep, relaxing breaths while in a washroom cubicle, waiting at a traffic light, waiting for a meeting to begin, etc.
Stress management is sometimes a matter of reducing the demands that are placed upon you. However, many of these demands come from saying “Yes” to too many things. Think about the things that you would like to do and separate these from the things that you have to do and begin to say “No” to some of the expectations other people place upon you if they aren’t “Have to’s”. You are the best judge. Do what takes care of you, your career, your family, and your relationships. Everything else you agree to is a bonus and should only be considered if you have time and energy.
Make mistakes, and live with them
Believe it or not, this is good advice. Being perfect at everything you do is very taxing and stressful. You don’t have to be the best at everything. Sometimes people who set high standards for themselves get caught in a perfection trap. If they succeed at meeting their personal standards, they only set their standards higher the next time round. So they never feel that they have done a good job. Be a little less hard on yourself, let yourself make some mistakes if they aren’t critical. Set reasonable goals and strive to do your best. Learn from failure but don’t beat yourself over the head when you make a mistake. Be a bit easier on yourself. Can you manage that? Well, try.
Play with a pet
There is a lot of wisdom in this tip. First of all, playing with a pet can distract you from your worries. So rather than ruminate and feel stressed, focus your thoughts on your pet and thereby begin to feel better. Second, there is a real physical benefit from playing with pets. It can leave you feeling happier and healthier. Finally, playing with your pet may offer you a chance to get active.
A sure way to reduce stress is to do less and re–evaluate your commitments. Is it important for you to have a luxury car and large roof over your head? If it is, then you are going to have to work long hours and worry about making ends meet. Is it important that you belong to the bowling league, bridge club, work full–time, raise five children, and coach the swimming team? If so, why? (think carefully about your answer.) Choose one or two activities that you truly enjoy and reevaluate your commitment to the others. When you reduce the demands on your time, you will have more leisure time and, hence, less stress.
Regular aerobic exercise (repetitive movement of large muscle groups as in walking, jogging, swimming) is a healthy and effective way to manage stress. In addition to improving your physical well–being, it can have a positive effect on your mood and your body’s immune system.
The greatest benefits of exercise occur when your heart beats to within 50 to 75% of its maximum. (the maximum heart rate for men is 220 beats/minute minus their age, for women the maximum is 200 beats/minute minus their age). These benefits occur if the activity is sustained for a total of 30 minutes in one day (e.g., three walks of 10 minutes each), three to four days a week. A word about exercise: more is not necessarily better. Too vigorous a workout may suppress your body’s immune functioning. This isn’t an issue for most of us, however, just getting enough exercise is challenge enough.
Stress drains your body of energy. Consequently, you need to ensure that you nourish your body with the nutrients it needs to combat stress, and limit your intake of foods that aggravate stress. This means eating a variety of fruits and vegetables, grains, dairy products, and meat if you like. If you are concerned about eating a balanced meal despite your efforts, consider taking nutritional supplements.
Face your difficulties
Don’t run away from difficulties because you feel it easier than facing them. It is better to risk failure and confront your problems. If you don’t, nothing ever gets resolved and the tension may be more than you can bear. So face difficulties as they arise. Before you begin your workday reflect on unfinished business and plan on how you will resolve it. Give yourself positive coping messages throughout the day (e.g. “This is going to be tough but I can handle it"), not negative ones (e.g. “oh no, I can’t bear the thought of facing this terrible day”.).
Talk to Others
One of the best ways to manage stress is to share your feelings with others. So it’s a very good thing for a lot of reasons to develop supportive relationships in your life. Find a friend or someone who you feel comfortable sharing with, and tell them about your day. Like laughter, talking to other people and just “Getting it off your chest” can help improve your body’s physical health. And you don’t have to have a solution, either. Simply talking to others without getting any solutions to your problem, can help you feel better. And, who knows, you may learn another way of looking at your stressful situation that is healthier for you or you may find a good way to articulate what you are struggling with. This, alone, can reduce your stress.
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Samplecraze Sound Equalisation, free primer video tutorial
Samplecraze has announced the release of Sound Equalisation, a detailed video tutorial for beginners and intermediates on the subject of equalisation covering filters, slopes, various types of EQs and the terminology used.
The subject of EQ has always been one of confusion and misinformation. The understanding of how EQ works and the structure of filters and their responses seem to be an area rarely covered by technology sites.
This free primer video tutorial hopes to close those gaps and introduce the subject in a manner that can be understood by everyone. The ensuing EQ video tutorials will go further in depth and cover advanced functions and theories.
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By Kenneth N. Stevens
Read Online or Download Acoustic Phonetics (1999,2000) (Current Studies in Linguistics) PDF
Best education books
The palms is a space that's of massive quandary to many folks around the globe. The economics of this highly vital are a necessary strand that should be understood. This quantity brings jointly participants from all around the globe, equivalent to Todd Sandler and Keith Hartley, and makes a speciality of the real matters surrounding the palms alternate such as:*the determinants people army expenditure*alliance formation and expansion*new demanding situations to export controlsThis well-rounded, finished e-book can be of massive curiosity to scholars and teachers all for the economics of defence, in addition to extra basic reviews of the defence undefined.
No matter what serious scalpel one selects for dissecting the literary works of Bruno Schulz (1892-1942), there'll constantly be a definite measure of textual resistance which can't be damaged. Or in different phrases, starting up one among Schulz's many mask, one will most likely by no means steer clear of the effect new masks has emerged.
This publication offers a provocative research of relatives among Europe and the US throughout the tempestuous years 1998-2004. Analysing european overseas coverage, it concludes that the teachings learnt in interacting with the United States were an important in shaping the rising ecu strategic tradition. The ebook demanding situations proven orthodoxy concerning the sui generis nature of the eu Union.
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Additional info for Acoustic Phonetics (1999,2000) (Current Studies in Linguistics)
Claiming identity with them, and wiping out his own performative tracks, Latour operates as the exemplary ‘absent spokesperson’ for the ‘actual practices’ of his subjects, who does not critically oppose his own alternative interpretation of what they do to their self-interpretations, but ‘shifts it out’ towards their practices in order subsequently to download it to his own acritical description of them. ) paradox. 12 On the one hand, the identity between the spokesperson and his ‘thing’ is the universal and stated goal of all translation/representation.
Once again, it is not to privilege the part over the whole or to pitch ‘two-ness’ against ‘one-ness’ (although I do defend difference against identity in another sense), but to bring out the epistemological complicity of realist definitions on both levels. Intended is rather that all situations for situated knowledges are subject to prior definition, that all standpoints are discursively constituted, and that all collective subjects and identities (the proletariat, the intellectuals, the nation, humanity, strangers) must be ‘spoken’ or ‘staged’ or ‘performed’ in order to gain (or lose) reality in specific explanations of the world.
Popper’s description of science), which turns into unwarranted idealization if this limited practice is universalized into an authoritative rule for all (cf. Kuhn’s objections and his defence of ‘normal’ science). It is countered by a realism which, rather than ‘merely’ describing the social anchorage of intellectuals in a dispassionate way, effectively denigrates their role, brings them down to earth, discredits their self-adopted high mission, accuses them of muffling their mundane interests behind solemn gestures and sublime sounds.
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Surviving a Eureka winter
Winter weather in the Ozarks is unpredictable, and we are far from the end of the season. Just a little snow or ice can make travel by car or on foot a slippin' and slidin' experience, especially on the Eureka hills and hollers. But with a little preparation, you and your family can be safer and more comfortable.
Losing electricity is always a possibility with a winter or spring storm. Keep extra supplies on hand in case the power goes out. Be sure that includes a few days' worth of any prescription medicines.
Elderly people and those dependent on medical equipment should make plans to ensure their needs are met in case of power outages. Individuals with special needs can register with their utility company to become a priority customer during blackouts and emergencies, but they should do it before bad weather strikes. Caretakers should inform the police or fire department that there is a special-needs resident at the address. It's also a good idea to exchange phone numbers with nearby neighbors, relatives and friends.
Cold puts extra strain on the heart. Take it easy. Heavy exertion such as shoveling snow, clearing debris or pushing a car can increase the risk of heart attack. Rest frequently to avoid overexertion when working outdoors. If you feel chest pain, stop! Seek help immediately.
It sounds silly, but don't overheat. Dress warmly, but peel layers as necessary to stay comfortable. Stay hydrated. Drink plenty of water before you go out and while you are working. Body heat is lost through the head, so always wear a hat or hood and cover your ears, which are subject to frostbite. Wear gloves or mittens, which maintain more warmth because fingers touch each other. A scarf worn over your mouth can protect your lungs from extremely cold air.
Go inside often for warm-up breaks. Long periods of exposure to severe cold and wind increase the risk of frostbite or hypothermia. If you start to shiver a lot or get very tired, or if skin turns numb or pale on your nose, fingers, toes or earlobes, go inside right away.
Use some care and preparation in order to enjoy our beautiful Ozark winter. And remember, we're here 24/7 at Eureka Springs Hospital if you need a little help.
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My 16 month-old son has loose bowel movements. Should I be concerned?
Rachael - posted on 02/07/2010
Ear infections and teething can cause diarrhea. I think mine is teething. I did change her diet a bit, such as removing acidic foods and drinks, and did try to introduce more solid poop forming foods like cheese and LOTS of water, juice was off limits. She's finally having fewer poops in a day and they are starting to return to a more normal consistency. Overall? I wouldn't be concerned as long as his eating and drinking habits as well as his stamina remain about the same
Chelskii - posted on 02/03/2010
My 16month old had diarreha for 4days solid the other day i rang the gp unit and she said to just carry on giving him everything he usualy has but instead of juice all the time give him diaralyte sachets, which restore the salt you lose when you have the runs.. i gave him 2 sachets in a day and the next morning..his poo was back to normal ... hope this helps xxx
I don't think you should be concerned at all UNLESS it's diarrhea or has blood in it?? It all just depends on what he's eating and how he's digesting it! Be thankful he's not constipated.....I've heard horror stories! I have a 16 month old daughter and she's a very good lil' pooper! LOL! I was concerned at first because most of her bowel movements are loose also but my doc said not to worry! Banana's and cheese are a couple foods that will help to firm up his poop!
If you're truly concerned then I suggest running it by ur doc......you wouldn't want him to end up dehydrated??!! Good luck, take care
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Click on an appliance for more information.
When you're planning your dream home, don't forget to build in energy-efficient, clean-burning natural gas appliances. Natural gas is the energy of choice because homeowners know that gas is the cleanest, most comfortable form of energy, delivering a superior product with great economy – a real value.
Natural gas is also the best choice for the environment. Natural gas is the cleanest burning fossil fuel, unlike the coal that is used to generate most of the area's electricity. And there are virtually no particulate emissions from gas combustion.
Build your home around natural gas appliances. For comfort, economy, and a cleaner environment, choose natural gas from Laclede Gas - the natural choice.
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Learn about different options for wedding flowers.
Wedding flowers are an important part of any matrimonial celebration. Whether used for decorative purposes or more traditional reasons, flowers can enhance a wedding. With typically 10 to 15 percent of the wedding budget allocated to flowers, it's important to buy quality flowers that can last for the duration of the day. The bride isn't the only one who carries or wears the wedding flowers on this special day; other wedding party members need them, as do locations, such as the ceremony and reception sites.
The Flower Expert attributes the start of the wedding flower tradition to early Roman brides carrying certain herbs under their wedding veil. This custom was designed to help in promoting fidelity and fertility. Greek brides also wore crowns with herbs and flowers, which was considered a gift from nature. Weddings that occurred in ancient Greece had brides using ivy in their bouquets to represent enduring love.
According to Brides.com, the top five traditional wedding flowers are roses, hydrangeas, peonies, gardenias and sweet peas. Roses are the perennial wedding choice, since they represent love and passion, and can be found in many summertime bouquets. With so many different rose types and colors to choose from, rose bouquet options abound.
Most bridal or bridesmaid bouquets coordinate with the wedding colors. A popular type of bridal bouquet is a nosegay, which is a smaller arrangement featuring smaller flowers with greenery. Tightly or loosely secured, the round bouquet has a large number of wedding flowers. A recent addition is the wired bouquet, where flower heads are secured to the arrangement. Bridesmaid bouquets can be miniature replicas of the bridal bouquet or can be a single flower tied with a ribbon.
Although real wedding flowers are most common, silk flowers are an option that can cost a fraction of what real flowers do.
In addition to the bride's and bridesmaids' bouquets, it is customary to outfit other members of the wedding party with flowers as follows:
Whether the wedding ceremony is at the beach, in a backyard, garden, park or church, wedding floral arrangements can add stunning decoration. Lattice archways can feature baby's breath, pew rows can showcase bows and stargazers, and the front of the aisle can display an arrangement of calla lilies. Oftentimes, the arrangements coordinate with the colors of the bridesmaids' dresses.
Many times flowers decorate the reception area or adorn the gift or guest tables after the wedding ceremony. Other popular locations include the head tables, archways or bathrooms. The wedding flowers should reflect the reception's formality. If it is a casual affair, then the flowers should be casual and inviting. If it is more formal, then taller and elegant flowers are more appropriate.
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We present a detailed field structural survey of the area of interaction between the active NW-striking transform Husavik-Flatey Fault (HFF) and the N–S Theystareykir Fissure Swarm(TFS), in North Iceland, integrated by analog scaled models. Field data contribute to a better understanding of how transform faults work, at a much higher detail than classical marine geophysical studies. Analog experiments are conducted to analyse the fracture patterns resulting from different possible cases where transform faulting accompanies or postpones the rift motions. Different tectonic block configurations are also considered and results are compared with field data in order to study as thoroughly as possible the interaction between the HFF and the TFS as well as the possible prolongation of the HFF into the TFS. West of the intersection between the transform fault (HFF) and the rift zone (TFS), the former splays with a gradual bending giving rise to a leading extensional imbricate fan. The westernmost structure of the rift, the N–S Gudfinnugja Fault (GF), is divided into two segments: the southern segment makes a junction with the HFF and is part of the imbricate fan; north of the junction instead, the northern GF appears right-laterally offset by about 20 m. Southeast of the junction, along the possible prolongation of the HFF across the TFS, the strike of the rift faults rotates in an anticlockwise direction, attaining a NNW–SSE orientation. Moreover, the TFS faults north of the HFF prolongation are fewer and have smaller offsets than those located to the south. Through the comparison between the structural data collected in the field at the HFF–TFS connection zone and a set of scaled experiments, we confirm a prolongation of the HFF through the rift, although here the transform fault has a much lower slip-rate than west of the junction. Our data suggest that trans form fault terminations may be more complex than previously known, and propagate across a rift through a modification of the rift pattern.
Tibaldi, A., Bonali, F., & Pasquaré Mariotto, F. (2016). Interaction between transform faults and rift systems: A combined field and experimental approach. FRONTIERS IN EARTH SCIENCE, 4.
|Citazione:||Tibaldi, A., Bonali, F., & Pasquaré Mariotto, F. (2016). Interaction between transform faults and rift systems: A combined field and experimental approach. FRONTIERS IN EARTH SCIENCE, 4.|
|Tipo:||Articolo in rivista - Articolo scientifico|
|Carattere della pubblicazione:||Scientifica|
|Presenza di un coautore afferente ad Istituzioni straniere:||No|
|Titolo:||Interaction between transform faults and rift systems: A combined field and experimental approach|
|Autori:||Tibaldi, A; Bonali, F; Pasquaré Mariotto, F|
TIBALDI, ALESSANDRO (Primo) (Corresponding)
|Data di pubblicazione:||2016|
|Rivista:||FRONTIERS IN EARTH SCIENCE|
|Digital Object Identifier (DOI):||http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/feart.2016.00033|
|Appare nelle tipologie:||01 - Articolo su rivista|
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Satellite Estimation and Ground Based Measurements of Solar UV Index in Kathmandu
The study is based on the satellite estimation and ground measurements of solar UV index in Kathmandu for the year 2009. Kathmandu (27.720N, 85.320E) is located at an elevation of 1350m from the sea level. The ground based measurement and satellite estimation was performed by NILU-UV irradiance meter and EOS Aura OMI spacecraft. The NILU-UV irradiance meter measures UV radiation in different spectral range. The Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) is a spectrometer designed to monitor solar radiation in spectral range of (270-500) nm. This study shows that satellite overestimates the ground based (GB) UV Index (UVI) before monsoon by 103.6 % whereas during the monsoon period overestimation comes down to 70.8 %. The correlation coefficient (r) between ozone column from satellite and ground based measurement before monsoon and after monsoon is also studied. It is observed that the correlation between satellite estimated ozone column and ground based ozone column before and after monsoon is 0.83. The study showed that the estimation of OMI before monsoon is high than after monsoon.
Journal of the Institute of Engineering, Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 18–26
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The Bodies exhibit at South Street Seaport hosted a bone marrow drive for Mark Ezra Fineman's 3rd birthday on Sunday.
Fineman suffers from a rare immune deficiency that makes his body unable to properly fight off infections.
The only cure is a bone marrow or stem cell transplant.
Visitors to the exhibit could simply swab their cheeks to determine whether they're a match for Fineman.
People who participated in the drive were added to a registry to also see if they're a match for other patients around the world.
Get Eyewitness News Delivered
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Yes, he failed. A lot.
Especially in his early days.
Did you know the following about David Bowie?
- In the 1960s he released nine singles which failed to chart before Space Oddity made it into the top five in the UK.
- Those singles were with 3 different bands and he sang with several others during this time.
- In 1965 his band, The Lower Third, auditioned for the BBC. They received the following scathing feedback:
“Routine beat group. Strange choice of material. Amateur sounding vocalist who sings wrong notes and out of tune. Group has nothing to recommend it. I don’t think the group will get better with more rehearsal. The singer is a cockney type but not outstanding enough. Singer is devoid of personality.”
- Even after Space Oddity his next six singles didn’t hit the charts. Changes was one of these, despite it later becoming one of his best-known songs.
- Even though Space Oddity was his break through single the album the album initially flopped. His previous and first album, David Bowie, also failed to chart.
- His next two albums after Space Oddity (The Man Who Sold The World and Hunky Dory) sold badly on release.
- He played Glastonbury in 1971 and was given the 5.30am slot. Despite only having a small audience to begin with, gradually people woke up their friends and came and listened. This was a turning point for him in doing gigs and he thanked the audience for listening because he had died a death in so many of his early performances.
Success doesn’t just happen
It usually follows a lot of failure, experimentation, persistence and most of all, grit.
David Bowie was an experimenter and was influenced by everything from Broadway songs to Led Zeppelin. By his own admission it took him years to find his own voice and sound. In the 1960s he also studied and performed mime and dance, often to empty venues. At one point he had a job cleaning kitchens as he needed work that was flexible to allow him to go to auditions if one came up.
What can we learn from this?
Failure is inevitable. We have to work hard at our art. We have to keep developing our unique voice and we do this by continually producing work even when our work isn’t received in the way we would like.
Imagine if David Bowie had given up after his first record had flopped or if, when he received that feedback from the BBC, he decided he had no future in music.
He had belief in himself and kept going. He had belief that he could be a world class act even when events didn’t suggest that.
As artists we must learn from our failures and keep producing.
Get the The Gentle Creative Manifesto — 28 tips to help you slay your creative demons, make time to create and enjoy your creative journey.
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Networks and collaborative practices have long been a key to how people organised themselves for socialisation and survival. In modern society they remain just as important: helping us to work together to solve complex and persistent problems, generate new and innovative products and services, increasing our productivity and resilience, link up fragmented services, create new music and art forms and generally reach out across boundaries to build social connections. Building networks and working collaboratively makes a lot of sense and can deliver many things that are not possible by working alone. But they don’t always happen organically or by magic. Most are hard to create and even harder to sustain. They are also not business as usual and require new ways of thinking, behaving, managing, leading and evaluating.
I have been interested in networks and collaborations for a long time, first as a social services practitioner and manager, and later as an academic researcher. Although I have quite an eclectic research portfolio, my primary interest is in the formation, design, structure, processes and evaluation of networks as well as the behaviours, including collaborative practices that underpin these forms.
My Ph.D. thesis was on integrated human services and the role of networked arrangements. In this I set out a typology that differentiated different types of connecting relationships – the 3 Cs – cooperating, coordinating and collaborating and aligned them to different types of networks – cooperating networks, coordinating networks and collaborative structures. My theory is that not all networks are the same – they can and should be designed fit-for-purpose – with different strengths of relationships or connections required to produce different outcomes. For example, if information sharing is the goal, then cooperation is all that is really required. Whereas, if you are looking to better align your resource, reduce duplication and deliver joint programs, for example, then coordination is required. Both of these focus only on change at the periphery and are generally what is required for the bulk of the initiatives – it is about doing things more efficiently. But if you are looking for break through innovations, or systems change, collaboration is needed.
Over the years I have produced more than 180 publications, books, journal papers, conference papers and research and industry reports, as well as fact sheets broadly on these topics. The purpose of this webpage is to create a place to pull together and house all these bits and pieces, invite others to read and comment and perhaps, if interested enough, to collaborate on some new ideas.
I am currently interested in the productivity and social impact of collaborative research networks and am working with several colleagues on this project, using both SNA and interviews to peer into the heart of research collaborative practice as well as uncovering and linking the different structural patterns to outcomes, and most excitingly exploring the role of the ‘connector’. Here is my research collaboration network. From this you can see how important it is to have good connections and to use your networks well. It is also a much more interesting and more funner way to work – and I think in the end, although it can be challenging and take more time and effort, there are much better outcomes.
Some of my ongoing interests include:
You can find out more about my work on this webpage:
Currently I am employed as Chair of a Collaborative Research Network: Policy and Planning for Regional Sustainability. The purpose of the network is to build research capacity and capability in regional universities in Australia. I am also a Professor in the SCU Business School, Southern Cross University, at the Gold Coast Queensland, an Adjunct Professor in the QUT Business School, Brisbane and a Fellow of the International Society of Engineering Asset Management. I am still very interested in what is going on in practice and continue to work with a number of community based and government projects.
NB To see what I'm thinking about these days, visit my blog or my Linkedin profile.
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Leading-edge products draw innovators
If you rip open one of those new iPhones that went on sale Thursday -- an unlikely scenario -- you'll find, nestled among the passel of tightly packed components, hardware designed and manufactured in Hillsboro.
The hardware cluster is just one piece of Apple's Oregon connection.
Every Mac on store shelves contains, at its core, a microprocessor devised by Intel research labs in Oregon.
And some of the most popular iPhone applications employ innovative software created by Portland developers for the popular device.
As Apple's ecosystem has grown, from the Mac to the iPod to the iPhone, the Silicon Valley company has borne fruit in Oregon's Silicon Forest.
Aside from its retail stores and a small team of software developers in downtown Vancouver, Apple itself has little presence in this region. Its growing role here reflects, instead, the broad acreage Apple occupies across the technology spectrum.
It also illustrates Oregon's increasingly diverse high-tech scene, which has expanded from its manufacturing roots to include more original design work and nimble software engineers who are seizing the opportunities Apple's products create.
Notoriously secretive, Apple imposes strict conditions on its partners. It's a hard company to do business with, because no one knows what Apple is planning in future products. And no company likes to be wholly dependent on another company's innovation for its own success.
For those who get in the door, though, Apple represents a potentially huge customer, a gold star on their resume and a jumping-off point for a broader set of technologies.
No one in Oregon has benefited more than TriQuint Semiconductor Inc., a Hillsboro company that makes components for the communications industry. Last year the company disclosed that a new client, Apple contract manufacturer Foxconn, was TriQuint's biggest customer in 2008.
TriQuint first appeared in the iPhone last July, when techies opened up the second-generation iPhone 3G and found TriQuint's gear inside. It was a major coup for TriQuint and won the company plaudits this spring from investing mavens Jim Cramer and TheStreet.com.
While TriQuint won't talk about its relationship with Apple -- or even confirm that Apple uses TriQuint chips -- Chief Executive Ralph Quinsey said the company has spent several years positioning itself to take advantage of faster cell phone networks and the smartphones they enable.
Before the iPhone, TriQuint had suffered years of steady decline. But even amid the recession, the Hillsboro company reported increased sales last year. Factories that were nearly idle are now bustling, and TriQuint components appeared this month in the new, highly regarded Palm Pre smartphone.
"People will pay for innovation," Quinsey said. "In a low-end, commodity phone, it's all about price. In a high-endsmartphone, where we can add battery life or some space, there's value there."
Electro Scientific Industries Inc., Oregon's oldest technology company, is also repositioning itself with new products that have apparently caught Apple's eye. ESI surprised analysts and investors this month when it disclosed that Apple is its biggest customer.
The Washington County company won't say what Apple is buying, but Needham & Co. investment analyst James Ricchiuti thinks Apple is the first big customer for a new set of laser tools ESI unveiled last summer.
Apple is apparently using ESI tools to make the casings that house Macs, iPhones or iPods, Ricchiuti said, adding that winning over Apple represents an important validation of ESI's product strategy.
Bright spot in dull market
Overall, these aren't good times for Oregon technology. The recession has reduced the number of tech jobs in the state to 1996 levels. Established homegrown companies are struggling, and mainstay employers such as Hewlett-Packard Co. and Intel are cutting jobs in recognition of the economic downturn's effect on their maturing product lines.
The recession has taken its toll on Apple, too, especially its Macs. But the company nonetheless represents one bright spot in consumer technology, particularly with the iPhone, which opened the door to a whole new class of mobile software.
"We're selling to 80 countries, some of which I've barely heard of, and we don't even have a credit card merchant account," said, Dave Howell , a former Apple software engineer who now heads a seven-person Vancouver company called Avatron Software that develops software for the iPhone.
"Mobile is like the Wild West right now. It's kind of like the Internet was in the '90s. Only there's money," said Scott Kveton, one of Oregon's most prominent technologists and co-founder of a new company, Urban Airship, which creates building blocks for iPhone software.
Software developers from around the country, and around the world, are rushing to create mobile applications. But Kveton said there's a cluster of talented developers in Portland who could help develop a regional expertise in the technology.
"We've had a hard time as both a city and a state, owning a space," he said. "I actually think we have an opportunity with mobile."
Apple declined comment on its Oregon ecosystem, but the company does have genuine roots here. Co-founder and Chief Executive Steve Jobs attended Reed College in Portland for a time. Jobs' co-founder, Steve Wozniak, has suggested that Jobs may have coined the company's name while working at an Oregon apple tree farm.
Today, the company employs a couple dozen developers on the fifth floor of a Vancouver office building, most working on the company's iWork suite of office software. They keep a low profile, though, in Oregon's technology community.
For those in that community, Apple represents both a big potential partner and a prospective rival.
Take Intel, for example. Four years ago, Apple abruptly announced that it would begin using Intel microprocessors in all its Macs, instead of the PowerPC chips it had relied on.
Whose chips next?
Since then, Apple and Intel have worked closely to rapidly incorporate the latest microprocessors from Intel's Hillsboro research factories into the newest Macs. But Apple doesn't use Intel processors in the iPhone and is widely believed to be developing its own chips for future mobile devices -- a market Intel is also targeting.
Partnering with Apple is even more challenging for small companies.
Software for the iPhone apps, for example, must win Apple's approval before going on sale in the company's exclusive online App Store. Developers frequently complain that the review process for new applications is too slow and sometimes blocks legitimate software that conflicts with the business interests of Apple or its wireless partner, AT&T.
Portland-based GadgetTrak created well-reviewed software for tracking stolen Mac laptops and iPods, but it struggled to overcome technical hurdles for bringing a complete product to the iPhone, according to Chief Executive Ken Westin. It offers a free version that lacks security features its other software has. And last week, Apple introduced its own security tracking software for the iPhone.
Wary of becoming dependent on Apple, GadgetTrak had already branched out. It has adapted its software to track stolen Windows devices and last week announced a partnership with Flir Systems Inc. to protect the Wilsonville company's night-vision gear and thermal imaging cameras.
As a consumer, Westin said he prefers using Apple's technology. But it's a lot easier to do business with Microsoft, he said, which is less secretive and has a clear product road map. Apple was a neat launching pad for GadgetTrak, but Westin said diversification is key to his company's future.
"They're unpredictable. You never know what they're going to come out with," Westin said. "I don't think it's smart for a company to put all your eggs in one basket with Apple."
Mike Rogoway: 503-294-7699, email@example.com, blog.oregonlive.com/siliconforest; twitter: @rogoway
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Venus is one of the most beloved planets, for one simple reason: love, baby! Venus takes just under a month to move from one horoscope sign to another. In her Roman form, Venus is known as the goddess of love; in Astrology, it's really no different. This flirty planet is focused on passion and partnerships of all kinds, from business to marriage. But Venus goes beyond human attraction -- it's also the planet of beauty. Whether it’s our personal looks, or the style of clothes, cars or landscapes that catch your eye, all aesthetic tastes are inspired by Venus.
Since this planet’s all about romance, your approach to love and flirting are determined by Venus and which horoscope sign she’s in. For example, if Venus is in fiery Aries, you may feel more bold than usual about asking a stranger for their number ... or suddenly feel inspired to pop the question! If Venus is in rational Virgo, however, you may obsess over the details of how to approach a love interest, or reassess your current relationship.
But Venus’ influence is best symbolized by earthy Taurus and airy Libra, the two signs over which she rules. While Libra is the glamorous sign of partnership, slow and steady Taurus demonstrates Venus' grittier, pleasure-seeking nature.
In Astrology, the planets move through the zodiac at their own pace and interact with each sign -- and each other -- to set the mood here on Earth.
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Should homeschooled students be allowed to participate in sports at public schools?
by Larry Chowning
Middlesex County School Board member Richard Shores, the board’s appointed voting member on the Virginia School Board Association (VSBA), voted against a proposal to allow homeschooled students to participate in sports and other extracurricular activities in public schools.
The proposal was defeated by the VSBA, but Shores said the issue is “far from over.”
The VSBA meeting was held in November at Williamsburg. Shores told fellow board members at their December 9 meeting that some representatives at the meeting favored allowing homeschooled students to participate.
Shores said these proponents felt parents of homeschooled children pay taxes, and if they want to be a part of extracurricular programs they should be allowed to participate.
He noted that many homeschooled students are now taking classes online through the public schools. “Several schools in the state are allowing homeschooled students to participate in extracurricular activities if they take their school classes online,” said Shores.
Shores said proponents argue that former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow was homeschooled and his success should be an indication of what can happen when homeschooled students are allowed to play sports in public schools. Tebow won the Heisman Trophy in college and led the Florida Gators to a national championship, and went on to play for the Denver Broncos and New York Jets.
Shores said his reason for voting against allowing homeschooled students to participate in public school athletics was because of the difficulty in determining how homeschooled students are performing academically, and if they are actually academically eligible to play on a school sports team.
“However, this issue is a long ways from being over,” Shores repeated.
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Prime Minister Salih Hudayar joined New York Times’ Hong Kong Correspondent Austin Ramzy, and Uyghur Human Rights Project Director for Global Advocacy Louisa Coan Greve on NPR’s A1 radio panel to talk about the Detention of Uyghur and other Turkic peoples in East Turkistan.
The Prime Minister’s Key points were:
• The main reason behind China’s concentration camps and overall oppression of Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples is because China fears rebellion and the creation of an East Turkistan as noted in its 2019 National Defense Strategy.
•Uyghurs had an independent country and they are now a colonized people whose country is occupied by China. They don’t view themselves as a part of China, therefore they are not separatists.
• What China is doing to the Uyghurs is not just a cultural genocide but an actual genocide as defined by the UN Genocide Convention.
• The US Government & other governments should recognize East Turkistan as an Occupied Territory. World leaders should especially recognize China’s atrocities in East Turkistan as a Genocide.
Click link below to listen:
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Hydraulic Brakes Information
Hydraulic brakes use a fluid to transfer pressure and actuate the braking mechanism. Product types differ in terms of engagement, operation, and performance. Performance specifications include power, speed, torque rating, and maximum pressure. As a rule, the maximum torque rating for the brake should equal or exceed the application’s requirement.
Types of Hydraulic Brakes
The GlobalSpec SpecSearch Database contains information on the four major categories of hydraulic brakes: drum, disc, band, and cone.
- Drum brakes create friction by pressing the brake shoes against a spinning surface. They are mostly applied to the rear wheels to avoid significant heat buildup. They often have less drag than disc brakes when adjusted correctly.
- Disc brakes have brake pads, a caliper, and a rotor. During operation, the brake pads are squeezed against the rotor. Disc brakes have good heat dissipation properties and tend to be much more predictable than drum brakes at peak brake force.
- Band brakes are characterized by a metal band that’s lined with heat-resistant and wear-resistant material. These brakes are simple, compact, rugged, and can generate high force with a small input force, but are prone to grabbing, chatter, and loss of force when hot.
- Cone brakes are like band brakes in that they feature heat- and wear-resistant friction material, but are far less common. During actuation, the cone is pressed against the mating cup surface.
Brake Engagement Methods
Most hydraulic brakes use non-contact, friction, toothed, wrap spring, or oil shear engagement techniques. With non-contact products, braking action is achieved via magnetic fields or eddy currents. By contrast, friction brakes transmit power via friction between contact surfaces. Toothed contact surfaces transmit power with slipping or heat generation. The teeth are engaged only when the equipment is stopped or operating at low speeds. With wrap spring brakes, a coiled spring wraps downward onto the rotating element. The brake is disengaged when the spring is uncoiled via a control tang at its end. Brake products may also achieve braking action via the viscous action of the shearing of transmission fluid (oil shear).
Brake Operation Methods
There are two brake operation methods for hydraulic brakes: spring actuation (engage) and spring return (disengage). With spring actuation, the spring engages during operation and requires power to disengage. Spring-actuated brakes are also called power-off, fail-safe, and safety brakes. With spring return products, the hydraulic brakes need power to engage and a spring to disengage. Spring-return brakes are also called power-on and non-fail-safe brakes.
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Acting Director, Department of Fish and Game’s Division of Ecological Restoration
The jack hammering has stopped and the construction crew is exhausted from moving tons of earth, stone and concrete. With the final scoop of the excavator bucket, the last of Ox Pasture Brook Dam is removed. The stillness is palpable – the steady hum of heavy machinery and the faint smell of diesel exhaust are gone. Tranquility has returned to MassWildlife’s 2,000-acre William Forward Wildlife Management Area in Rowley.
For almost a century, the Ox Pasture Brook Dam has been blocking ocean tides, migratory fish (rainbow smelt, blueback herring and American eels), and other wildlife that use the brook and the river corridor to spawn and feed. A wide array of partners led by DER’s Alex Hackman, who have plugged away for three years to plan, permit and implement the removal of the dam to restore this tidal river.
Behind the dam is the former impoundment –three acres of open water is slowly converting to wetland, a sinuous channel is starting to carve it’s way naturally to the Great Marsh below, and native plants are ready to take advantage of the newly exposed, rich sediments. This is ecological restoration at its best: planned intervention working with the healing hand of nature to reform and reshape natural conditions over time.
If you go to Ox Pasture Brook today, you will see the river bed emerging and new stream banks forming. This process will take several years to complete as the natural cycles of tide and storms move sediment downstream. You would have to go back to the retreat of the glaciers (approx. 10,000 years ago) to see a new river form – so pick a warm day and head out to Ox Pasture Brook to see Mother Nature do her thing.
2015 DAR Agricultural Calendar: April posted on May 14
A lamb at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in North Grafton. Photo by David Cawston April’s contest winner was David Cawston who photographed a spring lamb at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in North Grafton. The Cummings School of …Continue Reading 2015 DAR Agricultural Calendar: April
2015 DAR Agricultural Calendar: March posted on Apr 23
Girard’s Sugarhouse in Heath, MA. The sugarhouse was built in 1887 and produces around 250-300 gallons of syrup annually. Photo by Michael Girard March’s contest winner was Michael Girard who photographed his family’s sugarhouse in Heath. Michael Girard has been a sugarmaker since 1961 when he …Continue Reading 2015 DAR Agricultural Calendar: March
2015 DAR Agricultural Calendar: February posted on Feb 25
February’s contest winner was Amanda Bettle, who photographed sheep at The Natural Resources Trust of Easton. This photo features Dog, a former 4-H show animal and sole male sheep among the nine ewes in the Natural Resources Trust of Easton (NRT) flock. It is the mission …Continue Reading 2015 DAR Agricultural Calendar: February
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Physical and mental disability or incapacity can affect a person’s ability to take care of himself or herself and also take decisions for their own welfare. Such persons often need treatment and other services.
Guardianships for such persons allow them to be independent and self reliant. The guardianship of such persons is often limited to allow the person to exercise as much control over his or her life as possible without losing any dignity. The guardian must act according to the desires of the person. The person must do things that they are mentally and physically capable of.
Powers of Guardians
The powers of the guardian are limited to those that are necessary for the person but the person cannot accomplish independently and can include:
• Ensuring that the person has access to necessary care
• Ensuring that the person receives the required medical and educational services
• Informing the court of the person’s condition from time to time including providing details of the person’s finances, the services rendered by the guardian, the health of the person and other such information as required by the court.
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The Origin of the Jewish Conspiracy that the world is controlled by the Jews.
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion
The text above was published in 1903. It is an Antisemitic fabricated text.
The text was denounced in THE TIMES in 1920 1921.
The work takes some inspiration from the 1864 work: Dialogue in Hell between Machiavelli and Montesquieu)
If you have ever been curious about where AntiSemitism comes from or where some Antisemites draw their information then know that The Protocols of the Elders of Zion is a very influential text.
You can find interesting info on this work by searching online and looking at the wikipedia page.
-End of post, DJ ROBO BISCUIT
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On my first visit to the Nantou Global Tea Expo this year, I bumped into the niece of one of my oldest tea farmer friends from Lu Gu. She was there helping a friend as a vendor of his tea from the Sun Moon Lake Area. What first stood out to me about their booth, among hundreds of vendors, was the backdrop photos of reddish-purple leaf buds of tea. I instantly thought, “Iʼve never seen that color on the new growth of tea plants before”. And so began my latest lesson in Taiwan tea cultivation. This plant, which this farmer has given the name “Purple Leaf-Bud Tea” is the indigenous tea plant.
I sat down at their tea table to sample three types of black tea they were serving simultaneously (in order to experience the differing qualities of each one). The first one I tasted was introduced as “Taiwan Mountain Tea” and was defined as the indigenous tea plant that is naturally occurring on the island of Taiwan. The second was a different harvest from the same plant - after the harvested leaves had been bitten by an insect that is responsible for making the renowned Oriental Beauty and Concubine Oolongs in Taiwan. This harvest produced less than ten pounds of tea from the entire season! This is the reality of chemical-free tea cultivation, but thatʼs a wholly separate topic. The third tea offered was Taiwan Tea #18 - also called Red Jade. All three were distinctly different and of the highest quality black tea Iʼve tasted in Taiwan. I was immediately impressed. I soon found out that the bug bitten harvest won first prize at the Yu Chi Farmersʼ Association for the Taiwan Mountain Tea competition.
Most significantly, I learned that there are cultivated tea plants in the Sun Moon Lake area that are over 100 years old! Prior to this, I had heard mention of tea plants in Northern Taiwan with such history, but of a very scarce amount. This prompted me to call on a friend who works at the Yu Chi Tea Research Extension Station (and who I buy our Red Jade #18 tea from) to learn more. He told me about the history of the discovery and cultivation of this indigenous tea that dates back to the Portuguese exploration and partial occupation of this island in the 1600ʼs. The first documented discovery of wild tea trees by the Portuguese was in the region that is now Nantou County. The area was then called “Shui Sha Lian” and the tea grown here continued to be given this name until very recently.
The history of its cultivation from this time of discovery is not well documented, but the fact is that there were
tea gardens of this indigenous plant being cultivated in this area upon the arrival of the Japanese around 1900. This is most likely the reason that the Japanese established their tea research and development HQ at Sun Moon Lake.
Japan proceeded to import the tea plant from Assam, India and cultivated Assam tea along with the indigenous plant in the development of their black tea export industry which flourished in first half of the 20th century. Not until just about 10 years ago was Taiwan Mountain Tea - the indigenous plant - officially recognized as the unique natural and historical treasure that it is. The recognition occurred in the wake of the 9/21 earthquake in 1999 when government attention was brought to the redevelopment of this area at the epicenter.
The earthquake also happened only months after the hybrid tea known as Red Jade was registered at the Tea Research Extension Station as Taiwan Tea #18. Actually, this hybrid of Assam tea with the indigenous plant is known to have been cultivated since at least as early as 1985. Assam tea had been grown here since the early 1900ʼs so it makes agricultural sense. But it wasnʼt only the cultivation of the tea plants, it was an innovation of their processing along with modern knowledge of soil conditions and natural fertilization. This is what has been bringing attention to Sun Moon Lake Black Tea in the last decade.
The government funded Tea Research Extension Station (TRES) was inherited from the Japanese tea research center and has continued experimental tea cultivation in order to support and guide the local industry. In 1999, TRES officially recognized Red Jade #18 as an ideal tea strain for black tea cultivation. Consequently, attention was finally given to the historical tea gardens of indigenous tea plants that predate Japanese development.
|100 Year Old Tea Tree|
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Dickens was also known as a fashionable dresser and the only two pieces of his clothing that survive will be on show. Indeed, his 1860 black silk grosgrain waistcoat, currently in a private collection, will be on display for the first time in more than a century. Alongside it will be the dark woolen court suit worn by the author when he met Edward, Prince of Wales in 1870.
“We aim to present an image of Dickens that the public have never seen before,” said Frankie Kubicki, curator at the Charles Dickens Museum. “Dickens adored fashion and Technicolour Dickens will highlight his personal style and often daring fashion tastes. We have spent many months exploring the details of Dickens’ clothes, tailors and textiles, the choices he made when creating images to be shared with his readers and the reactions of those that came into contact with him."
Technicolour Dickens: The Living Image of Charles Dickens runs until April 25, 2021.
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A beautiful part of practicing your instrument is discovering new musical ideas, tricks, etc. Sometimes you come across these great little ideas, even by mistake, that really inspire you. Well, as I'm always coming across something, here's what happened this week:
I love flamenco music, especially the guitar playing. They take a nylon string guitar to another level. The sound, tone, chords, etc. Its so raw and beautiful. One of my favorite flamenco guitarists is Vicente Amigo (link). I was checking out his Solea, Mezquita, from his album, Un Momento en el Sonido, and was struck by some beautiful chords. Check this out:
Beautiful, dark, E chord (no third) with a flat 9 (the 'F'). In fact its that flat 9 that gives it that biting sound as its a half step away from the E and rings against with a beautiful dissonance. You hear in all the time in flamenco music.
Play with some of the notes around it like this (somewhat reminiscent of a bit what Vicente plays at the beginning of Sting's track, Send Your Love):
Take it a step further and lead it into another great E with a flat 9:
The above is close to what Vicente plays around :37 in Mezquita. Listen here.
Here are a couple more versions of the chord around the neck:
Have fun with it,
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I was bemused to read a few days ago a report that some market traders in the UK wondered if the Brexit vote meant they could ditch metric measurements and return to Imperial ones, such as pounds and ounces, feet and inches.
The notion of bring comfortable with units of accounting may seem nerdy, but is really basic. I recall many times people talking about ‘funny money’, when the UK decided to move to decimal currency. For the British, counting in 12s was easier than counting in 10s. Go, figure! However odd that was, for many, moving from pounds and ounces, to grams and kilograms, or from inches and feet and yards, to metres and kilometres was a step too far. The crossover generation, had it worst, obviously, much like those Swedes who woke up one day to be told they had to drive on the right, not the left. But, the cross over was a long time ago, so the nostalgic hangover is rooted deeply.
One of the features of mass migration from the Caribbean from the 1950s was that people were moving within the same system. How Imperial Britain worked was essentially how the Caribbean worked. Though, as is often the case, being away from the core means some things change slowly. So, for instance, many Jamaicans in the 1950s used distance measures like chains (66 feet or 22 yards) and volume measures like gills (pronounced ‘Jill’, a quarter pint), which had mostly died out in the UK. (Many older rural people still use them in Jamaica.) But, a little time in the ‘Mother country’ was enough to cement the understanding that such terms wouldn’t take you far. But, we knew about feet and yards and furlongs, so weren’t tripped up as they flourished. I had no problem visualizing a furlong race, and understood why a running track was 440 yards long.
Had Caribbean migrants gone to mainland Europe, we would have had language issues piles on top of unit issues.
Conversely, those migrants from French and Belgian colonies were similarly advantaged when they moved from Africa and Caribbean places to their ‘Motherlands’.
Britain went metric in 1971. Jamaica moved to the decimal dollar in 1969. I cannot remember if we had a period of confusion between those years as Jamaicans remitted money and travelled back and forth. But, it must have been fun. Jamaica started going metric in the 1970s, but didn’t complete the process for some 30 years.
Of course, some aspects of life defy bureaucracy. I love that you can find stone mile posts dotted all over Jamaica. Blessed are we to have places like ‘Three Mile’ and ‘Six Miles’ and ‘Mile Gully’. Ironic that my undergraduate college was in a part of London called ‘Mile End’. I don’t know if some dusty memos somewhere has proposals to change these to metric equivalents.
It’ll be interesting to see what happens with this ‘make Britain great again by bring back the groat’ post-Brexit reaction.
I am as comfortable giving a penny for your thoughts as I am giving you my two cents worth; both fit into Anglophone decimal thinking. But, turning on a sixpence isn’t the same as turning on a dime. I could easily understand distances as a child, when things related to the approximate length of a foot; or an inch was about the length of the thumb joint. A metre? A centimetre? I think drinking pints of beer makes more sense than drinking a third or half a litre. I don’t have trouble travelling thinking in miles or kilometres.
The Internet age is all metric, so my brain has no need to translate kilobytes and megabytes, though it helps to know that kilos are much less than mega-sized things.
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Holocaust Stamp Gallery
from around the world
St. Kevin Elementary School
Miami, Florida, (1997)
These drawings are sent from St. Kevin Elementary School, a Catholic School
headed by Mrs. America Novas
The school is located in the United States in the state of Florida and the city of Miami.
My name is Maria Khawand. I teach Reading
to the sixth, seventh, and eighth graders. The first book on my reading list was The Cage, by Ruth Minsky Sender.
Mrs.Treilles, the social studies teacher
, and I agreed this would be an appropriate selection since our eighth-grade students will be studying about World War II. Upon searching for background information on the Holocaust to give my students, I came across your Web Page.
I discovered the stamp gallery and was truly fascinated by the collection that described the sequence of events of the Holocaust. I was especially touched by the children's gallery. I found this to be a great opportunity to have my students come closer to understanding the horror of the Holocaust.
I presented the idea to the
art teacher, Mrs. Eskert,
who has motivated not only the eighth-graders, but also the students in the other grades to draw the events of the Holocaust.
This is how we have come to send you these pictures. We are also taking our students to see the play The Diary of Anne Frank. My objective has been to spark an awareness in my students on the events of the Holocaust, and on the realization that this is an event that could still occur in their lifetime.
The students that sent in the drawings are:
Jennifer Cento, age 10
Cristina Diaz, age 13
Mark Ochoa, age 12
Adriana Girimaldo, age 13
Michelle Valverde, age 13
Miami, Florida, (1999)
FastCounter by bCentral
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Date: October 11, 1973
Location: Pascagoula, Mississippi, United States
The Pascagoula Incident involved two men, Parker and Hickson, both of Gautier, Mississippi, who were fishing in the Pascagoula River when they heard a buzzing noise behind them. Both turned and were terrified to see a ten-foot-wide, eight-foot-high, glowing egg-shaped object with blue lights at its front hovering just above the ground about forty feet from the river bank. As the men, frozen with fright, watched, a door appeared in the object, and three strange Beings floated just above the river towards them.
Charles Hickson (left) and Calvin Parker.
Pascagoula UFO occupant, as described by Charles Hickson to Tony Accurso, artist for the "Dick Cavett Show." (credit: Ralph and Judy Blum, Beyond Earth: Man's Contact with UFOs)
Type of Case/Report: MajorCase
Hynek Classification: CE4
Special Features/Characteristics: Abduction, Physiological Effects, Polygraph Test, Witness Photo, Humanoid/Occupant
There are a few cases of reported abductions that really impress me. One of these is the Hickson/Parker case. Here is a collection of articles and documents from the NICAP website.
Source: Andy Page / NICAP
[go to original source]
The Pascagoula Incident involved two men, nineteen-year-old Calvin Parker and forty-two-year old Charles Hickson, both of Gautier, Mississippi, who were fishing in the Pascagoula River when they heard a buzzing noise behind them. Both turned and were terrified to see a ten-foot-wide, eight-foot-high, glowing egg-shaped object with blue lights at its front hovering just above the ground about forty feet from the river bank. As the men, frozen with fright, watched, a door appeared in the object, and three strange Beings floated just above the river towards them.
The Beings had legs but did not use them. They were about five feet tall, had bullet-shaped heads without necks, slits for mouths, and where their noses or ears would be, they had thin, conical objects sticking out, like carrots from a snowman's head. They had no eyes, grey, wrinkled skin, round feet, and claw like hands.
Two of the beings seized Hickson; when the third grabbed Parker, the teenager fainted with fright. Hickson claimed that when the Beings placed their hands under his arms, his body became numb, and that then they floated him into a brightly lit room in the UFO's interior, where he was subjected to a medical examination with an eyelike device which, like Hickson himself, was floating in mid-air.
At the end of the examination, the Beings simply left Hickson floating, paralyzed but for his eyes, and went to examine Parker, who, Hickson believed was in another room. Twenty minutes after Hickson had first observed the UFO, he was floated back outside and released. He found Parker weeping and praying on the ground near him. Moments later, the object rose straight up and shot out of site.
Expecting only ridicule if they were to tell anyone what had happened, Hickson and Parker initially decided to keep quiet; but then, because the government might want, or ought, to know about it, they telephoned Kessler Air Force Base in Biloxi. A sergeant there told them to contact the sheriff. But uncertain about the reception their bizarre story might get from the local law, they drove to the local newspaper office to speak to a reporter. When they found the office closed, Hickson and Parker felt they had no alternative but to talk to the sheriff.
The sheriff, after listening to their story, put Hickson and Parker in a room wired for sound in the belief that if the two men were left alone they would reveal their hoax; of course they did not. The local press reported their tale; the wire services picked it up; and within several days the Pascagoula Encounter was major news all over the country. The Aerial Phenomena Research Organization (APRO), founded in 1952, sent University of California engineering professor James Harder to Mississippi to investigate; J. Allen Hynek, representing the Air Force, also arrived. Together they interviews the witnesses. Harder hypnotized Hickson but had to terminate the session when Hickson became too frightened to continue.
Hickson and Parker both subsequently passed lie detector tests. Hynek and Harder believed the two men's story. And Hynek was later quoted as saying "There was definitely something here that was not terrestrial".
Case ID: 97
FAIR USE NOTICE: This page may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. This website distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for scientific, research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107.
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The energyEGG® reduces the power consumption of the modern home and work environment. It is a revolutionary yet straightforward device; if a room is not occupied all selected appliances (a television, stereo, lamp) will be switched off.
There is one convenient button to wirelessly switch ON/OFF all your appliances. The battery-powered sensor detects when a room has been left vacant and after a period of time, between 5 and 30 minutes set by you, it then sends a wireless OFF signal to a Control Adaptor, switching off the appliances connected to the Adaptor. The energyEGG® has patent pending technology, similar to that used in alarm systems, that evaluates whether or not you are sat still or the room is unoccupied. This means it will not switch off during your favourite TV show because you are sat still.
It is great too if you have a socket in a hard to reach place, as you can switch it off from a distance just by pressing the button on the top.
That means no more panics because the iron has been left on, an end to the late night trawls for powered appliances and peace of mind that forgetfulness is not a factor in excessive energy bills – or domestic fires.
The unique capacity to switch off devices not in use, as well as those left standby, generates savings beyond the claims of ‘standby elimination’ products. As the only product which can automatically switch off all products with no input from the user the energyEGG® is the only product that meaningfully addresses this wastage of energy and money too.
If you have any further questions you might want to look at our Frequently Asked Questions
The energyEGG® cuts the power when an appliance is not in use. Recent figures show that compared to this time last year household bills have gone up about £400 a year. So much of that is down to simply things not being switched off.
Treegreen aims to understand the human interaction with appliances and ensure devices are controlled in the most energy efficient way.
To find out more about the energyEGG® and how to set it up, the instruction manual is available here.
Find out what TV Presenter James Hyman thinks of the energyEGG®...
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We are very lucky to live in a leafy green city with a range of wonderful open spaces – including Waterloo Park, which is where we spend a lot of time as a family throughout the year.
I knew it was historic – there’s a sign that says so – but I had never really thought about how or when it came to be. For that we owe a number of people a debt of thanks, including Captain Arnold Sandys-Winsch.
When he was appointed as parks superintendent in 1919, Norwich had Chapelfield Gardens, the Gildencroft, Sewell Park and a few playgrounds but by the time he retired, some 34 years later, it had about 600 acres dedicated to recreation and relaxation.
The straight-backed former first world war fighter pilot oversaw the creation of much needed green spaces in a city where, in those days, many families lived in less than ideal conditions.
Taking advantage of government grants to fund schemes aimed at providing much needed jobs during the economic downturn following the war, the corporation, now the city council, decided to construct a series of formal parks using land acquired at the start of the 20th century.
The captain, a passionate gardener who had gained a scholarship to Cheshire Horticulture College, not only drew up plans for the gardens but also every element within the parks – from the pavilions to the steps and from model yacht ponds to balustrades.
Over the years he employed a small army of men, many of whom had returned from the ravages of the war desperate for work but unskilled in any trade.
While Eaton Park, opened by the Prince of Wales in 1928, was the flagship scheme, the captain made sure each of them had its own identity – and these days they all have their own passionate supporters.
Waterloo Park was already in existence when the captain arrived. It was known as Catton Recreation Ground then and was just an open space but the captain doubled its size to 18 acres and added all sorts of features, such as new bowls and tennis courts, a pavilion and bandstand, formal lawns and gardens, including what is thought to be the longest herbaceous border in the country (looking especially lovely at the moment).
The name was changed to Waterloo Park when it was reopened in 1933.
While many parks in the UK fell into decline in the 1970s and 1980s, in the last two decades they have seen something of a renaissance – sparked largely by investment from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and the Big Lottery Fund (BLF). In Norwich, Waterloo, Wensum, Eaton and Heigham parks have all been restored using lottery money.
Waterloo is now one of 23 parks and more than 100 open spaces and natural areas within the city.
I’d visited the park a couple of times pre-Freya to play tennis but I first started going regularly when I needed to lengthen my running route and wanted to stay away from busy roads.
It became even more important once I’d had Freya; it was my sanctuary. I would pop her in her pram, usually crying it has to be said, and walk to the park most days, whatever the weather. Quite often she would fall asleep on the way and I would just sit on a bench and ponder how people did this motherhood thing.
Those days are thankfully gone but my love (now, our love) for the park has remained strong. I only have to look back over my photo archive to realise how many times we’ve visited in the last nearly four years.
During each season I think that one is my favourite but then the next one rolls around and there are more things to photograph. We visit all year (although quite often we have the playground to ourselves in winter).
As well as just being a lovely open space with plenty of grass to play on there is also a splash park, which is very popular in the summer, the aforementioned children’s playground, various courts and a circular path to run/walk around.
The only thing missing for me was somewhere to buy a drink or a snack but that’s all about to change with the launch of a new cafe – I can’t wait to try the hot chocolate!
Even though it feels like we’ve explored every inch of the park we still come across new things all the time.
If you’re in Norwich and looking for somewhere (free) to explore or let the children have some fun, you won’t be disappointed with a visit to Waterloo Park.
Freya and I ignored all the jobs we had to do on Monday (ok, mainly me) and enjoyed some much needed open space and fresh air at one of our favourite places, Whitlingham Country Park – and, goodness, it was worth it.
As we were looking at various ducks and swans and enjoying the peace and quiet something caught my eye out on the water. Luckily I had my big camera with me and when I zoomed in I captured the photo above.
I’m a bit clueless when it comes to bird identification but I knew it was big and wondered if it was a grey heron (later confirmed by the wonderful folks on Twitter). I’m sad that I didn’t see it fly away as I bet that would be a sight to see (maybe next time).
Speaking of birds, the day before we had a quick walk around our local park and just as we were about to leave I looked up to see a little robin singing sweetly in the tree. I managed to take a couple of photos before it was off but it was such a dark day and only one of them was really any good so I had a play around with another. What do you think?
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How Much Do Credit Card Processors Cost in 2022?
Credit card processing fees are typically charged on a percentage basis of 0.29% to 3.2% on every transaction, depending on whether or not the card was present at the point of purchase. On top of that, there is usually a monthly fee that may range as high as $35-$40 per month.
This guide will help you compare merchant services costs.
When choosing a service provider for your business, it’s important to compare prices and features to ensure you get the best deal. When you compare credit card processor prices, the balance between price and features is just as important as other services.
What to Look for When Comparing Credit Card Processor Prices
One in four Americans doesn’t carry cash with them on a regular basis. This means any business that wants successful sales needs to provide credit card processing for their customers.
The price for processing will differ based on the credit card processing provider. Each provider has different merchant fees to keep in mind. Before you dive into the fees, there are some basic terms to understand.
Merchant Services Terms to Know
There are many terms involved in credit card processing. To successfully compare your options, you will need to understand these terms.
- Acquiring Bank
The acquiring bank is the bank that processes payments for the merchant. This bank will communicate with the merchant’s primary bank and the customer’s bank. The acquiring bank also communicates with the credit card networks to ensure payments are processed accurately.
- Issuing Bank
The issuing bank is the bank that provides the customer’s credit card account. This is the bank responsible for ensuring funds are available for the customer’s purchase.
- Card Present or Card Not Present
The terms card present and card not present involve the method used to capture the customer’s credit card account info. Card present means the customer swipes the card to complete the purchase. Card not present means the account info is entered manually.
The interchange is the fee charged by the credit card network. This fee is charged to the processing provider. The provider generally passes this fee on to the merchant using their services.
- Basis Points
Basis points determine the fee for each credit card transaction. Providers charge a fee, anywhere up to 3% for each transaction. The basis points show what percentage is charged.
- Discount Fee
The discount fee is the percentage charged to the merchant for services provided. This fee will depend on features offered plus other factors.
- Authorization Fee
The authorization fee is charged each time the merchant’s software communicates with the credit card network for authorization. This fee is charged directly from the credit card network.
A chargeback occurs when a customer disputes the charges to their credit card. The merchant has a chance to dispute this. If the chargeback sticks, the merchant is charged fees for the process.
There are other terms involved with the credit card process, but these are important for determining the price your business is charged.
How do Merchant Services Work?
Merchant services is another term for the services provided by a credit card processing provider. There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes when a credit card is processed. A relationship is built between the cardholder, merchant, card network, processing company and banks involved.
The process begins with the cardholder. Once they use the merchant’s processing software to purchase a product or service, the relationship begins.
- The merchant’s bank service (acquiring bank) receives the payment request and sends this on to the cardholder’s bank.
- The process is reviewed by the credit card network and approvals or denials are issued.
- The approval or denial is sent back to the merchant’s bank for the next step.
- The merchant’s bank sends this approval or denial back to the merchant for complete processing at the end of the day.
- The merchant’s software sends all approvals back to the bank at the end of the day and funds are deposited into the merchant’s account.
- The merchant’s bank sends a payment request to the cardholder’s bank for repayment.
This process sounds complicated, but the approvals and payments happen quickly. For each credit card processed, the processing provider charges a percentage of the sale.
Processing Features to Consider
Each credit card processing provider includes different features with its services. This is an important factor to consider when comparing credit card processing rates.
Each business requires different processing options. If you process online payments, you need different options than someone that only does in-store purchases. The software used to track purchases and payments are also different for each business.
When deciding on merchant services, it’s important to consider these situations. You want to look for a provider that includes features that will integrate with your other software options. Merchants that use programs like Quickbooks will want services that integrate well.
Another consideration with industry customization is international purchases. If your product or service is available to international customers, look for a provider that includes international processing services.
Businesses often have more than one way to process payments. When choosing merchant services, make sure they offer integration with the different platforms you use.
If you offer online purchases, look for providers that offer plugins for eCommerce or website purchases. Pay attention to which platforms the provider lists in their integration options. Some providers will work well with Weebly or Wix but not with Shopify or other eCommerce options.
If you use a blogging option such as WordPress, look for available plugins for these programs. Do your research thoroughly before choosing.
For in-store processing, make sure the services work well with the hardware you have available. Keep in mind CRM programs also when choosing options.
Look at the card-present and card-not-present options. Remember that online purchases will require a card not present option to process the payment.
This integration also includes terminal options. Check out the terminals provided and the prices associated with them. Make sure any terminal purchases will work well with the other hardware and programs you have in place.
Low-Volume Versus High-Volume Processing
Each business differs in the number of sales each day. Some merchant services work better with high-volume processing and some work well with low-volume. Be realistic about your daily sales when deciding on a credit card processing provider.
If your business does low-volume sales, look for a provider that offers lower processing fees or pay-as-you-go options. Remember that your business is charged a fee for each payment processed, so you want to plan accordingly.
Security is an important factor when dealing with people’s financial information. Make sure you research each processing provider’s security history so you pick a company that will keep your customer’s information secure.
Your business security is another important factor. Check for fraud detection services with each platform to ensure you’re not coming up against excessive charge-back fees for fraudulent purchases.
Understanding Merchant Fees
Merchant fees involved with a credit card processing provider will differ based on many factors. When choosing a provider, it’s important to understand these factors and the effect they have on your business’ options. When comparing prices, there are some questions you want to keep in mind.
What Fees are Involved?
There are some fees involved with any processing rates. These include authorization fees, discount fees, basis points, and chargeback fees. There are some factors that influence these fees.
- The credit card network
- Card present versus card not present
- Your merchant category.
- Card type (credit versus debit cards)
Each of these factors is considered when fees are processed. There are other fees to consider though.
Many processing providers require a monthly fee to keep your merchant services active. These fees can range from $5 to $40 per month depending on the services you access.
Monthly minimums can also affect your fees for processing services. Many providers require a monthly minimum on the fees paid for services. If you don’t reach these monthly minimums, the provider will charge you for the difference.
Each provider requires these minimums based on different fees involved, so keep this in mind when comparing prices. Make sure providers that require minimums are upfront about the fees that will count towards your minimum requirements.
Watch out for inflated fees as well. Make sure you choose a merchant service with a good reputation. Some providers may trick businesses with hidden or inflated fees that raise prices considerably.
How Much Will the Necessary Equipment Cost?
Most merchant services provide the equipment needed to run credit cards with their system for an additional cost. This equipment is either rented or purchased for company use.
When determining the equipment cost, make sure to include the difference between rent and purchase prices. While renting may seem a cheaper option, this isn’t always the case. Keep maintenance and other factors in mind when making this decision.
Equipment prices will also vary based on available features. It will cost you less in the long term if you choose equipment that will meet all your processing needs rather than opting for the cheapest option. The prices will range anywhere from $10 to over $600 depending on the options available.
What is the Contract and Cancellation or Termination Policy?
Most providers require a contract for the services they provide. Make sure you understand and keep up with the contract policy. Knowing your contract terms will help you renegotiate when it’s time to renew a contract.
Some providers offer a pay-as-you-go option, but this option can increase monthly charges. Do your research on contracts and fees required. These fees also include the provider’s cancellation policy.
Ideally, you’ll find the perfect credit card processing provider for your business and not have to worry about terminating your service. Many things can happen though that might require you to cancel your service.
Make sure you understand the provider’s cancellation policy before making a final decision. Some services allow a no penalty termination. Some require a penalty fee if you cancel your service before the contract is complete.
What Features are Offered?
Just because a provider is cheaper doesn’t mean it’s your best option. Keep in mind that more features will increase the price of the service provided. Compare the features offered to your business needs when planning your purchase.
Are you an online store, a brick-and-mortar, or both? These questions will affect whether you need online payment options or in-store.
Look for payment deposit options as well. What are the fees associated with depositing funds into your account? How often will finds get deposited?
Also, pay attention to security features. Do they offer any type of fraud insurance or security? Is the provider security compliant?
Understand the risk involved for your business in security breaches so you can choose the best option. Extra security measures may cost more but could save you money down the line.
What Customer Support and Reports Does the Merchant Service Provider Offer?
Setting up your credit card processing systems can prove tricky at first. You should check out the ease of set up as well as the customer support offered for getting started. Also, check the provider’s availability for questions or maintenance issues.
Check on the credit card processing provider’s transaction reporting policy as well. What information will they provide in their transaction reports? You want as much information as possible.
Look at how they break down their monthly fees so you know what you’re spending money on each month. Also, make sure they provide full reports on the authorized purchases for each month.
Another consideration here is how the processing provider’s transaction reports integrate with your financial software. Look for options that work with your current software so bookkeeping is easier.
Know how often you’ll receive reports as well. Will you get daily or monthly reports? This will help you know how to track your payments and funds received for easier financial tracking.
Tips For Choosing a Credit Card Processing Solution
Do you need advice on credit card processing? We have some tips that can help you. Read this article for our credit card processing buyer’s guide.
Cash is quickly become a thing of the past and buyers now expect to be able to make purchases by card.
Whether it is in-store, over the phone, or online, you could be missing out on valuable sales. It is all about convenience!
Fees and Charges
Businesses may avoid using card processing services because of any additional costs involved.
There are not only transaction costs but monthly fees and termination fees to consider.
Here are a few of the fees you may encounter:
Interchange fees are charged for every transaction. This means, every time a customer makes a purchase, you are charged a percentage of the sale.
This is could be fairly small and depends on the company you choose to go with. Be aware, as this fee might be as high as 5%.
Different payment types may incur different types of interchange fees. Online transactions may have higher fees as they are more of a security risk.
Some businesses may choose to pass these fees onto the customer while others absorb it in their original price.
Some processing companies work a little differently. They will waive the interchange fees and replace with a flat rate per transaction.
This often works well for big-ticket items!
For example, a 5% fee on a $5000 item is going to be much more than a $5 flat rate.
This is where you have to know what you are selling and the median price point.
Often companies will charge you a monthly gateway fee which is really just for providing the service.
This may cost you up to $30 a month, you should compare providers to get the best deal.
In addition, you may be charged a fee for receiving your statements in the mail. If you can, switch to a digital version to avoid this extra cost.
Some companies may even charge you a monthly minimum fee. Your transaction fee structure may have a lower limit owed per month.
This means, if you don’t reach the minimum threshold you may have to pay a gap. If you are starting out, try to avoid this until you are bringing in a regular income.
Application Fees and Early Termination Fees
You may have to pay a fee before beginning and ending the service. Get out your magnifying glass and read the fine print before signing up.
This will ensure you know whether they are hiding any of these sneaky fees.
What Do You Need It for?
Who are your customers and what do you need the card processing tool for?
The answer to these questions depends on your business model. Businesses with a larger turnover will have different needs to a small start-up.
You need to ask yourself:
- How long have you been in business?
- Are you an online business or bricks and mortar store…or both!?
- Do you prefer a flat fee or a percentage based fee?
- What monetary value products or services do you sell?
- Are you a not for profit business?
- Are you a medical business?
Once you have established your card processing needs, you can start to research which company best suits your business.
Which Cards Do You Want to Accept?
Did you know not all card processing systems accept all payment types?
Some companies may require you to choose between Visa, Discover, MasterCard, and American Express. Or, they may charge you a higher rate for having them all.
Think about whether you want to accept payments by bank card, this might not be a problem online but your in-store customers may like this option.
If you do want to accept gift cards or e-cheques you need to take this into account before making your selection.
How Much Support Will You Need?
If you are technology savvy you may not need much assistance with the setup and maintenance of your card processing.
However, if you feel as though you will need assistance (now or in the future), look for a company that has good customer service.
Give them a phone call, write them an email or contact them on social media. Are they quick to respond?
Do they have the answers listed on their website? As this is a financial agreement, you need to know who you are dealing with and be able to ask questions if necessary.
The actual set up should be straightforward, and the instructions clear and concise.
Credit Card Processing Sample Costs
Below are a few examples of prices for credit card processors which will give you an idea of how much you will pay for your purchase.
- $80 to $210 Minimum Cost of EMV Upgrades
- Interchange Plus Markup range is between 16% -0.26%
- Per transaction fees cost about $0.10
- Swiped Debit Card Rates average 2%
- 3.5% average for swiped credit cards
Choosing the Right Merchant Services for Your Business
While important for your business success, comparing credit card processor prices is a time-consuming endeavor. There are many options available and many factors to consider.
If you’re overwhelmed with the different options available there is an option to make the process easier. Contact us for a custom quote so you can find the right merchant services option for your business.
Find Credit Card Processors Near You and Compare Up To Five Money Saving Quotes
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ADVANCES IN THE ASTRONAUTICAL SCIENCES
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
OTHER UNIVELT PUBLICATIONS
OTHER SPACE BOOKS
Copyright © 2010, Univelt, Inc.
All rights reserved.
An Experiment on Dynamical Analysis of Spinning Solar Sail
By: Takehiko Okui.
Reprinted from Advances in the Astronautical Sciences Volume 117.
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and will be delivered by email to the address you provide within two business days.
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Until now, Google has been trying to identify efficient advertising solutions for social media.
And rightfully so.
Social media has become the premier medium for communication and media, and over the past few years, Google has arguably become the face of the internet.
So Google figuring out the social networking issue is a logical and expected event. The only question is, what would such a solution look like?
In a recent BusinessWeek article, Heather Green discusses such a solution:
“Say there’s a group of basketball fans who spend a lot of time checking out each other’s pages. Their profiles probably indicate that they enjoy the sport. In addition, some might sign up for a Kobe Bryant fan group or leave remarks on each others’ pages about recent games they played or watched. Using today’s standard advertising methods, a company such as Nike (NKE) would pay Google to place a display ad on a fan’s page or show a “sponsored link” when somebody searches for basketball-related news. With influence-tracking, Google could follow this group of fans’ shared interests more closely, see which other fan communities they interact with, and—most important—learn which members get the most attention when they update profiles or post pictures.”
While the above excerpt may not be completely reflective of Google’s new, soon to be, patented technology for “ranking the most influential people on social networking sites”, the basic premise can be understood, with the premise being:
People, actions, interests, ENGAGEMENT and INTERACTION are the most important aspects of social networking sites.
Can a company, whose core technology is based on search, truly harness the power of engagement and interaction? Possibly (and if anyone can do it, Google will).
Can a company, whose core technology is based on engagement, truly harness the power of engagement and interaction? Most definitely (and if anyone has been doing it, it has been Lotame).
NOTE: This article can also be found @ the Lotame Blog
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Did you know that poor oral health will not only affect your teeth but even the quality of your life as well? When you have some missing teeth, infections, and pain, it will affect your social life and even hinder you from enjoying some of your favorite meals. Poor oral health will generally affect your physical, social, and mental well-being. It’s therefore vital to ensure that you take excellent care of your oral health.
One of the many ways that can help you in ensuring your oral health is in excellent condition is regular teeth cleaning, which is medically known as dental prophylaxis. At La Puente Advanced Dentistry, we offer prophylaxis services among many other dental care services. When you have dental prophylaxis, your teeth, gum, and mouth are generally cleaned, which helps prevent periodontal and gingivitis diseases. You can have dental prophylaxis after every six months, but sometimes your dentist may recommend you have the procedure after every three months.
Benefits Associated with Dental Prophylaxis
With regular dental prophylaxis, you will reap some of the following benefits:
When you have dental prophylaxis, your oral health specialist will thoroughly clean your teeth, gum, and oral cavity. This cleaning ensures that no food particles are hiding between your teeth or below your gum line. You will realize that the remaining food particles in your mouth contribute to plaque creation by bacteria in your mouth. These leftover food particles in your mouth, if not removed, will rot, creating a conducive environment for bacteria multiplication which will lead to infections and other periodontal diseases. Infections will make your breath stink, but when you have dental prophylaxis, you will prevent all these problems and, at the same time, enjoy a fresh breath throughout your day.
Boost in your Confidence
Sometimes your confidence may receive a hit, especially if you have stained or yellowing teeth. Regular dental prophylaxis will remove these stains, giving you a bright smile to conquer your day with.
Helps in Tartar Removal
You will realize that you still have some left-over food particles in your mouth even with regular brushing and flossing. If not checked on time, these food particles could lead to plaque buildup, contributing greatly to the formation of gingivitis and periodontal diseases. Therefore, your dentist will use specialized instruments to spot, remove, and stop tartar or plaque buildup during dental prophylaxis.
Prevention of Other Diseases
Dental prophylaxis involves various examinations done to your oral cavity. Some of these examinations include oral cancer screening and evaluating your risk of contracting any periodontal diseases. In addition, your dentist will be in a position to spot signs that indicate you have other medical problems like kidney or diabetes. It is easier to manage some of these diseases if they are spotted on time. Your dentist will also recommend a health regime that will prevent some of these diseases.
Is There Any Risk Associated with Dental Prophylaxis?
Yes, there is a risk associated with teeth cleaning, though the benefits far outweigh the risk. With dental prophylaxis, you can suffer a joint infection. This infection occurs when your gum is agitated during the procedure, making bacteria enter your blood system.
Teeth Cleaning Procedure Preparations
When it comes to teeth cleaning, you might think that all you have to do is to settle on the dental chair, and your dentist will do the rest. But for every successful treatment procedure, you need to prepare even when it seems to be a minor procedure. With proper preparation, you will ensure a comfortable procedure is carried out, and you will also feel in control of your situation. Some of the simple things that you will need to do to ensure you have smooth teeth cleaning procedure include:
Brush and Floss
When you are scheduled to have your teeth cleaned at the dentist, it is essential to brush before leaving home. Brushing and flossing will freshen up your breath and, at the same time, show your dentist if you are doing a great job at it. Another point to note is that every mouth has some germs. Therefore, when you brush before heading to your dental appointment, you will be assisting in the prevention of germs transmissions.
Take a Painkiller
You will find that plaque and tartar build-up can lead to gum swelling during the cleaning procedure. You can take a painkiller like ibuprofen an hour before the procedure and another dose several hours after the procedure. If you have a bleeding problem, consult with your health provider or dentist so that they can prescribe something for your pain.
Do Not Whiten Your Teeth
Even if you want to impress your dentist by showing them that you are excellently taking care of your teeth, do not overdo it by whitening your teeth. In most cases, Teeth whitening makes your teeth very sensitive, which may be counterproductive when it comes to teeth cleaning. Instead, you can have teeth whitening immediately after teeth cleaning, which is ideal as, at this point, your teeth will be very responsive to the whitening agents since there is no plaque or tartar on your teeth.
Brush Your Teeth Correctly
Brushing is crucial to excellent oral health, but it could end up causing more damage than good if you overdo it. When you brush your teeth using the wrong technique, you will end up making them porous. Proper brushing of teeth prevents their sensitivity and will make your teeth cleaning procedure more comfortable.
Write Down Any Questions You Might Have
Sometimes you may forget to ask a question plaguing your mind once you are at the dentist’s office due to anxiety. It is, therefore, important to jot down any question you may have on a piece of paper or your phone. This way, you will cover the entire basis and go home a satisfied person. Some things you might notice when brushing, but if you do, write them down somewhere you can easily forget, and they might be crucial in your dental evaluation.
Keep Calm and Avoid Anxiety during the Procedure
You will realize that about 45% of American adults are afraid of visiting their dentist. This fear or anxiety contributes to the majority of people missing out on their dental appointments. If you are anxious about visiting your dentist, some steps or measures can help you keep calm. When you take your seat, take a deep breath and let it out slowly. You can also have your favorite playlist playing and listen to it while your dentist cleans your teeth.
You can also talk with your dentist about your anxiety, and if you can’t come up with a way to calm down, they can offer medications like nitrous oxide to calm you down. Some dentists can also prescribe anti-anxiety drugs that are short-lived to help you relax.
Reschedule Your Appointment if You are Sick
When you are sick, your immune system is compromised, and this can be very risky when it comes to teeth cleaning. You will realize that teeth cleaning involves teeth scraping, a process that is essential in plaque removal. Teeth scraping can lead to gum irritation which causes bacteremia, a situation where bacteria are released into your bloodstream from your mouth. Under normal circumstances, this is not risky, but when you are sick and your immune system is probably compromised, it may negatively affect your health. If you are under medication, kindly let your dentist know so that they can advise you accordingly.
Come Up With a Signal if Uncomfortable
Some of your fears may stem from the fact that you may not be in a position to communicate with your dentist if the pain is too much or when you need a break. However, you can overcome this by discussing and coming up with a sign you can use while you want your dentist to stop.
Take your Oral Appliance with You
If you have an oral appliance to assist with your sleep apnea, remember to take it with you when you have your scheduled teeth cleaning. At times you may have guards or orthodontic work to assist with your grinding. Despite the situation, always carry your oral appliance, guard, or orthodontic works with you so that they can be cleaned as well. These devices may have plaque and tartar just like your teeth, and your dentist will place them in an ultrasonic machine and have them ready by the time they are done with your teeth.
General Teeth Cleaning Steps
You may decide to have your teeth cleaning during a regular dental check-up or when your dentist suspects severe gingivitis or periodontal disease. Your dentist will have to place a tube in your mouth that will protect your lungs from harmful bacteria removed from your mouth during the procedure. The procedure will involve several different steps, which include:
Your dentist will examine your mouth using a concave mirror to ascertain if you have any oral problems like inflamed gums, tartar build-up, and dark spots on your teeth. This procedure is crucial as it helps your dentist know which areas to start with and focus on. In addition, if your dentist finds any periodontal disease or cavities during this examination, they will know how to address the issues and come up with a treatment plan that is ideal for you.
Your dentist will use a scaler to remove tartar and plaque buildup on your teeth and the gum line during this step. There are two types of scalers; manual and ultrasonic. Your dentist will use a manual scaler if the plaque buildup is not very large and an ultrasonic one when you have a large plaque buildup. When it comes to a manual scaler, you will feel like your dentist is scraping your teeth, while an ultrasonic one will experience some gentle vibrations on your mouth. The ultrasonic scaler uses water to remove the plaque deposits from your mouth. Scaling involves the following:
When it comes to supra-gingival cleaning, your dentist will use scaling tools to clean the areas between your teeth and gum line to remove plaque and tartar.
With subgingival cleaning, your dentist will clean the areas beneath your gum line and remove tartar and plaque from your gum pockets. If you are suffering from periodontal diseases, then you will benefit greatly from this cleaning.
Your dentist will carry out a root planing procedure to eliminate residual bacteria from your tooth root. Any residual bacteria can be extremely harmful to you, especially if you suffer from any periodontal diseases.
After cleaning your teeth, your dentist will then polish them to ensure no remaining stains. A prophylaxis paste is used during this step and is applied using a handheld electronic gadget. All that you will experience is a grinding motion on your teeth. After polishing, your dentist or oral hygienist will floss your teeth to ensure no remaining tartar or plaque.
You will find that most dentists offer fluoride treatment during the teeth cleaning process. During fluoride treatment, your dentist or oral hygienist will place a fluoride gel inside a mouthpiece which you are to wear for about a minute.
It is essential to apply an antibiotic cream to promote fast healing and ease any discomfort from your gum pockets regarding any tooth procedure, whether root planing or scaling.
Regular X-ray Examinations
Regular x-ray examinations are extremely helpful for the management and treatment of periodontal and gingivitis diseases. In addition, an x-ray will assist your dentist in identifying any progressing illness and help them in ascertaining if a particular treatment is working or not.
What to Do After Teeth Cleaning Procedure
After having your teeth cleaning procedure, you should work hard to ensure that your oral health is at its peak. Some of the things that you should do include:
Wait for the Numbness to Wear Off
While cleaning your teeth, your dentist will apply some local anesthesia to numb your jaw. If you are hungry, you should wait until this numbness wears off before indulging in that tasty meal.
Eat Right After Dental Cleaning
You can eat immediately after having your teeth cleaned; the only issue is that, at times, your teeth or gum might be very sensitive. Eating right means that you should avoid eating extremely cold or hot food immediately after having your teeth cleaned.
Take Some Time Before Eating If You Had Fluoride Treatment
When you have fluoride treatment and your teeth cleaned, you cannot eat immediately after the procedure. Fluoride treatment will need about 30 minutes to set around your teeth, and you should wait until it has sealed around your teeth before eating anything. One of the benefits of having a fluoride treatment is the fact that it will strengthen your teeth and help protect them against tooth decay while at the same time help in repairing your teeth’ enamel.
Foods That You Can Eat After Teeth Cleaning
Though you are free to eat immediately after having a teeth cleaning procedure, you will need to give your teeth some time before the sensitivity wears off. While waiting for the sensitivity to wear off, you can take some foodstuffs like soups, soft food, and hard-boiled eggs.
Take a lot of water as it will help keep you hydrated, and at the same time, it won’t stain your freshly cleaned teeth. Avoid taking sugary foodstuffs and drinks as these may be harsh on your already sensitive teeth. Apart from sugary foodstuffs, avoid taking spicy, sticky, crunchy, or even food containing citrus in them for some time.
Take Note of Any Discomfort or Pain
After having your teeth cleaned, you will experience discomfort because your gums may be tender or swollen. You may also have extremely sensitive teeth, especially when you take anything hot or cold. If you experience any of these discomforts, you don’t need to worry as they will be gone within a few days. But if the discomfort persists, you should consult with your dentist as soon as possible.
Remember to Take your Medications Regularly
After the cleaning procedure, your dentist may prescribe some pain medications to take care of any pain and some antibiotics if you have infections. You should take these medications as prescribed by your dentist.
Use Salt and Water for Rinsing
You can use salt and water to rinse your mouth after teeth cleaning two or three times a day. This rinsing will help in reducing the rate of inflammation in your mouth.
Maintain Excellent Oral Health
Though it may prove difficult to brush and floss immediately after a teeth cleaning procedure due to the sensitivity, try as much as possible to maintain oral hygiene once the sensitivity wears off. Brush at least twice daily and practice regular flossing. Change your toothbrush after three months and clean your teeth using proper brushing techniques.
Contact a La Puente Dentist Near Me
Maintaining excellent oral health is one way of ensuring you remain healthy and detecting other diseases like diabetes early. Teeth cleaning is one way of ensuring that your teeth and gums are in a healthy condition. Your dentist will be in a position to examine you and create a treatment plan if necessary.
At La Puente Advanced Dentistry, we have a team of qualified oral health specialists who will examine you and develop a treatment plan that is ideal for you. With our in-depth experience gained over the years, you can rest assured that your oral health is our topmost priority. Therefore, feel free to contact us at 626-626-7075 and book your appointment today.
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How can I cope with stress and be positive? Certain techniques can definitely help:
Healthy eating habits: Avoid smoking, drinking alcohol and other addictions.
Regular physical activities: Breathing exercises like Pranayam help reduce stress. Even taking deep breaths during acute stress helps.
Sufficient physical rest: Good sleep and relaxation techniques help. Keep expectation to minimum, plan your activities or important work in advance, set realistic goals and very importantly learn to accept defeats and learn to say NO to others when you feel that necessary.
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Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. It is administered by "laying on hands" and is based on the idea that an unseen "life force energy" flows through us and is what causes us to be alive. If one's "life force energy" is low, then we are more likely to get sick or feel stress, and if it is high, we are more capable of being happy and healthy.
The word Reiki is made of two Japanese words - Rei which means "God's Wisdom or the Higher Power" and Ki which is "life force energy". So Reiki is actually "spiritually guided life force energy."
A treatment feels like a wonderful glowing radiance that flows through and around you. Reiki treats the whole person including body, emotions, mind and spirit creating many beneficial effects that include relaxation and feelings of peace, security and wellbeing. Many have reported miraculous results.
Reiki is a simple, natural and safe method of spiritual healing and self-improvement that everyone can use. It has been effective in helping virtually every known illness and malady and always creates a beneficial effect. It also works in conjunction with all other medical or therapeutic techniques to relieve side effects and promote recovery.
An amazingly simple technique to learn, the ability to use Reiki is not taught in the usual sense, but is transferred to the student during a Reiki class. This ability is passed on during an "attunement" given by a Reiki master and allows the student to tap into an unlimited supply of "life force energy" to improve one's health and enhance the quality of life.
Its use is not dependent on one's intellectual capacity or spiritual development and therefore is available to everyone. It has been successfully taught to thousands of people of all ages and backgrounds.
While Reiki is spiritual in nature, it is not a religion. It has no dogma, and there is nothing you must believe in order to learn and use Reiki. In fact, Reiki is not dependent on belief at all and will work whether you believe in it or not. Because Reiki comes from God, many people find that using Reiki puts them more in touch with the experience of their religion rather than having only an intellectual concept of it.
While Reiki is not a religion, it is still important to live and act in a way that promotes harmony with others. Mikao Usui, the founder of the Reiki system of natural healing, recommended that one practice certain simple ethical ideals to promote peace and harmony, which are nearly universal across all cultures.
During a meditation several years after developing Reiki, Mikao Usui decided to add the Reiki Ideals to the practice of Reiki. The Ideals came in part from the five prinicples of the Meiji emperor of Japan whom Mikao Usui admired. The Ideals were developed to add spiritual balance to Usui Reiki. Their purpose is to help people realize that healing the spirit by consciously deciding to improve oneself is a necessary part of the Reiki healing experience. In order for the Reiki healing energies to have lasting results, the client must accept responsibility for her or his healing and take an active part in it. Therefore, the Usui system of Reiki is more than the use of the Reiki energy. It must also include an active commitment to improve oneself in order for it to be a complete system. The ideals are both guidelines for living a gracious life and virtues worthy of practice for their inherent value.
The secret art of inviting happiness
The miraculous medicine of all diseases
Just for today, do not anger
Do not worry and be filled with gratitude
Devote yourself to your work. Be kind to people.
Every morning and evening, join your hands in prayer.
Pray these words to your heart
and chant these words with your mouth
Usui Reiki Treatment for the improvement of body and mind
The founder , Usui Mikao
Reiki classes are taught all over the country and in many parts of the world. If you are interested in learning Reiki, please check the class schedule.
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Help kids take a bite out of obesity with a permanent exhibit at Science Museum Oklahoma, 2100 N.E. 52nd.
Sponsored by Integris Health, “SmartMouth” is an informative, hands-on program focused on educating children and their parents about the dangers of obesity and the positive reinforcements of healthy eating, in an entertaining way.
Through a series of interactive computer games, “SmartMouth” provides a much-needed reminder how health and personal well-being should be a top priority.
Parents and kids can challenge one another at a variety of games, including “Choose Your Chews,” in which players choose between dozens of fast-food items and see an immediate calculation of caloric and fat intake.
“It’s a fun way to learn about nutrition and making the right choices, which isn’t always easy,” said Cheryl Neal, museum director of education. “(This program) empowers family members with knowledge on how best to fuel the body without overdoing it.”
Visitors also can:
” weigh and measure themselves,
” check their body mass index, and
” burn some energy on a “flaming” stationary bike.
Museum admission is $13.50 for adults and $10.25 for seniors and children 3-12. For more information, visit their site or call 602-6664. “Joanna Rus
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WELLINGTON, New Zealand, April 3 (UPI) -- Conservationists say they're stepping up pressure on New Zealand's government to protect two endangered dolphin species.
An international coalition of conservation campaigners signed a letter to Prime Minister John Key calling for immediate action to protect New Zealand's Hector's and Maui's dolphins, Xinhua reported Tuesday.
The Maui's dolphin, the world's smallest dolphin, is the most endangered of all whales and dolphins with just an estimated 55 animals surviving, said D.J. Schubert, chairman of Whales Need Us, a collection of U.S.-based organizations promoting cetacean protection.
"The plight of the Maui's dolphins is alarming and New Zealand must act now to eliminate the threats to these important populations," Schubert said in a statement.
Hector's and Maui's dolphins are primarily threatened by fatal encounters with trawl and gill nets, conservationists said, but other factors, including habitat degradation, are also dangers.
"It is imperative that the use of trawl and gill nets in the habitat of these dolphin populations be prohibited if these dolphins are to have any chance of survival," the Whales Need Us statement said.
New Zealand must maintain its reputation as a leader in cetacean conservation, biodiversity protection and sustainability, Barbara Maas of the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation union, said.
"Now it is time for the government to reaffirm its commitment to its only endemic dolphin or risk its credibility," Maas said in the statement.
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Gallery: India's insane Suzuki factories
By the time you've read this story, this plant will have made 40 cars
Posted: 10 Apr 2013
Stand back from it all, and you wonder how anyone gets anywhere. Not a single person obeys any traffic law, and the horn is used for everything from warning the car in front that you'd like to overtake, to telling a pedestrian that they're about to get flattened, to warning the car behind that you're about to change lanes. When Suzuki first investigated bringing a car to India, one of the key considerations was fitting a more robust horn. Honestly.
The strange thing is that there's very little aggression when Indians use the horn. It's almost a communication tool. And the even crazier thing is that if anyone actually bothered to use their mirrors - half the cars have the driver's side ones folded in so they can squeeze through even tinier gaps - they wouldn't need the horn in the first place.
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One of Australia's most senior Muslim leaders is heading to Iraq to attempt to secure the release of an Australian held by militants for more than a week.
Australia has vowed to try to secure Mr Wood's release
Sheikh Taj al-Din al-Hilali has already appealed on Arabic television for Douglas Wood's captors to set him free.
His family have also pledged to make a charitable donation to the people of Iraq to help secure his release.
Over the weekend, hostage-takers gave the Australian government 72 hours to start pulling its troops out of Iraq.
The offer of a payment is being sent with Sheikh Taj. Mr Wood's brother, Malcolm Wood, said the undisclosed sum was not a ransom.
"There has been no demand for a ransom," he told reporters in Canberra.
"We empathise with those who have lost loved ones, lost jobs and lost hope. We are moved, therefore, to help and to share the burden."
Sheikh Taj said he regarded 63-year-old Douglas Wood as a "brother, a fellow Australian and an innocent man" who should not suffer because of politics.
The sheikh is one of the most influential figures in Australia's Muslim community.
Late last week, he contacted senior Sunni clerics in Baghdad, urging them to do what they could to secure the hostage's freedom.
Sheikh Taj is expected to hold talks with government officials on his arrival in Iraq.
However, it is unclear how he intends to intervene or what sort of influence he will be able to wield.
At the weekend, new images of Mr Wood were broadcast on al-Jazeera television.
Suffering from a black eye and with his head shaved, the engineer said: "Move out of Iraq or I will be killed."
His captors gave Australia 72 hours to start pulling its forces out, but the video did not say what they would do if their demands were ignored.
Australia has about 1,000 military personnel in and around Iraq.
Prime Minister John Howard has said they will stay until their job is done and insists he will not cave in to threats by extremists.
In France, Foreign Minister Michel Barnier said his government was working "in extremely difficult conditions" to free journalist Florence Aubenas, who has been held hostage for four months.
Ms Aubenas, who works for French newspaper Liberation, was seized in Baghdad on 5 January with her Iraqi guide. She was seen pleading for help in a video released on 1 March.
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Moments of truth and conviction....
Like every other asset based model of value, the recycling business is being crushed by the market. An economy hypercharged by super-consumption collapses on itself when the collateral funding the borrowing for such items collapses, sucking down with it the markets for recycled materials. This is basically the premise behind a New York Times article on the piling up of recyclable materials due to the collapse of the recyclables market. There was one excerpt in the article that really stood out.
“Before, you could be green by being greedy,” said Jim Wilcox, a professor at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. “Now you’ve really got to rely more on your notions of civic participation.”
Much of the social entrepreneurship movement has been predicated on appealing to our worse instinct. Hardly inspirational and does lack the leadership that one expects. That said, I will acknowledge that it is highly pragmatic, and that is something that one has to consider. We are human beings, not saints, so we need to appeal to our self interest, but a life based exclusively on self interest is neither realistic, it lacks a certain humanity. No one in the market wants a child that is sick or handicapped, but it happens. We take efforts as a society to do things, because we realize there are values to be upheld for there to be a society. Though this economic crisis makes me think that we may be saying, "We're all Hobbesians now." (by which I mean this not that).
Perhaps, failing to recycle could be recategorized as a mortal Sin, of which I like the following definition
a sin committed with a clear knowledge of its guilt, with full consent of the will, and concerning a grave matter; where circumstances allow
I have always believed that economics can temper our policy but it cannot define our policy. In the end, circumstances of life dictate that we do not live lives exclusively of our choice. Greed is not an environmental policy.
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Devotion to Hoohn is one of our world’s first mirror cults among land-based animals. Though a great many deities reaped praise from terrestrial life in prior epochs, those were years of heterocredence, with lizards celebrating bird lords, birds making sacrifice to ancient oaks, and devout trees singing psalms to a spherical fire god.
When Hoohn unveiled herself in pebble form, the people saw that the ground itself was stamped with their own image, and therefore Hoohn’s. Their god had made many creatures, but, having seen the pebble, they knew themselves to be Hoohn’s chosen ones.
This cult eventually dwindled, with the last of their sacred congregations occurring approximately three million years ago in the Makapan’s Valley cavern — a great hall that gathered thousands. Though the mental imagery underlying these people’s worship was largely self-idolatrous, Hoohn graced them with love. Would that our own autotheism endure so long.
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Why should kids have all the fun?
Social Science is an adult night at the Science Museum of Minnesota, welcoming those 21 and over to grab a drink, enjoy the museum, and experience innovative programming.
You must present a valid 21+ ID to gain entrance to the museum.
Upcoming Social Science Events
In the Dark
Thursday, February 5, 6-11 p.m.
Explore a darkened museum and all that glows, flickers and shines this Social Science. With LED jewelry and laser mazes, luminescence and phosphorescence, it's an experience you won't want to miss.
Thursday, April 9, 6-11 p.m.
Put beer under the microscope and celebrate the biology, chemistry and hand-to-mouth physics that delight your senses. With limited beer sampling from local breweries, fermentation demonstrations, beer density experiments, and presentations by experts.
Thursday, June 4, 6-11 p.m.
Pedal your way to the museum this Social Science, and get those mental gears turning. From the nanoscience behind lightweight bike frames to the physics that propels you forward, we'll be digging in deep with the science of cycling.
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Sara Morley-LaCroix of the Kalamazoo Anti-Human Trafficking Coalition discussed the issue of human trafficking in southwest Michigan with reporter Aaron Mueller.
The issue is largely overlooked locally, Morley-LaCroix said. Her group is trying to raise awareness and train people how to recognize signs of trafficking. To read the full discussion, visit www.mlive.com.
Reporter Aaron Mueller: Through your experience so far, how prevalent is trafficking in southwest Michigan?
Morley-LaCroix:I know it's here. I have not found it yet. We would like to do street outreach. I see signs of what I think could be trafficking. We do have massage parlors, strip clubs. We know prostitution is going on and its a matter of reaching these victims. Michigan also has a large agricultural industry and labor trafficking is going up.
Commenter meganlacroix: Are you working with other non profits or organizations you are working with to help solve this problem?
Morley-LaCroix: Yes, we currently are affiliated with the Michigan Human Trafficking Task Force. We share and pool our resources and to play off of each other on ideas for how to get the word out, how to fight this evil. The Junior League of Kalamazoo helped me to get started in this fight by bringing to my attention that there currently are inadequate laws in terms of protecting the victims of human trafficking.
Mueller: I know you are having community education meetings in the area that many people are attending. What other ways are you working to advance this cause?
Morley-LaCroix: I have been doing a ton of speaking engagements, at Rotaries, I am guest lecturing at Western tomorrow. Colleagues International has had me speaking to exchange students .... We have a group of trainers that are currently going out to KVCC and training the nursing students twice a month on signs to look for in regards to a trafficking victim.
Commenter suzette89: What laws and regulations are intact for preventing, stopping and/or punishing human trafficking?
Morley-LaCroix: In 2006, trafficking was finally recognized as being a crime. In 2011, we had some minor amendments to those laws. But the current laws on our books treat the victim as a criminal, because the law still sees a trafficking victim as a prostitute and not as a victim, even for minors under the age of 18. We currently have 3 bills being drafted, one of which addresses the safe harbor of minors. Federal law acknowledges 18 and under as being a minor, and Michigan state law acknowledges 16 and under as being a minor. We would like some consistency and protection for the 16- and 17-year-old victims.
The other two bills being drafted are: a clean-slate (for victims), meaning having their record expunged so they can move on to the next phase of their lives. The third one would be that the victims can hold their traffickers accountable, have some sort of restitution for damages incurred while being trafficked. Those traffickers made money on them.
Mueller: Have you encountered any misconceptions about this issue?
Morley-LaCroix: People don't want to believe that our society is engaging in this type of misbehavior. They find it unfathomable ... that we would be treating other human beings this way. That fact that there's 100,000 victims annually in the U.S. alone. The misconception is that it's not happening.
Mueller: We're going to wrap up. In closing, how can people get involved?
Morley-LaCroix: I think they need to learn how to recognize human trafficking. I think they need to our national human trafficking hotline number, 1-888-373-7888. Support legislation. They can go to our website www.khtc.org. We have a Facebook page. And we are actively seeking donations of money.
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Primary clarifier performance effects the overall operation of wastewater treatment facilities. Removal of solids under highly variable flow and solids loadings is important. The Buffalo Sewer Authority's Bird Island Treatment Plant has four 48.8 m (160 ft) diameter primary clarifiers.
The Authority identified a need to increase primary clarifier performance during high flow events and has installed a baffled inlet modification in one clarifier. The Flocculating Energy Dissipating Well Arrangement (FEDWA™) baffle influent well system is a series of open baffles which
create multiple areas of flow impingement, each reducing kinetic energy and promoting staged, tapered flocculation. Extensive evaluation using CFD, performance monitoring, drogue tests, tracer tests and underflow solids profiles demonstrated improved performance at peak flow using the baffled
inlet. The results have significant implications for communities that need to extend the hydraulic limitations of existing primary clarifiers.
Proceedings of the Water Environment Federation is an archive of papers published in the proceedings of the annual Water Environment Federation® Technical Exhibition and Conference (WEFTEC® ) and specialty conferences held since the year 2000. These proceedings are not peer reviewed. WEF Members: Sign in (right panel) with your IngentaConnect user name and password to receive complimentary access.
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Synthetic "Pot" Takes More Teens to Hospital
The variety of chemicals used in "K2" and "Blaze" make it harder for medics to react to some crazy symptoms.
More kids are being hospitalized for "synthetic marijuana" use than ever before, shows a new study. Sold as "K2," "Spice," and "Blaze" the mixtures of different chemicals and plants are meant to give a similar high to cannabis. A study published in the March 19 issue of Pediatrics reports 4,500 calls to poison control centers between 2010 to 2011 regarding “problems” with synthetic pot, and reports a modest increase in ER visits after teens have taken it. Teenagers in the study reported symptoms such as agitation, aggression, excessive sweating, restlessness and an inability to speak. One boy was even hallucinating and experiencing a “frozen face,” with slowed speech. "When we suspected the use of synthetic marijuana in these patients, we soon realized that there is little information about this drug in the medical literature," says study author Dr. Joanna Cohen, a pediatric emergency medicine physician at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, DC. "Because it is a relatively new drug, we should be aware of the symptoms and make a concerted effort to share our experiences in treating patients so we can develop best practices." Experts worry that many health professionals are unable to recognize the symptoms and act effectively.
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Much appraisal of vintage cameras can be done online by collectors who sell, auction, or collect antique cameras.
(c) Dan Colucci 2009
What To Look For
Digital imaging may have taken over and made film obsolete for the average consumer, but that doesn't mean that a film-based camera can't be a beautiful thing to behold. Or use. There's a wide range of cameras that afford a beauty and functionality going way beyond that found in today's SLRs; with names like Leica and Yashica, Hasselblad and Konica, Rolleiflex and yes, even Kodak. So regardless of what kind of film the camera uses, there's a lot of different styles and shapes and sizes of cameras to see.
For some, an antique camera may be all about looks, but it's also important to know whether it works--regardless of whether you actually plan to put film in it. This means not only that the camera mechanism functions as it should, but that the mechanism itself is in a good state and doesn't show signs of aging, such as rust or worn down parts.
Things to check include the condition of the lens (scratches and mold), whether the shutter is sticking or making an unnatural noise when activated, and whether the film plane inside the camera is clean. The easiest way to check all of this is to be able to hold the camera in your hand and try it out--such as at a camera store.
But don't forget that there are other places where antique cameras can be found--such as local sales and online. In all of these cases, it's up to you--the buyer--to ascertain the condition of the camera.
Where To Buy
There's plenty of places locally where you can go to find an antique camera. These include camera stores, Goodwill stores and thrift shops, and yard and garage sales--even the occasional sales event at your church or synagogue.
It's also possible to find an antique camera online, the benefit being that there will be a wider assortment of cameras than can be found locally. These will come from camera and used photography stores, such as B&H Photo and KEH.com, or specialty websites, like Vintage Camera Ltd., among others.
There will also be individuals looking to sell vintage cameras on sites such as eBay.
In all online cases, you should demand to see at the very least well detailed photos showing off all angles of the camera, as well as its interior. And considering how easy doing video is these days, try asking to see the camera being physically manipulated and used. Guarantees and return policies are more likely to come from a store or company than from an individual, but this can vary widely, so you have to be careful.
If you find something you just must have, the price or the physical quality of the camera or its usability might go out the window--so it's really is up to you to decide.
Since everyone can set their own price for the cameras being sold, it will require some homework to find out whether the price being asked is a great deal or exorbitant. Comparing costs is a must and can be done online from the comfort of your home--plus with today's smart phones it's now even possible to do this while looking at a camera someone's just handed to you. Besides books that note values of cameras, there are even camera appraisal services that can help you in determining the price of a particular model. And don't forget that when buying online there will also be a shipping cost to consider.
There's no way to say which will be the best place to find your camera, but whether burning gas or burning broadband, the fun will be in spending time looking for that particular model or being surprised by a camera that you never even knew existed.
Buying overseas can cost much more for shipping and could also involve customs forms, which can add to the cost of the shipping as well as the time for it to arrive. Unless it's a "must have," you probably will find that buying in your own country (i.e., the USA) to be the best approach when dealing through the mail.
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It’s that time of the year again – DAY OF ARCHAEOLOGY 2013 – and I’ve written a small piece; your welcome to read that or any other of the several hundreds, hopefully thousands, of posts beeing published on archaeology today.
Check out my post here.
Check out Day of archaeology 2013 here.
Arkeologidagen (Swedish word) or Day of Archaeology is an annual event in Sweden, celebrating its 25th consecutive year. All over Sweden the National Heritage board, the County museums and other excavating companies, foundations and universities shows part of their work for the public, usually by opening up an excavation-site to the public, by giving lectures or by giving tours.
This year Day of Archaeology is on Sunday August 26th .
In Östergötland County you can visit the excavations at Linköpings castle where Östergötland museum are excavating a tower foundation, dated to ca 1100-1300 AD (read more here) or visit the excavations done by the National Heritage board, UV Öst, at Askeby monastery (read more here). In Norrköping Stiftelsen Kulturmiljövård opens up the excavation site at the quarter Mjölnaren where parts of the medieval and historic part of the town is excavted (read more here). Another event in Norrköping is held by the rock art museum Himmelstalund that gives guided tours of the rock art area (read more here).
And more… this is but a few of the things happening, keep a look out for more! If you are in another part of Sweden check the local museum or the National Heritage board webpagefor some of the activities.
OBS – All links are in Swedish, but that’s normally readable with a little help of google translate etc.
It’s on again – Day of Archaeology – check it out, last year more than 400 archaeologists world wide posted – lets see how many we are this year. My contirbution is called Who is an archaeologist? – check it out!
On June 29th it’s time for Day of Archaeology, I’ll participate as I did last year (read the post here) and was one of ca 400 archaeologists that contributed, from all over the world.
Read more about the project here!
If you haven’t allready join up for Day of archaeology on the 29th June and contribute with a blogpost!
Found this on-line and urge all archaeologist and others within the cutural heritage trade to jump on the wagon and give evidence of what you do on july 29th for Day of Archaeology 2011.
“Archaeologists taking part in the project will document their day through photographs, videos and written blog posts. These will then be collected on this website, which will provide a glimpse into a day in the life of people working in archaeology, from archaeological excavations to laboratories, universities, community archaeology groups, education services, museums and offices.”
Day of Archaeology 2011 read all about it here!
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Church Gets a Divine Revamp, Turns Into Contemporary Home
While designing a brand new home that meets all the requirements of a client is a task difficult enough. This becomes a tad bit more challenging when it involves revamping and renovating an 1892 Anglican church. That was precisely the task on hand for Bagnato Architects, who had to convert the old church in Melbourne into a sparkling and stunning modern house. With gorgeous use of glass in an extravagant fashion and preserving some of the original design aspects of the church, the architects delivered a residence that is truly exquisite.
An open living space on the ground floor is the essence of the entire revamp as it stays constantly connected with the world outside. The refreshing pool and a green backyard are integrated visually into the living area by employing floor-to-ceiling slidding glass windows. The arcades, rounded windows and the basic outline of the church are unaltered to ensure that the legacy of the past does not go unnoticed.
Wood, marble and limestone have been used for the interiors and with rich and refined décor that fits the existing setting perfectly, the home has an aura that can be only described as ‘divine’. Lighting plays a pivotal role in creating the perfect ambient atmosphere. Both artificial lighting fixtures and ample natural ventilation combine to create a warm and inviting look. The top floor houses the bedroom and the private quarters while even the attic space is utilized as a beautiful meeting room.
The home gym and a wine tasting room add to the value of the residence, while a modern kitchen and spacious dining room complete the home. Easy on the eyes and ravishing to the core, the home is a perfect amalgamation of classic 1892 architectural elements with modern open design and stylish interiors. This is truly a lesson in stunningly seamless renovations!
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Fast-food workers and activists protest inside a McDonald's restaurant… (Justin Sullivan / Getty…)
The vast majority of fast-food workers in the U.S. say they’ve been the victims of wage theft, according to a survey released Tuesday.
Out of 1,088 respondents nationwide, 89% said they have been forced to do off-the-books work, been denied breaks, been refused overtime pay or been placed in similarly unsavory circumstances.
The same holds for 84% of McDonald’s workers, 92% of Burger King employees and 82% of Wendy’s rank and file, according to the survey, which was conducted by Hart Research for the Low Pay Is Not OK campaign.
The campaign is part of an effort to raise minimum wage for fast-food workers to $15 an hour and to push companies to let their workers unionize without retaliation.
In the Los Angeles metropolitan area, where workers have protested regularly for higher pay, 81% of fast-food employees said they have experienced wage theft.
The survey was conducted online from Feb. 15 to March 19. Respondents were recruited with ads placed on Facebook using an algorithm designed to target fast-food workers.
Participants hailed from Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Philadelphia, Miami, Atlanta, Boston and Washington, D.C. The group represents a variety of ages, experience levels, hours worked and wages earned.
One-third were white, one-quarter were black and 30% were Latino. More than one-quarter said they work or used to work for McDonald’s; the rest were associated with chains such as Burger King and Wendy’s.
[Updated, April 1, 11:25 a.m.: Wendy's declined to comment on the survey.]
[Updated, April 1, 11:55 a.m.: Burger King declined to address the specific findings, saying via a spokesman that it had not reviewed the study or its methodology.
"As a corporation, we respect the rights of all workers; however, BKC does not make scheduling, wage or other employment-related decisions for the franchisees who independently own and operate almost 100% of Burger King restaurants," the company said in a statement.]
[Updated, April 1, 12:50 p.m.: McDonald's said in a statement that its company stores and its franchisees employ more than 750,000 workers total. The company said it cautions "against drawing broad conclusions based on a small, random informal sampling."
"McDonald's and our independent owner-operators share a concern and commitment to the well-being and fair treatment of all people who work in McDonald’s restaurants," the company said. "Whether employed by McDonald’s or by our independent owner-operators, employees should be paid correctly. When McDonald’s learns of pay concerns in restaurants which we own and operate, we review the concerns and take appropriate action to resolve them. We trust that our independent owner-operators do the same."]
Nationwide, 60% of respondents said they were forced to perform tasks while off the clock, slightly more than the 59% of Angeleno workers who made the same assertion.
Fast-food companies across the country haven’t paid 46% of workers for all the time they put in and the duties they completed, according to the survey.
More than 4 in 10 workers said they weren’t given breaks during long shifts, slightly more than the number who said they had the cost of their uniform deducted from their paycheck.
Other alleged misdeeds: employers paying workers late, asking employees to wait before cashing their paychecks or forcing cashiers to pay up if the cash register’s contents don’t match records.
The majority of workers included in the survey said they had experienced three or more forms of wage theft. Eight in 10 said they consider their working conditions to be just fair or poor -- the same percentage as in Los Angeles, where nearly one-third of respondents said they work two or more jobs.
Most employees think their companies could afford to improve the situation, according to the survey.
Fast-food workers protest for higher wages
Walgreens to close 76 unprofitable stores, 14 in the West
Darden earnings slump amid continued Red Lobster, Olive Garden slide
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This ABC book was a gift from Aidan's kindergarten teacher. Each letter had a picture of Aidan along with the alphabet letter represented three ways:
- with big, bright letters,
- there was the sign-language representation,
- and there was a tactile felt letter.
My favourite page is "S is for Sick" with a picture of Aidan as the willing patient in the Humpty Dumpty Medical Centre.
Aidan's kindergarten teacher was very special. The bond the two of them had was beyond amazing. . .and beyond what I'd ever hoped for. In writing this little post, I've come to realize something that this wonderful and gifted teacher understands that she made a difference in his life at school, but I don't think she knows of the lasting effects of her teachings. Shortly after the Humpty Dumpty Medical Centre opened for business, Aidan entered doctor's offices with less fear. He got comfortable with some of the equipment: he would hold still for stethoscope listening and ear checks. Needles, he still went into survival mode - kicking, screaming, squirming, the whole meal deal....but thanks to a teacher with
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The first question that comes to mind when applying for a new credit card is how do I apply for a credit card? Can applying for a new credit card have a negative impact on your credit score? This is true whether you apply online or through the mail. In most cases, this doesn’t affect your score much since lenders don’t pull your report when they’re just checking to see if you qualify for a loan.
However, applying for multiple cards at once can cause more hard inquiries than are necessary for each application— these multiple applications will affect your score more than one would alone.
Applying for a credit card requires a hard inquiry on your credit report
Applying for a credit card requires a hard inquiry on your credit report. A hard inquiry is a kind of inquiry where a lender reviews your credit history to determine if you are eligible for an account.
Hard inquiries are reported to the three major credit bureaus—Experian, Equifax and TransUnion—and they can have an impact on your score. The good news is that most hard inquiries don’t affect your score much at all, but each inquiry will stay on your report for two years from the date it occurred.
Hard inquiries can cause your credit score to drop, but how much?
How much your credit score will decrease depends on which scoring model you use. The most popular one, the FICO scoring model, uses information from all three major credit bureaus and assigns a score between 300 and 850.
If you have no other outstanding inquiries on your file, an inquiry can cost you 5 points. But if you have multiple of them in a short amount of time (for example, because you’re applying for multiple loans), it can be more than 10 points.
It depends on the scoring model
In other words, yes and no.
Credit reporting agencies use a variety of credit score models to determine your creditworthiness and risk level. This means that the answer is going to be different depending on which agency you ask because each one uses its own proprietary formula.
This means that even if you know your score — say it’s 850 — it doesn’t necessarily mean that every lender will accept this as a good or bad number for approving a loan or credit card application.
“Generally, the higher an individual’s credit score, the more creditworthy they’re considered,” as per SoFi professionals.
Wait before applying for a new card
If you’re planning to apply for a new credit card and want to avoid the hard pull, it’s best to wait at least 30 days before applying. Your score should recover within 30 days or less, but this also depends on the scoring model that each lender uses. If you are in the process of purchasing a home or refinancing an existing mortgage loan, however, then it might be best not to open any new accounts until after closing on these loans.
In the end, it’s a good idea to wait a few months before applying for new credit cards. This gives your score time to recover from any negative impact that may have occurred from having too many inquiries on your report. Suppose you are applying for a variety of cards at once or want to keep an eye on how these applications affect their scores. In that case, it is recommended to use some free credit monitoring service so you can see how each application affects your score in real-time!
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Some recent press has referred to virtualization and browser based applications as a threat to the operating system. As an IT Manager - having lived through a few technology waves - I think the arguments that are being made are unrealistic.
Today's Windows machines have Flash ROM that contains the BIOS code, the low level functions that are required to start a machine and figure out where the actual boot code resides. When they boot up they generaly flail around until they access a boot image - which most often is on a hard drive (but could be on a network drive, or a CD).
If we go to the extreme of providing a Hypervisor on the machine, then we can run virtual machines (various O/S') on top of the Hypervisor without loading Windows or Linux first.
This is great for flexibility, but you'll notice that it doesn't reduce your licensing costs with Microsoft or whomever. It also doesn't reduce the security vulnerability of your box - in fact it increases the threat surface by the number of VMs that are running at once! You might be able to use a snapshot to restore quickly if you are compromised, but that's the only security benefit.
The problem is that virtualizing an O/S just brings you more of the same. All the software related management costs come along with each instantiated machine, along with some additional complexity due to running VMs.
But there is an opportunity here for a different kind of virtualization to make an impact.
A couple examples might make this clear.
1) Take a look at how BitTorrent streams files to multiple recipients. The network traffic is comprised of tiny slices of the file that come to you from many different directions. The BT application breaks the files into slices for shipment and at the client reassembles them into a recognizable file. What is created is close to an internet SAN - but a fairly slow one.
2) SETI at home, and other applications, make use of compute time on internet connected
computers. This "free" CPU resource is used to solve very large problems.
Now what if network speeds reach the point where we can store the boot image for our PCs in the "cloud". Perhaps you would keep a local cached copy of the boot image and refresh it every time you start up the machine. We might be able to produce an O/S that is never "installed" on a PC. The machine could simply run BOOTP - if there were a server waiting to provide the software load.
Well... Of course replacing everyone's home PC with a BOOTP loaded machine is impractical - much as it means that now Verizon and Comcast will have to get in the O/S provisioning business. And there is the little problem of loading the OS down in the clear via TFTP.
But what could happen is that we could create a storage network that runs on the excess capacity of other machines that share their bandwidth. Then, home machines would run a modified BOOTP over something like Bittorrent. The boot loader comes over the wire.
Well - how is this better than what we have today?
I think anything you load at boot time like this would have to be fairly small.
It could be about as complicated as Mac OS 6 - a basic stable OS, but with a browser
built in. But if the OS is not affected by loading programs, and everything is run in a browser
window, then we can reduce the threat of infection to software on the machine (since that would be replaced at each boot)
Need a lot of refinement, of course, but I can see where this might be headed!
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Invention A diagnostic test for the female biological clock
Inventor Coleen Murphy, Professor of Molecular Biology and the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics
What it does The invention tests a woman’s reproductive ability by diagnosing the status of her egg cells, or oocytes. The quality of a woman’s oocytes generally declines in her mid-to-late 30s, the basis of the so-called biological clock. Yet a subset of women will experience oocyte decline earlier or later than average, and a test that can reveal oocyte quality could give women much-needed information about their reproductive status.
Current tests of oocyte quality examine either the cell’s chromosomes, a process that destroys the oocyte, or its form and structure, which yields imprecise information. Although ultrasound and endocrine tests can report the number of remaining oocytes, these tests do not reveal their quality and have a very limited prognostic window. A test of biomarkers of oocyte quality will not only be a useful indicator for individual women and their families, but also could improve the success rates of in vitro fertilization (IVF) and egg-freezing procedures.
The diagnostic test looks for genetic markers of oocyte decline. To construct the test, genetic material will be collected from human oocytes and other cells, sequenced, and then evaluated by age and other factors to develop an oocyte-aging profile. Next, researchers will identify the genes that are most indicative of oocyte age and fertility as biomarkers to be included in a test that compares a patient’s gene expression pattern to the profile to determine the oocyte’s fertility status.
Researchers in the Murphy lab also are looking at correlating oocyte health with gene expression in other tissues such as blood and urine that could be accessed more easily than oocytes. The researchers hope to develop a set of diagnostic tests, including a direct test of oocytes that could be done during IVF procedures, a test of cells collected during a clinic visit, and a diagnostic test that can be used at home.
Collaborators Daniel Notterman, molecular biologist.
Development status Patent protection is pending.
Funding sources National Institutes of Health and the March of Dimes Foundation.
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Environmental groups sue to block Atlantic air gun blasting permits
Nine environmental organizations filed suit against the federal government on Tuesday, 11 December, in an attempt to block seismic air gun blasting in the Atlantic Ocean.
The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in South Carolina, comes less than two weeks after NOAA Fisheries approved permits for five companies to use air guns as part of a surveying process that could lead to offshore oil and gas drilling. The permits allow their use between Cape May, New Jersey, and Cape Canaveral, Florida.
The lawsuit comes after a number of business and environmental groups objected to the permits, fearing the air guns would harm commercial and recreational fisheries.
The plaintiffs claim the government violated the Marine Mammal Protection and Endangered Species acts and seek to rescind the permits NOAA Fisheries allowed.
The suit states the air guns will be harmful to marine wildlife. In particular, since sound travels easier underwater, the use of air guns could hinder whales, dolphins, and other wildlife, who use sound as part of their daily life. Any disruption of that could injure or kill wildlife, they said.
“This action is unlawful and we’re going to stop it,” Oceana Campaign Director Diane Hoskins said. “The Trump administration’s rash decision to harm marine mammals hundreds of thousands of times in the hope of finding oil and gas is shortsighted and dangerous. Seismic air gun blasting can harm everything from tiny zooplankton and fish to dolphins and whales. More than 90 percent of the coastal municipalities in the blast zone have publicly opposed seismic air gun blasting off their coast. We won this fight before and we’ll win it again.”
Among the wildlife most at risk are North American right whales, whose stock environmentalists claim is down to about 400. The air guns will be used in areas where the whales migrate and give birth.
“The Trump administration is letting the oil industry launch a brutal sonic assault on North Atlantic right whales and other marine life,” said Kristen Monsell, ocean program legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Right whales will keep spiraling toward extinction if we don’t stop these deafening blasts and the drilling and spilling that could come next. That’s why we’re taking the administration to court.”
Other plaintiffs in the case include the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League, Defenders of Wildlife, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the North Carolina Coastal Federation, One Hundred Miles, the Sierra Club, and the Surfrider Foundation.
Photo courtesy of Ocean Conservation Research
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A fund has been established at a local bank so residents can contribute to a reward being offered for information regarding the Thanksgiving night beating death of a 97-year-old Nanticoke woman.
The reward stands at $3,000 for anyone who provides information leading to the arrest and conviction of the killer of Gertrude Price, according to the organizer of the reward fund, retired Nanticoke police officer Kevin Grevera.
Grevera offered the first $1,000 hours after news broke Friday of Price's killing and others pledged contributions in the following days, he said.
The reward fund, set up at PNC Bank, is being administered by the Nanticoke nonprofit group, Fraternal Order of Eagles, Aerie 834.
Donations can be sent to: FOE Just Rewards Fund, c/o Gertrude Price, PNC Bank, 600 S. Market St., Nanticoke, PA 18634.
Any PNC Bank branch can accept cash or checks for the reward fund, Grevera said.
Grevera, who now runs a firearms and precious metals business called The Hunting Depot, said the community has rallied around the idea of a reward.
"I think we all have a sense of pride in the fact Mrs. Price was able to live in Nanticoke all those years and work hard and contribute as a taxpaying resident. She should have been able to enjoy that liberty and peace until God chose to call her home," Grevera said. "Nanticoke is a community that cares about its residents and doesn't tolerate this type of behavior."
Price's great-grandson, Jason Piper, said the family was appreciative of the reward effort.
"The family heard about it. We were surprised," Piper said. "It's good that people are pulling together."
A viewing for Price will be held tonight at Davis-Dinelli Funeral Home at 170 E. Broad St. in Nanticoke. Funeral services will be held Wednesday morning at the funeral home, then she will be laid to rest at Edge Hill Cemetery in West Nanticoke.
Investigators say an intruder beat Price to death at 23 E. Grand St. in what investigators are calling a random home invasion robbery. It appears the killer entered the house through a basement window that had been broken out, police said.
Family members found Price dead inside her home just before 10 a.m. Friday, about 12 hours after they last knew she was alive. Investigators believe the killing occurred around 11 p.m. Thanksgiving night - because lights were on in the house at a time she would be sleeping.
"The purpose of this fund is to honor her memory, organize a community effort to show a zero tolerance for violent crimes perpetrated against our residents, and primarily is an effort to help provide information to investigating law enforcement officials concerning this crime," Grevera said.
Anyone with information - especially anyone who saw something between 10 p.m. Thursday and 10 a.m. Friday - is asked to call state police at Wyoming at 570-697-2000.
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US Pharm. 2018;43(1)30-34.
ABSTRACT: Medication adherence can have a more direct impact on patient outcomes than the specific treatment itself; it is estimated that adherence to chronic medications is about 50%. Maintaining a blame-free environment and providing patients with praise for goal achievement are essential for a trusting and effective pharmacist-patient relationship. Effective interventions include face-to-face counseling, mobile text messaging, simplifying medication regimens, using adherence packaging, minimizing adverse effects, helping with access, and engaging team members. Improving adherence can ultimately generate substantial clinical and financial rewards.
According to the World Health Organization, medication adherence can have a more direct impact on patient outcomes than the specific treatment itself.1 Medication adherence can affect quality and length of life, health outcomes, and overall healthcare costs.2,3 Nonadherence can account for up to 50% of treatment failures, around 125,000 deaths, and up to 25% of hospitalizations each year in the United States.
Typically, adherence rates of 80% or more are needed for optimal therapeutic efficacy. However, it is estimated that adherence to chronic medications is around 50%.3 Adherence rates can go down as time passes after the initial prescription is written, or as barriers emerge or multiply.
The responsibility of medication adherence falls on patients and the ambulatory healthcare team. There is less consideration given to adherence in the hospital setting due to the ability to access, dispense, and administer medications on schedule while patients are hospitalized; however, medication adherence can be emphasized during transitions of care. Unfortunately, services to improve adherence are generally not reimbursed, so even in the outpatient setting, little incentive exists to improve this fundamental aspect of care. On the upside, quality-of-care models are evolving because of the recognized sequelae resulting from medication nonadherence.4-7 Approximately $100 to $300 billion in healthcare costs could be curtailed annually by addressing medication adherence.8
Addressing the Elephant in the Room
Maintaining a blame-free environment and providing patients with praise for goal achievement are essential for a trusting and effective relationship between patient and practitioner.1 Patients may have challenges communicating adherence barriers to their healthcare team or have difficulty understanding the health consequences of nonadherence. Asking key questions through motivational interviewing is therefore imperative to revealing adherence challenges, and empathetic listening will assist in arriving at patient-centered solutions to overcome these challenges. Patient education and ongoing communication are critical for patient understanding and medication persistence, especially with mindful consideration that challenges can ebb and flow over time.
In a retrospective cohort study, pharmacists provided face-to-face counseling to address adherence barriers to 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl coenzyme A reductase agents (statins). Patients who received counseling (N = 586) were significantly more adherent at 12 months (P <.01, P <.05 comparing medication possession ratios 80%) and persistent with statin therapy at 120 and 365 days (P <.05 and P = .05, respectively).9 In another study of patients with type 2 diabetes, having more time with pharmacists and individualized education and adherence support, as well as female gender, were positively correlated with improved medication adherence.10 Studies of the Asheville Project, a quasiexperimental, longitudinal prepost cohort study set in 12 community pharmacies in Asheville, North Carolina, have modeled in-person pharmacist education to improve adherence, ultimately leading to improved clinical outcomes and reduced adverse events and costs.11-13 These outcomes were demonstrated for a variety of diseases including asthma, diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and cardiovascular disease.
Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were reviewed to evaluate adherence-intervention models for patients with diabetes and cardiovascular disease.14 Overall, in-person models had similar efficacy to indirect ones (e.g., electronic, mailed, or faxed materials), with success rates of 56% and 52%, respectively. Of the in-person interventions, the face-to-face method was most successful (83%), followed by hospital discharge (67%), clinic-based interventions (47%), and phone calls (38%). Of the indirect interventions, electronic strategies (e.g., automated phone calls, electronic pill boxes, computer-generated targeted interventions) were more successful (67%) than paper (33%). This study suggests utility in investigating electronic and in-person strategies with patients, especially during approachable moments such as medication distribution and hospital discharge.
Mobile text messaging is a key example of an electronic strategy worthy of further exploration. It is estimated that 77% of Americans own a smartphone, up from 35% in 2011.15 By demographics, around 92% of individuals aged 18 to 29 years; 42% of those aged 65 years or older; 89% of college graduates; 54% of those with less than a high school degree; 93% with an income of $75,000 or more; and 64% with an income of less than $30,000 own a smartphone. Across all demographic groups, 80% or more own some type of cell phone. In a meta-analysis that analyzed different text-messaging designs that were studied in 16 RCTs (2,742 patients total), it was determined that text messaging doubled the odds of medication adherence (odds ratio 2.11; P <.001) and improved overall adherence rates by 17.8%.16 Half of the trials incorporated daily text messages, 31% were personalized, and 63% were managed by computer programs. Overall, text messaging appears to be a promising tool for promoting medication adherence.
Switching maintenance medications to 90-day prescriptions and enrolling patients in automatic refill programs also appear to be favorable interventions. One study involved sending faxes to prescribers to request 90-day prescriptions and refill-reminder letters for patients with 30-day prescriptions for oral antihypertensive medications and statins.17 The response rate from prescribers was 54%, and the approval rate for 90-day refills was 47%. Adherence increased by 2% (P <.001) for antihypertensive medications (ratio of odds ratio [ROR] = 1.334; 95% CI = 1.203-1.479) and 1.8% (P <.001) for statins. The odds of achieving adherence were greater in the intervention group for both antihypertensive medications and statins (ROR = 1.247; 95% CI = 1.132-1.374).
There is general concern that automatic refill programs can lead to medication oversupply if not properly managed. One study showed that patients enrolled in both 30-day and 90-day automatic refill programs had significantly higher adherence, with adjusted differences across all classes of medications of 3% and 1.4%, respectively (P <.001).18 Patients enrolled in the automatic refill program also had significantly fewer days of oversupply compared with the control group (P <.001). Automatic refills and 90-day prescriptions are perhaps more suitable for patients challenged in picking up medications from the pharmacy on time (e.g., trouble remembering, lack of transportation).
Other ways to improve patient-centered care (Table 1) and thus improve medication adherence include simplifying regimens, using pill boxes or packaging designed to improve adherence, and minimizing adverse effects.19 Further research is needed to provide more insight around a variety of patient-centered adherence interventions. Examples that may be valuable for research include home delivery, incorporating family and team members, involving students or residents, and creating roles for pharmacy technicians.
Engaging Team Members
Community pharmacists are well-positioned to interact with prescribers because of access to prescription histories and the ability to monitor and intervene based on adherence findings. Recommendation acceptance rates in the community setting range from 42% to 60%.20 One of the key factors affecting these acceptance rates is pharmacist accessibility to the clinical team. In clinical settings where recommendation acceptance rates are around 70% to 90%, pharmacists may interact more with team members, which can optimize acceptance of interventions.21,22 In the community pharmacy setting, many interventions are completed via telephone or fax, and access to patient health records is usually limited.
Recommendation acceptance rates may be enhanced by optimizing communication. Prescribers were surveyed to identify characteristics of an ideal fax template, which may help to increase provider response rates to community pharmacist recommendations. Findings suggested that the ideal fax template would include only essential information for the prescriber, going beyond stating that a patient is nonadherent and including a concise description of barriers with an action plan to increase adherence.23 This same strategy can be applied during other types of pharmacist-prescriber interactions including face-to-face, telephone, or electronic messaging.
One example of a clinic-based pharmacist program and its impact on adherence included high-risk cardiac patients at several U.S. Veterans Affairs Medical Centers.24 This RCT involved a multifaceted 1-year intervention following hospital discharge for acute coronary syndromes. Ambulatory and inpatient pharmacists participated in posthospital transitions of care, and services included pharmacist-led medication reconciliation and synchronization (within 7-10 days of hospital discharge), pharmacist-provided patient education, collaboration between pharmacists and primary care clinicians and/or cardiologists, pharmacist educational voice messaging and telephone calls, and medication-refill reminder calls. Significantly higher adherence was apparent in the collaborative intervention group compared with usual care (89.3% vs. 73.9%, P = .003). There was also more adherence to clopidogrel (P <.001), statins (P <.001), and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers (P = .03).
What’s in It for Me?
Buy-in from the healthcare team and administrators is also essential for success with medication adherence endeavors.25 Financial incentives can motivate patients to improve adherence and also engage prescribers, as shown in one RCT. Statin adherence rates were higher in the group that provided incentives to both patients and physicians (39% vs. 27%, P <.001), as well as in the patient-only incentive group (34% vs. 27%, P = .01), compared with the control group. However, the physician-only incentives group did not show improved adherence. Only the combined patient and physician incentives group demonstrated significantly improved clinical goals, demonstrated by more pronounced LDL-C reductions (33.6 vs. 25.1, P = .002), more patients achieving their LDL-C goals (49% vs. 36%, P = .003), and more patients receiving medication intensification (38% vs. 27%, P = .004), compared with the control group. Improved clinical outcomes were not seen in the groups that only incentivized either patients or physicians. Patients were followed for up to 15 months in the study, highlighting the importance of ongoing follow-up and adherence support.
Reducing drug costs can serve as an incentive to improve adherence. Prescription medication expenses comprise approximately 17% of personal healthcare services, and U.S. per-capita drug spending exceeds all other countries.26 In the U.S., payers are restricted from price negotiations with manufacturers; there are no regulations requiring manufacturers to charge below a consumer price index, as there are in Canada. Brand-name medications maintain market exclusivity for 12 to 15 years and are costly. Furthermore, high prices are often sustained once generic medications become available. Many generic medication prices have increased by 400% from 2012 to 2015.26,27 Additional efforts need to be made to help patients with drug costs in order to support medication adherence and positive patient health outcomes.
Fortunately, pharmacists can use a variety of methods to help patients navigate low-cost or even free medication access.28,29 One hospital invested $5 million into free or reduced-cost medications for uninsured patients, distributed according to their federal poverty-level status.30 The hospital utilized its federal 340B drug discount-pricing program to provide medications at discharge and then continued refilling medications for these patients. Part of the revenue was invested in a medication-management program for this population. The medication-management program helped patients to better understand and stay on their medications, stay out of the hospital, and improve their health. The hospital reaped $12 million in savings owing to a reduction in emergency room visits and hospitalizations.
Pharmacists are becoming increasingly involved in pay-for-performance initiatives, and payers are now offering opportunities specific to medication adherence.31-34 Through these programs, pharmacists can utilize a variety of strategies to improve medication-adherence metric performance, obtain remuneration for services, and be credited for clinical outcomes resulting from improved medication adherence. Additionally, improving medication adherence can increase revenue for pharmacies due to the increased numbers of prescriptions being filled on schedule.
When pursuing medication adherence initiatives, pharmacists should maximize technology to detect nonadherence, facilitate communication and therapy changes, and document interventions. Pharmacists should also track data (adherence rates, clinical outcomes, revenue, cost savings, patient and team perceptions, etc.). Sharing these outcomes with patients can serve as positive reinforcement and help them understand the link to feeling healthier. Reporting outcomes can also justify services and motivate team members by illustrating the impact medication adherence can have on patient care. Potential cost savings or revenue generated by these adherence outcomes, as exemplified in the 340B program, can further promote buy-in from patients, team members, and the organization.
Medication adherence can have a tremendous impact on quality and length of life, health outcomes, and overall healthcare costs. Engaging patients and the healthcare team is essential to success in achieving medication adherence and persistence. Notable interventions include face-to-face counseling, electronic reminders, regimen simplification, adherence packaging, minimizing adverse effects, 90-day supplies, automatic refills, providing incentives or cost savings, and maintaining ongoing communication. Ultimately, pharmacists’ efforts to improve adherence can positively impact patient care and generate substantial clinical and financial rewards.
1. Brown MT, Bussell JK. Medication adherence: WHO cares? Mayo Clin Proc. 2011;86(4):304-314.
2. Sabaté E. Adherence to long-term therapies: evidence for action. Geneva: World Health Organization. 2003. www.who.int/chp/knowledge/publications/adherence_report/en/. Accessed June 10, 2017.
3. DiMatteo MR, Giordani PJ, Lepper HS, et al. Patient adherence and medical treatment outcomes: a meta-analysis. Med Care. 2002;40(9):794-811.
4. Pagès-Puigdemont N, Mangues MA, Masip M, et al. Patients’ perspective of medication adherence in chronic conditions: a qualitative study. Adv Ther. 2016 Oct;33(10):1740-1754.
5. Bosworth, HB. Enhancing medication adherence: the public health dilemma. Springer Healthcare. 2012;2:35-52.
6. Pharmacy Quality Alliance. PQA measures used by CMS in the star ratings. Update on medication quality measures in Medicare Part D plan star ratings-2017. http://pqaalliance.org/measures/cms.asp. Accessed June 10, 2017.
7. Rubenfire A. Pay-for-performance drug pricing. Mod Healthc. December 10, 2016. www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20161210/MAGAZINE/312109949. Accessed June 10, 2017.
8. American College of Preventive Medicine. Medication Adherence Clinical Reference. 2011. www.acpm.org/?MedAdherTT_ClinRef. Accessed June 10, 2017.
9. Taitel M, Jiang J, Rudkin K, et al. The impact of pharmacist face-to-face counseling to improve medication adherence among patients initiating statin therapy. Patient Prefer Adherence. 2012;6:323-329.
10. Odegard PS, Carpinito G, Christensen DB. Medication adherence program: adherence challenges and interventions in type 2 diabetes. J Am Pharm Assoc (2003). 2013;53(3):267-272.
11. Cranor CW, Bunting BA, Christensen DB. The Asheville Project: long-term clinical and economic outcomes of a community pharmacy diabetes care program. J Am Pharm Assoc. 2003;43:173-184.
12. Bunting BA, Cranor CW. The Asheville Project: long-term clinical, humanistic, and economic outcomes of a community-based medication therapy management program for asthma. J Am Pharm Assoc. 2006;46:133-147.
13. Bunting BA, Smith BH, Sutherland SE. The Asheville Project: clinical and economic outcomes of a community-based long-term medication therapy management program for hypertension and dyslipidemia. J Am Pharm Assoc (2003). 2008;48(1):23-31.
14. Cutrona SL, Choudhry NK, Fischer MA, et al. Modes of delivery for interventions to improve cardiovascular medication adherence. Am J Manag Care. 2010;16(12):929-942.
15. Pew Research Center. Mobile fact sheet. January 12, 2017. www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheet/mobile/. Accessed October 7, 2017.
16. Thakkar J, Kurup R, Laba TL, et al. Mobile telephone text messaging for medication adherence in chronic disease: a meta-analysis. JAMA Intern Med. 2016;176(3):340-349.
17. Leslie RS, Gilmer T, Natarajan L, Hovell M. A multichannel medication adherence intervention influences patient and prescriber behavior. J Manag Care Spec Pharm. 2016;22(5):526-538.
18. Matlin OS, Kymes SM, Averbukh A, et al. Community pharmacy automatic refill program improves adherence to maintenance therapy and reduces wasted medication. Am J Manag Care. 2015;21(11):785-791.
19. Albrecht S. The pharmacist’s role in medication adherence. US Pharm. 2011;36(5):45-48.
20. Michaels NM, Jenkins GF, Pruss, DL, et al. Retrospective analysis of community pharmacists’ recommendations in the North Carolina Medicaid medication therapy management program. J Am Pharm Assoc (2003). 2010 May-Jun;50(3):347-353.
21. Johnson A, Chui MA, Moore M, et al. Optimizing medication adherence communication with prescribers. J Pharm Soc Wis. 2013;16(3):53-56.
22. Nichol, A, Downs, GE. The pharmacist as physician extender in family medicine office practice. J Am Pharm Assoc (2003). 2006;46(1):77-83.
23. Bourne, RS, Choo, CL, Dorward, BJ. Proactive clinical pharmacist interventions in critical care: effect of unit speciality and other factors. Int J Pharm Pract. 2014;22(2):146-154.
24. Ho PM, Lambert-Kerzner A, Carey EP, et al. Multifaceted intervention to improve medication adherence and secondary prevention measures after acute coronary syndrome hospital discharge: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA Intern Med. 2014;174(2):186-193.
25. Asch DA, Troxel AB, Stewart WF, et al. Effect of financial incentives to physicians, patients, or both on lipid levels: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA. 2015;314(18):1926-1935.
26. Fralick M, Avorn J, Kesselheim AS. The price of crossing the border for medications. N Engl J Med. 2017;377:311-313.
27. Picchi A. Prognosis for Rx in 2017: more painful drug-price hikes. CBS News. Published December 30, 2016. www.cbsnews.com/news/drug-prices-to-rise-12-percent-in-2017/. Accessed June 10, 2017.
28. Hester SA. Guide for helping patients afford their medications. Pharmacist’s Letter. PL detail document 310610. June 2015:1-5.
29. Sanchez CK, Farrell N, Lapp E. Generic drugs, cost, and medication adherence. US Pharm. 2015;40(6)(Generic Drug suppl):14-19.
30. Thompson B. Expanding patient care from 340B savings. Pharmacy Practice News. Published November 15, 2016. www.pharmacypracticenews.com/Policy/Article/11-16/ Expanding-Patient- Care-From-340B-Savings/38599/ses=ogst?enl=true. Accessed June 10, 2017.
31. Bonner L. As pay for performance grows, health plans work with pharmacies. Pharmacy Today. 2016;22(3):50-53.
32. Houle SK, Charrois TL, McAlister FA, et al. Pay-for-performance remuneration for pharmacist prescribers’ management of hypertension: a substudy of the RxACTION trial. Can Pharm J (Ott). 2016;149(6):345-351.
33. Farley TM, Izakovic M. Physician-pharmacist collaboration in a pay for performance healthcare environment. Bratisl Lek Listy. 2015;116(9):517-519.
34. Koenigsfeld CF, Horning KK, Logemann CD, Schmidt GA. Medication therapy management in the primary care setting: a pharmacist-based pay-for-performance project. J Pharm Pract. 2012;25(1):89-95.
To comment on this article, contact email@example.com.
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Home > Preview
The flashcards below were created by user
on FreezingBlue Flashcards.
What is a glycocalyx?
- The glycocalyx is a sticky substance composed of polypeptides (diff between the ones in our cells and bacterial cells), polysaccharides (same in our cells and bacterial cells) or both.
- It is produced in the cytoplasm and secreted to the outer part of the cell wall.
- It provides a protective element against environmental stress.
It can be used for nutrition.
Bacteria can draw back in sugar for use of energy
What makes the glycocalyx a slime layer/capsule?
If loosely attached to the wall, it is called a slime layer.
- If adhered tightly to the wall, it is called a capsule.
- Both variations give an adherence capability to the organism.
- Capsules and slime layers are more typical of graham positive
Clinical significance of glycocalyx?
- The slime layer form is associated with some forms of dental decay.
- The capsule form:
- - Inhibits phagocytosis
- - Many organisms are not infectious without a capsule
- Capsule genes can be transferred between organisms.
How are fimbriae and pili alike?
Both are involved in adherence.
- Both appear as sticky projections which are shorter than flagella.
- They are found on Gram-negative organisms.
- Both are composed of pilin protein subunits.
- Used for transfer to another cell, sometimes “sex” pilus, allows for sex between 2 bacteria. Bacteria can pick up plama, short pieces of DNA
- Bacteria can produce pili,
- find another bacteria to attach to it,
- replicate DNA, transfer plasma DNA over to the next step, now new cell has the
- DNA and that is the purpose of pili, to move DNA from one bacteria to the
- Axial filaments are little modified flagella or endoflagella that wrap around
- spirochete and allow for movement
- The corkscrew motion gives the bacterium the ability to bore through tissue (staying in).
- They allow organisms to get into the blood as well as other tissues (damage the host).
What are flagella?
- Flagella are used only for motility.
- They are long structures that extend far beyond the cell wall and even beyond the glycocalyx.
- They make it possible for bacteria to move from their point of origin to other places in the body.
- Example: E. coli can move from the large intestine, where it is harmless, to the urinary tract, where it can cause serious infection.
- Not used for attachment
Flagella and their roters
- Basically allows bacteria to swim, gives it a propeller
- Flagella have a roter that is the moving force for the flagella
- Being gram + or gram – will depend on outer region or basil body of the portion of the flagella.
- The roter allows the flagella to rotate and 360 degrees.
- Monotrichous – one flagellum located at the end of the cell
- Amphitrichous – two flagella, one at each end of the cell
- Lophotrichous – two or more flagella located at the same end of the cell
- Peritrichous – flagella surround the entire cell.
Flagella movement allows for
- opportunistic infections
- escape from host defense (defeat of host defense)
- systemic infection ( can create just through movement)
Flagella movement directions
- Clockwise – bacteria tumbles and changes direction
- Counterclockwise- bacteria runs in a single direction
length and number flagella
- - Sometimes pili will be longest and sometimes flagella will, on ave prob the same length
- -Can be monotrichous and can also have a very high amount
Length and number fimbriae
- - Shortest
- - Has the most, are everywhere, are there to coat the bacterial
length and number pili
- - sometimes pili will be longest and sometimes flagella, on ave prob the same length
- -will have least amount
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"Impaired Transcriptional Response of the Murine Heart to Cigarette Smoke in the Setting of High Fat Diet and Obesity"
Chemical Research in Toxicology
New insights into why obese cigarette smokers experience a high risk of heart disease suggest that cigarette smoke affects the activity of hundreds of key genes that both protect the heart and lungs and expose them to damage. The study, published in ACS’ Chemical Research in Toxicology, suggests that the effects may be especially profound in obese nonsmokers who inhale “sidesteam smoke” from cigarettes smoldering nearby.
Diana J. Bigelow and colleagues point out that active smoking doubles the risk of heart disease, while second-hand smoke exposure increases this risk by about one-third. They set out to gain more information on why the risks are especially high among people with obesity, using specially fed laboratory mice that are stand-ins for humans in such experiments.
The report describes how mainstream smoke and to a greater extent, sidestream smoke, inhibit the activity of genes that protect the heart and lungs, and activate genes associated with an increased risk of heart disease. Those changes were more profound in obese mice than normal-weight mice. “The present study is the first, to our knowledge, that addresses the in vivo transcriptional response of the heart to cigarette smoke exposure in the setting of high fat diet and obesity, and thus takes a first step toward identifying the molecular basis of adaptive responses that may lead to an increased risk of heart disease in obese smokers,” the report states.
The authors acknowledge funding from the Exposure Biology Program in the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health.
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The flat bar extruded using Uhmwpe with1.5~ 4 million molecular weight has an excellent performance, including wearability, self-lubrication, low temperature bearing, impact bearing, not caking, anti-corrosion, low water-absorptivity and inocuity. It can be used to manufacture guide rail, guide bar, scaleboard, bar in the field of transport machinery, food processing and packing machinery. It can reduce energy consumption and noise, as well as improve the productivity. Please send us your sample and design to manufacture for you.
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The NAHA-Norge seminar in 2020 will explore identity formation among Norwegian immigrants and immigrant groups from other Nordic countries in America from the time of immigration until present. Likewise, as part of globalization immigrants become transnationals, where immigrants have increasing contact with individuals and organizations in their country of origin. Thus, the seminar focuses on the transnational ties between immigrants from the Nordic countries in America and between the immigrants and their country of origin and how this contact affected the identity of Nordic Americans.
In early scholarship of migration and ethnic history, scholars characterized the immigration experience as an inevitable process in which immigrants were molded to become Americans of some sort. However, migration scholars in the past decades have stated that the process of identity formation usually develops in a mutual negotiation between the immigrant and the host society in which both may be altered during the process. We encourage papers on a wide variety of topics relating to the adaptation and identity formation process among different immigrant groups from the Nordic countries in America relating to gender, class, regional, and ethnic or indigenous background. In sum, papers should focus on various narratives in which the ties between immigrants from the Nordic countries in America are taken into account.
NAHA-Norway encourages seminar contributions based on many academic traditions. Topics related to literary, linguistic, and religious studies, to history, social science, fine and folk arts, and cultural studies—as well as multi- and interdisciplinary approaches—are appropriate. NAHA-Norway also emphasizes the need to see Norwegian-American Studies in the context of international migration and ethnic studies in general. Presentations may be delivered in English or Norwegian, and, except for invited lecturers, should not exceed twenty minutes. We require an abstract in English for all presentations, including those held in Norwegian.
Prospective speakers are invited to submit a half-page proposal and a one-page CV to NAHA-Norway Chair Nils Olav Østrem (email@example.com) or Ole Jone Eide (firstname.lastname@example.org) by January 1, 2020. Further information on the conference will be available on the NAHA-Norway website
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James Kunstler recently visited Montgomery, and reflected:
Here and there around the rest of the downtown, other weird experiments in American post-war anti-urbanism presented themselves, most notably a "building" designed to look like a small-scaled Death Star, all black reflective glass, canted concrete and steel walls – which turned out to belong to Morris Dees' renowned Southern Poverty Law Center ...
Joseph J. Levin Jr., an SPLC executive, wrote back to Kunstler to complain about their headquarters being criticized, and to enlighten Kunstler with a detailed explication of the complicated aesthetic and political theories behind the design. Kunstler responded:
The issue is what you did on the site you chose. (And by the way, in case you wonder, I am a registered Democrat and a New York Jew, not a conservative.) You put up a building that looks like the Fuhrer Bunker. It dishonors the site and it even dishonors your mission of social justice. The design of the building makes social justice appear despotic.
Aw, c'mon, Mr. Kunstler, you should give the SPLC a break for engaging in truth in advertising. Granted, the SPLC's headquarters looks like a Secret Policeman's Training Academy out of the movie "Brazil," but, hey, form follows function.
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Collected by Abigail Meurk
1 Rue des Unterlinden, 68000 Colmar, France
You'd be excused for thinking that this is a picture of Germany because it does have the traditional German style houses. It actually belonged to Germany for a brief time in history. It was taken from France in 1871 and was eventually given back...
Koningin Astridplein 27, 2018 Antwerpen, Belgium
Traveling by train can be a wonderful way to explore Belgium. A few of the country's train stations are destinations in and of themselves. Antwerp's Centraal (or Central) Station is one of the prettiest. Renovations and expansion have restored the...
1495 Villers-la-Ville, Belgium
In 1146 a dozen monks and some lay brothers, with the blessings of St Bernard (not the dog!) headed to what is now Belgium and founded the abbey. It had been neglected and then revitalized during its second golden age in the 1800s where some of...
77950 Maincy, France
Those who faithfully follow the guidebooks on Paris and its environs will undoubtedly find themselves journeying 10km south west of the capital to Versailles to discover the Sun King’s gilded emblem – an impressive if grandiose symbol of royal...
84250 Le Thor, France
Summer, mid-afternoon in the South of France--there's no better place to be than in the shade, cicadas singing overhead, taking a nap in a hammock hung from a medieval village-wall by a lazy, quiet river... My wife and I were visiting friends in...
Place Charles de Gaulle, 78100 Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye. One of the lesser-known, but just as incredible, châteaus in the suburbs of Paris. I flew to Paris and was wandering around the grounds of the beautiful château forty-five minutes after leaving the airport . The...
10 Rue de la Paix, 06360 Èze, France
A maze of narrow medieval streets wind up and down this village perched along the Grande Corniche. The ruins of a château are now an exotic garden, and the 18th-century neoclassical Notre Dame of the Assumption church is a national monument....
64500 Saint-Jean-de-Luz, France
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46500 Rocamadour, France
Gorge yourself some more, this time in Rocamadour, a medieval city built into the face of an actual gorge. The town is famous for its chèvre cheese, and every little shop on Rue Roland le Preux will be eager to sell you some. Heads up! This is the...
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Appalachia Inside Out, Volume 1
- Author(s): Higgs, Robert J., Ambrose N. Manning, and Jim Wayne Miller, eds.
- Imprint: Univ Tennessee Press
- Publication Date: 1995-03-31
- Status: Active
- Available in Paper: Price $29.95 | Buy Now
Edited by Robert J. Higgs, Ambrose N. Manning, and Jim Wayne Miller, these two volumes constitute the most comprehensive anthology of writings on Appalachia ever assembled. Representing the work of approximately two hundred authors—fiction writers, poets, scholars in disciplines such as history, literary criticism, and sociology—Appalachia Inside Out reveals the fascinating diversity of the region and lays to rest many of the reductive stereotypes long associated with it.
Intended as a sequel to the widely respected collection Voices of the Hills, edited by Robert Higgs and Ambrose Manning and published twenty years ago, these volumes reflect the recent proliferation of imaginative and critical writing about Appalachia—a proliferation that suggests nothing less than a renaissance of collective self-assessment. The selections are organized around a variety of themes (including “War and Revolution,” “Feuds and Violence,” “Nature and Progress,” “Dialect and Language,” “Exile, Return, and Sense of Place,” and “Majority and Minority”) and reveal both the radical changes the region has undergone as well as the persistence of certain defining features.
The title Appalachia Inside Out refers in part to the fact that Appalachia has never existed in timeless isolation from the rest of country and the world; rather, it has both absorbed outside influences and exerted influence of its own. The title also indicates the editors’ effort to look not only at the visible Appalachia but at the forces that underlie its history and culture. What emerges in these pages is an Appalachia both familiar and strange: a mirror of lived life on the one hand and, on the other, a haunted realm of unimaginable loss and bewitching possibility.
The Editors: Robert J. Higgs is professor of English, emeritus, at East Tennessee State University and the author of Laurel and Thorn: The Athlete in American Literature.
Ambrose N. Manning is professor of English, emeritus, at East Tennessee State University and a noted collector of folk songs and folklore.
Jim Wayne Miller, a poet, novelist, and essayist, is a professor in the Department of Modern Languages and Intercultural Studies at Western Kentucky University.
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Learn how to make objects invisible.
Walk on water!
Do the impossible!
Its far more magical to find out its
not a trick…Its science!
Welcome to Jason Latimer's Impossible Science Festival - Education Through Curiosity! Be inspired to ask questions, learn more, and wonder!
"The goal of the Impossible Science Festival is to promote education through curiosity," said Jason Latimer, host and designer of the Impossible Science Festival. "By exploring subjects that seem impossible but showing how they can be made possible through applied science, visitors will have a memorable, hands-on learning experience that will blow their minds!"
Education Through Curiosity
This event is based around five themes: invisibility, levitation, animation transformation and super powers, and each theme incorporates demonstrations that festival attendees will be able to observe or try for themselves. For invisibility, attendees will be able to use the refractive properties of Pyrex to make objects disappear in corn oil. They can also learn how to manipulate light—a precursor to invisibility—using a laser pen and tonic water, or make the invisible come to life with a homemade laser microscope.
For levitation, visitors can experience how concepts like the Bernoulli principle, static electricity and air pressure can make objects like ping pong balls, tinsel or even screwdrivers appear to levitate!
The animation stations will use static electricity to make tissue paper dance, surface tension to make objects scoot along a water surface and sound waves to make a toothpick dance across a wine glass, harmonics to make patterns in sand—plus you can learn how a battery, a magnet and a screw can be designed to make a small motor.
The transformation stations will show attendees how to make a square bubble or a fireproof balloon. And visitors can harness their own super powers when they create energy from pennies or walk on liquid Oobleck!
At the Impossible Science Festival there are over 25 interactive demonstration stations and five “make it, take it” stations where attendees can make their own impossible science creations to take home.
Want to schedule an Impossible Science Festival for at your local Science Center! Contact us, we would love to hear from you and see how we can make that possible!
OUR FIRST FESTIVAL WAS A HUGE SUCCESS!!!
NOW WE ARE EXPANDING TO OTHER SCIENCE CENTERS, SCHOOLS, AND MUSEUMS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY! WANT ONE FOR YOUR LOCATION?
PLEASE EMAIL US!
2016 & 2017 DATES COMING SOON!
For scheduling & booking information
“The only thing that separates the impossible from the possible
is the individual that is wondering about the right question...
And that next question could come from any of us.”
Curator of Impossible Science
MEET THE CURATOR
[im-pos-uh-buh l] - [sahy-uh ns] :
1. The study of the seemingly unattainable. The category of systematic arrangements that
challenges the unknown, inconceivable, and unworkable. (i.e. beyond the edge of the
universe, the cure to cureless diseases, unfeasible technologies, invisibility, levitation,
“Flight was an impossible science at one time, until someone asked a question about lift.”
- Jason Latimer.
COPYRIGHT 2012-2015 LATIMER FX, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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The proposed exempt-exempt-tax (EET) model in the draft tax code will produce an equitable and inclusive long-term savings environment and improve retirement incomes. The EET model will create a level playing field between tax preferred instruments and focus both product providers and savers on investment performance as the driver of product choice.
For most countries that have adopted a similar model, the policy choice has really been between the classical expenditure tax (EET) and the pre-paid expenditure tax (TEE). While TEE is certainly an attractive option since it causes immediate revenues for the government, and which are deferred until retirement under an EET model, the pre-paid expenditure tax has a major drawback.
The front-end tax relief under an EET model is normally perceived as more “valuable” and is less vulnerable to policy risk. For example, a future government may not feel bound by its predecessor’s commitment not to tax pensions or long term savings in a TEE model.
In the EET model, everyone would have identical rights and choices and face an identical tax treatment on exit. And if there's a threshold beyond which withdrawal is taxed, it would simply motivate people to annuitise their pension corpus, and hence ensure that they don’t run the risk of outliving their retirement savings. Importantly, by simply keeping their withdrawals below the prescribed threshold tax-free limit, individuals will be able to enjoy a healthy replacement rate without being subjected to tax even when they exit.
Importantly, the draft tax code does not discriminate between employee and employer contributions and provides an identical tax preference below a prescribed limit. However, it’s not obvious yet how this will work in practice in the context of legislated pension and provident funds. For example, as things stand, salaried employees in the formal private sector would be forced into the EET house and packed into the ‘EPS and EPS’ room. Unless the EPFO’s vesting, withdrawal and investment rules are modified, the population in the EPFO room would find their door bolted from the outside. Ditto for PPF, superannuation plans and NPS. Hence, implementation of a uniform EET model across retirement savings options would require full portability across employers as well as across various eligible product options.
Easy portability would cause a dramatic improvement in retirement incomes for two reasons. First, salaried workers in private firms would no longer be forced to open new EPF and EPS accounts when they move jobs. Their EPF and EPS account would simply move with them (as they indeed should) and grow over time.
Similarly, civil servants moving to private jobs or salaried workers turning entrepreneurs would be able to “roll-over” their savings to any other permitted intermediary without any tax burden. And second, since workers would also have an option to move their savings, in part or full, to any other “permitted savings intermediary”, it would automatically motivate each permitted intermediary (approved PFs, superannuation funds, insurers and the NPS) to compete to attract the individual's savings. Importantly, in addition to the rights and choices regarding savings providers, individuals will also have the ability to choose between investment options based on their age, risk appetite, income and investment horizon.
Portability across intermediaries and investment choices will require unique individual accounts issued through a centralised administration and recordkeeping facility of the type already created by PFRDA for the NPS. While this process will need to start pretty much from scratch for individuals covered by the EPFO, PPF or superannuation funds, setting up a CRA for EET is unlikely to be a challenge for India based on our experience with the securities depositories, the tax information network (TIN) and the CRA established recently by the PFRDA for NPS. Importantly, the initiative to issue unique IDs to everyone in India through the UIDAI should further strengthen India’s capacity to implement the EET model.
The proposed EET model is the first important step towards a convergence across all long term savings options and could simultaneously help bring all retirement provisions under a single statutory regulator—the PFRDA.
In the coming months, many will undoubtedly argue against EET and defend the merits of an EEE (fully tax exempt) treatment for retirement savings—especially for the middle and lower income segments. For these workers, a phased withdrawal under an EET framework may not result in any tax upon exit.
In order to achieve this also in real terms, the finance ministry could consider an inflation indexed tax-free threshold so that such workers are able to increase their consumption over time in step with inflation.
The author is director, Invest India Economic Foundation
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Saturday, October 22, 2011
Occupy . . . 24/7 Media!
Within a few hours, a reporter from a major daily newspaper stopped by to chat. The grad expressed appreciation for her college education, felt well prepared and given great experiences, but that, alas, she had yet to secure the job of her dreams. The reporter scribbled and nodded and walked away. The grad held her sign higher and when evening came, traveled back to her apartment with her friends, glad for the opportunity of solidarity.
Until the next day. The grad read in horror one lone quote out of all she'd told the reporter. Out of context, she appeared in print as other than she knew herself to be. And her education continued as 24/7 bloggers and lazier reporters grabbed that quote (without one calling the graduate to verify if she'd really said it) and recycled it for their own—often ugly—purposes. One lone sentence ripped from the bigger story of this graduate's life threw her into a tailspin of doubts: maybe she hadn't looked hard enough to get a job. Maybe she wasn't qualified. Maybe she shouldn't have protested.
When reporters get it wrong, especially in this 24/7 news cycle, more than just a story goes awry. Talented and well meaning young people who want to make a difference are affected, their vision to contribute is compromised, their voice diminished a little more than it should have been. They begin to think twice about what they can and can't do, and worse, who they can and can't trust in the media. Without truth in context, the news defeats the very purpose it was supposed to provide: reporting accurate information that helps citizens draw their own conclusions about what should or should not be occupied.
Posted by Jo Kadlecek at 6:51 AM
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How Times Have Changed in Sports and in the Country
Wayne Edmonds was the first Negro to suit up for Notre Dame in 1953 and did play in the 1955 Orange Bowl in Miami.John Wooten was an outstanding player for Colorado between 1956 and 1958 and knows about racial discrimination in college football during those days. On January 1, 1957, Colorado and Clemson played in the Miami Orange Bowl, but it seems someone did not want Wooten, a guard, and receiver Frank Clarke playing for Colorado that day. The rest of the football team was welcomed in Miami.
“In 1957, there at Colorado, we were to play Clemson in the Orange Bowl. Clemson wanted to pull…we had two Negroes, me and Frank Clarke, were on the Colorado team and they wanted to pull the ‘old well we can’t play you because you have Negroes on your team.’ Our athletic director Dean (Harry) Carlson spoke up and said ‘you need to talk to the Orange Bowl because we aren’t going to leave our players at home’, these were the kind of things and people have spoke out,” said Wooten. “As I look back at it then and I say now just think of Dean Carlson and (coach) Dal Ward had come to us, well we are not going to take you to the Orange Bowl because of that. But instead, they took just the opposite. They said, hey we are coming to play; if you don’t want to play, then you talk to the Orange Bowl committee.”
Wooten did face an awful out of discrimination as a member of the University of Colorado football squad and then with the Cleveland Browns. But, he added that Carlson, Ward and Cleveland Browns coach, general manager and football operations director would have none of that.
“So we have seen it, fortunate for us, we were with teams where the leadership of the team said we are going to stay together. You are not going to separate us. Our black players are not going to go and have to stay with black families. They are going to stay at the hotel where we all stay. If we can’t go to the movies together, none of us go to the movies,” Wooten continued. “All of those things give you such a great substance of your life dealing with people because it keeps you from getting into this color thing.”
Wooten lost a teammate in 1962 when Cleveland traded Bobby Mitchell to the Washington Redskins in what was a straight football deal for a top draft pick that was forced by the Kennedy Administration. Cleveland got the NFL rights to Syracuse University running back Ernie Davis.
The Washington Redskins owner George Preston Marshall, who never hid his racial views, did not hire any Negro players for his team. The federal government had decided to build a new multipurpose stadium in Washington for American League’s Senators to replace Griffith Stadium along with the Redskins. That stadium forced Marshall’s hand as President John F. Kennedy’s Secretary of Interior Stewart Udall pushed Marshall and made him obey legislation that prohibited discrimination in federal facilities. D. C. Stadium was a federal facility. Udall gave Marshall what amounted to an ultimatum, either hire Negro players or find somewhere else to play.
Marshall had a 30-year lease with the federal government and picked the Syracuse University star Ernie Davis to shut up the Kennedy Administration. He sent Davis to Cleveland for Mitchell and a first round pick after the 1961-62 NFL Draft.
Marshall was the last owner to desegregate his team. The NFL unofficially had a quota system in place limiting the amount of Negro players on each team. The NFL banned black players from 1934 to 1946, and there is some thought among NFL historians that Marshall’s purchase of the Boston Redskins in 1932 and his influence on other owners led to the policy. Marshall moved the Boston Braves/Redskins franchise to Washington in 1937.
Marshall’s Redskins ran onto the field to the song, “Hail to the Redskins,” which included a lyric “Fight for Old Dixie” that was eventually changed to “Fight for Old D.C”. The song also ended with the opening for Dixie.
It is thought that the NFL was forced to hire Negro players in 1946, when Daniel Reeves moved his Cleveland Rams to Los Angeles, and part of the lease agreement with the Los Angeles Coliseum included a clause that made the team hire Negro players. Two UCLA stars, Kenny Washington and Woody Strode, became the first Negro players in the NFL since 1933.
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sunday evening i was watching a program on the history channel about the dust bowl, trust me i learned more about sand then i really wanted to know,anyways it told how the people who stayed tried to survive. the goverment at the time would not help them because they were also in the midst of the great depression and fdr wasn't in office yet.
this morning i got to thinking about my grandparents who were young married adults with children an immigrats to this country from canada.when my grandparents were growing up they came from large families and were farm hands. none of them had more then a grade school education and left canada because there was no work but this would work toward their favor when the depression hit because these were people who not only knew how to live with out but also beleaved in saving money, not a great deal but enough to get by.my granparents had vegtable gardens(even though they always rented apartments none of them owned property)they raised chickens, canned, made their childrens clothes,fixed their own shoes and bought only what they had to.
these people were also deeply religous and never expected to own everything they wanted and probably didn't care if they ever did they made do. They were close knit familys who helped not only relatives but neighbors and friends when able..
i remember my parents telling me when they were growing up the played board games after supper my mothers father painted a board game on an oil cloth and they used buttons has playing pieces,when my mothers mother passed away at 46 years old during world war 2 she had saved $900. for her 3 children to split ( today most people who work and make good money can not save a dime because our need for material things is way out of whack we want quick gratification)
they were a brave tough group and don't get alot of recognition for the kind of people they were.we talk about the greatest generation the ones who fought selflisly in ww2 but lets remember who raised those people to be who they were. these people didn't have much but they loved their children and this was proven has we their grandchildren grew up we were blessed with many loving aunts and uncles and has cousins we are always there for each other. what more of a legacy can you leave future generations then to be a loving family to each other.
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Vitamin D-3 Drops
Vitamin D is called the "Sunshine Vitamin" because it is produced naturally by the body after exposure to 20 min - 1/2 hour of sunlight. Many people develop deficiencies due to lack of sun exposure, living in cold climates, and other reasons. Research continues to accumulate showing that vitamin D deficiency is widespread, and that this deficiency is linked to a wide range of illnesses. Vitamin D is most well known for its contribution to joint and bone health by helping the body absorb calcium. However, new research is showing that Vitamin D also plays a major role in immune function, and other metabolic processes important for the maintenance of health and well being. It is especially important to maintain adequate Vitamin D levels in children, as we age, and when we are under stress.
Vitamin D-3 is vital for many functions in our bodies, including the promotion of strong bones by assisting calcium metabolism. Vitamin D also influences a host of key biological functions vital to health and well-being.
|Service Size: 2 drops|
Servings Per Container: 300
|Ingredient||Amount||% Daily Value**|
|Calories from Fat||10|
|Vitamin D3 (as cholecalciferol)**||4000IU||1000|
| ** Percent Daily Value is based on a 2000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.|
† Daily Value not established.
Salt-free, wheat-free, corn-free, soy-free, yeast-free, sugar-free, milk-free, preservative-free.
Other Ingredients: Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
As a dietary supplement take two (2) drops daily or as directed by your healthcare practitioner. May be mixed with food or liquids, such as water or juice.
Caution: Keep out of reach of children. Not for use by children under 3 years of age. Do not use if safety seal is damaged or missing. If pregnant, nursing or on medication, consult with your healthcare practitioner.
| 158,285
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Welcome to Taimapedia - We're experiencing severely heavy load and database problems right now due to a tweet from Lance Storm (hi!). This is a wiki used by members of 420chan's Pro Wrestling board, /wooo/
An unbearably, awesomely euphoric stimulant. The holy grail of stimulants, it's stronger and longer lasting than both regular amphetamine and cocaine. Methylphenidate doesn't even deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence.
Although the stereotype perpetuated by the American media is that meth is a drug exclusively used by toothless white trash cooking up pseudoephedrine in their bath tub, the drug has has a wide appeal around the world (and with good reason). From Hawaii to New Zealand to Australia and Mexico, from white collar workers trying to keep up with their 80 hour work week to the club scene, where the euphoria, hypersexuality and intense sociability make it the ultimate party drug, meth has something for everyone.
Widely maligned (and not always unfairly), meth is also highly addictive and incredibly toxic when used regularly. Malnutrition, tooth decay, insomnia, anxiety, brain damage, psychosis and death all await the meth user who doesn't treat the drug with a serious level of respect. This isn't a drug for the weak willed or faint hearted, but if you have the self control and love riding the thin line between the ultimate hedonistic indulgence and the road to self destruction, then meth can take you into a whole new world of intensity and excitement.
Like most stimulants, meth works by increasing levels of dopamine, serotonin and noradrenaline in the brain. These account for the effects of the drug, which include -
- Physical and Mental Stimulation
Side Effects Can Include -
- Jaw Clenching (Bruxism)
- Appetite Suppression
- Shadow people
These will generally increase when excessive doses are taken, or when the drug is binged on or abused chronically over a long period of time. Also like most stimulants, the initial high is generally followed by a 'crash' period, when depletion of these neurotransmitters leads to a rebound period of depression and lethargy, while residual stimulation prevents sleep despite an overwhelming feeling of fatigue. It's common for meth users to try and avoid the comedown by redosing, leading to binges that can last days. Try to avoid this, it goes without saying, but it's really fucking unhealthy to binge on meth. The 48 Hour Rule especially applies to Methamphetamine. Decide on a predetermined time limit, (which should be under 48 hours) and force yourself to stop redosing at this point. Your best weapons against a bad crash are strong CNS depressants. Benzodiazepines are the most common choice, although opiates also do the job quite effectively. Booze is generally not so effective, since the appetite suppression can make it hard to force alcohol beverages down, and drinking on an empty stomach (which you'll likely have unless you were sensible enough to force yourself to eat while high) can be uncomfortable. As always, be careful combining CNS depressants, since the effects of different depressants can compound each-other, and the effect of the meth can mask them. A dose of depressants that could be barely noticeable while high could render you unconscious or even cause respiratory arrest once the meth wears off. Don't pull a Heath Ledger/DJ AM.
Another effective choice is the antipsychotic Seroquel. Antipsychotics are both sedating and function by reducing dopamine levels in the brain, effectively halting meth in its tracks. Unless you have a friend with schizophrenia or severe bipolar, this might be kind of hard to locate, and if you do, I hope you're not giving them meth.
Appearance and Consistency
Good meth will look like shards of ice or crushed glass, be almost clear, maybe a slightly foggy white, and have no more than a slight odor. If it has a strong chemical scent or is colored, that can indicate impurity, though even a relatively minor impurity can cause discoloration or a strong scent and it's often just byproduct of the cooking process, so it could still be good product, it's just less likely. If it's a more grainy consistency, or damp or soggy, then that would again indicate impurities or a shoddy cooking process. Such a product could still be strong, but again it's less likely. Crystal isn't the only form of meth. It often comes in a powder or a substance with a damp/pasty consistency, sold as speed/whiz/goey/base*/whatever your local slang is. This kind of product is generally less pure than crystal (and subsequently cheaper). Generally unsuitable for smoking, and often for IVing as well.
- Technically inaccurate, since methamphetamine freebase is actually an oily liquid quite unsuited to any kind of recreational use and unlikely to be found outside a meth lab, but it persists as a slang term.
Worth noting as this product is often sold under those slang terms in an attempt to differentiate it from methamphetamine (and the associated stigma), or give the perception that it is another, less dangerous chemical. If you live in an area where meth is prominent (North/Central America, Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia and certain parts of Eastern Europe), then you should operate under the assumption that any 'speed' purchased is methamphetamine, not amphetamine sulphate. The latter is generally only found as a street drug in Europe. Methamphetamine is also available as a prescription pharmaceutical in America, under the name Desoxyn and generally prescribed for severe narcolepsy or people who are really good at faking ADD. Trying to score a desoxyn script is like the hell mode of doctor shopping, good luck!
Eating is generally prefered by new or occasional users, or those using meth to supplement other drugs. The bioavailability is lower (somewhere in the range of 40 - 60%), but the high is longer lasting, often extending out to 8 hours or more.
Snorting is also a popular choice, combining convenience with a slight rush upon ingestion and a longer duration than smoking or IVing. Bioavailability is higher than eating, at 70 - 80%. It hurts like a bitch, but that's how you know it's good, right?
Smoking is probably one of the most popular ROA's. First it's worth mentioning that smoking meth does 'not' involve burning the drug, and anybody who tries to smoke meth by sprinkling it on top of weed should be slapped for wasting drugs. 'Smoking' meth actually involves vaporizing it, most commonly in a glass pipe with a long stem and a bulb at the end designed especially for that purpose, but in a pinch a home made pipe can be constructed with a light bulb, or it can be smoked off foil.
Although not as intense as IVing, smoking provides a much greater rush than either eating or snorting, and is subsequently more addictive. The bioavailability is generally around the 90% mark, with a duration of 5 hours or so, give or take half an hour. The technique of smoking meth is in itself a lot of fun, and actually requires a fair bit of practice and skill. Some starter tips include:
- use a bic lighter, some people like to use jet lighters or large torches, but these will heat the bowl up too fast and result in wasted meth.
- Hold the lighter a couple inches below the bowl. The flame itself shouldn't go anywhere near the pipe.
- twirl the pipe around slightly as the meth melts, letting the meth spread over the bowl and maximizing exposure to the heated glass.
- Don't hold the lighter to the bowl constantly, once the meth has started melting pull it away, then reapply until it starts smoking, then pull away etc. the bowl will stay hot for a good 10 seconds or so after you pull the lighter away, if you want to keep inhaling, you can put the lighter back under the bowl for a few seconds to warm it back up
- Likewise, pull the lighter away about 10 seconds before you can no longer inhale, the bowl will stay hot and the meth will keep vaporizing, if your lungs reach capacity and the bowl is still hot, meth will float into the air and be wasted.
- Along that note, meth 'smoke' isn't smoke at all, it's a vapor. Any vapor that floats up from the pipe, or any vapor you exhale, is wasted meth. For this reason you should practice inhaling slowly and holding your breath for a while afterwards, 10 seconds or so should suffice to let most of the meth be absorbed in your lungs.
- No, meth won't recrystallize in your lungs, that's a bullshit urban legend, your lungs are warm and damp, and meth is both water soluble and has a low melting point, it would dissolve instantly.
IVing is well, IVing, fairly standard, provides the best rush, a 100% bioavailability, and a 4 - 5 hour high. Nowhere near as fun as smoking in this speedfreaks humble opinion, but if needles are your thing, go nuts. But for the love of god, use safe rigs, HIV is not cool.
Plugging is also an interesting one, the bioavailability is up there with smoking or IVing, but the duration is similar to eating, you get the best of both worlds, with the tradeoff of having to stick drugs up your pooper. Instructions for properly plugging drugs can be found with 2 seconds on google, if you don't mind the whole process it's a great way to get the most out of your meth.
How to score meth in a gay club
Don't just ask up front. Look for people obviously on some kind of stim (big pupils, grinding their teeth, twitchy and energetic) and start up a conversation with them. After chatting for a bit just ask casually if they know where you can find any. Slang varies from city to city. If you don't know what it's generally called, asking for 'tina' or 'crystal' in a gay club would be a good bet, as those are the two terms gay men seem to use a lot -- though if there's some slang specific to your city, try that instead. However, it is not advised to call it 'meth,' as that sounds very suspect. It is available by prescription as Desoxyn, in 5mg tablets for extreme cases of narcolepsy and ADHD.
Preventing permanent brain damage
Some can use heavily for a year or two and seem to recover more or less fully; others who use far less can seem to "change" much more from their use. If you live healthily, only use once every month or two and stick to the 48 hour rule, the damage is unlikely to be serious.
In order to prevent damage from meth use, dose up on antioxidants before/during/after taking meth. Methamphetamine neurotoxicity is caused by oxidative stress, so antioxidants will counteract that. A dose of vitamin C, alpha lipoic acid, acetyl-l-carnitine, and some green tea extract for good measure (all available at health food or body building stores) every few hours until you sleep again will go a long way towards countering the stress meth puts on your mesolimbic pathway, melatonin is an especially good option as it is both an extremely strong antioxidant and it also helps you sleep, consider taking 1mg an hour during a session.
Other things that will help abate any damage include staying hydrated, forcing yourself to eat (meth puts enough strain on your body without adding dehydration and malnutrition to the mix) and trying to keep your body temperature from going too high (hard when tweaking, even harder if tweaking while having sex, or clubbing, or working, or anything really, but try).
Also, try to avoid combining meth with MDMA if possible. The combination severely compounds the neurotoxicity of both. It's fun as hell, yeah, but it's not worth the potential emotional or cognitive malfunction it can cause. A lot of MDMA pills come with meth in them, if you can avoid them, do, though low doses in a pill probably aren't too serious if it's as infrequent as possible. Don't get into the habit of taking high doses of meth concurrently with or right after MDMA, your brain will hate you for it.
Yes, meth is neurotoxic, but so are a lot of popular drugs (alcohol, ecstasy, amphetamine sulphate, cathinones, etc etc). Like a lot of drug side effects, it's not a big issue if you practice harm reduction and don't use in excess. You won't become some fried out, paranoid schizophrenic tweaker by smoking a few points every month or two, any more than you'll give yourself liver failure by getting drunk once or twice a month. Moderation, people!
Meth is largely considered by the members of the 420chan drug board to be the most destructive drug, beating out crack and heroin by the accounts of both /stim/ and /opi/. Unless you hate your life and are interested in going out in a blaze of AWESOME, it's probably best to take steps to do it safely, or else find something somewhat similar, yet safer, like crack.
Things not normal to do
There are a lot of things that aren't normal to do; interestingly, on meth, they are. Some masturbate uncontrollably near windows, or out doors in hopes that someone is secretly watching and on meth also. This gives the user an even more intense rush of pleasure. You get the picture.
Amphetamine for more methods on preventing neurotoxicity.
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Terms Of Trade And Growth Of Resource Economies
The current paper demonstrates a dichotomy of the growth response to changes in the barter terms of trade, employing as case studies the two African countries, Botswana and Nigeria. Using distributed-lag analysis, the paper finds that the effect of terms of trade on output is positive and negative for the two countries, respectively. The author interprets these results as supportive of the 'Resource curse' hypothesis for Nigeria, but not for Botswana. The author further argues that the superior institutional quality in Botswana, relative to Nigeria, is likely responsible for the contrasting results.
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In the painting and printing workshop, artistic techniques from the time of Albrecht Dürer are brought to life. An audio guide (available in six languages) guides guests through the four-story former home of Albrecht Dürer. Additional media stations illustrate the broad spectrum of Dürer's work. Or you can let his wife Agnes give you a personal tour through the historic rooms.
The Dürer House Museum gives visitors insight into the life and art of Nuremberg's most famous painter and printmaker, who was celebrated throughout Europe during his lifetime. A look at his living area, kitchen and artist's workshop gives a glimpse of life in Nuremberg's past, as it was a proud and wealthy Free Imperial City in the 16th century.
Graphic Collection and Special Exhibits in the Graphic Cabinet
The Graphic Cabinet in the third story of the Dürer House features special exhibits using the rich holdings of the Art Collection of the City of Nuremberg. The historical architecture is the ideal backdrop for a modern and purist presentation of woodcuts, copper prints, drawings and lithographs.
Original Copies! The New Dürer Room
As part of Nuremberg's "Year of Art ", a new and elegant exhibition room was opened on July 27, 2012. Here, Dürer's major paintings are presented in the form of high-quality historical copies from the 17th to the 20th centuries.
Agnes Dürer, the Strong Woman behind Albrecht Dürer
A visit to a museum in Nuremberg is an experience for all the senses. In the Dürer House, Agnes Dürer tells stories about her life and work, her command over kitchen and home, about illustrious guests and hardworking members of the household, her worries about her budget and her relationship with Albrecht Dürer. For children and school classes she's always ready to answer extra questions.
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Through our character – an opportunity to reflect on important issues in our community
- New research has found that the skills to succeed in life have less to do with how smart you are than with more ordinary personality traits, like an ability to stay focused and control impulses. Character does matter. (Paul Tough, “How Children Succeed”)
Through our prayers — an opportunity to pray for the needs of our community
- Pray for the strength to grow and mature in areas that do matter: faith, love, hope and even self-control.
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POSTED: 11:58 a.m. HST, Mar 07, 2012
LAST UPDATED: 12:02 p.m. HST, Mar 07, 2012
Residential electricity bills in rose in March on all islands, the state’s two major electric utilities reported today.
Hawaiian Electric Co. said a typical 600-kilowatt-hour bill for Oahu residential customers rose to $203.74 in March from $200.41 last month. The effective rate for electricity in Honolulu rose to 32.6 cents a kilowatt hour in March from 32 cents per kilowatt-hour in February.
HECO also operates Maui Electric Power Co. in Maui County and Hawaii Electric Light Co. on Hawaii island.
Maui Electric Co. customers saw rates rise to 36.3 cents a kilowatt-hour this month from 35.8 cents a kilowatt hour in February. The typical Maui bill rose by $3.22 to $225.46.
Hawaii island residential rates rose to 41.3 cents a kilowatt-hour from last month’s 40.6 cents. The typical bill rose by $5.67 to $259.19.
On Kauai, the rate rose to 42.6 cents a kilowatt-hour. Last month the rate charged by the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative was 41.40 cents a kilowatt-hour.
The main driver behind the increase was higher prices for fuel oil, which remain high in the Asia Pacific market, according to utility officials.
Hawaii typically has the highest cost for electricity in the nation. The national average was 11.52 cents per kilowatt-hour in December, according to the most recent numbers available from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
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The Attitudes of African American Middle School Girls Toward Computer Science: Influences of Home, School, and Technology Use
Robinson, Ashley Renee
MetadataShow full item record
The number of women in computing is significantly low compared to the number of men in the discipline, with African American women making up an even smaller segment of this population. Related literature accredits this phenomenon to multiple sources, including background, stereotypes, discrimination, self-confidence, and a lack of self-efficacy or belief in one's capabilities. However, a majority of the literature fails to represent African American females in research studies. This research used a mixed methods approach to understand the attitudes of African American middle school girls toward computer science and investigated the factors that influence these attitudes. Since women who do pursue computing degrees and continue with graduate education often publish in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) in greater proportions than men, this research used an intervention to introduce African American middle school girls to computational thinking concepts using HCI topics. To expand the scope of the data collected, a separate group of girls were introduced to computational thinking concepts through Algorithms. Data were collected through both quantitative and qualitative sources, and analyzed using inferential statistics and content analysis. The results show that African American middle school girls generally have negative attitudes toward computer science. However, after participating in a computer science intervention, perceptions toward computer science become more positive. The results also reveal that four factors influence the attitudes of African American middle school girls toward computer science, such as the participation in an intervention, the intervention content domain, the facilitation of performance accomplishments, and participant characteristics like socioeconomic status, mother's education, school grades, and the use of smart phones and video game consoles at home.
- Doctoral Dissertations
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
Brar, Gurkanwal Singh (Virginia Tech, 2015-01-20)Computer Architecture is entering an era where hundreds of Processing Elements (PE) can be integrated onto single chips even as decades-long, steady advances in instruction, thread level parallelism are coming to an end. ...
Pulla, Gautam (Virginia Tech, 1999-05-03)Successful application of parallel high performance computing to practical problems requires overcoming several challenges. These range from the need to make sequential and parallel improvements in programs to the ...
Kim, Kibum (Virginia Tech, 2007-01-12)Constructing common ground and the associated convergent conceptual change is critical to cooperative work and learning. Convergent conceptual change is achieved as participants in a conversation update common ground through ...
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In recent years there’s been an influx of imported lower priced value hand planes hitting the market. Some are decent, some are marginal, some are a waste of money. In the lower price ranges, most newer planes use lower quality metal on all components, thinner blades, thinner castings, and poorer machining techniques. With an upgraded aftermarket blade, and some fettling, some of the low cost new planes can be made into useful tools, but many are an exercise in futility and frustration. Even those that are salvageable, won’t necessarily hold setting properly due to the inadequacies of the metal and machining. Unfortunately, these cheaper handplanes often have the most appeal to the least experienced element of the market, which is usually the segment least capable of transforming a poor performing plane into capable plane, which can be extremely discouraging to someone trying to get started with hand planes.
My budget friendly solution has been to skip the cheap imports and build a collection of higher quality used planes like the venerable Stanley Baileys, Millers Falls, Record, Keen Kutter, Winchester, Union, Sargent, Craftsman, and the highly regarded Stanley Bedrock plane. Most of these older planes have superior metallurgy and are made to tighter tolerances. There’s usually still some sharpening and adjustments to be made, and often some elbow grease required, but overall many of these old planes simply have better bones to start with than a low cost import. There’s even replacement parts available if needed, either from sellers who’ve stripped them from older planes, or from select hand plane retailers who carry newer replacement parts (Highland Hardware and Lee Valley come to mind). I’ve found that most of the better old planes have already been fettled and flattened at some point in time years ago. You can’t beat the nostalgia of a plane made in 1927 when Ford Model T’s were the norm, or a 1939 pre-WWII hand plane built when the world was a different place. These things were built to last by proud craftsman who offered their best on a regular basis, and spent a career perfecting their craft….it was the days before the bean counters, business moguls, share holders, and lawyers started convincing folks that greed was acceptable. There’s nothing quite like finding that first diamond in the rough, and they can be found in many places…Ebay, yard sales, woodworking forum classified ads, auctions, etc,....and better yet, they can be passed on from friends and relatives! Prices can go from next to nothing to upwards of way too much, but for me, part of the fun is deciphering the deals from the steals.
One of the caveats of hunting down older planes is recognizing which are good and which were not so good. Most of the bigger names offered economy lines at some point in addition to their standard higher quality planes, or at least had eras of cheaper construction, which is one aspect that makes it a bit difficult for newbies to select good quality older planes. It’s not as simple as just sticking with a brand name. Most of these companies were in business long enough to go through several changes in business philosophies and economic changes. The lower lines are often associated with less chrome, more painted parts, plastic handles, labels instead of engraving, lower quality thinner metals, rougher castings, less machining, stamped metal instead of cast, fewer adjustments, etc. Some companies identify their economy planes with name or number changes, but some, like Record did not. I’m far from an expert, but my advice to newbies is to get familiar with parts and construction differences by comparing known higher end models so it’ll become easier to recognize the lower end lines. There are also some excellent websites for identifying and typing older hand planes. RexMill.com, OldToolHeaven.com, Record-planes.com, CianPerez.com
Below are some descriptions and pics that show differences between the better vintage lines, and the lesser economy versions:
Stanley’s higher quality planes came from the Bedrock and Bailey lines, with the Bedrock being considered their elite line, but Stanley also offered a “Handyman” and a “Defiance” line that weren’t quite to the Bailey standards, as well as other “non-Bailey” economy planes under just the Stanley name. Though the Defiance line was good enough to be a fairly serviceable tool, I suspect the Handyman series will be a little tougher to get great results from. The vast majority of the Bailey type 19 and older planes are really fairly nice planes….those from the pre-war eras to up type 16 are very highly regarded.
Stanley “Handyman” economy plane:
Here’s a non-Bailey economy “Stanley” #5 (note the plastic handles, lack of frog adjustment screw, non-brass blade knob screw, etc):
Here’s a higher quality 1927 Stanley Bailey #5-1/4 type 13 (note the wooden handles, heavy cast y-adjuster, brass adjustment knob, solid lateral adjustment lever, frog adjustment screw, etc):
The Millers Falls premium planes used a numbering system that identified the plane by length in inches…8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 18, 22, 24. (ie: Millers Falls#9 is the Stanley equivalent of a #4, & Millers Falls #14 = a Stanley #5, etc.) In the late 1950’s they introduced a cheaper #90 (Stanley #4 equivalent) and #140 (Stanley #5). They also had an economy line that looked a little different and used a different numbering system. Other variations of the economy line followed in subsequent years…#900 and #814, and a teflon coated version were the #9790 and #9140 respectively, as well as a 8900 and 9814. Many used a decal on the lever cap instead of embossing in the metal.
Millers Falls economy #900 (#4) & a higher quality #14 (#5 equivalent):
Record tended to keep the same name and numbering systems on all their planes which makes it harder to identify the eras of cheaper planes, but they definitely had some #04s that were crudely finished and eliminated the frog adjustment screw, so keep your eyes peeled.
Below is newer Record #04 from a “lesser” era…there’s no frog adjustment, it has a stamped steel lateral adjustment lever, stamped y-adjuster, more crudely finished (which is hard to see from the pic)....still a decent plane once sharpened and adjusted:
Here’s an example of an older style high quality Record 04-1/2 (note that the darker color is indicative of an older model. It also has decal atop the rear tote with gold lettering):
Here’s an even older Record plane – (Note the squared corners at the top of the blade, similar to the 1927 Bailey. It also has a cast y-adjuster, and a better lateral adjustment lever like an old Bailey…some older Record planes might show a blue decal on the rear tote…it’s possible that this one acquired a tote from a newer plane at some point.)
Sargent’s best line is the “VBM” line (which stands for “Very Best Made”) ....AFAIK, those not marked “VBM” were a step down but are still very good solidly made planes.
Here’s an example of a new modern era Groz hand plane made overseas. It “looks” the part of a decent plane, but is not made to the same standards as the Stanley Bailey, Record, or Millers Falls planes of yesteryear. I’m not picking specifically on Groz…it could say Footprint, Anant, Great Lakes, or several other names on it, but the quality story is similar….even the more expensive Woodriver and new Stanley Sweetheart line are somewhat suspect when you consider the street prices. All have the potential to be whipped into shape, but just about every aspect of the components and construction is lesser quality, and is more likely to be prone to chatter and need a lot of tweaking…and there’s always the aggravation of settings not holding, or premature blade dulling from inferior metals. Unless you go with a top shelf plane, there’s always some risk of having some issues to sort through, but IMHO there’s actually less risk with the oldies than with the newer imports.
There’s always the option of buying a Lee Nielsen, Veritas, or Clifton hand plane, which nearly assures you a flawless performer right out of the box, but if you can’t justify the price, or just enjoy resurrecting an antique, the older planes offer a great low cost alternative. Then again, maybe you’ll choose to “roll your own” with a shop made plane….I haven’t done it yet, but I understand they’re not that difficult to make.
-- Happiness is like wetting your pants...everyone can see it, but only you can feel the warmth....
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The Full set requires three Couples and the dance usually consists of three Repeats, each involving all three Couples. At the end of the first Repeat, the more common Progression leaves the 1st Couple in 3rd place with the 2nd couple in 1st place; the alternative Progression with the 3rd couple Finishing in 1st place and the 1st couple in 2nd place is also possible. This standard form of the dance continues with the 2nd and 3rd couples becoming the 1st couple of the Active set and dancing one Repeat each, in turn; it Finishes with all the dancers in their Original Places.
In this format, unlike the 3 Couple repeat in 4 couple set format, the 1st couple of the Active set have no rest after their performance and so must be ready immediately to perform as a Supporting couple in the next Repeat. Equally, at the end of the first and second Repeats, the Couple now in 1st place must be ready to perform immediately as the 1st couple of the new Active set.
In at least one dance, The Earl of Erroll's Reel, there is no simple Repeat structure; the whole dance is treated as a single entity Finishing with all the dancers in their Original Places though there are some repetitive sequences embedded within it.
The répertoire of Reels and Jigs in this 3 Couple repeat in 3 couple set format is quite limited, as is depressingly obvious to anyone who has attempted to prepare a Scottish Dancing demonstration programme using only three Couples, whether for reasons of space or numbers available. However, the 3 Couple repeat in 4 couple set format contains many familiar dances which can be adapted to the 3 Couple repeat in 3 couple set format by changing the Progression to 231 rather than 213. Similarly, some Ceilidh dances with the 4 Couple repeat in 4 couple set format can easily be adapted for three Couples.
For example, here are some Scottish Country Dances which either have the format, 3 Couple repeat in a 3 couple set, or have been adapted to this format as indicated in the MaxiCrib Dance instructions -
The Byron Strathspey
The Cooper's Wife (Mitchell) (3-couple version)
The Cumberland Jig (3-couple version)
The Fairbridge Reel
The Gypsy Shawl (3-couple version)
Jennifer's Jig (3-couple version)
The Laird of Milton's Daughter (3-couple version)
Mairi's Wedding (3-couple version)
MacDonald of the Isles
The Montgomeries' Rant (3-couple version)
My Heather Hills
The Sound of Harris
St George's Cross
Virginia Reel (3-couple version)
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Elements of Consent Form
THE MOST COMMON REASON FOR DELAY OF APPROVAL OF A PROTOCOL IS AN IMPROPERLY PREPARED CONSENT FORM - EITHER CONTAINING INCOMPLETE INFORMATION OR UNINTELLIGBLE, COERCIVE OR CONFUSING LANGUAGE.
The consent form must include:
- A statement that the study involves research. The statement that the study involves research is particularly important for clinical research because the relationship between patient-physician is different than that between subject-investigator.
- Purpose of the research. It should be clear to the subject that this is research. This section should include the rationale for the research that is being conducted and the specific purposes for the proposed research. Consent documents for studies of investigational articles (drugs, biologics or devices) should include a statement that a purpose of the study includes an evaluation of the safety of the test article. Statements that indicate test articles are safe or statements that the safety has been established in other studies are not appropriate when the purpose of the study includes the determination of safety. Studies that involve efficacy should also include the effectiveness of the test article, as a study purpose, but should not make claims of effectiveness.
- Procedures. The subject must be informed exactly what his or her participation will involve, with particular attention to the way it will be experienced by the subject. This should include the length of time and frequency of each procedure ( e.g. , hospitalizations, visits to the investigator, types of medication, drug dosages, types and numbers of tests, amount of blood to be withdrawn, questionnaires, videotaping, diets, withholding of standard treatment, and follow up studies), as well as the overall length of time a subject is expected to participate. It should be made clear which of these procedures are being done in the interests of research and which are being done to provide diagnosis, prevention, or therapy. Of the various diagnostic maneuvers ( e.g. , laboratory tests) the consent form should specify which are extra in that they would not have been done during customary therapy or would not have been done as often. The approximate number of subjects to be involved in the study should also be included.
- Risks or discomforts to the subject. These include not only physical injury, but also possible psychological, social or economic harm, discomfort or inconvenience. These may include side effects of drugs, hazards of procedures, or dangers of withholding a therapy of proven value. The subject should be told what will be done to minimize risks and counteract side effects and which, if any, side effects might be irreversible. In addition to the known risks of being in the study, there may be unforeseeable complications; the subject should be made aware of this fact.
- Benefits of the research to the subject. If there is no expectation of direct benefit to the subject (treatment and non-treatment arms must be considered), state that clearly. Avoid use of the word "may". It should be made clear whether the subject will be offered continuing access to an investigational therapy after completion of the study; if so, whether it will be provided free or whether the subject will be expected to pay for it.
- Treatment Alternatives. The consent form must identify the subject's alternatives to participation in the protocol and should offer a discussion of their relative advantages and disadvantages. It is usually not necessary to provide a full account of the risks and benefits of alternative treatments in the research consent form. In some cases it may be appropriate to state that one reasonable alternative for the prospective subject is to choose no therapy.
- Costs of Participation. The financial consequences to the subject of participation in the project should be stated clearly. This includes disclosure of insurance co-payment obligations for services that will be billed to third-party payors as well as a subject's liability for costs not covered by a sponsor, insurer, or the provider. Third-party payers cannot be billed for procedures performed purely for research purposes. If the research treatment or procedure is not covered by Medicare, Medicaid, third-party insurers or the research sponsor, the subject may be responsible for payment. In such case, state which treatments or procedures are not likely to be covered by third-party payors and the approximate charge for each.
- Confidentiality. Steps taken to assure confidentiality should be explained in the consent form. The subject should be informed about the disposition of information obtained during a study. Limits on confidentiality, such as inspection of medical records by the IRB or agents of the FDA, and the industrial sponsor in studies involving investigational drugs and devices, should also be explained. Subjects should be informed about information that will be included in the subject's medical record. If the study events are not directly related to diagnosis or therapy, the subject may decide whether or not such information shall be entered into a medical record, transmitted directly to a private physician or retained only in the Study record.
- Voluntary Participation. The consent form must state that participation is voluntary and that refusal to participate will not result in any penalty or any loss of benefits that the person is otherwise entitled to receive. Subjects should be informed that they are free to decide whether or not to participate, and also free to withdraw from the study at any time unless the nature of the investigation, once commenced, precludes this. They should be assured that if they prefer not to participate or decide to withdraw, they will still receive standard treatment, if such a statement is appropriate. There should also be assurance that a decision not to participate will not adversely prejudice future interactions with the institution. This is particularly important when a dependent relationship exists between the investigator and the subject, such as physician-subject, employer-employee or faculty-student. If withdrawal or non-participation in the study would result in transfer of the subject to another service or institution, this must be made clear.
- Right to Withdraw. A subject's right to withdraw from the study at any time without penalty, including without loss of credit or of financial reward for the work completed should be included. The right to withdraw includes the right to require that stored tissue specimens be destroyed or anonymized. When appropriate, it may be necessary that a consent form includes the consequences of a subject's decision to withdraw from the research and the procedures for the safe and orderly termination of participation by the subject. In some studies, abrupt withdrawal from a study may be dangerous to a subject. In such cases, this danger must be explained and it must be made clear that the subject should not withdraw without first discussing it with the investigator.
- HIPAA : Covered entities may continue to use and disclose protected health information that was obtained prior to the time the individual revoked his or her authorization, as necessary to maintain the integrity of the research study. Additional information may be found in 45 CFR 164.508(b)(5)(i).However, the reliance exception would not permit a covered entity to continue disclosing additional protected health information to a researcher or to use for its own research purposes information not already gathered at the time an individual withdraws his or her authorization.
- Termination of Participation. The consent form must include anticipated circumstances under which the subject's participation may be terminated by the Principal Investigator without regard to the subject's consent.
- Compensation for Subject Injury. It is acceptable to include information on a sponsor's policy regarding compensation for injury in addition to the UVa policy as stated in the consent form template. The sponsor's policy regarding compensation for adverse events/ subject injury should reflect the compensation/subject injury terms appearing in the contract between the sponsor and UVa.
- Significant New Findings. The form must include a statement that significant new findings developed during the course of the research which may relate to the subject's willingness to continue participation will be provided to the subject. (All such information must also be provided to and retained by the IRB in its records.)
- Conflict of Interest. Principal Investigators must disclose to potential subjects any conflict that they have with the sponsor or in the research for which the subjects are being recruited, including capitation payments, bonuses or other incentives paid by the sponsor for enrollment (as opposed to reasonable payments for necessary study services) and any other personal conflict deemed necessary by the IRB.
- Questions. The subjects and/or parents or guardians should be encouraged to ask questions. If the proposed procedures are complex or involve considerable risk, there should be adequate time provided for subjects to discuss their decision with their own physician or other respected persons before making a decision. Principal Investigators should be as certain as possible that subjects understand the purpose, the procedures involved, the risks and the benefits, if any, of participating in the study.
- Continuing Contact. The consent form should include the name and telephone number of a person to contact for answers to questions and a person to contact in the event of a research-related injury or emergency. The name and telephone number of the Principal Investigator and the IRB office address and telephone number should be specified.
- Signatures. Spaces should be provided for the signature of the person who consents to participate in the study or the legally authorized representative who consents on behalf of the individual who will be the subject of the study. There should also be a space also for the signature of the person who obtains the consent -- the Principal Investigator or the authorized representative. If the subject is a child or is legally incompetent, such subject should indicate her or his assent by signing the consent or assent form, depending on age of the minor, after the procedures have been explained (unless otherwise determined by the IRB).
- Version Date/Page Numbering. Each page of the consent form should be numbered and should contain the current version date. Each time the consent form is revised , the version date should be changed accordingly.
*Taken from UVa IRB-HSR Research Guidance
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Meanwhile, Neal is clearly correct in observing that Churchill violated academic standards. But, as FIRE president Greg Lukianoff told the Chronicle of Higher Education, the university could be vulnerable to Churchill's lawsuit, since it launched "the investigation initially because people were angry about what he had said, not because of these pre-existing claims of academic misconduct."
On campus, the most troubling aspect of the Churchill case came in the initial response of the faculty. In February 2005, 199 professors at Colorado signed a public statement denouncing the inquiry into Churchill's conduct - suggesting, in effect, that because outsiders had condemned Churchill, the university itself had no right to even inquire into serious allegations of academic fraud. Even after Churchill's academic misconduct had been documented, Margaret LeCompte, who heads the local chapter of the American Association of University Professors, wildly termed the inquiry "a test case by the U.S. right wing to emasculate faculty rights in U.S. universities."
The AAUP and the Colorado faculty protesters justified their positions by citing academic freedom. Yet the doctrine, which arose in a period when professors were regularly fired for their political views, also presumed that professors would not bring their political views into the classroom. (The 1915 AAUP statement on academic freedom and the since-repudiated University of California academic freedom policy, drafted in the 1930s, were explicit on this point.) Therefore, it was correctly reasoned, professors shouldn't be fired for saying controversial things in public (even if their remarks were intellectually dubious), because these comments had nothing to do with their academic qualifications or how they taught their classes.
Of course, the line between political and classroom speech was never as clearcut as the California or AAUP resolutions implied. But Churchill's defenders have argued that, when it serves their purposes, there should be no line - that political speech is perfectly appropriate in the classroom, if this is how a professor wants to teach his or her class. At the same time, they contend that academic freedom protects a professor's out-of-class utterances on the grounds that a fundamental distinction exists between such remarks and what the professor does in the classroom. These two positions are irreconcilable.
Beyond illustrating the flawed conception of academic freedom too prevalent in the contemporary academy, the Churchill case illustrates what happens when universities abandon excellence as the primary criterion in the personnel process. Well before Churchill ever uttered his "Little Eichmanns" line, the University of Colorado - a Tier I research university - had hired, then tenured, and then promoted to department chairman a woefully underqualified academic charlatan. In this respect, the affair provides a case study of "diversity" hiring practices gone awry.
Churchill was hired through a "special opportunity" position, designed by the university to help "recruit and hire a more diverse faculty." He had an M.A. from little-known Sangamon State University and no Ph.D at all. As documents from the time noted, his qualifications included only two items: strong lobbying from Evelyn Hu-DeHart, the chair of the Ethnic Studies program, and the now-disputed fact that "Ward is a Native American," meaning his hire would contribute "to increasing the cultural diversity on campus."
Churchill then received tenure after Hu-DeHart - by this time chair of the newly created Ethnic Studies Department - obtained positive reviews of his scholarship from other professors of ethnic studies. That scholarship, of course, has now been almost completely discredited - as based on plagiarism and willful distortion of sources.
As New York City Tech professor Aaron Barlow recently conceded, "If nothing else, the Churchill case points out the fact that we need to seriously consider the question of whether we academics are doing enough to police ourselves. The next time those attacking academia come up with a particular person to attack, will we be confident that our defense of that person will not open us up to further accusations of protecting the unqualified or dishonest?"
How, then, could his fellow academics have originally found Churchill's scholarship acceptable? The outcome, alas, suggests that in politicized fields such as African-American Studies, Women's Studies, and Ethnic Studies, the message too often trumps quality. In this case, it appears that Churchill's extremist arguments that the U.S. government engaged in genocide against Native Americans blinded his academic reviewers to the poor quality of his scholarship. Indeed, some Churchill sympathizers, led by Cornell professor Eric Cheyfitz, have continued to maintain that the former professor's writings constitute appropriate scholarship for the field of Ethnic Studies.
Churchill's career path, remarkably, also serves as a model that Hu-DeHart, who now teaches at Brown, wants other universities to follow to achieve a more "diverse" faculty. In a 2006 report that she prepared for Williams College, she contended that as "the opportunity to hire [under-represented minority] candidates is only as good as the pool," elite institutions needs to change their pool. Ph.D. programs from Ivy League schools, or from institutions such as Stanford or Michigan, might not have enough "diverse" candidates to go around. As a result, they need to target less prestigious institutions, such as Churchill's Sangamon State or - as she urged upon Williams - the University of Texas at El Paso.
At least Hu-DeHart is honest in her assertion that universities should set aside normal academic standards in their zeal to implement a "diversity" agenda. But for more sober administrators, the Churchill affair should force a hard look into the dangerous side effects of "diversity" initiatives left unchecked.
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