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warc | 201704 | This preview shows page 1. Sign up to view the full content. Unformatted text preview: arshall School of Computer and Information Law, Winter 2002, p.247 The free flow of information is the life-blood of democracy. Access to diverse opinions and perspectives enables Americans to participate effectively in our democracy. We depend on the media to provide us with such access and to hold public officials accountable for their policies and actions. James Madison wrote, "[a] popular government without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy, or perhaps both." n6 The Founding Fathers enshrined the idea of a free press in the First Amendment. The Constitution does not extend this measure of protection to any other segment of American industry. INFORMED CITIZENRY THEORY EMPHASIZES ROLE OF INFORMATION IN PUBLIC CONFIDENCE OF GOVERNMENT Frances H. Foster, Professor of Law at Washington University, "Information and the Problem of Democracy: The Russian Experience," AMERICAN JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE LAW, Spring 1996 The informed citizenry theory also emphasizes the role of information in "consolidation" and "stabilization" of a democratic government. It views full, truthful, and independent information as a prerequisite for public confidence in and support of a leadership and its policies. Its basic argument is that "knowledge unites people and increases the ranks of ... supporters, whereas ignorance disunites and alienates." The informed citizenry theory predicts a dire fate for a Russia without popular information - failure of the reform process, social "explosion," and eventual collapse of Russia's first "democratic" government. SLHS Value File Marketplace of Ideas BadMARKETPLACE OF IDEAS DOES NOT LEAD TO TRUTH Alberto Bernabe Riefkohl. "Articulo: Freedome of the Press and the Business of Journalism," Revista Juridica Universidad de Puerto Rico , 67 Rev. Jur. U.P.R. 447, 1998. It is not at all clear, however, that truth will always be the result of the operation of the marketplace of ideas. The Constitutional protection granted to the marketplace of ideas, then, cannot exist to guarantee a... View Full Document Fall '13 | 2,217 | 1,261 | 1.758128 |
warc | 201704 | The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is responsible for creating some of the most widely adopted standards in the country. ANSI doesn’t have strong enforcement options since it is not a governmental institution, but despite that, most companies follow ANSI standards because they are so highly respected and known for helping ensure safety.
One of the most essential sets of standards is the ANSI Z535 series. This is a set of standards for safety signs. The standards go over many essential components of these signs including their design, evaluation, use, colors, symbols, and more. Safety signs are one of the most important aspects of any visual safety program, which is why having a good understanding of these standards is so critical.
What Is ANSI Z535?
The ANSI Z535 standards are broken down into six parts numbered Z535.1 through Z535.6. This makes it easier for facilities to reference the exact portion of the standards they need at any given time. This also helps ensure the standards are easier to understand and not overwhelming for those in the facility.
ANSI Z535.1 | Safety Colors
ANSI Z535.1 sets the standards for the colors used on safety signs. It provides readers with detailed definitions for the signs, the color standards that should be used, the tolerances for the colors, and more. Whenever creating or buying safety signs, it is a good idea to double check to make sure the colors are in line with the colors listed in this section.
ANSI Z535.2 | Environmental and Facility Safety Signs
When making safety signs that are used for facilities and out in the environment, all signs must follow a uniform look and style. This helps people recognize the size, shape, symbols, lettering, and other components of a safety sign, even from a distance. Following these standards can make safety signs much more effective.
ANSI Z535.3 | Criteria for Safety Symbols
Safety symbols are one of the most important aspects of any good safety sign. Symbols are used in many industries and typically have the same or similar meanings. This is critical for safety because it makes it easier to convey a specific safety message to as many people as possible. Even those who can’t read or don’t know the language can quickly understand the meaning of these safety symbols.
ANSI Z535.4 | Product Safety Signs and Labels
When using safety signs on products or labels, this is the section of the Z535 set of standards needed. It covers a variety of types of signs that are used in these situations, and thanks to a recent update to the standards, it also has definitions that are easier to understand.
ANSI Z535.5 | Safety Tags and Barricade Tapes (for Temporary Hazards
Temporary hazards such as spilled water or other risks have their own set of standards from ANSI because they are unique. Putting up safety signs, temporary barriers, or other types of visual safety items to alert people to a temporary hazard is covered in this section.
ANSI Z535.6 | Product Safety Information in Product Manuals, Instructions, and Other Collateral Materials
Creating product safety manuals, giving employees safety instructions about when and where to use signs, and other extra material should follow the ANSI standards covered in this last section of the Z535 standards.
Updated Z535 Standards
Most facilities have been using safety signs, labels, and other items for years and likely have great results thanks to the standards set by ANSI. For those businesses that have been open for more than a few years, it is quite possible that they are using the older ANSI Z35.1-1968 and/or ANSI Z53.1-1967 standards.
These are the older standards that were used by OSHA for quite some time, but are now being phased out. While it is not strictly required that a facility update all its safety signs to the new standards (put in place in 2011 and 2013 primarily), it is a good idea. Even if a facility does not do one large overhaul, it can slowly transition into the updated standards as older signs wear out or need to be replaced.
One of the biggest differences between the old and new safety sign standards is the amount of text on a sign and the clarity. Having slightly more text allows safety signs to convey information much more clearly, which makes them far more useful to the average employee. Whenever dealing with visual safety standards, clarity is critical.
Understanding that both the older versions and the newer are acceptable for OSHA compliance is also very important.
Safety Sign Components
Safety signs that follow the ANSI Z535 standards have four main components. They are the safety alert symbol, the signal words, the symbols, and the word message. Whether creating a custom safety sign for a facility or ordering pre-printed signs, it is a good idea to have a strong understanding of what each of these components are.
Safety Alert Symbol
Just about everyone is familiar with the safety alert symbol. It is a triangle with an exclamation point in the middle. The triangle is often black with the white exclamation point, but that is not always the case. People can recognize this item no matter what industry they work in, which is why it is such an important part of safety signs.
Signal Words
The signal words are the large, bold words that draw people’s attention to the top of the sign. These words are not chosen randomly for a sign, however. Each one is used in specific situations.
DANGER- Danger (written in white, surrounded by red) is used for situations where there is a specific hazard present that will cause a serious injury or even death if people don’t actively avoid it. The danger signal word should only be used in very serious situations. WARNING– The word warning (written in black, surrounded by orange) is the right choice when there is a serious hazard that could result in injury or death. CAUTION– Caution (written in black, surrounded by yellow) is used for hazardous situations that, if not avoided, might cause an injury that is classified as minor to moderate. NOTICE– Notice (written in white, surrounded by blue) is used for signs that convey other information not related to safety. There is no hazard present. SAFETY– Safety (written in white, surrounded by green) is an informational signal word that lets people know that there is helpful information on the sign—usually related to instructions or first aid—so they should read it. Safety Symbols
Safety symbols are fairly simple images that people can see and understand, even from a distance. They are usually bold, black symbols with a white background. There are many standard symbols used in different industries. Providing employees with training on the specific symbols used in the facility will help them quickly learn their meaning.
Safety Words
Finally, the safety sign typically includes a written message that gives more details to the person viewing the sign. While there is no set length that the word message must be, it is generally a good idea to keep it as brief and concise as possible. Wording like “BRIGHT LIGHT – Wear Eye Protection” could be used on a sign.
When to Use ANSI Z535 Safety Signs & Labels
Facilities that need to follow OSHA and other regulatory guidelines often have trouble determining when and where these signs are needed. This can be even more confusing when dealing with groups like ANSI, which technically doesn’t have enforcement powers like OSHA does.
For safety signs and labels, there are a number of mandatory regulations and many best practices that are recommended by not required. For facilities, the best way to handle this type of situation is to start by taking steps to ensure all the mandatory items are covered and then begin implementing other best practices as time and budget allow.
This is a good idea not only because will it help improve the overall safety of the facility, but it is also a great way to prepare for the future. OSHA often takes good practices and turns them into mandatory regulations down the road. When facilities implement these best practices now, they are ahead of the curve for when OSHA does make some type of requirement.
A good example of this is the ANSI Z535 standards. While OSHA certainly accepts them as fulfilling regulatory requirements, they don’t yet mandate that companies transition to this standard. Most safety experts agree, however, that this is something that will happen in the coming years. | 8,529 | 3,506 | 2.432687 |
warc | 201704 | Contenido principal Stress Tests
Monografías
Pruebas de resistencia
After the accident in the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan, the European countries decided to undertake a coordinated complementary reassessment of the safety margins in their nuclear power plants, taking into account the lessons learned from the accident so far.
Therefore, the Western European Nuclear Regulators Association (WENRA) and the European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group (ENSREG) defined a detailed programme for carrying out these tests, which was finally approved by the European Commission.
Following this approval, the Spanish Nuclear Safety Council (CSN) issued the relevant Complementary Technical Instructions requiring the owner companies of nuclear power plants to implement the programme. All the licensees sent their reports to the CSN on 31st October 2011 for its assessment by the Council. The regulatory body sent the promised report with the results and conclusions of the assessment to the European Commission on 31st December 2012. The report provided a detailed analysis of the safety conditions in these facilities in the proposed situations and detailed various improvement actions to be carried out as a consequence of this programme. An updated version of this plan was submitted in December 2014 and can be consulted in this article. | 1,355 | 709 | 1.911142 |
warc | 201704 | How Do You Get Rid of Brown Spots on the Skin? March 2, 2012
Hello Dr. Bailey, I have brown spots on my skin and I am wondering if there is a secret to ridding my skin of these? Thank you, Joyce Dear Joyce,
The most common causes of flat brown spots on your skin are: Solar lentigos, also called freckles or liver spots, which are due to sun damage Melasma, also called "the mask of pregnancy," although you don’t have to be pregnant to have melasma Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, which are brown marks that result from skin injuries such as bug bites, pimples, etc.
(Of course, moles can also be flat brown spots, but they are growths and are an entirely different subject.) These types of acquired brown spots are tough to fix. This means that preventing them is best. Believe me; we will all get more brown spots as we age, unless we take steps to prevent them. Because prevention is such an important part of treating brown spots, I'm dividing this post into two sections:
How to prevent brown spots on your skin How to lighten brown spots on your skin How to Prevent Brown Spots on Your Skin The extra pigment in brown spots is almost always fueled by sun exposure. This means that the most important step in preventing brown spots on your skin is using good sun protection every day, even for window sun. You need broad spectrum sunscreen that blocks both UVA and UVB rays since both of these rays will darken the brown spots, worsening the uneven skin pigmentation. I recommend wearing a really good mineral zinc sunscreen with 5% or more zinc oxide listed as an active ingredient. My favorite is Citrix Sunscreen for everyday use on the face, neck and chest. I've used it for years and trust my skin to it daily.
For parts of your skin that are constantly in water or rubbed by clothing all day, such as the back of your hands and outer surface of your arms, I recommend a water-resistant product, such as Solbar Zinc. Again, I've used this product for years and trust my skin to it!
Because I think these two sunscreens make up the perfect sun-protection combo, I've put them together in my SunSavvy Daily Wear Sun Protection Kit.
Click here for more information on my SunSavvy Daily Wear Sun Protection Kit. Don't forget about wearing sun protective clothing, hats and sunglasses. Also, be sure to seek shade to keep the sun from darkening your brown spots. For my complete sun protection advice read my post 5 Steps for Smart Sun Protection. How to Lighten Brown Spots on Your Skin
Once you are using good sun protection to prevent further darkening of your uneven skin hyperpigmentation problems, you now can get to work on lightening the unwanted color that's already there.
Lightening agents can be used to treat your brown skin spots. The simplest treatment is to use glycolic acid skin care products. This natural fruit acid works best in professional strength products with 10% or more free acid content of glycolic acid. When you use these products as a facial or body moisturizer after washing, they will slowly lighten uneven excessive skin pigment. I've used glycolic acid products for years in my dermatology practice and my patients love them.
Other lightening agents include
hydroquinone bleaching products. In my experience, the 2% over-the-counter formulas have minimal success, but the prescription 4% products work better. I usually combine the bleaching products with either glycolic acid and/or the prescription retinoid tretinoin (Retin-A or Renova Creams). This combination helps the hydroquinone penetrate the skin better. Plus, the tretinoin and/or glycolic acid helps lighten uneven skin hyperpigmentation through their own unique mechanisms. Combined with sun protection, it's the best skin care product combination for brown spots on the skin. One of the most successful prescription skin care product kits with these ingredients is the Obagi Nu Derm System. The Obagi Skin Care Products work synergistically to really lighten your brown spots. The system includes 4% hydroquinoine, tretinoin and a glycolic acid "cousin." To learn more about Obagi Nu Derm, read my post Obagi Skin Care Products. Depending on the cause of your brown spots, you may also benefit from IPL/BBL treatments (these are laser/light treatments done in a doctor's office). I administer these treatments in my office and have found them to be highly effective. To learn more about IPL/BBL treatments, click here. Both the prescription and laser/light treatments for brown spots on your skin require a consultation with a dermatologist to determine if you are a good candidate for these treatments. I hope this information helps you understand some of your options. Thanks for sending in a great question about a common problem that many people share. Warm Regards, If you have questions about skin care or skin health, please send them to me using the Contact Dr. Bailey button at the top of the page. Cynthia Bailey MD, Dermatologist Disclaimer:Please realize that availing yourself of the opportunity to submit and receive answers to your questions from Dr. Bailey does not confer a doctor/patient relationship with Dr. Bailey. The information provided by Dr. Bailey is general health information inspired by your question. It should not be a substitute for obtaining medical advice from your physician and is not intended to diagnose or treat any specific medical problem (and is not an extension of the care Dr. Bailey has provided in her office for existing patients of her practice). Never ignore your own doctor’s advice because of something you read here; this information is for general informational purpose only. | 5,667 | 2,500 | 2.2668 |
warc | 201704 | take three tablets everyday??
Responses (4)
Not necessarily. It is for breakthrough pain. If you are not having breakthrough pain then you dont need to take it at all. If you are having breakthrough pain you can take one tablet up to three times a day. You may need only one or two or even all three depending on your pain. Breakthrough pain is pain that is over and beyond what your regular long acting pain should control. You should be getting most of your pain control from your long acting drug. If you do an activity that brings additional pain you can use a breakthrough pill or some tend to need a breakthrough pill as it gets near to the end of their dosing cycle but is too early to take the next dose of long acting drug. Does that help?
I would like to chime in an add that if you are having breakthrough pain, before taking the medication prescribed for the breakthrough pain, stop, think, and quantify (using the Pain Scale 1-10) if you desire, just how much do you really need it. If you do decide to use it, a combination of these two drugs is likely to cause nausea, so eat a little something before taking. In other words, what I am trying to express is, please do not take these freely. Use caution.
Best Regards. Search for questions
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warc | 201704 | Most investment protection treaties includes a provision on fair and equitable treatment. The provision is included to ensure an investor from one of the contracting states a minimum level of treatment in the territory of the other, unrelated to the treatment of national investors. The fair and equitable treatment standard is intrinsically connected to the minimum standard in customary international law. The provision has proven difficult to interpret, and case law on the matter has been substantial during the last five years. In this thesis three interconnected themes are discussed; what level of treatment is guaranteed by the fair and equitable treatment standard? What is its relationship to the minimum standard of treatment in customary international law? And what impact does the development regarding the fair and equitable treatment standard have on customary international law? | 896 | 397 | 2.256927 |
warc | 201704 | Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
http://hdl.handle.net/
10419/20484
Full metadata record
DC Field Value Language dc.contributor.author Spieß, Christa Katharina en_US dc.contributor.author Büchel, Felix en_US dc.contributor.author Wagner, Gert G. en_US dc.date.accessioned 2009-01-28T16:14:27Z - dc.date.available 2009-01-28T16:14:27Z - dc.date.issued 2003 en_US dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/10419/20484 - dc.description.abstract The positive effects of early childhood programs on children's school success have been demonstrated in the literature. However, most studies were completed in the U.S.A., where early childhood programs vary widely, based on differing auspice, regulation, cost, and other factors. In European countries, early childhood programs are generally far more homogenous. This is particularly true for Germany where most programs are communitybased Kindergartens operated under similar structural conditions. In this study we examine the relationship between Kindergarten attendance and the 7th grade school placement of children in West Germany, differentiating associations for the children of German citizens as compared to those of immigrants. Using information from a representative population sample, the German-Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP), different models were estimated. The results indicate that there is no significant correlation between Kindergarten attendance of children of German citizens and children?s later school placement. However, for children in immigrant households the reverse is true: later school placement is significantly associated with Kindergarten attendance prior to school enrollment. Additionally, the analysis shows that controlling for Kindergarten attendance changes the level of significance for other well-known "school attainment determinants," such as fathers? education and household income. en_US dc.language.iso eng en_US dc.publisher |aInstitute for the Study of Labor (IZA) |cBonn - dc.relation.ispartofseries |aIZA Discussion paper series |x722 en_US dc.subject.jel I28 en_US dc.subject.jel I21 en_US dc.subject.ddc 330 en_US dc.subject.keyword kindergarten en_US dc.subject.keyword school placement en_US dc.subject.keyword immigrants en_US dc.subject.stw Kinderbetreuung en_US dc.subject.stw Bildungsniveau en_US dc.subject.stw Migranten en_US dc.subject.stw Schätzung en_US dc.subject.stw Deutschland en_US dc.title Children's School Placement in Germany : Does Kindergarten Attendance Matter? en_US dc.type Working Paper en_US dc.identifier.ppn 360943403 en_US dc.rights http://www.econstor.eu/dspace/Nutzungsbedingungen -
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Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated. | 2,776 | 1,310 | 2.119084 |
warc | 201704 | Working paper // Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department 594
Abstract:
Why would bilateral donors intermediate aid through a multilateral and not extend aid directly? This paper suggests a trade-off: multiple bilateral donors for each recipient may imply coordination and strategic problems but intermediating through a multilateral may dilute individual donor objectives. The paper conducts traditional panel and truly bilateral regressions with bilateral-pair, fixed effects to model aid allocation decisions. The results confirm that politics is important for bilateral donors but also that aid fragmentation and strategic behavior affect aid allocation. Multilaterals solve strategic and coordination problems between donors and, while politics remains significant, there is some evidence for a dilution of this effect. | 840 | 458 | 1.834061 |
warc | 201704 | Volume XX, No. 1
Office of Federal Operations
Winter 2009
The
Digest of EEO Law is a quarterly publication of EEOC's Office of Federal Operations (OFO)
Carlton M. Hadden, Director, OFO
Douglas A. Gallegos, Acting Director, OFO's Special Services Staff Digest Staff Editor: Arnold Rubin Writers: Robyn Dupont, Gerard Thomson, Arnold Rubin, Joseph Popiden
The Digest is now available online through EEOC's homepage at www.eeoc.gov.
This edition of the Digest is first of two Digests that provide a roadmap for the Federal Sector EEO Process, from its initiation through appeals. This Digest (Winter 2009) will detail the EEO process from initiation of the process through the investigation of the formal complaint (Parts 1 through 4). The next issue of the Digest (Spring 2009) will conclude with a discussion of the EEO process from Class Complaints through Settlement Agreements and Claims of Agency Noncompliance (Parts 5 through 8). To enhance the reader’s understanding of the EEO process, the parts in each of the two Digests track the EEO process as chronologically as possible. As with all Digest contents, the following material is not intended as legal advice, but, rather, to inform. The goal is not to provide an exhaustive study of complex legal subjects. For a more detailed discussion of the topics addressed in this Digest, see EEOC’s website at www.eeoc.gov and the statutes, regulations, decisions, guidance, and directives cited in these articles. Some decisions cited to for illustrative purposes may have appeared in previous Digests. Digest summaries and articles themselves do not have the force of law and the reader is advised to look to the actual decisions and other sources discussed for a more precise understanding of applicable EEO law.
The EEO process in the federal sector is initiated when an individual contacts an EEO counselor regarding an alleged violation of one or more of the laws that the EEOC enforces.
2 The Commission’s regulations, promulgated under applicable statutory law, can be found in relevant parts in Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations (“Labor”). 3 The federal sector process itself is detailed in 29 C.F.R. Part 1614 (1999); and further amplified in Management Directive 110 (1999) (hereinafter, MD-110). 4 MD-110 has often been referred to as the EEO counselor’s “bible” for the wealth of information, appendices, and forms contained therein regarding the EEO process and is available online to the public at: www.eeoc.gov/federal/md110.html. Under the EEOC-enforced statutes currently in force, there are 8 bases of employment discrimination that may be alleged regarding an agency action, policy, or practice in the EEO process. 5 These bases are: age, disability, race, color, religion, national origin, sex, and retaliation. 6 Thus, an EEO claim will generally consist of an alleged basis or bases that are the asserted reason why a federal agency made a given employment decision involving an applicant for federal employment, a federal employee, or a former federal employee.
As a general rule, individuals must adhere to certain time frames and follow specified procedures in order to avoid dismissal of their complaints. For example, an EEO complaint may be dismissed for failure to initiate EEO counseling within 45 days of the alleged discriminatory event or effective date of alleged discriminatory personnel action.
7
As a threshold matter, an “aggrieved person” or “counselee” must consult with an EEO counselor prior to filing a complaint in order to try to resolve the disputed matter informally.
8 Such EEO contact must occur within 45 days of when the aggrieved person knew or should have known of the alleged discriminatory matter, or, in the case of a personnel action, within 45 days of the effective date of the personnel action. 9 At the time of initiating EEO counseling and throughout the EEO process, the counselee is permitted to have a representative who may be, but is not required to be, an attorney. 10 The counselor, who may be an agency employee and work either full-time in EEO or in a collateral duty role, is required to be neutral and favor neither the counselee nor the agency. The role of the counselor is to attempt resolution before the complaint is formally filed. During the 30-day period within which the Counselor is to complete counseling, 11 the counselor will provide the counselee ( i.e., the aggrieved person) with a written list of the counselee’s rights and responsibilities. Failure of the aggrieved person to raise a matter in counseling may result in subsequent dismissal of the formal EEO complaint. 12 Through the counseling process claims are set forth and clarified, and the counselor conducts a limited inquiry (not an investigation) for the purpose of achieving resolution. In this latter role, the counselor may use certain techniques common to mediation but does not engage in actual mediation, even if that counselor is also a certified mediator.
During this counseling, or pre-complaint stage, the Counselor will also inform the counselee of certain available legal choices. During EEO counseling, the EEO counselor shall inform the counselee that, where the agency offers ADR,
13 the counselee must elect to choose between engaging in ADR or continuing informal counseling, but not both. 14 Whatever the election chosen by the counselee, if resolution is not achieved, the counselee will have the opportunity to file a formal EEO complaint. The ADR process in the pre-complaint phase is limited to a maximum of 90 days. However, the EEOC encourages the parties to engage in ADR to attempt to resolve their dispute at any subsequent time up to and including the appellate process.
The regulations further specify that, at the initial counseling session, counselors must advise individuals in writing of their rights and responsibilities. These include the following: (1) the right to request a hearing or an immediate final decision after an investigation by the agency; (2) the responsibility to exercise certain election rights (which will be specified later in this section) (3) the right to file a civil action in federal court after filing with EEOC a notice of intent to sue under the ADEA instead of pursuing a complaint of age discrimination in the administrative EEO process; (4) the need to be aware of administrative EEO and federal court time frames; and (5) an understanding that only the claims raised in precomplaint counseling (or issues and claims like or related to issues or claims raised in pre-complaint counseling) may be alleged in a subsequent complaint filed with the agency.
15
Further, “Counselors must advise individuals of their duty to keep the agency and Commission informed of their current address and to serve copies of appeal papers on the agency. The notice [of the right to file a formal complaint within 15 days of the counselee’s receipt of the notice] shall include notice of the right to file a class complaint. If the aggrieved person informs the Counselor that he or she wishes to file a class complaint, the Counselor shall explain the class complaint procedures and the responsibilities of a class agent.”
16 The Counselor shall also inform the counselee of his or her right to remain anonymous until the complaint is formally filed, where and with whom the formal complaint is to be filed, “and of the complainant’s duty to assure that the agency is informed immediately if the complainant retains counsel or a representative.” 17 In addition, “[t]he Counselor shall not attempt in any way to restrain the aggrieved person from filing a complaint.” 18
In the EEO process, there are certain legal “terms of art” setting forth specific rights and obligations. One of these terms is “exhaustion of administrative remedies.” This means that, before a complainant may go to federal court and file a civil action to pursue his/her discrimination claims, s/he must first go through the EEO administrative process. In complaints involving Title VII, the Rehabilitation Act, and the ADEA—where the complainant chooses to go through the EEO process--the “exhaustion” requirement is satisfied after 180 days from the filing of the individual complaint or the class complaint if an appeal has not been filed and final action has not been taken by the agency.
19 Equal Pay Act claims, by contrast, must be filed within two years (or three years for willful violations) of the alleged discrimination, regardless of their status in the administrative process. 20
There are exceptions to the above requirement. In the case of an EEO complaint filed under the ADEA, a complainant may bypass the EEO process and go directly to a U.S. District Court and file a civil action naming the head of an allegedly discriminating agency, so long as the complainant gives the Commission at least 30 days’ written notice of the intent to file such action.
21 A complainant who is asserting a claim under the EPA, however, may bypass the EEO administrative process completely and go directly to court. 22 The filing of a civil action by the complainant will terminate the processing of an administrative complaint or appeal filed with the EEOC, and, therefore, the complainant should notify the agency and Commission when s/he has filed a civil action. 23
In addition to the elections just discussed, a counselee may have to choose between pursuing his or her claims in the negotiated grievance process or the EEO process.
24 When an aggrieved person is employed by an agency that is subject to 5 U.S.C. 7121(d), and is covered by a collective bargaining agreement that permits claims of discrimination to be raised in a negotiated grievance procedure, that employee must elect to proceed either through the EEO process or the negotiated grievance procedure, but not both. The election occurs where the aggrieved person first files his or her complaint, whether or not the agency has informed the individual of the need to elect and irrespective of whether the grievance has raised a claim of discrimination. 25 EEO Counselor contact is not an election. Employees whose agencies are not subject to the above statute 26 may file in either or both forums. However, a complainant should be aware that, if he or she chooses to pursue a negotiated grievance prior to filing an EEO complaint, time limitations in the EEO process will not be tolled ( e.g., extended) unless the agency agrees in writing. 27
Another important election--and one for which the EEO Counselor must inform the counselee--involves mixed cases. This is a complex area of law, and the reader may find it helpful to explore The Fall Quarter 2004 Digest article in Question and Answer format: “Understanding the Mixed Case Process.” This topic is also addressed in EEO MD-110, Ch. 4, along with Negotiated Grievance Procedures, Age Discrimination Complaints, and Equal Pay Act Complaints.
Regulations pertaining to mixed cases can be found at 29 C.F.R. § 1614.302. In brief, a mixed case is a claim of discrimination arising out of an action that is appealable to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). There are two questions that must be answered to determine if MSPB may have jurisdiction. The first question is: Does the employee have “standing” to appear before the MSPB? For example, a probationary employee does not have standing to go to MSPB on an EEO-based claim. Employees of certain agencies,
e.g., the FBI, CIA, TVA, the U.S. Postal Service, 28 and certain non-appropriated fund activities (such as the Army and Air Force Exchange) do not have standing. Those employees may, however, pursue their claims through the regular EEO process with their agency. The second question is: Does the claim arise from an action appealable to MSPB? Generally, the more serious the personnel action at issue, the more likely it will be appealable to MSPB, e.g., removal, suspension for more than 14 days, and reduction in grade. 29
Briefly stated, an aggrieved person may file a mixed case complaint with the agency or a mixed case appeal with the MSPB but not both at the same time. The aggrieved person must elect one or the other. Where the individual files first is controlling. EEO Counselor contact is not an election. If a mixed case complaint is first filed, the complaint proceeds through the EEO process as with any EEO complaint, with these exceptions: (1) there is no right to a hearing before an EEOC administrative judge (AJ) after an investigation; (2) the investigation is limited to 120 days (not 180); (3) the agency must issue a final agency decision (FAD) within 45 days following the investigation; and (4) if dissatisfied with the FAD, complainant must appeal the FAD, within 30 days of receipt of the FAD, to the MSPB (not to the EEOC).
30 If the aggrieved person elects to file a mixed case appeal instead of a mixed case complaint, s/he may request a hearing before an MSPB AJ (not an EEOC AJ). If the aggrieved person is dissatisfied with the MSPB’s decision on his or her claims of discrimination under the statutes the EEOC enforces, s/he may then file a petition with the EEOC from the MSPB decision. The petition may be filed on the same Form 573 used for non-mixed case appeals. 31
At the end of counseling, if there has been no resolution to the claim or claims, the EEO counselor provides the counselee with the Notice of Final Interview and the Right to File a Formal Complaint with the appropriate agency official. The counselee is required to file the formal complaint within 15 days of receiving the above notice.
33 The complaint must be signed by complainant or his or her attorney, if one has been retained. 34 The complaint must also contain a phone number and address where complainant or his or her attorney or representative can be reached. 35 It is important to note that a “Complainant shall at all times be responsible for proceeding with the complaint whether or not he or she has designated a representative.” 36
The formal complaint must contain a statement that is “sufficiently precise to identify the aggrieved individual and the agency and to describe generally the action(s) or practice(s) that form the basis of the complaint.”
37 The agency must provide complainant with written acknowledgement of the complaint (or amendment to the complaint) and the date of filing. The acknowledgement letter shall also include the following information: (1) the address of the EEOC office where a request for a hearing is to be sent; (2) the right to appeal the final action on or dismissal of a complaint; 38 and (3) the requirement that the agency conduct an impartial and appropriate investigation within 180 days of the filing of the complaint unless the parties agree in writing to extend the time period. 39
A complainant may amend a pending complaint to add claims that are like or related to those raised in the pending complaint, prior to the agency’s mailing of the notice required by 29 C.F.R. § 1614.108(f) at the conclusion of the investigation,
40 A complainant who has requested a hearing may file a motion with the AJ to include claims like or related to those raised in the pending complaint. 41 If complainant seeks to raise a new incident of alleged discrimination during the processing of an EEO complaint, the investigator or other EEO staff person shall instruct the complainant to submit a letter to the agency’s EEO Director or Complaints Manager or designee describing the new incident(s) and stating that s/he wants to amend the complaint to include the new incident(s). One of those two EEO officials “shall review this request and determine the correct handling of the amendment in an expeditious manner.” 42 No new EEO counseling is required where: (1) additional evidence is offered in support of the existing claim, but does not raise a new claim; and (2) the incident raises a new claim that is like or related to the claims(s) raised in the pending complaint. 43 Additional evidence becomes part of the investigation of the pending claim and the complainant is so notified. The complaint must be amended where a new claim is like or related to the claim(s) raised in the pending complaint, and the EEO official must notify both complainant and the investigator, in writing, acknowledging receipt of the amendment and the date it was filed. The EEO official will also instruct the investigator to investigate the new claim. 44 New counseling will be required if the new claim is not like or related to the claim(s) in the pending complaint. The new claim will be the subject of a separate complaint and be “subject to all of the regulatory case processing requirements.” 45
Nonetheless, an agency is required to consolidate two or more complaints filed by the same complainant for joint processing after appropriate notification to the complainant.
46 “When a complaint has been consolidated with one or more earlier filed complaints, the agency shall complete its investigation within the earlier of 180 days after the filing of the last complaint or 360 days after the filing of the original complaint, except that the complainant may request a hearing from an [AJ] on the consolidated complaints any time after 180 days from the date of the first filed complaint. [AJs] or the Commission may, in their discretion, consolidate two or more complaints of discrimination filed by the same complainant.” 47
EEO investigations are governed by 29 C.F.R. § 1614.108 and the instructions contained in the Commission’s Management Directives.
48 An adequate agency investigation is one that is developed impartially and contains an appropriate factual record. 49 “An appropriate factual record is one that allows a reasonable fact finder to draw conclusions as to whether discrimination occurred.” 50 All agency employees, including the complainant, are required to cooperate with the investigation and “witness testimony is given under oath or affirmation and without a promise that the agency will keep the testimony or information provided confidential.” 51 The complainant and his or her representative, if agency employees, are entitled to a reasonable amount of official time, if otherwise on duty, to present his or her EEO complaint and to respond to agency requests for information. 52
Investigators must thoroughly investigate the complaint and are authorized to administer oaths and require witness testimony and documentation. An investigator does not make or recommend findings of discrimination and must be free of conflicts or the appearance of conflicts of interest during the investigation of complaints. As part of the investigation, the investigator should gather evidence relevant for a factfinder to determine whether discrimination occurred and, if so, to fashion “an appropriate remedy.”
53 Unless otherwise mandated, investigations are to be completed within 180 days of the filing of the individual complaint, unless the parties agree in writing to extend the period an additional 90 days. 54 At the conclusion of the investigation, the agency must provide the complainant with a copy of the complaint file, including the report of investigation, and the notice of the right to request either an immediate final decision from the agency or a hearing before an EEOC AJ. 55 A complainant also may request an AJ hearing after 180 days from the filing of the complaint even where the investigation has not been completed. 56 The complainant must receive a copy of the complaint file, including the report of investigation (ROI), and a copy of the hearing transcript if a hearing was held. 57
This issue of the Digest has detailed the EEO process with regard to the processing of individual EEO complaints of discrimination, in accordance with 29 C.F.R. Part 1614. The principles reflected in those procedures are also intended to guide the processing of class complaints of discrimination under 29 C.F.R. § 1614.204.
58 The next issue of the Digest will detail the remainder of the EEO process, beginning with Part 5 (“Class Complaints”) and concluding with Part 8 (“Settlement Agreements and Claims of Agency Noncompliance”). Footnotes 1 Arnold Rubin is a senior attorney with EEOC’s Office of Federal Operations, Special Services Staff, and Editor of The Digest of EEO Law. The staff of The Digest acknowledges the support of Carlton M. Hadden, Esq., Director of the Officer of Federal Operations, in the production of this edition. 2 EEOC enforces, in relevant parts, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) of 1967, as amended; the Equal Pay Act (EPA) of 1963, as amended; the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended; Title VII of the Civil Rights Acts (Title VII) of 1964, as amended; and, effective November 21, 2009, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). Although the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, as amended, does not apply to the federal government, Congress, in 1992, amended the Rehabilitation Act, which does cover the federal government, to apply the standards of the ADA to the Rehabilitation Act. In 2009, Congress amended the ADA (“ADAAA”), to broaden the coverage of persons under the Act consistent with the original Congressional intent of the ADA, after a series of Supreme Court decisions had narrowed the statute’s scope of coverage. 5 As mentioned earlier, GINA does not become effective until November 21, 2009. Title II of GINA prohibits the use of genetic information in employment, prohibits the intentional acquisition of genetic information about applicants and employees, and imposes strict confidentiality requirements. GINA requires the EEOC to issue regulations implementing Title II of the Act, and pursuant to this authority, EEOC published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on March 2, 2009. The public comment period on the NPRM ended on May 1, 2009. See EEOC Q & A on Background Information for EEOC Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Title II of the Genetics Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (available at www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/qanda_geneticinfo.html). Nonetheless, the federal government is already prohibited from discriminating against federal employees or applicants based on genetic information under Executive Order 13145, which is not enforced by EEOC. For more information on the Executive Order, see EEOC Policy Guidance on Executive Order 13145 to Prohibit Discrimination in Federal Employment Based on Genetic Information (July 26, 2000) (available at www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/guidance-genetic.html). 6 See supra note 2. Other federal laws, not enforced by the EEOC, protect employees and applicants for federal employment from practices not based on merit. For more information on these protections, contact the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), www.opm.gov; The Office of Special Counsel (OSC), www.osc.gov; the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), www.mspb.gov.; and/or The Department of Labor (DOL), www.dol.gov. 7 See generally 29 C.F.R. §§ 1614.105 and 107(a)(2) (providing 45 day time limits for counselor contact and authority to dismiss complaints on grounds of untimeliness. All regulations cited in this section refer to 29 C.F.R. Part 1614, unless otherwise noted. All time frames referred to are in calendar days, unless otherwise specified. Time limitations are computed according to 29 C.F.R. § 1614.604. This regulation also describes exceptions to these time limitations. 21 29 C.F.R. § 1614.201. The P.O. Box in this regulation has changed since the Commission, in late 2008, relocated its Washington, D.C., Headquarters. Notices should be sent to P.O. Box 77960, Washington, DC 20013, Attn: OFO/FSP. 35 Many complainants proceed pro se (i.e., represent themselves). Others may be represented by a union official, spouse, parent, co-worker, or other non-attorney representative. For the regulations pertaining to use of reasonable official time by agency employees in the EEO process, service of documents by complainant on the agency’s designated representative and by the agency’s representative on complainant, as well as calculation of time frames, see 29 C.F.R. §§ 1614.604 and 1614.605. 38 The grounds for dismissal of a complaint are set forth at 29 C.F.R. § 1614.107(a). An agency may not dismiss a complaint after a hearing--before an EEOC AJ-- has been requested. Dismissals are discussed in the section pertaining to Hearings, in the next issue of the Digest. The agency’s processing of formal complaints, the agency’s dismissal process, the requirement that the agency shall properly identify and define the claim and not fragment EEO complaints, amending and consolidating complaints, as well as the conduct of the investigation, are also set forth in greater detail in EEOC MD-110, Ch. 5. 40 29 C.F.R. § 1614.106(d); EEOC MD-110, Ch. 5-9. The notice referred to in 29 C.F.R. § 1614.108(f) shall inform the complainant that, within 30 days of his or her receipt of the investigative file, the complainant may request a hearing and decision from an AJ or may request an immediate final decision from the agency with which the complaint was filed. The agency shall issue the final decision within 60 days of receiving notice of the complainant’s request for an immediate final decision, or within 60 days of the end of the 30-day period within which complainant must choose between requesting an AJ hearing or an immediate final agency decision and complainant has not responded with a choice. 29 C.F.R. § 1614.110(b). 54 29 C.F.R. § 1614.108(e), which also provides that an agency may unilaterally extend a time period by 30 days to sanitize a file in the interest of national security where classified information is involved. | 26,118 | 9,583 | 2.725451 |
warc | 201704 | Hell's Kitchen Residents Feel Unease Over Upcoming Water Main Construction Yuan Feng| June 01, 2012
Hell’s Kitchen is about to become quite the battlefield. Scheduled for upwards of five years of construction, the neighborhood is set to have its old water mains replaced with a new water tunnel, which will be connected to the rest of Manhattan’s main systems. Although most residents living in Midtown West understand the necessity of such a project, the circumstances are certainly troubling. Clearly, this is no small project and will gradually create massive trenches in order to plant water mains that could range anywhere from 30 to 48 inches. Over the next five years, construction will occur in phases of 6 to 18 months; sewers need to be replaced and all streets in the area will have to be uprooted gradually. At the end of the project, Hell’s Kitchen ‘s water mains should be able to receive water directly from upstate in a new and efficient system that will replace the old decayed tunnels.
An effort of this scale will naturally create a good deal of disturbance amongst the residents living in the apartments of Manhattan’s Clinton neighborhood. The construction will not only feature annoyances on the basis of noise and massive traffic, but will also stir up the homes of rodents that typically live underground. A veritable hotbed of noise will arise daily not only from the sound of heavy machinery, but also from the blaring horns of traffic congestion. Construction is nothing new for the residents, but the duration of time is indeed unsettling. Construction will take place daily for 13 hours on the on the weekdays and for a further 10 hours on the weekends. The next few years of work will undoubtedly act as a disruption to any sense of quiet in this neighborhood.
Officials of the Department of Design and Construction have promised to do all that they can to alleviate the woes of construction soon to follow. Ultimately, the residents of Hell’s Kitchen will have to rely on promises relating to traffic control, vermin control, waste management, and construction control. But with construction only in its earliest phases, there are no examples of how effective these control efforts will be. And while most accept the fact that the water main repairs are necessary for the good of the neighborhood and of the city, it will ultimately be the results that will determine satisfaction or disappointment over the next five years of Hell’s Kitchen. | 2,513 | 1,196 | 2.101171 |
warc | 201704 | 1 Answer | Add Yours
Ethics in research are very important to ensure that conclusions are as objective and unbiased as possible. The worst thing a researcher can do is make up data to support a thesis; invented data is referred to as "cooked" and is entirely invalid. On the other hand, data taken out of context or deliberately misunderstood (reassigned in meaning, applied to the wrong data set, mentioned but not admitted into debate) is almost as bad, since it is either failure to understand the subject or deliberate refusal to accept an alternate conclusion. In either case, the researcher is guilty of ethical fraud.
One of the biggest defenses against non-ethical research is the Peer Review process. Papers submitted to legitimate journals are reviewed by experts in the field, and the research, sources, and conclusions are examined for authenticity and honesty. If the sources, for example, are found to be incorrect or out of step with accepted practices, the paper might not be approved. If the writer of the paper has invented data or plagiarised content, the peer review board should be able to catch it based on their experience in the field.
In order to prevent accidental ethical mistakes, a researcher should be careful to keep their research as close to objective as possible. This is not always easy, since research is generally done for a specific thesis; in order to prove or disprove a thesis, one will naturally look for data in the area, and might be inclined to ignore data that does not support the intended conclusion. Seeking data that runs counter to your thesis is a good way of ensuring fair examination, if not objective results.
Many research groups have their results and methodology made public for transparency; if the group has ignored or fabricated data, an interested outside party will be able to bring that ethical violation to light. Always be wary of research that refuses to disclose source, method, and knowledge of other data.
Sources:
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warc | 201704 | Now that China is overtaking the US to become the world’s biggest economy, the rest of the world is seeking to assess when the renminbi joins the ranks of the world’s reserve currencies.
Last week the World Bank reported that in 2011 the Chinese economy had been around 87 per cent the size
of the United States economy. If China’s growth meets International Monetary Fund expectations, it could therefore expect to overtake the US to become the world’s biggest economy later this year.
To an extent, this is an abstract concept: nobody gets a medal for being the world’s largest economy. What is really interesting is the emergence of the renminbi as one of the world’s major currencies, in spite of the controls inherent in China’s centrally-planned
economy.
The most recent figures for renminbi trading across Thomson Reuters foreign exchange platforms show that the renminbi trading volumes on both Thomson Reuters venues – Matching and FXall – climbed to record highs during March. It is typically among the top
four traded pairs by volume on Matching and entered the top 10 traded pairs on FXall in March.
The critical question is therefore just how and when this powerhouse currency joins the US dollar and the euro to become one of the world’s reserve currencies: what is the roadmap for the renminbi?
A white paper we supported with the trade association ASIFMA and Standard Chartered on the future of the renminbi looks at this very question.
Its thesis is that the prevalence of China’s currency does not match the country’s global economic influence – but it will soon. For this to happen, the currency needs to pass these five milestones on the roadmap:
it becomes a deposit currency internationally; it is used increasingly for trade; it becomes an investment currency; central banks agree bilateral swap agreements with the People’s Bank of China; and finally
it is accepted globally as a reserve currency.
Put that way, it might be expected that progress along this road may take some time. Yet Standard Chartered believes that China’s capital account will be open to the rest of the world by 2020, albeit with some Chinese characteristics. And our managing director
for Financial & Risk in China, Adrian Gostick, reports that convergence between China’s onshore and offshore currency markets is inevitable, albeit at a gradual pace.
We can only observe that nobody should be surprised by the speed of progress in this remarkable economy. | 2,550 | 1,232 | 2.069805 |
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warc | 201704 | The New Year Honours lists 2015, published today, recognise the achievements of a wide range of extraordinary people across the UK.
Proving that age isn’t a barrier to outstanding accomplishments, a British Empire Medal (BEM) is recommended for 103-year-old runner Fauja Singh. He is a keen charity supporter and champion for Age UK, and is widely recognised as the oldest marathon runner in the world.
In a rare occurrence, 2 family members are recognised for separate activities on the same list: Mairi O’Keefe receives an Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to people with disabilities through her work as Chief Executive Officer of Leuchie House in East Lothian; and her mother, Catriona MacKinnon, receives a British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to the Gaelic language and culture.
British Empire Medal (BEM)
The reintroduction of the British Empire Medal (BEM) continues to provide the opportunity to recognise a large number of people who are actively engaged in charitable or voluntary work within their local community. Other notable BEMs include Joanne Copsey, Town Pastor volunteer in Bury St Edmunds, who co-ordinates a team of 50 volunteers working with the police to ensure that people can be safe on the streets at night.
Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)
Notable MBEs include Jamal Edwards, founder and CEO of youth broadcasting channel SBTV, who has revolutionised the UK music scene and discovered some of the biggest talent, such as Ed Sheeran. Jamal’s videos now receive upwards of 150 million hits and he is an ambassador for MTV’s Staying Alive Foundation.
There is also an MBE for Hazel Geach, who has given over four decades of dedicated service to the scouting movement in Romford, organising events such as the annual St George’s Day parade and guiding and nurturing hundreds of young people.
Also receiving the award is Gbolahan Bright, founder of Bright Futurez (also known as the Bright Academy), through which he provides counselling and mentoring to young people with behavioural problems. As part of the academy’s work, he has opened 2 centres that provide free maths tuition to young people in areas of high deprivation.
In total, 1,164 people have received an award:
1,008 candidates have been selected at BEM, MBE and OBE level (292 at BEM, 473 at MBE and 243 at OBE) 74% of the recipients are people who have undertaken outstanding work in their communities either in a voluntary or paid capacity 6% of the successful candidates come from ethnic minority communities there are 579 successful women candidates in the list, representing 50% of the list 45% of recommendations for senior awards (CBE and above) are for women, compared to 35% of the senior awards at the 2014 Birthday Honours Women in the New Year Honours 2015
Senior women in this list receiving damehoods (DBEs) include:
Mary Plunket-Greene (Mary Quant) for services to British fashion Fiona Woolf, lately Lord Mayor of London Sue Bruce, Chief Executive, City of Edinburgh Council Dianne Thompson, Chief Executive, Camelot Professor Marina Warner, Department of Literature, Film and Theatre Studies, University of Essex Eileen Sills, Chief Nurse and Chief Operating Officer, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.
Notably, there is a Companion of Honour (CH) for Dame Mary Peters.
Other well-known names in the list include:
a damehood (DBE) for the actress Kristin Scott Thomas a knighthood for actor John Hurt a damehood (DBE) for the Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy a CBE for the actress, comedienne and author Meera Syal a CBE for the writer Ali Smith an OBE for the actress Emily Watson OBEs for the actress Sheridan Smith and the actor James Corden, reuniting siblings Smithy and Smithy from Gavin and Stacey Children and Young People Care
There is a particular focus in this list on honouring those who help vulnerable children and young people. As a result there are damehoods (DBEs) for:
Esther Rantzen, founder of Childline Joyce Plotnikoff, who has revolutionised the way the courts treat child witnesses Oremi Evans, headteacher of the only special school to receive three consecutive ‘outstanding’ Ofsted judgements
Professor Julian Le Grand, whose review of children’s social care at Doncaster Council is now driving innovative practices elsewhere, receives a knighthood.
Among the CBEs are:
Kate Lampard, independent overseer of the NHS investigation into Jimmy Saville Professor Bill Whyte, architect of the Scottish Government’s whole system approach to youth justice Virginia Beardshaw, Chief Executive of the I CAN children’s charity.
Eleanor Paterson’s innovative work with young offenders engaged in community reparation projects has inspired many of them to continue volunteering after they have completed their sentences. She receives the MBE.
Alongside these names there are many long-serving volunteers who work with scouts, guides, cadets and a range of other youth organisations in this list.
Philanthropy
Philanthropy has once again been a prominent theme amongst the recipients. In particular, the recommendations include knighthoods for:
Theodore Agnew, a generous academy school sponsor David Verey, Chair, the Art Fund, who has almost wholly funded the Verey Galley at Eton College, now opened to the public Dickson Poon, a distinguished entrepreneur and ardent supporter of education, in particular through generous support to the University of Oxford
CBEs include:
Nicholas Cooper, Chairman, Sterling Insurance Group, a generous philanthropist to the arts and higher education Jonathan Moulds, a dedicated supporter of the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) Parliamentary
The Parliamentary and Political Service Committee, chaired by Lord Spicer, has recommended:
a Companion of Honour (CH) for The Rt Hon Lord (Jeremy) Paddy Ashdown a damehood (DBE) for The Rt Hon Anne McGuire, MP for Stirling a KCB for Paul Silk, lately Chair, Commission on Devolution in Wales a knighthood for David Amess, MP for Southend West. There is also a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) for Dr Andrew McDonald for services to Parliament and voluntary service to disability awareness. Education
In total, about 10% of honours are for work in education. The Education Committee has recommended 30 headteachers in total, including knighthoods and damehoods for 3 headteachers:
Kate Dethridge, Principal, Churchend Primary School, Reading Oremi Evans, Headteacher, Brookfield School and Specialist College, Herefordshire John Townsley, Executive Principal, The Gorse Academy Trust, Leeds. Health
Health makes up 7% of all honours, including 8 nurses at MBE level. In addition to the damehood for Eileen Sills, knighthoods in health include:
Professor Norman Williams, President, Royal College of Surgeons of England Dr (Anthony) Sam Everington, Chair, NHS Tower Hamlets Clinical Commissioning Group Andrew Morris, Chief Executive, Frimley Park Hospital NHS FT Professor Nilesh Samani, Professor of Cardiology, University of Leicester. Industry and the Economy
Industry and the economy make up 12% of this Honours list. Awards include, Companion of Honour (CH) for:
The Rt Hon. Lord David Young Sir (George) Adrian Cadbury.
In addition to the awards to Mary Quant, Dianne Thompson and Fiona Woolf, there is a damehood (DBE) for Fiona Kendrick, Chair and CEO, Nestle UK and Ireland, and a knighthood for Peter Kendall, for services to the agriculture industry in England and Wales.
Committee members were pleased to see a number of strong entrepreneurs nominated and the recommendations include:
a CBE for James Caan, Founder and CEO, Hamilton Bradshaw a CBE for Brent Hoberman, for services to entrepreneurship a CBE for Trevor Baylis, Investor and Founder, Trevor Baylis Brands plc an OBE for Julie Deane, Co-owner and Founder, The Cambridge Satchel Company an MBE for Shaa Wasmund, Founder, Smarta an MBE for Richard Moross, CEO and Founder, Moo.com. Science and Technology
Science and technology make up 3% of the total. The awards include:
a Knight Grand Cross (GBE) for Professor Sir John Bell for his services to medicine, medical research and the UK life science industry. a damehood (DBE) for Professor Teresa Rees, Professor of Social Science and Associate Pro Vice Chancellor, Cardiff University a knighthood for Professor Martyn Poliakoff, Research Professor of Chemistry a knighthood for Dr Simon Campbell, Drug Discoverer and Scientific Adviser, who was responsible for the development of Viagra during his time as Senior Vice President for Worldwide Discovery at Pfizer Inc. Law and Order
In law and order, the awards include:
a knighthood for Thomas Winsor, HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary a knighthood for Matthew Baggott, lately Chief Constable, Police Service of Northern Ireland a CBE for Cressida Dick, Assistant Commissioner, Met Police CBE for His Honour Judge Brian Barker QC, Recorder of London.
The recommendations for state servants include knighthoods for:
David Ramsden, Head of the Government Economic Service Richard Paniguian, Head, Defence and Security Organisation, UK Trade & Investment. Sport
Awards for sport make up 5% of the total. They include:
CBE awarded to Steve Cram, lately Chair, English Institute of Sport CBE for Gordon Matheson, Leader of Glasgow City Council, who helped deliver the 2014 Commonwealth Games OBE for Jon Doig, Chief Executive, Commonwealth Games Scotland.
There is an OBE for Brendon Batson for services to football. He has been Chair of Sporting Equals since 2010, an ardent supporter of the Show Racism the Red Card campaign and a Kick It Out Ambassador.
There are MBEs for:
Rochelle Clark and Sarah Hunter from the England Women’s Rugby Union team Kathrin Richardson-Walsh, Captain of the England and GB Women’s Hockey teams boxer Patrick Barnes (Northern Ireland) and judo athlete Euan Burton (Scotland), who both won gold medals at the Commonwealth Games.
Awards to grass roots sport include a BEM to Shirley Callaghan, who has dedicated over 31 years of voluntary service to the sport of gymnastics at Ladywell Gymnastics Club in London.
It is also important to note the CBEs awarded to Margaret Aspinall and Trevor Hicks from the Hillsborough Family Support Group, both recognised for the significant work they have done on behalf of the bereaved Hillsborough families since the disaster in 1989.
And finally, there are MBEs for Paul Cummins and Tom Piper, responsible for the Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red installation of 888,246 poppies at the Tower of London, one for each British or Colonial military fatality during World War One.
Further information about the New Year Honours 2015
Read the full 2015 New Year Honours list.
Find out more about the honours process. | 10,842 | 4,970 | 2.181489 |
warc | 201704 | INDUSTRY WATCH
Mostashari appointed national coordinator for health IT ONC
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius
named Farzad Mostashari, M.D., ScM, as the new national coordinator for health information technol- ogy within the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology effective April 8. Mostashari joined ONC in July 2009. He re- places Dr. David Blumenthal, who is returning to academia. Previously, Mostashari served at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene as assistant commissioner for the Primary Care Infor- mation Project. There, he facilitated the adoption of
prevention-oriented health information technology by over 1,500 providers in underserved communities. Mostashari also led the CDC-funded NYC Center of Excellence in Public Health Informatics and a project funded by the Agency for Healthcare Re- search and Quality focused on quality measurement at the point of care.
Are we all accountable? Shared savings, shared responsibilities ACOS
Commentary on CMSâ Medicare Shared Savings Program: Accountable Care Or-
ganizations notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) by Justin Barnes, chairman emeritus, Electronic Health Record Association (EHR Association) and vice president of marketing, corporate development and government affairs, Greenway Medical Tech- nologies.
Anticipated for publication as far back as De-
cember, and with a prescribed start date of Jan. 1, 2012, what is now the most far-reaching, and maybe the most hopeful, healthcare delivery and cost-containment proposal in decades arrived on the eve of April Foolsâ Day.
But itâs no joke that among some 47 million U.S. Medicare patients, one in five who are hospitalized are readmitted within 30 days, and most suffer from more than one chronic ailment, contributing to an- nual healthcare costs approaching $2.5 trillion. The proposed shared savings program forming accountable care organizations (ACOs) seeks vol- untary three-year commitments from primary care and/or multi-specialty physician groups, hospitals, home health services, rehabilitation centers and other institutions to form communities of health committed to serving at least 5,000 patients for an initial three-year period. Essentially, the ACO model takes a logical ap- proach by building upon the physician quality re- porting system (PQRS), hospital inpatient quality reporting (IQR) and the meaningful-use program â all established initiatives to improve patient care through quality reporting, namely the electronic
6 May 2011
health record (EHR). It also proposes establish- ing 65 quality measures, grouped in five categories, that align with meaningful use.
The proposal also offers risk and reward choices so that ACO participants can find their own levels of confidence, allowing care providers already using EHRs at the point of care to take on greater reward
and risk throughout the three-year commitment. Or they can take on smaller rewards in years one and two, and then assume more risk of below-benchmark penalties only in year three.
Though ambitious in its current scope, the proposal hints at the ability for rolling start dates beginning in 2012, and initially it would allow for reporting of quality measures, followed by proof of performance, much like what transpired with the original meaningful-use proposal. I expect that the provision that 50 percent of primary care ACO providers be meaningful EHR users by year two will incur much commentary between now and June 6. I hope that providers closely study the success their peers have had with PQRS and meaningful use to date. Shared savings is a quality reporting system with a delivery, reporting, coordination and health IT structure that is already in place and has been shown to succeed in several arenas.
HEALTH MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGY www.healthmgttech.com
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warc | 201704 | Dr. Jennifer PeszkaCONWAY, Ark. (June 15, 2011) – Hendrix College psychology professor Dr. Jennifer Peszka has contributed to two scientific studies being presented at SLEEP, an annual meeting sponsored by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society that brings together over 5,000 leading clinicians and scientists in the field of sleep medicine and research.
Peszka was the lead author of the study “Sleep Hygiene, Chronotype, and Academic Performance during the Transition from High School through Four Years of College.”
In this study, Peszka and her co-authors investigated the relationship between sleep hygiene and academic performance and found that poor sleep hygiene led to lower GPAs during the first year of college, especially in students with an evening chronotype, or preference for working late at night as opposed to in the morning.
By senior year, however, the study showed that differences in GPA between chronotypes had disappeared.
According to Peszka, the study has practical applications.
“You can’t change your chronotype (lark, owl, regular robin), but you can recognize that you may be at a disadvantage because of your chronotype and take steps to compensate,” said Peszka.
Peszka also co-authored the study “The Relationship between Social Cognition & Sleepiness among College Students” which found a positive correlation between sleepiness and counterfactual thinking and displaced aggression.
The abstracts for Dr. Peszka’s studies can be found at
http://www.journalsleep.org/ViewAbstractSupplement.aspx on pages 81 and 69.
Hendrix, founded in 1876, is a selective, residential, undergraduate liberal arts college emphasizing experiential learning in a demanding yet supportive environment. The college is featured in the 2010 edition of the
Princeton Review as one of the country’s best 371 colleges, was identified as the nation’s top “Up and Coming” liberal arts college for 2011 by U.S. News and World Report, and is ranked among 45 “Best Buy” colleges by the 2011 Fiske Guide to Colleges. Hendrix has been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. For more information, visit www.hendrix.edu. | 2,254 | 1,206 | 1.868988 |
warc | 201704 | The Coalition Column
The Battle Continues: Advisory Boards and the Title VI Higher Education Act Bruce Craig, April 2004
Late last year, the House of Representatives passed (by voice vote) legislation sponsored by Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich.)—the “International Studies in Higher Education Act” (HR 3077), which reauthorizes the international education and foreign language programs of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (Title VI). Federal Title VI monies (about $95 million a year) fund fellowships, language instruction, and special lectures and discussions in more than 118 “area studies centers” (such as Middle East, Latin America, and Southeast Asia) throughout the nation. Hoekstra’s bill has now moved to the Senate where it is attracting the attention of lawmakers, academics, and scholarly activists.
One of the most controversial aspects of the legislation is a provision creating a powerful “advisory board” charged to review and assess Middle Eastern studies centers and programs in the nation’s colleges and universities. Critics maintain that the term “advisory board” is an inaccurate designation, since the board has investigative authority, its own staff, and no requirement that it report to the secretary of education. If this legislation is permitted to pass in its present (House-passed) form, says John Hammer of the National Humanities Alliance, the board’s activities “could be both political and intimidating.”
According to Amy Newhall, executive director of the Middle Eastern Studies Association, the proposed board targets Middle Eastern studies programs, but if allowed to stand would “establish a precedent for future legislation directed at any field, discipline, or professional school in any and all universities.” Academic freedom is at the heart of the controversy, say opponents to the legislation. Through periodic governmental oversight, critics state that legislators, not professors, could ultimately be responsible for determining Middle Eastern studies curricula and course content. So potentially dangerous is the provision that some centers may opt to discontinue receiving federal money if the advisory board is created.
The idea of creating a board emerged last year when conservative critics of academia charged that Middle Eastern studies programs, including those found in “area study centers” in colleges and universities across the nation, were “anti-American and anti-Israeli” and called for the creation of a board to review them. In June 2003, Stanley Kurtz, a fellow at the Hoover Institution, was invited to testify before a House subcommittee. Kurtz charged that academics in Middle Eastern studies were biased against U.S. foreign policy. He then urged Congress, through its power of the purse, to correct the situation by taking action to “balance university faculties with members who both support and oppose American foreign policy.” His testimony fell on sympathetic ears in Congress, and helped persuade both Republican and Democratic legislators to authorize the so-called advisory board.
The House-passed bill authorizes $500,000 for the creation of a board charged to “study, monitor, apprize and evaluate a sample of activities supported under this title” and to “provide recommendations for program improvement and ensure that programs meet the title’s purposes.” The board is expected to “make recommendations that will promote the ... development of such programs at the post-secondary education level that will reflect diverse perspectives and represent the full range of views on world regions, foreign languages, and international affairs.” Critics charge that the proposed legislation “interjects federal intervention in the classroom” by granting broad investigative authority to the board, thus empowering it to probe into grantee activities, including individual faculty (and new hires) and curricular content. In theory, the board could be a major force over university staffing and in hiring of guest lecturers, making curriculum decisions, approving books for classes, and recommending approaches to be taken when teaching a specific subject. Such intrusive and broad oversight might prove to be intimidating and First Amendment infringements become especially possible. Ironically, though, supporters of the legislative measure, including Kurtz, argue that without the proposed federal government oversight, “the very purpose of free speech and academic freedom will have been defeated.”
Particularly alarming to critics of the legislation is that it provides no limit to the board’s power to secure the “services, personnel, information, and facilities of other federal, state, local and private agencies with or without reimbursement.” The board is empowered to “secure directly from any executive department, bureau, agency, board, commission, office independent establishment, or instrumentality information, suggestions estimates, and statistics.” The coercive powers of the board also give rise to the concern that private organizations and institutions could be forced to provide information and assistance to the board.
The composition of the proposed board is perhaps the key objection of many critics. It bears no resemblance to a “peer-review” panel comprised of experts in the field as is commonly created to assist in the administration of science and education-related programs. Three members would be named by the secretary of education, and one each by the majority and minority leaders of the House and Senate. Only two agencies are to be represented on the board and they must be selected from among agencies with national security responsibilities. Traditionally, the Departments of Treasury, Commerce, Interior, and Agriculture, as well as other federal entities such as the National Endowment for the Humanities, are included in such advisory bodies. In this instance, they are not represented.
Critics also cite dangers that political appointees, who, lacking any real expertise or knowledge in Middle East affairs, would fall back on their political biases when reviewing programs. While the board is specifically forbidden to “control curricula,” nevertheless, according to Newhall, “it is intrusive...and the potential for meddling is still very great.”
Now the Senate will address the Hoekstra bill. Most Hill observers expect that some type of advisory board will be included in the final legislation, though striking the board entirely from the bill is still not out of the question. Reportedly, some Republican staffers on the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee concede that the House legislation is in need of a “few changes.” Democratic staffers appear willing to listen, reports one insider, though they “need convincing.” Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), the ranking minority member of the HELP committee, is strongly opposed to any advisory board as is Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), a junior member of the committee, who also has taken a firm stand against the proposed advisory committee.
The National Humanities Alliance, an association representing the diverse interests of the humanities and scholarly communities, has taken a strong interest in the pending legislation. The NHA has issued a call for associations and individuals to weigh in on the advisory board issue. Because mail addressed to the Senate is likely to be delayed because of security procedures, those who wish to express an opinion should use fax or e-mail. Fax numbers and e-mail addresses may be obtained by visiting member web sites or by visiting http://congress.org. Senators may also be contacted by calling the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121.
— Bruce Craig is director of the National Coalition for History. He can be reached at rbcraig@historycoalition.org. | 8,053 | 3,549 | 2.26909 |
warc | 201704 | 18 . Exploratory Workshop on the Social Impacts of Robotics
direct military applications of robots, much of the interest on the part of the defense community in robotics is focused on manu- facturing. Improved productivity in the manufacture of weapons and associated mili- tary hardware could offer significant savings to the defense budget. Flexible, automated factories, even those not normally involved in military production, could be more easily and quickly mobilized in times of national crisis.
The National Aeronautics and Space Ad- ministration is exploring the expanded use
of robots for such tasks as planetary explora- tion, repairing satellites in space, and aiding mining expeditions. Some researchers are in- terested in the use of robots for ocean ex- ploration and seabed mining.
These examples suggest that, depending on the capabilities of robots in the next decade, there may be important applications that are not now imagined. The nature of these new capabilities, and hence of the ap- plications, will depend in part on Federal policies in such broad areas as R&D, techni- cal education, and reindustrialization. | 1,142 | 647 | 1.76507 |
warc | 201704 | I have a new house, it's now almost two years old. Last year I boughtRadonSeal to waterproof my basement. I applied a number of coatscarefully to all parts of the concrete floor and walls. Well, we hadsome record rainfall this week here in Boston and I've had 3 inches ofwater come into my basement every day. I can see timy bubbles comingout of the concrete. Is it gases trapped in the concrete or somechemical reaction?Anyhow, I'd love to hear about a real sealant that works.
First, where is the water entering the basement? Have cracks formed sinceyou sealed?I'm not familiar with that product, but my experience with water sealers isthat they won't leak if the layer of sealant isn't broken.
perhaps the flooding has exceeded the capacity of a brush-on coating.this is a new product to me, lots of info on their site.http://www.radonseal.com /basement stuff for you:http://www.buildingscience.com/resources/basements.htm
In your situation, it may be that there is no "real selant that works".After all, if there were, then we could just use it to buildsubmarines, water mains, and pools out of balsa-wood covered with your"real sealant".The force of the water pushing through your concrete walls and floorcan reach incredible levels, and no amount of flimsy paint (especiallyon the inside of the basement) is going to stop it.Go read up about proper drainage.-Kevin
No interior sealant is going to prevent the water that has been coming thispast week. It is at or near record levels. Basements that have never hadwater in 20+ years are getting drenched. No type of paint will stop it.I'm not familiar with the particular product you have, but it is merely acoating. There is a lot of hydraulic pressure pushing it away from thewall. In this situation, you need better drainage and something on theexterior that will be pushed into the foundation, not away from it.
On 17 May 2006 04:38:30 -0700, snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote:
Sometimes addressing the source of water is quickest way to helpminimize water intrusion. Is the water coming up from floor level, orthrough seams in the wall?Well before you get the chance to answer, these steps have been toldto me to be best at helping a damp basement.1. Grad your soil away from your foundation.2. Clean gutters, or fix them, if overflowing.3. Direct down spouts serveral feet away, and down hill from yorufoundation.hth,Tom @ www.Consolidated-Loans.info
HomeOwnersHub.com is a website for homeowners and building and maintenance pros. It is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners. | 2,664 | 1,401 | 1.901499 |
warc | 201704 | How Much Does an Above Ground Pool Deck Installed Cost?
Need a pro near you? Get multiple quotes for free online. Get your quote now >>
An above ground pool deck is a deck, usually made of wood, is a deck that is built partially or completely around an above ground pool. This allows you to have a way into the pool without using a ladder, and it also make the pool’s appearance much cleaner.
How much does it cost? On average, the cost to have an above ground pool deck professionally installed can range anywhere from $2,500 to as much as $8,000.The costs really come down to the type of material being used, the size of the pool, the design and contractor building the deck. Decks that use material such as stone or a high quality wood like Fir and Pine can cost significantly more. According to an article on Popular Mechanics), one person spent $2,400 to make their own above ground pool deck. This was for a kit for which no professional installation was required. In a blog written on River Pools, it states that an above ground swimming pool deck kit retails for $1,500 to $4,500. On the other hand, the cost of installation would be around $1,000 to $3,000 to have it done professionally. What is going to be included? An above ground pool deck can be made from many materials, such as fir, pine, cedar, redwood, aluminum, concrete, and composite. This deck kit should include a set of stairs for climbing up to the deck as well as a safety rail so that you cannot fall of the deck and get injured. Decks can be either free-standing, a multilevel deck that connects to a porch of a home, or can even customized to your own personal preference. What are the extra costs? Extra costs would include the installation of the above ground pool deck if you choose to hire outside help. To find out what installation costs are going to be for you in your area, websites such as HomeAdvisor.com can help you find quotes. In addition, it would cost you more if you wish to expand your above ground pool deck beyond the normal dimensions of a deck kit. There is an added cost for the tools used for installation. You would need cutting, drilling, and nailing tools at the very minimum. You will also need a carbide-tipped saw for cutting. Whether you rent or purchase them, the costs can vary. Most cities will require a building permit. Fees will vary depending on in the city in which you live. Adding additional landscaping around the deck can be an additional cost. Factors that influence the price: Usually, decks made for oval pools are cheaper to install compared those designed for round pools. However, the initial kits may cost more. Shape of the pool. The bigger the pool, the more the deck is going to cost since the deck will also have to be bigger. Size. The latest model of an above ground pool deck is built with a floating-foundation system. The deck has concrete pier blocks for support and appears to sit on the ground. If you want modern technology such as this, plan on spending more. System. Tips to know: Before you add the pool deck , think about the condition of the pool. Is it in good condition? Make sure its system is stable and does not need any replacement within the next year at least. Identify the kind of decking materials you want to use. Wood is often used but it may need the most maintenance in the future. Do not attempt to use a salt water system for an above ground pool. It is quite a big risk to take since your walls will rust out. The salt water can also affect the material of the pool deck. Do not forget to secure a building permit. Questions to ask: Of what material are the decking and railing made?? Are you going to make use of a compatible hidden fastener system? What colors and styles do you offer? Can the decking be immersed in water? What is included in the above ground pool deck kit? How long will the texture of the decking and railing last? How does the decking kit work? How can I save money? If you want an above ground pool that is really cheap, choose a “set and fill” pool. It is usually sold in big box stores like Walmart. It usually costs around $100-$800. This type of pool will not require a deck and can be taken down during the off-season. If you are going to get the pool deck professionally installed, make sure that you get at least three quotes. | 4,342 | 2,000 | 2.171 |
warc | 201704 | Cloud . Big data . Mobile. Social networking. These are some of the core ideas driving the new generation of critical consumer and business applications — but do they really have the modern network infrastructure they need? The basic way networks are managed — even in an architecture like a cloud — has remained largely unchanged from a decade ago in that most network connections continue to be initiated, operated, and closed by technicians working at the hardware level, who oversee network devices such as switches, each managed in a proprietary way. Such an approach means that implementing any change in the way data flows from point A to point B is slower, more complex, more costly, and less secure than it should be. A cloud, for instance, is less dynamic than it should be in allocating more bandwidth to services that need it due to workload spikes (such as social networking or big data). And those services in turn generate less value than they should. So increasingly, in a world where traditional networking approaches have become too complex, closed, and proprietary, forward-looking organizations are searching for a new way to centralize, accelerate, secure, and scale network management. That new way is software-defined networking (SDN) which is designed to solve just these challenges and even more ! Transforming the network for improved business agility Software Defined Networking makes it easier for... [Continue Reading] | 1,464 | 778 | 1.881748 |
warc | 201704 | The Ikon Science workflow is based on the generation of a geological model. The method utilises different algorithms and techniques chosen to suit the data and the geological environment. Factors such as the geological history, rate of sedimentation, lithology and structure will be combined with offset well data to create an understanding of geopressure which in turn will be combined with our knowledge of the mechanisms of pressure generation. The general principals described apply to all of the work and are the basis on which a well plan is derived. Additional constraints can also be placed on the pore pressure model based on the possible scenarios permitted by the geomechanical model.
Fracture gradient is determined using one of two approaches or a combination thereof based on the available data. Leak-off test data is compiled to produce a fracture pressure algorithm including stress/coupling term (if sufficient data available) and then blind test on series of wells throughout the areas of interest. We also use published relationships to produce a range of uncertainty in the fracture strength. Further constraint can be placed on fracture gradient where the appropriate data to create a geomechanical model is available based on the poro-elastic strain equations (as described previously). | 1,311 | 658 | 1.992401 |
warc | 201704 | The business case for a diverse and inclusive workforce is persuasive not least in terms of increased innovation and enhanced customer service.
Our
FREE webinar series focuses on the various aspects of a truly diverse workplace. We give practical information, advice and guidance for leaders who want to ensure they access and utilise all available talent. Leading Inclusively
Join us in this free webinar with speaker Margaret Wood- Co-Founder at Opportunity 50 Plus.
Margaret Wood
In collaboration with Acas (Arbitration, Conciliation & Advisory Service) and its Age Audit Tool, Margaret has designed a Managing and Motivating a Multi-Generational Workforce Programme to support organisations in becoming recognised as Age-Diverse.
With the imminent introduction of Gender Pay Gap reporting the time is also ripe for exploring the issues facing organisations particularly with cultures that have historically favoured men and supporting them in tackling unconscious bias among recruiters and line managers to improve equality and providing development programmes for women specifically designed to focus on the different challenges they face at fundamental stages in their lives.
With all of this in mind Opportunity 50 Plus®, has now become The Opportunity Group with three further strands, Opportunity Multi-Generational, Opportunity for Women and Opportunity Multi-Cultural. | 1,393 | 763 | 1.825688 |
warc | 201704 | But a week-long 'pop-up' programme by Channel 4 News not only highlights the value in also engaging in person when possible, but the impact when these two practices work hand-in-hand.
A team from Channel 4 News is inviting local communities to suggest news stories using the hashtag #c4newspopup on Twitter, and is also spending the week travelling to five places across the UK to speak to people with stories to tell, broadcasting live from those locations each evening.
The locations include Fowey in Cornwall, where the team has set up camp today, followed by Swindon, Teesside, the Lake District and finishing in Edinburgh on Friday.
Each broadcast will cover two stories, the first looking at the economic news story for the area, and the second based on crowdsourced results of what local people feel is a key story which needs to be covered.
Head of online Anna Doble told Journalism.co.uk that the television and website teams wanted "to get out of London" and report from different places across the UK.
"We thought August was a good time to do it, hopefully because the weather's okay and traditionally news is slightly quieter."
She added that recent news on economic growth has given the impression "that the green shoots of recovery are genuinely starting to appear".
Therefore the team will "invite people to 'pitch' a story, then speak to people first-hand about whether they really are experiencing an economic recovery," she added.
"We just wanted to put that to the test by going to five locations across this week and report on the big local issues, talk to people locally and we are physically popping up with a banner." The five locations were chosen based on whether they had "a good economic story" to share and a "very visual Great British look to them".
Ahead of this week Channel 4 News has been inviting suggestions on what it should report on using the Twitter hashtag and via a special email address, and is asking people to continue to share their ideas.
"We've been fielding responses and trying to work out which are the best stories we can tell and which are the clear big issues for more than a small group of people," Doble said.
She explained that the team is keen to "be guided by the local communities" over the coming week, and not just those within the five locations they will be in.
"We want the nation's stories," she said. "We want everybody to join in on it." So even while they are based in Fowey, for example. they are still interested in hearing from those outside Cornwall and the south west region.
At the end of the week the team plans on running a Google Hangout from Edinburgh, which will aim to address "the key issues" raised that week. The Hangout will involve one representative from each area the team have visited, and take place immediately after Friday's programme.
"Jackie Long will present the show then switch headphones and pop up on the website and talk through the big issues the week raised," Doble said.
For digital newsrooms, it is important to remember that when it comes to working with social media, "it's only ever good when it's twinned with real people and real scenarios", she added.
"When we did #nogobritain which was the first really truly social media-led project that we did, it wasn't good until we had real people telling us their story from train lines around the country." (You can read more about the award-winning #nogobritain campaign here.)
"Likewise with this, it's all good and well reaching out to people with hashtags and telling people we want their opinion, but actually really physically hearing Cathy Newman is going to present tonight from the beach in Fowey and just being in the area for a day or two hopefully completes the loop."
Update: This article was updated to clarify Channel 4's existing reach across the UK and the areas of interest for this project. Free daily newsletter Related articles How BBC News is experimenting with Instagram Stories to engage younger audiences Tip: Advice for making journalism courses more relevant to the community An Italian media group's approach to making social video work for local news 'Women on air' discuss the importance of confidence and mentoring to succeed in the media industry Tip: Bookmark this guide to finding a local angle on national stories | 4,352 | 2,069 | 2.103432 |
warc | 201704 | Men’s Co-Occuring Disorders
Men choose to come to Lakeview because they are suffering from drug or alcohol dependence. But many of them are also dealing with other psychological and medical problems. Depression and anxiety disorders are common among individuals who struggle with addiction, and many are coping with multiple physical health issues as well. Such problems are known as co-occurring disorders.
Co-occurring disorders are the norm, not the exception. Studies show that at least half the people suffering from substance use also have other psychological problems, and clinical experience suggests this percentage may be much higher. When measured against multiple baseline indicators, patients with co-occurring disorders enter treatment with greater levels of impairment.
Despite the frequency of co-occurring disorders, many treatment centers do not have a staff with expertise in all three areas of mental health, substance abuse, and physical medicine. Such integrated treatment is crucial to men’s drug and alcohol recovery.
Co-Occurring Disorders at The Star of Lakeview
The treatment team at our men’s program, the Star of Lakeview, comprises psychological counselors and a medical staff that are trained to diagnose and treat co-occurring disorders that accompany addiction. Because we have our own on-site detox facility, patients are under the care of both medical and clinical health providers from the moment they enter our facility. This integrated care contributes to recovery and to the overall health of the patient.
Diagnosing co-occurring disorders takes knowledge and experience. In the early stages of detox, doctors must determine whether problems like anxiety or depression are pre-existing conditions separate from substance abuse or are symptoms caused by drug and alcohol use. Some co-occurring disorders can be recognized immediately, while others can only be diagnosed once the patient has completed detox and is free of his drug of choice. Because our integrated medical and clinical teams work together throughout a patient’s treatment, the chances of identifying co-occurring problems are greatly increased. | 2,177 | 1,009 | 2.157582 |
warc | 201704 | Jeon Y.-S.,KAIST | Jeon Y.-S.,Caltex R and nter | Yang J.-S.,Korea Institute of Science and Technology | Park E.-R.,Jeollabukdo | And 2 more authors.
Journal of the Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers | Year: 2016
In this study, we developed a new electrochemical process to remove the salts from food wastes. The primary removal mechanisms are washing and electromigration. The screw speed and current were selected as the primary factors influencing the removal of salts. An experimental design was applied in order to determine the optimum conditions for the removal of salts and 82.7% of the salts were removed under some of these conditions. Based on the continuous operation of the apparatus, the criteria for the removal of salts in the food composts could be achieved. © 2016 Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers. Source
Jang Y.-S.,KAIST | Malaviya A.,Synthetic Biotech Institute For The Biocentury | Lee J.,Synthetic Biotech Institute For The Biocentury | Im J.A.,Synthetic Biotech Institute For The Biocentury | And 5 more authors.
Biotechnology Progress | Year: 2013
Butanol is considered as a superior biofuel, which is conventionally produced by clostridial acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentation. Among ABE, only butanol and ethanol can be used as fuel alternatives. Coproduction of acetone thus causes lower yield of fuel alcohols. Thus, this study aimed at developing an improved Clostridium acetobutylicum strain possessing enhanced fuel alcohol production capability. For this, we previously developed a hyper ABE producing BKM19 strain was further engineered to convert acetone into isopropanol. The BKM19 strain was transformed with the plasmid pIPA100 containing the sadh (primary/secondary alcohol dehydrogenase) and hydG (putative electron transfer protein) genes from the Clostridium beijerinckii NRRL B593 cloned under the control of the thiolase promoter. The resulting BKM19 (pIPA100) strain produced 27.9 g/l isopropanol-butanol-ethanol (IBE) as a fuel alcohols with negligible amount of acetone (0.4 g/l) from 97.8 g/l glucose in lab-scale (2 l) batch fermentation. Thus, this metabolically engineered strain was able to produce 99% of total solvent produced as fuel alcohols. The scalability and stability of BKM19 (pIPA100) were evaluated at 200 l pilot-scale fermentation, which showed that the fuel alcohol yield could be improved to 0.37 g/g as compared to 0.29 g/g obtained at lab-scale fermentation, while attaining a similar titer. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest titer of IBE achieved and the first report on the large scale fermentation of C. acetobutylicum for IBE production. © 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers. Source
Oh J.,Yonsei University | Yang S.,Yonsei University | Kim C.,Yonsei University | Choi I.,Caltex R and nter | And 2 more authors.
Applied Catalysis A: General | Year: 2013
Synthesis of biomass-derived lubricants via esterification, transesterification, and simultaneous reactions of both was studied by using sulfated zirconia catalysts. Soybean oil or free fatty acids derived from soybean oil were used as a biomass-derived resource for the synthesis of biolubricants. Long chain alcohols (carbon number ≥ 8) or neo-polyols (e.g., 2,2-diethyl-1,3-propanediol, trimethylol propane, pentaerythritol) were used as co-reactants. The structure of the alcohol significantly affected the conversion and yield for the esterification with oleic acid. The esters produced showed kinematic viscosity and viscosity index comparable to commercial lubricants. Various sulfated zirconia catalysts were prepared and were characterized by X-ray diffraction, NH3 temperature-programmed desorption, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller isotherm, and tested for esterification. The type of zirconium precursor demonstrated a significant effect on the physical property of the catalyst and its catalytic activity. Interestingly, esters with fully saturated hydrocarbon chains were synthesized from unsaturated free fatty acids regardless of the absence of hydrogen gas. The sulfated zirconia could be recycled for up to five repeated reactions without any degradation. The effects of reaction time and temperature were also investigated. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Source | 4,282 | 1,968 | 2.175813 |
warc | 201704 | Personal Statement
Find numerous Gynaecologists in India from the comfort of your home on Lybrate.com. You will find Gynaecologists with more than 29 years of experience on Lybrate.com. You can find Gynaecologists online in Mumbai and from across India. View the profile of medical specialists and their reviews from other patients to make an informed decision.
Info Location Book Clinic Appointment Consult Online Services Endometrial Ablation Procedure Treatment of Treatment of Breast Cancer Management of Abortion Hormonal Replacement Therapy Treatment Caesarean Section Procedure Contraceptive Advice Delivery Procedure Treatment of Gynae Problems Gynecology Laparoscopy Procedures Hpv Vaccination Treatment Of Female Sexual Problems Treatment Of Menopause Related Issues Treatment Of Menstrual Problems Treatment of Mirena (Hormonal Iud) Pap Smear Procedure Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Treatment Ureteroscopy Procedure Treatment of Uterine Bleeding Antenatal And Postnatal Exercise Antenatal Checkup Feed One year ago I had done double condom protected Insertive Anal sex with escort. For Less than 5 Minutes. Can I'm at Risk anxiety and guilt is killing me from inside. I haven't eaten anything from 3 Day. Please tell me can I am at risk? I stopped using dronis 30 since one month 10 days I didn't get my periods yet. I had protected sex intercourse 4 months ago and after having sex I got regular periods for 3 months, is there any chance gor pregnancy? We had an unprotected sex on early morning on 08.07.16, can I take unwanted 72 pill? I am feeding my 45 days baby. Is this pill harm my milk or health of my baby? please help me. Hi sir I am 30 year old. I have sex with call girl 2 month ago. It was secure sex with goverment condom. But fear in my mind about hiv and std. I am in depretion. My first child was death on 28/9/2015 in running pregnancy. It was 28 week. My blood pressure 78-131, I m 25year old. Now how long time have I what for next child. Hi , I had spotting last month for 2 hrs after that I did not get my periods for the last month . I have done my pregnancy test but it's negative.Please tell. I want to know about zika virus. What are the symptoms? What precautions one should take to avoid this? My CT SCAN says Both gangliocapsular regions reveal bilateral globus pallidus calcifications. What does this mean in general terms? I am 21/F and have a problem of irregular menstruation since i was 15. How much ever i workout my weight keeps on increasing and i weigh 100kgs right now! currently, on my gyno's advice, i am on OCP- ovral g, i get my periods with it but as soon as i leave it, to test any improvements, i again stop getting my periods! my weight and my periods are a huge issue for me now. Pls help! From past one month i'm suffering irregular periods I had my periods on last week of july then again in First week of august I saw little spotting of blood for maybe 2 days then I had normal periods that were scheduled to be around 20 or 22august but I got them on 19-23august but now since 1sep again I have little bleeding continuing till now and sometimes it pains in my back n lower abdomentoo I had physical relations with my husband I maximum times used ipill rather than condom maybe thrice in a month what further should I do how can I get my normal period cycle back. After Marriage, before Missing Period getting pain similar to period and also pain in Nipple for first time whether this is a Symptom for Pregnancy or not? I had Follicular examination on 15th day at 12 pm and one follicle was 22 mm*17 mm. I had hcg injection at 5 pm same day. Again had an examination on 16th day at 1 pm. Follicle was ruptured. Than had iui at 5 pm. But it didn't worked and I got period on 31st day. My regular cycle is of 30 days. I already had laparoscopy which showed all ok in my reproductive system. Husband reports are also normal. Than why I am not getting pregnant? Hi doctor I am 25 years old I have a regular cycle. My cycle varies from 28, 29, 30 days my last period was on the 6th of April it was 29 days cycle. This month I was supposed to get my periods on the 5th but I did not get it and I was late for 9 days on the 10th day morning I started to bleed so purely but tat oly lasted for a sec then I started to get brown colour little bleeding like the 6th day. Been getting this from 14th till now I'm confused am I pregnant,? Or I have some serious trouble with my health? Dear Doctor, My girlfriend is 25 years old. We have been dating for the past 3 years now and are committed. She explained to me that from the time she first got her periods, they have been rather irregular. She would also develop certain skin conditions during her periods such as acne on her face or increase in oiliness as well as dryness of her lips. Her gynac after performing certain tests said that she releases several eggs at a time, rather than the usual one when she ovulates. Under his prescription she has been taking a course of Aristelle (Ethinyl Estradiol, Dienogest) ever since As I understand, this drug is a hormonal contraceptive. She has continued this course for the past several years now and has been doing well in terms of skin symptoms and regularity of her period. My question to you is, for how long do you think it would be safe to continue this course without causing any disturbance to her body. We are clear that we want to have sex only after marriage. Hence I would like to know if there would be anything to keep in mind when we do decide that we would like to conceive. I look forward to your kind help. With Gratitude I'm 24 weeks pregnant.. Had many medications hormonal and antibiotic during the first 4 to 8 weeks. Anomaly scan normal will my baby still have any defect. Hi My wife is 3. 5 month pregnant. We have started sex now after completion of 3 months. But we are confused & afraid about deep penetration that' s why we both can' t enjoy the same. Is it safe to penetrate as we did before pregnancy. Kindly advise.
Why do people/student torture animals- what drives them?
Can we analaysis and find solution: let try to stop this any more in our life As we all aware that two animals cruelty incidents happened in tamilnadu, one with the dog and another with an monkey. Case a, 12 yrs old kid hitting cat with broomstick, their parents brought for an counseling that he has not coutesy for animal and he was killing without any guilt. Case b, 23 yrs adult was burning a rat alive with kerosine and feeling happy to see that rat die with burn. And there are many cases which were not recorded and submitted for case discussion. What typically possesses them to inflict such acts of intentional animal torture and cruelty? These are because of psychological disorders (such as anti-social/psychopathic personality disorders and engage in deliberate acts of zoosadism), and/or because they have sexually paraphilic disorders (such as crush fetishism in which small animals are crushed for sexual pleasure). This may be common behaviour among murderers and rapists - those with psychopathic traits characterized by impulsivity, selfishness, and lack of remorse. Animal torture and cruelty is one of the three adolescent behaviours in what is often referred to the homicidal triad , the other two being persistent bedwetting and obsessive fire-setting. The combination of two or more of these three behaviours increases the risk of homicidal behaviour in adult life. The behaviours in the homicidal triad are often associated with parental abuse, parental brutality (and witnessing domestic violence), and/or parental neglect. What we can do: The best way to prevent it is teaching by example. Parents and teachers are the key and plays very important role. Pro-social behaviour (action/behaviours intended to help others) by parents and other role models towards animals, such as rescuing spiders in the bath, feeding birds/ants, treating pets as a member of the family, Schools and colleges can have some pet home in the campus. These activities or act has the potential to make a positive lasting impression on children. It's a start, lets all have at least one pet in the home make your son/ daughter to take care of them (pet therapy).
Regards:
Elayaraja m. Sc, m. Phil, pgdgc, pgdha Counseling psychologist, Kavithalyaa counseling centre, ambattur, chennai-53. 6 must-have foods during your first trimester The first trimester of pregnancy (i. E. The first three months) is a very crucial time as this the time when your baby grows at a faster rate than at any other stage. Eating right is what you should be doing during such a time in your life as your body can make use of the energy and nutrients to build the body of your baby as well as to keep you strong. During the first trimester of your pregnancy, you should be including these 6 foods in your diet to provide you and your child with all the vital nutrients. 1. Spinach: high in folic acid, also known as folate (a form of vitamin b), consumption of spinach during these first few months (as well as before pregnancy) is extremely vital. It can help in preventing the occurrence of neural tube defects or birth defects pertaining to your baby's brain and spine. 2. Citrus fruits: your first-trimester diet should also consist of an adequate amount of citrus fruits. High in vitamin c, you should have at least 1 citrus fruit every day. If you prefer to take these fruits in juice form, you should restrict it to only 1 cup a day. This is because juices are high in calories and low in fibre, and, therefore, do not deliver on the fibre component. 3. Nuts: during this period your protein requirements also increase and it is advised that you have about 60 gm or more of protein every day. Nuts such as walnuts, almonds, cashews and pistachios are known to have healthy amounts of fibre, fats and protein. A study conducted by the Harvard medical school suggests that eating nuts can help in preventing allergies in children. 4. Eggs: in addition to helping you meet your protein requirements, eggs can also be an excellent source of vitamin d and calcium. The last two elements are extremely vital for your baby as they help in developing its bones. 5. Beans: providing you with necessary protein and fibre as well as helping you to deal with constipation, beans are must-haves during this period. Eating this fibre-rich food will ensure your bowel is functioning properly, thereby reducing your likelihood of developing constipation and even haemorrhoids (swollen veins of the anal and rectal region). 6. Yoghurt: a good source of calcium, having a cup of yoghurt every day will provide your baby with the calcium that it needs to grow and that you need to keep your bones strong. More importantly, by doing so, it'll prevent your baby from drawing calcium from your bones, leading to a deterioration of your bone health. 'consult'. | 10,881 | 5,069 | 2.146577 |
warc | 201704 | Gaps Diet World Wide Support Group GAPS stands for Gut and Psychology Syndrome. All disease starts in the gut( Hippocrates ), and by healing the gut, you can heal yourself. ‘The primary seat of insanity is in the region of the stomach and the intestines’ Philippe Pinel (The father of modern psychiatry 1807) The GAPS diet is based on the work of Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, a neurologist and nutritional consultant from the UK, while trying to treat her sons’ autism. She discovered Elaine Gottschall /Dr Haas's SCD Diet ( Specific Carbohydrate Diet). The SCD diet is backed by 124 years of research and testing. Dr McBride took it a step further by describing the gut-brain connection in the book Gut and Psychology Syndrome.
Dr McBride claims that this nutritional protocol helped her son off the autism spectrum. If the gut isn't functioning properly then food is also not digesting and becomes toxic in the body leading to disease.
The gut also helps get rid of waste, when it’s not able to do its job, that waste can build up in the body causing a toxic environment. over 75 percent of our immune system is located in our intestinal tract , and if damaged would leaves us more prone to sickness and disease.
The Gaps diet is not easy to implement and will require a lot of will power, management and moral support. The Gaps Diet is a small but growing worldwide community. Its not difficult to understand but hard to implement and hence it is important to connect to other members who have gone through the process.
What can I eat on the on the gaps diet?
*If you suffer from a chronic illness you should always talk to your doctor before making any major dietary changes. You may get a lot worse (die-off) before you get better. If your system is very sensitive it is advisable to take any dietary change very slowly.
Group Purpose: Connect with other Gaps members who have done or doing the diet Create local support groups in your city or town and meetup for a drink. Provide list of where to get local\online produce.
Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAPS) Diet World Wide Support Group Needs a location Coming soon
Come to this meetup to learn more about GAPS and share your favorite recipes! Feel free to bring anything that's suitable for this diet with you!Please post your... Learn more
Needs a location Coming soon
Come to learn about living a healthy life by following a Macrobiotic diet! For more info check out http://www.kushiinstitute.org/html/what_is_macro.html Learn more
Recent Meetups
Feb 21, 2015 · 9:00 AM GAPS Diet Support Group
10 month course covering the full GAPS program presented by certified consultant.
Aug 7, 2013 · 3:00 PM Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride - Eating Psychology Conference 2013 - Free Online
Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride recently posted on her blog about afree virtual Eating Psychology Conference:http://www.doctor-natasha.com/eating-psychology-conference-... Learn more
Jun 19, 2012 · 6:45 PM [GAPS Meetup #6] The Intro GAPS Diet
In this Meetup, we'll talk about the GAPS INTRO diet in detail: which foods are allowed on each stage and the progression from stage to stage. We'll spend time... Learn more
May 15, 2012 · 6:45 PM [GAPS Meetup #5] The Full GAPS Diet
In this Meetup, we'll talk about the FULL GAPS diet in detail: which foods are allowed, which aren't, how to's, sample menus, etc. Like all discussions about food, this... Learn more
Apr 11, 2012 · 6:45 PM [GAPS Meetup #4] GAPS Healing Protocol
After learning much about WHY the GAPS healing protocol is so incredibly powerful, NOW we'll start talking in detail about the protocol itself.In this Meetup, we'll... Learn more
See all past Meetups | 3,725 | 1,807 | 2.061428 |
warc | 201704 | Inhaltsverzeichnis 1. Some Applications of Carbon-Functional Organosilicon Compounds.- 1.1 Introduction.- 1.2 The Production of Carbon-Functional Organosilicon Compounds.- 1.3 Uses as Derivatizing Agents for Natural Substances.- 1.4 Uses as Stationary Phases for Gas-Liquid Chromatography.- 1.5 Uses in Surface Treatment of Inorganic Materials.- 1.5.1 As Coupling Agents for Inorganic Fillers of Polymers.- 1.5.2 For Immobilization of Peptides and Proteins on Solid Carriers.- 1.5.3 For Immobilization of Metal Complex Catalysts.- 1.6 References.- 2. Intramolecular Interaction in The Chemical Behavior of Carbon-Functional Organosilicon Compounds.- 2.1 Introduction.- 2.2 Substituent Effects of Silyl Groups in Organic Reactions.- 2.2.1 Reactions of Organometallic Compounds.- 2.2.2 Reactions of Alkenes.- 2.2.3 Reactions of Aromatic Compounds.- 2.2.4 Reactions of Compounds with Keto, Carboxyl, and Carbalkoxyl Groups.- 2.2.5 Reactions of Amines.- 2.2.6 Reactions of Alcohols, and Their Esters, Acetais, and Ethers.- 2.2.7 Reactions of Thiols and Sulfides.- 2.2.8 Reactions of Alkyl Halides.- 2.3 Reactions with Pathway Dominated by Through-Space Interaction Between Silicon and A Functional Group.- 2.3.1 Reactions Involving 1,2-Interaction.- 2.3.2 Reactions Involving 1,3-Interaction.- 2.3.3 Reactions Involving 1,4-Interaction.- 2.3.4 Reactions Involving 1,5- or 1,6-Interaction.- 2.4 References.- 3. NMR Spectroscopy in The Investigation and Analysis of Carbon-Functional Organosilicon Compounds.- 3.1 Introduction.- 3.2 29Si NMR Spectroscopy.- 3.2.1 Experimental Aspects.- 3.2.2 29Si Chemical Shifts - Basic Facts.- 3.2.3 29Si Shielding Theory and Model.- 3.2.4 29Si Spin-Spin Coupling Constants.- 3.3 Aliphatic Carbon-Functional Compounds.- 3.3.1 1H NMR Spectroscopy.- 3.3.2 13C NMR Spectroscopy.- 3.3.3 29Si NMR Spectroscopy.- 3.3.4 Typical Results.- 3.4 Aromatic Carbon-Functional Compounds.- 3.4.1 NMR Spectroscopy of Functional Groups.- 3.4.2 NMR Spectroscopy of Silyl Groups SiX1X2X3.- 3.4.3 NMR Spectroscopy of the Connecting Chain.- 3.5 Conclusions.- 3.6 References.- 4. Theoretical Aspects of Bonding in Organosilicon Chemistry.- 4.1 Introduction.- 4.2 Valence Shell Expansion from The Point of View of Quantum Theory.- 4.2.1 The Concept of Orbitals.- 4.2.2 Classification of Atomic Orbitals.- 4.2.3 Transformation Properties of d Orbitals.- 4.2.4 d Orbitals and Hybridization.- 4.2.5 Other Factors Influencing the Utilization of d Orbitals in Bonding.- 4.2.6 The Variational Principle and d Orbital Participation.- 4.3 Hyperconjugation.- 4.3.1 General Introduction.- 4.3.2 Hyperconjugation in Organosilicon Chemistry.- 4.3.3 Theoretical Aspects of Hyperconjugation.- 4.3.4 Hyperconjugation and the Accuracy of a Localized Description of Bonding.- 4.4 Electronegativity.- 4.5 Electronic Effects of Silyl Substituents and The Possibilities of Their Characterization.- 4.5.1 Linear Free Energy Relationships.- 4.5.2 Fourier Component Analysis of Internal Rotation.- 4.5.3 The ?-Effect and Acid-Base Properties.- 4.6 The Chemistry of Silicenium Ions and Silyl Anions.- 4.6.1 Silicenium Ions.- 4.6.2 Silyl Anions.- 4.7 Common Aspects of Chemical Reactivity of Carbon-Functional Organosilicon Compounds.- 4.8 The Chemistry of Multiple Bonded Silicon.- 4.9 Conclusions.- 4.10 Acknowledgment.- 4.11 References. Klappentext The term "carbon-functional organosilicon compound" is used for organosilicon compounds in which a functional group is bonded to an organic moiety that is in turn con nected to silicon via a Si-C bond. Thus, only Si-Cn-Y com pounds (Y designates a functional group) will be discussed in this book 1 Si-O-Cn-Y compounds will in general not be considered, although the latter group does include a large number of natural substances containing silylated hydroxyl groups. (Because of the differing importance of various Y groups, the reader will find some deviation from this restriction). Finally, compounds containing a silyl group as the functional group are not considered. An overview of the field of organosilicon chemistry would show that in the last several decades the commercial synthesis of organosilicon products has increased substan tially, both in annual production and also in the increasing variety of compounds produced. This increase in the number of commercially available carbon-functional monomers and polymers (silicone polymers) is most remarkable and is occurring because new applications are continually being found for these compounds. As might be expected, the number of publications in this field is also increasing. The important position of silicon in the periodic table - between carbon, aluminum, and phosphorus - means that an understanding of the nature of the bonds in organosilicon compounds is quite important in order to understand the bonding in these other areas. Springer Book Archives | 4,859 | 2,026 | 2.398322 |
warc | 201704 | This comprehensive course will give you the fundamental knowledge needed to begin performing cataract surgery by phacoemulsification and extracapsular removal. Each step from preoperative evaluation to postoperative care will be covered to help prepare you for the operating room.
Cataracts remain the leading cause of visual impairment and blindness worldwide. The development of this course was an effort to make learning to perform cataract surgery more accessible to trainees in the US and worldwide. The course teaches the fundamentals required to perform successful phacoemulsification and extracapsular cataract surgery. Expert cataract surgeons will lecture on each step of cataract surgery from preoperative assessment to postoperative care. Lectures will explain the “how-to,” pitfalls, and successful execution of each part of cataract surgery. Surgical video is included to demonstrate optimal performance of various steps. More advanced topics such as small pupil, astigmatism, and capsular complications are also reviewed. Since most cataract surgeries are done with the patient awake, it is imperative that the surgeon gains as much knowledge as possible prior to entering the operating room.
Course Objectives:
1. Describe proper technique for performing cataract surgery, from wound construction to wound closure
2. Evaluate a patient with cataracts in preparation for surgery and determine the appropriate anesthetic to use
3. Know how to identify potentially difficult cataracts and list appropriate strategies for complicated cataract surgery
4. Understand intraocular lens calculations, forumlas, and selection
Syllabus
WEEK 1
Unit 1: Prior to the Operating Room
This unit describes what needs to take place prior to getting the patient to the operating room. Although this unit may seem trivial, knowing when to make the decision to do surgery, having a good informed consent discussion, selecting an intraocular lens and anesthetic type are critical to a successful surgery and happy patient.
Graded: PRE-TEST
Graded: Unit 1 Content Quiz
WEEK 2
Unit 2: In the Operating Room and Getting to the Cataract
This unit begins in the operating room after the patient is prepped and draped. It covers each step needed for you to access the lens. Once you begin operating, you will realize that each step of surgery has a domino effect. If the beginning steps are not done skillfully, it will make the rest of the case more difficult. Graded: Unit 2 Content Quiz
WEEK 3
Unit 3: Removing the Cataract and Intraocular Lens Placement
This unit is where all the fun begins. The lectures cover lens and cortex removal. We also discuss intraocular lenses and their insertion into the eye. While lens removal is the most critical step of surgery, it is also where the most serious complications occur, so pay attention!
Graded: Unit 3 Content Quiz
WEEK 4
Unit 4: Cataract Complications and Extras
This unit covers some additional tools and strategies you will need to manage complications and difficult cataracts. Just like every person isn’t the same, neither is every cataract. Fortunately, we have many tips and tricks that will help you succeed no matter what type of cataract you tackle.
Across the world more than 420 million people are living with diabetes. Two thirds of these have not yet been diagnosed. When discovered late or managed incorrectly, diabetes can damage your heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidneys, and nerves, leading to disability and premature death. In fact, more people are dying of diabetes related diseases than of diseases as HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. This course will provide you with an introduction to the most recent research in the field of prevention and treatment of diabetes as well as a broader understanding of the situation in different communities, rich and poor, across the world, where diabetes threatens public health.
Understand new and established genomic sequencing technologies, and how to apply them in clinical practice. Powerful new technologies have been driving forward immense and exciting changes in clinical practice.
This course provides those involved in educating members of the health professions an asynchronous, interdisciplinary, and interactive way to obtain, expand, and improve their teaching skills. These skills can then be applied within their own professional context, with a variety of learners, extending across many stages.
Explore new and better ways of organising health and social care services, to improve quality, with this free online course. Why is quality improvement in health and social care systems so difficult? Why is it so challenging to bring in new and better ways of organising health and social care services?
Learn how whole genome sequencing works and what it could mean for the future of healthcare with this free online course. Whole genome sequencing is a relatively new technology that allows us to ‘read’ a person’s or organism’s entire genetic code. But how does it work and what does it mean for all of us? How do scientists begin to make sense of the vast amount of information that whole genome sequencing provides? And what does this new technology mean for the future of healthcare and personalised medicine?
This MOOC is aimed at anyone wishing to understand the basics of population health. It provides a general introduction to some of the key themes, topics and discussion relevant to population health across the world. Primarily aimed for the general public, the course will also help those already working in health and social care who wish to improve their knowledge and understanding on this topic.
Obesity is a global epidemic. As the world gets fatter, we begin to see its impact across many aspects of day-to-day life. Obesity is changing the world we live in. Across a wide range of sectors, from the food industry to clothing design we can see the impact of the world’s growing waistline. Perhaps the biggest impact of all is on our physical and psychological health and the effect on the organisations and institutions that support these.
Welcome to the exciting world of Healthcare Delivery Providers! This second course in the Healthcare Marketplace Specialization will help you understand the various providers of healthcare across the U.S. delivery continuum. We will explore the unique value proposition of the various providers- from hospitals and clinics to physicians to community based providers. We will dissect this important value chain using various lenses such as- site of care delivery, people who provide the care and payers who pay for care. You will also learn about the challenges facing these providers and the innovations they are creating in order to help transform this important industry.
The rights and responsibilities e-learning module is a web based educational tool designed to provide health care workers with an in depth explanation of their rights and responsibilities during armed conflicts and other emergencies. Developed by the International Committee of the Red Cross, it includes 7 chapters addressing specific issues or themes which health-care workers may face during crises in order to prepare them to respond effectively and ensure that they can provide the necessary care to their patients. | 7,352 | 3,192 | 2.303258 |
warc | 201704 | Abstract
This paper explores the behavior of real commodity prices over a 50–year period. Attention is given to how the fundamentals for various commodity prices have changed with a special emphasis on behavior since the mid 2000s. To identify changing commodity price fundamentals we estimate shifting–mean autoregressions by using: the Bai and Perron (1998) procedure for estimating structural breaks; a SlowShift procedure that specifies intercepts to be nonlinear, potentially smooth functions of time; and low frequency Fourier functions. We find that the pattern in the timing of the various shifts is suggestive of the causal fundamentals underlying the recent boom. | 686 | 407 | 1.685504 |
warc | 201704 | Abstract
Alternative specifications of models of the supply response of Australian wheat growers and their economic implications are considered in terms of the existence and nature of production lags, and the choice between expected prices and expected gross returns as the preferred explanator of producers' response to changing economic conditions. The analysis indicates that there are lags which are due primarily to the difficulties and costs of rapid adjustment rather than to the time required to revise expectations. The statistical results were similar for the alternative specifications of gross margins and prices as the economic decision variables. However, the price elasticities derived using the gross margins specification were about a third of those using the prices specification. The gross margins specification yielded additional information in the form of yield and input cost elasticities. | 914 | 463 | 1.974082 |
warc | 201704 | Abstract
A class of composite estimators of small area quantities that exploit spatial (distancerelated) similarity is derived. It is based on a distribution-free model for the areas, but the estimators are aimed to have optimal design-based properties. Composition is applied also to estimate some of the global parameters on which the small area estimators depend. It is shown that the commonly adopted assumption of random effects is not necessary for exploiting the similarity of the districts (borrowing strength across the districts). The methods are applied in the estimation of the mean household sizes and the proportions of single-member households in the counties (comarcas) of Catalonia. The simplest version of the estimators is more efficient than the established alternatives, even though the extent of spatial similarity is quite modest. | 856 | 469 | 1.82516 |
warc | 201704 | Abstract
What has been analysed in France mainly under the term "précarité de l'emploi" over the past 30 years was mostly dealt with differently in other countries (atypical, non-standard employment). Research on these issues dates back to the 1970s in sociology and institutional economics. More recently some political scientists have endeavoured to link up the labour market theme with developments in systems of social protection and they are talking about "dualism" and "dualization". Despite the constant intellectual investment put into the topic, it is striking that indicators for comparative measurement of the phenomenon have remained rather unsophisticated, as the basic opposition between what Eurostat names "temporary contracts" and "open-ended contracts". On the other hand, because of the spreading of the effects of work and employment flexibilisation into new countries, new categories are appearing since the early 2000s (Prekariat, vulnerable workers, and even "precarity"). | 1,020 | 609 | 1.674877 |
warc | 201704 | Abstract
This paper analyzes the speech act of apologizing from the point of view of the conceptual tools provided by Cognitive Linguistics. Speech acts have not received a lot of attention in this approach to language. Notable exceptions are Panther & Thornburg (1998), Pérez (1997, 2001), Sweetser (2000), and Pérez & Ruiz de Mendoza (2002). While Sweetser¿s study focuses on the performative value of metaphor, the studies carried out by Panther & Thornburg, on the one hand, and Pérez & Ruiz de Mendoza, on the other, share a commitment with reinterpreting traditional speech act theory in terms of cognitive modeling. Thus, Panther & Thornburg (1998) claim that illocutionary force is a form of inferential activity grounded in metonymy. Pérez & Ruiz de Mendoza (2002), in turn, have developed a more sophisticated theory according to which the illocutionary value of an utterance is a function of a number of cognitive models which interact in different but predictable ways. Pérez & Ruiz de Mendoza have thus analyzed the interpretation of directive speech acts as a combination of metaphorical and metonymic operations performed on propositional cognitive models of interpersonal nature, in connection to pre-conceptual sensorimotor and spatial representations, such as the FORCE image-schema. Here we extend Pérez & Ruiz de Mendoza¿s account to the domain of expressive speech acts with an especial focus on apologies. We show that expressive speech acts are also sensitive to an analysis based on interpersonal cognitive models and image-schematic representations. In order to do so, we outline the essentials of an illocutionary scenario for apologies and explore the way it is exploited by means of other cognitive operations, especially metonymy. We additionally show that Pérez & Ruiz de Mendoza¿s cost-benefit idealized cognitive model, which these authors have postulated for directive and commissive speech acts, also lies at the base of our understanding of expressive categories. | 2,051 | 945 | 2.17037 |
warc | 201704 | Recent claims for continent wide disappearance of megafauna at 46.5 thousand calendar years ago (ka) in Australia have been used to support a "blitzkrieg" model, which explains extinctions as the result of rapid overkill by human colonizers. A number of key sites with megafauna remains that significantly postdate 46.5 ka have been excluded from consideration because of questions regarding their stratigraphic integrity. Of these sites, Cuddie Springs is the only locality in Australia where megafauna and cultural remains are found together in sequential stratigraphic horizons, dated from 36-30 ka. Verifying the stratigraphic associations found here would effectively refute the rapid-overkill model and necessitate reconsideration of the regional impacts of global climatic change on megafauna and humans in the lead up to the last glacial maximum. Here, we present geochemical evidence that demonstrates the coexistence of humans and now-extinct megafaunal species on the Australian continent for a minimum of 15 ka. | 1,027 | 572 | 1.795455 |
warc | 201704 | The frequency of conjugative transfer of antimicrobial resistance plasmids between bacteria within the gastrointestinal tract of lesser mealworm larvae, a prevalent pest in poultry production facilities, was determined. Lesser mealworm larvae were exposed to a negative bacterial control, a donor Salmonella enterica serotype Newport strain, a recipient Escherichia coli, or both donor and recipient to examine horizontal gene transfer of plasmids. Horizontal gene transfer was validated post external disinfection, via a combination of selective culturing, testing of indole production by spot test, characterization of incompatibility plasmids by polymerase chain reaction, and profiling antibiotic susceptibility by a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) assay. Transconjugants were produced in all larvae exposed to both donor and recipient bacteria at frequencies comparable to control in vitro filter mating conjugation studies run concurrently. Transconjugants displayed resistance to seven antibiotics in our MIC panel and, when characterized for incompatibility plasmids, were positive for the N replicon and negative for the A/C replicon. The transconjugants did not display resistance to expanded-spectrum cephalosporins, which were associated with the A/C plasmid. This study demonstrates that lesser mealworm larvae, which infest poultry litter, are capable of supporting the horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistance genes and that this exchange can occur within their gastrointestinal tract and between different species of bacteria under laboratory conditions. This information is essential to science-based risk assessments of industrial antibiotic usage and its impact on animal and human health. | 1,721 | 834 | 2.063549 |
warc | 201704 | Chicago, September 9, 2014 —Men and women think differently as author John Gray famously points out in his best-seller, “
Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus,” and this difference extends to how they grocery shop, finds a new report by The NPD Group, a leading global information company. Insights from the NPD report show that 41 percent of males say that they do all or almost all of the grocery shopping in their household, which represents more than 40 million households. Sixteen percent of those households have only one person.
When examining the foods and beverages in homes in which the male is the primary grocery shopper, convenience plays a greater role than those homes in which women are the primary shopper, according to NPD’s
report. Prepared foods are purchased more often by male primary grocery shoppers, affording them the opportunity to acquire foods that require little to no effort. Male grocery shoppers are also less interested in the consumption of better-for-you foods or avoidance of certain foods than are women grocery shoppers. The New Grocery Shopper
“Food makers, who are reaching male grocery shoppers with packaging and marketing, need to keep in mind that it’s not just younger males shopping, it’s also men over 55 who have different needs and motivations,” says Darren Seifer, NPD food and beverage industry analyst. “A deeper understanding of each male shopper age group is necessary for companies that want their messages and products to appeal to men.”
Gender also comes into play in the use of grocery lists. Around 8 out of 10 people use a grocery list when shopping at least some of the time, but the degree to which males and females use a list varies. Females rely more heavily on their lists than males and use paper lists more. However, both genders use electronic lists on a phone or tablet equally, particularly those shoppers 18-34 year-olds, according to the report.
“Just as there are slow shifts in consumption behaviors over time, so are there slow shifts in who does the grocery shopping,” says Seifer. “While men make up more than their fair share of people who say grocery shopping is a chore, the fact remains that they’re doing it more often, which means that different dynamics are coming into play.”If you have any questions about this article, contact us.
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Complete this form to hear from NPD. | 2,455 | 1,220 | 2.012295 |
warc | 201704 | Stuart Pertz (1936-2015) was a long time friend of many members of the PPS team over the years as he helped shaped the discussion around place and Placemaking. In his long and celebrated career, he served on the NYC City Planning Commission, was a partner in HLW when it was one of the world’s largest architecture firms, and was a civic leader and Professor of Architecture and Planning at Pratt Institute. More recently, he was working with David Burney, and our own Meg Walker, on preparations for the newly established Urban Placemaking and Management program in Pratt’s Graduate Program in Planning – the first of its kind and truly a seminal achievement for him and the school.
John Shapiro, chair of Pratt’s Graduate Center for Planning and the Environment and co-creator of the Placemaking program at Pratt, had this so say about Stuart and his approach to Placemaking: “Stu was particularly inspired about the role that Placemaking could play in mitigating the impact of the world-wide refugee crisis by creating a sense of place and fostering community in what are otherwise landscapes of housing barren of all civic life; and closer to home, for the merging of the arts (including performance) with Placemaking.”
You can read more about Stuart’s legacy here. You can also listen to Stuart talking about Placemaking in his own thoughtful, engaging, and passionate voice in an interview with PPS from 2013:
Perspectives
“Imagine an architectural office with someone who really understands how to manage a place, really understands what event-making means to a space adjacent to a building. That kind of sensitivity can change architecture significantly, and it would ultimately change it from the inside.”
“Instead of looking at the big picture and finding out where the roads should go, how the topography requires basic disposition of land uses, or how activities require land use separation, we think first about who the people are, and what they need at the local level.”
“My view is that Placemaking is much broader than the main street and the plaza and the marketplace and the waterfront. I think we need to begin to think about places as humble as hospital emergency rooms and waiting rooms, and the need for Placemaking in refugee camps and favelas… communal needs for spaces at every scale of building and urbanization. ”
Quotable
“We need to see Place as an essential support for a healthy society and not an architectural leftover.” | 2,543 | 1,289 | 1.972847 |
warc | 201704 | There are over 120 U.S. medical schools that award the MD to graduates. These schools train students in allopathic medicine.
(A smaller number of schools train students in osteopathic medicine and award the DO to graduates). Allopathic schools train tomorrow's MDs with the same rigorous core curriculum. Beyond that core, no two schools are exactly alike. Each offers its own unique academic focus, teaching methods, and research opportunities.
The first two years of medical school are a mixture of classroom and lab time. You’ll take classes in the sciences, such as anatomy, biochemistry, microbiology, pathology and pharmacology. You’ll also learn the basics of interviewing and examining a patient.
Traditionally, students take four or five courses in various disciplines at the same time. However, some schools focus on a single subject for a shorter block of time—say, three or four weeks—then move on to another. Other schools take an interdisciplinary approach to pre-clinical coursework, in which each class focuses on a single organ, examining all the anatomy, pharmacology, pathology, and behavior relevant to that system.
In their third and fourth years, you’ll do rotations at hospitals and clinics affiliated with their school. On rotations, you’ll assist residents in a particular specialty such as surgery, pediatrics, internal medicine, or psychiatry. During this time, you'll probably feel like a cross between a mindless grunt and a skilled apprentice. You'll interact with patients and perform basic medical procedures along with any tasks the resident doesn't want to do.
While some rotations, such as Internal Medicine, are required at all programs, others have more unique clerkship requirements. The length of time you spend in a rotation depends on the hospital's focus or strength. At some schools, the surgery rotation is three weeks long; at others, it is three months. The character of the hospital will also color your experience. If the setting is urban, you can expect increased experience with trauma, emergency medicine, or infectious disease, as well as exposure to a diverse patient population.
Clinical rotations will not give you enough expertise to practice in any specialty (that's what a residency is for). They will give you a breadth of knowledge and help you consider potential career paths.
You can train to be a primary care doctor at any medical school. Programs that emphasize primary care tend to include more patient contact, coursework in patient handling, and longer clinical rotations in general fields. Many are actively involved in the surrounding communities, offering volunteer opportunities in the clinical care of indigent populations.
If you're looking to pursue a career in academic medicine or biomedical research, you should look for schools with strong research programs. These schools offer more same opportunities, facilities, mentors, and funding than schools focused on training primary care physicians.
If you want to complement your MD with advanced coursework in another discipline, some schools—especially those affiliated with a larger university—allow students to register for classes in other departments. Many also offer combined degree programs .
Med students who make it through all four years (and don't worry, most do) will be the proud owner of an MD But your education doesn't end there. You still need to pass the board exam and spend between three and seven years as a resident in a teaching hospital. | 3,539 | 1,662 | 2.129362 |
warc | 201704 | BARCELONA – Catalonia’s upcoming parliamentary election could turn Spain’s wealthy northeastern region into the European Union’s first secessionist state. But, as the possibility that separatists will win a majority of seats becomes more likely, opponents of secession are becoming more vocal. Ordinary Catalans have begun to realize that it is they who would foot the bill for independence, while any benefits would accrue to an increasingly powerful intellectual elite.
Catalonia’s radicalization seems puzzling. In 1978, an overwhelming 90.5% of Catalans (three points higher than the national average) voted in favor of the Spanish constitution, which grants individual regions self-rule over major areas such as police, education, health, and broadcasting. Over the last 37 years, Catalonia has enjoyed unprecedented economic prosperity. Why are the Catalans now willing to break with Spain and risk it all?
Most analysts believe that separatism stems from economic factors. Wealthy Catalans, who are reluctant to subsidize poorer Spanish regions, have allied themselves with left-wing radicals espousing the nationalistic populism that economic crisis and malaise have fueled on the EU’s periphery.
Catalonia’s separatists claim that a small, open state within the EU and NATO is not only viable, but also optimal in terms of economic performance and social cohesion. But transition costs would be immense, and there are serious doubts about whether such a country could remain in the EU, or even re-enter it in the short term, if it had just seceded unilaterally from another EU member state. | 1,639 | 910 | 1.801099 |
warc | 201704 | 1. Right plant, right place
Working in harmony with your garden is always best. Plants grown where they’re happiest need little attention and both flower and fruit better.
Spend time noting the characteristics of beds and borders: are they sunny or shady? Wet or dry? Sheltered or exposed? Chances are you’ll find different growing conditions in different parts of the garden. Look carefully, and then choose appropriate plants to match each one.
2. Plan ahead
All good gardeners make their mistakes on paper, not on the ground, saving both time and money in the process. Use graph paper and draw on the outline of the area to be planted, preferably to scale (1cm on paper to 50cm on the ground –1:50 scale – is ideal for all but the most complicated schemes). Then, considering the scale you’ve selected, play with different arrangements until you find one that works. Plot plants with their mature size in mind to be sure they’ll fit.
3. Research and find inspiration
Find combinations you like in books and magazines, and if growing conditions are the same as those in your garden, copy them. Neighbouring gardens and labelled displays at nurseries and garden centres are also useful for ideas.
4. Consider maintenance carefully
How much time do you have? For young families and those at work all day, winter and summer bedding, rose bushes, fruit, vegetables and floppy perennials are too time-consuming.
Instead, favour shrubs, tidy conifers, ornamental grasses and tough-but-colourful mat-forming perennials such as
Stachys Byzantina ‘Silver Carpet’. All need little attention once established and suffer few pests or diseases. 5. Choose a garden style
Picking a theme brings clarity and focus to the design process. Personal taste and how you plan to use the garden have an influence, but the space itself can offer clues as to what works best. For example, a sunny free-draining slope is perfect for an informal Mediterranean-inspired gravel garden. Visually, it won’t look out of place either.
6. Keep it simple
Hold yourself back from including every plant on your shortlist, as the planting will look chaotic and unplanned. Aim to create a sense of harmony and unity by choosing a colour palette or theme early on.
7. Repeat, repeat and repeat
Repetition is the easiest way to unify a planting scheme. It’s also the one thing that marks out a ‘designed’ border from one that happens by accident. Perhaps use the same hedging throughout or repeat evergreen perennials or ornamental grasses in drifts at the front of beds and borders (where repetition is most obvious).
Planting beds surround this raised water feature with rendered walls designed by Ann Marie Powell and built by Garden House Design. The colourful planting is designed to develop and mature to soften the harder lines 8. Variety and contrast
While harmony is important, so too is diversity. Plants with distinctive colours and dramatic shapes, such as spiky palms and pencil junipers, make great focal points. But a little goes a long way, so use sparingly or the planting will look over-stimulating. With standard-sized borders (1.5-2m wide) one focal point plant every four to six metres should be enough.
9. Layers of interest
The easiest and most visually effective way to arrange plants is in layers, with borders backed by walls or fences, tall shrubs, bamboo and lofty grasses first. Place roses, smaller shrubs, mid-sized perennials and ornamental grasses in the middle. Feature shorter shrubs, mounding perennials and ankle-high ground-cover plants in front.
However, try to avoid arranging everything like a series of steps. On occasion sweep low plantings towards the back, and taller ones to the front, to create depth and interest.
10. Make big borders
Thin strips under 50cm wide will only allow for a low hedge, a wall shrub, or a line of tidy perennials arranged uncomfortably like soldiers on parade. Beds and borders in excess of two metres, however, can accommodate multi-layered mixed plantings with shrubs, roses and more natural drifts of perennials and grasses.
Some designs, naturalistic ‘prairie-like’ plantings in particular, need lots of space for the effect to be appreciated. In small gardens this might mean sacrificing lawn space.
11. Mix it up
In urban and suburban gardens, continuity of interest is important. The mixed border is best, as you can call on every plant group – trees, shrubs, roses, perennials, and bulbs – for interest, with each group sparkling at different times of the year.
12. Don’t forget autumn and winter
Plants with fiery autumn leaves, stunning seed heads, colourful fruits and berries, brilliant bark or evergreen leaves prolong seasonal interest and help to lift the spirits on drab days.
13. Consider the colour wheel
Colour is a personal preference, but if you want to be more precise about it and create memorable plantings like the professionals, choose a classic combination, taking into account the colour wheel. Colours opposite each other complement through dramatic contrast. Those adjacent are harmonious and the easiest way to combine colour over a large area.
You could pick the shades, tints and tones of one colour only for a sophisticated monochromatic look. Or alternatively, choose an exciting triadic combination using three colours from the wheel, each spaced equidistantly apart. A multicoloured scheme is also a possibility, but isn’t that easy to pull off successfully.
Choosing a theme can help to clarify the design process. This relaxed Mediterranean-style stone and gravel garden features simple planting in borders with pots to complement the scheme. The natural sandstone paving in Autumn Green is available as a 15.3m² patio pack or in five single sizes, from £22 per m², Bradstone 14. Focus on form
The shape of plants is just as important as flower colour and because it’s around for much longer (with woody plants, all year round), shape helps to structure the planting. The colour and texture will then supply the finish.
15. Intermingle bulbs
Brilliant for seasonal interest in spring, summer and autumn, most bulbs cope with competition so can be planted to grow through frothy perennials, giving you two colour bursts from the same place – ideal where space is tight. Only large-flowered tulips need replacing each year.
16. Select your shrubs
Offering year-round interest for little effort, shrubs bring all-important ‘body’ to your borders, too. As a guide, most mixed plantings should contain at least 40 per cent, spaced evenly throughout the display, from the back right down to the front.
Evergreens with good form and shapely leaves should be first choice, especially in small spaces. Consider size at maturity and vigour carefully, though, as some shrubs can grow to monstrous proportions.
17. Leave no soil
Plant plenty of ground-cover perennials and mat-forming shrubs to smother the soil and keep down weeds. But, don’t cram plants in cheek-by-jowl for an instant effect. Observe the correct spacing (your garden centre or nursery will help here), or be prepared to undertake some judicious pruning in a few years’ time.
18. The more the merrier
Never place each plant as a solitary specimen. This results in a bitty-looking display. Instead, plant in groups proportionate to the size of space.
In small gardens/borders, shrubs and roses planted in groups of three is common, unless they’re larger specimens, where one by itself is fine. For perennials and grasses, plant in groups of three to 12 plants, depending on the importance of the plant and how distinctive it is; some plants – particularly pastel-coloured single-stemmed perennials, for example – are invisible by themselves.
19. Think vertical
Height is important for interest, contrast and to pull the eye skyward. Fastigiate (pencil-like) shrubs and climbers trained on wigwams are ideal. Take full advantage of walls and fences, too, perhaps combining tidy non-invasive climbers that flower at different times to prolong the season of interest. Roses and large-flowered summer clematis is a classic combination.
20. Follow a scent
Scented plants enliven any garden, so try to include them when possible. There are so many different ones to choose from, but how powerful the perfume is will determine where they work best.
‘Free scents’, such as from Dutch honeysuckle and white jasmine, perfume the air for yards and are generous, sometimes to a fault. ‘Up close and personal’ scents, such as from roses, witch hazel and Daphne, are more subtle, so position near areas you use the most. ‘Touchy-feely’ scents, such as from thyme, are released only when the plant’s leaves are picked; position in patio pots or next to paths, within easy reach. | 8,926 | 4,123 | 2.164928 |
warc | 201704 | Is there an increased risk or association of respiratory infections & or pneumonia, 4+ years after having silicone implants for reconstructive breast surgery for cancer? I'm a volunteer RN, BSN, MS counseling cancer survivors & have a a patient who has had @ least 1 occurrences of pseudamonis respiratory infection & 3 occurrences of pneumonia. All were either treated w/a Z pack or levaquin, or cipro.
Is There an Increased Risk of Pneumonia W/silicone Implants W/reconstructive Breast Surger Doctor Answers 4 Breast Reconstruction, San Diego
The short answer is NO, there is no cause and effect relationship between breast reconstruction with silicone implants and pulmonary infection. Breast implants have been associated with biofilms adjacent to the devices, and these biofilms have been implicated in the development of capsular contracture. Regarding a relationship between silicone gel implants and autoimmune disorders, none has been proven, despite many thorough investigations into this possibility.
Breast implant and pneumonia?
There is no association between having breast implants and developing pulmonary or respiratory issues.
Breast implant
THERE IS NOASSOCIATION BETWEEN BREAST IMPLANT AND PNEUMONIA
Look for other causes for repeated pneumonias, smooking, chemotherapy, chronic lung diseases.
Have her evaluated by a PULMONOLOGIST
You might also like... Pneumonia risk is not greater with silicone implants
These answers are for educational purposes and should not be relied upon as a substitute for medical advice you may receive from your physician. If you have a medical emergency, please call 911. These answers do not constitute or initiate a patient/doctor relationship. | 1,709 | 891 | 1.91807 |
warc | 201704 | I'm not happy with the size of my breasts, but terrified of surgeries. My concern is that I will have to have follow up surgeries every 5-10 years... complications... risks.... I'm 32 and have 2 children. Very tempted but scared.
What Are the Chances of Follow Up Surgeries After Breast Implants? Doctor Answers 10 Ok to be "a bit" "scared"
Dear Katushka. Just like any operation, there can be both short and long term complications and sequelae involved in breast augmentation. The most common short term complication is bleeding, also known as a hematoma. Long term complications can include breast implant leak, capsular contracture (scar tissue around the implant), and implant malposition. If you still have any reservations after consulting with a reputable board certified plastic surgeon, please wait until you are completely comfortable with your decision. I always tell my patients that being a "little bit nervous" before undergoing cosmetic surgery is completely normal. It is, after all, "elective". Good Luck
Will I Need Future Surgeries After Breast Augmentation?
Statistics show that most patients who undergo a Breast Augmentation procedure will have another surgery in their lifetime. Like any man made device, breast implants are not guaranteed to last a lifetime and may, conservatively, have a lifespan of anywhere around 10-20 years. If everything is going well, you are happy with your size and you are having no problems with your implants, I advise my patients to start considering another surgery at around the 10 year mark. You may not need one but it's good to start preparing. If you have concerns prior to the 10 year mark, see your surgeon for an exam to rule out any complications that may have occurred. If you are under the muscle, your second surgery is usually much easier than your first. Best of luck!
More surgeries after breast implants?
Breast implants are man-made devices. And like many man-made devices, they most likely will not last you your entire lifetime (think about your car, your cell phone, etc). There is no good way to predict how long an implant will last and who will require more surgeries related to those implants. Some women may need surgery for implant-related problems like implant rupture, infection, or capsular contracture; others may need surgery because they want to be a different size or their bodies have changed.
I would definitely encourage you to speak with a board-certified plastic surgeon to discuss your options as well as the risks associated with surgery. Good luck!
You might also like... Will I Need Operations in the Future if I Have Breast Implants?
Dear Katushka,
Breast implants can last a lifetime, but you should be prepared to potentially need revision operations in the future. Haematoma and infection could require reoperation in the short-term, while in the longer term, probably the most common reason for revision surgery is problems with the implant such as rupture and capsular contracture.
Rupture is not particularly common but capsular contracture may occur. Capsular contracture is when the implant becomes hard and uncomfortable. It usually takes years to develop and is caused by scar tissue (the capsule) tightening around the implant over time. You could choose implants with a polyurethane foam coating, which have a very low rate of capsular contracture, although you will need to discuss this with your plastic surgeon as they are not widely used in this country (assuming you are based in the UK). The equivalent of a board certified plastic surgeon in the UK, is one with the FRCS(Plast) qualification. You can find a list of surgeons in your area on the BAPRAS and BAAPS websites.
Breast augmentation and further surgery
The average patient will need at least one more operation in their lifetime. That is according to the statistics. However, some may never have further surgery, and siome may need more than one. It is difficult to predict.
What Are the Chances of Follow Up Surgeries After Breast Implants?
I am looking at the Allergan A95 study that the manufacturers did following the implant "scare"in the 1990's, and recall that both manufacturers had similar data. The 7 year re-operation rate in the study was 30%. Some of these were for what I would call complications, but others were size change, switch to silicone, breast lift done later for changes that occurred later, and other causes. As I look over the data, probably slightly over half of the operations were for complications, the rest either elective changes or things that would have happened independent of implants.
I have patients who request a size change within a year of surgery. I have patients with the same implants for 25 years who come back for a tummy tuck.
There are risks, there are benefits, and the trick is to assure that the benefits outweigh the risks. The best approach is to set up a consultation with a plastic surgeon to review your options.When you are ready for an in person consultation, RealSelf has listings of surgeons in your area. You should consider cross referencing the listings from the The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (plasticsurgery dot org). A listing in the ASPS website assures you that your surgeon is not only board certified, but also is a member in good standing of the major plastic surgery organization in the U. S. Thank you for your question, best wishes.
Followup Surgeries after Breast Implants
Breast augmentation does not by necessity warrant continued operations every 5 years. However, implants can rupture, and women can get capsular contracture. Some women may want a lift later. All of these things may account for additional operations, and you should be aware of these. Please find the
board certified plastic surgeon with elite credentials for consultation. Follow Up Surgeries After Breast Implants
Thank you for the question. It is not necessary to have surgery every 5-10 years. As with any surgical procedure there are risks associated with each intervention. However as long as you are doing well and there are no problems with your breasts or your breast implants no surgery would be indicated.
I suggest you consult with a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon as they will be able to sit down one on one with you and address any question or concerns you may have. Best wishes.
What Are the Chances of Follow Up Surgeries After Breast Implants?
Many thanks for the question.It has been very well answered already but i think your intention is how frequently one needs to do seconday correction since first surgery did not yield wanted results.If this is the intention of you quesion that revision surgery rate varies form surgeon to surgeon.I can mention mine that its about 3%.Wish you all the best.
Follow-Up Surgeries after Breast Implants
I understand your concern with the statistics regarding follow-up surgery required following breast augmentation. However, the rate of additional surgery following breast augmentation can vary greatly depending upon the age of the patient, the type of implant and the expertise of the plastic surgeon. The rate of re-operation for silicone implants is reported to be over 15%. This includes women who develop capsular contracture, ruptures to the implant, and subsequent size changes. In my experience, particularly with saline breast implants, the rate of re-operation tends to be much lower, typically about 3-5%. Though not required, many surgeons are recommending that silicone gel implants be replaced every ten years. This is not an FDA or manufacturers requirement. Regardless, any implant is not considered a lifetime device, and there is a possibility you will require one subsequent operation in your lifetime if you decide to have breast implants. I hope this is helpful in making your decision. Please discuss with a board certified plastic surgeon your concerns regarding breast implant safety and benefits. Good luck to you.
These answers are for educational purposes and should not be relied upon as a substitute for medical advice you may receive from your physician. If you have a medical emergency, please call 911. These answers do not constitute or initiate a patient/doctor relationship. | 8,243 | 3,399 | 2.425125 |
warc | 201704 | Feeling stressed and depressed about the amount of homework (I’m a student btw) I needed to get done over the weekend, I was hesitant to use my few free hours to hit the gym. But as a fitness blog writer, I felt guilty for preaching the importance of fitness and then skipping out on my own workout. So even though I had a nightmare provoking amount of reading, I went to the gym anyways. An hour later, I was sure glad I did. I felt like a completely different person. Suddenly, my impending amount of school work seemed totally doable; my mind was completely clear, focused and awake; and overall I just felt positive and optimistic. It was such an intense high that I decided to find out exactly why exercise makes us happy.
After researching, I found out that my body was producing hormones that were helping to deal with the stress of exercise. As we exercise and increase our heart rates, our bodies recognize this as a sign that we are fighting or fleeing from a threat. In order to help us to defeat the danger (does the treadmill count as a danger?) our bodies produce certain hormones and proteins that make it easier for us to combat our threats.
Endorphins
Most of us have heard of endorphins and how they can make us feel good, but what exactly are they? Endorphins are neurotransmitters that are responsible for blocking pain and for providing feelings of pleasure. Neurotransmitters are chemicals that pass along signals throughout the central nervous system. They can either prompt or suppress further signaling throughout the neurons in the body.
When we feel stressed, fearful, or in pain our body produces endorphins to block pain and help to control emotions. Endorphins can be produced in the pituitary gland, spinal cord, and other areas of your brain and central nervous system.
The majority of your emotions are processed by the brain’s limbic system, which includes your hypothalamus. This is the fun zone that controls your sexual satisfaction, hunger, and breathing. The limbic system is also full of opioid receptors. When you exercise and release endorphins, those endorphins will hit the opioid receptors, leading to a high elation of pleasure.
BDNF
On top of endorphins, our bodies also release BDNF. Brain Derived Neurotropic Factor is released as a response to the stress of exercise in the same way endorphins are. BDNF is a protective protein that helps to defend your body and brain from potential threats. The proteins also works to repair your memory neurons and acts as a reset switch, thus making us feel at ease and clearheaded after working out.
The chemicals that we are naturally producing during exercise are similar to morphine, heroine, or nicotine, meaning they can be pretty intense. But unlike scary potent drugs, they are actually good for us and we SHOULD be trying to get our daily fix. While we all have our excuses for not having the time to squeeze in a workout, the great thing is that we start getting these hormone rushes within the first twenty minutes of exercising. So if you want to start feeling good, you don’t need to spend two hours on the treadmill, a quick twenty minute workout will suffice. And luckily you’re reading a blog that specializes in quick workouts ;) Scan through the last blog posts for quick ways to get your exercise high :)
For more information on the brain and exercise check out the articles below | 3,417 | 1,659 | 2.059675 |
warc | 201704 | From the Publisher
What makes geniuses different from the rest of us? What is the difference between a prodigy and a genius? Are geniuses born or made? What is creative vision and where does it come from? What are the secrets of talent? And why do great creators seem to have so many oppositions in their personalities?
In this mind-expanding investigation of creativity, John Briggs reveals that there is no special trait of genius. Geniuses are not necessarily smarter or more talented than other people, but they give their attention to subtle nuances, contradictory feelings and perceptions that others experience and ignore. By focusing on sensory nuances, geniuses create themselves.
Fire in the Crucible offers a compelling exploration of the roots of creativity and genius. Drawing on the lives and work of extraordinary scientists, artists, writers, composers, and inventors, Briggs shows how creative individuals exploit doubt and uncertainty, and the mental strategies and tactics they employ when they work.
"In asking about creativity," he writes, "we are really asking about what is best, what is deepest in life."
Fire in the Crucible draws the reader into an eye-opening journey through the inner workings of some of the greatest creative minds of all times -- and allows us to more deeply understand the nature of the creativity in our own lives and work. | 1,383 | 735 | 1.881633 |
warc | 201704 | US Bancorp
October 18, 2002
From: Director, Business Continuity To: Jennifer J. Johnson Secretary, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System 20 th Street and Constitution Ave. NW Washington, DC 20551 Docket No. R-1128
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
250 E Street, SW Public Information Room, Mail Stop 1-5 Washington, DC 20219 Docket No. 02-13
Jonathan G. Katz
Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission 450 5 th Street, NW Washington, DC 20549-0609 File No S7-32-02 Response to: Draft Interagency White Paper on Sound Practices to Strengthen the Resilience of the U. S. Financial System
Dear Regulators:
US Bancorp appreciates the opportunity to respond to the "Draft Interagency White Paper on Sound Practices to Strengthen the Resilience of the U.S. Financial System" white paper. This response is on behalf of US Bancorp and its subsidiaries, Piper Jaffray and Nova Information Systems. We have commented on the areas solicited by the paper and included questions it prompted.
Scope of application. Have agencies excluded any critical markets?
A: Further definition of "critical markets" is needed. Regulators should formally notify institutions of the specific requirements applying to them, the timeframe to comply and resulting penalties for non-compliance. Perhaps guidelines for an Industry Impact Analysis (vs. a Business Impact Analysis) would be beneficial in determining inclusion in critical markets.
We encourage the regulators to consider the substantial cost that will be incurred by firms included in `critical markets" and "core cleaning and settlement organizations" and, therefore, required to comply with the new regulations. If a subset of financial institutions have to provide a higher level of business recovery, for the benefit of the entire financial industry, there should be some financial compensation for those organizations.
Is there an impact or cost/benefit analysis associated with the definition of inclusion in these categories? Is there any planned reimbursement vehicle to help institutions fund compliance with the new regulations?
Have the agencies sufficiently defined the term "core clearing and settlement organizations" for such organizations to identify themselves?
A: "Core clearing and settlement organizations" is not sufficiently specific. Does core clearing and settlement refer to entities involved in stock market operations only, or does it also refer to clearing and settlement in credit card processing operations, for example? Perhaps a broad definition of clearing and settlement organizations should be considered, such as, "A clearing and settlement organization would be defined in general terms as an organization that initiates or receives monetary settlement each and every business day and is contractually obligated to do so with external customers".
Have the agencies provided sufficient guidance for firms to determine whether they play "significant roles in critical financial markets?"
A: No. It is not understood how far-reaching the business-to-business or business-to-vendor dependency chain goes, when addressing critical markets, or what thresholds determine participation. Do regulations address relationships with providers of infrastructure, such as telecommunications vendors, with single points of failure?
Should the agencies establish an average daily dollar volume (e.g., $20 billion, $50 billion, $150 billion or some larger amount) or a market share test (e.g., 3, 5, 7, 10 percent market share or some larger amount) as a benchmark for either or both of these categories? Should such benchmarks differ by market or activity?
A: Again, a "one size fits all" approach may not sufficiently address the intent of this effort or correctly identify participants. Threshold guidelines with respect to intent would be helpful.
In some market segments, there are geographic concentrations of primary and backup facilities of firms with relatively small market shares. Should sound practices take into consideration the geographic concentration of the backup sites of firms that as a group could play a significant role in critical markets?
A: Regulatory guidance in this area, also, would be helpful. Is the intent of this paper to address impact as an industry or a firm, and under what conditions? Will there be any regulatory guidance concerning the ratio of firms to recovery site, with respect to any geographic area?
One of the reasons core clearing organizations are expected to recover and resume is that there are no effective substitutes that can assume their critical activities; is this also true for some or all firms that play significant roles in critical markets?
A: Again, a clarification of "critical markets" is requested.
Does the paper's definition of a "wide-scale, regional disruption" provide sufficient guidance for planning for wide-scale, regional disruptions? Is there a need to provide some sense of duration of a wide-scale, regional disruption? If so, what should it be?
A: Further clarification of the risk analysis leading to a "Wide-scale Regional Disruption" is needed. Previous risk analysis does not support the preparation for massive regional loss due to accident or natural disaster, unilaterally. If the premise for a new level of preparation is the intentional disruption of infrastructure, then more specific risks to the infrastructure need to be identified, to narrow the focus of mitigation. That is, is it acceptable to conduct a risk analysis specific to each of the infrastructure components, independent of an arbitrary geographic radius, and plan contingencies accordingly? Are there other specific threats dictating a minimal geographic envelope for all, such as, nuclear, chemical or biological attacks, that are deemed relevant to this response?
. Recovery and Resumption of Critical Activities Sound practice seems to require firms that play significant roles in critical markets to establish recovery targets of four hours after an event for their critical activities. Is this a realistic and achievable recovery-time objective? If not, what should it be? Sound practice seems to require core clearing and settlement organizations to establish recovery targets of two hours for their critical activities. Is this a realistic and achievable recovery-time objective? Should recovery- and resumption-time objectives differ according to critical markets?
A: Two to four hour recovery time objectives for large-scale critical activities are not achievable with current technology, given that primary and back-up processing sites must also be physically separated by long distances, i.e., more than about 20 miles. Two to four hour recovery time objectives for large-scale critical activities are achievable with current technology at distances of 20 miles or less.
A recovery time objective should be determined based on the results of a Business Impact Analysis. Agencies should release more specific guidelines on conducting a Business Impact Analysis with respect to intent of strengthening resilience, or, as suggested earlier, an Industry Impact Analysis.
Sound Practices. Have agencies sufficiently described expectations regarding out-of-region resources?
A: Staffing for primary versus back-up sites should be addressed to cover the risk of personnel loss concurrent with site loss. However, is it reasonable, again, to drive all business recovery and resumption planning on the assumption of wide-scale, regional disruptions.
Should minimum distance from primary sites be specified ? What factors should be used to identify a minimum distance? Should the agencies specify other requirements (e.g., back-up sites not be dependent on the same labor pools or infrastructure components, including power grid, water supply and transportation systems)? Are there alternative arrangements within a region that would provide sufficient resilience in a wide-scale regional disruption?
A: Geographic area, alone, may not be criteria for defining a wide-scale region. There is mitigation to the disruption of regional infrastructure within the Twin Cities metropolitan area, as Minneapolis and St. Paul have redundancy in transportation, telecommunications, water and power.
The white paper focuses heavily on wide-scale, regional disruptions as background for new business recovery and resumption expectations. This assumption drives long-distance primary versus back-up site separation.
The assumption of wide-scale, regional disruptions should be questioned. Specific threat profiles may indicate that much shorter distance separation between primary and back-up sites could be acceptable. Requirements for long distances between primary and back-up sites and short recovery time objectives dramatically increase the cost of disaster recovery. We expect a substantial financial impact in meeting out-of-region expectations and would appreciate any insight into the cost benefit analysis and subsidy plans for compliance. Looking back to 9/11/2001, which seems to be driving this new regulatory initiative, businesses affected typically recovered operations within very short distances from the affected area.
Timetable for Implementation. To ensure that enhanced business continuity plans are sufficiently coordinated among participants in critical markets, should specific implementation timeframes be considered? Is it reasonable to expect firms to achieve sound practices within the next few years? Should agencies specify an outside date for achieving sound practices to accommodate those firms that may require more time to adopt sound practices in a cost-effective manner? Would such distant dates communicate a sufficient sense of urgency for addressing the risk of a wide-scale regional disruption?
A: As previously stated, out-of-region recovery, within the timeframes defined, is technically infeasible with current technology. With regard to labor pools, 180 days from the time the agencies release their final views is not sufficient time to implement this. This would incur significant expenditures of time and resources that would make quick implementation prohibitive. The organization would need to consider options such as cross training existing employees to support critical functions, agreements with employment agencies to provide qualified personnel in the event of a disaster, etc. Urgency must coincide with realistically achievable dates.
Thank you for considering the comments of US Bancorp on these critically important issues. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me at (651) 205- 1749 or at michael.rattigan@usbank.com.
Sincerely,
Michael B. Rattigan
Director, Business Continuity
US Bancorp, Piper Jaffray, and Nova Information Systems | 10,810 | 4,214 | 2.565259 |
warc | 201704 | Early-life seizures (ELS) are associated with long-term behavioral disorders including autism and ADHD, suggesting that frontal lobe structures may be permanently affected. We tested whether ELS produce structural alterations in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and impair PFC-mediated function using an operant task of behavioral flexibility in rats. Adult rats… (More) | 372 | 267 | 1.393258 |
warc | 201704 | Filter Results: Publication Year
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Although flash storage has largely replaced hard disks in consumer class devices, enterprise workloads pose unique challenges that have slowed adoption of flash in ``performance tier'' storage appliances. In this paper, we describe Purity, the foundation of Pure Storage's Flash Arrays, the first all-flash enterprise storage system to support compression,… (More)
In this paper we review drift-feeding models for stream salmonids. We assess their historical development and current state, and we propose areas for future research. Drift-feeding models serve as the critical input for energetics-based habitat selection and habitat quality models, which have recently begun to see widespread use for predicting salmonid… (More)
This paper will present a project in progress on the use of computer graphics to enhance the communication of an emerging Urban Design concept -- Transit Oriented Sustainable Urban Design (TOSUD). Two detailed virtual environments have been created relating to hypothetical TOSUD developments within an Australian and Chinese context. The process of… (More)
Land use change results in soil migration into aquatic streams during storm events. This suspended sediment, even in the absence of adsorbed contaminants, may be a significant stressor to aquatic organisms. In some parts of the US, total suspended solids (TSS) concentrations surpass 100,000 mg/L during storm events. The limited data on effects of suspended… (More)
" Imagine a fish feeding in swift water. " With this statement in their landmark foraging model paper, Nicholas Hughes asked the reader to visualize how a drift-foraging fish captures its prey (Hughes and Dill 1990). It is a simple, elegant statement, but it captures the essence of stream fish ecology. A stream is defined, after all, as flowing water. Its… (More)
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warc | 201704 | Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Information for 2017
Monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for more than 65 million Americans will increase 0.3 percent in 2017.
The 0.3 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will begin with benefits payable to more than 60 million Social Security beneficiaries in January 2017. Increased payments to more than 8 million SSI beneficiaries will begin on December 30, 2016.
Read more about the Social Security Cost-of-Living adjustment for 2017.
The maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax (taxable maximum) will increase to $127,200.
The earnings limit for workers who are younger than "full" retirement age (age 66 for people born in 1943 through 1954) will increase to $16,920. (We deduct $1 from benefits for each $2 earned over $16,920.)
The earnings limit for people turning 66 in 2017 will increase to $44,880. (We deduct $1 from benefits for each $3 earned over $44,880 until the month the worker turns age 66.)
There is no limit on earnings for workers who are "full" retirement age or older for the entire year.
Read more about the COLA, tax, benefit and earning amounts for 2017.
Medicare Information
Information about Medicare changes for 2017, when announced, will be available at www.Medicare.gov. For some beneficiaries, their Social Security increase may be partially or completely offset by increases in Medicare premiums.
History of Automatic Cost-Of-Living Adjustments (COLA)
The purpose of the COLA is to ensure that the purchasing power of Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits is not eroded by inflation. It is based on the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) from the third quarter of the last year a COLA was determined to the third quarter of the current year. If there is no increase, there can be no COLA.
The CPI-W is determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the Department of Labor. By law, it is the official measure used by the Social Security Administration to calculate COLAs.
Congress enacted the COLA provision as part of the 1972 Social Security Amendments, and automatic annual COLAs began in 1975. Before that, benefits were increased only when Congress enacted special legislation.
Beginning in 1975, Social Security started automatic annual cost-of-living allowances. The change was enacted by legislation that ties COLAs to the annual increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI-W).
The change means that inflation no longer drains value from Social Security benefits.
The 1975-82 COLAs were effective with Social Security benefits payable for June (received by beneficiaries in July) in each of those years. After 1982, COLAs have been effective with benefits payable for December (received by beneficiaries in January).
July 1975 -- 8.0%
January 1997 -- 2.9%
(1) The COLA for December 1999 was originally determined as 2.4 percent based on CPIs published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Pursuant to Public Law | 3,066 | 1,325 | 2.313962 |
warc | 201704 | The trouble with going back to school is being exposed to all the people filled with all the germs. In order to have a healthy return back to school, consider the following back to school health tips:
The first thing you need to do to have a healthy back to school is just remember the basics like washing your hands before eating, touching your face, and after going to the bathroom. The things you touch all day can be crawlng with germs, so regular hand washing is helpful. Washing is the most effective way to rid your hands of contaminates, but for the in between washes, use some hand sanitizer. Washing your hands is going to help you avoid germs, but now let’s look at what you can do to boost your immune system.
There are several things you can do to boost immune function. Most of them are easy to obtain simply by following the basics of good health, such as eating right, sleeping plenty, getting some sunshine, etc. It is critical that when you go back to school, that you get to bed at a decent hour, get plenty of vitamin C, eat healthy snacks, and brain foods, and not run yourself ragged. If you do, your health will suffer as a result.
Next, for a healthy back to school, make sure you have good quality shoes, and a sturdy, supportive backpack. One of the health issues with going back to school is spending so much time walking from class to class and out on the playground in improper footwear. Instead of getting hurt on your feet, invest in some quality shoes. Also, back to school means carrying home heavy books; avoid the problems associated with overloaded backpacks by choosing a quality backpack that has chest straps. Do not wear it on one shoulder, and if it is too heavy, look for an alternative for carrying all of your books around.
Next, don’t forget safety. No matter how well you eat and how much sleep you get, if you get hit by a car crossing the road, your health will not be so great. Remember to do things like buckle up, sit down on the bus until it comes to a complete stop, wear a helmet, look both ways and such like. There are a lot of safety precautions you should take when getting to and from school to ensure you do not put yourself at risk in the process.
Last but not least, when looking to go back to school and have a healthy year, do not forget to immunize. Make sure you are caught up on all of your vaccinations and immunizations, as they can protect you from serious illness and diseases. Being healthy is more about taking preventative steps, and using common sense in your choices then it is about taking supplements, etc. | 2,601 | 1,235 | 2.106073 |
warc | 201704 | Matt Krupnick |
The Hechinger Report
Forty percent of U.S. university and college undergraduate and graduate students are ... 25 and older, according to U.S. Education Department data. Even among undergraduates alone, the figure is higher than 30 percent. The number who are parents—among both undergraduate and graduate students—has increased from 3.2 million to 4.8 million since 1995, the Institute for Women’s Policy Research reports.
But colleges and universities are largely not set up to deal with them.
Instead, as budgets tighten, they’re shedding services such as day care.
* * *
Sanya Mansoor |
Dallas Morning News
Sleepy kids eat their eggs, drink their milk, and watch TV — just like at home.
Only it’s not home and it’s not the school cafeteria, either. It’s the classroom.
A growing number of North Texas schools are doing what they can to make sure students in need are hungry for learning—and not for food—by bringing federally funded breakfast to the students’ desks.
* * *
Emma Margolin | NBC News
“Until October 24, 2011, we thought that everything was good with Connor. We had no idea he was suffering from depression,” said [Connor’s mother Tara] Ball. “I've had five years to sit and think about it. I have racked my brain trying to understand the reason.”
It's an agony an increasing number of American families are having to endure.
Between 2007 and 2014, the suicide rate among U.S. middle-school-aged kids doubled, according research published last month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
* * *
Mackenzie May |
Sacramento Bee
New history lessons adopted by the California Board of Education this year may especially resonate with Fresno students and families. Schools are now required to teach about the Armenian genocide—an important history in the Fresno area, which has a large Armenian American community.
The state’s revised history and social-science framework—which also includes new content on the history of LGBT people and expanded teachings of Latino history—adds key facts relating to the Armenian genocide and its causes and asks teachers to link it to the Holocaust.
* * *
Allison Ross |
Louisville Courier-Journal
[Tangi] Jones, a mental-health counselor at Waggener High, is one of about 300 JCPS counselors, psychologists, social workers, and others who’ve trained to be part of the district’s crisis response teams. These teams are sent with little notice to often unfamiliar campuses dealing with some of the worst moments a school community can endure. ...
They are the ones who meet with the student who’s acting out because an aunt has been murdered. Who comfort the student whose cousin was charged with murder. Who try to provide hope for a child who watched his friend bleed out on the street the night before.
* * *
Erik Rascke |
The Atlantic
My son is 10 years old, but he does not know how old he is. He does not know which country we live in. He cannot tie his shoes, brush his teeth, count higher than four. Only within the last month has he begun to remember his last name. Still, ever since he was first diagnosed with his neurodevelopmental condition at the age of 3, I have always recognized the tenebrous clues of consciousness glowing behind his eyes.
* * *
Nick Roll, Jacob Myers, Sam Harris, Sheridan Hendrix |
The Lantern
At 9:52 a.m., Abdul Razak Ali Artan, a third-year in logistics management, drove a gray Honda Civic sedan into a crowd of people gathered outside for a fire drill. Artan then leaped out of the vehicle and reportedly began to attack the crowd with a butcher knife. Artan was the only one killed, with others being sent to various hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries, although one was in critical condition. All classes were canceled Monday. | 3,903 | 2,049 | 1.904832 |
warc | 201704 | St Giles Trust provides support, including education, training and employment, for offenders, with the aim of preventing reoffending. What is your role?
I'm a relay mentor, which means I assess people who are about to come out of prison and sometimes act as their care worker. I help clients access housing, sort out benefits, deal with substance misuse and meet their probation requirements.
Why did you get involved?
I'm an ex-offender myself and when I was released I found it really difficult. I did an NVQ in information, advice and guidance and a voluntary placement at St Giles, where I have been since May.
What were you in prison for?
Robbery.
Why did you decide to turn your life around?
I served my last sentence for something I didn't do. I decided I never wanted to go through that again, so I had to change my whole life and social network and get back into work.
What do you get from your role?
The majority of clients are really grateful for the help you give them. Getting a homeless person into housing or stopping a prolific offender from reoffending is really rewarding. It's a challenge, but I like a challenge.
Why is it important to provide support for ex-offenders?
When people come out of prison they are vulnerable - it can be frightening and they need support. Many of my clients find employment or go into training, and that is such a positive outcome.
How do you relax?
I go home and spend time with my partner or family and try to switch off - they are a great support to me. I used to dream about my clients.
What's the best thing about Britain?
The TV. I know it sounds strange but I can't imagine living anywhere else, and I think that's mostly because of EastEnders.
And the worst?
Not knowing what to wear on a day-to-day basis, because you never know what the weather will be like. I always carry an umbrella and jacket, even in summer - just in case. | 1,906 | 1,015 | 1.877833 |
warc | 201704 | The growth is exponential, going on totally eye-watering. The search engine roars and the ads pour in: Google made a $733m profit in the last quarter alone: its share price has crested at $426 a throw. Who could ask for anything more? Only, perhaps, the poor suckers who provide the content Googlers search for in the first place.
Here, in the simplest terms, is a small take on a massive problem. News is an obvious driver of search engine business (not just for Google, but also Yahoo, Microsoft and the rest). Google News, in its bouncy, truncated way, creates interest. Beyond that, more detailed news agendas can be swiftly tailored - or aggregated - to your own demands. News is a staple diet of net consumption. But where, pray, does that news come from?
Of course the search engines, profitable or not, don't have massive reporting staffs fanned out around the globe gathering the hard stuff they depend on. They rely on other people to do that for them: newspaper and magazine staff, agencies, broadcasting stations. They are gannets, feeding on free scraps, and offering an implicit bargain. If your newspaper or TV station website needs to generate page traffic and thus ad potential, they will give it you by sending the searchers your way - as long as you let them use those scraps for their own purposes. They will take your headlines and give you a second bite at any ensuing revenue.
There's a rub: the entire news business, partly because of the web growth itself, is in transition. Sales and ad takes are falling or stalling. News teams, inevitably, are being slimmed or shed. So the bargain doesn't look quite as appealing. We give them the tool kit, they nail us to the floor.
What's to be done? Belgium's news media went to court recently and won a judgment which (in theory) required Google to pay to use their material, a cyberspace assertion of copyright claim. But there is an answer to that, simply rendered. Wipe Belgium (and all those costly difficulties) off the map. 'Small country making difficulties faces digital extinction.' That is not, coldly considered, a very appealing solution on either side. It doesn't lead anywhere. Let's try an automated content access protocol instead: Acap, coming to a news outlet near you next month for a crucial pilot period. Simply, can it develop the missing industry-standard software link that lets publishers strike more varied contractual deals as the search engine spiders sweep through? It is not everything or nothing, but some things and not others - subject to agreement.
Acap has some big battalions behind it: the World Association of Newspapers, 18,000 publications-strong; and many major European and publishing players. It has credible clout in America. The technical challenges involved, though considerable, do not look impossible. A year or more down the road there may be a way of making the search engines pay rather more commodiously and individually for the content they thrive on.
But will they? Why should they? Because there are gains as well as losses, as the project co-ordinator, Mark Bide, points out. Naturally this is 'partly' about money. But it is also about swelling the stocks of available content - including databases and books that don't feature in the current game.
If a search engine wants to offer customers more and more, this could be the best way to go about doing it. And some on the spider side apparently realise that already. One (unnamed, probably smaller) searcher is a part of the pilot study. Maybe it will strike gold and discover a way to grow quickly. Maybe the grand Googles will see the sense of a co-operation that bestows benefits and cash all round. Maybe Belgium won't happen again.
Don't underestimate the difficulties, though. A few will be technical, to be sure, but others - probably the intractable ones - will be pure, impure business. Google, however saintly, has its share price to protect and nurture - and the neeed to foster YouTube any way it can. Publishers have vastly different commitments to the net and vastly different time frames for their companies' futures. The ancestral clash between short-term demands and long-term investment has a whole new arena here. Nothing is sealed, signed or remotely delivered.
Yet the basic dilemma will not go away. Vast profits on one side, slithering fortunes, resolve and resources on the other. But both sides, when they think clearly, are interdependent. Search engine news doesn't work if nobody provides it. Something has to give.
Victor Zorza: an inspiration remembered
Journalism is a rough trade redeemed from time to time by flashes of inspiration, even genius. Here is one: 'I believe that Communism is merely a brief episode which diverted a section of mankind from the mainstream of history,' the renowned expert wrote.
'Ever since the death of Stalin, we have been witnessing the powerful pull of social and political forces within the Communist system which are trying to bring it back into the world community. One who, like myself, has been observing the process so closely day-by-day cannot remain unimpressed by the vast changes in the very fabric of the system ... through these past 18 years.
'I believe that the changes which have already taken place are irreversible and that, whatever temporary setbacks might occur, the Communist world will return to the one family of nations with one generation - or within a considerably shorter time, if the West pursues the flexible and imaginative policies that could help bring this about.'
That was Victor Zorza, supreme Kremlinologist for the Guardian, in 1969: a prediction wiser, more Olympian even than his famous warning of a Czech invasion just before the Red Army moved in. It is there, with much else about Zorza, in a new biography by Michael Wright, and strangely poignant to read 37 years on.
Zorza was a Jewish Pole who fled Hitler's invasion and served with the Polish air force in Britain. He turned himself, with dogged brilliance, into an award-winning journalist and an analyst respected right across the West. When Communism disintegrated, he moved to an Indian village and wrote about its extraordinary life. Then, after the death of his only daughter in a hospice, he set out to help a Russia struggling in the aftermath of chaos and founded its first hospice movement.
He was a remarkable, warm, calculating, arrogant, driven, impossible, amazing person. And, 10 years after his death, he is brought back to life again in a way that should make every decent journalist proud. What would Victor have made of last week's headlines - '£1,000 instant fines for migrant workers' and the like? He would have been ashamed, I think - and he would have been right.
· 'Victor Zorza: A Life Amid Loss', observatory-publications.net | 6,818 | 3,422 | 1.992402 |
warc | 201704 | Mothers may have had something extra to celebrate on Sunday as they were brought breakfast in bed: getting a job. They were probably expecting bad news. Since the beginning of the recovery, women have gained only 16 percent of the almost 2.5 million jobs added, which is part of why their unemployment rate has dipped only 0.2 percentage points while men’s has been reduced by 2.4 points. Yet along with the flowers and hand-drawn cards, last month’s jobs report came as a gift to some women. Could it be a sign that they are finally going to participate in the economic recovery?
April’s jobs report had more positive signs for women’s job growth than any over the past few years. According to the National Women’s Law Center’s analysis, they gained almost three-quarters of the jobs added last month. As the report notes, that’s “the largest share of monthly job gains for women since the start of the recovery.” Remember that just last August, they were steadily losing jobs. Even more surprising is that while women have suffered two-thirds of the public sector layoffs since 2009, last month the tables were turned. The public sector shed 15,000 jobs, but it was men who felt that pain; women actually gained 4,000 jobs.
The recovery does look like it’s becoming kinder to women. This year has so far been much better for women’s unemployment picture than the past three. But it may not be time to get comfortable yet. As Joan Entmacher, vice president of NWLC, told me, because the overall number of jobs added last month was so small, it didn’t take much for women to come out on top. After all, 73 percent of only 115,000 jobs won’t make a huge dent in a high unemployment rate.
And it’s no time to get optimistic about public-sector jobs. Last month’s new trend of women’s gaining those jobs “could change when you hit June, July and August, when teachers start getting layoff notices,” Entmacher pointed out. Women hold the vast majority of those jobs, and they’ve been completely hammered in the recovery period. As of March we had lost 236,500 jobs in local education,
a k a public school teachers. Don’t forget that GOP legislatures at the state level have been driving those cuts, and news that Philadelphia, under conservative Governor Corbett, is on the verge of shuttering sixty-four schools should comfort no one. Nor should the fact that thirty states still face budget shortfalls totaling $49 billion. The recovery’s story overall is still pretty disheartening. “When you look over the course of recovery,” Katherine Gallagher Robbins of the NWLC told me, “for every two jobs women gained in the private sector they’ve lost a public sector job.”
Could there be a silver lining, however, in the private sector? That’s where the really good news was last month: women grabbed over 60 percent of those jobs in April. Some of those were in professional and business services industries such as education and health, which are predicted to have strong growth over the next decade. They even got jobs in blue-collar manufacturing. They also gained jobs in leisure and hospitality—think waitresses in restaurants and maids in hotels—and temporary health services. But even those higher-paying professional and business service jobs were likely to be temporary: about half of the jobs women got in those sectors weren’t permanent, compared with 27 percent for men.
It will certainly be welcome news if women start picking up private-sector jobs in large numbers. But as I recently wrote about the economy overall, we also have to ask what
kind of jobs those will be. Temporary jobs in particular pay more poorly than their full-time counterparts and offer little stability and few benefits. Yet they accounted for over a quarter of new private sector jobs created in 2010. Women already tend to hold unstable, low-benefit service sector jobs, so the last thing we need is for the trend to be amplified as the economy emerges from disaster. As this graph of the number of education jobs versus the number of food services jobs shows (h/t Matt Yglesias), we may be trading our teachers—decent-paying, stable work—in for low-pay waitresses: | 4,318 | 2,055 | 2.101217 |
warc | 201704 | How to Clean an Older Concrete Slab Before Applying Acid Stain By: Danny Lipford I want to acid stain an existing, older concrete slab. What’s the best way to clean the concrete so the stain will take? -David
Hi David,
Cleaning an old concrete slab so it will take an acid stain can be very difficult, but it is possible. The main thing is to NOT use any kind of acid wash or etching solution (including muriatic acid) to clean the slab. The stain will not take at all if you use acid as a cleaner.
A solution of TSP (trisodium phosphate) and a lot of elbow grease with a scrub brush would be your best bet. Using a scrub brush with a long handle makes cleaning much easier. Another option would be to use a pressure washer to clean the concrete slab. For grease stains on concrete, try scrubbing the stain with lacquer thinner or mineral spirits.
Even with your best efforts, you may wind up with patches on a concrete slab that simply won’t take an acid stain due to low lime content in the concrete (lime is what causes a chemical reaction with the acid stain). In those cases, you may have to resort to applying a faux finish to the spots to try and match the acid stain in the surrounding areas.
Good luck with your project,
Further Information How to Score and Acid Stain a Concrete Slab (video/article) How Long to Wait After Pouring Concrete Before Acid Staining (article) Tips for Cleaning Your Home with a Pressure Washer (video) How to Remove Rust Stains from Concrete Naturally (article) | 1,517 | 784 | 1.934949 |
warc | 201704 | Dear Crucial Skills,
I am currently attempting to put the principles of
Influencer to work, but I am struggling to find those vital behaviors that are more than hunches. I am looking for the vital behaviors that will lead to telemarketing sales and I’m wondering where I can go to find statistically supported, tried-and-tested vital behaviors for this outcome.
Sincerely,
Searching for Research Dear Searching,
Your question is relevant to everyone—not just those involved in telemarketing sales—because few of us can ever find statistically supported, tried-and-tested vital behaviors that deal with our specific issues. Most of the time, we have to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and do our own research. I’ll use your question to suggest some steps anyone can take to find and refine vital behaviors.
Here are the steps I follow: 1) begin with Google and Google Scholar to find tips and best practices; 2) create a process-flow chart that maps the temporal flow of the activity; 3) collect data on key points in the process; 4) use positive deviance—with myself and others; 5) set up an ongoing tracking system to analyze and adjust. Here’s what these steps look like:
1. Begin with Google and Google Scholar: I did some Google searches using the terms “telemarketing sales” and “best practices.” With these search terms, I mostly found marketing pitches for seminars. Google scholar was full of books and academic research that was not very interesting.
So I broadened my search and found a lot of useful tips by searching for the terms “telemarketing sales” and “tips.” These tips were a great place to start, but I was skeptical so I asked myself two questions: “How relevant are the tips to my exact situation?” and “How credible are they?” Most of the tips were somewhat relevant, but many had little credibility—other than sounding more or less plausible. Most came from commercial firms that are selling something and didn’t have any research data supporting them.
While internet research is a good place to start, be cautious with the information you find, and most importantly, never let a Google search be the end of your research. To find the most accurate behaviors, continue with the following steps.
2. Create a process-flow chart: Map a sales person’s day from beginning to end. What do these people do? Map the progression of a sales call. What is actually said and done? Try to capture a typical day and a typical call in five to seven steps.
In addition, it is helpful to map an “ideal process” based on what you know about the activity. For example, most sales calls include the following steps: Greeting, verification, questions, responses, information drops, and closes. Each of these steps is designed to move the customer further through the buying process—to bring them closer to a buying decision. Now you can compare what you actually do to the ideal activities you should perform.
3. Collect data: Next, begin collecting data. Of course you are most interested in the end results: number of sales and percentage of successful sales calls. However, also collect data on interim steps. Track “move forwards” on each step in the sales process you’ve mapped. Evaluate which step you excel in based on the data. Also look at the steps where you could use some improvement. Identify the exact steps or behaviors that need your particular attention. 4. Use positive deviance: If you have a sales team, the next thing to do is to look for the positive deviants: the salespeople who are markedly more successful than the rest. If you are on your own, look for the times when you’ve been the positive deviant. These are the specific calls, days, or weeks when you’ve been most successful. If possible, have the less successful salespeople observe and listen in on the most successful salespeople, and vice versa. Have the observers use the process-flow charts and the tips to guide their observations. Specifically, note the behaviors that set the positive deviants apart.
One of my favorite examples of this kind of positive deviance research comes from David Marsh and his team with the Save the Children Federation. They were working in refugee camps on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border to reduce infant mortality. They’d mapped the birthing process from one week before the mother’s due date to one week after. Their team included physicians who had plenty of tips at hand. They identified the positive deviants—a few families who had never lost a child during childbirth—and trained families to observe each others’ practices. What did they find? The vital behaviors involved the father’s role. Successful fathers planned ahead for emergencies—they arranged to have a car and driver available—and they were present during the birth so they would know if an emergency was developing. These vital behaviors were quickly adopted across the camps, and as a result, they experienced a dramatic reduction in infant deaths.
5. Set up an ongoing tracking system: At this point, you’ve identified some behaviors that may or may not be vital. You acquired this list by finding researched best practices, examining a process-flow chart, measuring your results, and studying positive deviants. With this initial list in hand, you are ready to test your hypothesis.
Begin trying the two or three behaviors that seem most vital. Put all your efforts into these few behaviors. Set a goal to drive them through the roof. Meanwhile, continue to track your results—both the end and interim results. Don’t lose faith in the behaviors too quickly. Double or triple their use, and give them some time to work. Then analyze their impact, and make adjustments. Remember that the behaviors that are most vital to your success will change over time. For example, you may find that “making more calls” is the vital behavior that gets you the most traction early on. However, once you maximize your number of calls, a different behavior may be required to drive further improvement.
Good luck, and enjoy the process.
David | 6,254 | 2,734 | 2.287491 |
warc | 201704 | About Author Jack A. Goldstone is the Hazel Professor of Public Policy at George Mason University and received his Ph.D. from Harvard University. He has won major prizes from the American Sociological Association and the Historical Society for his research on revolutions, population, and political conflict. His 2010 essay in Foreign Affairs, "The New Population Bomb" has received world-wide attention. A Phi Beta Kappa visiting lecturer, Goldstone has authored or edited ten books and published over one hundred articles in books and scholarly journals. His latest books are Why Europe? The Rise of the West 1500-1850 (2008) and Understanding Revolutions (forthcoming). Eric P. Kaufmann is Professor in Politics at Birkbeck College, University of London. He is the author of Shall the Religious Inherit the Earth: Demography and Politics in the Twenty-First Century (2010), The Rise and Fall of Anglo-America (2004), and three other books. He has written on religion and demography for Newsweek International, Foreign Policy, and Prospect magazines. Monica Duffy Toft is Associate Professor of Public Policy and Director of the Initiative on Religion in International Affairs at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Her current research examines the role of nationalism, religion, and rationality in relation to political violence. She is the author of The Geography of Ethnic Violence: Identity, Interests, and the Indivisibility of Territory (2003), Securing the Peace: The Durable Settlement of Civil Wars (2010), and God's Century (2011).
Contents PART I Political Demography and Political Science ; 1. Introduction ; 2. A Theory of Political Demography: Human and Institutional Reproduction ; PART II Population and International Security ; 3. Demography and Geopolitics: Understanding Today's Debate in Its Historical Context ; 4. America's Golden Years? Security in an Aging World ; 5. A New Framework for Aging and Security: Lessons from Power Transition Theory ; PART III Demography, Development, and Conflict ; 6. Age Structure and Development through a Policy Lens ; 7. The Age-Structural Maturity Thesis: The Impact of the Youth Bulge on the Advent and Stability of Liberal Democracy ; 8. Youth Bulges and Violence ; 9. Democracy, Climate Change, and Conflict ; Part IV Demography and National Politics ; 10. Racial Demographics and the 2008 Presidential Election in the United States ; 11. Demography and Immigration Restriction in American History ; 12. The Changing Face of Europe ; 13. <"Go Forth and Multiply>": The Politics of Religious Demography ; Part V Demography in Ethnic and Religious Conflicts ; 14. Wombfare: The Religious and Political Dimensions of Fertility and Demographic Change ; 15. Deter or Engage?: The Demographic Structure of EthnoNationalist Mobilization ; 16. Demographic Change and Conflict in Contemporary Africa ; 17. The Devil in the Demography? Religion, Identity and War in Cote d'Ivoire ; Conclusion ; 18. Politics and Demography: A Summary of Critical Relationships ; References ; Index ; About the Contributors Product Details publication date: 16/08/2012 ISBN13: 9780199945962 Format: Paperback Number Of Pages: 342 ID: 9780199945962 weight: 470 ISBN10: 0199945969 Delivery Information Saver Delivery: Yes 1st Class Delivery: Yes Courier Delivery: Yes Store Delivery: Yes | 3,348 | 1,683 | 1.989305 |
warc | 201704 | It's International Cephalopod Awareness Days, a five-day celebration of more than 700 sea creatures that make up this class of animals.
The festivities kicked off Oct. 8, a date "chosen as an auspicious occasion for appreciating animals with a combination of 8 or 10 appendages," explained the Cephalopod Days Tumblr. "Octopus have eight arms while squid and cuttlefish have eight arms and two tentacles. So the eighth day of the tenth month seemed like the best choice. But cephalopods are so awesome, four more days were added to the celebration."
We couldn't agree more. Here are 13 reasons these crafty creatures rock.
Above: Thermo Dynamics
Octopuses living in freezing waters can customize proteins called potassium channels that open when nerve cells fire, allowing ions through and helping transmit electrical signals across the nervous system.
As it gets colder, the channels should shut more slowly, preventing nerve cells from firing again and ultimately bringing movement to a halt. Amino acid changes in the potassium channels of polar octopuses keep their nervous systems working at temperatures that would shut temperate-dwelling creatures down.
Image: Common octopus. (Beckmannjan/Wikimedia Commons) Brains and Brawn
Cephalopods have the biggest noggins among invertebrates. Squid come equipped with big optic lobes, which help them hone in on prey, for example. Plus, these tentancled swimmers have the largest nerve cells of any animals.
Squid are also the speediest marine invertebrates, getting up to more than 25 mph using jet propulsion. After water goes into the squid's body, it squeezes it out with its strong muscles and propels itself.
Octopuses, which have nine brains and can be trained to do various tasks, are 90 percent muscle.
Image: Giant Pacific octopus. (Magnus Manske/Wikimedia Commons) Masters of Disguise
Rather than just using camouflage to evade predators, the Indonesian mimic octopus can shape itself after various toxic creatures. These masters of disguise can also outswim their adversaries by growing larger arms. Other cephalopods, like the cuttlefish featured in the video below, activate color sacs known as chromatophores to flash different colors.
Image: Blue-ringed octopus. (Wikimedia Commons) Video: Cuttlefish (NOVA/PBS) Octopi DIY
Some octopuses from Indonesia use repurposed coconut shells as homes. Others use shells to protect themselves.
Image: Octopus marginatus inside two shells. (Nick Hobgood/Wikimedia Commons) Multitasking
Different regions of the octopus brain can control different parts of its body, giving it great physical flexibility.
Image: Roy Winkelman/University of South Florida Predicting the Future, Sometimes
Paul the Octopus predicted the results of eight consecutive games correctly during the FIFA 2010 World Cup, including the final. Paul passed away in October 2010 at 2.5 years old. Tear.
Image: News footage screengrab of Paul picking Spain over Holland in the World Cup final. (Voice of America News/Wikimedia Commons) They're Blue-Blooded
Not in the bourgeois, 1 percenter sense of the word, though. These creatures really do have blue bood. That's because the oxygen-binding protein in their blood, hemocyanin, is blue.
Image: Cuttlefish. (FireFly5/Wikimedia Commons) Unafraid of the Dark
Humboldt squid live in darkness, at depths of more than 3,200 feet. They only come up to the surface to feed at night.
Image: Humboldt squid observed 1700 feet deep in Monterey Bay. (Zeidberg et al./PNAS) They're Into Sex.
"All male cephalopods have a specialized arm that they use to pass a package of sperm from their bodies to the females," Ellen Prager, author of
Sex, Drugs and Sea Slime, told Wired in a 2011 interview. "But in the male blanket octopus, he actually self-amputates his arm and gives that to her as well." What a giver.
Other squid, like
Octopoteuthis deletron, also known as the octopus squid, will mate with just about any squid, regardless of gender. At more than 1,600 feet deep, other squid can be few and far between, so carpe diem is the way to go. Image: Two blue-ringed octopi mating. (Roy Caldwell) They Leave Tips.
Octopus squids, or
Octopoteuthis deletron, can shed the ends of their arms during an attack, ensuring a safe getaway from predators. What's more, these freed tips sometimes keep on moving. Eech. Image: Octopoteuthis deletron. (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute) They're Flashy.
Cephalopods can change colors, turning their chromatophores on and off randomly.
Image: Oval squid. (Nhobgood/Wikimedia Commons) Un-picky Eaters.
Cephalopods will munch on just about anything. They're largely carnivorous, but pieces of plastic and even chunks of other cephalopods have been found in their tummies. Vampire squid feast on dead plankton and crustaceans and feces. They're the only cephalopods that don't eat live meals.
Image: Vampire squid. (Kim Reisenbichler / Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute) Eight-Armed Pirates
In a video that recently went viral, an octopus holds a cat shark back while making off with a bucket of bait. Wild octopuses are not the only ones good at snatching up loot.
"Aquarium octopuses are notorious for their ability to pick the most sophisticated locks and latches and make midnight snack raids in neighboring exhibits," according to the Shedd Aquarium blog. Yum yum. | 5,375 | 2,655 | 2.024482 |
warc | 201704 | Last year, when hackers Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek showed they could hijack the steering and brakes of a Ford Escape and a Toyota Prius with nothing but laptops connected to the cars, they raised two questions: Could hackers perform the same tricks wirelessly, or even over the Internet? And even more pressing: Is your specific car vulnerable, too?
If you own a Cadillac Escalade, a Jeep Cherokee or an Infiniti Q50, you may not like the answer.
In a talk today at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas—and an accompanying 92-page paper—Valasek and Miller will present the results of a broad analysis of dozens of different car makes and models, assessing the vehicles’ schematics for the signs that hint at vulnerabilities to auto-focused hackers. The result is a kind of handbook of ratings and reviews of automobiles for the potential hackability of their networked components. “For 24 different cars, we examined how a remote attack might work,” says Valasek, director of vehicle security research at the security consultancy IOActive. “It really depends on the architecture: If you hack the radio, can you send messages to the brakes or the steering? And if you can, what can you do with them?”
Miller and Valasek are quick to disclaim that their results aren’t definitive assertions about security vulnerabilities in cars and trucks so much as warnings of potential weaknesses. In contrast to their 2013 research, they didn’t do any hands-on hacking. In fact, their recent work consisted mostly of signing up for mechanics’ accounts on the websites of all the carmakers, downloading the cars’ technical manuals and wiring diagrams, and analyzing the computer networks those documents revealed. “We wanted to take a step back and look at a whole range of cars in much less detail, to really see what was out there,” says Valasek.
In the two researchers’ analysis, three vehicles were ranked as “most hackable”: the 2014 models of the Infiniti Q50 and Jeep Cherokee and the 2015 model of the Cadillac Escalade. The full results, summarized in the chart below, show that the 2010 and 2014 Toyota Prius didn’t fare well either.
All the cars’ ratings were based on three factors: The first was the size of their wireless “attack surface”—features like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, cellular network connections, keyless entry systems, and even radio-readable tire pressure monitoring systems. Any of those radio connections could potentially be used by a hacker to find a security vulnerability and gain an initial foothold onto a car’s network. Second, they examined the vehicles’ network architecture, how much access those possible footholds offered to more critical systems steering and brakes. And third, Miller and Valasek assessed what they call the cars’ “cyberphysical” features: capabilities like automated braking, parking and lane assist that could transform a few spoofed digital commands into an actual out-of-control car.
The Infiniti Q50 in particular was a model of insecure architecture, the two researchers say. The sports sedan’s wireless features included remote keyless entry, Bluetooth, a cellular connection, wireless tire pressure monitoring, and an Infiniti Connection system that interfaces with a “personal assistant” app on the driver’s smartphone. Miller and Valasek say that within the Q50’s network, those radio and telematic components were directly connected to engine and braking systems. And the sedan’s critical driving systems had computer-controlled features like adaptive cruise control and adaptive steering that a hacker could potentially hijack to physically manipulate the car.
Jeep’s 2014 Cherokee didn’t rate much better, with many of those same wireless features plus a Wi-Fi network, and even more automated driving features like parallel parking assistance that could potentially be triggered at high speeds. “It’s awesome that it has all these features,” says Miller. “But it’s a little scary that they can all talk to each other.”
The researchers point to Audi’s A8, by contrast, as an example of a strong network layout. Its wireless features were separated from its driving functions on its internal network, with a gateway that would block commands sent to steering or brakes from any compromised radios.
In a statement to WIRED, Infiniti spokesperson Kyle Bazemore responds to the researchers’ findings by pointing out that Miller and Valasek didn’t actually hack a Q50. But he writes that the company is nonetheless examining the researchers’ conclusions. “As the potential for ‘hacking’ into the electronic systems of all automobiles may grow, we will continue to integrate security features into our vehicles to help protect against cyber-attacks,” adds Bazemore.
Neither Toyota nor GM immediately responded to a request for comment. A spokesperson for Chrysler wrote in a statement that the company will “endeavor to verify these claims and, if warranted, we will remediate them.” The company also took a jab at Miller and Valasek for not sharing their research with the companies before going public with their findings: “We support the responsible disclosure protocol for addressing cyber security threats. Accordingly, we invite security specialists to first share with us their findings so we might achieve a cooperative resolution. To do otherwise would benefit only those with malicious intent.”
Miller and Valasek counter that they’ve shared their report with the Department of Transportation and the Society of Automobile Engineers, an industry group. Their goal is to use public pressure—and if necessary, shame—to push car companies to think about their security architecture.
The possibility of car hacking, after all, is becoming more real; In some cases the researchers analyzed car models over time to see how they were becoming more digitized and thus potentially more insecure. Infiniti, for instance, more than tripled the number of electronic control units (ECUS) in its Q50 between 2006 and 2014; Jeep and Range Rover both more than doubled them between 2010 and 2014. Meanwhile cars are increasingly connected to smartphones and the Internet, in some cases integrating into their dashboards Web browsers that are well-known targets for hackers. “Our main takeaway is that companies should consider security before adding pieces onto an automobile, especially when those pieces have remote connectivity or cyberphysical attributes,” says Valasek.
Miller and Valasek also recommend automakers think about more actively foiling hackers. For their talk, the hacker duo has created a prototype of an intrusion detection system for cars–a $150 device that plugs directly into a vehicle’s network to monitor and block suspicious commands.
The two researchers, whose earlier work was funded with a grant from DARPA, aren’t the first to examine the wirelessly hackability of cars. In 2010 a team of researchers from the University of Washington and the University of California San Diego showed they could take over a car via a smorgasbord of wireless vulnerabilities. Their attack points included the car’s Bluetooth connection, its OnStar-like cellular radio, a rogue Android app on the driver’s phone synched to the car’s network, and even a malicious audio file burned onto a CD in the car’s stereo.
But those hackers wouldn’t name the car they tested. Miller and Valasek, since the beginning of their auto-hacking exploits, haven’t been so discreet.
“You can grab a Consumer Reports magazine from a newsstand right now and see ratings for car safety features,” says Valasek. “We’re doing the same thing, but for vehicles’ cybersecurity.”
Read their full paper below:Go Back to Top. Skip To: Start of Article. | 8,067 | 3,529 | 2.285917 |
warc | 201704 | ZeroWater Pitcher Review With more than 30 hours spent testing water filters in our office, we came to the conclusion that the ZeroWater 10-Cup Pitcher is the best water filter pitcher for those who are interested in having the safest and purest water available in the water pitcher market. For those who don’t want to go through the hassle and expense of installing a reverse-osmosis system in their kitchen, ZeroWater filters are the next best thing.
During our testing, we found that
ZeroWater filters differ from every other filter on the market. Unlike filters from brands like Brita and PUR, ZeroWater filters actually deionize the water, leaving it almost completely devoid of all inorganic matter, including heavy metals like lead and chromium.
It’s worth noting that other water filters, like Brita, PUR, and MAVEA also remove heavy metals. However, according to authoritative sources like the Water Quality Association and NSF International, ZeroWater is more effective at removing these elements than any other filter.
If you’d like to read our full review, please take a look by clicking here.
Why filtering water is so important
Some might think that using a water filter is an unnecessary luxury, and that municipal tap water is more than sufficient. After all, municipalities claim that tap water is safe to drink, so is a second stage of filtration really necessary?
The fact of the matter is that
there are a significant number of benefits associated with using a water filter on your tap water.
First and foremost, it’s true that tap water in
most — but not all — municipalities is safe to drink when it leaves the treatment plant. However, tap water travelling through (often aging) pipes can pick up unsafe levels of lead and other unhealthy metals — particularly when the water is sitting in those pipes for an extended period of time.
It’s also true that using a water filter pitcher, such as the ZeroWater filter, is not the
only way to filter tap water. However, it is more affordable than expensive filtration installations, such as a reverse-osmosis system. It is also more effective than using filters installed directly onto a faucet.
In terms of convenience, a portable water filter pitcher that fits on your refrigerator shelf and is able to filter water comparably to a reverse-osmosis system is certainly one of the most compelling options currently on the market
Finding the best water filter
During our research, we found that there were
three primary factors which should weigh most heavily on your choice of water filter:
The
water quality produced by the filter is arguably the most important consideration when choosing a water filter pitcher. After all, filtering out harmful materials is the fundamental reason for purchasing a water filter pitcher — so it should do that job effectively.
The
ergonomics of the pitcher are important as well. More specifically, a water pitcher should be easy to hold and carry, and the lid should fit snugly so that pre-filtered water doesn’t spill out when carrying the pitcher from the sink back to the refrigerator.
Finally, the
water should taste “good”. Taste is largely an individual preference, however at the very least your filtered water should taste clean. The removal of chlorine and other metals can contribute significantly to water taste.
Some would say that the amount of time a filter takes to filter water matters as well. Ultimately, we think this should be a fairly minor consideration, since you’ll typically already have the pitcher filled with water when it’s actually time to drink.
What makes ZeroWater filters different
The ZeroWater filter works differently than the other water filters you can buy. For the most part, water filter pitchers use activated carbon and an ion-exchange resin, which causes contaminants like chlorine and metals to attach to the filter — allowing purified water to flow through.
ZeroWater is different because it utilizes a 5-stage filtering process, which includes an ion exchange stage and activated carbon stage.
Ultimately, ZeroWater filters produce water that is almost entirely devoid of harmful contaminants, and produces water similar to the water produced by a reverse osmosis or distillation process. What we liked about the ZeroWater pitcher
There were a lot of things we really liked about the ZeroWater filter. For starters, ZeroWater is so confident in their ability to remove
all dissolved solids that they include a total dissolved solids (TDS) meter with the pitcher itself. And yes, it does read “000”.
We also like the fact that the filters don’t need to be presoaked before they are ready to go — a notable advantage over several of the other leading brands. The ZeroWater pitcher is also quite ergonomic. In addition to being easy to hold, there is a spout on the bottom of the pitcher, which makes it easy to pour water into a cup without taking the entire pitcher out of the refrigerator.
ZeroWater also helps reduce the environmental impact of their filters by offing a recycling and rebate program. While speaking with the CEO of ZeroWater, Doug Kallam, he told us that
the filters are able to be completely recycled and recharged, which means essentially nothing ends up in a landfill.
In addition to processing the recycling of their filters, ZeroWater also offers a $10 rebate coupon for every two filters that are mailed back to them. This is primarily to offset the cost of shipping, however there should be a few dollars leftover to help buy your next batch of filters too.
ZeroWater also occasionally offers discounts to their customers, so make sure to subscribe to their mailing list if you’re interested in getting a better price on your ZeroWater filters.
ZeroWater’s place in the market
While conducting our research to determine the best overall water filter pitcher on the market, we had an in-depth conversation with the CEO of ZeroWater, Doug Kallam. He explained to us that ZeroWater is by no means the largest company in the water filter market, nor do they wish to be.
Doug explained that the
water filters used by ZeroWater are more complex and, by their very nature, more expensive to produce than water filters from other brands. He explained that ZeroWater’s goal is to provide the best quality water for the sub-segment of the market whose biggest priority is water quality, and not cost or speed of filtration.
In that sense, ZeroWater has been successful, and is the 2nd largest pour-through water filter brand in the market, behind only Brita.
How long do ZeroWater filters last
Like most of the major brands of water filters, ZeroWater is certified by NSF International to remove inorganic matter, metals, pesticides, and volatile organic compounds. One downside to the ZeroWater filter is the fact that, because it filters water so effectively,
the filters themselves can be used up more quickly than other filters — further increasing the cost to use ZeroWater filters. ZeroWater filters are rated to remove 18,000 milligrams of dissolved solids before needing to be replaced. This means that the quantity of dissolved solids in your local tap water will have a dramatic impact on the amount of water that can be filtered.
According to ZeroWater, most consumers in the United States will be able to filter between 25 to 40 gallons of water per filter, assuming that the total dissolved solids (TDS) in their tap water falls between the typical range of 51-200.
ZeroWater also says that
municipalities that have particularly high TDS — specifically 500 or higher — will notice that their ZeroWater filters will filter significantly less water before needing to be replaced.
We tested our ZeroWater filter using San Diego tap, which had a typical reading right around 480. Despite ZeroWater’s warnings, we were actually able to get between 15 and 20 gallons per filter. Of course, your mileage may vary.
How do ZeroWater pitchers compare to others?
Overall, the ZeroWater 10-Cup Pitcher compares very favorably when compared to other water filters on the market. While you will pay more (and wait longer) for each cup of water, the quality is simply unparalleled.
ZeroWater vs Brita In our testing, ZeroWater clearly beat Brita. However, there is a reason that Brita has the lion’s share of the water filter market. In addition to being in the North American market for nearly three decades, Brita also offers one of the least expensive filters that also happens to be one of the fastest to filter water.
In fact, of the five water filters we tested, Brita was the fastest:
If you want the least expensive water filter that is also quick to filter water, you can give Brita a shot. Otherwise, consider a different option.
ZeroWater vs PUR We were surprisingly disappointed by the PUR water filter during our testing. Water filtered through the PUR filters we tested took significantly longer than the other filters to test.
The taste of the water was polarizing as well. While some people like the way PUR water tastes, most in our tests simply didn’t.
ZeroWater vs MAVEA
The MAVEA Elemaris 9-Cup Water Filtration Filter was the only pitcher that we felt beat out ZeroWater. While the ZeroWater filter does filter out a greater number of dissolved solids, we felt that the MAVEA pitcher was slightly better overall.
The ergonomics of the MAVEA pitcher and the affordability of the replacement filters (which also have a recycling program) were among the reasons we picked MAVEA as a better overall pick.
That being said, if you want the purest water, ZeroWater is still the way to go.
Should you buy a ZeroWater pitcher?
Even the CEO of ZeroWater admits that ZeroWater is not for everyone. However, if you want water that is as completely free from harmful contaminants as possible, and you’re willing to pay a slight premium to do so, the ZeroWater 10-Cup Pitcher is a fantastic option.
To learn more about the different ZeroWater filters, take a look at our full review of the best water filter pitchers on the market. | 10,208 | 4,074 | 2.505646 |
warc | 201704 | The #1 Piece of Business Knowledge Entrepreneurs Wish They Knew – Part 3 “What is the #1 piece of business information you wish you had known when you were younger?” Today’s answer: Give it away for free & build your network
Free? Huh? Doesn’t that go against everything we learn about business models and capitalism? Not according to network marketer Leo Sararceni:
“I’m 23, and I’m still constantly learning about business. I’d say the fundamental piece of information I wish I’d known before was that giving FREE stuff is the best way to do business. I invest a good amount of time just answering questions, offering guidance, and sharing as much as I can, to assist others in the best way possible.”
Saraceni’s second point about building a network is important. Many entrepreneurs believe, and research shows, a network of mentors is perhaps THE most important factor in entreprenerial success outside of basic managerial competence. Saraceni comments:
“Creating a powerful network is something I could’ve done earlier. I was able to find amazing professionals by forcing myself to interact. Because I’m not a native (i’m Brazilian), and I carry an accent, I had become used to doing things on my own. But once I realized how powerful it is when you’re open to offer your time for free to assist people, I noticed I was able to form relationships mutually beneficial, because I too could benefit from them.” Suggested readings and discussion questions for the classroom to the boardroom: “Wish you knew” Module #3.
1. What is a network entrepreneur?
2. Do you agree that giving things away for free will ultimately help benefit you? Find two examples: One product oriented, and one service oriented.
3. Find an article on the importance of mentors. Write down your top 3 takeaways from the article, as well as action steps for yourself.
4. List your most influential mentors. Do you have a mentor now? If not, where would you go to find one? Who would you approach? Discuss in a small group.
For follow-up learning points about entrepreneurship, see the free EITC curriculum (registration required).
Tip: Also see the EITC “Entrepreneur in a Day” curriculum and alternative exercises for another on-ramp to entrepreneurship.
Part 1 in this series
More information Know a Young Entrepreneur? Nominate them here. The NFIB Young Entrepreneur Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization promoting the importance of small business and free enterprise to the nation’s youth. More information is available at www.NFIB.com/YEF. The Foundation is associated with the National Federation of Independent Business; NFIB is the nation’s leading small business association, with offices in Washington, D.C. and all 50 state capitals.
Entrepreneur In The Classroom. The NFIB Young Entrepreneur Foundation Entrepreneur-in-the-Classroom (EITC) supplemental curriculum exposes students to entrepreneurship and the necessary steps to take an idea and turn it into a business. The free curriculum can be integrated into classes teaching a variety of subjects including music, art, fashion, business and many more. You must be registered to view the full Entrepreneur-in-the-Classroom curriculum.
Related links: Follow NFIB on Twitter Follow blog author Kathy Korman Frey on Twitter | 3,397 | 1,670 | 2.034132 |
warc | 201704 | Posts filed under ‘Curriculum’
Ever thought about starting your own business but wondered if you have what it takes? Today we’ll review the top thinking in “Are Entrepreneurs Born or Made.”
First…what YOU think?
Are you passionate about an area? Do you want to start your own business some day? Are you willing to work hard?
These are key questions to consider as you review the below viewpoints on “Are Entrepreneurs Born or Made.”
It’s not all about “gradutate, get a job, and stay there for life” anymore. On the contrary, entrepreneurship is hot. Small enterprises account for 52 percent of all U.S. workers, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). Want to march to your own beat? Entrepreneurship may be the way. Check out these unconventional entrepreneurs for inspiration.
Teaching entrepreneurship isn’t on the forefront of most educators’ minds. But it should be! What makes a successful entrepreneur? The same things that make a responsible adult—financial literacy, communication skills, hard work, creativity, organization and so much more. So let’s teach our young people the importance of entrepreneurial life skills!
Can you be without your phone for a 24 hour period?
Researcher Sergey Golitsynskiy looked into this exact topic in a study of student cell phone users around the world. The results were surprising.
“It ended up being the most horrible experience many of them had ever in their life…
Now is final call for recruiting time: For internships, jobs, and maybe you want to start your own business. “Top Grading” has proven – over time in elite entrepreneur circles – to be a standard reference for recruiting because of its focus on how to recruit A Players….”Top Grade first–once you do this, your organization can do anything.”
NFIB’s Young Entrepreneur Foundation has created educational curriculum specifically to be used outside the classroom, in the educational setting of a small business environment. Teaching entrepreneurship can be difficult, but more importantly, it’s essential to the success of our young people….Let’s take a look at one unique way to encourage entrepreneurship education, by incorporating the Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work program.
Throughout February, we hear the word “passion” all over the place. Passion can certainly be related to hearts and candy and flowers. But passion influences entrepreneurs beyond February 14th. Passion is a key element to success as a young entrepreneur.
“Ideally, since 80 percent of your life is spent working, you should start your business around something that is a passion of yours. If you’re into kite-surfing and you want to become an entrepreneur, do it with kite-surfing. Look, if you can indulge in your passion, life will be far more interesting than if you’re just working. You’ll work harder at it, and you’ll know more about it.” | 3,057 | 1,499 | 2.03936 |
warc | 201704 | 1. In Rugby League, coach, TV presenter and former great
Andrew Johns, described a Queensland player as a "black c---". Dropped from coaching position and public apology.
2. Former AFL player and West Australian,
Mal Brownhas been hounded by the media for giving a joking speech in which he referred to Aborigines he once played with as "cannibals". Forced to publicly apologise.
3.
Robert DiPierdomenico, Hawthorn AFL Legend and popular ambassador for the AFL's Auskick program in an admiring reference to Gavin Wanganeen, in which he detailed the fellow Brownlow winner's honours, he added: "Not bad for an Abo." Now dumped from the job.
So what went wrong and why are their reputations of these sporting legends now tarnished for their public comments?
Well in a media statement today, the head of one of sport’s premier ‘fair play’ programs is concerned the problem runs far deeper than a few wisecracks.
Steve Rossingh, Executive Director of the Northern Territory Department of Natural Resources, Environment, The Arts and Sport and co-chair of Play by the Rules, a national initiative to encourage fair play in sport, says racism in any form is just that: racism.
“Any comment that is derogatory, insulting or offensive is disrespectful and saying it as a joke is no defence. I fear that racist comments like those we’ve heard recently are really symptoms of an underlying prejudice.”
But Rossingh was quick to point out that racism isn’t just evident in elite sport and that everyone in sport has a responsibility to see that their sport is welcoming and inclusive..
“Club sport lies at the heart of our communities and, although the elite sports stars can provide important role models, it’s the parents, coaches, players and administrators in clubs all over the country who must also play a role in addressing racism.
“Racism is hurtful and damaging and pointless – it can also be unlawful. There’s no place for it in sport. In fact, sport offers a wonderful opportunity to put our differences aside and engage in friendly and sometimes fierce competition with people regardless of their backgrounds, skin colours or the language they speak. Sport can be a great leveller.”
Rossingh believes the current debate provides an opportunity for all sports to consider the culture of their clubs and what they can do to promote fair and inclusive environments for participation.
“It’s disappointing to hear people we respect using racist language but, if we can acknowledge that racism exists, rather than laughing it off, we can start to actually do something about it.”
Play By The Rules offers online training, information and resources for clubs and sporting organisations to ensure everyone involved in sport can do so in enjoyable, safe environments, free from discrimination or harassment.
Play by the Rules is a unique partnership between the Australian Sports Commission, Australian Human Rights Commission and all state and territory sport and recreation and anti-discrimination agencies.
Want to avoid this happening to you in a speech.
Here are some options:
1. Never swear in a speech or near a microphone
2. Never make racist comments
Please consider our next Speechwriter and Speech building seminar in Perth on August 17th 2010 or our personal mentor program. More details here. | 3,406 | 1,757 | 1.938532 |
warc | 201704 | Onion Flu Email False?
You may have received the following information in an email recently. This email has been around for a few years and has been recirculating recently. The information contained in the article is not totally accurate. This is how the email looks…
ONIONS — Who Would’ve Thought?
In 1919 when the flu killed 40 million people, there was a Doctor who visited many farmers to see if he could help them combat the flu. Many of the farmers and their family had contracted it, and many died.
The doctor came upon one farmer, and to his surprise, everyone in the household was very healthy. When the doctor asked what the farmer was doing that was different, the wife replied that she had placed an unpeeled onion in a dish in the rooms of the home (probably only two rooms back then). The doctor couldn’t believe it and asked if he could have one of the onions and place it under the microscope. She gave him one, and when he did this, he did find the flu virus in the onion. It obviously absorbed the bacteria, therefore, keeping the family healthy.
Now, I heard this story from my hairdresser in AZ. She said that several years ago many of her employees were coming down with the flu and so were many of her customers. The next year she placed several bowls with onions around in her shop. To her surprise, none of her staff got sick. It must work… (And no, she is not in the onion business.)
The moral of the story is, buy some onions and place them in bowls around your home. If you work at a desk, place one or two in your office or under your desk or even on top somewhere.. Try it and see what happens. We did it last year, and we never got the flu.
If this helps you and your loved ones from getting sick, all the better. If you do get the flu, it just might be a mild case…Whatever, what have you to lose? Just a few bucks on onions!!!
Now there is a P.S. to this, for I sent it to a friend in Oregon who regularly contributes material to me on health issues. She replied with this most interesting experience about onions: Thanks for the reminder. I don’t know about the farmer’s story…but I do know that I contracted pneumonia, and needless to say I was very ill. I came across an article that said to cut both ends off an onion. Put one end on a fork, and then place the forked end into an empty jar…placing the jar next to the sick patient at night. It said the onion would be black in the morning from the germs. Sure enough, it happened just like that…the onion was a mess, and I began to feel better.
Another thing I read in the article was that onions and garlic placed around the room saved many from the black plague years ago They have powerful antibacterial, antiseptic properties.
This is the other note: LEFTOVER ONIONS ARE POISONOUS! I have used an onion which has been left in the fridge. Sometimes I don’t use a whole one at one time, so I save the other half for later. Now with this info, I have changed my mind. I will buy smaller onions in the future.
I had the wonderful privilege of touring Mullins Food Products, makers of mayonnaise. Mullins is huge, and is owned by 11 brothers and sisters in the Mullins family. My friend, Jeanne, is the CEO. Questions about food poisoning came up, and I wanted to share what I learned from a chemist. The guy who gave us our tour is named Ed. He’s one of the brothers. Ed is a chemistry expert and is involved in developing most of the sauce formula. He’s even developed sauce formula for McDonald’s. Keep in mind that Ed is a food chemistry whiz.
During the tour, someone asked if we really needed to worry about mayonnaise. People are always worried that mayonnaise will spoil. Ed’s answer will surprise you. Ed said that all commercially-made mayo is completely safe. “It doesn’t even have to be refrigerated. No harm in refrigerating it, but it’s not really necessary.” He explained that the pH in mayonnaise is set at a point that bacteria could not survive in that environment. He then talked about the quintessential picnic, with the bowl of potato salad sitting on the table and how everyone blames the mayonnaise when someone gets sick.
Ed says that when food poisoning is reported, the first thing the officials look for is when the ‘victim’ last ate ONIONS and where those onions came from (in the potato salad?). Ed says it’s not the mayonnaise (as long as it’s not homemade mayo) that spoils in the outdoors. It’s probably the onions, and if not the onions, it’s the POTATOES.
He explained, onions are a huge magnet for bacteria, especially uncooked onions. You should never plan to keep a portion of a sliced onion.
He says it’s not even safe if you put it in a zip-lock bag and put it in your refrigerator.
It’s already contaminated enough just by being cut open and out for a bit, that it can be a danger to you (and doubly watch out for those onions you put on your hotdogs at the baseball park!)
Ed says if you take the leftover onion and cook it like crazy you’ll probably be okay, but if you slice that leftover onion and put it on your sandwich, you’re asking for trouble. Both the onions and the moist potato in a potato salad will attract and grow bacteria faster than any commercial mayonnaise will even begin to break down.
So, how’s that for news? Take it for what you will. I (the author) am going to be very careful about my onions from now on. For some reason, I see a lot of credibility coming from a chemist and a company that produces millions of pounds of mayonnaise every year.
Also, dogs should never eat onions.. Their stomachs cannot metabolize onions.
Please remember it is dangerous to cut onions and try to use it to cook the next day. It becomes highly poisonous for even a single night and creates toxic bacteria which may cause adverse stomach infections because of excess bile secretions and even food poisoning.
[Via: Snopes.com] | 6,037 | 2,865 | 2.107155 |
warc | 201704 | Thursday, July 9, 2009 Waldorf's Approach to Teaching Math, Reading, and More - An Interview with Tracey Buchanan
Tracey Buchanan received her Waldorf Teaching Certification through Rudolf Steiner College in Sacramento, CA, where she was chosen by her class as Graduate Representative. She has been a Class Teacher since 2005, and has assisted in Waldorf classrooms and early childhood programs since 2003. Before her involvement in Waldorf Education, Tracey spent over ten years in individual and formal study of the Gaelic language speaking cultures of Scotland and North America: working, going to University, and living in the Nova Scotian Gaidhealtachd. She taught classes in Celtic Folk Life at Colorado Free University from 2001-2003, when she turned her attentions to the excitement of the Waldorf classroom. She and her husband James live in Denver with their two children: son Breandan, and daughter Peig. Tracey was kind enough to give me some of her summer time to interview on the subject of Waldorf education.
How does Waldorf teach literacy? Why this pace?
Waldorf education arrives at literacy through the imaginative pictures and highly complex vocabulary found in fairy tales, folk tales, legends, and through a profound intimacy with spoken rhyme and meter. The children become deeply familiar with the pictures and paces of the language itself to begin with, developing into an intense connection to the letters of the alphabet and the sounds they make. In Waldorf Education, the teacher herself must have a respectful relationship with speech and be conscious of the mystery of speech's evolution into writing and reading and what that signified for the evolution of mankind. This tacit understanding brings to the children a like respect for language that, in the best circumstances, is light and happy.
Once a love for speech is cultivated and other passages of physical development have been obtained, the child will demonstrate a healthy urge to unravel the reading question. This happens at a different time for each individual child, and to push them before they are ready compromises the relationship the child will have towards reading or even co-opt the social urge which is so vital in the developing 1st grader. These are a couple of the reasons why Waldorf educators will bring conscious reading very slowly in 1st grade and always in an imaginative way. The seeds for great reading skills are planted in the Waldorf Kindergarten through physical integration through play and in developing the child's listening skills.
If a love of speech has been cultivated and the child has passed the stages of physical development needed to arrive at the "quest" for reading and this does not happen, we know to observe the child to determine if there are other factors at work possibly blocking the ability to read. In a healthy Waldorf school, the Class Teacher already knows what challenges the children in his or her class are facing through in depth assessments brought by experienced support teachers before 1st grade and again during the 2nd grade year. He or she will have already incorporated remediating activities based on the class' needs into the rhythmic portion of the day, known as circle time.The teacher's eye for observation plays a major role as reading difficulties manifest mainly in the child as problems with actual physical integration. Perhaps the sense of balance (vestibular) is off on a particular child, or their sense of where they are in space (proprioceptive) is in need of further development. In some cases, retained reflexes from infancy due to lack of floor time, birth circumstances, or other factors can manifest as social or learning challenges.
Because Waldorf education is in itself therapeutic by addressing the needs mentioned above, many of the challenges presented by a child will be "worked through" in 1st grade, leaving 2nd grade open and clear for deliberate academic development. Typically, a child who has the desire to read and cannot will experience some frustration. This is a major indicator that the child needs extra support. Depending upon the school, reading support for the child in need could be referred for help anytime from 2nd -4th grade, based on the observations of the teacher.
Rarely are children referred to reading help in 1st grade, as premature reading compromises the cultivation of necessary social skills which have a window of blooming in the 1st grade. They can be referred to a support teacher to further strengthen areas upon which reading is dependent such as the vestibular and proprioceptive skills mentioned above. Reading is introduced slowly in the 1st grade so rarely is there any frustration from the child who might later need support. This allows the therapeutic nature of 1st grade circle time to fully mature the developing child and remediate any challenges which aren't severe. In other words, learning has its foundation in the inner health and development of the child. Waldorf education starts with the child, develops that inner health in 1st grade and Kindergarten so that the foundation for learning is secure, and then moves slowly towards academics observing each child at each step of the game. It's a well documented phenomenon that children who do need help in building this foundation for learning may take a couple of years to do so, after which their reading excels at exponential rates. High reading comprehension is a skill in Waldorf graduates across the board. Colleges admissions officers know this to be a fact.
In essence, Waldorf Education takes the time in the early grades to do everything possible to make sure that the child is a balanced, harmonious individual on all levels, remedial to creative. This time and care builds a robust foundation for learning that provides the child with strength throughout their lives to meet obstacles and overcome them, all the while enjoying a love of learning and creativity.
How does Waldorf teach math?
Waldorf Education's approach to mathematics begins where math begins, in the will of the child. How many of ourselves, as children, felt math to be incomprehensible, insurmountable jumble of squiggly marks on a page that signified the lackluster point in the day? Math is in essence a kinesthetic learning experience for the 1st grade child. Moving to math is essential in the early grades so that elementary mathematical concepts reside first in the nature of the will, where they eventually become part of the muscle memory of the young child much like their close counterpart music. Let's live with that image for a moment. Most people find it quite profound that music has a mathematical quality about it. But what if we take a different perspective? What if math had a musical quality about it? What if the human body could learn math much in the same way a musician trains himself to play an instrument? That is the approach Waldorf takes to math. The child, through moving to math in the early grades, develops a proficiency much like a musician memorizing his scales. All four processes are addressed early in 1st grade through fun and enlivened movement. Once a child is moving to math, he or she may begin to use manipulatives (such as beans or glass beads) to understand the relationships that the our processes represent. This is done through telling imaginative math tales where the children get to participate by solving the same word problems the main characters solve. This allows for a "living" math to develop within the children; one that freed by imagination can take on a life of its own.
But before we bring our excitement for math up to a fevered pitch, it's important to talk a bit about the numbers themselves. The numbers are the first real contact children have with universal mystery. Numbers are highly philosophical, and this nature will speak to the children in a profound way. We begin in the classroom by asking the question, "What is the largest number in the universe?" The children love to answer this question. "A googleplex!", "Infinity!", "Ten hundred million billion gazillion!" are common answers. So when the Waldorf teacher says, "The largest number in the universe is 1", the children react quite excitedly. "What!?" And after the teacher assures them that they are not the butt of a joke, the children go deeply inward to discover "why" the largest number is indeed 1.
The concepts at which they arrive are astounding. "One is the biggest because without it there isn't any 2, or 3, or even a million." "One is the biggest because everything there is is in one Universe." "One is the biggest because it can be any number it wants." All sorts of philosophical and mathematical truths become evident through just this "one" discussion. Eventually the children arrive at "I am one!", they see how their bodies are shaped like the number one, they relate themselves to the vastness of the Universe, and realize at that point that they are co-creators. Each number, 1-12, is a discussion involved in this deep intensity of imagination. We begin with Roman numerals and incorporate geometry into the discussion of each number, scribing freehand the relative polygons and stars. The children work diligently to master each of the stars, crossing the vertical midline over and over again as they practice on large sheets of paper. Eventually, a particular star will stand out as the class favorite which tells the Class Teacher an immeasurable amount about the class itself. All of this happens in 1st grade.
So from the get go, children are aware of the significance of numbers and enter very deeply into them. When they
1. have the imaginations of the numbers,
2. use their will to execute stars and polygons,
3. move their bodies through the math facts of all four processes (+ - / x) DAILY,
4. take part in music classes involving flute, voice, and lyre to illustrate the beauty of the voice of numbers, and
5. use manipulatives to work through exciting math tales and classroom conundrums...
a genuine love of math can only be enhanced by the practical approach in the mid to later grades. One can't help but think that the third grade curriculum of learning fractions through cooking and building complements the introduction of the orchestral stringed instruments at that same time. Cooking is a symphony of tastes. Architecture is an opus of space. Math is the key to participating in the music of life. It is everywhere. The sixth grader gets to experience this by working with the Fibonacci sequence and Euclidean to Platonic geometries, creating spiritual symphonies one can only hear if one has the ears to do so. Waldorf Education seeks to help them develop these capacities.
How do art and stories help to teach academic subjects?
Waldorf education holds true the idea that human beings are here to create and develop. So, I would pose this question: how do academic subjects help to teach Art and Stories? If we approach every academic subject as capable of being elevated to the level of Art, and support the students in achieving this, they will learn to be Artful in all that they do. If we approach every academic subject as being a way for them to Artfully write the Story that is their life, the children will seek to do so. But let me return to the meat of your question.
Art and story bestow meaning. They engage the child in a fashion that cannot be met with abstracted conceptualization. With art and story, academic subjects take on a life they do not posses on their own. Art and story are the "breath of life" for any academic subject, and without them the learned material dies, ceases to have meaning other than the husk of the concept itself. Waldorf Education seeks to impart a living form of learning which takes on a life of its own and is capable of leading the individual student into new ways of tackling old problems. Two quotes of Einstein come to mind here, "Imagination is more important than knowledge, " and "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking that created them." In the first quote he wasn't writing knowledge off as unimportant, he was stating that dead knowledge is useless and that imagination is needed to enliven it. In the second, which by far is the most provocative I believe, he calls to task the embedded modern belief that there is "nothing new under the sun" and that it has "all been done before". Our current castrated mode of thought is the direct by-product of an educational system which doles stones of knowledge out to its helpless pupils instead of enlivening their thinking so that it takes on new evolved dimensions to solve the puzzles and tragedies of humanity. Some individuals manage, though rebellion to this deadened paradigm, to maintain a degree of inspired thought. They are the ones who are making a difference today. Waldorf Education seeks to allow every student the opportunity to be the change they want to see in the world through actually encouraging enlivened thinking through the incorporation of story and art in each academic subject. Instead of starving the type of thinking that will make a difference, Waldorf nourishes it in each and every child.
What are the advantages of having the same teacher/students each year from 1st to 8th grade. Are there any problems you have faced with this arrangement?
This is a question that comes often to the Waldorf Teacher from parents new to the movement. Having the same teacher through eight years of schooling seems to fly in the face of our own educational experience and causes us to ask, "Why?" We then remember our worst teacher ever and think to ourselves, "My God, what if I had been stuck for eight years with that person!?" Its a legitimate question, no doubt! The answer to those tough questions can be found mainly in the testimonials of parents who have had the Waldorf experience, but I will try to answer your question from the point of view of both a Class Teacher and a Waldorf parent.
I cannot emphasise how much my training as a Waldorf teacher has prepared me to meet the challenge of a relationship based form of education. Waldorf teachers are cultivated in their training to embrace self development and hone their social skills. Those who feel that inner development and social skills are unimportant in education or who cannot move through these obstacles with an open mind fall by the wayside and find something else to do with their lives. Those that work diligently at improving their own levels of compassion, manage their anger, hone their observational skills, and cultivate a open mind usually find themselves employed at a Waldorf School. Financially healthy schools will hire teachers mostly based on personal development, the ability to teach, and interpersonal skills. That is why a healthy school make take quite a long time to hire a teacher; they develop a relationship with the candidate to see if that person has the temperament they desire to take a specific class.
There is an emphasis on ethics and morality in the life of the teacher which is approached through meditation and the arts in the teacher training. This enlivens ethical and moral consciousness beyond a dogmatic approach and actually creates a very open minded outlook and a loving capacity to stand in the shoes of another. This is what you typically find as a base line of consciousness in a certified Waldorf Class Teacher and what is emphasised in the "Foundation Studies" of the teacher training program. This is also why Waldorf Certification is so important and those who have received only public school training may find it a difficult row to hoe to be with one class for eight years.
The benefits of having a teacher who has undergone Waldorf teacher training are based in the idea that you have an individual who is committed to meeting the needs of the class, guiding it, and growing with the children. The Class Teacher works with a mantra that helps them stay exciting, inspired, and loving. It goes like this:
"Imbue yourself with the Power of Imagination. Have Courage for the Truth. Sharpen your feeling for Responsibility of Soul."
Power of Imagination, Courage for Truth, and Responsibility of Soul are lofty tenets for any one's aspirations. Concentration on such a mantra among others works wonders within the teacher, and helps them stay alert during the whole of the 8 year class cycle. This means that they remain available when conflicts arise and try to see things objectively yet compassionately. If the teacher is lucky they have considerable support through the combined expertise of other faculty members and an active, qualified mentor who advises them in a variety of situations. This support helps the teacher maintain his or her bearings and helps ensure an open minded, friendly, growth oriented relationship with parents in the class. In addition, being with the children for 8 years allows a teacher to really get to know the individuals in the class and be able to measure each child's progress against a personal best and encourage a child to grow as much as possible. The Class Teacher works closely with the family during the 8 years of instruction and is able to cultivate a genuine growth in the children in the class through long term observation and interaction with each individual.
I personally haven't found any problems with the arrangement, but there have been cases where a teacher was deemed "not right" for the class after all and encouraged to pursue other avenues of development. This can be impactful for everyone in the class and school community. Teachers themselves have life changing events where teaching must wait as they take care of ailing elderly parents or other such emergencies arise. My son lost his Class Teacher in the 2nd grade and it was really earth shattering, but we all lived and now she is one of my dearly beloved colleagues at a different school!
How do you handle the more energetic children in your classroom with dignity and yet still bring order?
The first line of support for the energetic child is the classroom rhythm. The rhythm is set by the teacher in such a way that it lends itself to the needs of the class, depending upon the overall energy level. There are moments where the class is breathing in (taking things in a deeply concentrated way) and there are moments where the class is breathing out (art, active imagining, movement). Story is the only time when both breathing in and breathing out are combined, which makes it the crown jewel of the Waldorf Main Lesson. The energetic child soon learns that there will, indeed, be a time where movement is encouraged and that it won't be long in coming. This develops two things: 1. the will to sit as well as one can through the sitting parts and 2. trust that their need for movement will be met. Depending upon the preponderance of energy in the class, the teacher will alter the rhythm so that the children get ample opportunity to both move out with body and imagination and to go inward in thought and feeling.
In the earlier grades, Class Teachers will also form the class culture through songs, verses and cues that let the children know they have some time (by the end of the verse or song) to collect themselves into the right configuration for an upcoming activity. In addition, great emphasis is placed in engaging the children when they are seated so that the lesson becomes all absorbing. All of these supports will help the energetic child as well as the low energy student come into oneness with the class. If there are children in the class who have issues that cause them to move an inordinate amount, beyond what is addressed by the rhythm of the classroom itself (especially vestibular, proprioceptive, or impulse control issues) the teacher will suggest support lessons for the child to help her or him integrate her or his body so that the child can know where they are in space without constant stimulation. In the meantime, the teacher and the child will work towards some sort of positive reinforcement for surmounting the "staying seated during seated times" situation. What that is depends a great deal upon the individual, the class, and the Class Teacher.
The Waldorf teacher knows, through careful observation, regular assessment, and collegial input which children have an energetic personality and should muster their will forces to stay seated during seated times and which others have genuine issues that actually make it very uncomfortable for them to remain seated. For the latter, the classroom support may consist of sitting on a particular type of balance cushion or even a one legged stool. That way they are working on remediating the issue as well as remaining seated during the appropriate times. Some Class Teachers have such a preponderance of needs in the class that they opt to have the entire class sit on one-legged stools. It helps the ones that need it and doesn't hurt the ones who don't. The rest is left in the hands of the Class Teacher to follow through with the will and the protocol it takes to have an entire class of students who sit upon chairs that crash loudly to the floor if a child unwittingly gets up without proper control of the stool! Sounds impossible, but it has been successfully done!
Do you identify different learning styles and intelligences and then work with them?
Because Waldorf is a foremost a holistic, therapeutic education we first seek to build that strong foundation of physical integration in every child. We then build upon our knowledge of each child's integrative constitution to separate "learning style" from "survival mechanism". This is vital if we as educators are to integrate for wholeness so that a child can have the ability, the freedom, to do what he or she chooses in adult life. An adult who leans on gifts while never developing their weak areas does not operate in true freedom. It is this true freedom that Waldorf Education seeks to give its graduates. But to answer your question more plainly, yes, we do.
One of the most powerful gifts a teacher can give a student is to see with that student's perspective and acknowledge said perspective in teaching. We are all individuals and as such have the need for our individuality to be seen and met. One of the ways Waldorf teachers work with this is to know, for instance, the dominances of their students. Eye, ear, brain, hand, and foot dominances can tell the teacher a lot about whether a child is primarily a gestalt learner or primarily an analytical one, or whether there will be issues related to cross dominance. When under stress, a child's dominant side for each will shut down and the non-dominant side will act in its place. If a child is right eared dominant and he is stressed out, he will need a method of calming down before he will "hear" anything that goes into the right ear, the left ear, being undominant is unsatisfactory as well. Many Waldorf teachers use beanbag exercises or Bal-a -viz-x to regain integration from a child who has become stressed and shut down his or her dominant side.
In addition, we work with four types of temperaments in the grades. Depending upon the temperament, Class Teachers can engage a child in the way that they go about learning a particular subject. Even though there are four temperaments I have yet to meet a child that was purely one to the exclusion of all others. Typically there will be a dominant one, with stress or delight reactions gravitating towards the temperaments to either side. Because Waldorf teaches to all the mainstream learning styles by way of the curriculum itself and through the breathing of the class rhythm, visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners are all met in the classroom.
Waldorf education is one that builds strength in all of what is now known as the "multiple intelligences". The Class Teacher will recognize a student's gifts in one or several of the intelligences, but also strive to help them round out the ones in which they display a need to grow. In that respect it is truly a balanced education. One even wonders if Howard Gardner discovered multiple intelligences much like Columbus discovered the New World. Even though his ideas were new and quite impactful to mainstream education in 1983 with the publication of Frames of Mind , the concept of what he described as "multiple intelligences" was already in practice in Waldorf schools and had been for almost 50 years. Not to downplay the immense sociological and pedagogical mainstream impact of Dr. Gardner's work in any way, mind you. Educators are inspired and rightly so by the focused and heartfelt endeavors of this amazing man. But we should recognize that his life work supports the pre-existent Waldorf approach, though Waldorf pedagogues will not necessarily use the same terminology or go about implementing his ideas in a systematic way.
What progress have you seen in your students now that the year is coming to a close – in terms of behavior, academic achievement, confidence, artistic talent?
The first grade classroom is such an exciting place! It always begins in chaos and ends in order, provided a class culture has been formed, the rhythm has met the children, and they have learned to breathe out and in (as described above) in a healthy way. In the beginning, the first thing the children want to know, "What does it mean to be in a classroom?" and we give them rules so they know. The rest of the year is comprised with working with the precious individualities in the class to help them understand that the boundaries are the boundaries in a loving, fun, and exciting way. Time for work, time for play. Time to eat, time to rest. Time to be loud, time to be quiet. Time to be outside (different rules!) time to be inside. Maybe this friend is a good work partner, and this one is great for playtime! It is magical watching the capacities of the children develop, watching the class knit into a community. The social development of the class culture is one of the main considerations in the education. Can these wonderful individual children, guided by the Class Teacher and their parents and supported by the school itself create community? Of course they can!
All of the children are artists, each with his or her own different signature style. The Waldorf methods allow the teacher to truly witness the essence of each child's artistic nature by noticing his or her unique signature in artistic "studies" (where they all paint or draw or sculpt the content given by the teacher, displaying the inner nature of their style) as well as in "free-rendering" (they choose the medium and contextual content). The art of the children in the classroom never ceases to amaze me, and with this 1st grade it is no different. Vibrant, alive, unique, and even jaw dropping.
Artistic and musical ability along with classroom (behavioral) skills were overall the most prolific gains represented in the classroom this year with a majority of the class meeting "secure" or "prolific" goals in these areas. A majority of the children in the class are also secure to prolific in areas related to the Alphabet, Numbers 1-100, the Four Processes, and "skip counting" (counting by 2s, 3s,5s,10s,11s forwards and backwards while moving in time with the class). Most were still developing in writing, which in my book depends upon being able to write from dictation with correct letter and number orientation, and correct stroke and grip. Many children in 1st grade are still practicing how to make their letters and numbers correctly with the correct grip and stroke. I find improvements across the board in these in 2nd grade after a summer of healthy outdoor play, and expect the same with this class of 26.
Reading is not quantifiably measured until 2nd grade, but at the moment I have abilities ranging from complete disinterest to vigorous chapter book reading in the class. Most of the parents have been with Waldorf since the beginning, aren't too concerned at the close of 2nd grade and haven't been pushing their children in any way other than to read to them regularly. The range is completely based upon the readiness of the individual and there is no reading hierarchy in the class at the close of 1st. Next year we will focus even more on dictation, reading from readers we create, and further writing in our Main Lesson Books and in our nature journals.
What led you into Waldorf teaching?
My dear children, specifically my son Breandan, led me to Waldorf. I knew he was going to need a pretty special education because he was by no means an easy child. Waldorf showed me how to better support him with his particular needs with amazing results, and because of my involvement in his school I became aquainted with the methods. Encouraged by the faculty, I got my teacher training at Rudolf Steiner College in Sacramento beginning in 2005 and graduating in 2008. I cannot stress enough the positive effect becoming a Waldorf teacher has had on the life of my family and my own personal renewal. I am grateful. | 29,194 | 11,930 | 2.447108 |
warc | 201704 | NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Did the earth move for you? Was it as good for you as it was for Steve?
OK, so maybe you didn't preorder an iPad, or line up at an Apple store on Saturday; perhaps you're just not a 1.0 kind of person. Or maybe you don't plan to ever get one. But if you're a media or marketing person, you can't help but care about Apple's new tablet -- the 1.5 pound wonder that's been hyped as the savior of media, particularly newspapers and magazines.
AD AGE WHITE PAPER For more analysis of what just happened, and what happens next, I invite you to buy a copy of "Dumenco's State of the Media Report." Or come see me at Ad Age's Digital Conference, April 14. Or better, do both! (Also available for parties, bat mitzvahs, etc.)
Cupertino cultists are, of course, automatically inclined to ascribe mystical qualities to new Apple products, but in the media/marketing world, the longing for salvation through technology is especially acute given what happened to all of us in 2009. What we're hoping for, really, is not just a reversal of fortune, but a reversal of plot. Whereas we've all spent the last few years watching digital technology take a wrecking ball to nearly every sector of the traditional media economy, now we hope technology can suddenly save traditional media.
The State of the Media white paper is filled with all manner of charts and graphs that delineate last year's wreckage. (Of course some players -- Facebook and Google -- did just fine, thank you very much.) But despite entirely justified cries of "The sky is falling!" it's important to remember that it's not just the media sky that's been falling. Consider, for instance, the utter collapse of the automotive industry. Ad-supported media, from newspapers and magazines to radio and TV, have always depended disproportionately on carmakers' marketing dollars. Chrysler cut its TV ad spending in 2009 by half -- with the other majors cutting at least 30%.
Topsy-turvy So while new-media cheerleaders insist broadcast is dead and internet-streamed video is what really matters, they're forgetting that: 1) Broadcast TV's numbers looked bad in 2009 because most marketers' numbers were bad; and 2) in many ways, broadcast TV is more popular than ever, with events such as the Super Bowl and Oscars drawing record audiences.
No wonder it's hard to tell what's really up and what's really down anymore -- and whether the metrics reflect secular or cyclical shifts. What last year really did was test the limits of our faith in some of the basic tenets of marketing and media.
As a media person, when big-budget marketers pull the rugs out from under you, do you lose all faith in rugs and floors? Do you resolve to henceforth trust nothing but gravity?
And if you're a marketer watching traditional channels fracture, to what extent should you be abandoning the tried and true in favor of, say, the still largely unchartered waters of social-media marketing, not to mention iPad advertising? | 2,993 | 1,609 | 1.860162 |
warc | 201704 | Nationwide Business Insurance in Temple, Pennsylvania From Spotts Insurance Group Agency
Like most business owners, you probably know pretty much everything about your business. Still, you may have lingering questions about your commercial insurance needs. The Spotts Insurance Group Agency can fill the gaps in your knowledge of Temple business insurance, just as we can recognize and fill gaps in your policy coverage.
Maybe you have questions about a business owner's policy or industry-specific coverage programs available from Nationwide. Maybe you have questions about different commercial insurance products including liability, property, and employee coverage. But no matter your concerns, you want to know that your business’s past success has been safeguarded, while also putting your company in a great position for future growth.
In addition to their great insurance products, the Spotts Insurance Group Agency also partners with Nationwide for superior account services. For example, whether you need to respond to changes in state law or local markets, don’t underestimate the value of the Nationwide’s
On Your Side® Reviews. Let us explain how dependable customer service and flexible billing options make for stronger protection for your Temple company. Give us a call at (610) 374-2911 so we can start discussing your business’s insurance needs. We can also set up a time to talk in person at our local office. We’re located at 4857 Kutztown Rd, Temple, Pennsylvania, 19560-1551.
The Spotts Insurance Group Agency also offers products in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, South Carolina and Virginia. Please call for information on products in those states. | 1,719 | 890 | 1.931461 |
warc | 201704 | Red-tailed squirrels are found in Central and South America. Their range includes northern Costa Rica, southern Venezuela, Columbia, Panama, and Ecuador. (Emamdie and Warren, 1993; Heaney and Thorington, Jr., 1978; Nitikman, 1985; Nowak, 1999; Thorington, Jr. and Hoffmann, 2005)are also found on the islands of Margarita, Tobago, Trinidad, and Barro Colorado Island. Red-tailed squirrels are found from sea level to 3,000 meters, although in Venezuela 93% of red-tailed squirrels are found below 1,500 m.
Red-tailed squirrels are found in a variety of habitats. They are found in both tropical and seasonal forests, in close proximity to water, and in croplands close to human populations. They are primarily found in seasonal rainforests inhabiting lower forest layers. (Heaney and Thorington, Jr., 1978; Nitikman, 1985)
Red-tailed squirrels are medium-sized squirrels. Their color varies greatly across the range of the species, especially in different habitats. Their dorsal surface is often dark orange, but can range from dull yellow sprinkled with black to all black. Some varieties of red-tailed squirrels have a median, dorsal stripe. Their ventral color ranges from completely white to bright orange-rust. The well-furred tail is dull yellowish brown and may or may not include a black tip. The ventral tail varies from dark yellowish brown to black with a dark yellow edge. The chin and sides of the throat are dark colored with dark yellow highlights with a yellowish-brown ring surrounding the eyes. The winter coat color may vary slightly from the summer coat. Red-tailed squirrels vary in size throughout their geographic range. Males and females tend to be around the same size, although females tend to be slightly larger on Barro Colorado Island in Panama. Body masses range from 228 to 520 g with body length ranging from 330 to 520 mm. Tail length is 140 to 280 mm. The length of the hind feet is 40 to 65 mm, the length of each ear is 16 to 36 mm, the length of the skull is 42.5 to 68.3 mm, and the width of the cranium is 20.0 to 25.6 mm. (Heaney and Thorington, Jr., 1978; Nitikman, 1985; Nowak, 1999)has a broad skull that is deep in the orbital region. The cranium is arched, the snout is long, and the bullae are small.
Red-tailed squirrels generally breed from late December or early January through October. Some red-tailed squirrels may grunt, squeal, and chase each other, but it is not known if that is a mating behavior. During mating season, males begin to search for and follow females three or more days before they come into heat. The day the female comes into heat, many males begin to enter her home range and chase her until mating occurs. The male loses interest within 15 to 30 minutes following mating. (Fleming, 1970; Nitikman, 1985)
The gestation period of red-tailed squirrels is less than two months. Young are born hairless and with closed eyes weighing approximately 9 to 10 g at birth. The litter size is usually 1 or 2 squirrels, although in rare cases litter size may be up to 3. Red-tailed squirrels can have 2 to 3 litters per year. Fur begins to grow on the young approximately 14 days after birth and their eyes open approximately 30 to 32 days after birth. (Heaney and Thorington, Jr., 1978; Koprowskia and Lurzb, 2007; Nitikman, 1985; Nowak, 1999; de Magalhaes and Costa, 2009)
Young stay in the nest approximately six weeks after birth. When the mother leaves the nest, she covers her young with nest material. After the period of lactation, which is approximately 61 days, the mother leaves her young. Males have no parental involvement in their young. (Heaney and Thorington, Jr., 1978)
Not much is known about the lifespan of red-tailed squirrels in the wild, but it is estimated that maximum lifespan is between 6 and 7 years. During a study on Barro Colorado Island, an individual that was approximately 1 year old, was captured and marked and re-captured multiple times for 6 years. The maximum lifespan in captivity is approximately 11.5 years. (Heaney and Thorington, Jr., 1978; Nitikman, 1985; de Magalhaes and Costa, 2009)
Red-tailed squirrels are usually solitary and are only seen in groups when breeding, feeding, or with their young. Even when they are in groups, red-tailed squirrels usually avoid each other. Adult female red-tailed squirrels are usually not seen within 10 m of other individuals, but they have been documented chasing each other. They avoid one another while feeding and are never found in the same tree at one time. The majority of their day (64%) is spent sitting, while only about 3% is spent grasping, jumping, climbing, or doing other activities. Red-tailed squirrels are generally silent, unless they are alarmed, during which they will let out a few short, hoarse sounds. They also have been known to let out grunts and squeals. Red-tailed squirrels travel 50% of the time on the trunks and large branches close to the center of trees. (Fleming, 1970; Garber and Sussman, 1984; Nitikman, 1985)
The average home range area of males is estimated to be 1.5 ha. and the average home range of females is estimated to be 0.65 ha. On a study done in Panama, home range for males was 0.83 ha to 2.15 ha. Females home ranges were 0.39 ha to 0.86 ha. Male home ranges overlap greatly with one another and overlap with home ranges of females. Female home ranges do not usually overlap. (Heaney and Thorington, Jr., 1978; Nitikman, 1985; Nowak, 1999)
Normally (Fleming, 1970)are quiet and solitary, but they often let out grunts and squeals and chase each other. This may or may not a mating behavior. Like other squirrels, they use body postures and gestures to communicate and have a keen sense of smell used to find food and determine sexual receptivity.
Approximately 65% of the diet of red-tailed squirrels is made up of fruits, nuts, and seeds with the majority of their diet coming from Scheelea zonensis, Dipteryx panamensis, Maripa panamensis, and Gustavia superba. Although they feed mainly on large fruits and seeds, their diet may include leaves, bark, mushrooms, and flowers. A study done on Barro Colorado Island found that 73% of total feeding observations were on four species of fruit; Dipteryx panamensis, Astrocaryum standleyum, Scheelea zonensis, and Gustavia superba. When available, acorns and hickory nuts are greatly preferred. Red-tailed squirrels have been documented feeding on small insects. In areas where humans reside, red-tailed squirrels feed on cultivars, mangos, avocados, maize, coconuts, and bananas causing damage to these crops. In central Panama, red-tailed squirrels prefer feeding on hard-shelled nuts over softer-shelled nuts. Red-tailed squirrels mainly search for food on the ground, but will usually climb up into the trees before eating food they have found. They also look for food in the crowns of trees over 30 m above the ground. (Garber and Sussman, 1984; Glanz, 1984; Heaney and Thorington, Jr., 1978; Nitikman, 1985; Nowak, 1999)
Humans occasionally prey on red-tailed squirrels, both for food and to reduce their impact on crops, such as mangos, avocados, corn, coconuts, and bananas. Natural predators include capuchin monkeys (Cebus capucinus) and boa constrictors (Boa constrictor). They may also be preyed on by raptors, felids, and arboreal snakes. (Nitikman, 1985; Wright, et al., 2000)
Red-tailed squirrels disperse the seeds of the fruits that they feed on and serve as prey for predators. They may contribute to the dispersal of fungal spores as well. (Steven and Putz, 1984)
In areas of human population, red-tailed squirrels feed on crops such as mangos, avocados, maize, coconuts, and bananas, causing crop damage. (Nitikman, 1985)
Red-tailed squirrels have a stable population standing. They are neither endangered nor close to extinction even though they are hunted by humans.
Casey Harrell (author), Radford University, Joel Hagen (editor), Radford University, Tanya Dewey (editor), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.
living in the southern part of the New World. In other words, Central and South America.
uses sound to communicate
young are born in a relatively underdeveloped state; they are unable to feed or care for themselves or locomote independently for a period of time after birth/hatching. In birds, naked and helpless after hatching.
Referring to an animal that lives in trees; tree-climbing.
having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.
parental care is carried out by females
A substance that provides both nutrients and energy to a living thing.
forest biomes are dominated by trees, otherwise forest biomes can vary widely in amount of precipitation and seasonality.
an animal that mainly eats fruit
an animal that mainly eats seeds
An animal that eats mainly plants or parts of plants.
offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes).
having the capacity to move from one place to another.
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
Referring to a mating system in which a female mates with several males during one breeding season (compare polygynous).
rainforests, both temperate and tropical, are dominated by trees often forming a closed canopy with little light reaching the ground. Epiphytes and climbing plants are also abundant. Precipitation is typically not limiting, but may be somewhat seasonal.
breeding is confined to a particular season
remains in the same area
reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female
lives alone
uses touch to communicate
Living on the ground.
the region of the earth that surrounds the equator, from 23.5 degrees north to 23.5 degrees south.
uses sight to communicate
reproduction in which fertilization and development take place within the female body and the developing embryo derives nourishment from the female.
Emamdie, D., J. Warren. 1993. Varietal Taste Preference for Cacao Theobroma cacao L. by the Neotropical Red Squirrel Sciurus granatensis (Humboldt). Biotropica, 25: 365.
Fleming, T. 1970. Notes on the Rodent Faunas of Two Panamanian Forests. Journal of Mammalogy, 51(3): 475.
Garber, P., R. Sussman. 1984. Ecological Distinctions Between Sympatric Species of Saguinus and Sciurus. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 65: 135-146.
Glanz, W. 1984. Food and Habitat use by two Sympatric Sciurus Species in Central Panama. Journal of Mammalogy, 65(2): 342-347.
Heaney, L., R. Thorington, Jr.. 1978. Ecology of Neotropical Red-Tailed Squirrels, Sciurus granatensis, in the Panama Canal Zone. Journal of Mammalogy, 59(4): 846-851.
Koprowskia, J., P. Lurzb. 2007. Tree Squirrel Introduction: A Theoretical Approach with Population Viability Analysis. Journal of Mammalogy, 88(5): 1271-1279.
Nitikman, L. 1985. Sciurus granatensis. Mammalian Species, 246: 1-8.
Nowak, R. 1999. Order Rodentia. Pp. 1265-1268 in Walker's Mammals of the World, Vol. 2, Sixth Edition. Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Steven, D., F. Putz. 1984. Impact of Mammals on Early Recruitment of a Tropical Canopy Tree, Dipteryx panamensis, in Panama. Oikos, 43(2): 207-216.
Thorington, Jr., R., R. Hoffmann. 2005. Family Sciuridae. Pp. 761 in D Wilson, D Reeder, eds. Mammal Species of the World, Vol. 2, Third Edition. Baltimore, Maryland: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Wright, S., R. Ibáñez, M. Moreno, M. Gallardo, I. Dominguex, H. Zeballos. 2000. Poachers Alter Mammal Abundance, Seed Dispersal, and Seed Predation in a Neotropical Forest. Conservation Biology, 14(1): 227-239.
de Magalhaes, J., J. Costa. 2009. A database of vertebrate longevity records and their relation to other life-history traits. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 22(8): 1770-1774. | 12,497 | 5,231 | 2.389027 |
warc | 201704 | Anoreccia Were you looking for information about Anorexia? Anoreccia is a common misspelling of anorexia.
Anorexia is a type of eating disorder characterized by low body weight and body image distortion. People with this condition believe that they are overweight even when they are extremely thin and may diet, fast, or over-exercise to maintain an abnormally low weight. They often engage in behaviors such as self-induced vomiting or the misuse of laxatives, diuretics, or enemas. Treatment for anorexia may involve hospitalization (to restore a healthy weight), psychotherapy, and family therapy.
(Click Anorexia for the full-length article on anorexia that covers topics such as symptoms, prognosis, and treatment. You can also click on the various links in the box to the right to access specific topics on anorexia.) | 827 | 483 | 1.712215 |
warc | 201704 | The trend online is to stick to more global languages like English, Spanish or German, but does this translate to the internet killing native languages faster? And if yes, what can we do about it?
It is important to note first and foremost that there is a distinct difference between how a language dies in the real world and how it fails online or on the world wide web.
It is really simple; a language fails in the real world when there are not enough people living who speak it anymore. On the other hand, a language for web use has to work its way up from nothing to being useful or viable.
The climb is not an easy one. It would indeed translate to a need for apps or web pages to be localized for the specific language or languages, which will often involve more resources than a small time developer possesses.
Two basic things especially point to the fact that the internet may indeed be killing native languages;
Communication online sticks to more global languages and the younger generation spends a huge amount of time on there, the possibility that they begin to see native languages as dated and old exists. The online community undoubtedly provides a larger marketplace and for this reason, global languages are replacing native languages for specific functions like commerce and literature.
A 2013 paper ‘Digital Language Death‘ by researcher András Kornai takes a wider scope to this concept and concludes that worldwide, only 5% of all languages are in use digitally, which means that 95% of the languages of the world are failing or are non-existent online.
Some parts of Africa already have a problem handing down their languages in the real world to the next generation. This next generation is meanwhile engaged online, making use of one or more of the global languages to interact with a wider circle of people.
The internet killing native languages faster is not a far fetched concept because the internet is indeed homogenizing communication.
It is therefore our lot to ensure that we impart carefully the value of native languages to each generation. Passionate local developers can also join the fight of preservation by creating thriving digital communities that will interact in our local languages and serve as a haven. Maybe then we can avoid the possibility of the internet totally killing native languages. | 2,365 | 1,127 | 2.098492 |
warc | 201704 | EDA/IP?? Intel develops tech to secure data-sharing
Intel Labs and Intel's Data Center Group are opening up with regard to their joint research project codenamed "Reliance Point." According to them, the project is intended to guard sensitive data and enable organizations to assemble their databases with ease and confidentiality. Intel is looking to create a neutral, secure environment to offer limited, shared access to data among multiple parties. Reliance Point is still in the early stages of research but is now being developed in collaboration with Intel's product teams.
There is also a clear market demand for this kind of security in order to bolster big data whilst still protecting it, according to Intel.
Sridhar Iyengar, the head of security research for Intel Labs, spoke with EE Times about Reliance Point technology as it gradually begins to see the light of day. Iyengar said Intel makes observations into the ecosystem and looks at problems, as well as the hardware and software it will need to solve them.
"Security is a fine balance between a variety of spaces," Iyengar said. "There is no absolute in security."
There are many organizations that have large proprietary databases (customer databases, products, technologies, etc.) that would like to share their technology, Iyengar said.
One example that Iyengar used is US national security and the no-fly list. In this case, airlines have a database of passengers of their own aside from the one kept by the government. The two may want to combine their information to find out "if there is a bad guy on the flight." At the same time, they may not want to give up their databases to each other completely; it's not an environment in which trust is fully there.
This is exactly the type of scenario in which Intel's Reliance Point comes into play: Two sides want to protect their privacy while sharing data.
How does one allow multiple parties to share data even though they don't trust each other?
Reliance Point enables multiple parties to combine to collate information. The middleware technology takes advantage of Intel's hardware in a mutually trustworthy environment, a mutual broker-type environment. The technology enables the trust, where two parties may have not met before and have not built up a trust relationship.
Why has Intel chosen to move in this direction? Iyengar said Intel recognizes that this is a problem that needs to be solved. "As people discover new insights, they will find new uses and new processors and technologies that hadn't been there before," Iyengar said.
Nikhil Deshpande, senior business strategist in Intel Labs, told EE Times that Intel is looking specifically at big data, which enables consumers and anyone who wants to leverage "a whole bunch of analytics." On the other hand, he said, "if data remains in silos, that doesn't accomplish the goal. We think that Reliance Point helps break those barriers."
As for what kind of data we may be talking about exactly, Iyengar said it could be the healthcare data that a hospital might want to work with or national security data that governments want to share with one another. The key, he said, is not what type of data, it is enabling new modes of hearing. "Intel's advantage is we can enable scale," Iyengar said. "We have ever faster processors with Moore's Law."
The hardware that exists today is Intel TXT Trusted Execution Technology. TXT allows a server to boot up under a known environment. It measures the boot at every stage. The hardware measures the BIOS, the BIOs then measures the OS. The technology allows you to build up a chain of trust rooted in hardware. Using TXT makes sure that there is no malware in there, according to Iyengar.
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warc | 201704 | As a member of the San Carlos City Council, it is my responsibility to participate in decisions on the merits of a project near the San Carlos Caltrain depot known as the San Carlos Transit Village. This mixed-use residential and commercial project has been planned since the late 1990s on a portion of vacant land owned by SamTrans and the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board along El Camino Real in the Holly Street area in San Carlos. The San Carlos Transit Village proposal would result in the development of multi-family rental housing units, offices, retail space, underground and street parking, new paving treatments, enhanced landscaping and a pedestrian plaza. The land has been pre-zoned for this use for many years.
Once built, this will be the second largest development in San Carlos' history, so it is important that we get it right. The process of reviewing such a project is full of complexities, confusion and uncertainty for many in our community. As a relative newcomer to the council, I have many questions about the project, and I frequently receive questions and comments from residents. Many of the questions I have received are about understanding the review process and what the council can and cannot do, and what challenges will be addressed as we decide the future of this part of town. In California, there are a number of statutory guidelines that govern the process of review for this type of project.
CEQA, or the California Environmental Quality Act, is a state statute that requires state and local agencies to identify the significant environmental impacts of a project and to avoid or mitigate those impacts, if feasible. Every development project which requires a discretionary governmental approval will require at least some environmental review pursuant to CEQA, unless an exemption applies.
The EIR is a report of, as its name implies, the impact of a particular project on its surrounding environment. Each public agency in California (in our case, the city of San Carlos) that has jurisdiction over a project must, according to CEQA, certify that an EIR has been prepared and has evaluated all impacts a project will have on air, soil, water, traffic, etc. as a result of its construction. The EIR does not indicate if a project should or should not be built. It does not pass judgment on the cultural or economic impact of a project, or even if it is a good fit for the community. In essence, the final EIR, once certified, and no matter how technically accurate it may be, does not determine whether a project will be built. That is the job of the agency. In other words, it is the job of the city of San Carlos to decide if the project gets built.
It is also the job of the City Council, using the EIR as a guide, to communicate to the project developer what specific changes, improvements, alterations or reductions it wants to see to approve the actual project. These changes are the result of many hours of input from various entities that include city staff, members of the public and other interest groups. We value this input, as we feel it eventually makes for a better project, even if it takes a little longer than might usually be expected.
Large projects, such as the Transit Village, require a substantial review process so that the City Council and the community can hear from stakeholders, review expert analysis and receive comments from any interested party in rendering a responsible decision that takes into consideration how the Transit Village project will impact our city and its residents for years to come.
Ron Collins is a member of the San Carlos City Council. | 3,642 | 1,692 | 2.152482 |
warc | 201704 | "Brethren, I want to strongly encourage allof you to genuinely go “all out” in backing the very Work Christ is doing through us on this earth today! I know that most of you are doing this. But many do “let down”—especially after the Feast when the income for God’s Work often drops for a number of weeks. But above and beyond that, I not long ago received a letter from one of our fine ministers who has in recent times had the experience of severalolder people dyingin his congregational areas. This very sincere and serving minister— nota “money grubber”—wrote me: “Of them all, two were moderately wealthy. Neither looked or acted wealthy but they were farmers and left quite an inheritance. One left $300,000 and a nice home, the other left 300 acres with quite a bit of nice river frontage. At $1,500 per acre that would be $450,000. At $2,000 per acre that would be $600,000. This is why I mention it. The one man said strongly the one thing he wanted to avoid was having his stepchildren, who seemed to hate him, inherit. He left no will, so of course the stepchildren got it all. Dr. Meredith, I feel we are missing a special opportunity by not bringing the possibility of leaving all or part of their inheritance to the attention of the Church.” Brethren, following through on this suggestion from this fine minister, I would like to take the opportunity now to encourage many of you who are growing older to think about giving a good part or all of your estate to the Work of the living God. Many of you, no doubt, would like to do this but “simply have not gotten around to it.” Many wantto do it, as this one man said—but simply put off making outa willso that your intentions will be carried out when you die. God’s word encourages responsibility and wise estate planning. “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous” (Proverbs 13:11). Pray that God will give you wisdom in planning for how your assets may be helpful to your children— and to God’s Church—after you die. And it is importantthat you think about this, because if you just “do nothing” your estate may go to people who will not appreciate what you are leaving behind, or it may even go to the state and be part of the budget of some government treasurer to use as hedesires! As the end of this age approaches, each one of us needs to focus on the profound statement Jesus Christ our Savior made in the Sermon on the Mount, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19–21). I fwe truly have our “hearts” in God’s Work, we will obviously want to give generously! This should not be a mystery to any of us. So we should each think about howwe can best do this. A wonderful example as a “hero of the faith” was Raymond Jorgensen, the Iowa farmer who willedhis entire farm with the buildings and equipment and everythingto God’s Work enabling us to move to our new Headquarters in North Carolina! Some of you remember his wonderful example. By giving that entire property—which was valued at nearly a million dollars—he certainly indicated to our Father in heaven exactly where he stood! His wonderful gift will neverbe forgotten by me, nor by many of us who are profoundly thankful that God put this action into his mind and heart. Obviously, those of us who can help the Work in this way will certainly be honoring God and a genuine rewardwill be given us from the God who gives all of us life and breath. He will neve r forgetwhat you are trying to do in leaving Him—through His Work—much or all of what you have accumulated during this short human life time. You know your own personal family situation, and you know your own heart. So, you know what is appropriate in your circumstances. Please think about it and pray about it—and, if you wish to do this— tak e actionbefore it is too late. Even now, I hear from time to time about brethren who left the Worldwide Church of God many years ago, but failed to update their wills, and when they died their families were shocked to see bequests go to an apostate group from which they had departed years ago. So, if necessary, be sure to update your will. If you need help in this, or in other aspects of planning your bequest to the Church, I urge you to contact our Legal Affairs Department at Headquarters. For contact information, please note the box at the end of this article." [end of article quotation] "Orthodox Christians defended slavery as part of the divinely ordained hierarchical order. Passages in the Bible support the institution of slavery:Both the bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids. Moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they begat in your land: and they shall be your possession. And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession; they shall be your bondmen for ever. [Leviticus 25:44-46]"2) from the book A SHORT HISTORY OF THE INQUISITION by By Kessinger Publishing pp. 230-231: “’After the death of a heretic they (the inquisitors) can confiscate the property he held, depriving his heirs of it, although his condemnation may have been prior to his decease.’ That is, when a man was dead the Inquisition could denounce and condemn him, attaint his children, and confiscate the property they had inherited. ‘And though it be an incontrovertible rule in civil law that with death ends all criminal action, that law is not held valid in causes of heresy, it being so serious a crime; and thus proceeding may be carried on against heretics after they are dead, declaring them as such, to confiscate their property (ad finem confiscandi), and taking it from its owners although it may have passed through many hands, applying it for the benefit of the Holy Office.’ Did any system ever furnish such facility for the work of sacerdotal (priestly) thieves?” | 6,543 | 3,082 | 2.122972 |
warc | 201704 | BOSTON — George Church wants to put his personal genetic blueprint online for all to see -- the sequence of chemical bases that make him who he is, a lanky scientist of Scottish ancestry who has dyslexia, narcolepsy and motion sickness.
And he wants 99,999 other people to follow suit.
The Harvard genetics professor's Personal Genome Project is an attempt to build the only public genomic database that connects genes with diseases. With it, he believes, scientists could correlate more easily many millions of genetic variants with medical and other traits, from asthma to acne, eye color to perfect pitch.
If successful, he says, it would usher in an era of "personalized medicine" -- enabling a consumer to order his own genetic blueprint and know what diseases might lurk in his future. That could let him change his lifestyle to try to avoid them. Or climb K2 now, while he still can.
A better understanding of genes could lead to more effective drugs, proponents say. Couples could learn what diseases might be in store for their children and decide not to have them. Eventually, they say, scientists might even be able to alter the dangerous genes.
But other people consider Church's vision the darker side of genetic knowledge. Such a database could be used against the participants. Insurance companies might refuse to sell them life, disability or long-term care coverage. A child could learn she faces a terrible disease. In a broader context, people might draw spurious links between genes and criminal behavior.
The database, a non-profit venture, is scheduled to go online Monday, when Church and up to nine other volunteers -- the "PGP 10" -- will release their genomic data and traits profiles to the public. Then anyone, from a university researcher to a kid working in a basement lab, will be able to tap into the data and create research applications much the way that Facebook allows vendors to create game applications. It has enormous potential to help consumers control their health, proponents say, but critics say the risks outweigh the potential benefits.
"If people are concerned about what will happen, then they probably shouldn't be involved," said Church, 54. "We are recruiting people who are willing to have their data in the public domain because there's a pretty good chance that it will be public, whether you like it or not."
But Stephen Mercer, a lawyer in Rockville, Md., who specializes in the intersection of DNA and civil liberties, said the trend opens the door to touting associations not based on sound science.
"That's the real unstated danger here," he said, "that it will be a launching pad for behavioral human genetics, in the search for genes that dictate personality traits, coyness, anxiety, family conflict, sexual orientation."
Mercer said he could envision companies marketing genetic screening kits to prospective parents who might consider aborting a fetus.
"Why have a kid who's over-anxious?" he said. "Why have a kid who's too impulsive? Why have a gay kid?"
As Church sees it, however, if people have their genes sequenced, more data will be available for valid associations. More people will also be able to figure out what diseases they are at risk for and take action, by changing their diet or lifestyle or by using medication. With more disease-gene associations, advocates say, clinicians can make earlier and more accurate diagnoses, and pharmaceutical companies can make more effective drugs.
"This is what I consider one of the most practical things we can do," said Church, who is 6-foot-4, is a vegan and has had a heart attack. "We're treating people like one size fits all. ... It's just not true."
The PGP, which began as little more than a conviction by Church that it could be done, won approval this year from the Harvard University Institutional Review Board, whose role is to ensure the safety of research subjects, to proceed with his plan to enroll 100,000 participants.
To sign up, a person must pass a 40-question exam that includes queries such as, "How much genomic material exists in a typical human cell?" He must decide whether he is comfortable with the privacy risks, including the possibility that an insurer could peruse his data. Church plans to require volunteers to obtain the consent of first-degree relatives, who also stand to be exposed.
It was the review board's idea that Church become a participant.
"They actually felt I would get more involved," Church said. His wife reacted "very cautiously" to the idea, he said.
Eventually, Church's wife, genetics professor Ting Wu, and their daughter, now 17, consented to his participation, he said.
If PGP is to work, Church said, people are going to have to make a leap of faith.
"Perfect can be the enemy of the very good," Church said. "Just like when you go out and buy a car. You don't wait until they have a perfectly safe car. You say, 'OK, 30,000 people die per year in the United States from car accidents. I'm going to roll the dice.'"
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How to participate
Learn more about the Personal Genome Project at chicagotribune.com/genome | 5,158 | 2,538 | 2.032309 |
warc | 201704 | News cameras may soon see the inside of circuit courtrooms, due to a landmark decision from the Illinois Supreme Court on Tuesday.
The seven-page order enacts a pilot program that will allow cameras in the state's 23 circuit courts for the first time, but on a case-by-case basis to be determined by each circuit's chief judge and the trial judge.
In an effort to prevent a circuslike environment, the policy limits courtrooms to a maximum of two television cameras operated by one person and two still photographers with no more than two cameras each.
Cameras will not be allowed in certain types of cases, including juvenile, adoption or child custody cases. There are also restrictions on cases in which the identity of a victim or witness would be sensitive, such as sexual abuse cases.
The move was hailed by journalists, but not everyone was rushing to flip on the TV lights. Circuit chief judges said they were reviewing the order and deciding how, or if, to participate.
Chief Judge Timothy Evans, who's in charge of Cook County Circuit Court, said he has long been a supporter of cameras in courtrooms and would apply to take part in the pilot program.
"Allowing media to have cameras and recording devices in the courtroom will give the public a better idea of what goes on in their courtrooms," said Evans, adding that it will allow viewers to appreciate that what they see on television programs "is not a true picture of how judges do justice."
Evans pointed to court hearings on foreclosures and said he had learned over time that many homeowners skipped hearings because they feared being harshly questioned. In many cases, he said, people might well have saved their homes if they had come to court.
"They thought they were going to be humiliated or talked down to because they had seen that on television programs," Evans said. "The way democracy works best is when the public is informed. This will show the public that the courts are not like they see on those programs."
Evans said he plans to name an advisory committee of judges, lawyers and members of the media and the public to make recommendations on how to best introduce cameras to the courtroom.
As Evans tries to build support for the pilot program, he likely will find opposition from Cook County Public Defender Abishi Cunningham, who long has been opposed to having cameras in the courtroom. Cunningham's concerns date to theO.J. Simpsontrial, the proceedings that for many in the justice system hardened their views on cameras.
"People might become actors and actresses rather than witnesses trying to relate the truth," said Cunningham, a former judge. "One of the things you do when you're sitting there as the trier of fact is observe a witness's demeanor. My concern is that a camera might distort a witness's demeanor."
Cunningham said cameras could have a chilling effect on the pursuit of truth, with witnesses reluctant to come forward if they know they will be on camera — a concern Kane County State's Attorney Joseph McMahon shares.
"(Witnesses) may fear that their personal tragedy is going to become widely broadcast via the Internet or television," McMahon said. "We're dealing with human beings, and many of these cases are the single most tragic event of their life. We have to remember that when people walk out of these courtrooms, they're going back home to their families, their neighborhoods, and they have to deal with the fallout from these cases."
DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said: "Trials and crime, it's not entertainment, and it should never be viewed that way. Coming to testify in a trial is stressful for anyone. Knowing that it may be on TV isn't going to make it any easier."
Cook County prosecutors plan to study the issue but have concerns, said Sally Daly, a spokeswoman for State's Attorney Anita Alvarez.
"From a prosecutor's perspective, there are issues we'd want to explore and discuss before the program is implemented," Daly said.
If chief judges decide to go forward with the program, it won't be an easy change.
McHenry County Chief Judge Michael J. Sullivan called the move a "seismic shift" and said it would require collaboration among circuit judges, clerks, staff and the sheriff's department, among others.
"It's going to take a lot of time and study," Sullivan said. "Our courtrooms were not laid out for that kind of thing. You want to put on a play, but you have to build a set first."
cdrhodes@tribune.com smmills@tribune.com | 4,533 | 2,167 | 2.091832 |
warc | 201704 | Comet Hale-Bopp couldn't be more accommodating.
Eleanor B. Wolf, who lives beside Wethersfield Cove along the Connecticut River, doesn't even have to get out of bed to see it.
Comet Hale-Bopp couldn't be more accommodating.
Eleanor B. Wolf, who lives beside Wethersfield Cove along the Connecticut River, doesn't even have to get out of bed to see it.
``I lie in my bed under a picture window looking right to the east over the cove,'' she said. ``On a clear night I have an incredible view.''
Even for those lacking an out- of-this-world view, Hale-Bopp is a hospitable comet.
``It is so easy to spot it, you can even see the tail with your naked eye,'' said Marion H. Richardson of Glastonbury, who has been rising early to see it in recent weeks.
Comet Hale-Bopp, about 25 miles in diameter and 120 million miles away, is emerging as one of the showiest comets in decades, quite possibly the comet of the century, as many are calling it.
``It certainly is one of the brightest comets in hundreds of years,'' said John D. Trasco, associate director of the astronomy department at the University of Maryland. ``It is being compared by professionals to some of the big name-brand comets that came around hundreds of years ago, comets that show up in relatively old woodcuts, spectacular- looking things. This is being compared in absolute brightness with those comets.''
Hale-Bopp was discovered independently by Alan Hale of New Mexico, a professional, and Thomas Bopp of Arizona, an amateur, within minutes of each other on the night of July 23, 1995. Its brightness, and its reputation, have been growing ever since.
Until now, Hale-Bopp has been best seen in the early-morning sky, in the east. But the best viewing from now on will be in the northwestern sky in the early evening. Conveniently, it can be seen on an after-dinner walk.
Peak viewing will come by Wednesday and continue through about April 10. Look for the brightest object, low in the northwest sky, on a clear night.
``People will be seeing it without even trying,'' said William Herbst, chairman of the astronomy department at Wesleyan University in Middletown.
So bright and so visible is comet Hale-Bopp that scientists expect it will yield a stream of new discoveries. ``A lot of science is going to fall out of this in the next couple of years,'' said Alan Mac Robert, associate editor of Sky & Telescope magazine.
Already, for example, scientists studying images of the comet have determined that it contains sulfur monoxide, a molecule heretofore not known to exist in comets.
That kind of information is valuable to scientists because the more they know about the composition of comets, and the relative abundance of the substances comets are made of, the more they know about the formation of our solar system some 4.5 billion years ago.
``Of all the objects in the solar system, they are the most pristine,'' said Yan R. Fernandez, who is completing work on a doctoral degree at the University of Maryland's astronomy department. ``They best preserve the conditions that were around when the solar system was formed.''
In recent days, scientists have noticed that some images of the comet show six bright spots. That might mean that the comet is fragmenting, which comets sometimes do.
A comet consists of a comparatively small nucleus thought to be made of ice and dust, like a dirty snowball. Surrounding the nucleus is mass known as a coma, made of gases and particles. Trailing behind the comet is a tail made of gas and dust and another of dust, often not visible.
``If you have a really beautiful view,'' Herbst said, ``you will see it actually has two tails.''
Even in urban areas the comet will be easily visible, but for a great view, astronomers suggest that viewers find an area away from cities and bright lights.
Light pollution from cities has dramatically altered the contrast in the night skies this century, and some amateur and professional sky watchers have begun lobbying for legislation to encourage outdoor lighting that does not let light escape into the sky.
``Most of the sky glow that you see is waste light from poorly designed or improperly aimed outdoor light fixtures,'' MacRobert said.
Bob Crelin, editor for the New Haven Astronomical Society and executive director of the Wandering Star Project, a public education astronomy program, is among those battling the light pollution problem. He suggests finding the darkest sky possible -- but emphasizes it is important to see the comet, light pollution or not.
``Get up, turn off the TV, get outside and see something truly amazing and awe-inspiring and breathtaking,'' he said. | 4,665 | 2,178 | 2.141873 |
warc | 201704 | Brunei Business Forum 2012 to address productivity, growth Article from Borneo Bulletin. Published on Wednesday Nov, 21 2012
Asia Inc Forum, in partnership with HSBC, Total, Butra HeidelbergCement and Aloca will convene a half-day Brunei Business Forum on November 22 at the Radisson Hotel.
The forum themed “Unlocking Productivity, Fuelling Growth” will discuss the urgent need to position productivity and efficiency as the key driver of economic growth in Brunei.
According to a press release, speakers at the forum include Dr Diana Cheong, Chief Researcher for the Centre for Strategic and Policy Studies (CSPS) and His Excellency Rob Fenn, High Commissioner of the British High Commission. Dr Cheong will present CSPS’s proposal to establish a national productivity roadmap to drive productivity growth while His Excellency will present his thoughts on how knowledge and innovation can fit into productivity growth.
According to Dr Cheong, “CSPS believes that a National Productivity Council (NPC) with the highest leadership which is both the policy making body and an implementation body for national productivity programmes and campaigns should be set up if Brunei is to accelerate towards an Innovation and Efficiency driven economy.”
As the Chief Researcher for CSPS, Dr Cheong is responsible for the design, planning, management and implementation of research and consultancy work undertaken by CSPS. Dr Cheong’s current engagement at CSPS to date includes the successful completion of three macro level studies; a nationwide feasibility study into alternative energy, a national roadmap for energy efficiency and conservation (EEC), and, a land optimization strategy for industrial growth for Brunei. CSPS is Brunei’s leading think tank for policy analysis in areas of strategic importance to the nation.
His Excellency Rob Fenn who arrived in Brunei in 2009 represents UK as the steward of a relationship precious to both countries. Britain and Brunei respect their long traditions, which provide an anchor in a fast-changing world. The High Commissioner hopes to build on that foundation, and help Brunei seize all its opportunities in the Twenty-first century.
According to His Excellency, “Preoccupation with higher productivity is a distinguishing feature of intelligent government, so it is no surprise to find the Brunei government thus preoccupied. I very much look forward to debating the issue with Asia Inc Forum and others on Thursday.
If the UK’s experience is anything to go by, we will not find the answer in any one fix, or raft of reforms. It is about the efficiency of the national system. But it is also about trade-offs between different national priorities, not all of which can always be aligned behind a productivity drive. In Brunei, the answers may include deriving the maximum possible productivity benefits from development initiatives which are also desired on other grounds. I think of the benefits which will flow from the government’s prioritisation of research in areas which are in any case destined to enjoy relatively high levels of capital investment – health and education; or in which Brunei has a unique selling point: energy and biodiversity. Or in areas where ethical and developmental goals are brought together, such as Brunei Halal and Agro-Technology. I particularly like the idea to provide business experience to UK-based Bruneian students by involving them in the new, UK-based operation of Brunei Halal.
Other significant productivity gains are to be had from the government’s current focus on vocational and technical education, so that it is Bruneian technicians, rather than foreign imports, who take up the jobs being created in the energy sector. I have just come back from a visit to the UK during which I explained the Brunei market to a host of FE colleges in the UK – notably TVET UK and “The Gazelle Group” – both of whom now plan to visit Brunei to see whether they can become part of the answer”.
Fatin Arifin, Programs and Research Executive, Asia Inc Forum, “Together with our corporate partners, we would like to facilitate the shift to productivity effectively through this year’s forum by providing the platform for dialogue to address key areas around how we can unlock productivity in Brunei that will drive economic growth and how knowledge and innovation fits into the picture. There will be a town hall session that will enable participants to participate in the discussion to share their insights and input into this very urgent matter,”
The Brunei Business Forum is a forum for CEOs, entrepreneurs, members of government and the next generation of Brunei to dialogue around business prospects, issues and best practices.
For more information, contact Fatin via email at fatin.arifin@asiaincforum.com. | 4,899 | 2,312 | 2.118945 |
warc | 201704 | I found out today that one of my 8th graders is pregnant. She’s 13 and 3 months along. After school I heard her talking to one of my girls from last year, who was with her four-month-old. A mom and a mom-to-be, talking about what pregnancy is like and how to stay strong no matter what people say.
I am heartbroken to discover this. This girl is sweet and funny and a good kid overall, always respectful. She has the worst attendance of any of my students (a little over 50%) but when she’s there she works pretty hard. And now her whole life is going to change. She already struggles in school – when you show up once a week it’s hard to stay on top of the material. High school will be that much harder to complete with a kid to raise. There are just so many things working against my students, and I can’t conquer them all. Honestly, I can’t conquer anything. I do my best to teach them math, and I try to instill a hard-working, I-can-do-it, problem-solving attitude in my kids. But it’s not enough. I’m just an 8th grade math teacher.
It’s near the end of my second year, and discovering this information today has really made me think about what impact I’ve had. What difference have I made? Would they have been better off with another teacher? Or am I a slight improvement over the next guy? I certainly feel like I work hard enough to make a difference. It frustrates me that I’ll never know, at least not for most of my kids. I’ve seen a good number of my former students and that’s always nice, but next year I’ll be in another state. Even if my students did want to come back and visit they won’t be able to, and I’ll care even more a few years later when they start graduating from high school. It’s selfish to want to know what difference I’ve made. And yet the constant struggle and stress is harder knowing that I could be ruining their lives or changing them for good and I have no clue which is happening or why.
I’ll write another entry soon about what it’s like to be near the end of my corps experience and my plans to stay in the classroom next year. I’m sad now but there are many happy things I wish to write about. | 2,249 | 1,123 | 2.002671 |
warc | 201704 | His Positions
Dr. Ratan Kumar Sinha graduated in Mechanical Engineering from Patna University in 1972, standing first in the University. After completing the one year Course of BARC Training School he joined Reactor Engineering Division of BARC in the year 1973. Before his appointment as Director, BARC, he served as Director, Reactor Design & Development Group and, Director Design, Manufacturing & Automation Group, BARC.
Areas of Specialisation and Guidance
Dr. Sinha has been guiding the programmes for new advanced reactors under design and development at BARC to utilise thorium. These include, the Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR), which produces most of its power from thorium, and has several innovative passive safety systems.The reactor has been designed to be robust against equipment malfunction, human errors and even insider’s malevolent acts. Dr. Sinha, thus, guided the development of technologies that should enable, in a large scale deployment scenario, the siting of advanced nuclear power plants close to population centers. Most of the technological innovations in the design of AHWR have been validated under his guidance, in large experimental facilities.
Dr. Sinha initiated the design and development of a Compact High Temperature Reactor (CHTR), with its first objective to demonstrate generation of process heat at nearly 1000
o C, as needed for efficient thermo-chemical splitting of water for producing hydrogen, and the second objective to demonstrate technologies needed for transportable nuclear power packs capable of being deployed in remote areas, with practically no need for skilled operation, and no need to refuel for 15 years. He and his team are developing a first-of-a-kind design to meet these objectives by introducing thorium based coated particle type nuclear fuel, a reactor physics design to achieve inherently safe neutronic characteristics, use of molten lead-bismuth as coolant driven by natural circulation, passive emergency cooling systems that deliver core heat to atmosphere, passive shutdown device, and passive control devices capable of operation at very high temperatures. These innovative features are unparalleled in any other reactor in the world.
The zirconium alloy coolant channels of heavy water moderated pressure tube type reactors, which carry the nuclear fuel, are subject to a variety of unique life-limiting degradation mechanisms. Dr. Sinha carried out extensive work to assess the residual service life and determine the fitness-for-service criteria for these channels. Dr. Sinha and his team developed technologies for carrying out remote scrape sampling of pressure tubes for measurement of hydrogen content, remote repositioning of displaced garter spring spacers, remote detachment of coolant channel rolled joints, and several associated remote inspection technologies to address inspection, life extension and replacement of the coolant channel components. This work contributed towards facilitating continued safe operation of seven Indian Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) with Zircaloy-2 pressure tubes, up to nearly ten full power years.
Dr. Sinha and his team developed several indigenous technologies for the timely repair and maintenance of reactor systems. He contributed towards the rehabilitation of the two reactors of Madras Atomic Power Station (MAPS), following the failure of their moderator inlet manifold inside the calandria vessel. Dr. Sinha guided the development of special devices to carry out the inspection within the inaccessible calandria, and removal of the broken manifold pieces away from the region of the core having active flow. Subsequently, he led a team, which executed this work at the two reactors. Such a maintenance work in the core region of a PHWR was done for the first time in the world. He conceptualised, and guided the development of sparger channels, to substitute the damaged moderator inlet manifold for providing entry of moderator heavy water into calandria. Following the deployment of these sparger channels, both the units of MAPS reacquired the capability to operate at their rated full power.
Earlier in his career, Dr. Sinha carried out the design, development and installation of coolant channels and other core-internal structural components of the 100 MWth Dhruva research reactor at BARC.
Dr. Sinha has represented India in several important forums of the International Atomic Energy Agency. These include the Steering Committee of the IAEA’s International Project on Innovative Nuclear Reactors and Fuel Cycles (INPRO), of which he was the chairman for four years.
Awards and Honours
Dr. Sinha was conferred the honorary Doctorate of Science (D.Sc.) degree by the University of Mysore. He has received several awards and honours. These include the first Homi Bhabha Science and Technology Award, VASVIK Award, Indian Nuclear Society Award and the DAE Special Contributions Award. He was elected a Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering in 1998.
Recent Publications (2006 onwards)
Dureja, A. K.; Sinha, S. K.; Srivastava, A.; Sinha, R. K.; Chakravartty, J. K.; Seshu, P.; Pawaskar, D. N. Author(s):
Flow behaviour of autoclaved, 20% cold worked, Zr-2.5Nb alloy pressure tube material in the temperature range of room temperature to 800 degrees C Title:
2011 Publication Year:
Journal of Nuclear Materials. 2011. Vol. 412 (1): pp. 22-29 Source:
Borgohain, A.; Jaiswal, B. K.; Maheshwari, N. K.; Vijayan, P. K.; Saha, D.; Sinha, R. K. Author(s):
Natural circulation studies in a lead bismuth eutectic loop Title:
2011 Publication Year:
Progress In Nuclear Energy. 2011. Vol. 53 (4): pp. 308-319 Source:
Author(s): Chandraker, D. K.; Vijayan, P. K.; Sinha, R. K.; Aritomi, M.
Title: Phenomenological prediction of CHF under boiling water reactor (BWR) conditions
Publication Year: 2011
Source: Progress in Nuclear Energy. 2011: pp. Article in Press
Jain, V.; Kulkarni, P. P.; Nayak, A. K.; Vijayan, P. K.; Saha, D.; Sinha, R. K. Author(s):
Steam drum level dynamics in a multiple loop natural circulation system of a pressure tube type boiling water reactor Title:
2011 Publication Year:
: Annals of Nuclear Energy. 2011: pp. Article in Press Source
Media Interactions
Interview of Dr. R. K. Sinha, Director, BARC with Doordarshan team on 19 July, 2011 | 6,359 | 2,881 | 2.20722 |
warc | 201704 | From my own experiences working with refugees in Africa, I know how some needs are often overlooked by the big aid organizations, which focus on food, shelter and the like. However, the little things are sometimes very important, as this article in the Telegraph illustrates.
My first 12 days [in Arsal, Lebanon] are spent distributing clothing, school text books, hospital operating gowns, water tanks and heating oil for schools and hospitals. All this while trying to avoid detection by the camp ‘roosters’ - informants who report on us directly to the militants. We’re doing our best, with limited resources. But I meet misery every day; all day. A 9-year-old girl badly burnt in shelling with no money for medication. Destitute families about to be evicted from their filthy storeroom. No access to drinking water. . . . Then, suddenly, a whole new need opens up in front of me. After almost two weeks here, I’m taken aside by a woman who manages one of the refugee camps. She has a request. She seems desperate. But I can’t make out what she’s asking for. My interpreter is a young, handsome Syrian student - a strict Muslim and one of the kindest people I’ve ever met. But now – as this Syrian woman pleads with me - he looks mortified. He can’t seem to form the words. Frantic now, the woman ushers me to the back of the tent and picks up a grubby white bra and a sanitary towel. I understand. Every woman here needs underwear. There’s plenty of donated soap and toothpaste - but no knickers. No sanitary protection. Imagine coping with your period using rags. How would you wash and dry them in three feet of snow, or summer temperatures of 95 degrees when water is so scarce? How do you do this discreetly in camp life? I decide we have to help. I’m a woman too and - although far removed from what they have to cope with - I instantly grasp how hard it must be. I jump in a van but alone, running the gauntlet of Hezbollah checkpoints, and take the one hour trip down to the town of Baalbeck with $800 from EDA in my pocket. My heart begins to sink as I enter the haberdashery shop. How to do this? How do I buy this much underwear? How do I shop in Arabic with no interpreter? A bold attack, I decide, is the only way. I grab a handful of knickers and bras and wave them madly above my head. At first, people back away in fear at this crazy western woman. I refuse to be cowed – it’s too late to back off now – I briefly wonder if they have lunatic asylums in Lebanon. Waving the underwear around my head, I shout: ‘more knickers – I need more knickers!’
There's more at the link. Highly recommended reading.
The problem of menstrual cycles is even worse in some parts of Africa where women are considered 'unclean' during their periods. Worse still, there are men who look for young girls who have just entered puberty. Their embarrassment at dealing with an unfamiliar period, particularly in a culture where it's taboo to discuss it or show that it's going on, marks them out as targets for those who believe that sleeping with a virgin will cure venereal disease, even AIDS. Needless to say, they don't bother to seduce them - they just rape them.
Most Western feminists have
no ideawhat real feminine oppression is all about. None whatsoever. I'm proud to have done my small part in rescuing at least some women from that burden, for however long I could . . . but I don't suppose that matters at all to the SJW's.
Peter | 3,530 | 1,868 | 1.889722 |
warc | 201704 | Cream Ale is a distinctly American beer style that is refreshing and smooth. It has enjoyed a resurgence recently as many microbreweries have taken up the style and even improved upon commercial versions.
Cream ale enjoyed broad popularity in the pre-prohibition era, and was particularly popular in the Midwest. The distinct style emerged in the latter half of the 19th century as a variation of increasingly popular pilsners. A darker, slightly sour variation called Dark Cream Common or Common Beer was brewed in the area surrounding Louisville Kentucky. (Ref: Wikipedia)
In the UK, the term “cream ale” is also used to describe nitrogen-dispensed beers that have a rich creamy head, though these ales bear little relation to the American style. The term “smooth ale” is now more commonly used to describe these beers.
The Cream Ale Style
Cream ale is essentially an ale brewed with ale (or a blend of ale/lager) yeast at lower temperatures, but then are cold aged. The beer is brewed from American 6 row barley usually with corn adjuncts.
The flavor profile of a cream ale has a hint of malt, along with a sweet corn-like aroma. A hint of DMS is common due to the lager yeast. The hop and malt should be balanced with neither dominating. They generally have a crisp body with a clean finish.
Starting gravities are in the medium 1.042-1.055 range, and color ranges from pale to moderate gold color (2-5 SRM). Bitterness is subtle but balanced, in the 15-20+ IBU range. Cream ales are served refrigerated and highly carbonated.
Brewing a Cream Ale
The bulk of the grain bill (80%) for any cream ale is American malt, usually 6 row pale barley malt, though sometimes 2 row is used. Corn adjuncts such as flaked maize may be used for up to 20% of the grain bill. Corn based sugars in the boil are also commonly added in the place of corn. Other adjuncts are less common, but some recipes use carafoam or very light caramel malt to add body.
American hops should be used, but it is wise to avoid high alpha modern hops which can unbalance the pale malt flavor. Noble hops are also acceptable. The normal hop schedule uses both boil and finishing hop additions to add to the flavor profile and aroma.
The choice of yeast and control of fermentation temperature is perhaps most important to this style. Some modern brewers often use a mix of ale and lager yeast strains, though historically just lager yeast was used. American lager strains, perhaps mixed with an American strain ale work best.
Fermentation temperatures should be controlled, though fermentation is done well above normal lager temperature ranges. Generally fermentation in the 65-68F range provides a reasonable balance without excess ester production from the lager yeast.
Many modern cream ales are cold lagered to enhance clarity and flavor, though historically cream ales were not lagered in this way. If you do lager, I recommend keeping the beer at cold temperatures (around 40F) for several weeks once your beer has completely fermented and has carbonated if you are bottling before lagering.
Cream ale is designed as a cold refreshing drink on a hot day, so it should be served cold and well carbonated (2.6-3.2 vols) much like a lager beer.
Cream Ale Recipes Cream Corn Ale – All Grain Creamy Goodness Ale – All Grain Creamora Cream Ale – All Grain Easy Cream Ale – All Grain London Cream Ale – Extract Vanilla Cream Ale – Extract
More recipes are available on the BeerSmith Recipes Page.
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warc | 201704 | Economic Preparedness
Scroll to learn how to prepare
Meet the McReadys
Mac and May McReady have had their share of financial difficulties. Luckily, their prep-oriented attitude has kept them going through some pretty tight spots.
Click the arrow to see how....
Swipe down to see how....
The Early Years
The McReadys got married in college. Money was scarce, but May's parents helped out by giving them a starter emergency food supply. The meals were quick, nutritious, and helped save precious dollars for tuition.
Economic Downturn
Years passed, Mac found a good job, and the McReady family grew. They decided to spend a little each month on building a year supply of food and water storage, just in case.
It’s a good thing they did. The Recession hit and Mac lost his job. Fortunately, their food supply kept the McReadys full until Mac found more work.
In Tough Times
When May got sick, the medical bills started to take their toll on the bank account. The McReadys once again turned to their food storage. The meals were quick and easy to prepare, and they tasted pretty good too.
Outlast the test of time
Mac and May are older now, and the kids are out of the house. But they still rotate their food and water storage, and even send some cans of food to their children.
These days, the biggest concern for the McReadys is keeping out of the freeze-dried raspberries. But if something worse were to happen, Mac and May know that eating well would be the least of their worries.
Grow Your Own Supply
You can build a food and water supply to see you through stormy times, and it’s not as difficult (or expensive) as you might think!
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warc | 201704 | Hello from Canada. My home is not on the natural gas grid and never will be. We don't need it. We heat our six bedroom three bath home with wood. We use energy efficient fireplace inserts that reburn the smoke to limit carbon exhaust. We also use a septic system rather than the community's waste management plant which is an energy hog. Global warmung? Millions of years ago our earth was a tropical paradise. There were all sorts of flora and fauna growing everywhere. This was the time of the Dinosaur which now gives us our hydrocarbon fuels. Wether it was an asteroid or some other catastrophic event, they all died including the plants and most importantly the insects. Their bodies created the vast pools of hydrocarbons beneath our feet. We are now living in an unnaturally cold time. If all these carbons were brought to the surface and were once again incorporated into our ecosystem what would our planet be like? I admit Wall Street would need to move. So what? The human animal has built great cities close to the oceans of the world, but we have legs and can move and rebuild. What is more important, your personal comfort or the well being of our only place in this Universe.(as we know it) ENERGY Einstein gave us E=MCsq. He suggested as energy is placed in an object it will heat or speed up. It will also reduce in size and time will slow. Something as simple as our G.P.S. sattelites have proven this as the Atomic clocks onboard must be reset daily.
So... If you took an object travelling at say.. the speed of light and caused it to slow it would reduce in mass and GIVE OFF ENERGY. It doesn't have to be big and they are all around us.
This sounds like Atomic energy but it does not have to be done in such a cataclismic way.
Understanding this idea requires a total revamping of our understanding of physics and our Universe. However any professor of physics will answer a question about our Universe with the words "as we understand physics today". | 1,979 | 1,064 | 1.859962 |
warc | 201704 | We know that the education system in the United States is not as internationally competitive as it used to be, or as it was when I was growing up. New graduates are competing for jobs against students from around the world, and they are losing. Nationwide, more than 70% of students graduate from high school school—but only 26% leave meeting college readiness benchmarks, according to the ACT. The National Center for Education Statistics reports that 15-year-olds in the U.S. rank below their peers in 23 industrialized nations when it comes to math literacy.
The challenges hit close to home as well. In Tennessee, our schools have consistently under-performed. We’re ranked 45th nationally in eighth-grade math and 41
st nationally in fourth-grade reading.
But we can reverse these disturbing trends. In February 2009 I started an initiative called the Tennessee State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE). SCORE’s mission was to jumpstart long-term educational change in Tennessee, ensuring that every child graduates high school prepared for college or a career. SCORE is supporting bold reform in Tennessee, which is at the leading edge in school reform across the nation.
SCORE is instilling a renewed sense of urgency around the work to improve student achievement in our public schools and driving change among educators, policymakers and business leaders. SCORE’s activities include driving innovative education initiatives, advocating new policies that make a difference for children, and supporting implementation efforts. Working at the grassroots and grasstops levels, this is a private, citizen-led initiative that focuses on four key levels of changes: great teaching, strong leadership, high standards, and the effective use of data to support teaching and learning. One of SCORE’s key efforts is to recognize dramatic improvements in student achievement, work that is done through the annual SCORE Prize.
You can join by engaging in local efforts in your school district and by talking with, and working with your local elected officials and school boards to help implement SCORE’s recommendations by demanding educational excellence in your community. Together we are helping improve schools across the state. For more information, please visit the SCORE website at www.tnscore.org or follow SCORE on Twitter at www.twitter.com/score4schools.
Join me in learning what each of us can do to make sure that no child is left without the opportunity to succeed. | 2,522 | 1,276 | 1.976489 |
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warc | 201704 | Even though I am pregnant, it’s still important to me that I eat right and stay on the right track when it comes to exercise and making healthy choices. After all, I don’t want to gain back that 40 pounds that I worked so hard to lose. That’s why I was so excited to find […]
It’s no secret that I love sweets… but that can get me into trouble fast. That’s why I love Fiber One and the new Chocolate Chip flavor Fiber One 90 Calorie Brownies. At just 90 calories each, I can enjoy a brownie and not undo my whole day. And they taste great! For this review, […]
I have been searching high and low for wholesome snacks that will help me continue with my weight loss goals. The problem I’ve found with most “wholesome” or “good-for-you” snacks? They taste like tree bark or crunchy dirt. When I got an email from the folks at Nature’s Path, I figured it couldn’t hurt […]
If you swing by MojoFit.com, you will find a rather unique idea: A Diet Bracelet that helps you keep track of your calorie and water intake and helps you lose weight! The bracelet also comes with a pocket book that will tell you everything you need to know about taking weight off and keeping it […]
You all know how hard I am working to create a better me… a healthier me. Someone that I can be proud of and that my family can be proud of. Wouldn’t a fantastic new look be awesome to go with my healthy new attitude? Well, now we can each have a chance to win […] | 1,539 | 832 | 1.84976 |
warc | 201704 | From humble beginnings in his parents loft to selling £1bn worth of cars in just three years, carwow’s CEO, James Hind, is disrupting the UK’s new car market.
29-year-old James Hind founded the site after graduating from university with a Finance degree. He had a short two-month stint interning at a finance company, but realised that city life was not for him. He's always had a passion for cars, so arrived at the idea of carwow.
In just three years, carwow has raised £18.4 million in funding, has two million users signed-up and a network of 1,400 dealerships. The start-up is scaling quickly, growing from a small business of 14 employees in 2015 to more than 100 now.
1. Tell us about your business?
carwow is the most convenient, stress free way to find and buy a new car, at a price you can be confident in. How does it work? Simply select the car you want, then let carwow find you the most competitive quotes from the UK’s best dealers, in just a few clicks.
2. What excites you most about the work you do?
Making the car buying process better for both buyers and dealers. Consumers now expect to have all information at their fingertips and like the convenience that shopping online allows. When people think of buying a new car, they would typically go directly to a showroom, or several, but were then faced with the awkward haggle and a nagging doubt about whether the price they were paying was fair. On the other hand, dealers were facing this shift in consumer buying behaviour and attitudes, but with no infrastructure or expertise to react to it.
We’ve now given more control to both customers and the industry. It’s great knowing that carwow is helping people have a better buying experience. Testament to that is the fact that 80% of carwow buyers have recommended us to a friend or family member and carwow has a 9.7 score on Trustpilot.
3. How do you keep your employees happy?
Employee satisfaction is one of my top priorities and I strive to keep all 100 members of staff happy. Every single carwow employee owns a part of the business, which makes them more invested in the success of the company. With everyone working towards the same common goal, the workplace is a happier one. Everyone is encouraged to give feedback and suggestions on how we can make the business even better. Teams are very autonomous and able to implement changes themselves.
We also have plenty of benefits, such as regular team outings and events, table tennis, Friday beers, an espresso machine, sparkling water and fresh fruit on tap. We also involve our employees in the interview process when recruiting new staff, to ensure that recruits will be a great fit for our company culture.
4. Tell us about a challenge you faced in your business and how you overcame it?
Early on, we struggled to attract dealers to the site. The car industry has remained largely unchanged for the past 100 years, and dealers were understandably reluctant to try something that had yet to prove its worth. Many dealerships thought carwow was a race to the bottom and eroding their margins. However, through speaking to dealers about which dealers buyers actually go with after revewing their quotes - only 25% buy from the cheapest. By giving them the context and transparency they need on the price they are paying, they can then make an informed, and more confidence-filled choice about which dealer is right for them, and its not always the one that costs the least. Ultimately customers want some reassurance that they are not being ripped off and as an independent source, carwow provides just that.
5. Apart from your own, which other businesses are exciting you right now?
SpaceX, definitely. Elon Musk is a huge inspiration to me; being the founder of two billion-dollar companies is something I'm sure all entrepreneurs strive for. More than that, the headway that SpaceX is making in the space exploration arena is truly incredible.
6. What’s your best piece of employee management advice?
Treat your employees as your equals and involve them as much as possible in your business' growth. In doing so, they really invest in what you're trying to achieve and help you to get there.
7. What one business application/piece of software could you not live without?
Ubuntu Linux, the operating system that runs on our servers. Most of carwow is built on top of open source software, and that's obviously an important one for us.
8. What are you driving right now?
I’d had my eye on a Mercedes C63 Coupe and finally took the plunge a few weeks ago.
9. If you could employ any famous person in your business, past or present, who would it be and why?
Elon Musk, because I'd use his expertise to help further carwow's success.
10. What’s your best piece of advice for anyone else starting their own business?
Make sure your business is solving a customer problem and that you really understand the fundamentals of that problem to make sure your proposition is going to work. Be persistent and constantly strive to make your business better. Seek investment, because the funds and the guidance from the investors will be invaluable. | 5,194 | 2,536 | 2.048107 |
warc | 201704 | Les Deux Garcons and social media flaming: Anti-social behaviour online
This post is about three weeks late. It was originally written while I was on my holidays in London last month, and in response to the “social media fail”, as some has referred to it, of Les Deux Garcons in Bangsar.
I won’t go too much into what happened, because it’s not really central to my article, but essentially a customer posted a complaint on LDG’s Facebook which was quickly deleted. Then it escalated with the customer asking why the post was deleted and the person handling the Facebook page replied, saying that they have no time for “bitches”. Alison blogs the full story here (I don’t think this incident will do as much damage as Alison thinks, though).
Anyway, I digress. This article was originally written for my ReWired column in Star2 but because the tech section, in which my column used to sit, is currently undergoing changes, everything is a bit up in the air. As such, I have decided to post this on here.
Taken from seanrnicholson on Flickr under the Creative Commons License.
—
By NIKI CHEONG
OVER the weekend, a screenshot taken from the Facebook page of French patisserie Les Deux Garcons in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur, started circulating on Twitter and Facebook. The conversation in the image that was captured saw LDG – or at least the person responding to comments – refer to the complainant using an offensive term.
The owner Ben Yeong has since issued an apology on the site. However, many social media users – including some who have previously patronised the patisserie – have reacted negatively to it by calling it insincere, suggesting that it was not enough and some just plain mocking the apology.
Other people have taken to social network services to react to the backlash and questioning the behaviour of the public who are negatively reacting to the apology.
While I can understand the initial furore at the use of the offensive term, I can also understand how some people see the backlash – at time of writing, the apology has almost 400 comments in response – as being harsh.
My role here is not to argue the morality of such behaviours, whether it is the offensive response from LDG, the tone of outrage it sparked or the reaction to the apology notice. In all three instances, there was certain behaviours that I would consider to be anti-social.
Such incidents are not new, and definitely not just confined to Malaysia. Businesses the world over have struggled with trusting and properly training their staff to manage social network accounts while online anti-social behaviour dates back to the early days of online communication.
These incidences are abundant and they are not just limited to what some call a failure in social media marketing. For years, online users have been the subject of behaviour such as trolling and in the case above, flaming.
Some people believe that such behaviour is becoming more pervasive as we find more and more ways to connect and communicate online. There has also been many theories put forward as to why this is the case.
Two theories I personally subscribe to in the context of these anti-social behaviour are linked to concepts within psychology.
The first is that of deindividuation, a social psychology theory often linked to crowd mentality, which suggests that individuals tend to behave different to acceptable social norms under the veil of anonymity.
The second is the online disinhibition effect, introduced by psychologist John Suller, which identified six causes for why people behave online in ways they normally wouldn’t when in person.
In his 2004 paper titled
The Online Disinhibition Effect, Suller suggests that people are less inhibited and express themselves more in online settings. While he acknowledges that this is sometimes a good thing, he also notes that in other cases it is “toxic disinhibition” where “out spills rude language and harsh criticisms, anger, hatred, even threats.”
Both these theories suggest that the affordances of computer-mediated technologies, such as the the perceived anonymity, lack of association of real and virtual as well as the speed in which people can react and respond, makes it conducive for people to lose their inhibitions and behave in such anti-social ways.
It may getting harder these days to remain anonymous online but anonymity appears to different people in different forms. One of Suller’s six causes includes dissociative anonymity, or the “You don’t know me” effect.
It is because of these reasons that such anti-social behaviour seems to be increasingly common in our daily online lives – whether it is in insulting customers (or other people) or online public shaming, as examples.
One way to deal with this issue is to go back to the basis of communicating – talking it out. Mashable business editor Todd Wasserman, in an opinion piece regarding social media public shaming which he feels is spiralling out of control, suggests that “the next time you feel outraged about something someone near you is doing, put your phone down and go talk to that person”.
He may have a point, as research has shown that voice communication can decrease online “bad behaviour”. Researchers John P. Davis, Shelly Farnham and Carlos Jensen, in 2002, found that “voice is a powerful determinant of ‘social proximity’ even when the voice is computer-generated and gender-neutral” as it allows “for the efficient transmission of a great deal of semantic information”.
While its true that technology has made communication faster and easier, it would perhaps be wise for us to sometimes take a moment to pause and talk it through with the parties involved – whether its a genuine complain from a loyal customer, a brand responding to criticism or just you and me – the general public who are just floating around cyberspace.
After all, our online lives are not disconnected from our offline ones so why not use all the “tools” of communication we have at our disposal?
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warc | 201704 | They show up on doorsteps a few times a year — heavy and wrapped in plastic.
Then often, they just sit there.
I have to confess, there’s a phone book leaning against the door frame at my house right now. I plan on bringing it in — really, I do. I just haven’t gotten around to it yet.
The Seattle City Council thinks I shouldn’t have to. And not because its members understand how lazy I get when carrying groceries.
The council is deliberating on the best way to cut down on unwanted phone book distribution. They’re toying with the idea of creating a more effective opt-out system — or even an opt-in policy.
They say phone books just end up in the recycling bin after delivery, and that costs the city about $200,000 a year. The council zeroed in on phone books and junk mail in its “Zero Waste” priorities for this year.
Council members are meeting with representatives from companies that publish the books Tuesday to gather information, according to city officials.
The plan is still in the research phase now. It’s not likely the council will vote on a new policy about phone book distribution until much later this year.
In the spirit of research, we thought we’d ask where you stand on the issue. | 1,270 | 697 | 1.822095 |
warc | 201704 | Today, Facebook and MySpace announced a collaboration. MySpace users can now log in using Facebook and leverage their collection of Facebook "Likes" to instantly create a highly personalized entertainment experience on MySpace. On the one hand, this is hardly earth-shattering news: MySpace already announced and launched its new entertainment-focused mission, and Facebook has been integrated into more than 1 million Web sites. But that doesn't mean there isn't anything interesting about today's news:
MySpace is reinvigorated and innovating rapidly. For a site that hadn't changed much in years, MySpace is suddenly looking awfully innovative. Of course, it needs to be; News Corp. has made it clear that MySpace quickly must demonstrate success, and MySpace is taking this challenge very seriously. In the past three weeks, MySpace has announced its new format, launched it and already rolled out its first major innovation with a partner.
Facebook made yet another big announcement today. The company introduced a new communications systems aimed at enhancing digital dialogue between friends and family. It isn't yet live, but you can request to be an early user of the new system here. To get a sense of what Facebook's new messaging platform is about, check out its official 4-minute video at the end of this blog post.
Since it involves a new Facebook.com email address, some people shrugged the new functionality off as a weak email tool. They're right — but that's like complaining an apple makes a poor orange. The new platform is a poor email client because it isn't intended to be an email client. Instead, this is a new form of communications; as Mark Zuckerberg said (more than once) "This isn't email," and he's right. Here's why it's worth paying attention to the new Facebook messaging platform:
It's a Gmail wounder. There's been a lot of buzz about Facebook's messaging platform being a "Gmail killer." It isn't, but it's certainly going to wound Gmail and other popular email clients. With the combination of individuals’ social graphs and Facebook’s new functionality, Facebook will succeed at pulling away some time and attention from Gmail, but it won't kill Gmail or other email clients. Facebook isn’t interested in being a management or response tool for your flood of bills, email newsletters or other communications; instead, it’s about facilitating and enhancing your personal relationships. Facebook wants to be the platform for personal communications and leave the boring stuff to Gmail and others.
We’ve launched four specific areas of focus (although you can always suggest more). Will 2011 be . . .
The year location-based services go mainstream?Thus far, checking in from real-world locations has been an activity reserved for early adopters, but this behavior is growing, being spurred on by innovation from foursquare and Facebook. Will this be the “hockey stick” year for foursquare, where growth kicks into hyperdrive? Or will Facebook roll over foursquare as it did MySpace? And what will it take to hook the masses in the check-in craze?
The year of trust?Trust has always been an important brand attribute, but in 2011 it will become crucial for brands to earn followers, affinity and advocacy. How will brands earn trust in social media channels? How will trust be measured? What happens to brands that lose on trust? What steps will Facebook take to earn more trust as the social network continues to integrate itself into consumers’ surfing, social and mobile habits?
There's a big announcement coming from Facebook on Monday. It is rumored that Facebook will unveil a new email and messaging platform, although the announcement could also or alternatively relate to mobile chat or Skype. If Facebook tackles email (which seems inevitable, whether next week or next year), it promises to change the way consumers think about digital communications.
If that sounds like a big statement about a company that's already had a profound effect on consumer communications, consider for a moment how the Web changed information gathering. When people needed information prior to the advent of the Internet, the operative question wasn't just "What do I need?" but "How do I get it?" The "how" affected everything: If I turn to the encyclopedia on my shelf, I might get old information. If I turn to a single source, I might get biased information. If I need to get into my car and drive to a library, it will take a great deal of time and effort. And if the "how" was sufficiently difficult or murky, I might simply give up.
The Internet changed that — it provided a single "how." The browser became our window to whatever data we needed. Of course, we still needed to find that data on the World Wide Web (which is where Google and other Web 1.0 solutions stepped in), but once "how" turned to "what," it changed everything. Consumers who saw the benefit of instantaneous access overcame the relatively extreme challenges of early Internet adoption (such as slow speeds, expensive PCs and costly ISPs) and adopted the Web in huge numbers in a relatively short period of time. That's the power of eliminating "how."
The value of Facebook "Likes" is supposed to be clear: My friend likes something, and that is valuable and persuasive information for me. This is the idea behind Bing launching social search — if my friends have liked something for which I'm searching, that will be more relevant and helpful information than just another one-size-fits-all search engine results page. It's also the idea behind Facebook's Open Graph — if you visit a site and see that a friend has "Liked" it, you are more likely to pay attention, spend time, and complete a transaction.
But as we all know, a "Like" (with quotations) does not necessarily signify a like (without quotations). An interesting ExactTarget study demonstrated that people may "Like" a brand for a wide range of reasons: to learn about discounts, to earn freebies, for entertainment, to gain access to exclusive content, and — of course — to show support for the company to others. Just look at the list of companies you follow on Facebook — do you like them all equally? Are there any you've followed even though you really aren't a true fan of the organization or its products? The disconnection between “Like” and like will only grow greater in the coming year, as brands looking to expand their pool of Facebook friends reward new fans and followers (an activity I compared with the “black hat” tactic of buying links in the early days of search engine optimization.)
Today Facebook announced three mobile enhancements for Facebook Places, including new functionality that developers of mobile applications may incorporate into their products and a powerful new (and free) platform for connecting mobile consumers with relevant ads for nearby businesses. Today's pronouncements demonstrate the ambition and vision Facebook has for itself in mobile computing and socializing over the long term, but in the immediate future Facebook now is poised to bring the wonders of checking in to the masses.
Chances are, you are NOT reporting your location (aka "checking in") to your friends and followers in social networks. According to Forrester data from earlier this year, just 4% of US online adults have ever used location-based social networks on their mobile phones. Simply put, there hasn't been enough WIIFM ("What's In It For Me") to entice and retain the typical consumer. Now, Facebook is set to change that, lowering the bar and improving the WIIFM for a wider range of consumers. Average Facebook users who previously felt "checking in" was better suited for narcissists and techies can now realize benefits from location-based services (LBSes, also known as geolocation) via a larger and richer set of offers and deals. | 7,977 | 3,656 | 2.181893 |
warc | 201704 | 802.11ad represents an important step in the evolution of Wi-Fi, enabling new user capabilities such as wire-equivalent docking and high-quality, low-latency video streaming, multimedia kiosks, while bringing a step increase in network capacity, and much more.
We are excited to announce that Qualcomm Atheros* and Intel have reached a crucial milestone in making 802.11ad WiGig
* a mainstream and widely available technology. Intel and Qualcomm Atheros have successfully demonstrated multi-gigabit interoperability between our companies’ respective 802.11ad WiGig solutions. This milestone will help pave the way for industry development of 802.11ad WiGig devices that can communicate and connect seamlessly with each other at amazing speeds of up to 4.6 Gbps[1]. Moreover, this milestone underscores both companies’ commitment to the strong evolution of Wi-Fi, both infrastructure and peer-to-peer communications, as well as the critical role 802.11ad WiGig plays in this evolutionary process.
Laptops, tablets, smartphones, access points, storage devices, untethered VR glasses and other 802.11ad WiGig-capable devices offer multi-gigabit speeds, high density, low latency and very high network capacity, as well as empower a new class of applications and services. 802.11ad will transform the experience of Wi-Fi users, be it in their offices, homes or even in public places. Bringing the vast, new spectrum in 60 GHz band to Wi-Fi’s fold, 802.11ad will be one of the potent tools to address burgeoning data demand in homes, enterprises and carrier networks.
Qualcomm Atheros and Intel engineers worked collaboratively for months in each other’s labs, running countless tests, culminating in this achievement. These tests spanned across many use cases and scenarios, including peer-to-peer connections between Intel- and Qualcomm Atheros 802.11ad WiGig – based clients and Qualcomm Atheros-802.11ad WiGig powered access points (wireless routers). Tests examined various cases and conditions – from device discovery and connection to full-blown data uploads and downloads, streaming and more. As part of the testing, we successfully achieved multi-gigabit real data throughput between our devices.
Achieving full interoperability is not easy. This level of collaboration and focused effort is essential in creating new markets and building a robust ecosystem, and in ultimately providing seamless user experience across multi-vendor devices.
While more work lies ahead, our collaboration lays the groundwork for a large ecosystem of interoperable commercial 802.11ad products across networking, mobile and computing segments. We are excited about the new capabilities 802.11ad enables – from 4K display connectivity to tri-band (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz and 60 GHz) Wi-Fi networking and high-speed cellular offload – and we think you should be excited at our progress in bringing these capabilities to your favorite devices.
This blog post is written by Yaniv Garty, VP and GM Wireless Connectivity Solutions, Intel and Tal Tamir, VP Product Management, Qualcomm Atheros, Inc.. A version of this blog post is also posted on Qualcomm’s blog.
[1] Achieved by the 802.11ad devices in good link conditions.
Intel and the Intel logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.
*Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.
Intel technologies may require enabled hardware, specific software, or services activation. Performance varies depending on system configuration.
Statements in this document that refer to Intel’s plans and expectations for the quarter, the year, and the future, are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. A detailed discussion of the factors that could affect Intel’s results and plans is included in Intel’s SEC filings, including the annual report on Form 10-K.
Qualcomm Atheros, Inc. is a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated
WiGig is a copyright of the Wi-Fi Alliance
© 2016 Intel Corporation and Qualcomm Atheros Inc. | 4,109 | 1,939 | 2.119134 |
warc | 201704 | The next time Congress creates a conservator for failed government-backed entities such as credit unions and mortgage finance outfits, it would sure be nice if lawmakers were specific about just how long the bailout groups have to bring litigation to recover for their members’ losses. You already know about the statute of repose question looming over the Federal Housing Finance Authority’s cases against 18 banks that sold supposedly deficient mortgage-backed securities to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. With the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals now weighing UBS’s Hail Mary argument that FHFA’s suits are time-barred under the statute of repose, which was not explicitly extended in the law creating the FHFA, most of the other banks in the litigation are waiting for an appellate ruling before they buckle down and settle the conservator’s billions of dollars of claims. (The exception, as my Reuters colleague Nate Raymond was the first to report, is GE, which had relatively small exposure to FHFA and settled last month.)
Alison Frankel
Last week a New Hampshire woman who suffered grievous side effects when she took a generic pain reliever manufactured by Mutual Pharmaceutical filed her merits brief at the U.S. Supreme Court, in a case that will determine whether the Food and Drug Administration’s regulation of generic drugs pre-empts state-law design defect claims against manufacturers. Karen Bartlett’s lawyers at
Kellogg, Huber, Hansen, Todd, Evans & Figelargue that design defect claims, unlike failure-to-warn claims, do not depend on the FDA-approved labels generics are required to carry under the Hatch-Waxman Act. That fact, they contend, distinguishes Bartlett’s case (and the underlying 1st Circuit Court of Appeals ruling Mutual is challenging) from the reasoning the Supreme Court applied in its 2011 decision in Pliva v. Mensing, which held that generics are not liable for failing to warn of dangerous side effects because they are required to carry the same labels approved by the FDA for brand-name versions of their products.
Have you heard about the story by a reporter for the New York Daily News who says he inadvertently started a rumor that Senator Chuck Hagel, President Obama’s nominee to head the Defense Department, received speaking fees from a group called Friends of Hamas? The reporter, Dan Friedman, wrote in a piece Monday that earlier this month, he called a congressional staffer to check out reports that Hagel had received fees from controversial groups. He pressed for details on the groups, using what he considered farcical, made-up names like “Junior League of Hezbollah” and “Friends of Hamas.” The next thing Friedman knew, conservative websites published speculation that Hagel had accepted fees from Friends of Hamas, citing Capitol Hill sources. Eventually, after mainstream sites questioned the existence of the group, the story fizzled.
Every company considering an IPO owes a hearty thanks to U.S. District Judge Robert Sweet of Manhattan for his decision Wednesday to dismiss four shareholder derivative suits against Facebook board members. Sweet’s painstaking 70-page opinion includes holdings that are great for Facebook’s defense of a parallel securities class action over its disclosures to IPO investors, but the judge also reached precedent-setting conclusions on standing and ripeness that will help other derivative defendants ward off IPO-based claims in state court. Facebook’s lead lawyers,
Andrew Clubok of Kirkland & Ellis and Richard Bernstein of Willkie Farr & Gallagher, certainly deserve credit for coming up with innovative arguments to establish valuable precedent in IPO cases.
Last month, when I wrote about the Obama administration’s apparent flip-flop on the question of federal pre-emption of product liability claims against generic drugmakers, I mentioned a curious footnote in the Justice Department’s Supreme Court amicus brief in Mutual Pharmaceutical v. Barrett. All the wrangling over liability for generics, which are required by law to use the same labels as the brand-name drugs they replicate, could be unnecessary, Justice hinted. “This office has been informed that Food and Drug Administration is considering a regulatory change that would allow generic manufacturers, like brand-name manufacturers, to change their labeling in appropriate circumstances,” the brief said. “If such a regulatory change is adopted, it could eliminate pre-emption of failure-to-warn claims against generic-drug manufacturers.”
A new complaint against
Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft and Sanford Heisler by a onetime engineer for Seagate Technology who became a whistle-blower against his former employer, is the latest evidence that whistle-blowers lead difficult lives. And according to the engineer, Paul Galloway, the lawyers who were supposed to be helping him instead made him unemployable.
If you’ve been keeping track of the Justice Department’s civil suits against banks accused of marketing deeply flawed mortgage-backed securities and collateralized debt obligations, you know there are two laws at the heart of the feds’ cases: the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act and the False Claims Act. (Shout-outs to my Reuters colleagues Aruna Viswanatha and Nate Raymond, who noted Justice’s creative application of these two laws long before most reporters knew FIRREA from an unfortunate stomach complaint.) The FCA, which offers the prospect of triple damages, has provided the federal government with a particularly big stick to use against banks. As of last November, federal prosecutors had already cited the FCA in more than half a dozen civil fraud suits against such mortgage lenders as BofA, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and Flagstar, obtaining more than $1.6 billion in settlements, mostly based on alleged defrauding of a federal home insurance program.
In July 2007, a recently hired analyst in Standard & Poor’s structured finance group exchanged a series of emails with an investment banking client who wanted to know how the new job was going. Things were just great, the analyst said sardonically, “aside from the fact that the MBS world is crashing, investors and media hate us and we’re all running around to save face … no complaints.” Part of the problem, the analyst said in a subsequent email, was that some people at S&P had been pushing to downgrade structured finance deals, “but the leadership was concerned of p*ssing off too many clients and jumping the gun ahead of Fitch and Moody’s.
Bank of America’s proposed $8.5 billion settlement with investors in Countrywide mortgage-backed securities gets all the attention, most recently in a column Sunday by Gretchen Morgenson of The New York Times, who cited new claims that echo old allegations of banks shortchanging MBS noteholders through modification of underlying investor-owned loans. Meanwhile, though, a similar global MBS deal between institutional investors and Residential Capital, the now bankrupt former mortgage lending arm of Ally Financial, has garnered much less outside attention, even though it permits MBS holders to assert an $8.7 billion claim in the bankruptcy, without opposition from ResCap. Friday was the deadline for objections in ResCap’s Chapter 11 to MBS investors’ $8.7 billion allowed claim. And the details that emerged in filings by ResCap bondholders, unsecured creditors and bond insurers that oppose the $8.7 billion deal add up to as compelling a story as the BofA saga, when it comes to assigning blame for and assessing victims of the mortgage crisis. | 7,764 | 3,681 | 2.109209 |
warc | 201704 | “Go into the street, and give one man a lecture on morality, and another a shilling, and see which will respect you most.” Samuel Johnson said that in the 18th century, but the general preference for money over preaching is sufficiently strong and timeless that his wry quip remains pertinent. Most economists take Johnson’s sentiment too seriously. They assume that people always want more shillings and always resist wealth-denying morality. That is a serious error.
Edward Hadas
For once, investors have got it right. In 2008, their panic turned a financial crisis into a long multinational recession, but they have mostly yawned right through the drama in Nicosia. They hardly twitched at a stream of warnings from investment banks and pundits: bank deposits are no longer sacrosanct; the European Union has been exposed as despotic and incompetent; the Russians are coming; the Russians are going; capital controls will destroy everything; “bail in” (taking losses on loans that cannot be repaid) is the end of the world as we once knew it.
Don’t make promises you can’t keep. Wise parents tell small children that, and wary lovers use that command as a taunt. But in the world of finance, unrealistic promises are the norm, and they are too often broken. Depositors in the banks of Cyprus may be learning that lesson.
Monetary policy these days is complicated, ineffective, and quite possibly immoral. The complexity is inevitable; there is no simple way to ensure that the supply of money and credit is appropriate in a large modern economy. The ineffectiveness is evident: central bankers let that supply grow too fast before the 2008 financial crisis, and have unable to return monetary conditions to normal since then.
“It has been computed by some political arithmetician that if every man and woman would work for four hours each day on something useful, that labour would produce sufficient to procure all the necessaries and comforts of life … and the rest of the 24 hours might be leisure and happiness.”
Institutions need to evolve over time. Institutions must rely on their traditions. These two statements may sound irreconcilable, but institutions – companies, hospitals, government agencies, schools, political systems, churches – can only thrive if they manage both to change and to remain true to their principles. In his surprising resignation, Pope Benedict XVI has given an example of the right balance. | 2,496 | 1,322 | 1.888048 |
warc | 201704 | America is not Greece: Low funding costs give U.S. government room to borrow
Is the U.S.on the road to Greece, as some politicians have proclaimed?
Most economists say the comparison is nonsense. At a towering $15 trillion, the U.S. economy is not only the world’s largest, it is also more than 50 times the size of Greece’s. This gap makes any type of comparison difficult – it would be like analyzing trends in Maryland in relation to the entire euro zone.
Another key difference: Unlike Greece, the U.S. actually controls its own currency. That means a debt default is effectively impossible. This reality, coupled with strong monetary stimulus from the Federal Reserve, helps explain why U.S. bond yields remain near historic lows despite larger deficits.
Mark Weisbrot, co-director of the progressive Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, says a country’s interest burden is far more important than its total debt levels in determining the government’s ability to service it. He argued in a recent editorial:
Contrary to popular nonsense about America ‘ending up like Greece,’ the U.S. doesn’t even have a public debt problem. Net interest on the federal debt is currently less than 1 percent of our national income, the lowest it has been in more than 60 years. And it’s the interest burden that matters, not the big numbers like $16 trillion that are thrown around in scare stories.
Why is that? Weisbrot explained further in response to an email:
Imagine you had a credit card debt of $40,000 but the interest rate was just 0.1 percent – you wouldn’t have much of a problem. It’s the same thing for a government – 1 percent of GDP is not a lot of money to come up with. Greece hit 6.8 percent last year, that’s why they are in trouble. (Also, because they have a “foreign” currency that they can’t create). In fact, none of the other countries would even have run into problems if their interest rates hadn’t shot up.
Note that I used net interest payments for the U.S. – that’s because the government also receives interest. The gross interest is still pretty small though, about 1.4 percent of GDP. But it’s net interest that matters: that’s why Japan has no problem even though its gross debt is about 220 percent of GDP. About half is owed to the central bank. What this means is the interest on that debt goes back to the Treasury. Our Treasury now receives about $80 billion annually from debt held by the Fed. | 2,561 | 1,306 | 1.960949 |
warc | 201704 | For better or worse, the massive draft bill released by the House of Representatives this week is set to be the template for Congressional action this year on energy and the climate, now that the Senate has decided just to crib that version.
The bill is oddly silent on some big issues but willing to wade into regulatory minutiae. It doesn’t just aim to curb greenhouse gas emissions, the bill aims to curb electric consumption by people who just want to unwind after work. But more on that later. | 506 | 327 | 1.547401 |
warc | 201704 | recent offering of 20-year Barclays inflation protected notes:DescriptionIILPN: $100+inflation monProduct TypeInflation-Indexed Level-Pay NoteMaturity01 Dec 2031CurrencyUSDDenomination$18,700 Details:Issue Date01 Dec 2011Pays you $100/month, indexed, for 20 years. Then nothing.Costs $18700 up front.ActualCoupon (%)2.59941%So compared to T-bonds, you're getting 2.6% plus inflation vs. about half a percent plus inflation (with no return of principle until the end) with Tips.Compared to single payment immediate annuities for a 60 year old: You're getting a payment equal to 6.4% of the initial cost for 20 years, plus inflation, vs. about 3.5% for greater of life or 20 years, plus inflation, with a cpi-indexed life annuity. Barclays might have financial strength equal to that of an insurance company selling annuities, but bank regulation is less strict than insurance company regulation and there is no state guaranty association backing up the first $100k of Barclays' obligation but there is for an annuity. In order to supplement the Barclays bond with another instrument that would make a package with a lifetime payment stream, you would have to couple it with longevity insurance (a very deferred lifetime single payment annuity) which might cost a 60-year-old another $4000 - $6000 to approximate same real income and inflation protection. At $6k cost, that drives the yield down to about 4.9%, which is still way better than an inflation-indexed annuity (but riskier). Or, you could contract with someone to kill you in 20 years (just kidding-- Merry Christmas).Seems like the Barclays bond + longevity insurance annuity might be reasonable for a small portion of one's portfolio. Too bad you can't diversify accross issuers (because it's a unique instrument at this time).By the way, I talked to my state's insurance company guaranty association to find out more about how they work. They have no money to speak of. What they have is the legal power to assess all the solvent life insurance companies doing business in the state whatever they need to make good on the first $100k of obligation to each customer of an insolvent insurance company when the insolvency occurs. So, their financial strength is not at all a function of state government budgetary condition, nor of a static fund they have accumulated (there is no fund), but rather is a function of the financial strength of all the life & annuity insurance companies licensed to do business in the state. Participation in the guaranty association is mandatory for insurance companies. Also bear in mind that regulators step in and take control of an insurance company when minimum ratios are not met. They don't wait for management to drive it completely bust, if they can help it.Another by-the-way: I am looking at Ohio National's guaranteed withdrawal variable annuity. Higher fees than Vanguard's similar product, but also higher benefits: 5% withdrawal rate and a guaranteed 8% simple annual increase in the withdrawal base (withdrawal base is the notional balance that answers the question "5% of what?") for each year among the first 10 that you skip the allowed withdrawal, with a bonus that if you skip all 10 then instead of a cumulative 80% guaranteed gain in the withdrawal base, you get 100% gain (double what you invested, in other words, equal to 7% compound). So, put in $100k, take nothing for 10 years, and get at least $10k per year for life of you and spouse (whoever lives longer). If the portfolio outperforms the withdrawals plus heavy fees, plus whatever boost you earned by deferrals (unlikely unless we have a strong bull market), then the withdrawal base is further increased to bring it up to the account value so you get more in your annual guaranteed withdrawal. And there is a death benefit, which is too complicated to explain here, but it might be something. And there is a REIT angle: You can put up to 15% of the portfolio into a Fidelity real estate fund (plus you would have 30% in a bond fund and the rest in another stock fund -- could be the Ohio National S&P 500 index fund, but it's not worthy of the name: 0.49% annual fund expense ratio instead of the sub-0.2% it should be. Still, I think it's the lowest cost stock fund they allow you to use, so it is probably the best bet). I would look upon it as a fixed annuity with the possibility of backing out 6+ years down the road and getting back some kind of lump sum in the event your life situation drastically changed. Before 6 years there is a stiff breakup fee. Plus it's a lottery ticket on the chance of another strong bull market that would make all the fees trivial by comparison. It would be fun to ride along with a raging bull knowing you didn't have to worry about when to sell because a rising account value ratchets up the withdrawal base and any subsequent crash cannot bring your withdrawal base back down, (provided the bull lasts at least long enough to cross an account annual anniversary date -- they recalibrate the withdrawal base for increases in the account value only once per year). In short, the Ohio National guaranteed withdrawal variable annuity is an investment any Rube Goldberg clone will love.Ohio National's thingy is called "Oncore" (get it?) and comes in many flavors. The "value" flavor has the lowest fees. The guaranteed lifetime withdrawal feature is an add-on rider that itself costs 1.2% for a joint benefit. They reserve the right to increase that fee (up to double), but you can opt out of any increase by giving up the right to future increases in the withdrawal base (no big sacrifice if the account value has fallen way below the withdrawal base and you are past the point where you can earn 8% bonuses for foregoing withdrawals). And, fees do not lower your guaranteed withdrawal, they just lower your account value, so if you look upon it as basically a fixed annuity + lottery ticket, the fees are irrelevant. On top of the 1.2%, other fees totalling about 1% are deducted from your account value for admin expenses and the mandatory death benefit, as are fund expenses of 0.49% or more (depending on the funds you invest in). So it's around 3% total fees unless I've missed some. When and if your account value goes to zero, they give you a lifetime level payment annuity equal in benefits to your guaranteed withdrawal amount at the time (unless the reason it went to zero is because you took out more than you were supposed to!) and the fees stop. Annuitization is mandatory when the youngest annuitant reaches 95 even if the account value is still positive. With a positive account value at 95, you might be able to buy an annuity worth more than the guaranteed withdrawal benefit you had been receiving, and you would have that option. But you would not get less than a continuation of the same stream of checks. This is all from memory, so do your own due diligence before you invest.
Folders | Best Of | Favorites & Replies | Settings | Start a New Board | My Fool | Help | | 7,010 | 3,143 | 2.230353 |
warc | 201704 | Modern Etiquette: When striking up conversation, it's not about you
By Mary M. Mitchell
LONDON (Reuters) - Colleagues and friends ask me all the time, "What do I say to people when I meet them for the first time?"
Behind the question lies the real uncertainty: "What can I say to engage them, so they think I'm interesting to talk to, so that they like me?" Notice all the "I's" in those sentences. That's a big clue.
If you want to be truly interesting to your conversational partners, be interested in them. If you really think about it, the people you consider artful conversationalists are most likely wonderful listeners.
They know how to take their egos out of what is being said, how to be present, and how to be genuinely interested in the other person.
Most of us feel awkward making conversation, because, while we're supposed to be paying attention to the other person, we're actually thinking about what to say next.
And at the same time, we are giving ourselves a lot of negative self-talk that might sound like, "I haven't a clue what to say here. She/he must think I'm really stupid."
Imagine that you could focus a movie camera on yourself. You can take this to the bank - when that lens is trained on you, you're bound to be a conversational dud.
On the other hand, turn that camera onto the other person and watch what happens. The gift of your time and attention showered on him or her will make the other person blossom, I guarantee it.
Continued... | 1,489 | 800 | 1.86125 |
warc | 201704 | January 16, 2017
January 13, 2017
by molly knight raskin | June 18, 2012 | People
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with Louis Vuitton cut
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One-piece swimsuit ($690), studded
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The face of Every Mother Counts, at work in the field.
Trellis sweater, Louis Vuitton ($1,500).
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Astunning combination of chiseled cheekbones, full lips, and exotic eyes, Christy Turlington Burns is one of the most timeless faces in fashion, having graced the covers of high-profile ad campaigns and glossy magazines for almost 30 years. But it’s not for her famous features that the 43-year-old model wants to be recognized. It is for her voice.
Over the past decade, Turlington Burns has retreated farther from the fashion world, working quietly but tirelessly to succeed in an arena that could not be more removed from the glamour and glitz of the catwalk—global activism. With an intellectual curiosity and an innate passion for humanitarian causes, Turlington Burns has already proven she’s not just another celebrity embracing the cause du jour. Currently, she is tackling one of the most challenging, sobering issues in global health: maternal death.
The tragedy of maternal death, the model-turned-activist explains, is evident in the numbers. According to the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health, approximately 350,000 women die due to complications from pregnancy or childbirth every year. That’s one woman every 90 seconds. “That’s a number I stand by, and it’s especially large when you consider the fact that the majority of these deaths are preventable,” she says. “I could not believe it when I first did the research, and I wondered, Why aren’t more people talking about this?'"
It was her own brush with a maternal health complication that first inspired Turlington Burns to research the issue. In 2003, after the birth of her daughter, Grace (with actor-director Edward Burns), she suffered a postpartum hemorrhage (PPH), a rare postlabor complication that could have been fatal without access to emergency medical care. Turlington Burns was stunned to learn that PPH is the leading killer of pregnant women around the world. Shortly after, she threw herself headlong into what’s become a crusade to educate people around the world on the issue of maternal health.
First came Turlington Burns’s directorial debut, the powerful documentary
No Woman No Cry, which premiered in 2010 at the Tribeca Film Festival and aired last spring on the Oprah Winfrey Network. To capture the barriers to healthcare so many women face at a critical point in their lives, Turlington Burns and her crew spent the better part of a year and a half following at-risk pregnant women in four countries with high maternal mortality rates (MMRs): Tanzania, Bangladesh, Guatemala, and the United States, which has one of the highest MMRs among developed nations.
In the two years since its release, Turlington Burns has used
No Woman No Cry as an educational tool, traveling the world to screen it everywhere from hospitals and midwifery schools to health conferences and Fortune 500 companies. Building on its momentum, she has also created a greater call to action: Every Mother Counts, an advocacy and mobilization campaign to increase education and support for maternal mortality reduction, launched in the fall of 2010 with Erin Thornton, one of Washington’s top international development leaders. Thornton left her longtime position with One, the global grassroots advocacy organization cofounded by U2’s Bono, to assume the role of executive director of Every Mother Counts. She says Turlington Burns won her over during a particularly long flight home from Africa earlier that year, when the two were returning from a whirlwind tour of several countries for supporters and board members of One and its sister organization, Red (both of which Turlington Burns had been involved with since 2005).
Thornton had just watched
No Woman No Cry and had some tough questions for the former cover girl about her long-term goals. “She blew me away,” Thornton recalls. “I was impressed that she really understood the landscape, what needed to happen, and how to go about evoking change. And I was even more impressed by how clear her intentions were. This was not about image, not about profile, not about anything but the issue and how to bring about a change.”
“This isn’t something that’s an extracurricular for her; this is what she does, and she gives 1,000 percent to it,” Thornton adds. “She’s so effective and she really knows what she is talking about. She continues to do her homework—she goes to the conferences, lectures; she wants to stay current.”
As if her role as the foot soldier and face of Every Mother Counts is not enough, Turlington Burns is working part-time toward a master’s degree in public health at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. So far the work is paying off: She can easily relate with policy wonks and medical experts, and she holds some plum positions, including a spot on Harvard Medical School’s Global Health Council and Harvard School of Public Health’s Dean’s Board of Advisors.
All of this sounds dizzying, but in conversation the mother of two (Grace is now eight, and Finn is six) conveys her signature calm and seems relatively unfazed by the enormity of the task at hand. Turlington Burns is quick to point out that for her, international travel and activism are nothing new. The daughter of a Pan Am pilot and a flight attendant, the native Californian grew up with a love for travel. Discovered by a modeling agent at the age of 14, Turlington Burns says she never expected such a meteoric rise, nor to have any staying power in an industry that puts a premium on youth. With the mindset that modeling was a temporary gig, Turlington Burns says she stuck with it largely for the opportunity to jet-set. “No matter where in the world I was able to go, I found a way to go farther and stay longer,” she says. “Really, so few of the days and years as a model were that satisfying. I always knew I wanted to do something more.
“My sisters and their friends were all in college, studying and learning, and I was envious,” she continues. “After a few years of modeling, I felt like I’d learned all I needed to know about it. And when it started to define me, I thought, Uh oh, I’m not comfortable with this.”
At 26, Turlington Burns surprised the fashion world with her decision to enroll full-time at New York University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in comparative religion and Eastern philosophy. It could well have marked the end of her career, but big names like Maybelline and Calvin Klein upheld her contracts, offering to schedule shoots around her coursework. Still, Turlington Burns says her postgraduate goals did not include fashion; she considered becoming an airline pilot like her father, an architect, or a writer.
To broaden her experience outside the bright lights of the modeling universe, Turlington Burns embraced any charitable causes she felt drawn to. These would include her support of public information campaigns to bring postwar tourism to her mother’s native El Salvador and, in the late ’90s, a very public campaign against tobacco. A longtime smoker, Turlington Burns quit three years before the death, in 1997, of her father to lung cancer. She worked with the Centers for Disease Control and the American Cancer Society on the “truth campaign” about the dangers of smoking. “To this day, people will come up to me and say they quit smoking because of that campaign,” she says. “That is so gratifying; I’m able to reaffirm my commitment to the cause and connect with people who have struggled with it.”
Graduating from NYU at age 30, the budding entrepreneur and devoted yoga practitioner launched two successful businesses: Sundari, an ayurvedic skincare line, and Nuala, a yoga-inspired apparel and accessories line in collaboration with Puma. She also wrote a book about yoga and began to volunteer with Care and Red, supporting various humanitarian causes and ramping up her international travel and time on the front lines in impoverished communities. It is clear that Turlington Burns takes great pleasure in visiting places where no one knows her name or her face. Those close to her say she does so with what appears to be total ease. “I really would say that Christy seems totally at home and comfortable in the back of a bumpy van, driving for hours to some rural village to meet with people who don’t know she’s famous,” says Thornton. “She’s willing to put her story out there, and because of this, people know she’s real and invested.”
Beyond her personal experiences, Turlington Burns explains that the driving force behind her work is simple: humanity. “I’m a mom now, and I’m going to be one for the rest of my life, and there is just so much that needs to be done,” she says. “There are enough of us in this world to make changes, and I do want to get people to try.”
“It’s not as if people need to support only my issue,” she says. “But do look for something. Anyone who is inclined can make a difference. You just have to use your voice.”
Photography by Guy Aroch/trunkarchive.com; josh estey/every mother counts 2011 (every mother counts)
January 19, 2017
January 4, 2017
December 20, 2016 | 10,127 | 4,662 | 2.172244 |
warc | 201704 | Diastolic dysfunction and diastolic heart failure: diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic aspects 3:9 DOI: 10.1186/1476-7120-3-9
© Galderisi; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2005
Received: 05 January 2005 Accepted: 04 April 2005 Published: 04 April 2005 Abstract
Left ventricular (LV) diastolic dysfunction (DD) and diastolic heart failure (HF), that is symptomatic DD, are due to alterations of myocardial diastolic properties. These alterations involve relaxation and/or filling and/or distensibility. Arterial hypertension associated to LV concentric remodelling is the main determinant of DD but several other cardiac diseases, including myocardial ischemia, and extra-cardiac pathologies involving the heart are other possible causes. In the majority of the studies, isolated diastolic HF has been made equal to HF with preserved systolic function (= normal ejection fraction) but the true definition of this condition needs a quantitative estimation of LV diastolic properties. According to the position of the European Society of Cardiology and subsequent research refinements the use of Doppler echocardiography (transmitral inflow and pulmonary venous flow) and the new ultrasound tools has to be encouraged for diagnosis of DD. In relation to uncertain definitions, both prevalence and prognosis of diastolic heart failure are very variable. Despite an apparent lower death rate in comparison with LV systolic HF, long-term follow-up (more than 5 years) show similar mortality between the two kinds of HF. Recent studies performed by Doppler diastolic indexes have identified the prognostic power of both transmitral E/A ratio < 1 (pattern of abnormal relaxation) and > 1.5 (restrictive patterns). The therapy of LV DD and HF is not well established but ACE-inhibitors, angiotensin inhibitors, aldosterone antagonists and β-blockers show potential beneficial effect on diastolic properties. Several trials, completed or ongoing, have been planned to treat DD and diastolic HF.
KeywordsDiastolic dysfunction Diastolic heart failure Left ventricle Cardiac catheterization Doppler echocardiography Introduction
Heart failure (HF) is a clinical syndrome whose symptoms and signs are due to increased extravascular water and decreased tissue / organ perfusion. The definition of the mechanisms inducing HF needs the measurement of both left ventricular (LV) systolic and diastolic function since HF may occur in patients with either normal or abnormal LV ejection fraction (EF) [1].
Arterial hypertension is the most common risk factor for HF in the general population and myocardial infarction, LV hypertrophy (LVH) and valve heart disease represent predictors of subsequent HF in hypertensive patients of both genders [2]. The progression of hypertensive cardiomyopathy towards HF includes serial LV changes – LV concentric remodelling and LVH – whose prognostic role is recognized [3–5]. In presence of these LV geometric abnormalities, deep modifications of LV diastolic properties occur. These modification are globally defined as LV diastolic dysfunction (DD) and include alterations of both relaxation and filling [6, 7] which can precede alterations of LV systolic function and be
per se main determinants of symptoms and signs of HF. Several other cardiac pathologies as well as extra-cardiac diseases involving secondarily the left ventricle can also affect myocardial diastolic properties and determine LV DD.
LV DD and diastolic HF, that is the symptomatic DD, represent clinical entities which can be described at different levels, from the hystologic and ultrastructural features to the clinic manifestations and diagnostic instrumental findings, until the prognostic and therapeutic aspects. The growing interest for DD and for diastolic HF has been developed gradually in the last 10–15 years. It rises mainly from the advancement of non invasive imaging tools, above all Doppler echocardiography, which, to date, allows easy and repeatable identification of LV diastolic abnormalities, and by the growing impulse of pharmaceutical industry, at constant search of new therapeutic applications. In relation to the increase of the average life and the future projections which suggest HF as the most important pathology of the new millennium, particularly in the elderly population, it has to be understood how diagnosis, prognosis and therapeutic management of DD represent very attractive perspectives.
Physiology of diastole
Although in normal hearts the transition from contraction to relaxation begins much more before LV end-systole, i.e., at 16% to 20% of the ejection period [8, 9] and even prior to aortic valve opening when LV contractility is severely impaired (9), the traditional definition of diastole (in ancient Greek language the term διαστολε means "expansion"), includes the part of the cardiac cycle starting at the aortic valve closure – when LV pressure falls below aortic pressure – and finishing at the mitral valve closure. A normal LV diastolic function may be clinically defined as the capacity of the left ventricle to receive a LV filling volume able in its turn to guarantee an adequate stroke volume, operating at a low pressure regimen.
In merely descriptive terms, diastole can be divided in 4 phases [10]:
1.
Isovolumetric relaxation, period occurring between the end of LV systolic ejection (= aortic valve closure) and the opening of the mitral valve, when LV pressure keeps going its rapid fall while LV volume remains constant. This period Is mainly attributed to the active LV relaxation, with a lower, variable contribution of elastic recoil of the contracted fibers;
2.
LV rapid filling, which begins when LV pressure falls below left atrial pressure and the mitral valve opens. During this period the blood has an acceleration which achieves a maximal velocity, direct related to the magnitude of atrio-ventricular pressure, and stops when this gradient ends. This period represents a complex interaction between LV suction (= active relaxation) and visco-elastic properties of the myocardium (= compliance);
3.
diastasis, when left atrial and LV pressures are almost equal and LV filling is essentially maintained by the flow coming from pulmonary veins – with left atrium representing a passive conduit – with an amount depending of LV pressure, function of LV "compliance".
4.
atrial systole, which corresponds to left atrial contraction and ends at the mitral valve closure. This period is mainly influenced by LV compliance, but depends also by the pericardial resistance, by the atrial force and by the atrio-ventricular synchronicity (= ECG PR interval).
Cardiac catheterization allows to assess the pressure-volume relation along the overall cardiac cycle. Among the various hemodynamic measurements, τ (= time constant of the isovolumic-pressure decline) and DP/DV ratio, expression of LV end-diastolic myocardial stiffness, are the main invasive measurements of LV diastolic function [10]. On the other hand, Doppler recording of transmitral and pulmonary venous flow measure flow velocities and time intervals, whose variations occur in relation to analogous variations of left atrial and LV pressures [11, 12]. Thus, Doppler parameters provide important information about dynamics of LV filling and LV diastolic properties during disease evolution or improvement [13].
Ultrastructural features of diastolic dysfunction
The extracellular matrix (ECM), corresponding to fibrillar collagen, is an important structure for processes of both myocardial contraction and relaxation. It facilities the arrangement of the cardiomyocites into the most suitable allocation for the development of force and shortening, giving a substantial support to the maintenance of an effective myocardial performance [14]. The myocardial remodelling is accompanied by changes of myocardial cell factors but also of the ECM where fibroblast proliferation, alteration of the collagen network and increase in interstitial and perivascular collagen are strongly promoted by renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system [15]. ECM has, therefore, to be considered a dynamic entity playing a fundamental role into the myocardial adaptation to physiologic and pathologic stress [14]. ECM undergoes an intense turnover, due to balanced action of metalloproteases, proteolytic enzymes activated by several factors including also BNP, and tissue inhibitors counterbalancing the activity of metalloproteases [16]. Thus, if the collagen destruction alters both geometry and function of contractile myocardium throughout an up-regulation of metalloproteases, on the other hand myocardial fibrosis occurs because of an imbalance where collagen deposition prevails over its degradation. According to the ultrastructural view, we can hypothesize two opposite pathologic conditions: the first one, when the collagen loss, e.g, after acute myocardial infarction, deprives myocardium of its indispensable support structure, thus inducing a reduction of myocardial systolic function; the second one, when the accumulation of the same collagen, main component of myocardial fibrosis, determines both systolic and diastolic myocardial dysfunction. In this context not only the total amount of collagen is main determinant of LV diastolic stiffness but also distribution, configuration, disorganization of collagen fibers (cross-hatching), and ratio of collagen type I to collagen type III play an important role [14].
Clinical, hemodynamic and diagnostic and aspects of diastolic dysfunction
In the clinical setting the coexistence of systolic and diastolic dysfunction in patients with symptomatic HF occurs very often. In fact, LV stiffness (or compliance) is related to the length of myocardial fibers, reflecting in its turn on LV end-diastolic dimensions. LV diastolic function, through the influence on left atrial and capillary wedge pressures, determines the onset of symptom in patients with prevalent LV systolic dysfunction too.
In parallel to the ultra-structural level, the clinical progression of HF may follow two different routes. In the first one, as it happens after acute myocardial infarction, post-infarction LV dilation (= remodelling) leads to systolic dysfunction and/or systolic heart failure. In the second one, LV structural abnormalities (= LV concentric geometry) induce functional alterations of DD. When diastolic dysfunction becomes symptomatic – that is, when dyspnoea occurs – diastolic heart failure rises.
The majority of patients affected by isolated diastolic HF show symptoms not at rest but in relation to stress conditions (II NYHA class). Symptoms can be induced or worsened by, firstly, physical exercise but also by events as anaemia, fever, tachycardia and some systemic pathologies. In particular, tachycardia reduces the time needed for global LV filling, thus inducing an increase of left atrial pressure and consequent appearance of dyspnoea, because of accumulation of pulmonary extravascular water.
primum movensof DD. Alone or, better, combined together, these tools permits to recognize normal diastole as well as to diagnose and follow the progression of DD from the pattern of abnormal relaxation (grade I of DD) until pseudonormal (grade II) and restrictive (grade III-IV) patterns (Table 1).
Doppler echocardiographic patterns of current echocardiographic tools in relation to the grading of LV diastolic dysfunction
Parameter
Normal pattern
Pattern of abnormal relaxation (Grade I)
Pseudonormal pattern (Grade II)
Restrictive patterns (Grades III-IV)
E/A
>1
<1
1 – 2
≥2
DT (ms)
160 – 210
>220
150 – 200
<150
IVRT (ms)
70 – 90
>95
60 – 95
<60
S/D
1.3 – 1.5
1.6 – 2.0
<1
0.40 – 0.60
AR (m/sec)
0.22 – 0.32
0.21 – 0.28
≥0.35
≥0.25
E
>8
<8
<8
<5
Vp (cm/sec)
>55
<45
<45
<35
E/E
< 8
> 16
E/Vp
> 2.5
Determinants of diastolic dysfunction
LV DD develops in several cardiac diseases [30] as well as in extra-cardiac pathologies involving the heart (accumulation diseases as amyloidosis, thyroid disorders, acromegaly and others) [31, 32] and in myocardial ischemia due to coronary artery stenosis or even to isolated dysfunction of coronary microcirculation [33]. However, the main cause of DD is arterial hypertension [5–7]. Overweight and obesity, often coexisting with the same hypertension, deeply affects LV diastolic function, forcing the left ventricle to a working overload [34]. In this view, DD represents one of the cardiac consequences of pluri-metabolic syndrome, where arterial hypertension, obesity, glucose intolerance and hypertrygliceridemia cohabit in the same subject, having their common matrix in the insulin resistance. High levels of insulin resistance, often evident in arterial hypertension [35], are positively associated with the prolongation of isovolumic relaxation time, independent of LV geometric changes and of increased afterload [36]. The alteration of diastolic isovolumic relaxation is probably due to an increment of intracellular calcium, which has been observed in insulin resistant hypertensives and is induced in its turn by an abnormal re-uptake of calcium by sarcoplasmic reticulum [37]. Also the hormones produced by adipose tissue, as leptin – involved into the control of body weight throughout food absorption and energy-giving cost – negatively affects LV diastolic function [38]. The association of arterial hypertension and diabetes mellitus worsens furher Doppler indexes of LV diastolic function as shown into the population of the Strong Heart Study [39].
m/A mratio < 1 at the level of multiple LV walls in the apical views) is detectable before the appearance of the abnormalities involving LV transmitral inflow and is uniform in non hypertrophic patients while it becomes prominent at the septum in presence of overt LVH [48]. Table 2 reports the differential characteristics involving in the meantime the myocardial ultra-structure and LV geometry in systolic and diastolic HF: it is clear that diastolic HF is associated to both increase of collagen amount and LV concentric geometry [49]. This concept is further supported by the HyperGEN study where delayed LV relaxation is independently associated with concentric LV geometry in 1384 hypertensive participants including obese and diabetic patients [50].
Differential characteristics of LV geometry between systolic and diastolic HF (modified from Zile MR [49]).
Characteristic
Systolic HF
Diastolic HF
LV volume
↑
↑↑
N (o ↓)
LV mass
↑
↑
LV geometry
Eccentric
Concentric
Cardiomyocites
↑ Length
↑ Diameter
Extracellular Matrix
↓(o ↑ o N) Collagen
↑↑ Collagen
Definition and classification criteria for diastolic HF heart failure with preserved systolic functionor, better, with normal EF, has been made equal to isolated diastolic heart failure. A truly correct definition of this clinical entity should, however, be done on the grounds of direct estimation of LV diastolic function and establishment of reference normal values. Strong controversy has been developed in the previous years about this issue, with opposite scientific positions. The American point of view, corresponding to the Framingham Heart Study investigators, has sustained the concept that diastolic HF is "definite" only when an invasive hemodynamic assessment shows diastolic alterations in the temporal proximity of the acute episode [52]. On the other hand, the European point of view (European Group on Diastolic Heart Failure) has defined diastolic HF according to criteria including clinical examination, echocardiographic assessment (normal EF) and Doppler indexes (derived by both transmitral inflow e pulmonary veins flow), whose normal partition values are referred for age ranges [53] (Table 3). Despite the obvious superiority of the invasive technique [54], it has to be taken into account that the need of cardiac catheterization for establishing a definite diagnosis of diastolic HF raises practical and even ethical issues. Practical issues are related to the low priority such examination would have in a cath-lab overloaded by coronary procedures and to the poor interest of hemodynamists in the assessment of indexes of LV diastolic function. Ethical concern lies upon the fact that the present reliance on echo-Doppler examination of LV diastolic function makes cardiac catheterization an useless invasive procedure to this end, except very particular cases. Moreover, if it is true that the prevalence of abnormal Doppler indexes (from 38% of isovolumic relaxation time to 64% for deceleration time) is much lower to that showed by the more reliable invasive measurements (92 % for LV end-diastolic pressure and 79 % for τ) [55], is also true that this can be, at least partially, due to the confounding influence of physiologic variables as age [56] and heart rate [57]. In this view, reference normal values of Doppler indexes of LV diastolic function should be done considering ranges of both age and heart rate. It is now current opinion that the diagnosis of diastolic HF can be made even without measurement of diastolic function if three criteria are present: 1) symptoms and signs of HF (Framingham criteria), 2) LV EF> 50%, and 3) ability to rule out mitral stenosis, pericardial disease, and non cardiac causes of dyspnoea, oedema and fatigue [58]. Recent evidences further sustain the definite role of Doppler echocardiography to diagnose diastolic HF [59, 60].
Criteria for diastolic HF according to the European Society of Cardiology (53).
Signs and symptoms of HF
Effort dyspnoea, Hortopnoea, III-IV tones, Pulmonary rales
Normal or mildly reduced LV systolic function
EF ≥ 45 % e LVIDDi > 3.2 cm·m
Evidence of abnormalities LV of relaxation/filling and/or distensibility
IVRT
E/A<1 + DT>220 ms + S/D<1.5
E/A<0.5 + DT>280 msec + S/S>2.5
To date, however, no certain definition of diastolic HF exists and the recognition of its existence is not unanimously accepted [49]. Studies performed by both standard Doppler echocardiography [61] and Tissue Doppler [62, 63] demonstrated how sub-clinic alterations of myocardial systolic function are already overt in diastolic HF. Because of the use of LV EF is a rather insensitive indicator of true LV myocardial contractility, the assessment of LV long-axis function by the simple M-mode of the mitral lateral annulus could help to identify initial LV systolic dysfunction [64]. Finally, it has also to be taken into account how concomitant variables, including obesity, chronic obstructive lung disease and even myocardial ischemia, can be confounding factors leading to "false" diagnosis of diastolic HF, particularly in the elderly population [65].
Prevalence of diastolic HF
The studies performed until now have assessed above all the prevalence of HF with normal EF, using standard echocardiography without Doppler. In a first meta-analysis of 1995, the investigators of the Framingham Heart Study [66] showed wide variability in the prevalence of this kind of HF (range = 13–74%) while a subsequent study involving the Framingham offspring cohort pointed out a 51% prevalence of overall HF [67]. Very recently, Hogg et al collected ten "cross-sectional" studies on population, in the United States as in several European countries, and found very high variability of HF with normal EF. The explanation of this variability is related mostly to different age and gender of participants. It has to be considered that this kind of HF is particularly frequent in the elderly population, occurs more often in the female gender and is associated much more with arterial hypertension and atrial fibrillation than to coronary heart disease [68]. The data collected between 1995 and 1999 from Italian Network on Congestive Heart Failure (IN-CHF) are strongly consistent with these results [69]. The choice of different cut-off points for normal LV EF can be an additional reason of variability for the prevalence of diastolic HF in the above mentioned studies.
Prognosis of diastolic heart failure
Great heterogeneity exists also for results in prognosis of diastolic HF. By the Framingham meta-analysis the annual mortality varies from 1.3% to 17.5% [66]. This wide variability depends by several factors including first of all, the modality used to classify this kind of HF – mostly according to the evidence of normal EF – but also age and follow-up duration. In a study by registry on 1291 hospitalized patients (70) the mortality was lower in patients with EF ≥ 50% than in those with EF ≤ 39% (OR = 0.69 95% CI 0.49–0.98, p = 0.04) . The Framingham offspring cohort informed that the rate of death after 5 years is 68% in patients with HF and normal EF in comparison with 82% of systolic HF, with a mortality, however, four times greater than that presented by healthy subjects [67]. Although Senni et al (71) did not find difference of mortality between the two kinds of HF in a 4-year follow-up of a population with mean age of 78 years, the analysis of Hogg and coworkers, assembling the results of recent cohort studies performed on patients hospitalized for HF, noticed how the percentage of mortality for patients with HF and normal EF, mild during the first year and half, becomes similar to that of systolic HF after 5–6 years of follow-up (68). It is worthy of note the recent study of Badano and coworkers who, using the ESC criteria to identify diastolic HF in 179 patients hospitalized with HF, do not observe significant difference in 6-month mortality in comparison with patients having prevalent LV systolic dysfunction [72].
Therapy of DD and diastolic HF
The objectives of the therapy for LV DD include the improvement of hemodynamic conditions, concerning both preload and afterload. The volume overload, such to induce episodes of acute HF, can be prevented or reduced by hypo-saline diet or also by a moderate diuretic administration.
Conceptually, both ACE-inhibitors and angiotensin-inhibitors can exert a beneficial effect on DD, since they reduce both afterload and preload, induce regression of LVH and decrease of myocardial interstitial fibrosis [70]. Also the aldosterone antagonists, as sprironalattone [76] and canrenone [77], able to reduce the myocardial fibrosis, can be suitable to this aim.
When DD is overt, it is also important to control heart rate and avoid tachycardia. β-blockers, and, with a lower extent, calcium antagonist verapamile, can be particularly useful. Lower heart rate induces prolongation of LV filling time, allowing to counterbalance the resistance to the diastolic inflow of a stiffened left ventricle. Last generation β-blockers (carvedilol, nebivolol), provided of vasodilation activity, could be particularly indicated for the management of DD. A recent study has tested the ability of nebivolol on 26 patients affected by HF and normal EF, in comparison with the traditional atenolol, combining both invasive hemodynamic and Doppler echocardiographic assessment [78]. After six-month therapy, nebivolol much more than atenolol induced increase of both E/A ratio (from 0.79 ± 0.13 a 0.91 ± 0.11) from 0.84 ± 0.12 a 0.89 ± 0.15) (p < 0.004) and cardiac index and reduction of "wedge" pressures, both at rest and during exercise.
On these grounds, pharmaceutical industry has planned clinical trias to evaluate the prognostic impact of several drugs on diastolic HF. Indeed, the trials completed to date have been disappointing. The CHARM-2 (= Candesartan in Heart Failure – Assessment of Reduction in Mortality) [79] did not evidenced significant improvement of all-cause mortality, of cardiovascular mortality and of hospitalization rate for HF in the sub-set of patients with preserved systolic function, but the follow-up (37.7 months) was probably too short to verify the effects. Into SWEDIC (= Swedish Doppler-Echocardiographic study) [80], carvedilol, inducing a positive influence on transmitral E/A ratio in patients with heart rate > 71 bpm but not in those with HR < 71 bpm, did not exert any effects on the events. Among ongoing trials, the analysis of SENIORS (= Study of the Effects of Nebivolol Intervention on Outcomes and Rehospitalisation in Seniors with heart failure) [81] has not yet performed in the sub-set of patients with normal EF. PEP-CHF (perindopril versus placebo), I-Preserve (Irbesartan versus placebo) study and Hong Kong (rampiril, irbesartan, placebo) study have not completed to date [82].
New therapeutic fields for HF will be opened in view of the associations observed between the state of coronary microcirculation and LV diastolic function [33]. The beneficial effect of ACE-inhibitors on coronary flow reserve, reliable marker of coronary microcirculation function when stenosis of epicardial coronary arteries are not detectable , has been documented in relation to both blood pressure fall and reduction of LV mass. It has recently shown an improvement of transthoracic Doppler-derived coronary flow reserve after only 4-week anti-hypertensive nebivolol therapy, in relation to its endothelium-mediated vasodilation activity [85]. It has to hypothesize that the a restored function of the coronary microcirculation could be useful even for the improvement of DD in hypertensive heart [83, 84].
Conclusive implications
DD and diastolic HF are common entities in the clinical practice, particularly in hypertensive population. The diagnosis of diastolic HF can be considered in the presence of the signs of HF and normal EF (50% or more) but it should be usually supported by a Doppler examination. Diastolic HF is associated to four-fold increase mortality. If it is true that the mortality expectation is lower than in patients with systolic HF, it is even true that this difference has a trend to be blunted during long-term follow-up, with possible overlapping after 5.5 years or more. The therapeutic management of diastolic HF is, at least partially, empirical and several studies, ongoing or completed, have been planned to test the effects of ACE-inhibitors, angiotensin-inhibitors and β-blockers. The prevention of diastolic HF may be obtained by a better control of blood pressure values and of concomitant risk factors in hypertensive patients.
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