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warc | 201704 | Undergraduate Research in Mathematics
We encourage students to pursue undergraduate research projects with faculty mentors. Projects can be based around any mathematical idea or problem that interests YOU, and faculty often have a few good ideas of their own for research projects. If you are interested in research, contact a faculty member and we'll get things started.
In the mathematics department, we view undergraduate research as a collaborative effort on a problem whose solution is unknown (even to the faculty mentor!). Ideally, the research process involves literature review, original discoveries by the student, and ultimately, the public communication of results.
Committing to a research project is a valuable experience as it allows you to take the tools developed in class and apply them to real problems. Research demands equal parts perseverance and creativity, but the reward of finding something new on your own is great. Taking part in a research project is a privilege - many schools do not encourage undergraduate research the way that Shippensburg does.
General information on student research at Shippensburg.
Examples of research projects in the Mathematics Department
Below are some faculty members who have conducted research projects with students. If you see a topic that interest you, feel free to contact that faculty member about the possibility of conducting similar research. Many research projects result in papers and/or presentations at national conferences.
Lance Bryant Commutative algebra, semigroup properties Ryan Long, “Apery Diagrams of Numerical Semigroups” Kellie Bresz, "Quotients of Numerical Semigroups with Maximal Embedding Dimension" Doug Ensley Technology in teaching mathematics, algebra, algorithms Ryan Long, “Sliding Tile Puzzles” Josh Ide, “An Extension of the Google PageRank Algorithm to College Football Rankings” Ben Galluzzo Mathematical modeling Brian Ettinger, Tim Adzima, Jada Williams, “Wallops Island Shoreline Change” Ashley Micik-Balog, “Monitoring Shoreline Change on Wallops Island” Johnathan Hocker, Samantha Feaster, Ryan Long, “PA/18 = ?” Ryan Kelley, Joshua Jenkins, “Gerrymander This!” Debbie Gochenaur Mathematics education Andrew Geesaman, "Bridging the Gap: High Impact Techniques for Students with Asperger's." Andy presented his research at the National Councilof Teachers of Mathematics Conference, Denver 2013 & New Orleans 2014. Megan Rowson, “Research-Based Strategies to Improve the Quality of Education for Students with Learning Disabilities.” Megan presented her research at the NationalCouncil of Teachers of Mathematics Conference, Philadelphia 2012. Brenna DeShong, "Becoming Teacher-Leaders: Supporting and Empowering Students with Learning Disabilities." Brenna presented her research at the NationalCouncil of Supervisors of Mathematics Conference, New Orleans 2014. Linzy Hull, "Around the world: How eight countrieshave progressed in serving students with disabilities". Linzy presentedher research at the West Virginia Council of Teachers of Mathematics AnnualConference, 2014. Nicholas McGarrell, "Effective MLD teaching methodsof secondary teachers in South Korea" Logan Kauffman, "Reaching the back of the room:PreService teachers' understanding of voice health" Lenny Jones Number theory, algebra Joshua Harrington, "On the Iteration of a Fucntion Related to Euler's Phi-Function." Work published in the journal INTEGERS. Josh Ide, “Enumerating Invariant Subspaces of R” n Dan White, “Appending Digits to Generate an Infinite Sequence of Composite Numbers.” Paper appears in The Journal of Integer Sequences. Maria Elena Markovich, "Generating Composites by Appending Digits to Certain Types of Integer." Maria presented her research at the Joint Mathematics Meetings 2013 in San Diego, CA in the AMS special session on Coverings of the Integers. Alicia Lamarche, "Representing Integers as the Sum of Two Squares in the Ring Zn" Kellie Bresz, Alicia Lamarche, and Maria Markovich, "Extending a Theorem of Sierpinski to Powers of 2 Plus a Fibonacci Number" Luis Melara Applied mathematics Blake Burkett, “A Mathematical Approach to the Cavendish Banana” Marc Renault Number theory, combinatorics, the Fibonacci sequence Rebekkah Stanko, "The Generalized Game of 21" Josh Ide, “Power Fibonacci Sequences.” Joint paper produced, and published in the Fibonacci Quarterly. Josh Updike and Patrick Flanagan, "Symmetries of Fibonacci Points, Modulo M". This resulted in a paper that appears in the Fibonacci Quarterly. Alex Dishong, "Calculating the Moduli that Produce a Given Period of the Fibonacci Sequence" Research funding Undergraduate Research Grants. At the beginning of the fall semester, a call goes out for students to apply for research funding. Each student (or student group) that applies must have a faculty sponsor, and grant funding can cover expenses like travel to conferences and poster printing. Applications are due at the beginning of October. More information. SFRE grants. Faculty in the College of Arts and science can apply for these grants at the end of each semester. Funds from these grants can be used to support student research, so make sure your faculty mentor is aware of these grants. SURE grants (Summer Undergraduate Research Experience) - Near the start of the spring semester, a call goes out for faculty/student research pairs to apply for SURE grants. These grants will pay students $750 over the summer to conduct research with a faculty member. Free, on-campus housing is available to students in the SURE program. The deadline is in mid-March. More information. The Math Department Research Fund. The math department maintains a small amount of money to help with expenses like regional conference registration and poster printing, if not already covered by an undergraduate research grant. Talk to your research mentor or the math department chair to request these funds. The Dean's Office. If you have a large expense (like airfare to a national conference) that is not covered by an undergraduate research grant, the Office of the Dean might be able to help. Talk to your research mentor about applying for funding from the Dean. Conferences where undergraduates can present Minds@Work Conference. Here at Ship, this takes place near the end of April each year. Registration opens near the beginning of the spring semester. EPaDel. This is the local regional meeting of the MAA. There is a fall meeting and a spring meeting. PCTM. The PA Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Yearly conference in the fall semester. NCTM. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Yearly conference in April. MathFest. The annual national meeting of the MAA. This takes place at the beginning of August each year. The Joint Mathematics Meetings. The largest annual mathematics conference in the world! Each year we have several faculty attend this meeting. Occurs in January, before classes resume. The SIAM Annual Meeting. The Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics. Yearly national meeting in July. There is also an annual student conference for the mid-Atlantic region. NIMBioS. An annual undergraduate research conference at the interface of biology and mathematics. Runs each fall. Creating a poster
Some conferences may ask you to make a poster to display the results of your research. Here's some good advice about making posters
. Your advisor can give you some poster templates suitable for math posters.
Journals that publish undergraduate research | 7,659 | 3,365 | 0.000303 |
warc | 201704 | Washington : As per a recent study, a nearby Sun-like star may have its own planet in an Earth-like orbit someday.
New images from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) reveal never-before-seen details in the planet-forming disk around a nearby Sun-like star, including a tantalizing gap at the same distance from the star as the Earth is from the Sun.
This structure may mean that an infant version of our home planet, or possibly a more massive “super-Earth,” is beginning to form there.
The star, TW Hydrae, is a popular target of study for astronomers because of its proximity to Earth (approximately 175 light-years away) and its status as a veritable newborn (about 10 million years old). It also has a face-on orientation as seen from Earth. This affords astronomers a rare, undistorted view of the complete disk.
Lead author Sean Andrews said that the new ALMA images show the disk in unprecedented detail, revealing a series of concentric dusty bright rings and dark gaps, including intriguing features that suggest a planet with an Earth-like orbit is forming there.
Other pronounced gap features are located 3 billion and 6 billion kilometers from the central star, similar to the distances from the Sun to Uranus and Pluto in our own Solar System. They too are likely the result of particles that came together to form planets, which then swept their orbits clear of dust and gas and shepherded the remaining material into well-defined bands.
The study is published in Astrophysical Journal Letters. (ANI) | 1,553 | 859 | 0.001178 |
warc | 201704 | EXCHANGE RATES. Economics – A Course Companion Blink & Dorton , P274-288. EXCHANGE RATES What is an exchange rate?. An exchange rate is the value of one currency expressed in terms of another currency.
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EXCHANGE RATES
Economics – A Course Companion
Blink & Dorton, P274-288
There are three main type:
A fixed exchange rate is an exchange rate regime
where the value of the currency is:
Revaluation of Currency
Devaluation of the Currency
Appreciation of the Currency
Depreciation of the Currency
20th Jan:$1AUS = 79 US cents ($AUS 190 million)
20th Nov: $1AUS = 95 US cents. ($AUS 158 million)
What does this mean?
The Australian dollar has appreciated against the
US dollar.
Application - Exercise
The demand for the US dollar will rise if:
The demand for the US dollar will fall if:
Three possible advantages of a high exchange
rate are:
Downward Pressure on Inflation
More Imports can be brought
A high value of a currency forces domestic
producers to improve their efficiency
Some possible disadvantages of a high exchange
rate include:
Damage to Export Industries
Damage to Domestic Industries
Two main advantages of low exchange rates
could be:
Greater Employment In Export Industries
Greater Employment in Domestic Industries
Inflation
Governments might interfere in the FOREX market to:
There are two main methods of government
interference:
Government Wishes to Increase Value of
Currency
Government wishes to lower value of its
Currency
Governments wants to INCREASE the value of
the currency
Government wants to LOWER the Value of the
Currency
3.In theory, the existence of a fixed exchange rate should reduce speculation in the foreign exchange market. However, in reality, this has not always been the case and there are often attempts to destabilize fixed exchange rate systems in order to make speculative gains. | 2,227 | 1,053 | 0.000975 |
warc | 201704 | Sanitation and cooking fuels are two of Africa's biggest problems. What we haven't realised is one of them is a solution for the other. I'll tell you how. Many of Africa's big cities have a bad reputation for poor waste management. Due to unregulated dumps and improper drainage and sewage systems, collected human waste is [...]
Fire Solutions, a small business in South Africa and its technical partners, GoSol of Finland have created an amazing prototype of a solar cooking stove that generates a tremendous amount of heat from the sun to cook, bake and heat food. Many parts of Africa enjoy more than 300 days of free and abundant sunlight. [...]
The water hyacinth may look like a harmless, even beautiful flowering plant — but it's actually an invasive aquatic weed, and an environmental hazard that can make life unbearable for people who depend on inland waterways. In parts of Nigeria, the water hyacinth clogs waterways, stopping trade, interrupting schooling and disrupting everyday life. In this inspiring [...]
Plastic Shopping Bags Will Soon Be History In Africa. See How This Smart Entrepreneur Is Making Money From The Change…
Hey there, greetings from Cameroon! Over the last week, I’ve been touring this beautiful country for a series of seminars on entrepreneurship and small business. It’s been an exciting experience and I’ve been to Bamenda, Douala, Yaounde, Buea and Limbe on this high-energy journey. I’ll fill you in on the details in another article when [...]
Uncollected trash is a very big problem in developing regions of the world, especially Africa. According to a World Bank Urban Development Series report, Africa currently produces just about 70 million tons of waste every year. With its rapid urbanization and growing economies, waste production in Africa will exceed 160 million tons by the year [...]
You're about to gain some business insights from this interesting mobile toilet success story from Lagos, Nigeria. If you’re an entrepreneur at heart, you’re probably always looking for the next best business idea. Many of us believe that great business ideas should be something totally new and unheard of; something like the next Facebook, a [...]
Patrick Ngowi showed the signs of entrepreneurship early in life. From supplying mobile call credit to local vendors in his home country, Tanzania, Patrick became an importer and dealer in cheap mobile phones which he mostly sold to rural people. Noticing that many of his customers had no electricity to charge their phone batteries, Patrick saw [...]
Solar energy is Africa’s next big thing! How entrepreneurs can exploit this lucrative but untapped opportunity
Do you know how huge the potential for the solar energy business in Africa really is? This article will open your eyes to the amazing realities Electricity supply in Africa is in a very sorry state. Millions of Africans now have mobile phones with no electricity to charge batteries. In many countries on the continent, [...]
Lorna Rutto resigned her comfortable banking job in 2009 to start EcoPost, a small plastic recycling business. Her business uses plastic waste collected from dumpsites and garbage cans across Nairobi to manufacture fencing posts. These posts, which are used to fence houses and forest reserves, are becoming a preferred alternative to timber. So far, her [...]
Wondering how to make money from waste? You're about to learn some interesting stuff. According to the World Bank, Africa generates nearly 70 million tonnes of waste every year. As the income and spending power of the average African continues to rise, more goods will be consumed leading to even more waste. The volume of [...] | 3,727 | 1,858 | 0.000547 |
warc | 201704 | There are three main problems in personal robotics:
1) The power/weight/cost triangle for actuators. 2) Battery longevity. 3) AI or other user interfaces that actually make sense to people. All of those are open research problems. That being said, if you want to prototype, you can start with an Arduino, because it is very easy to get started with, but it will very quickly become limited. If you want to do things like smart navigation in realistic indoor environments, you will need a lot more computational power (think chair legs, table cloths, vacuum cleaner left on the floor, lamp cables across walkways, ...) Thus, something like an Intel NUC or a mini-ITX motherboard with a real Intel CPU on it would be more suitable for the high-level control. (The Arduino can still do the low-leve bit banging to send control signals to motors/actuators and read raw sensors.) Education is always good. If you can get a MS Robotics, you'd probably enjoy it, and it might just be a good investment for you in general. However, if you're currently running a business that's providing a living for you and a family, the culture shock of back-to-school might be very harsh. In general, the "personal robotics" problem is much easier to solve when the domain is well defined. Think Roomba for vacuuming, or RoboMower for lawn mowing. Because the task is well defined and the environment is well defined, safety, runtime, robustness, cost, and other important factors can all be selected to create a product that would actually be bought by people (they provide enough value that the price is worth it.) | 1,600 | 891 | 0.001126 |
warc | 201704 | Why consider recipe ingredient substitutes? Great question. Do you find yourself constantly wondering how to make your soul food meals healthier? If you answered yes, a ingredient substitute should be your order of the day.
You now longer have to sacrifice heath for good eating.
Just incorporate one or more of our cooking ingredient substitutes to produce a healthier meal and you want have to feel guilty anymore.
You can make many different substitutions including some of the following:
The bottom line is, you can now have healthier versions of the comfort foods you crave that will not necessarily negatively impact your health.
There are many recipe ingredient substitutes to implement in your recipes. The only limitations to what you can do are self imposed.
Here are 10
food substitutes for your soul food recipes that can have the most impact.
There you have it, 10 recipe and cooking ingredient substitutes for your soul food meals. This list is not all inclusive. There are many creative ways to cut the calories, cholesterol, salt, fat and sugar away, to produce healthy meals.
Return to TOP of Recipe Ingredient Substitutes page | 1,155 | 585 | 0.001726 |
warc | 201704 | Driving in Iceland Driving in Iceland
A relatively large percentage of foreign tourists in Iceland travel around the country by car. Conditions in Iceland are unusual in many ways and often quite unlike those to which foreign drivers are accustomed. It is therefore very important to find out how to drive in this country. We know that the landscape is beautiful, which naturally draws the attention of the driver away from the road. But in order to reach your destination safely, you must keep your full attention on driving.
This article is intended to point out the main dangers when driving in Iceland, especially the unusual ones that may come as a complete surprise to foreign drivers.
What are the speed limits?
The speed limit in populated areas is usually from 30 - 50 km/hr. Speed limit signs are usually not posted unless it is other than 50 km/hr. The speed limit is often 60 km/hr on thruways, but in residential areas it is usually only 30 km/hr. The main rule on highways is that gravel roads have a speed limit of 80 km/hr and paved roads 90 km/hr. Signs indicate if other speed limits apply.
Gravel roads, blind hills & blind curves
A common place for accidents to occur on rural roads is where a paved road suddenly changes to gravel. The main reason is that drivers do not reduce speed before the changeover to gravel, and consequently lose control. Loose gravel on road shoulders has also caused a great number of accidents. When driving on gravel roads—which are often quite narrow––it is important to show caution when approaching an oncoming car by moving as far to the right as is safely possible.
Blind hills––where lanes are not separate––can be very dangerous and should be approached with caution. There are also many blind curves in Iceland that test a driver’s skill.
Single-lane bridges
There are many single-lane bridges on the Ring Road. The actual rule is that the car closer to the bridge has the right-of-way. However, it is wise to stop and assess the situation, i.e. attempt to see what the other driver plans to do. This sign indicates that a single-lane bridge is ahead.
Livestock on the road
In Iceland, you can expect livestock to be on or alongside the road. It is usually sheep, but sometimes horses and even cows can be in your path. This is common all over the country, and can be very dangerous. Sometimes a sheep is on one side of the road and her lambs on the other side. Under these conditions––which are common––it is a good rule to expect the lambs or the sheep to run to the other side.
Seatbelts are required by law
In Iceland, drivers and passengers are required by law to wear seatbelts, regardless of the type of vehicle or where they are seated. Investigations of fatal accidents in recent years have shown that a large majority of those who died did not have their seatbelts buckled. Wearing seatbelts is especially important because of the nature of accidents in Iceland: many of them involve vehicles driving off the road and rolling over. In such accidents, seatbelts often mean the difference between life and death. It should be noted that children must either wear seatbelts, or be in car safety seats, depending on their age and maturity.
Necessary to bear in mind
It is against the law to operate a vehicle in Iceland after having consumed alcohol. The punishment for violating this law is rather stiff.
Iceland requires that vehicle headlights be on at all times, day and night, when driving.
It is strictly forbidden to drive off-road. Such driving results in serious damage to sensitive vegetation, which may take nature decades to repair.
Foreign travellers requiring information regarding road and driving conditions should visit the Public Road Administrations website
It should be noted that the Road Traffic Directorate has produced a video for foreign drivers, which covers all the points that have been mentioned here. The video can be viewed on the Directorate’s website, www.drive.is | 4,048 | 1,877 | 0.000544 |
warc | 201704 | The European Space Agency has released spectacular new observations from the Herschel Space Observatory, including the UK-led SPIRE instrument. Spectrometers on board all three Hershel instruments have been used to analyze the light from objects inside our galaxy and from other galaxies, producing some of the best measurements yet of atoms and molecules involved in the birth and death of stars.
The SPIRE Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS), which covers the whole submillimeter wavelength range between 194 and 672 microns, will be invaluable to astronomers in determining the composition, temperature, density and mass of interstellar material in nearby galaxies and in star-forming clouds in our own galaxy.
Professor Keith Mason, Chief Executive of the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), which provides the UK funding for Herschel, said "Herschel has once again returned some spectacular indications of what is to come. This wealth of new data exists because of the dedication and skill of the scientists working on this project and will vastly expand our knowledge of the life cycle of stars."
Professor Matt Griffin of Cardiff University, who is the SPIRE Principal investigator, said: "Some trial observations have been made during initial testing of the spectrometer, and it is clear that the data are of excellent quality, and even these initial results are very exciting scientifically, especially our ability to trace the presence of water throughout the Universe. The spectrometer was technically very challenging to build, and the whole team is delighted that it works so well."
Professor Glenn White, of the Open University and STFC's Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, and an expert in the field of molecular astronomy for which the SPIRE spectrometer is designed, said: "The exquisite sensitivity and quality of these early data reveal spectacular spectroscopic signatures that show the diversity and complexity of the birth processes common to the formation of star and planets. Herschel is going to help us trace the evolution and life of stars, to map the chemistry in our galactic neighborhood, and allow us to detect water and complex molecules in distant galaxies."
Professor Mike Barlow of University College London, who will use the SPIRE instrument to study the material ejected into space by stars near the end of their lives, said: "The unprecedented spectral range and the wealth of detail revealed by the SPIRE spectrometer, in a hitherto almost unexplored region of the spectrum, promises to revolutionize our understanding of the formation of molecules and dust particles during the final stages of the lives of stars. These dust particles go on to play a crucial role in the formation of new starsand provide the raw material for the planetesimals and planets thatform around them."
The SPIRE Fourier Transform Spectrometer covers the submillimeter wavelength range (194-672 microns), and provides a complete survey of the source spectrum over that whole wavelength range in a single observation, something that has never been possible with previous submillimeter instruments.
At the same time as measuring the intensities of narrow spectral features from gas atoms and molecules, the SPIRE spectrometer also accurately measures the broadband emission from dust. With its multi-pixel detector arrays, it can also produce spectral images, allowing astronomers to measure the spatial variation in the interstellar material.
Herschel and SPIRE
The European Space Agency’s Herschel satellite carries the largest telescope to be flown in space and is designed to study the Universe at far infrared wavelengths. It will reveal the early stages of star birth and galaxy formation; it will examine the composition and chemistry of comets and planetary atmospheres in the Solar System; and it will examine the star-dust ejected by dying stars into interstellar space which form the raw material for planets like the Earth.
The SPIRE instrument has been built by a consortium of 18 institutes in eight countries (UK, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, USA, Canada and China), led by Prof. Matt Griffin of Cardiff University. The instrument was assembled at the STFC’s Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in the UK.
Images of Herschel are available from the STFC Press Office
Herschel Mission Timeline
* Herschel was launched on an Ariane 5 from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, on 14 May 2009.
* Commissioning Phase: In the first few days after launch basic spacecraft checks were done. About a week after launch, the Herschel scientific instruments were switched on for the first time and detailed commissioning of the instruments began.
* Performance Verification Phase: This began 60 days after launch, and is now nearing completion It has involved tests to ensure that the instrument operational modes and scientific data processing software are thoroughly checked and optimized.
* Science Demonstration Phase: Comprehensive trial scientific observations have already begun, involving execution of a selection of different kinds of observations and processing the data to produce scientific results. These will be presented at the Herschel Science Demonstration Workshop, in Madrid, on December 17 and 18.
* Routine Operations Phase: Routine operations will begin before the end of 2009, and will last for at least three years. The observational programs for the first 18 months have already been selected.
Contacts:Julia ShortPress Officer, STFC+44 (0)1793 442 012julia.short@stfc.ac.uk
Mr. Chris NorthUK Herschel Outreach OfficerCardiff University+44 (0)29 208 70537 or 76403chris.north@astro.cf.ac.uk
Prof. Matt GriffinHerschel-SPIRE Principal InvestigatorCardiff University+44 (0)29 2087 4203matt.griffin@astro.cf.ac.uk
Prof. Glenn WhiteThe Open University, Milton Keynes+44 (0)1908 652 735g.j.white@open.ac.uk
Prof. Mike BarlowUniversity College London+44 (0)20 7679 7160mjb@star.ucl.ac.uk | 5,985 | 2,735 | 0.000369 |
warc | 201704 | If I ate 2000 calories, I'd be the size of a house! LOL
We all have different caloric needs according to our size and activity level, and using the Set UP on your Start Page will help you determine how much you can eat to safely lose any excess weight... and a good nutritionist can too if you need to customize your diet--which sounds like the case! Me too... LOL
Baby steps are a good way to go, actually. There's even a team called "Baby Steps"... MARTHAMBRYCE can direct you there if you're interested...
You will find all kinds of great tools here as you become more familiar with the site--any questions, don't hesitate to ask. We're all in a learning situation here! LOL
Welcome aboard! Kathy
"The real secret of success is enthusiasm..." thanks, Walter P. Chrysler. I believe it. That's what I want in my life--to give my imagination a chance, to live with energy and enthusiasm! P.S. I looked up enthusiasm, and it says the root words mean God within... interesting...!
Ralph Waldo Emerson said 'Life belongs to the energetic.' But you don't have to be frenetic and hyper--some energy is quiet and steady, like a heartbeat... and that works too! LOL
Welcome to the group. Managing my diet has given me a great deal of relief from fibro pain and fatigue. I no longer have IBS symptoms, although I know to eat very small amounts of citrus, and to avoid raw vegetables when my stomach is at all acid. Cooked veggies work well, except for large amounts of cooked greens (I live alone, and tend to have a large serving of one veggie at dinner, as opposed to several veggies).
Severely restricting my processed food and sugar (including sugar substitute) intake decreases the amount of pain I experience, so you might want to try that, also.
There are healthy choices that don't have high amounts of fiber - if you haven't found it yet, the nutrition tracker has a place you can track your fiber intake. Slowly increasing your fiber might help.
- Diana
Pounds lost: 74.9
0
25
50
75
100
STARSAPPHIRE57SparkPoints: (53,065)Fitness Minutes: (28,076) Posts: 1,353 12/28/11 12:55 P
Tanya! Take babysteps here--it is easy to jump in and overdo which will only set you back with more pain and fatigue... Pacing is key with a gradual increase in activity and diet changes.
Look around the site and use some of the great tools that are offered--start with tracking your food and reading articles; browse thru the teams. There are teams that focus on those with pain and disability issues that limit mobility. You will find something that works for you; and, you will find some amazing, supportive friends to help you!
Happy Holidays to everyone! I am new to this group and the entire website so I'm still trying to figure out how to use it! LOL A friend of mine told me about this website and recommended it to me! So I thought I would try it. I have Fibro, Chronic Fatigue and a crapload of other issues. I've been Dx since 2006 but have had it since I was a child (most likely born with it due to complications in the womb we think). I've gained about 20 lbs since June and I'm not happy about it. I'm trying to stay steady but working out is a joke especially with the cold winter weather. I reside in the midwest so that doesn't help! Um, lets see...I try to eat healthier but my fiber upsets my IBS so I have to be careful with what I eat. There are days where I don't think I eat the regular 2000 calories and other days I know I eat more. Hmm...anywho, so that is just a little bit about me. I'm still working on goals that I want to set for myself...its just really hard to work out right now. But I will come up with something small to work at, at first and then make my way up. Nice to meet everyone! Tanya B. :o)
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warc | 201704 | So, I'm over halfway through the book (it's only a hundred and some pages), it's hard to put it down!
Most of it, makes a heck of a lot of sense. Some is it is so completely mind-blowing. Not in a bad way. A little of it is weird (but yet not weird.. if that makes sense).
It generally requires common sense (eating veggies, less meat etc etc - same stuff you'd find here), but it really shakes up some notions most of us have as "norms" toward food.
On thing that I think would make this particularly difficult for those who work and have strict lunch schedules: the idea is to have lunch be your biggest meal, and dinner much smaller (essentially swapping what most people think of as lunch and dinner). Not only that, but to have freshly cooked food for each meal - not just fresh food, but freshly cooked - as in, no reheating leftovers. Which would make this impossible for those who can't go home and cook a big meal.
Of course it's not a all or nothing kind of thing, so I'm sure everyone can find a way that works best for them.
Overall, I'm enjoying it, and I'm going to try the majority of the techniques, tweaking as needed for my life (and laziness).
I have not read that one but do listen to his self help tapes. I'm sure it is a good and helpful read. Must put it on my list. Here is a link to his Healing Wisdom page in case you are interested in more from Deepak. www.chopracenterhealingwisdom.com/?c at =15
I was perusing the library today and stumbled across this little book. I first noticed the author and, recognizing the name, grabbed the book and looked over it.
On the front it describes itself as "The complete mind/body program for achieving and maintaining your ideal weight". Sounds intriguing. At this point, I was probably already going to check out the book (I mean, it's Chopra after all), but then...
Then I read the first paragraph of the intro.
The short of it, is that it says this book is different from all others, by one simple thing: It's based on the point of view that there isn't anything wrong with you. There isn't anything to "fix".
Well that sealed the deal, this book was most definitely going home with me. I only got a couple pages in on the ride home, but I think I'm really going to like it.
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NOTE: Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy last updated on October 25, 2013 | 2,764 | 1,457 | 0.000692 |
warc | 201704 | All Sections Article: Applications Library (3) Article: Articles (16) Article: Blogs (3) Article: Columns (11) Article: News (47) Article: Product (26)
Tony Davies and Steven Brown explore the solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy facilities at the UNiversity of Warwick, UK.
International standards need to keep pace with the innovation in analytical equipment and practices. For example, many of the advances in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy reported in this journal in recent years have yet to find themselves mirrored by updates in the respective Recommendations of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), nor in the many and varied proprietary recommended reporting formats of the different peer-reviewed primary scientific journals. Not that every innovation needs to be “standardised”: with the speed of many developments it is important to find the right balance between reacting to real movements in a field and enshrining a short-lived fad in a IUPAC Recommendation.
A superconducting insert coil made from a copper-oxide-based ceramic, YBCO, has raised the magnetic field achievable to 25 Tesla.
New method allows hyperpolarised xenon gas, to be dissolved into minute samples of substances without disrupting their molecular order during NMR spectroscopy.
Magritek have released new solutions that enable straightforward reaction monitoring on the Spinsolve benchtop NMR spectrometer.
The protein α-synuclein plays an important role in Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative diseases. Although a considerable amount is known about the structure of the protein within the Parkinson’s-typical amyloid deposits, nothing was known about its original state in the healthy cell up to now. High-resolution nuclear magnetic resonance and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy have helped to visualise the protein in healthy cells.
Fake or low-quality medicines and food supplements are a continuing global problem in developing nations, and indeed the developed world is not immune. A low-cost, portable prototype using nuclear quadrupole resonance spectroscopy can detect tainted medicines and food supplements.
This product focus is on Molecular Spectroscopy.
Oxford Instruments and Green Imaging Technologies have introduced the GeoSpec2+
Deutero have introduced a simple glass funnel suitable for 5-mm NMR tubes
Bruker Wine-Profiling
Enhanced version of the FoodScreener for Wine Profiling that provides analysis of relevant regions in France, Italy and Spain. It also determines further authenticity parameters such as grape variety, vintage year and possible water addition. The system has been extensively validated and offers a rapid and fully automated tool to check wine quality and authenticity.
InsightMR
Software that enables the adjustment of experimental parameters based on real-time data during the analysis of chemical processes by NMR spectroscopy. Experts and non-experts can set up, monitor and adjust key experimental parameters. The software provides a complete workflow from data acquisition to project report with the ability to export data in multiple formats for additional processing.
FoodScreener Module for Honey
The most recent module of the FoodScreener product line allows the simultaneous identification and quantification of many honey characteristics, including sugar, acid and amino acid content as well as fraudulent addition of different types of syrup or other sugar solutions. The database developed for the module contains thousands of samples from around the world.
JEOL JNM-ECZS
NMR spectrometer with high accuracy RF circuitry using digital high frequency technology. Is 43% smaller than previous models and performance features critical to NMR data collection have been improved by several orders of magnitude. A complete set of high-performance NMR probes are available for it, including a new high-sensitivity liquid-nitrogen probe capable of variable temperature experiments from –40°C to 150°C.
Magritek Spinsolve Reaction Monitoring
The Spinsolve benchtop NMR systems are seeing growth for on-line reaction monitoring, where reactants may be pumped continuously from the reactor to the NMR spectrometer and back again to provide reaction kinetics: determine reaction end points, identify intermediates and products.link.spectroscopyeurope.com/27-02-082
Rheo-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy: a versatile toolbox to investigate rheological phenomena in complex fluids
“Rheo-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy: a versatile toolbox to investigate rheological phenomena in complex fluids” is Claudia Schmidt’s topic. Rheology is an important science, and NMR has a number of uses within it. However, challenges remain for the simultaneous measurement of rheological and NMR parameters.
Magritek has introduced the Spinsolve Phosphorus, the first 31P capable benchtop NMR spectroscopy system.
The Tony Davies column is a joint effort by Tony (A.N.) Davies, Mohan Cashyap, Bob Lancashire and Bob Hanson on “Exploring distributed, multi-server 1H NMR prediction”. This is the second part of the column’s investigation into the use of cloud-based services in the analytical arena. It describes a web page linking services from multiple sites on both sides of the Atlantic to deliver molecular structure drawing, 3D structure representation, name to structure conversion and display of data generated by linking chemical structures to 1H NMR prediction. May I reiterate Tony and Mohan’s plea for information on such cloud-based solutions, whether commercial or not. These can be sent to me (ian@impublications.com) and I will pass them on.
Mathieu Duval raises the question “Dating fossil teeth by electron paramagnetic resonance: how is that possible?”. Whilst we are all familiar with 14C dating, the use of EPR is less well known. In fact, there are less than 10 laboratories in the world able to carry out EPR dating of fossil teeth!
Tony (A.N.) Davies is getting excited by GHz NMR. These new high fields offer tantalising new areas of research but at a cost that generally requires their purchase by Government-funded centres of excellence. He argues that continued funding of such projects is essential, especially in difficult economic times.
Nuclear magnetic resonance-based approach to fruit characterisation: the case studies of kiwifruits and peaches
Many analytical methods have been used to control the quality, authenticity and origin of fresh fruit. NMR methodologies yield a comprehensive metabolic profile, provide direct structural information regarding individual metabolites in the mixture and also give information regarding the water state in the tissue. This is useful in discriminating various fruits varieties, in investigating nutritional properties, in monitoring the development of the fruit and in assessing the optimum harvesting time.
Peter Jenks has discovered quantitative NMR. in his article titled “NMR: is it the future for the analysis of organic molecules?”. If only it wasn’t so expensive, it might be the perfect method to certify pure organic compounds.
The Winescreener, a high-performance FT-NMR-based screening system that delivers rapid and cost-effective quantitative targeted and non-targeted statistical analyses of wine, is now available from Bruker. The system features a large number of parameters delivered within a single, completely automated, push-button analysis with minimal sample preparation. Quantification of 25 relevant components is delivered on one measurement and, in addition, both quality and safety are assessed by non-targeted screening. The transferability of the method, based on standard operation procedures, guarantees identical results across different analysis laboratories and, due to its self-learning nature, the solution will further increase its capabilities as new wine analyses are integrated on a global basis.
Benchtop NMR spectrometer that provides identical spectra to standard NMR spectrometers yet weighs only 10½ pounds and costs in the region of US$25,000. Sample volume is 20 µL and the spectrometer is controlled via a web browser. Data can be downloaded for use in any standalone software package. | 8,353 | 3,886 | 0.000262 |
warc | 201704 | New research suggests courage is driven by personality traits, self-efficacy, hope, resilience, values, beliefs and social forces. PsyBlog shows how all these can be enhanced.
How does a fire-fighter steal themselves to enter a burning building? How does an anxious person pluck up the courage to introduce themselves to a stranger? How does a severely depressed individual find the strength to go through the motions of another day? All require courage, but courage is an elusive quality. Continuing the series on positive psychology we look at the components that make up courage and how these can be developed.
Sean Hannah and colleagues (Hannah, Sweeney & Lester, 2007) from the United States Military Academy, writing in The Journal of Positive Psychology, provide a new model of courage. In it they set out a web of interrelated factors thought to feed into the subjective experience of courage.
Broadly they suggest that levels of courage are influenced by character traits, particular states of mind and the values, beliefs and social forces acting on a person. Alongside these factors set out below, I’ve provided suggestions for how each can be increased.
Courageous character traits
Firstly, then, the following three character traits are thought important in courage:
1. Openness to experience: This trait is associated with both divergent thinking, e.g. brainstorming, and the related idea of creativity. Being courageous, then, is all about having options, and in order to generate those options you need to be creative.
How can it be increased? Techniques which may help increase divergent thinking are brainstorming, keeping a journal, free writing and mind mapping. Whether these will lead back into increased openness to experience, however, is unknown. It’s unlikely to cause you any harm though!
2. Conscientiousness: the conscientious are dependable people who feel a sense of duty towards themselves and others. They get the job done.
How can it be increased? One way to increase conscientiousness may be to commit to more social institutions such as marriage, work, family or other role in the community. This suggestion comes from research that has found conscientiousness increases with age, which is also associated with greater work, family and social commitments.
3. Core self-evaluation: these include traits like emotional stability and internal locus of control. An internal locus of control refers to a feeling of control over situations.
How can it be increased? Increasing locus of control can be achieved through cognitive therapy. Central to cognitive therapy is the idea that our outlook on life is fundamentally affected by how we explain what happens to us and others – the attributions we use. Changing these attributions can lead to changes in core self-evaluations.
Remember that these first three components are ‘traits’ meaning they are thought to be relatively stable across situations and across time-points. While they can, and do change, they will be difficult to budge quickly or easily.
Courageous states of mind
The following four states of mind are, though, more open to adjustment and may be better bets for increasing courage in the moment:
1. Self-efficacy: essentially means confidence in yourself and your ability to achieve desired outcomes.
How can it be increased? Two important predictors of self-efficacy are firstly mastering a skill and secondly cognitively reinterpreting current situations. So, self-efficacy can be increased through practicing a task and through the way it is cognitively represented.
2. Means efficacy: this is the belief that the tools available can do the job.
How can it be increased? They say a bad workman blames his tools – so a good workmen sees potential in his tools to complete the job. Really believing you can use what you’ve got is half the battle.
3. State hope: believing the task is possible and seeing a way of carrying it out at the time at which it needs to be done.
How can it be increased? Like locus of control, state hope can be increased using cognitive therapy. At heart, the idea is to change the attributions we make.
4. Resilience: this is bounce-back-ability. It’s also having the belief that should the inevitable problems arise, you’ll be able to overcome them.
How can it be increased? Research suggests resilience may be predicted by positive emotions. Generating amusement, interest or any other positive emotion is likely to increase levels of resilience. Essentially, it may be possible to laugh off the fear often experienced when being courageous.
Convictions and social forces
There are two final components important in Hannah and colleagues’ model of courage:
1. Inner convictions: these include independence, selflessness, integrity and honour. These types of beliefs can all have important effects on behaviour in the face of fear.
How can it be increased? Inner convictions can come from a variety of sources such as philosophy, societal beliefs or religion.
2. Social forces: really important, some might even argue this is the most important. People look at how other’s react to a situation, then think how they should act in relation to other people.
How can it be increased? Essentially courage is socially contagious. The practical advice from this is simple: to increase your courage, hang out with courageous people.
Interrelationships
While I’ve considered each of these factors separately, in Hannah’s model they are all interrelated. For example positive emotions are likely to lead to less experienced fear, which also leads to more courageous behaviours which leads to the subjective experience of courageousness which in turn will feed back into positive emotional states.
Only courage by a different name?
One of the main criticisms of these types of models is that they just re-describe courage in terms of different attributes. There is some truth to that, but only some. The strength of this model is that it breaks down courage into its components so that each can be individually targeted.
I see a way
For myself, while increasing my ‘courage’ is too vague and abstract, I can see ways in which I might increase my resilience, means efficacy and state hope. And, as the model suggests, seeing how the tools can be used to achieve a goal (means efficacy) is half the battle.
» Read more on positive psychology
Reference
Hannah, S., Sweeney, P. J., & Lester, P. B. (2007). Toward a courageous mindset: The subjective act and experience of courage. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 2(2), 129-135. (Abstract) | 6,674 | 2,891 | 0.000352 |
warc | 201704 | I’m admitting it from the start: I am not a fisherman. I never was. Even if I had any inclination that way, I was cured of it in Canada when Guyanese musician Andy Niccols, a fishing fanatic, took me fishing one afternoon on Rice Lake in Ontario. We were out there for four hours, hardly any other boat in sight, and in that time not only did we catch no fish, we did not get a single bite; not even a jiggle on the line. Niccols was very apologetic, giving me the usual malarky about how much fish he had caught “right here, man” the weekend before, but I didn’t fall for that. I had heard from other Guyanese, accustomed to trench fishing at home, how lean the fishing scene was up there. In addition, although it was summer, I nearly froze. I was huddled up under the bow of the boat sheltering from the wind. That cured me of fishing forever. Niccols kept calling me for a repeat, but that afternoon on Rice Lake stayed with me.
People in Guyana like Patriarch Gomes, the radiator man, and Dale DeNobrega, the mechanic – those guys are fishermen. They will come back from one of their weekend jaunts with 60 lukunani and a bunch of river basha, no problem. That’s not me.
Going back 60 years as well, when I was living at Vreed-en-Hoop, my friend Neville DeRamos tried to rope me into this fishing business. He was pals with the Rayman family in New Road who had a boat and they would go on day trips into the Boerasirie Conservancy, sitting behind West Demerara, to catch fish. The Conservancy is an amazing world of waterways, pools, pegasse, and some shrubbery, covering what looks like millions of acres. It’s a nature paradise out there, and to this country boy from West Dem it was a completely different world. I don’t know how it is these days, with fertilizer runoff and what not, but back then it was literally teeming with fish. There was so much fish in that place that in the narrow waterways a passing boat would cause small fish to jump clear out of the water, several feet in the air; often, fish would actually land right in the boat. At low-water periods, the wake from passing boats would pitch small fish up on the dry bushy pegasse which would prevent them getting back to the water; you would see the skeletons on the pegasse as you went by. I went on these trips a few times mesmerized at this horde of fish, but still not looking to join in the fishing.
Arriving at the fishing grounds, a couple of guys would be put ashore where the pegasse was firm to throw cast nets. In times when the water was low, virtually every throw would bring in five or six small fish (patwa; houri; sunfish) sometimes without even having to move from one spot. While this was going on, the boat would go back out on the open water areas to troll for lukunani which were plentiful. It was exciting to see a lukunani snap that spoon bait and come leaping in the air, colours flashing in the sunlight, diving back in the water, and leaping high again, and there again the take was plentiful. In a day of fishing the Conservancy, you would catch literally hundreds of fish. I remember two fishing trips where we came back to the landing in Plantain Walk with close to half of a rice bag of small fish, most of which we gave away. Nearby residents would be waiting at the landing, each of them carting away 10-15 patwa, houri or sunfish. The lukunani, of course, were a different matter; those belonged to the boys.
In the Conservancy, you were in a wilderness. There was no sign of mankind anywhere, except for the occasional boat, and the tangled maze of waterways, twisting and curving aimlessly, required a guide who knew his way. Also, because of the remoteness, a critical part of any fishing trip was a man who knew his way around outboard engines; to be stalled out there, miles from anywhere, could be perilous. The other concern in this environment was obstructions in the water – tacoubas, for example – clearly seen when waters were low but a danger otherwise. Some of these were floating dead trees, but others were actually stumps of trees standing where they had died. We were not fishermen who knew the area; we had to be careful.
Part of the story is an incident on one fishing trip where somebody in the Rayman crew got careless early in the outing, and the wooden boat with its six passengers, three of them ladies, going at a good clip, ran straight into a semi-submerged tacouba. In an instant, the black stump smashed a breadfruit-sized hole in the bottom of the boat; it was dead in the water, some 20 feet from shore, and water was pouring in.
In a panic, men and women pulled off their clothes to staunch the flow; in the case of the ladies, even down to underwear. The men were overboard, trying to push the boat to shore, while the ladies in the boat, two of them virtually naked, were trying to hold back the water. Luck was on their side: the boat was light, and not far from shore, they were able to make it to the pegasse, and within the hour a passing fishing boat rescued them from their plight. They had come through a very perilous situation.
Pertinent to the story is that I was not part of the panic, as this had been a couples-only jaunt and I, with no girl-friend at time, did not go on the trip. But the encounter had been a close shave, and even Neville, relating it to me, had been clearly shaken by it. That sealed it. The Conservancy was a stirring part of nature, but I really wasn’t interested to tempt fate as they had done in order to catch fish. So if Mr Gomes and Mr DeNobrega are reading this and planning to invite me on their next weekend venture, chaps, don’t bother. I am not a fisherman. | 5,715 | 2,697 | 0.000375 |
warc | 201704 | * Effect modification: effect of the main exposure on the outcome is affected by another variable. It is NOT a bias! * Case-control study: also known as retrospective study. Divided into “cases” and “controls.” If disease is rare, the odds ratio will approximate the relative risk (following subjects over time.) * Cohort study (Retrospective or prospective): divided into “exposed” and “non-exposed.” Study subjects are free of the outcome at the time the study begins. * Cross-sectional study: exposure and outcome are studied at one point in time. (Think: snapshot study) * Randomized control trial: gold standard for studying the efficacy of treatment or procedure. Subjects are randomized into experimental or control. Less bias and strong causal relationship. * Cross-over study: group of participants are randomized to one treatment for a certain period of time and the other with the alternative for that same certain period of time. Then after period ends, the groups switched treatments for the duration of the trial. * Parallel study: think “drug group vs. placebo group.” No other variables are measured
* Hazard ratio: the higher the ratio, that higher risk for hazardous events. If ratio is 1 (or value if closer to 1), then there’s little difference between the two entities * Factorial design studies: randomization of different interventions with additional study of 2 or more variables * Cluster analysis: randomization of different groups, not individuals
* Lowering the cut-off will increase its sensitivity
* Confounder: an extraneous factor which has properties linking it to the exposure and outcome of interest * Probability if test is negative, 1-negative predicative value * Observer bias: investigator’s decision is adversely affected by knowledge of exposure status. Example: It is known the ESRD is more common in black population * Respondent bias: outcome obtained by patient’s response... | 1,990 | 990 | 0.001047 |
warc | 201704 | Computer-aided design (CAD) also known as computer-aided design and drafting (CADD) is the use of computer technology for the process of design and design-documentation. Computer-aided design (CAD) involves creating computer models defined by geometrical parameters. These models typically appear on a computer monitor as a three-dimensional representation of a part or a system of parts, which can be readily altered by changing relevant parameters. CAD systems enable designers to view objects under a wide variety of representations and to test these objects by simulating real-world conditions. A CAD system is a combination of hardware and software that enables engineers and architects to design everything from furniture to airplanes. In addition to the software, CAD systems require a high-quality graphics monitor; a mouse, light pen, or digitizing tablet for drawing; and a special printer or plotter for printing design specifications. CAD systems allow an engineer to view a design from any angle with the push of a button and to zoom in or out for close-ups and long-distance views. In addition, the computer keeps track of design dependencies so that when the engineer changes one value, all other values that depend on it are automatically changed accordingly. CAD is a type of software used for creating blueprints and schematics. CAD software is used in construction, engineering and other industries that use technical illustrations. CAD programs produce designs in 2-D, 3-D, or both, depending on the specific software. Many companies make CAD software-which ranges from open-source to extensive commercial packages-and its use provides several benefits.
There is the variety of use the computer aided design (CAD) includes, the design of goods used by consumers or other products, design of tools and machinery, building floor plans and for the detailed engineering designs. CAD is also widely used to produce computer animation for special effects in movies, advertising... | 1,997 | 972 | 0.00103 |
warc | 201704 | Research Question: Country/Sovereign and Risk Assessments have evolved to become an integral part of international lending. Explain the factors to consider in determining the overall Sovereign/Country risk and why these factors are critical. What is the Bahamas' experience in its Risk Assessments? Financial institutions increasingly conduct business abroad in order to diversify and expand their sources of revenue and profitability. This strategy of international lending exposes the bank to country risk and raises the potential for financial loss. Country risk is a collection of risks which are associated with investing in a foreign country. These risks include political risk, exchange rate risk, economic risk, and sovereign risk (as well as transfer risk). It varies from one country to the next. Some countries have a high enough risk to discourage foreign investment. The United States is generally considered the benchmark for low country risk and most nations can have their risk measured as compared to the U.S. One of the main subsets of country risk is sovereign risk. This is the risk that a foreign central bank will alter its foreign-exchange regulations, thereby significantly reducing the value of foreign exchange contracts. It is the potential loss of the assets that a bank loaned internationally in foreign currency (Khambata, 1996). The existence of such risk means that creditors should take a two-stage decision process when deciding to lend to a firm based in a foreign country. Firstly one should consider the sovereign risk quality of the country and then consider the firm's credit quality (Cooper, 1998). According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the term transfer risk, which is also known as direct sovereign intervention risk, is usually only used in a foreign currency context. It refers to the probability that a government with foreign debt servicing difficulties imposes foreign exchange payment restrictions on otherwise solvent companies and individuals in its jurisdiction which eventually forces them to default on their own foreign currency obligations. Indirect sovereign risk is the equivalent of transfer risk in domestic currency obligations. It refers to the probability that a firm defaults on its domestic currency debt as a result of distress or default of its sovereign. Many countries have faced sovereign risk in the 2008 global recession. There are two main factors that are used to assess country risk. The first category is the economic factor. Lenders use economic factors as a guide to determine whether a country is financially able to repay its debts. Some of the economic determinants include the resource base, government policies, the quality of economic management, and financial restrictions. The resource base of a country refers to raw materials, human resources, infrastructure, industry, finances, agricultural output, and any other important aspect of the economy (Khambata). In order for a country to obtain a low country risk, it must be able to use all of its resources efficiently. Long and short term government policies of a nation greatly influence the sovereign risk of a country. These policies help investors to understand how stable a country’s government. The more stable a country is, the lower the risk. The quality of economic management is also important in assessing the sovereign risk of a country. A government must ensure that the economic management relates to the comparative advantage of a country. It must also ensure that the government’s borrowing practices help economic growth. It is also important that the government is willing and able to implement economic reforms. The quality and timeliness of available data is also considered in the sovereign risk. There are also specific economic indicators that international bankers look at. One is the ratio of the current account on the balance of payments accounts to the Gross National Product. This ratio states how large the deficit... | 4,010 | 1,745 | 0.000575 |
warc | 201704 | It was in the aftermath of the 2001 Parliament attacks that India came close to a war with Pakistan. Fifteen years later, another conflict looks likely. The situation has arisen when India believes it has had enough after the brutal murder of 18 soldiers in Uri in Jammu and Kashmir. The crisis in Kashmir has reached a boiling point and the mindless shouting on news channels is not going to destroy the camps across the border. Neither does the tenor of debate have any impact on Pakistan. Much of the shouting and humiliation that goes on TV channels in India is censored in Pakistan, so whatever they might say, an average Pakistani is clueless about it. Censorship and control have been the nature of the Pakistani state from the time of its birth. It thrives on India bashing and a false sense of insecurity where India and its intentions are concerned.
While India struggles to rally world opinion on the matter, it needs to be acknowledged that the unrest in Kashmir is a bigger issue. It has taken a dangerous turn. There is complete lack of dialogue or perhaps the desire to have it at all. This feeling stems from a sense of distrust from both sides and more so from the side of the Kashmiris. Over the past two decades, the state has not made any progress and the result is years of tension, distrust and conflict. In this case too, rallying world opinion is not going to help for we have seen that world opinion has not moved beyond standard statements of condemnation and shock in response to terror attacks.
Appeals to the UN, US and the European Union have so far not yielded results. Most of their actions have been too little and have come too late. In 1948, Jawaharlal Nehru faced the prospect of deadly conflict in Kashmir, which carried the risk of shaking the foundations of the new Indian state at a time when the issue of accession of Kashmir to India was a question mark. The document thus signed has remained contested for a variety of reasons. Nehru, with his strong belief in the newly constituted UN, appealed for help but was denied any since the British were not interested as they were leaving and India was not central to the scheme of things at the time. Little has changed since then. The United States has a host of problems ever since it anointed itself as the messiah of liberty and freedom of the world. The recent clearance of the US Senate allowing the sale of $1.15 billion arms to Saudi Arabia is a matter of concern especially since the Saudis have not been known to very transparent where dealings in the Middle East or with Pakistan are concerned. Whatever we Indians may think, the Saudis remain central to US foreign policy in the Middle East and will continue to be so for years to come. We have to understand that Kashmir and the terror attacks are our problems.
If the separatists want azaadi, azaadi has to be in a form suited to everyone and not just them. In Kashmir, most people want azaadi from being told to do things either by the separatists or by the terrorists. The Indian state is an outsider in this social milieu. The Kashmiri youth want jobs and security and they have given proof of this by turning up for the police recruitment drive recently. It is not the time for talks and neither the time is ripe for impulsive moves. It is also not fair to question the nationalism of those calling for restraint. Nationalism can mean different things to different people. War will not guarantee peace; it would only bring back coffins, lost hopes and shattered dreams. What is worrying is that the divide between the Army and the civilian population has gotten wider over the years. The anti-India and anti-Army propaganda has been successful among the people and the current crisis stems for the lack of trust between the two. Political parties, especially the PDP-alliance and Congress have played their part. The dialogue between different stakeholders in Kashmir and those in Delhi has not progressed. Meanwhile, in Pakistan, the government of Nawaz Sharif is shaky; the speeches of the Pakistan PM at UN reflect his unease and discomfort with happenings back home. We have been dealing with a weak civilian government for years; sanctions will only drive it up the wall. Disturbances across the border also spell doom for us and instability in Pakistan would mean more trouble in Kashmir. The current crisis in Kashmir is an attempt by Pakistan to deflect from its internal problems of rising prices, failing markets, civilian unrest in Balochistan, and use Kashmir to rally national sentiment.
The question is where does this current stalemate lead us to? It should not lead to the path of destruction. “Freedom” may be liberating for one, yet cause insecurity to another. The Indian state is in a situation where saying “Kashmir is an integral part of India” is not enough. Nor is it enough for Pakistan to mourn the death of Burhan Wani, at the UN. Pakistan does not have the moral standing to make a claim for human rights and freedom since the lack of these has been the hallmark of that state since its inception. | 5,107 | 2,407 | 0.000418 |
warc | 201704 | “I hate the words ‘social media’ because when top executives hear the word media, they think advertising,” said Kelly McDonald, owner and CEO, McDonald Marketing, Dallas, in today’s session “The Brave New World of Marketing: Meet the Digital Consumer.”
According to McDonald, those folks would be better off focusing on the word “social.”
McDonald likened those companies that focus on the “media” aspect to meeting someone at a conference and inviting him to your friendly backyard bbq only to immediately barrage him with brochures and a Power Point pitch.
People aren’t looking to be pitched, but might be interested in talking business in the course of conversation.
“People do discuss business socially. So social marketing is the same thing. … It’s a business conversation that happens to be taking place online. It’s not about pitching your customers.”
Much of the session came back to treating customers in the social media world the way they’d be treated in person. In fact, merging those worlds can occasionally be helpful, too.
After the session, one supplier said she worked with two different brands on different Facebook pages, but despite using a similar approach on both pages, the fans of one Facebook page weren’t responding as enthusiastically as the other.
McDonald suggested the supplier invite a handful of those quiet Facebook fans into the office for a focus group. A small financial incentive and pizza could help to find out what those fans are looking for.
By the way, SN has a booth at the show. Stop by booth 2814 and visit Food Group Marketing Manager Erin Elkind. | 1,699 | 896 | 0.00119 |
warc | 201704 | Authors Davis DB, Lavine JA, Suhonen JI, Krautkramer KA, Rabaglia ME, Sperger JM, Fernandez LA, Yandell BS, Keller MP, Wang IM, Schadt EE, Attie AD Author Profile(s) Lab(s) Journal Mol. Endocrinol. Volume: 24 Issue: 9 Pages: 1822-34 Publish Date 2010 Sep PubMed ID 20660304 PMC ID 2940473 Abstract
beta-Cell mass expansion is one mechanism by which obese animals compensate for insulin resistance and prevent diabetes. FoxM1 is a transcription factor that can regulate the expression of multiple cell cycle genes and is necessary for the maintenance of adult beta-cell mass, beta-cell proliferation, and glucose homeostasis. We hypothesized that FoxM1 is up-regulated by nondiabetic obesity and initiates a transcriptional program leading to beta-cell proliferation. We performed gene expression analysis on islets from the nondiabetic C57BL/6 Leptin(ob/ob) mouse, the diabetic BTBR Leptin(ob/ob) mouse, and an F2 Leptin(ob/ob) population derived from these strains. We identified obesity-driven coordinated up-regulation of islet Foxm1 and its target genes in the nondiabetic strain, correlating with beta-cell mass expansion and proliferation. This up-regulation was absent in the diabetic strain. In the F2 Leptin(ob/ob) population, increased expression of Foxm1 and its target genes segregated with higher insulin and lower glucose levels. We next studied the effects of FOXM1b overexpression on isolated mouse and human islets. We found that FoxM1 stimulated mouse and human beta-cell proliferation by activating many cell cycle phases. We asked whether FOXM1 expression is also responsive to obesity in human islets by collecting RNA from human islet donors (body mass index range: 24-51). We found that the expression of FOXM1 and its target genes is positively correlated with body mass index. Our data suggest that beta-cell proliferation occurs in adult obese humans in an attempt to expand beta-cell mass to compensate for insulin resistance, and that the FoxM1 transcriptional program plays a key role in this process.
Full Text Full text available on PubMed Central | 2,082 | 1,022 | 0.00098 |
warc | 201704 | Convicted child sex offenders will face life in prison under new laws currently before NSW Parliament.
NSW Attorney General Gabrielle Upton has introduced a bill to impose the harsher penalty, saying that sentences that handed-down in these cases don’t align with community expectations.
The government also wants to implement a range of other measures to tackle sex offending.
Tougher penalties just one new measure
The bill had its second reading before parliament on May 12 and is currently awaiting debate and approval. The most significant measure is that a person found guilty of sexual intercourse with a child under the age of 10 can be penalised with a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. This is an increase from the previous maximum of 25 years.
In addition, 13 other child sexual assault offences will have ‘standard non-parole periods’ (SNPPs) which will be higher than the average sentences currently being imposed for those offences.
SNPPs are a guidepost or reference point for a judge who is imposing a sentence. A ‘non parole period’ is the period of time that a person must spend in prison before being eligible to apply for release. Imposing SNPPs normally leads to longer sentences being imposed.
As well as the proposed changes to the legislation, the government intends to implement a number of other measures, including:
Specialist judges will hear child sexual assault cases. Experts known as Children’s Champions will be appointed to support victims and their families throughout the hearing process. Children will be allowed to pre-record cross-examination evidence to limit their exposure to the courtroom environment. Removing time limits for civil claims
There is no mention in the current proposals of removing certain time limits in which child sexual abuse survivors can make a civil claim, although the government is reportedly considering it.
Currently, there are limitation periods between three and 12 years, but previous NSW Attorney General Brad Hazzard indicated in January that this is inadequate, as it often takes survivors many years or even decades to work up the courage to take legal action.
Government moves to implement reforms after report
The reforms were introduced as a result of the October 2014 report Every Sentence Tells a Story, which was the work of a committee appointed by parliament to look at the consistency and effectiveness of current penalties for child sex offenders.
The committee made 29 recommendations for sentencing reform, including the increased penalty of life imprisonment.
The report said that “child sexual abuse devastates individuals, families, local communities and societies, and the sentencing for this level of devastation must be consistent.”
The committee also took into account the purposes of sentencing in making its recommendations, which, according to the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act, are to:
Punish the offender for the offence. Deter the offender and others from committing similar crimes. Protect the community. Rehabilitate the offender. Make the offender accountable. Denounce the actions of the offender. Recognise the harm done to the victim.
The report noted that as at December 2012 there were 1,277 inmates in NSW convicted of sexual assault offences, with 81 in custody awaiting sentencing.
There were also around 400 people convicted of sexual offences living in the community under supervision, either on parole or serving non-custodial sentences. That was a total of almost 1,800 offenders.
When comparing that to the approximately 11,000 inmates currently being held in NSW prisons, it becomes apparent that those convicted of sexual offences make up a significant percentage of inmates.
A surge in offences
Studies suggest that child sexual abuse is a growing issue in Australia. A 2014 report by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) found that online activity by both children and offenders had contributed to a surge in child sexual abuse – an increase of 54 per cent in the year prior to the report’s release.
In 2013, the AFP arrested 78 people in connection with child sex offences.
The AFP noted that of particular concern is the speed at which predators can now groom a child online and then facilitate an encounter – sometimes as little as two weeks from the first online contact to a physical meeting.
The effect of the proposed changes to the legislation
But while there’s little doubt that child sexual abuse is a social problem, and that the government’s stance is sure to win community support, the effect of the proposed changes on the prison system hasn’t been addressed, nor have issues relating to difficulties for the defence of obtaining access to materials that may prove the innocence of their clients.
Contrary to public opinion, many of those who are charged with child sex offences are indeed innocent of the charge and the Criminal Procedure Act’s prohibitions upon accessing an array of materials can lead to those who are unfairly charged being convicted of offences that they did not commit – which is something that nobody wants to happen.
With increased penalties and SNPPs, those who are found guilty of sexual offences will be imprisoned for longer, putting more strain on NSW prisons that are already struggling with overcrowding and funding issues.
Related Posts | 5,422 | 2,457 | 0.000415 |
warc | 201704 | The Fish Banks Ltd. Game (The genuine article! Developed by Dennis Meadows.) Fish Banks is a role-playing, board game where teams of players manage and operate their own fishing companies. Players step into the role of captains and crew members, and compete against other fishing companies. Each fishing company begins each game with equal cash, fishing boats, and technology. Together the team players strategize about buying and selling ships, where to fish, how best to manage fleets without depleting fish stocks all while in competition with neighboring teams. The game, which incorporates variables such as deep sea and coastal fishing, informs people about careful and efficient use of natural resources. Learning Objective: The primary goal of Fish Banks is to provide participants with an experiential learning experience. Participants are charged with managing a fleet of fishing boats and making decisions about where to fish, i.e. the deep sea or in coastal waters, along with decisions about buying and selling boats. The goal is to maintain your fishing fleets profitability so that your fishing enterprise may continue into the future.
This all takes place in an environment with multiplayers attempting to achieve the same goal in an uncertain environment where weather, fish catch and the decision of competitors may vary from year-to-year. The learning goals are multifaceted. The game materials provided link the game to historical data on the fisheries from around the world. The debriefing slides also contain a causal loop diagram that captures the main interactions contained in the game and are represented of the real world system on which the game is based. The game and debrief lead into a natural discussion of sustainability and Garrett Hardin’s (1968)
Tragedy of the Commons. Who Should Play? The game is suitable and provides insights for all age levels. The game has been used in K-12 education, for undergraduates, graduate students, and for managers in a variety of fields. The game can be taught in any university level course in which the dynamics of cooperation, competition, resource management, and negotiation are relevant.
Please note that the Society is selling Dennis Meadows’ original board game version and it’s a great teaching and learning tool. There is a current online version available through the link at the bottom of this page that has a very nice user interface for a System Dynamics model (and it is free for teaching purposes).
“Fish Banks brings an experiential aspect to learning about complex systems, it has more impact than simply listening to a lecture or engaging in a case study discussion.”
“Deep, actionable knowledge and decision-making skills develop when people have the chance to apply classroom theory in the real world with its messy complexity, time pressure, and irreversible consequences.”
“But project-based action learning in the field is not possible in settings where the stakes are high or the consequences of decisions unfold over years or decades. For many of the critical issues we face, simulation becomes the main way we can discover for ourselves how complex systems work and develop the management and leadership skills we need to succeed.”
John Sterman Jay W. Forrester Professor of Management
Professor of System Dynamics and Engineering Systems
Director, MIT System Dynamics Group
“An enormous thank you is in order to you [Dennis Meadows] for developing this game! It has been a wonderful teaching tool to help students understand fisheries…et al… Last time I used Fish Banks was out in internal exile at Kansas State University where there was scarcely an ocean in sight… but the students rose to the occasion and it was a wildly successful experience.”
Professor Bryan Snyder
Department of Economics
Bentley University, Waltham, Massachusetts
The Fish Banks Ltd. game was developed by Professor Dennis Meadows, co-author of “
Limits to Growth.” The board game kits include the game software, PowerPoint slide sets for introducing and debriefing the game, instructions for playing the game, the role description, game board, and pieces. The game is written in Java and runs using a web browser. The computer need not be linked to the web at any time.
The game’s computer program can be executed on most computers and most operating systems. It works on both Macintosh and Windows platforms.
You may not duplicate the game software or manual. However, once you have purchased the game kit you can use it indefinitely without paying royalties. You only need to make copies of the role description and the decision sheets as needed.
Ideally each session takes 2 hours. You may split this across two days or have the participants meet for an additional session. The game works well for groups from five to 30.
For technical questions and support, please see Appendix #3 of the User’s E-Manual. Often the questions are already answered here.
The kit includes:
the game board, 85 little wooden boats of varying denominations, electronic files that contain a 10-minute video of Dennis Meadows introducing the game. This video is presented in two formats, one for Mac and one for Windows. Use this video to start a game session to make the summary of roles, rules, and goals, electronic files that contain: the game software, various data files, two Powerpoint slide sets – one for introducing the game (an alternative to the above video) and one for debriefing the game, 48 page e-manual for download. The e-manual contains extensive information on setting up, introducing, conducting, and debriefing the game plus detailed instructions for operating the computer program.
To place an ORDER and view shipping rates go to the Fish Banks Order Form.
Send Order Form and payment to:
System Dynamics Society
Milne 300 – Rockefeller College 135 Western Avenue University at Albany – State University of New York Albany, New York 12222, USA
You may also be interested in MIT SLOAN SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT, Management Flight Simulations. | 6,146 | 2,869 | 0.000356 |
warc | 201704 | Try this healthy recipe: Tomato and Italian Herb Gazpacho
By JIM ROMANOFF
Associated Press
Conventional wisdom says that cooking vegetables tends to diminish their nutritional prowess. But it isn't always the case.
Cooking tomatoes does diminish their stores of vitamin C, but it also concentrates lycopene (found in red tomatoes), a powerful antioxidant.
Cooking tomatoes also is great from a culinary standpoint. Heat intensifies their flavor and brings out their rich sweetness by caramelizing the natural sugars. This is an especially good technique when working with out-of-season tomatoes.
With this recipe for gazpacho, you can have it either way.
Traditionally, gazpacho is a fresh, pureed tomato soup of Spanish origin. It typically is made with lots of garlic, onions, bell peppers and cucumbers.
This Italian-style take on the refreshing soup is seasoned with fresh basil and oregano along with a liberal shot of balsamic vinegar. The addition of some fresh mozzarella cheese adds protein and substance to turn the soup into a satisfying lunch or light supper. Serve with grilled slabs of crusty whole-grain bread to complete the meal.
For a cooked version of this recipe, spread the diced tomatoes on a rimmed baking sheet and roast at 400 degrees until they start to brown. Let them cool, then proceed with the recipe.
Copyright: For copyright information, please check with the distributor of this item, Associated Press. TOMATO AND ITALIAN HERB GAZPACHO Start to finish: 1 hour 35 minutes (20 minutes active) 5 cups cored and diced tomatoes (about 4 large) 1 large English cucumber, peeled and diced (about 2 cups) 1 medium red bell pepper, cored, seeded and coarsely chopped 1 medium red onion, chopped ⅓ cup balsamic vinegar ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil ⅓ cup chopped fresh basil 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano 3 cloves garlic, minced ½ teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste Ground black pepper, to taste 6 ounces very small, fresh mozzarella balls
In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, onion, vinegar, oil, basil, oregano, garlic, salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Let the mixture rest at room temperature for 15 minutes.
Using a food processor or blender and working in batches, process the tomato mixture until it is chunky smooth, about 10 to 15 pulses in a processor. Transfer to a bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
To serve, divide gazpacho among bowls and top with mozzarella.
Serves 6 to 8.
Nutritional information per serving (values are rounded to the nearest whole number): 169 calories (110 calories from fat), 12g fat (4g saturated, 0g trans fats), 17mg cholesterol, 10g carbohydrates, 5g protein, 2g fiber, 141mg sodium. | 2,728 | 1,431 | 0.000708 |
warc | 201704 | Direcció/Departament/Institut:Alonso, Juan Carlos (dir.);Ayora Hirsch, Silvia (dir.);UAM. Departamento de Biología Molecular;CSIC. Centro Nacional de Biotecnología
Resum:
Tesis doctoral inédita leída en la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Facultad de Ciencias, Departamento de Biología Molecular. Fecha de lectura: 16-07-2013
Natural competence is a programmed stage where inducible DNA uptake machinery localizesat cell pole of a differentiated bacterium. The DNA uptake machinery processes the environmentalDNA and translocates ssDNA inside the bacterium. The cytosolic single-stranded binding, SSB(or Ssb), proteins acting as guardian and protect the incoming single-strand DNA (ssDNA), and atthe same time limit RecA nucleation and filament growth onto the internalized ssDNA. SsbA,which is essential, binds ssDNA with 8-fold higher affinity than SsbB, suggesting that SsbA ratherthan SsbB might coat the internalized ssDNA. Although SsbB out numbers SsbA by 6 to 1.Crystal study of SsbB bound to ssDNA shows that the protein has structural similarity withother SSBs, although is 33% smaller than the essential SSB proteins. The tetrameric SsbB bindsssDNA in two different forms, in the SSB35 mode only two protomers are wrapped by the ssDNA,and in the SSB65 mode the four protomers are wrapped by the ssDNA.RecA function in recombination as higher-order oligomers assembled on tracts of ssDNA.These studies have identified a class of proteins, called recombination mediators, that act bypromoting assembly of RecA onto SSB-coated ssDNA. In the absence of mediators, SsbA (orSsbB) inhibits RecA-mediated recombination by competing for binding to ssDNA. Inactivation ofRecO and DprA leads ~1000-fold reduction in chromosomal transformation, suggesting that theymight work as mediators. The mediator proteins have two activities: i) alleviate the restrictionbarrier imposed by SSBs proteins for RecA assembly onto ssDNA, and ii) catalyze single-strandannealing. The first activity is essential for in vivo function of RecA during DNA repair andchromosomal transformation; and the second is believed to be required for ssDNA-annealingduring plasmid transformation, and perhaps for second end-capture during double strand breakrepair, although have not been clearly demonstrated.In the presence of dATP, RecO alone does not significantly facilitate RecA filament growthonto naked ssDNA. RecO stimulates RecA assembly and DNA strand exchange ontoSsbA·ssDNA or SsbA·ssDNA·SsbB complexes, and enhances DNA strand exchange. RecO failsto facilitate RecA growth onto SsbB, SSbB* (chimeric protein having full length SsbB andextreme C-terminal of SsbA) and SSBSPP1. In the presence of ATP, RecO facilitates RecAassembly onto ssDNA, but it fails to promote RecA-mediated recombination. RecO facilitatesRecA assembly onto SsbA- or SsbA·ssDNA·SsbB pre-coated ssDNA, and facilitates RecAmediatedDNA strand exchange.DprA acts as a mediator protein. In the presence of dATP, DprA does not significantlyfacilitate RecA assembly onto ssDNA. DprA alleviates the SsbB barrier on RecA filament growth.RecA can assemble on the SsbB·ssDNA·DprA complex more efficiently than onSsbA·ssDNA·DprA complexes.Inactivation of RecO or DprA reduces plasmid transformation by 30- or 40-fold respectively.However inactivation of both RecO and DprA strongly reduce plasmid transformation (~1000-fold). Mediator proteins bear annealing potential for complementary ssDNAs. The SsbA and SsbBprotein limits annealing of complementary DNA strands. A mediator protein by dislodging itscognate SSB from ssDNA increases the spontaneous annealing of two complementary strands bya bridging mechanism. RecO interacts physically with SsbA and DprA with SsbB. RecO increasesannealing of complementary strands coated by SsbA or SsbA and SsbB complex. On the otherhand, DprA facilitates annealing of complementary strands coated by SsbB or SsbB and SsbA.The absence of RecA, suppresses RecO for plasmid transformation, whereas the recA dprAdouble mutant strain decreases plasmid transformation by ~ 200-fold. Hence in the absence ofRecA, DprA protein plays key role in plasmid transformation and work preferentially. Our datareveal a division of labor between SsbB and SsbA and the RecA mediators (DprA and RecO).RecO and DprA have specificity for SsbA and SsbB, respectively. The SSB proteins play anactive role for the selection of effector proteins (DprA or RecO), for chromosomal and plasmidtransformation | 4,545 | 1,964 | 0.000519 |
warc | 201704 | The information technology job market is about as dry as Chile's Atacama Desert. So arid is the employment landscape, in fact, that even experienced IT professionals are finding it hard to etch out a path leading to the right job.
"Hiring managers told us they expect to fill only 500,000 jobs or less [nationwide] this year," said Harris N. Miller, president of Information Technology Association of America (ITAA), an organization that monitors, surveys, and promotes growth in the IT industry. In fact, of the 1.1 million job openings projected by hiring managers for 2002, only an estimated 600,000 slots were actually filled, according to Miller.
"It's probably the hardest, toughest market I've seen, and I've been in the market for the last 20 years," Maria Schafer said. Schafer is program director for META Group, an IT research and consulting firm that published the
2003 IT Staffing and Compensation Guide. "This year, out of 600 companies interviewed for our survey, about two-thirds indicated that they'd lost some staff."
Yet, despite the obvious drought, there is still hope for those experienced professionals willing to take extraordinary steps to overcome extraordinary circumstances. I spoke with experts in the IT field to find some out-of-the-box suggestions to expand your job search options.
Develop a plan
"When you are searching for a job in unreasonable times, depending upon ordinary strategies, like sending out resumes, having an elevator pitch, and networking, is not enough," Carol Limperos said. Limperos is founder and vice president of strategy and marketing at Houston-based Allindin, a coaching and consulting employment firm.
Veteran executive IT recruiter Debbie Harper, of Pittsford, NY-based Harper Hewes, Inc., warns that you shouldn't panic if you're suddenly unemployed and the thought hits you that there are way more job seekers than available positions. "Candidates need to take a deep breath and realize they only need one job—the right job. So take a step back and put together a plan on how to attack the market," she said.
Your plan should identify your job goal and then determine the industry or target group of employers where you'll direct your search. Harper suggested narrowing your search to your former employer's competitors or IT partners, companies that collaborate to create parts of one IT solution.
Your plan should dictate a course of action consisting of both traditional and cutting-edge strategies. For example, it should include developing an elevator pitch. All serious contenders should be able to recite their job goal, qualifications, and accolades within 60 seconds. But your plan needs to include innovative—sometimes even risky—tactics as well.
Dare to be different
Thinking out of the box for ways to land a job requires being "3-D," Limperos said. The three Ds are "daring, different, and discoverable." Everybody networks and mass-mails their cover letters and resumes, which perhaps sit in a pool of thousands of other similar documents, all vying for the attention of one overworked human resources manager. If you don't want to be treated like just another piece of paper waiting to be filed or tossed, figure out a way to stand apart from the crowd by marketing your skills and capabilities to a specific person or select group of people.
For example, to get the job of her choice, one of Limperos' clients found interesting ways to reach out to the vice president charged with filling a high-tech position. She began by delivering a handwritten note, which presented her qualifications and her reasons for being the best candidate for the job, to the vice president while he was attending a meeting in her town. Then she sent a more polished presentation package to his headquarters by express mail and asked his assistant to hand-deliver it to him upon his return. Her initiative and persistence paid off because she got the job, Limperos said.
Another Allindin client was unhappy at being an underestimated, overlooked vice president of a Fortune 500 company. He wanted to be taken seriously and to be considered for more challenging roles and promotions. To project a positive image and showcase his capabilities to decision makers who could open doors and further his climb up the career ladder, he wrote articles for, and became a source for, the journals read by that group.
Are you 3-D?
Did you do something daring or different to get discovered for your current job? Send us an e-mail and tell us about it. If we publish your story, we'll send you a TechRepublic mug.
Hone your image
To make the best impression on future employers, you need to develop your personal presence. You always want to be perceived as a person who is empowered, confident, and aware of the ways you can positively affect a potential employer. This sentiment should be expressed in everything from your physical presence to your presentation in print, such as your cover letter and resume. After all, a job candidate's personal presence reveals whether he or she will fit into a company's corporate culture or executive team.
It's vital to be sure that your image befits the position and potential employer, because, Limperos said, "70 percent of the hiring decisions will be made on your personal presence, and for a woman, that statistic jumps to 85 percent."
Be flexible about salary and positions
You can find the right opportunity more quickly if you're flexible enough to accept a lesser job or a decrease in pay initially. "If you once directed a fleet of people dealing with installing networks a few years ago, and that sector has been hit hard in the last couple of years, you may have to take a position that is a little bit different to get your foot in the door. Once you prove yourself as a solid employee in skill and character, you can apply for internal openings or promotions," Schafer said.
As for a cut in pay, these days a decrease in salary is highly probable, considering the drastic change in the economy. Schafer said that people believe the salaries or consulting fees of the late '90s were the standard going forward. However, that was very much an aberration period—a time of incredible economic activity coupled with a shortage of IT professionals, which caused extraordinary salaries.
"The expectation that you are going to make the same thing as a programmer now that you made in 1999 is probably not correct," Schafer said. "That's hard for people to accept because they say, 'If I was worth $150,000 four years ago, how can I only be worth $80,000 to $90,000 now?'"
Although the job market is flat across the nation, ITAA's Miller said that serious job contenders might consider relocation. "We see a little more strength in the Washington, D.C., area because of the federal government marketplace and slightly positive signs in other high-tech areas, like Boston and Chicago," he said. Job seekers might also want to identify non-IT companies that need IT professionals. An ITAA survey showed more stability for IT workers employed in nontechnology markets, whereas employees working in technology fields were sometimes more at risk for layoffs or decreases in salaries or benefits.
Stay on top of your game: Remember the basics
Whether employed or unemployed, you should strive to be more marketable by:
Keeping your skills—soft and technical—current and fine-tuned. Maintaining a list of employment contributions and accolades. Staying apprised of trends and occurrences in your targeted industry.
Further, Harper, of Harper Hewes, strongly recommends establishing a relationship with a recruiter, who may often be aware of unadvertised positions. "In an economy like this, there are a lot of good people available, so companies use this 'employer's market' to weed out some of their average or marginal performers and bring in more top-level performers," she said.
Harper explained that this practice is called
top grading. For example, if an employer wants to bring in a director of marketing that's better than its current one, the company will list the position with a recruiter. Companies may also use recruiters to protect trade secrets. For instance, if the company is rolling out a new product line, such as interactive video, but it doesn't want its competitors to know about it, the company may use recruiters to find the people it needs. Harper suggests researching recruiters using The Directory of Executive Recruiters,which is the famous Kennedy Information "red book," or the Recruiting & Search Report to locate one that fits your needs and goals.
Get your house in order
Finally, it's important to maintain an updated list of your references, supervisors, or alternative company contacts. You might even want to monitor your credit history so that you can delete incorrect information or create a plan to clean up negative credit ratings and citations. These steps are necessary because employers are more closely scrutinizing their prospects. Some conduct credit checks, while many others now make certain to verify employment backgrounds and credentials.
"Be honest," Schafer said. "There is more scrutiny going into validating information on resumes. Prospective employers want to know if there is anything in a person's history to preclude them from hiring. They are looking for signs of risks and questionable behavior, and this phenomenon has flared since 9-11."
Putting all this advice into practice will take a lot of time and effort, so it's important to do it right. "You need to treat looking for a job like a job," Harper said. "You need a plan, and you need to work the plan. If the plan is not working, you need to revise the plan." | 9,768 | 4,582 | 0.000221 |
warc | 201704 | Almost 15 per cent of employers are pushing through pay freezes, the equivalent of a pay cut once inflation is taken into account, the latest salary statistics reveal.
The cuts would hit around one in 20 employees, with those earning an average salary of around £25,000 seeing their annual pay effectively cut by more than £150 before tax. The figure is calculated using the retail prices index measure of inflation at 4.8 per cent, which includes mortgage payments.
It is a fresh blow to households which are already struggling to cope with a sharp hike in food prices.
Crop failures have pushed up the cost of wheat, which has translated into higher prices on bread and many other products on supermarket shelves.
Experts warned companies will continue to keep a tight rein on wage bills despite growing frustration from workers.
Danny Cox, of financial services company Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “It doesn’t surprise me that we still have pay freezes. We’re not out of the worst yet, there’s still potential for a double dip recession. Employers have to keep their costs under control.
“Employers are recognizing that it’s still difficult to get credit on decent terms from banks. They know the British economy can go backwards, and therefore it’s even more important to look after costs. They’ve survived this far.”
The analysis of pay in the three months to July indicates that companies are still anxious about the “potential for a double dip recession”.
However, the number of freezes has continued to fall since the height of the recession, the study by Income Data Services found.
A separate survey by GfK NOP found a quarter of employees were planning to quit their jobs in the next year in a “backlash” against ongoing pay freezes and recruitment bans.
But Mr Cox added: “Employees have to be realistic about the economy and what is happening in the world at the moment. The vast majority of people are fed up with pay freezes, but actually it is more important that they’ve kept their job.”
Less than a third of pay deals between May and July were worth 3 per cent or more, according to the IDS survey of 48 employers, covering 370,033 staff.
The manufacturing sector continued to lag behind the rest of the private sector, the IDS pay report claimed, with pay freezes accounting for 17 per cent of all deals in the three months to July, compared to 8 per cent in the services sector. The typical pay rise for the whole economy was 2 per cent over the same period, the figures showed, although this was unchanged from last month.
Ken Mulkearn, editor of IDS Pay Report, said: “As we might expect in the aftermath of a serious recession, basic pay increases remain modest.” | 2,800 | 1,429 | 0.00073 |
warc | 201704 | Millions of customers who bank with Lloyds are digesting the fact they will shortly bank there no more. In a move that is entirely unprecedented, 4 million people are becoming customers of a new bank – whose livery was unveiled last week and is pictured below – without having given their say-so.
Many are cross. Some people simply resent the interference by the Government (or in this case even worse, for many, the European Commission) in their private lives. For months
The Sunday Telegraph has been receiving letters and emails from readers saying, for example, that they "object hugely to being told by Brussels where we can or cannot bank".
The new TSB-branded branches will open their doors on September 9
Elsewhere, the "new" bank's rebranding and current advertising blitz, at a cost of £30m, are angering others. "I would be far more impressed if they used these resources to give their customers a decent interest rate" was one remark. Others are discovering more practical objections to the changes foisted on them, which are only just becoming apparent and will probably take as long as a year to really show.
The most obvious of these is the availability of the new TSB branches to customers who formerly used their Lloyds branch. In total 631 branches are being hived off Lloyds' total of 1,931 to form the new TSB entity. For the foreseeable future (that means months, rather than years) TSB customers will be able to carry on using Lloyds branches. But when the banks finally part ways the two will become truly separate banks.
So, for example, cheques paid into a TSB account from a Lloyds one will take longer to clear. So might credit card payments. Direct debits to savings accounts set up when Lloyds TSB was a single outfit could be disrupted. Services at Lloyds cash machines, such as balance checking, won't be available on some new TSB cards when these are issued.
There will be customers whose previous accounts were all with one bank but who now find they are split between two. You might, for example, have a joint account with your spouse and a separate account of your own, with payments passing frequently between the two. One account could stay and one go – with all the potential inconvenience that entails. And so on.
TSB insists the spread of branches is adequate. It says 46pc of customers will be within two miles of a newly decked-out TSB branch. Even after the split the remaining Lloyds customers will have better access, with 68pc being within two miles of a branch.
To give these figures some context, when the Government laid out the future financing of the post office network in 2010, it said the country's 11,500 post offices meant 93pc of the population lived within a mile of their nearest branch. By comparison TSB branches are going to be exceedingly thin on the ground.
And none of this, by the way, yet touches on the likely annoyance caused to remaining Lloyds customers who discover that their nearest branch is switching to TSB.
Derek French (see the report opposite) is Britain's leading independent authority on bank branch distribution. By his analysis TSB's new 631-strong network, which includes a hotchpotch of former Cheltenham & Gloucester mortgage shops, is tilted too much to the north. He reckons four in five of the branches are in the Midlands, North, Scotland or Wales – leaving a vast gap in populous southern regions outside London (which will have about 30). "As a stand-alone branch network TSB just isn't viable," Mr French said.
One result is certain, which is that TSB is going to want its customers to make more use of "remote" services such as online and telephone banking.
This is a trend that all banks are keen to encourage as it cuts the cost of staff and premises. One unwelcome upshot of the Lloyds split would be if it accelerated the general drift away from the provision of branch-based banking services, with all the benefits these bring to certain groups of customers such as small businesses, carers and others.
It is difficult to know how this unique carve-up will evolve. Of course, there have been brand upheavals in the past: building societies have converted to banks, and banks have bought other banks, and all of these changes have involved a certain amount of customer disruption. But never before have so many customers been given the shove by a remaining bank, and arbitrarily cast into a new one. TSB says only 4,000 customers are so far insisting on remaining with Lloyds. I wonder whether this number will swell as real inconveniences become clear.
Despite everything banks have done to destroy their customers' faith in them, and Lloyds is as bad as any, many people value the familiarity of their bank's brand. They would rather stick with the devil they know. | 4,818 | 2,379 | 0.000425 |
warc | 201704 | A remarkable meeting recently took place at the House of Commons, organised by John Hemming, the only MP who for years has been battling on behalf of those thousands of families being torn apart each year, for no good reason, by our weirdly dysfunctional “child protection” system. The meeting was attended by representatives of no fewer than 34 countries, including four ambassadors, all concerned by the astonishing scale on which the children of foreign families resident in the UK are being seized by social workers to be taken into foster care or sent for adoption. One estimate suggests that these now include no fewer than 6,500 of the 67,000 children currently in state “care” in England, costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of pounds a year.
One particular concern of many of those attending from 14 European countries was that, far too often, the seizing of their children appears to be in breach of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, enshrining in law the right to respect for family life. So outraged last year was the Slovak government at the treatment of two small Slovak boys that it threatened to haul the UK government before the European Court of Human Rights. For once, the social workers were eventually ordered by the Court of Appeal to allow their mother to take them back to Bratislava.
Another concern of the meeting was the consistent failure of our social workers to notify the embassies that their nationals had been taken into care (as Mr Hemming explained, this is illegal), or then to allow them to have any contact with the children. Yet the social workers are quite happy to make last-minute demands of the embassies that they provide detailed information on the families. “Between us and the British authorities,” said one speaker, “there is only one-way traffic.” A further common complaint was that the lawyers provided by local authorities to represent the families in court seem all too often to be hand in glove with “the system”, colluding to have the seized children kept in care.
I have reported here more than a dozen such stories of foreign children being removed from their parents for what appeared to be quite bizarre reasons, such as the French mother whose children were snatched from her when she was only visiting London for a brief holiday. Another case involved a German mother, who only escaped with her son back to Germany in the nick of time after she had admitted that she was a bit depressed to a stranger, who promptly reported her to social services. On Friday I heard from a Russian mother, who has worked here for years, that although social workers had at last allowed her 16-year-old daughter to return to live with her after two years in foster care, the foster carer is still being paid £500 a week for looking after the girl.
What is clear is that the state of Britain’s “child protection” system is rapidly becoming viewed by other countries as an international scandal. They cannot understand how our system can be allowed to behave in such an inhuman and corrupt fashion. But apart from the admirable Mr Hemming, scarcely a single other politician seems to know or care. | 3,237 | 1,593 | 0.000643 |
warc | 201704 | As we continue this week’s theme of discussing “Sitting is the New Smoking,” through our research we are uncovering more information that we wanted to share with our followers. It is most interesting that the battle against a sedentary lifestyle has even reached the app world, and developers keep finding new ways to keep people active and productive while at work.
While for a while there have been apps to help those who want to stay active and stay fit, the newest apps for increasing mobility in the office space have names like “Office Fitness”, “Office Fitness Free”, “StandApp”, “Limitless”, “Health Time Pro”, “Health Time LT” and “Sedentary work PRO”. These apps can range in price from free to $3.99 – but even at a higher price they would be a great investment in your health.
Then there is “SmartMove” , USB rechargeable insoles, which can go in any shoe. The insoles are equipped with two sensors that can tell if a person is sitting, standing, walking, running, climbing stairs or cycling. The best part about these insoles is that they are connected to an app on the user’s iPhone which will reveal how much of their day has been spent sitting versus standing, as well as whether they have been walking or running. Not surprisingly, the app will also provide the user with information on calories burned and the number of steps taken in a particular day.
Even without special insoles or smartphone apps, there are plenty of ways that you can be reminded by your PC or laptop to stand up and take a break from sitting using appointment programs you already have! Then there are more high-tech solutions like DeskActive that is an ergonomic software program for your PC or laptop that reminds you to stretch at your desk. With over 300 animated 3D stretches and exercises, plus more than 1,000 health and wellness advice tips, DeskActive brings health and wellness benefits to your desktop.
There are also wristbands that can monitor your activity and alert you either by vibration or by a connection to your smartphone. For example, the Jawbone UP wristband activity monitor pairs with a phone app (Google Play and iOS). You can set Idle Alerts and it will vibrate when you’ve been inactive for your chosen amount of time. The Nike FuelBand also offers two ways to encourage you to keep moving. A “Move Reminder” will flash across the wristband at the 45-minute and 50-minute marks of the hour if you haven’t had five continuous minutes of movement – or it will send messages to your smartphone app.
We are certain there a plenty more apps, gadgets, programs and strategies for not being sedentary while getting your work done at your office space. This is where we ask you for your tips, strategies and advice for our office space for rent tenants, blog readers and social media followers on how to fight office space inactivity. | 2,982 | 1,470 | 0.000713 |
warc | 201704 | I was reminded of the handshake interrupt today when I visited the doctor’s surgery for a blood test.
That is not to say that the phlebotomist greeted me in that manner, or I her, but her technique had a sufficient element of surprise, or distraction, to send me into an altered state for a brief moment or two.
Hypnosis is not mind control; itis a naturally occurring state of concentration David Spiegel
There are differing views about how precisely to do the handshake interrupt, but I think it matters little for the purposes of this page.
Handshaking is very much an accepted part of an introduction in our society. It is something that we do almost daily.
Unless you deliberately wished to spurn someone (and inflict an insult at the same time) you wouldn’t refuse to shake hands. It is, therefore, a conditioned response.
This is the way I understand it. As you greet your visitor you extend your hand (in my case it would be the right hand) as if to shake his hand.
He, anticipating that you will immediately shake his hand, automatically or unconsciously extends his right hand as if to grasp yours.
Before the hands touch, however, you grasp his extended wrist with the thumb and middle finger, raise his arm and at the same time turn the palm of his hand towards his face.
As he stares at his hand you say, “Look at your hand.”
At the same time as you do that you move his hand towards his face and say, “Notice the gradually changing focus of your eyes.”
If this is done slickly and swiftly it immediately puts the recipient into an altered state for a few seconds and allows you to slip in your hypnotic message.
You may reinforce it with the use of an embedded command or an ambiguity.
The unexpected behaviour creates at least momentary confusion because the usual pattern of behaviour has been interrupted.
That confusion often compels the subject to accept the first suggestion offered to him.
The hypnotist can, at this stage, become as creative as he likes but you might get the subject to relax as he stares at his hand by saying, “Let your hand come down only at the same rate and speed as you relax completely and go into a deep trance.”
Whether the trance is deep is not really that important; it just needs to be deep enough for them to engage in new or different behaviour.
After the phlebotomist had tightened the tourniquet on my left arm and applied an antiseptic fluid to the skin, she said softly “Just a small scratch. What are you doing for the rest of the day?”
The moment the question was asked I went inside myself to search for the answer and, simultaneously, I was vaguely (but only vaguely) aware that the needle had entered my arm.
I don’t recall how long it was for or remembering it being withdrawn.
My mind was undertaking what we call in NLP a “transderivational search” – in other words, seeking an answer.
And I remember thereafter having a brief conversation about what I expected to be doing during the day.
Once I embarked upon that internal search I was in an altered state.
The starting point when we are asked a question is the need that we feel to answer the question.
Briefly, I was in an altered state and was therefore almost bound to answer the question, at the same time being completely distracted from the needle that was being inserted into my vein.
I can say quite confidently that I am not a nervous patient. I am quite happy for qualified medical professionals to stick needles into me.
But not everybody is, and I felt that the phlebotomist demonstrated an excellent distraction technique (which is probably what she and her trainers would call it).
Whatever you label it, it is the sort of technique that hypnotists readily employ to place the subject’s attention elsewhere and induce trance.
It is a form of pattern interrupt. Until the phlebotomist asked the question – the point at which she wished to distract or induce trance – my concentration was upon the tourniquet and the soft reference to “little scratch”.
As soon as the question was asked, the pattern was interrupted and my mind was off elsewhere.
The subject will invariably expect the pattern, whatever it is, to be completed and when it is unexpectedly interrupted they are at least momentarily confused and the unconscious mind is exposed to suggestion.
Once you can get to the unconscious mind, you are past the sentry at the gate, so to speak: that is to say, the critical part of your mind, and any suggestion you make is more likely to be obeyed.
Handshake interrupts or pattern interrupts can be used to get the subject to obey a single command – as was the case with my visit to the phlebotomist – or as the initial step to inducing a deeper state of hypnosis.
The interrupt of the handshake comes at the point you take hold of the wrist with your left hand and raise the subject’s arm.
So there is immediate confusion at that point.
The attention becomes narrower as soon as you ask him to look at his hand and notice the gradually changing focus of his eyes.
He immediately begins to relax and you can concentrate on how you will deepen the trance.
An alternative to allowing the hand to go down “only at the rate and speed at which you enter a deep trance” if you think the subject is suitably relaxed, is to pull the arm down and shake it, instructing the subject to go deeper and deeper still.
If you were to employ the handshake interrupt as part of a stage routine, you might choose instead to lower the hand and complete the handshake in the usual manner and say something like, “Pleased to meet you”.
At that stage the subject won’t really know what just happened.
When it comes to hypnotising the subject later in the routine, he is sure to go quicker, deeper and faster than before.
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warc | 201704 | BY URGING people to vent their fears about the boats without worrying about political correctness, Julia Gillard is taking a gamble.
She is sanctioning the escalation of a difficult and explosive debate that turned bitter in 2001, and always has the potential to do so again.
She may also prompt some of her supporters to do a double take: wasn't it John Howard who used to bang on about ''political correctness''?
Gillard is identifying with those who feel worried about the increase in boats. Of course, she's also saying people on the other side of the debate should have their say, but it is the fearful she's mainly addressing.
The risk is that she raises expectations she then can't meet. Those who are concerned will want to hear that she has policies to address a problem without any immediate solution.
Without going to the draconian Tony Abbott approach of temporary protection visas and offshore processing - and the government is unlikely to contemplate that - it is difficult to think what Gillard can do to stem the flow of boats. Regional co-operation is all very well, but is a much-trodden path.
Gillard obviously believes one essential step is to be seen to be talking about the problem.
Caucus members have raised the damage being done by the asylum seeker issue. One criticism they had of Kevin Rudd was that the government didn't get out and sell its case.
By tackling the debate head on, Labor MPs feel there is some hope of lancing the boil. Nick Champion, a South Australian backbencher who has spoken up in caucus, last night described the Gillard comments as ''excellent''.
''My constituents want to be able to talk about it freely. Often they feel anxious. They want to be reassured by the government and clear about what it is doing. Once it's explained what we're doing, often they are happy with it,'' he said.
A good talk about things might help reassure the community, but it is unlikely to be enough.
Michelle Grattan is Age political editor. | 1,988 | 1,068 | 0.000942 |
warc | 201704 | How to respond when a writers try to retract beloved poems, novels, and plays
"September 1, 1939" is one of W. H. Auden's most famous and oft-quoted poems. Its images of futility and despair in the face of violence, of the inevitable destruction and sacrifice of yet another war have such a universal immediacy that they've been revived time and time again, whenever sudden bloodshed rears its head. Perhaps the most quoted line of all is the one that closes the poem's penultimate stanza: "We must love one another or die."
Only, there's one minor problem. During his life, Auden rewrote and then renounced the text in question, barring it from future anthologies and publications and distancing himself as much as possible from its creation. As the poet wrote in the 1965 preface to his
Collected Poems, "Some poems which I wrote and, unfortunately, published, I have thrown out because they were dishonest, or bad-mannered, or boring." And what did he mean by that? "A dishonest poem is one which expresses, no matter how well, feelings or beliefs which its author never felt or entertained," he explains. "Youth may be forgiven when it is brash and noisy, but this does not mean that brashness and noise are virtues." And that famous line? The worst offender of the lot. A line, in Auden's estimation, as false as it is falsely reassuring and self-congratulatory. (Auden first tried to alter it to "We must love one another and die" before altogether giving up on line and poem both.)
But are we bound by Auden's own evaluation of his work, and are we somehow wrong if we seek out—and even dare to enjoy—words that he doesn't believe in any longer? If he didn't want to see the poem, should we turn from it as well? The question is an old one, long predating Auden's famous revisions and recastings: The decision to unwrite, in a manner of speaking, certain moments of past work—and the subsequent split of popular opinion on the justifiability of that choice. When it comes to such arguments, who is right? Who is justified? Why does it matter—and
what does it even matter, in the modern age where it's no longer an easy thing for the past to simply disappear?
For as long as writers have written, they've had second thoughts about their work.
The Aeneid survives today through something of a fluke. Virgil had asked a friend, Lucius Varius, to burn the unfinished manuscript should anything befall him—and when he fell ill, did his best to burn the thing himself, asking repeatedly to have the manuscript boxes brought to his side. His demands were refused, and we have one of the greatest classics of world literature. Nathaniel Hawthorne was slightly more successful: After the 1828 publication of his first novel—which happens to also be largely considered the first "college novel" in America— Fanshawe: a tale, he had second thoughts about its merits and tried to both disown the work and suppress as many copies as possible. He asked friends to burn their copies (Horatio Bridge complied) and managed to prevent his wife from even suspecting of its existence until after his death. A few stragglers remained, however, and today the book is freely available in digital and printed form. Hawthorne should have been more thorough. MORE ON BOOKS
Others knew better than to play the odds by letting any copies loose. We'll never know if Thomas Hardy's
The Poor Man and the Lady was worthy of his name—because after it had been rejected by three publishers, Hardy destroyed it altogether. Ditto James Joyce's play A Brilliant Career, of which only one part, the title page, survives today. It reads: "'A Brilliant Career' drama in 4 acts—To—My own soul I dedicate the first true work of my life." Maybe the play would have fared better had Joyce sent it to a publisher. Instead, it went to the drama critic William Archer, who wrote that "Taking it simply as a dramatic poem, I cannot help finding the canvas too large for the subject." Archer complained that it was difficult to follow and advised the aspiring author to narrow his canvas (advice Joyce, to his credit, clearly didn't take to heart in future work). And with those words, the first true work of the man who was to become arguably the greatest writer of the 20th century went to its death. Joyce likely destroyed it himself two years later, following in the literary footsteps of greats like Nikolai Gogol, who burned the second part of Dead Souls after undergoing a religious conversion, and Gerald Manley Hopkins, who burned his poetry after a similar religious awakening. What wouldn't literary scholars give to be able to recover the irrecoverable.
But such disappearing acts are increasingly rare. In the past, destruction was simpler. It was easier to get rid of a work without a trace and to recreate and reform and reimagine it, easier to lose and cause to be lost. Now, it's no longer quite as straightforward. Of course, authors can still burn their manuscripts—but once something is out in the world, especially if it ever saw the digital light of day, it's harder and harder to call it back. Writers can do their best to buy back books they wish they'd never published—like May Hutton with
The Coeur d'Alenes or Johann Beringer with his Lithographiae Wirceburgensis and its lying stone—or, like Auden, request changes in future publications. But it's rare to succeed completely. And might you not draw more attention to yourself in the process?
The Russian author Sergei Dovlatov once quipped, in his signature tragicomic style, that he'd been exceptionally lucky: His literary début was postponed by 20 years. His writing was banned in Russia and had to be smuggled out on microfilm, and his first book,
Zona ( The Zone) was destroyed before its Russian publication and only published in New York after Dovlatov himself emigrated. Youth's brashness and noise, while forgivable, isn't a virtue. Auden tried to take his back; Dovlatov didn't have to. It had never been published to begin with. And in the present day, a publisher's rejection may be the only way to ensure that a work be as forgotten as its author wants it, the modern equivalent of the all-consuming fire. (But in the day of easy self-publishing, even that may not suffice, and a greater self-control is necessary; absent that, eventual regret may not be far behind.)
The onus is thus increasingly on the reader: to comply or to keep right on reading the original, authorial intentions be damned. So what do we do when we have ready access to it all? Where—and how—do we look, or look away, as the case may be?
The question brings to mind the debate surrounding the recent publication of 47 alternative endings (and several alternate titles) to Ernest Hemingway's
A Farewell to Arms. Do we gain anything by reading them—and should we be reading them in the first place, since Hemingway clearly intended for his published manuscript to be the definitive one? In this case, we honor the final version with little debate, because we've never seen the intermediaries until now. Published today, they can be seen as a way of getting closer to the writer's craft, to the process of creation, and few would argue that they are better than the quote-unquote original.
But would we read them differently had Hem published one—and then decided, after reflection and the passing of years, that another was the superior after all? Would we read them differently if he'd died before deciding on a favorite? Would another line, perhaps, then emerge in the critical mind as the better alternative? And would we, in turn, judge Auden differently were he to have kept his original version to himself and published a later incarnation first (with the first revealed at some future time)? As Edward Mendelson, Auden's literary executor, argues in his preface to the
Collected Poems, most of Auden's changes are eventually recognized as improvements—but what prevents us from seeing that at once is familiarity with the original, the "unsettling novelty" of change.
Before we become indignant at a favorite line falling away from a work or at a favorite poem being cast aside, consider that the same process may have unfolded in earlier times minus the paper trail. Who knows if the first performed version of
Hamlet is the one that survived? If Chaucer had written earlier variations of some favorite scene in Canterbury Tales, with some lost line that we'd have seen as masterpiece but he, with time and reflection, saw as trash? Should we deprive the modern author of the chance to change something he no longer believes in, just because we happen to have fallen in love with the initial sentiment? As Mendelson puts it, he is presenting "the body of work by which Auden chose to be remembered.... The decision to print an author's last revisions should need no defense." Auden's literary and ethical standards, he writes, have become stricter over time. Shouldn't we give him the benefit of honoring his view?
But honoring the view doesn't mean eliminating the past. It's not an un-writing of history so much as its retelling. Because whether we must love one another or die, or love one another and die all the same, or do neither, the lines will always remain. We can't bring back Joyce or Gogol's burned manuscripts, and we certainly can't undo all of the unwilling destruction of literature that has wiped out entire chunks of history, whether by war or disaster or the efforts of an all-too-productive secret police, but Auden's words haven't gone anywhere. They are there for the taking, in all their multiple versions.
For, here is the crucial difference. Auden didn't pull a Nabokov or a Kafka, requesting that his originals be burned (of course, this isn't a perfect comparison. Nabokov and Kafka's works remained unfinished, while Auden's was done—and yet, Auden argued that one never actually finishes a poem; one only ever puts it aside). We should remember that Auden's instructions to Mendelson had an important caveat. "I once asked him what he wanted done with the poem, what I should do as his literary executor," Mendelson recalled on the occasion of what would have been Auden's 100
th birthday. "And he thought for a moment and said, 'I don't want it reprinted during my lifetime.'" That "during my lifetime" is key. Auden didn't want anything destroyed. He just didn't want to see it, to have it haunt him, taunt him, even, in his advancing age.
Auden's distaste, however, need not be ours, should we not choose it for ourselves. Joseph Brodsky certainly didn't think "September 1, 1939" should be ignored, devoting an entire lecture (later republished in full in
Less Than One) to what he considered a masterpiece, and urging his listeners on with the hope that they would "develop the same sentiment toward this poem as the one that prompted it into existence—one of love." And this, despite agreeing with Auden that that damned line was quite problematic.
Perhaps Auden, too, would come to agree were he still alive. As he wrote in a poem that was
not disowned, "In Memory of W. B. Yeats," "The words of a dead man are modified in the guts of the living." A work need not be the same for author and reader alike, especially the longer the time that passes between them. If a work doesn't feel true, it will lose its steam—and perhaps the best proof of the universality of something like "September 1, 1939" is how often it has been called upon during its lifetime, to help us understand violence and humanity, war and responsibility, love and guilt.
At the end, we can embrace and love whatever we want of an author's work. But we also can't ignore a writer's express wish just because we don't happen to agree with it. Instead, we can use that wish to enrich our understanding of the disinherited words, by doing our best to understand their history and the reason why their author chose to cast them aside as unworthy. We can, in other words, give authors the same consideration we'd want if we ourselves come to decide that something in our past no longer suits our present selves: the freedom to rethink and reconsider, to take back and reframe as we mature and as our understanding of the world changes. And we don't even have to unwrite history to do that. | 12,397 | 5,783 | 0.000175 |
warc | 201704 | While the stimulus debate consumes all attention, a bill to enhance journalists' rights has been introduced in Congress. A federal shield law to usually prevent journalists from having to divulge confidential sources was brought back to the House of Representatives on Thursday. The Free Flow of Information Act would create a shield law applicable in federal cases, like that of Judith Miller's in 2005. State shield laws do not apply in federal cases.
The bill was passed the House last year but failed to be picked up by the Senate. Even had it passed, President Bush said he would have vetoed the law that requires the government to demonstrate a "preponderance" of evidence to compel journalists to testify or produce documents. Then-attorney general Michael Mukasey argued that the law set the bar too high for federal prosecutors investigating illegal leaks of classified information.
However, the Obama administration seems more inclined to support the bill. Obama co-sponsored the failed Senate bill last year and Attorney General Holder said he's in favor of a shield law during his confirmation hearing.
It's not entirely clear whether bloggers would be covered by the law. The law protects those who are journalists, defined as those who gather, prepare, collect, photograph, read, write, edit, report or publish news for their "livelihood or for substantial financial gain and includes a supervisor, employer, parent, subsidiary, or affiliate of such covered person."
The prosecution of a journalist in federal court isn't hypothetical: this week a Detroit Free Press reporter was threatened with contempt of court by a U.S. District judge for not revealing confidential sources within the Justice Department. A former federal prosecutor is suing DoJ for illegally leaking the fact he was under internal investigation. Reporter David Ashenfelter could face fines of $5,000 per day if he continues to hold out. | 1,932 | 1,045 | 0.000962 |
warc | 201704 | meds, effectiveness
Aug 17, 2007
hi, dr , nice to talk to you. I'm newly diagnosed with HIV (not hep, not other STDs, thank god!) and my counts have been 1000cd4, 100000VL, then 811cd4, 4210VL and lately 755cd4, 1010VL. My numbers seem certainly not bad, and i'm recovering SLOWLY the joy of life and i sleep normally again. That said, i'd like to be sure that i can live a long and healthy life if i keep checking my numbers and go under treatment when i need it. Is it true that HIV, caught on time and treated well, doesn't bother much? is it true that with the new meds one can achieve undetectable levels most of the time and keep viral suppression for decades? i need clear info on this for my mental health. Love and Respect. Gracias.Great job you doing.
Response from Dr. Young
Hi and thank you for your post.
Yes, it is true that HIV if treated appropriately with monitoring, preventive therapies and when need, HIV medications, does not "bother much". Indeed, I have many patients under my care who are living life and save for a few pills a day, really have little impact of HIV or HIV treatment.
I hope this helps.
Sinceremente, BY
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warc | 201704 | The Japanese daily said that the issue was expected to be discussed in Tokyo by the speaker of Iran's parliament, Ali Larijani, and Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada.
The Nikkei daily, in a report that did not cite sources, reported that the proposal for Japan to enrich uranium for Iran was first discussed in December, with U.S. approval, when Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, visited Tokyo. The uranium would be used at Tehran's research reactor to produce medical isotopes, the report noted. Iran’s Press TV news also cited a Japanese foreign ministry spokesman’s quote of Katsuya, who said during his meeting with Larijani: "Japan strongly hopes Iran's nuclear issue will be resolved peacefully and diplomatically ... and that Iran considers a related UN Security Council resolution seriously." The Press TV report stated:
Iran says that it is a signatory of the NPT and, unlike Israel, neither believes in atomic weapons nor, as a matter of religious principle, does it intend to access such weapons of mass-destruction. Furthermore, Tehran has repeatedly called for the elimination of all nuclear weapon development, production and arsenals throughout the globe.
Iran's nuclear facilities and enriched uranium remain under the supervision of IAEA inspectors, as outlined in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Safeguards Agreement. The UN nuclear watchdog has carried out the highest number of inspections in Iran, compared to any other country throughout its history and has found nothing to indicate any diversion toward weaponization.
Iran has reportedly begun the process of enriching uranium fuel to a 20-percent level of U-235 required for a reactor in Tehran that is used to make medical isotopes. Weapons-grade uranium is enriched to about 90 percent U-235.
According to a report published in the Richmark Sentinel of South Africa, Japan’s offer “is seen as a compromise that will allow Iran to have the level of enrichment it will need for such [medical isotope production] purposes and allay Western and especially Israeli fears of a nuclear Iran.”
The report noted:
Iran has so far refused Western offers of enrichment, with the last offer being that Russia and France would enrich and process uranium and has instead pressed with its own enrichment processes. Japan remains the only country in the world that has been attacked with nuclear weapons and is a strong advocate of nuclear non-proliferation.
As the Nikkei report observed, Japan extended its offer to Iran with U.S. approval. Yet it has been U.S. policy to strenuously object to Iran’s ongoing nuclear enrichment programs. For example, last November 29, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs issued a statement on the "Reports About Iran's Nuclear Program," which said:
If true, this would be yet another serious violation of Iran's clear obligations under multiple
UN security council resolutions, and another example of Iran choosing to isolate itself. The international community has made clear that Iran has rights, but with those rights come responsibilities. As the overwhelming IAEA board of governors vote made clear, time is running out for Iran to address the international community's growing concerns about its nuclear program. [Emphasis added.]
The ultimate agenda of our current foreign policy may be revealed by the fact that in this short, 71-word statement, “international community” is mentioned twice, “UN security council resolutions” is mentioned once, and “IAEA [the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency] board of governors” once. It is obvious that — just as the enforcement of several UN resolution was cited as authority for our invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq — U.S. foreign policy is predicated upon serving “the international community.”
We can search in vain for a reference to anything “international” in our Constitution, which was written to establish a structure that would ensure the common defense of our states, while threatening neither state nor national sovereignty. So why does a statement issued by the White House presume to tell Iran what its rights and responsibilities are, as if national sovereignty itself were a gift from "the international community"? One further observation: If Japan, which has suffered more from nuclear weapons than any other nation on Earth, is not threatened by the prospect of supplying enriched uranium to Iran, why should the United States be? The answer is, Iran’s nuclear program threatens us no more than did Saddam Hussein’s alleged “weapons of mass destruction.” But both regimes posed a threat to the UN’s ongoing progression towards making all sovereign nations subservient to the “international community.” Furthermore, while the United States has given its tacit approval to the Japanese deal, it is certain that that approval will come with strings attached, strings ultimately held by an agency of the UN. Photo of Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada (with interpreter) during his meeting with Iran's parliament speaker Ali Larijaniright: AP Images | 5,201 | 2,403 | 0.000429 |
warc | 201704 | Compare Life Insurance by Visiting Our Life Insurance Resource Center.
Long-term care insurance (LTCI) is designed to help people who can no longer care for themselves afford long-term care. LTCI can be expensive, but it’s a lot cheaper than long term care itself. For many families now facing down the high costs of a loved one’s long term care facility, Long-term Care Insurance remains the best funding strategy available.
In 2011, more than 200,000 people in the United States received benefits from their LTCI, and this number doesn’t include the people who received LTC benefits from Medicaid or paid for long term care on their own. As you can see here, the vast majority of people apply for LTCI before they are senior citizen – more than half, 56%, between the ages of 55 and 64. Another 22% apply between the ages of 45 and 54, so large numbers of people who are not seniors also maintain LTCI.
What Is Long-Term Care?
Long-term care insurance is coverage designed to cover a patient’s expenses if an illness, disability or impairment suddenly interferes with their daily functions. The phrase “activities of daily living,” or ADL, refers to six major activities of everyday life: bathing, continence, dressing, eating, toileting, and walking. When people can’t do these basic things on their own, they have little hope of earning a livable salary. That’s where LTC comes in. While people of any age can have trouble performing ADLs, coverage and benefit rates are understandably higher among the elderly. (For more on ADLs from the Health and Human Services Department, look at this report.)
LTC is not the same as regular medical care in that it does not treat an illness or seek to improve your health. Instead, the goal of LTC is to maintain the quality and routine of your lifestyle much as possible. LTC service providers do their best to make sure that you’re eating healthy meals, getting to the places you need to go, taking your medications regularly and as directed, and maintaining your hygiene. And for patients with severe disabilities like advanced Alzheimer’s, LTC can also provide supervised, in-home care.
There are two levels of LTC: personal care and skilled care. Personal care is just like it sounds. It helps you do normal activities that you’d do around the house. This is the first and basic-level of LTC care. Many people receive personal care in their homes, and many also receive it in a care center or nursing home.
The next level of LTC care, skilled care is reserved for patients that require the regular presence of some sort of medical professional, though not a doctor. Usually these tasks can be performed by a nurse or therapist of some kind. For the most part, these kinds of services are received in care centers and nursing homes, not in individual residences.
The Dollars and Sense of LTCI
Because LTC is so specific and only deals with this one aspect of health, LTCI is a supplement. It covers these LTC costs that health insurance, Medicare and Medicaid might not cover, but it is never used in the place of primary health insurance.
Studies show that LTC is expensive. The average daily rate in America for a private room in a nursing home was $248 in 2012. That’s an annual cost of $90,520 for private room care. And semi-private rooms in nursing homes aren’t much cheaper. Last year, the daily and annual rate for a semi-private room was $222 and $81,030, respectively. By comparison, the average annual rate for residence in a U.S. assisted living communities was $42,600. (Keep in mind this figure does not factor in the additional administrative, health or transportation costs.) For adult day care services the average daily rate in the United States was $70 in 2012. That means adult day care averages about $25,550 per year. As you can see, depending on how much care is needed, the costs of LTC vary widely.
The cost of LTCI is also highly variable, (see here, for example) but rates have been consistently rising in recent years. For a single person at age 55 to buy a policy with a $150 maximum daily benefit over a three year period it costs between $1,325 and $2,550 per year, $1,480 on average. The value of the benefits to that 55 year old person would be $169,000, and that value would increase to $305,000 by the time they were 75 years old.
These rates have been rising sharply in recent times because fewer people are allowing their policies to lapse before their insurance companies originally predicted. As providers lose enrollment numbers, costs for enrollees will necessarily rise. Also, a John Hancock study found that between 1990 and 2010 the number and length of claims as well as the use of benefits were much higher than expected.
What Does LTCI Cover?
People who are in relative good health will usually qualify for LTCI. Unfortunately, if you have any pre-existing problems that indicate you will need LTC or any sort of assistance with ADLs in the future, you will probably not qualify. Similarly,if you have a degenerative disease like MS or a severe mental disorder, you will probably not qualify for LTCI.
Long-term Care Insurance can cover a long list of costs that include adult day care, home care services, assisted living facilities, respite care, hospice care, nursing homes, Alzheimer’s facilities, and home modification costs.
Adult day care facilitiesare like activity centers for seniors that provide some supervision and a minimal level of care. Some employ social workers and medical personnel. Home care servicesinclude help with everyday tasks like cooking, cleaning and bathing. Assisted living facilitiesare for people who need help with ADLs but do not need nursing. Respite careprovides private family caregivers with breaks so they can maintain their own lives, jobs and families while ensuring that their loved one receive the necessary care. Respite care varies from part of each day to several weeks at a time and can include home-based care, adult day care, and short term institutional care. Hospice careprovides end of life care for people who are close to death and need of palliative care. Nursing homesprovide both ADL assistance and medical care for residents. Specialized nursing homeshave wings or units that provide care for diseases like Alzheimer’s; these sections are disease-specific and tailored to the needs of their residents. Home modificationcosts include costs to remodel bathrooms for wheelchair accessibility, for example.
There are several types of service providers who are generally involved in LTC: live-in caregivers, companions, housekeepers, therapists, and private duty nurses. The services of these workers are typically covered by LTCI:
Live-in caregivers assist people who need 24 hour a day care but not consistently enough to prevent a single caregiver from sleeping. They are not medical workers. Live-in caregivers typically work shifts of a few days at a time and go home between their shifts. Companions are a flexible sort of LTC provider. They can provide as much care as a live-in caregiver or as little as a few hours of personal care each week. Typically, they have the same kinds of qualifications as live-in caregivers and are not medical workers. Housekeepers generally provide the kind of services you’d expect: they perform the daily chores that keep the household running, but do not do personal care work. Therapists are skilled providers who typically provide a very specific kind of care. Therapists generally do not provide services other than those related to their therapeutic area. Private duty nurses provide skilled in-home nursing care to private patients. They can provide any services that nurses can provide in a home setting.
Remember as you consider these expenses that costs for LTC are tax deductible.
How To Shop For LTCI
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Like any other kind of coverage, LTCI can be complicated. In order to clarify your goals before you shop, be sure to ask yourself:
Figure out if you have other assets or income that could help you pay for LTC. The less you need, the better, since your premium will be lower. How much of a benefit will you need? Your “elimination period” is like a deductible for your LTCI. For example, if you have a 90 day elimination period, you will have to pay the full cost of those first 90 days. Make sure you can. Also, make sure you know how they calculate those days. Some companies only count the actual days where you receive care. How much time can you pay for on your own before your benefits kick in? Make sure you have inflation protection in your policy. This ensures that your benefit will rise as the cost of care does. Is your policy inflation-proof? Make sure you have a waiver-of-premium benefit in your policy. This ensure that you can stop paying premiums once you start receiving benefits after the waiting period. Do you have to keep paying premiums throughout your benefit period? Typically, premiums on LTCI policies increase over time. For policies that don’t have fixed rates, companies can raise the premiums for everyone in your rate class (not just you) no matter how your health might have changed or how many claims you’ve made. Do you understand how your premiums work?
You need to know what your policy includes, but what doesn’t it include? Be sure you understand any limitations or coverage gaps in your plan:
Make sure you know exactly what is and isn’t covered.If you think you’ll be able to apply LTCI to your 24 hour in-home nursing care bills, make sure your policy guarantees this. These personalized types of care are very expensive and most policies only cover them in special cases. Make sure you understand how your insurer defines ADL and the disabilities that interfere with them.In almost all cases a licensed health care provider will have to attest that you require help with two or more ADLs for 90 days or longer. Other kinds of illness can also trigger benefits; Alzheimer’s patients, for example, may technically be able to achieve all ADLs on their own, but still qualify for care under many policy terms. Make sure your intended insurer is viable.The reason rates have been growing so quickly is that companies that provide LTCI have been selling less policies than they anticipated. If they can’t stay in business, they can’t provide you with benefits. And if they get into too much financial trouble, they might hike your rates so high you have to drop the policy.
Long-term care expenses are an increasingly common reality for a world population who is living longer. For the millions of Americans who make too much to qualify for Medicaid coverage of LTC, but far too little to cover the high-cost of care themselves, LTCI can be the best and only option to prepare oneself for the development of a life-disrupting disability. | 11,073 | 4,759 | 0.000213 |
warc | 201704 | What should teachers get for doing their homework?
My friend has been in secondary teaching for many years. The job is making him ill and he is even considering changing career. One big issue he has is the time on the job. He often spends hours marking coursework. Does the European working time directive (of a maximum 48-hour week) apply to teachers? I assume marking at home is part of this? Or are teachers a special case because of the long holidays?
Chris Plummer, Durham
The European working time directive does not apply because teachers are expected to work for 1,265 hours per year over a period of 195 days — which works out at less than 48 hours per week.
A national workload agreement, signed in 2002 by the government and the major unions, established that the preparation of lessons and marking of pupils’ work were to be included in | 864 | 519 | 0.001963 |
warc | 201704 | “This is a no-brainer. This is a loan spread over five years but with the savings were making of more than £5,000 a year, we can pay it back in 16 months”
“There’s tremendous competition from the Far East and our margins are very slim. Being energy-efficient used to be an option, but now if you don’t run your business efficiently you go under,” says Joe Reeve.
Mr Reeve is managing director of Data Plastics, a company based in Oxford which makes a wide range of injection moulded plastic items, from mouth guards to surgical equipment. Operations like Data Plastics use large amounts of energy in the manufacturing process and the company’s energy bills were more than £40,000 a year last year, a big expense for a small business with just 45 | 794 | 484 | 0.002202 |
warc | 201704 | While on a quick grocery run in the crowded supermarket I picked up a small packet of chia seeds (also known as Sabja in India) instead of mustard seeds. Chia seeds were not on my shopping list but this small goof up turned out quite beneficial for me. I have read about chia seeds sometimes back and always wanted to try them. Chia seeds are among the healthiest foods on the planet.
These tiny seeds are full of amazing nutrients, low in calories and plus they soak up water like no other ingredient I ever came across. Seriously, they absorb 10-12 times their weight in water giving us a feeling of fullness and reducing the craving for snacks in between meal. A daily dose of 1 ounce or 28 grams or 2 tablespoons of Chia seeds is an easy and cheap way to add many amazing nutrients to our body.
5 Benefits of Chia Seeds for Weight Loss, Strong Bones and Much More: 1. Tiny Powerhouse of Nutrients:
A tiny Chia Seed is a powerhouse of Nutrients with negligible Calories. These were an important food for the Aztecs in fact the word
“Chia” means “Strenght” in Mayan Language.
In an tablespoon of chia seeds there is
40% Fiber, 14% good quality Protein, 18% Omega – 3s Fat and 18% Calcium besides these amazing nutrients it has decent amount of Manganese, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Zinc, Vitamin B3 (Niacin), Potassium, Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) and Vitamin B2. 2. Full of Fiber that makes you full fast:
The fiber in chia seeds can absorb up to
9 to 10 times their weight in water, it expands and becomes like a gel and the more water or fluids you take in the more it will keep expanding. Not only does Chia seed make us full fast it keeps us full for a longer time discouraging snacking in between meal.
The Fiber also nourishes the good bacteria in the intestine, which helps to improve our digestive system. A regular bowel movement helps to remove toxins and give a relief from constipation or bloating.
3. Antioxidants, Iron, Zinc & Omega-3 Fatty Acids:
Chia seeds are a great source of antioxidants, Iron, Zinc and Omega-3 Fatty Acids that keeps our body young and strong.
4. Protein:
Chia Seeds is a rich vegetarian source of great quality Protein. Chia seeds contain a
good balance of amino acids, which is essential for our body to build muscles. The high protein in chia seeds helps to reduce appetite that helps in weight loss. 5. Calcium:
Chia seeds are high in
calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and protein. All of these nutrients are essential for bone health.
Some people sprinkle Chia seeds on salads or other kinds of food. This is not a good idea as these seeds soak a lot of moisture and eating them before soaking can cause dehydration and discomfort. Soak Chia seeds in water for roughly 2 hours before consuming them to avoid any kind of uneasy feeling. Moreover, after soaking they become gel like which gives a quick feeling of being full and it also keeps our stomach full for longer duration.
You can consume Chia seeds with your morning smoothies, juices, oatmeal, milk and milkshakes, protein shakes, desserts like puddings or you can also gulp down 1 or 2 tablespoons of soaked Chia Seeds with plain water or lemon water. I prefer eating these in the mornings as they keep me full for a long time. They don’t have any taste of their own so you can easily add them to any drink of your choice.
Today this is how I had Chia seeds with a delicious morning
Beetroot and Carrot smoothie. How I made my easy delicious smoothie:
Blend 1 beetroot + 1 Carrot in a high power blender.
Add 1 tablespoon soaked Chia seeds and enjoy the filling delicious healthy smoothie that is very filling.
If you need some seasoning sprinkle little black pepper powder and Himalayan Pink salt.
If you want to know more about Chia seeds the book below can help plus it comes up with lots of healthy recipes.
“In terms of nutritional content, a tablespoon of chia is like a smoothie made from salmon, spinach, and human growth hormone. As tiny as those seeds are, they’re super packed with Omega-3s, protein, calcium, iron, zinc, fiber and antioxidants.” Monica Van Zandt Post a Comment, Question or Suggestion below or by clicking “Comment” link under the Title. | 4,240 | 2,062 | 0.000495 |
warc | 201704 | One of our trusted partners from Poland, Exatel S.A., has discovered that a web browser developed by Maxthon, a company from China, has been collecting sensitive data from its users. The Maxthon browser has anywhere from .75-1% of the global browser market, and has been estimated to be 2-3% of China’s own domestic browser market. Total global user count is estimated to be in the hundreds of millions.
You can read their full report here:
Using the Fidelis Network solution, Exatel found that there was a
periodic upload of encrypted content to China from the Maxthon browser. The uploaded content-type was purported to be “image/pjpeg”, but Fidelis had found that the filename was actually a zip and there was a dat.txt file included.
This is the part that gets fishy. Upon extracting and examining the dat.txt, it was discovered that the file was encrypted. Why would a browser be trying to obfuscate a payload like that? Exatel dug deeper by doing some reverse engineering inside of the browser binary and found common encryption routines (AES-128-ECB) being used as well as the passphrase: ‘eu3o4[r04cml4eir’.
Exatel was able to decrypt the dat.txt and found amazing results in the contents, Maxthon was transmitting:
Endpoint information such as:
OS version, screen resolution. CPU type/speed and amount of memory installed. Location of the Maxthon executable. Status of adblock (enabled or not, number of ads blocked). Homepage URL. Each and every full URL that the user visited (including the user’s google searches). List of installed applications including their version numbers. Screenshot of dat.txt showing a URL:
Screenshot of dat.txt showing a list of installed applications and their versions:
Upon further investigation, Maxthon does have an opt-in for users to send some basic data back for analysis. According to their website and forums, the User Experience Improvement Program’s (UEIP) goal is to gather statistics and datapoints using voluntary and anonymous means in order to help with debugging and performance. Exatel and Fidelis observed that the sensitive data contained in dat.txt was being sent back to Maxthon
regardless of the user’s selection to participate in the UEIP.
Essentially, the information that is being transmitted back contains almost everything you would want in conducting a reconnaissance operation to know exactly where to attack. Knowing the exact operating system and installed applications, and browsing habits it would be trivial to send a perfectly crafted spearphish to the victim or perhaps setup a watering hole attack on one of their most frequented websites.
I think that this discovery raises two very important points:
Companies, countries and users need to be aware of the potentially egregious data capture happening through installed applications and leaving their respective organizations (and endpoints).Organizations such as Citizenlab have also published similar discoveries but there is still relatively low awareness of these practices. “Trust, but verify”: Often we’re installing software onto our endpoints at home and at work, but we’re not verifying that the code is doing what it is purported to do. Visibility into both the network and endpoints has become critical for organizations.
Exatel’s discovery is a great example of verifying and validating traffic. We look forward to the opportunity to highlight more discoveries from our customers and partners.
Note to Users of Fidelis Network: Users will see alerts under the ‘TRT Attributed Intelligence’ rule for Maxthon browser exfiltration. -- Fidelis Cybersecurity CSO Justin Harvey | 3,703 | 1,822 | 0.000563 |
warc | 201704 | When Executing A Commission Decision Declaring An Aid Scheme Illegal And Incompatible With The Internal Market, The National Court Is Not Bound By...
(Targeted News Service Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) When Executing A Commission Decision Declaring An Aid Scheme Illegal And Incompatible With The Internal Market, The National Court Is Not Bound By The Institution's Later Statements Of Position
BRUSSELS, Feb. 13 -- The European Union's Court of Justice issued the following news release:
In the context of the digital switchover of television signals, which began in Italy in 2001, with November 2012 as the statutory deadline by which switchover had to be accomplished, the 2004 Finance Law made provision for a State subsidy of 150 to be granted to every user who purchased or rented equipment for the reception of TV signals transmitted using digital terrestrial technology. In 2005, that aid was refinanced, but the subsidy was reduced to 70.
Following complaints filed by Centro Europa 7 Srl and Sky Italia Srl, the Commission declared, by Decision 2007/3741, that the aid scheme in question was illegal and incompatible with the internal market and ordered Italy to recover the aid from the recipients (together with interest).
After the adoption of that decision, the Commission and Italy cooperated to identify the recipients and quantify the precise amounts to be recovered.
By letter of 1 April 2008, the Commission approved the method used by the Italian Republic, namely a consumer survey, to ascertain the number of additional users resulting from the aid in question, the average revenue per user and the additional revenues. The Commission also agreed with the findings of the Italian Republic that TIMedia and Fastweb had made no additional profits and so did not have to make a repayment. However, the Commission stated that the amount of aid to be recovered from Mediaset was 6 844 361. On the basis of new facts, by letter of 11 June 2008, the Commission reduced that amount to 4 926 543.22.
Following an order for payment issued by the Italian authorities in 2009, Mediaset paid the sum of 5 969 442 (including interest), while bringing an action before the Tribunale civile di Roma (Civil District Court, Rome).
Mediaset claimed that the quantification criteria laid down in the Commission's decision had been incorrectly applied and that the calculations to determine the additional profit generated by the aid were inaccurate.
Accordingly, an expert legal report was ordered, the findings of which were given in 2011. While criticising the consumer survey and the econometric models used, the report noted that it was not shown that the aid had actually influenced the sales of decoders during the period examined.
1 Decision 2007/374/EC of 24 January 2007 on State aid C 52/2005 (ex NN 88/2005, ex CP 101/2004) implemented by the Italian Republic for the subsidised purchase of digital decoders (OJ 2007 L 147, p. 1). Mediaset brought an action for annulment against that decision before the General Court of the European Union. The action was dismissed by judgment of 15 June 2010 in Case T-177/07 Mediaset v Commission; see Press Release No 55/10. The appeal filed against the judgment of the General Court was dismissed by the Court of Justice by judgment of 28 July 2011 (Case C-403/10 P; see Press Release No 77/11).
The Italian court therefore referred a question to the Court of Justice to ascertain whether, in order to ensure that a Commission decision which, while declaring an aid scheme unlawful and incompatible with the internal market and ordering the recovery of the aid in question, does not identify the individual beneficiaries or determine the precise amounts to be recovered is executed, the national court is bound by the positions adopted by that institution as regards the exact amount of aid to be recovered from a particular recipient.
In its judgment delivered today, the Court of Justice recalls, firstly, that the implementation of the system of control is a matter for both the Commission and the national courts, their respective roles being complementary but separate. The Commission thus has exclusive competence, subject to review by the EU Courts, to assess the compatibility of aid with the internal market. However, it is not required, when it orders restitution of aid declared incompatible with the internal market, to fix the precise amount of the aid to be reimbursed. It is sufficient for the decision to include information enabling the recipient to work out himself, without overmuch difficulty, that amount.
Decision 2007/374 is accordingly binding on the Italian Republic to which it was addressed and binds the national court.
However, the letters sent subsequently by the Commission to the Italian Republic as part of the exchanges to ensure the immediate and effective execution of that decision - which letters identify Mediaset as a recipient and specify an exact amount of aid to be recovered from it - do not constitute decisions. Consequently, those statements of position made by the Commission in the context of the execution of the decision are not binding on the national court.
Nevertheless, the Court points out that, in the context of the sincere cooperation between the national courts and the Commission, the former must take all the necessary measures to ensure fulfilment of the obligations under EU law. Where the national court entertains doubts or has difficulties as regards the quantification of the amount of aid to be recovered, it can contact the Commission. To the extent that the statements of position are intended to facilitate the accomplishment of the task of the national authorities in the execution of the recovery decision, the national court must take them into account as a factor in the assessment of the dispute before it and must state reasons having regard to all the documents in the file submitted to it. The Court then recalls that, in the absence of pertinent provisions of EU law, the recovery of aid which has been declared incompatible with the internal market is to be carried out in accordance with the rules and procedures laid down by national law, in so far as those rules and procedures do not have the effect of making the recovery required by EU law practically impossible and do not undermine the principle of equivalence with procedures for deciding similar but purely national disputes.
Where, in its decision, the Commission has not identified the recipients or determined the precise amounts to be reimbursed, the national court may thus conclude, without calling into question the validity of the decision or the obligation to repay the aid, that the amount of aid to be reimbursed is equal to zero where that follows from the calculations made on the basis of all the relevant information of which it has been made aware.
NOTE: A reference for a preliminary ruling allows the courts and tribunals of the Member States, in disputes which have been brought before them, to refer questions to the Court of Justice about the interpretation of European Union law or the validity of a European Union act. The Court of Justice does not decide the dispute itself. It is for the national court or tribunal to dispose of the case in accordance with the Court's decision, which is similarly binding on other national courts or tribunals before which a similar issue is raised.
Unofficial document for media use, not binding on the Court of Justice.
The full text of the judgment is published on the CURIA website on the day of delivery.
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warc | 201704 | A derailed Chicago Transit Authority train car rests on an escalator at the O'Hare Airport station early Monday in Chicago. More than 30 people were injured after the eight-car train plowed across a platform and scaled the escalator at the underground station.
ASSOCIATED PRESS Enlarge
CHICAGO — The crash of a Chicago commuter train that derailed and plowed up an escalator at one of the world’s busiest airports would have been far worse, and likely fatal, had it not happened how and when it did, a transportation expert says.
Federal investigators are staying mum about what may have caused the Chicago Transit Authority train to jump its tracks around 3 a.m. Monday, screech across a concrete platform and crash up a heavily used escalator that takes travelers and workers into O’Hare International Airport. Investigators were expected back on the scene today.
“It is a miracle that nobody died,” said Joseph Schwieterman, a transportation expert at DePaul University.
Had the crash occurred during the day, when the trains are often full and the escalator packed with luggage-carrying travelers, far more people likely would have been injured, some even killed, he said. The crash injured more than 30 people, all of whom were on the train, though none suffered life-threatening injuries.
“A train running up a (crowded) escalator could have been a worst case scenario,” Schwieterman said. “When pedestrians are hit by a train, it is usual fatal.”
He also noted that jumping the track likely dissipated the train’s forward movement, thus lessening the accident’s severity. A more abrupt stop would have more violently slammed people into the train’s seats and walls, he said.
“That was a lucky break,” he said. “A train hitting a wall at ... high speed could easily have been fatal for many.”
The union representing the train operator said fatigue may have played a role in the crash in a tunnel at O’Hare, the nation’s second busiest airport, suggesting the woman may have dozed off.
The operator, who was not immediately identified, had started work at around 8 p.m. on Sunday but had recently put in a lot of overtime, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 308 President Robert Kelly said Monday afternoon.
“I know she works a lot — as a lot of our members do,” he said. “They gotta earn a living. ... She was extremely tired.
Kelly said she took standard drug and alcohol tests after the derailment, and he said she assured him they were not an issue.
Asked whether she may have nodded off, Kelly responded, “The indication is there. Yes.”
The train is designed so that if operators become incapacitated their hand slips off the controls, it should come to a stop. Kelly speculated that, upon impact, inertia may have thrown the operator against the hand switch, accelerating it onto the escalator.
Investigators had not yet drawn any conclusions about the accident, National Transportation Safety Board official Tim DePaepe said Monday. He said investigators planned to speak to the operator, and scrutinize the train’s brakes, track signals and other potential factors.
It’s hardly the first time fatigue or a lapse in focus has been raised as a possible contributing cause of a train going off the tracks.
In a December train derailment that killed four people in New York, representatives of the operating engineer have said he may have lost focus at the controls in a momentary daze. A preliminary report didn’t mention that issue, saying excessive speed appeared to be a factor.
In Monday’s accident, a CTA supervisor and another worker near the top of the escalator said they saw the train enter at a normal rate of speed, about 15 mph, according to Kelly.
“The next thing they heard the sound (of impact) and the yelling and the screaming,” he said.
Most passengers walked away unaided, officials said. The injured were treated at area hospitals and released.
“I heard a ‘Boom!’ and when I got off the train, the train was all the way up the escalator,” passenger Denise Adams told reporters Monday. “It was a lot of panic.”
The train operator suffered a leg injury and has been released from the hospital. Kelly described her after the accident as distraught, but still able to help passengers.
“She immediately got out of the cab and started asking everybody and checking to make sure that everybody was OK,” he said.
Investigators will also review video footage from a camera in the O’Hare train station and one mounted on the front of the train, DePaepe said. The train will remain at the scene until the NTSB has finished some of its investigation. Meanwhile, the station remained closed, and CTA buses took passengers to and from O’Hare to the next station on the line.
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warc | 201704 | FILE - In this Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2014, file photo, trader Dudley Devine uses his mobile phone as he works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. A contraction in Chinese manufacturing and the possibility of higher U.S. interest rates dragged global stock markets lower Thursday Feb. 20, 2014. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — The pendulum swung again for stocks on Thursday.
After slumping a day earlier as investors digested minutes from the Federal Reserve’s January policy meeting, the stock market got a boost on Thursday from a couple of encouraging surveys that suggested the economy may be poised to pick up after a winter slump.
Manufacturing in the U.S. expanded at the fastest pace in almost four years in February, according to a private survey by Markit. In a separate report, the Conference Board said that its index of leading indicators posted a moderate gain in January, suggesting that the economy will continue to expand in the first half of the year.
“Today’s market is reflecting the fact that the economy has gone through the doldrums due to the weather and we should now see a substantial pickup,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 11.03 points, or 0.6 percent, to 1,839.78. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 92.67 points, or 0.6 percent, to 16,133.23. The Nasdaq composite climbed 29.59 points, or 0.7 percent, to 4,267.55.
The stock market is now close to erasing all of its losses after a volatile start to the year. Concerns about slowing growth in China and other emerging markets, as well as worries about the health of the U.S. economy, had pushed the S&P 500 down almost six percent for the year by the start of February.
Among individual stocks, Safeway rose after the grocer said it was in talks to put itself up for sale. The grocer’s stock climbed 71 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $35.32 after the company said late Wednesday that discussions are ongoing but that it hasn’t yet reached an agreement on a transaction.
Tesla Motors was also another winner after posting strong earnings and forecasting a sharp rise in sales this year. Tesla’s stock jumped $16.33, or 8.4 percent, to $209.97.
Stocks moved between small gains and losses in the first hour of trading as investors weighed the data from the U.S. against a survey that showed manufacturing in China contracted for a second straight month in February.
Data showing weakness in China’s manufacturing sector had pushed stocks lower in January, but on Thursday investors decided to focus on the positive news out of the U.S., and by late morning stocks moved decisively higher. The S&P 500 ended the day nine points short of its record high of 1,848.38 set Jan. 15.
After a surge of almost 30 percent in the S&P 500 in 2013, the market has become more volatile this year. Given those strong gains, the market will struggle to climb much further this year, said Tom Karsten, an investment adviser at Karsten Advisors.
“While we may see continued economic growth, I don’t think that it’s powerful enough to justify that there would really be much upward possibility for equity prices,” said Karsten.
Among the day’s losers were Wal-Mart and oil and gas company Denbury.
Wal Mart’s stock fell $1.33, or 1.8 percent, to $73.52 after it offered a weak profit outlook, signaling that it expects economic pressures to keep weighing on its low-income shoppers around the world. The world’s largest retailer also said Thursday that its fourth-quarter profit, which covers the crucial holiday season, dropped 21 percent.
Energy company Denbury Resources fell 24 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $15.95 after it posted earnings that fell short of the expectations of Wall Street analysts. The company also said that its 2014 production would likely be at the lower end of its expectations.
In government bond trading, the yield on the 10-year note rose to 2.75 percent from 2.74 percent on Wednesday. The price of oil fell 39 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $102.92. The price of gold fell $3.50, or 0.3 percent, to $1,316.90 an ounce. | 4,209 | 2,089 | 0.000491 |
warc | 201704 | 11,400-Acre Klamath Valley Ranch Protected (OR)
LAKEVIEW, OREGON, 7/28/04 - The Trust for Public Land (TPL), a national land conservation group, announced today it has protected the 11,400-acre Drew's Valley Ranch from development with a voluntary land protection agreement known as a conservation easement. The ranch is located 70 miles east of Klamath Falls, in an area of southern Oregon, which has seen increased development pressure.
The conservation easement was transferred to the Oregon Rangeland Trust for long-term management, TPL said. The project creates the largest conservation easement in Oregon held by a land trust. Traditional ranching practices will continue, but the land cannot be subdivided or developed.
The region has long been known for for uninterrupted views and wide-open spaces. As in many parts of rural Oregon, the demand for land subdivision and development of "ranchettes" is reducing the amount of land available for agriculture. According to the American Farmland Trust, 55 million acres of agricultural land were lost in the United States between 1987 and 1997 and Oregon lost 350,000 acres.
Jack and Bev Sparrowk, owners of the ranch, wanted to ensure their land would be permanently protected. In 2001, they helped form the Oregon Rangeland Trust (ORT), to preserve the state's traditional ranchland and protect it from subdivision and development. Modeled after the California Rangeland Trust, ORT is governed by ranchers who have firsthand knowledge of ranching practices, challenges, and resource needs.
"Ranching is a way of life that we can no longer take for granted. It is our responsibility and privilege to help make sure this beautiful landscape and its agricultural heritage are not destroyed," said Jack Sparrowk.
ORT Board President Larry Rew said, "Protecting Drew's Valley is a major victory for all of Oregon. It helps sustain our economic and agriculture base while protecting the natural beauty of the place we call home." The Drew's Valley project is the first of what ORT hopes to be a series of such efforts to support the agricultural way of life in Oregon. ORT's next steps include implementing long-term stewardship on Drew's Valley Ranch, looking for new projects with positive conservation impacts and expanding the pool of funding sources for such projects.
Working with TPL, the Sparrowks sold a conservation easement on their land. Conservation easements provide a legal mechanism to pay the landowner to relinquishdevelopment rights and ensures that natural resources will be protected. By selling an easement, ranchers, farmers, and foresters can stabilize their finances and continue to own their land.
TPL Oregon Field Office Director Geoff Roach said, "The Oregon Rangeland Trust and the Sparrowks are the leaders in the effort to protect rural Oregon's agricultural way of life and beautiful landscape. Their vision and leadership will help pave the way for continued conservation of our natural resources."
The 11,400-acre ranch is surrounded by the Fremont National Forest and includes nine miles of streams, eight tributary creeks, a lake, and grassy wetlands. The ranch is to more than 185 species of birds, fish, and mammals, including the bald eagle and red-band trout. Through the provisions of the easement, this important habitat will also be permanently protected.
Money for the easement was provided by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB), and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF).
NRCS administers the federal Farm and Ranchland Protection Program, which provides grants for agricultural conservation easements. The use of the NRCS funds for this projected was strongly supported by Rep Greg Walden, R-Oregon, and Sen. Gordeon Smith, R-Oregon.
OWEB administers the spending of state lottery money to conservation efforts that protect Oregon's watershed resources. The state money was matched by federal money.
NFWF provides grants to projects that benefit conservation education, habitat protection and restoration, and natural resource management. NFWF was instrumental in assisting the Oregon Cattlemen's Association to form the Oregon Rangeland Trust. The intent of the effort was to create an entity that could both provide natural resource stewardship but also be responsive to management issues associated with a working ranch.
The Trust for Public Land is a national nonprofit land conservation organization that conserves land for people to enjoy as parks, gardens, and other natural places, ensuring livable communities for generations to come. Since its founding in 1972, TPL has helped protect more than 1.5 million acres of land in 46 states. In Oregon and along the Columbia River Gorge, TPL has protected more than 75,000 acres. TPL depends on the support and generosity of individuals, foundations, and businesses to achieve its land for people mission. For more information, please visit www.tpl.org. | 5,003 | 2,304 | 0.000436 |
warc | 201704 | In cooking classes at One&Only Palmilla, kids learn about local culture through the cuisine. // © 2015 One&Only Palmilla
Cooking is the new cool. Just take a look at the television show “MasterChef Junior,” Gordon Ramsay’s “MasterChef” spinoff that pits young chefs against one another. Cooking has captured kids’ imaginations, and it’s now possible for budding chefs to hone their skills during a family vacation at a Mexican resort, as an increasing number of properties offer cooking classes for children.
Los Cabos really performs when it comes to accommodating young chefs.
At Hilton Los Cabos Beach & Golf Resort, kids learn how to prepare ceviche, tortilla soup and churros. One&Only Palmilla has two classes for children: pizza-making and sushi preparation. The resort is flexible about scheduling a class — all it needs is 24-hour notice. At The Resort at Pedregal’s restaurant Don Manuel’s, there are cooking classes with a focus on teaching kids how to prepare tortillas a mano, flautas, quesadillas and churros.
Some Los Cabos resorts are more geared to a sweet tooth. At Grand Solmar Land’s End Resort & Spa, kids dress up in pint-size chef uniforms and are released into the kitchen for a two-hour class on how to bake cupcakes from scratch, under a chef’s direction. Sandos Finisterra Los Cabos has its own Cupcake Cafe and a DIY Cupcake Decorating Workshop. The cupcakes are prebaked, but there’s a selection of frostings, toppings and sprinkles to inspire children to unleash their inner decorator.
Viceroy Zihuatanejo has cooking classes that invite the whole family to join in. It adds a fun twist to the cooking experience that begins with accompanying head chef Paco Isordia to the town’s central market for the day’s ingredients.
When the shopping is finished, the group convenes at wood-burning grills set up on the beach in front of the resort, where under the direction of the chef they prepare fresh ceviche and salsas, plus meats and fish for the grill. The family then sits down to a meal at a table, with their toes in the sand and looking out on the Pacific.
The class takes two hours and is limited to a minimum of two people and a maximum of six.
Hotel California in Todos Santos has a cooking program in place that can accommodate children through special request. Not only will the group of two to six kids learn how to make basic Mexican dishes, they’ll also receive instruction from the restaurant’s executive chef on safe knife skills and how to act like a professional in the kitchen.
Afterward, the young gourmands sit down to enjoy their meal — with an invite extended to their parents, who can also attend the class if they wish.
By special request, cooking classes for children can be arranged at The Ritz-Carlton, Cancun’s Culinary Center. Kids have a choice between preparing Mexican dishes or international cuisine. Once they are finished, young guests can have their parents sit down and partake in their creations.
The Little Eko Chefs program at Generations Riviera Maya by Karisma takes its cooking program to the next level. “MasterChef Junior” season one winner Alexander Weiss has even led classes here.
The program is available every weekday in the resort’s Eko Kids Club and encompasses Mexican culture and history, responsible eco-practices and, of course, hands-on cooking. There is a range of classes, including the history of chocolate, tamale-making, a sushi class, Mexican tortilla-making and artisanal ice-cream-making. Some classes also include a visit to the resort’s on-site greenhouse, where children can pick produce to use in their dishes.
As far as pricing and fees go for kids’ cooking classes, some resorts include them as part of the children’s club program, while other resorts charge an additional fee. If parents want to join in, they should determine in advance if a cooking course welcomes their participation, or if it’s a kids-only experience. | 4,071 | 1,978 | 0.000525 |
warc | 201704 | The naked mole rat, native to parts of East Africa, may just be the next step in our search for the cure to cancer. These rodents, surprisingly, are immune to cancer.
It is nearly impossible to culture naked mole rat cells in the lab. Their unique cells stop dividing once they reach a certain relatively low density. This cell property, found to be controlled in the genes p16 and p27, may very well be the cure to cancer. In human DNA, it is primarily controlled by p27, so naked mole rats have an extra layer of protection. If this could be replicated in humans, our fight against cancer could be over! Disease Immunity Discoveries
Score
More Stats +/-
Phytonutrient Fruit Snacks Plant-Based Cleansing Tonics Age Preservation Sunscreens Blue Light-Filtering Creams Preset Recipe Kitchen Cookers | 803 | 485 | 0.002077 |
warc | 201704 | Trio of November workshops focus on risk management under the 2014 Farm Bill
October 3, 2014
Fast facts 2014 Farm Bill may have biggest impact on Southern farmers Panel discussions will help farmers make critical decisions in risk management
(340 words)
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- The 2014 Farm Bill brings big changes in the way Southern farmers handle risk management and training sessions in Jonesboro, Forrest City and Dumas are planned to help producers adapt successfully.
The half-day crop insurance workshops are set for Nov. 11 in Jonesboro; Nov. 12 in Forrest City, and Nov. 13 in Dumas. They will feature panel discussions with John Anderson of the American Farm Bureau Federation, Dave Goeller, risk management educator and grain producer from Nebraska, local producers and a representative from the National Crop Insurance Services.
There is no cost to attend and lunch will be provided. To register visit http://forms.uaex.edu/economics/aciem.asp. The event is being presented by the Southern Risk Management Education Center and the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.
“These trainings are an opportunity for growers to learn more about the role that crop insurance can play in managing their farms’ risks,” said Ron Rainey, extension economist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and co-director for the Southern Risk Management Education Center.
With all the changes in the new Farm Bill, “it is arguable that no region of the U.S. will be as impacted as those in the South,” said H.L. Goodwin, professor-ag economics and a co-director of the Southern Risk Management Education Center. “We believe that for Southern producers to successfully manage risk under the 2014 Farm Bill, they must employ to a greater extent their full range of risk management tools.
“Crop insurance has now become the primary governmentally assisted tool for risk management for our producers,” he said. “That is why we are sponsoring this important informational event."
To learn more about risk management, visit http://srmec.uark.edu.
The Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service offers its programs to all eligible persons regardless of race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.
By the U of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture
Media Contact: Mary Hightower
Dir. of Communication Services U of A Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service (501) 671-2126 mhightower@uaex.edu Related Links Crop Insurance Workshop Registration Southern Risk Management Education Center Economics and Marketing - Arkansas Farm and Ranch | 2,829 | 1,330 | 0.000769 |
warc | 201704 | If you haven’t already heard of ultrasonic pest repellers, then you’re missing out. By emitting special, inaudible waves that drive away rodents, bed bugs, spiders, and more, these devices are the latest in pest removal technology. And, at a price that’s tough to beat, they’re quickly becoming essential tools in homes across the country.
Today, we’re reviewing The Guardian, which features a comprehensive solution to your pest control needs. With an incredible 12 functions and a surprising amount of strength and durability, we found The Guardian to be one of the best, most cost-effective products in the industry. Here are some of the things that make it so effective:
Indoor and outdoor pest control
One of the most amazing features of The Guardian is its indoor/outdoor capabilities, which is a first for the ultrasonic pest control industry. While other products focus solely on indoor pest control, The Guardian can be used anywhere. Its durable, stylish exterior is equally as suited for both a tent and your own home. And, since it protects you from so many different kinds of pests and rodents, The Guardian is the only product you’ll need to buy for either environment. Put simply, this device is always there when you need it – whether you’re on a camping trip or relaxing in your living room at home.
Customizability
Another thing that distinguishes The Guardian from all of its competitors is its customizability. Users can easily adjust the frequency, motion sensor controls, and a number of other options. Why is this useful? Well, thanks to The Guardian’s ‘Select A Pest’ technology, you can quickly dial the device to get rid of a certain pest. This is useful if you have a pesky skunk living under your bed, for example, or if you have a particularly bad mouse problem in your house. This level of customizability makes The Guardian the most effective pest control device on the market by far.
Of course, if you don’t need to drive away a certain kind of pest, then you can simply leave it on its default settings, which is an effective way to drive off insects, bats, mice, and many more kinds of pests. So, while many users will feel comfortable leaving the device the way it is, it is useful to note that The Guardian will be able to solve whatever unique pest control needs that your house may have.
Durability and quality
Everybody can appreciate a product that lasts. When you pick up The Guardian, it doesn’t feel cheap. It is made from high-quality materials, and it’s easy to believe that it will last for years into the future. While The Guardian has a slightly higher price point than some of the other devices on the market, it’s a safe and durable investment, as you won’t need to replace it nearly as often as other ultrasonic pest repellers. And, since it’s built for use outdoors, The Guardian will survive in any kind of weather – rain or shine.
In addition to being sturdy, The Guardian is filled with extra bits of professionalism that any customer can appreciate. It’s clear that the designers of The Guardian wanted to squeeze as many useful features as possible onto the device. And, best of all, they have done so with a surprisingly high standard of quality. Nearly every function of The Guardian – from its unique Select A Pest technology to the easy-to-use keychain remote – signals a product that goes above and beyond the call of duty
Extra goodies
When GoodLife labelled The Guardian as a 12-in-1 device, they were not kidding. In addition to being an excellent indoor and outdoor pest control device, The Guardian offers the following features (and more):
Personal safety –The Guardian has a built-in motion sensor that, when triggered, sets off flashing lights and a siren. If you go away on a vacation, you can set this in your house to prevent a burglary. Or, if you’re camping outside, you can use this to alert you of any nearby threats. Remote control– To make using The Guardian even easier, GoodLife has included a remote control that allows you to activate the device from 75 feet away. This can help you get rid of pests like skunks, which you want to be as far away from as possible when you activate the device. This remote fits easily onto your keychain, meaning you can activate it when you leave for work in the morning, and then deactivate it when you return. Motion sensor– Instead of leaving Strobe light– This is an effective way to ward off larger pests, and can be a useful tool when you’re camping outdoors. Power options– Since you’ll be using The Guardian away from your home, it’s useful to have a number of different power options. The Guardian can run off of batteries, AC power, or a rechargeable battery pack. Summary
Although it is priced slightly higher than many of its competitors, The Guardian is the only pest control device you will ever need to buy. With so many unique features and a commitment to high-quality engineering, The Guardian goes above and beyond what you would expect in an ultrasonic pest repeller. Put simply, if you’re going to buy one pest control device for your home or outdoors, make it The Guardian. | 5,280 | 2,304 | 0.000448 |
warc | 201704 | 2053 Seychelles - Mainstreaming Biodiversity Management into Production Sector Activities Context Isolated from the continents for 65 million years, the fauna and flora of the Republic of Seychelles have evolved into unique species of Gondwanan lineage. This archipelago nation is a repository of globally important terrestrial diversity and a storehouse of marine biodiversity. Additionally, Seychelles is part of one of Conservation International’s designated biodiversity hotspots, Madagascar and the Indian Ocean Islands. Due to a variety of human-induced pressures, this biodiversity faces the risk of extirpation and—in some instances—outright extinction. These pressures relate to the fundamental constraints of Seychelles’ geography, which are typical of Small Island Developing States (SIDS): small land area and population, remoteness from major markets, limited natural resources, and environmental vulnerability.
The country’s most important assets are the truly rare beauty of its environment, and its significant fishery resources. This biodiversity serves as the basis for the two major economic sectors in Seychelles—tourism and fisheries. However, these sectors currently pose the main threats to the very biodiversity on which they rely. Overfishing is taking a toll both on specific species that are highly sought and on fish stocks where incipient control is contributing to resource depletion. Poorly planned tourism developments can result in the disturbance of habitats and the degradation of already stressed ecosystems. However, tourism offers some of best opportunities for Seychelles to generate finance for conservation and interest in the theme. Thus, the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity is of vital importance to the country’s development.
Description Past efforts at biodiversity conservation in Seychelles have focused on protected areas. Recognizing that many threats to biodiversity are associated with the main production sectors, this GEF-funded project differs from past efforts by taking a sector-based approach. Through “mainstreaming” biodiversity management, the project seeks to integrate biodiversity conservation into the day-to-day operations of those sectors—the tourism and fisheries industries.
The project will: (a) strengthen the systemic and institutional capacities for mainstreaming biodiversity management; (b) develop methods and means for integrating biodiversity into artisanal fisheries management; and (c) make biodiversity conservation a routine part of business operations in the tourism sector. Partners in this project include the Government of the Republic of Seychelles, USAID and a number of national NGOs.
Results Though early in its implementation, the project has made significant progress. The project has supported the formation of various partnerships and the development of conservation management plans for several islands. Also under project support, joint management plans were established for areas across six islands with a total area of over 600 ha. Other select results include: Increased investment in conservation. Stemming from the project’s work with the tourism sector, there has been a visible increase in the annual investment in collaborative sustainable management models by the sector. The project reported an increase of approximately 20% for yearly investments in conservation activities, which was determined based on the newly established tourism-conservation partnerships and newly managed areas. The project will conduct similar work with the fisheries sector in the near future. Fisheries association. The project facilitated the establishment of the Praslin Fishers Association, the first artisanal fishers association in Seychelles, which will be instrumental in developing the co-management of fisheries resources on Praslin Island. The project is also assisting the government in developing its capacity to manage fisheries within sustainable limits through the deployment of highly qualified technical assistance. Promoting ecotourism. The project has initiated several activities at the national level in the tourism sector: the development of improved guidance for investment tourism developers; the consideration of the adoption of a national tourism sustainability label; and the development of guidelines and criteria for joint management of ecologically sensitive sites with private tourism operators. Over 800 ha of ecologically sensitive habitat have been placed under improved conservation management plans through collaborations among NGOs, the government and private tourism operators. | 4,676 | 2,047 | 0.000495 |
warc | 201704 | MIAMI, Nov. 1 (UPI) -- Bolivia has completed the controversial effort to nationalize its gas industry, a process not nearly as drastic as many had feared, as several foreign companies will still operate under the watchful eye of the leftist government.
Shortly after the stroke of midnight Sunday, Morales signed a deal with eight foreign companies, including firms from neighboring Brazil as well as Spain and France, whereby Bolivia would increase its take from two of the country's most lucrative gas fields from 50 percent to 82 percent.
Morales, who made gas nationalization the top priority during the first nine months of his administration, said Bolivia would no longer be a "beggar state," and that he would continue the country along the path to "recovering its natural resources."
He suffered a setback Tuesday, however, when he announced the nationalization of the country's mining industry would have to be put on hold due to federal financial restraints.
Nationalization talks between the Bolivian government and foreign firms have been at times tense. Following its May 1 decree that Bolivia's state firm Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales Boliviano, or YPFB, would take over a majority share of the industry, Bolivia has battled with its foreign investors over the percentage stake it would take.
Officials with Brazilian state energy firm Petrobras initially balked at the notion of delivering a large portion of their profits to Bolivian coffers. But during the talks leading up to Sunday's signing, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva reiterated his respect for Bolivia's right to handle its energy affairs as it saw fit.
Brazil had by far the most to lose in Morales' nationalization agenda, having invested some $1.5 billion in the country since the industry was privatized in 1996 by President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada, who was forced from office in 2003 amid violent protests over the country's handling of its gas industry.
Petrobras officials have vowed to halt any additional spending on the Bolivian industry.
Though Morales appears to have achieved his goal, the effort to return control of the gas industry to the Bolivian state was not without its share of setbacks.
Officials conceded in August that nationalization might be more difficult than initially envisioned after the Bolivian Central Bank turned down a loan request by YPFB for $180 million so that it might assume complete control of country's gas reserves, second only in South America to those in Venezuela.
The bank turned down the request, citing Bolivian law, which states that public institutions are only eligible for loans in a time of crisis.
"These are the financial constraints that everyone knew about," Eurasia Group analyst Christopher Garman noted at the time. "Now they are starting to kick in."
Morales opponents meanwhile took the opportunity to condemn the decision once again, saying the nationalization decree was merely a political maneuver aimed at appeasing those who elected Morales.
The leftist leader loathed by many Bolivian opposition lawmakers has had to make some concessions regarding his nationalization ambitions in light of the setback with the bank and the stiff opposition he faces both at home and abroad.
The state share of Bolivia's foreign gas projects is less than the 100 percent hard-line leftists would like to see, a sign of recognition perhaps by Morales that continent's poorest country is far from ready to take on full responsibility for its No. 1 resource.
Bolivia lacks the necessary resources and technology to wage a complete takeover of the gas industry, analysts say. But it remains a success in its partial state considering the process will quickly inject Bolivia with much-needed revenue to jump-start Morales' social agenda in the coming years.
"It (the nationalization) was something Bolivia needed to do to generate revenue," Roger Tissot, an analyst with PFC Energy, told United Press International.
"It's a much lighter version of nationalization than everyone expected," he said.
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(Comments to energy@upi.com) | 4,110 | 2,000 | 0.000504 |
warc | 201704 | WASHINGTON, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- The U.S. healthcare sector added more than 30,000 jobs while the number of jobs in most other sectors fell dramatically, the U.S. Labor Department said.
"In December, large job losses continued in manufacturing, construction and employment services, while healthcare continued to add jobs," the department's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.
While healthcare was adding jobs, non-farm payrolls overall fell by more than 2 million between December 2007 and last month, the bureau said.
Healthcare growth included more than 14,000 jobs in ambulatory healthcare services such as doctors' offices and outpatient care centers, nearly 12,000 hospital jobs, 5,500 jobs in nursing and residential care facilities and 5,000 in home health services, the bureau said.
The bureau's statistics do not include the pharmaceutical sector, whose businesses cut more than 60,000 jobs last year. | 916 | 511 | 0.001974 |
warc | 201704 | The revelations that scientists directly detected gravitational waves, bizarre ripples in space-time foreseen by Einstein a century ago, have been hailed as a quantum leap forward in astronomical understanding. But what does it all mean for me and you?
The discovery is final proof of Einstein’s celebrated general theory of relativity. But it also is a window into deeper understanding of the universe. Here is an explanation for the rest of us:
1. Gravitational waves. Step back and explain them, for those of us not scientifically inclined.
Gravitational waves are tiny ripples in space and time. You can imagine the waves as ripples spreading outward from a pebble thrown into a puddle, but these ripples move at the speed of light. The ripples that are easiest to detect are produced by the acceleration of enormous objects such as supernovae and black holes. The ripples actually change the distances between points in space.
2. What is Einstein's theory of relativity, and what does it say about gravitational waves?
In 1915 Einstein presented his now-celebrated theory of general relativity, which is still by far the best explanation we have of gravity. According to relativity, gravity is generated by a distortion of space and time. If the theory is correct, objects that speed up should send small distortions – ripples – through space and time, or so Einstein predicted in 1916.
3. How does this discovery prove Einstein’s theory of relativity?
George Washington Univeristy astrophysics professor Alexander van der Horst explains gravity in a way we all can understand
General relativity has been tested six ways to Sunday and found to explain the universe every time, with one exception. Until now, Einstein’s star theory had never measured against events in the super-powerful gravity near a black hole. Now gravitational waves have painted a picture of that high-gravity region, and general relativity explains conditions there perfectly.
4. How did scientists discover the waves?
With a $1 billion facility called the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory, or LIGO. The observatory is made up of two sets of super-long tunnels, one set in Louisiana and one in Washington State. When a gravitational wave passed through the Earth in September, the tunnels changed length almost imperceptibly. LIGO’s ultra-sensitive detectors caught it.
5. Why are scientists so excited about this?
Gravitational waves give researchers a new view onto the universe. The best telescopes in the world tell us almost nothing about black holes. But the gravitational waves emanating from black holes will tell us a lot, because they encode information about their origins. This very first detection of gravitational waves, for example, showed that black holes orbit around each other and merge to form one giant black hole. That’s a revelation that all by itself would have astrophysicists popping open the Champagne.
6. What everyone wants to know: Does this mean time travel could be possible?
Nope. “I don’t think this will bring us any closer to time travel,” Kip Thorne, co-founder of LIGO said Wednesday.
7. Now that we know about gravitational waves, what comes next? What does it all mean?
This is just the beginning. Scientists are itching to detect more gravitational waves to learn what they can tell us about distant and mysterious citizens of the universe. In the decade several more gravitational-wave observatories are scheduled to come online, and scientists also have ambitious plans to launch a gravitational-wave observatory into space. A spacecraft to test technology for such an observatory blasted off in December. A new era in astronomy has begun, and there’s no telling what might be learned. | 3,798 | 1,785 | 0.000571 |
warc | 201704 | Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a progressive disease of the nervous system. It can cause a wide variety of symptoms, which may continue or worsen as the disease progresses. The most common symptoms include fatigue, walking difficulties, bowel and bladder disturbances, vision problems, changes in brain function, changes in sexual function, pain and depression or mood swings.
With diseases such as MS, for which there currently is no cure, palliative care expertise can help in all stages of the illness. A palliative approach offers help with symptoms, and help in anticipating and planning for issues and decisions that are likely to come up as the disease progresses. This ensures that a person’s wishes will be met at any stage of the disease. At the end-stage of MS, people commonly face some particular challenges.
Care setting
The choice of where to care for someone with advanced MS depends on each person's needs and available resources. Options may include home, hospice, personal care or nursing home, palliative care unit, or hospital. Where there are community-based resources, then care at home is often preferred by most patients and families. At times, the support needed may require care in a long-term facility. In such settings the person with MS may be far younger than other residents and have greater mental capacities. This can challenge the facility’s program resources, and can affect a person’s quality of life. A palliative care facility or hospice may be preferable at the end of life, if the person meets the criteria for these resources.
Swallowing and eating
Swallowing problems are uncommon in the early stages of MS, but in late stages, as many as one third of people with MS have trouble swallowing. They also may have eating difficulties as a result of hand tremors and muscle spasms. Some people in the late stages of MS show signs of declining mental processes. As a result, they may be unaware of the act of eating or of the need to swallow when being fed. It’s helpful for caregivers, patients and health care providers to talk about how food and fluids will be provided in the advanced stages of illness.
Communication
Speech difficulties may require assessment by a speech-language pathologist (SLP). An SLP also can suggest ways to handle feeding and swallowing problems.
Pain
People with advanced MS may have pain caused by muscle spasms, neuropathic (nerve) pain, and pain caused by immobility. Neuropathic pain and pain from spasms can be challenging to treat. Medications for neuropathic pain include anticonvulsants and antidepressants. If tricyclic antidepressants are used, be aware that urinary retention can be a side effect. Cannabinoids may help relieve neuropathic pain related to MS. Muscle spasms are often treated with muscle relaxants. Physiotherapy to improve range of motion may help with muscle spasms and spasticity.
Final stages
Someone diagnosed with MS often is stable for long periods, can decline, and then stabilize again. Ultimately, the person dies from complications related to the advancing disease. In many diseases of the nervous system deteriorating respiratory function usually brings on the final decline. This may be related to shallow and inefficient breathing, which can lead to complications such as pneumonia. Shortness of breath and respiratory secretions often need to be controlled. Pain medications and sometimes sedatives may help people who are short of breath. Oxygen may be used if it’s available. Medications may help decrease secretions if this becomes a source of discomfort or distress. Certain symptoms may limit the methods available to administer medications. One option is through a feeding tube, if a tube is already in place. Another option is sublingual administration, if swallowing ability and secretions allow it. Subcutaneous administration of medications can also be considered. | 3,919 | 1,811 | 0.000558 |
warc | 201704 | Introduction
For companies, prevention is the key to keeping their people and property secure. The feeling of safety is very important to most employees. When they feel safe, they are better able to concentrate on and perform their work duties. There are several basic steps companies can take to keep their workers and property from becoming safety statistics.
According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, each week in 1996 an average of 18,000 Americans were assaulted while working. In addition, the 1996 Pinkerton Security Issues Survey Report states that for the third year in a row, businesses ranked workplace violence as their top concern.
EDI
“We help companies protect their employees and property,” explains Don Kinser (Atlanta), president of EDI ltd. Consulting Engineers, which specializes in commercial security systems. “Basically we try to determine what the threats are to a business’ employees and property. Once we define those threats, we look for countermeasures that will help them protect themselves. In terms of safety, companies need to be doing at least what their neighbors are doing, preferably more.”
Basic Questions
Questions you need to ask when developing a security program include:
What are the current threats? Are there any foreseeable new threats? What security measures have been taken in the past? Are current security measures still effective? Case StudyEDI was hired a few years ago to create a security system for Hewlett-Packard’s 28-story building in Atlanta”The facility houses 2,500 to 3,000 people and there’s all kinds of different operations,” Don says. “There’s such a diverse list of activities going on at all hours, and not everyone needs access to all areas of the building. There’s no way you can know everyone who is coming and going, and you certainly don’t want to issue keys to everyone.”
EDI took several steps to ensure Hewlett-Packard’s property and employees would be secure.
The perimeter of the building and all decks of the parking garage were equipped with surveillance cameras. Substantial controls were placed on every access point into the building. Card keys were given to employees, confining their access only to specifically designated areas. (Card keys are easy to invalidate and you don’t have to worry about an employee having a key to your front door.)”All of Hewlett-Packard’s security components are controlled through computers that determine who can go through which doors and at what times they are allowed access. There are more than 250 access-controlled doors, more than 100 cameras and more than 40 miles of cable for security.” Prevention is Key
“The feeling of safety is as important as the security system,” Don notes. “If the normal person feels safe, the person there to do harm doesn’t. Make it obvious you have a security presence.
“The best thing you can do is try to prevent something from happening. If you can prevent it, you never have to worry about defending it. Ninety percent of the game is prevention.”
Safety Tips
Safety and Security Magazine recommends several safety tips for you and your employees including:
Trust your intuition. If you feel you are in danger, act immediately. It is better to be embarrassed than be victimized. Be aware of your surroundings. Be watchful of suspicious characters or vehicles. If you are attacked, attract attention by yelling for help. When approaching your car, observe the surrounding area looking for any suspicious persons. When possible, avoid using stairwells and be careful when using bathrooms. When you go out, tell a co-worker where you are going and when you expect to return. Be aware of strangers that may enter the office. Do not leave valuables in or on your desk. When you enter an elevator, if someone looks suspicious do not get in. When in an elevator try to stay by the control panel and note the location of the emergency button. | 4,061 | 1,956 | 0.00053 |
warc | 201704 | While most South Sudanese lawmakers say they welcome the government’s decision to accept the deployment of a regional protection force, some say the government has the right to place conditions on that deployment, including the number of troops, their types of weapons and which countries they should come from.
After initially opposing the troop deployment, the government caved to international pressure following a visit from U.N. Security Council members last weekend, saying it no longer opposed a regional protection force.
But on Tuesday, that position shifted again. Member of Parliament Zachariah Matur, who represents Rumbek in Western Lakes State, said the government must have a say in choosing which troops are deployed to South Sudan.
“It seems we are surrounded by quite a number of hostile nations that have a vested interest in our country," Matur said in Juba. "They would like to get a chance to get in and exploit us. So our government will negotiate on those things to see which countries are going to contribute to this force and also the kind of equipment they are going to bring to the country.”
Protection of women's rights
Flora Solomon, another member of parliament who represents Imatong State Assembly, said she hoped the protection force would focus on protecting the rights and dignity of women.
“I think this force, when they come, they will be helping us more because we are now tired," Solomon said. "Since 2013, women are the victims of this senseless trouble which has come to South Sudan, and I hope these forces will help the situation of prevention of violence against women.”
The leader of the minority in the National Assembly, Onyoti Adigo, said if the protection force is to effectively discharge its mandate, the troops must be well-armed, and he noted the current peacekeeping force is not well-armed.
“They were overpowered by the equipment of the government," Adigo said. "So if you have balanced power, then it can be OK. But it is not for fighting. The whole issue is: How do we come to cooperate?”
Thomas Wani Kundu, who represents Lainya County in the South Sudan National Assembly, said he was hopeful that the country’s security would improve after deployment of the regional protection force, which is expected later this month.
“We expect a positive impact after the additional forces [are deployed] under UNMISS to South Sudan," Kundu said, referring to the U.N. Mission in South Sudan. "With the new mandate, we are also optimistic that they will protect the civilians and protect the people in UNMISS and eventually will encourage people from the camps, whenever there is a peace, to come out and go to their houses to resume their normal life.”
Too late to negotiate?
At least one South Sudanese analyst said Juba could not negotiate the number of troops, types of weapons or where the troops come from because a U.N. member country cannot negotiate with the Security Council after it has already agreed to the deployment of troops.
Political science professor James Okuk of Juba University said the council may change the mandate of the protection force to one of peace enforcement if it determines that the government is not cooperating.
“Since they have given their consent and it is written, that’s what the U.N. Security Council will follow when they start deploying the regional protection force by the 30th of this month. So nothing is going to stop them,” Okuk said.
Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter states that U.N. peacekeepers are allowed to use force to ensure the peace and protection of civilians in accordance with the U.N. resolution. It allows the council to "determine the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace or act of aggression," and to take military and nonmilitary action to "restore international peace and security."
Cooperation urged
Okuk said the international community won't tolerate a volatile situation that causes civilians or noncombatants in a foreign country to suffer. He warned that if the government insisted on trying to place restrictions upon troops, arms or contributing countries, the U.N. might feel it has no choice but to impose “plan B.”
“What’s needed is cooperation, and what they can work for is to see to it that they do a joint venture to this cooperation, and it might turn out to be positive later. But if they refuse the cooperation, they might force the Security Council to go to plan B of what they have said, which is peace enforcement accompanied by arms embargo and sanctions,” Okuk said.
The best course of action for the government, according to Okuk, is to implement the Intergovernmental Authority on Development-brokered security arrangements spelled out in the August 2015 peace agreement.
“The priority now is to restore peace and trust — the trust from the people here and the trust from the international community — and that can be restored by committing themselves to the implementation of the agreement, so that it does not collapse,” Okuk said. | 5,138 | 2,265 | 0.000454 |
warc | 201704 | So, my sister lives in New Jersey, and last year she got engaged. So, we traveled out to celebrate with her with my 8-year-old, 3 yr old, and 3 month old in tow. We made a 4-day trip out of it, complete with an engagement party, eating out in NY City, shopping and sightseeing. On the day we were to travel back home, storms were coming through, and Newark airport was already cancelling flights for later that evening. My husband and I had to get home; we were both on call the next day. So, we called the airline and tried to get on stand-by. Well, no luck on the phone, they advised us to get to the airport to try and get an alternate flight. Ok, well with 3 kids, that was not going to happen quickly. We began racing around my sister’s place, grabbing toys, and blankets, and bottles. We entrusted our oldest, our son, to grab the presents for the engagement and pack them in the suitcase, BIG … Continue reading
Any mom (or stroller addict) knows that good stroller accessories are almost as important as the stroller itself. Even though there’s now a stroller that generates power to charge your cell phone and folds by itself, baby gear manufacturers have yet to come out with a stroller that really does it all. Dare I mention all the high-end strollers that have optional accessories but do not include them in the (sometimes hefty) price tags? Yeah, that’s a touchy subject amongst some moms. In my experience, it’s not always a bad thing that a stroller doesn’t come with all the bells and whistles. Would it be nice to get a little more parental support for the money? Sure. But I’ve found some stroller accessories that don’t necessarily match the name of the stroller but work even better… at least for my needs. The Mommy Hook The Mommy Hook is the go-to stroller accessory for on the go moms. This lightweight hook fits on every stroller handle and holds grocery bags, a … Continue reading
It was a moment I think any woman has had. I looked into the mirror, and thought “God how did this happen?” “Is this really me?” I should not have been looking in the mirror, I had a newborn, and I had a miracle. I should have been sleeping, but no I was inspecting, judging myself. I looked like the Pillsbury dough girl. My breasts were leaking, my belly was like pizza dough, and I was wearing a pad the size of Columbus. Would I ever return to “normal?” Why didn’t anyone tell me this was going to happen? Why hadn’t I read this in a textbook? It’s simple, if women shared this secret, maybe others would not join them in this role of motherhood? So, most of the questions I get in the office are about bodily changes of pregnancy. So, let’s talk about them… Skin- skin changes a lot in pregnancy due to the hormonal changes; moles and freckles may darken. Some women will develop skin tags, or … Continue reading
My name is Somi Javaid and I am a mother of 3 and a practicing Obstetrician/Gynecologist. I hope to share and make you laugh with my pregnancy/motherhood blog. I had just given birth to my first child and I fell in love. I looked into his eyes and I was hooked. Nothing else in the world mattered at that moment and time stood still. I know it sounds so cliché, but it is so true. It’s amazing, that moment is so serene in my memory. Yet, motherhood has been anything but. I swear there is a secret pact that exists among mothers to not “clue-in” those women who have not yet have children. I am writing this to break that pact and to reveal that motherhood is first having to admit that we are human and that we are from from perfect. I was a fourth year medical student when I gave birth to my son, and my husband was already a physician. Needless to say, we thought we had … Continue reading
Most common topics I get asked about? What foods do I need to avoid? Stay away from undercooked meats, unpasteurized foods, and lunchmeats that have not been heated. Tuna, tile, mackerel and swordfish have a lot of mercury, which is not good for the fetal brain, so limit to 12 ounces per week. Always try to buy wild caught fish as opposed to farm raised. Stay away from alcohol, I know this is not the case in Europe, but here in the US, we recommend staying away from even small amounts. You don’t have to give up your caffeine; you can still have it, limit to one beverage a day. Food with a lot of nitrites, like salami and hotdogs are not a good choice for pregnant women. Medications? For pain, Tylenol is best. Avoid Motrin, Ibuprofen and any aspirin containing products. You can take most allergy medicine and Sudafed for congestion if you don’t suffer from high blood pressure. Imodium is fine for an upset stomach. All other medications … Continue reading | 4,843 | 2,388 | 0.000433 |
warc | 201704 | Twitter is constantly growing, and with it comes an ever-evolving list of best practices for businesses to get the most from this channel. Here are WebpageFX’s top Twitter tricks and tips to help businesses successfully grow and engage their followers, get retweets, and increase click-through rates on their tweeted links.
Best Times to Tweet
Twitter is constantly evolving, and so are the people who use it. As social media continues to change how people connect with each other, user behavior shifts with it. This is why there are differing opinions on the best time to tweet.
To find your best tweeting times, here are a few things to consider: Target Audience: B2B companies get higher engagement on weekdays, while B2C get more engagement on weekends. B2C brands receive around 17% more engagement on weekends, but only 19% of brands tweet on weekends. Teenagers are likely to tweet while at school, but working professionals tweet during their commute, lunch break, or after 5pm. Think about the free time and habits of your target audience to narrow down the best times to tweet. Mobile Users: People who use Twitter’s mobile app are very likely to be on Twitter during their commute (7:30am-10am, 5pm-6pm) Action Wanted: The top calls to action for your tweets are Click-Through, Engagement and ReTweets . The highest retweet percentage happens at 5pm. The highest click-through-rate (CTR) happens at noon and 6pm. The best times to post for engagement are 1pm-3pm EST on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday. Tricks for Clicks
Social media does have an ROI. The first step to that sale is getting a Twitter user to click on the link. The link could be for a free download, a blog post, or a product.
Here are a few Twitter marketing tips to get those valuable clicks: Include an incentive to click.This doesn’t have to be anything expensive. It can even just be an enticing promise for great content. Give clear and simple directions.Like all calls to action, keep the message as uncomplicated and easy to understand as possible. The reader won’t click if they don’t know what will happen. Keep the focus on the action.Use @handles and hashtags sparingly so the reader won’t be tempted to click on any link besides the one you want them to. Hit the right length.Tweets with the highest CTR usually have around 120-130 characters. Create a sense of urgency.Include a deadline or incentive to get the user to click on your link right away.
Besides clicks, retweets are a great way to get your company talked about. Third party endorsements shown through users’ tweets and retweets are a powerful marketing tool. Retweets widen the reach of your brand, so they should be one of your objectives on Twitter.
Follow these Twitter tips to get more retweets: Include a link.70% of retweets contain a link. Ask for retweets.Asking followers to RT your tweet makes a major difference in the percentage of people who will. Companies have found that including “please retweet” in their tweet increases the amount of retweets they receive. Follow word trends.Socially Stacked has found that the following words are popular in retweets: top, follow, please retweet, social, help, check it out, great, free, 10, how to.
Engaging followers (and potential followers) will help you build brand loyalty, increase your fan base, and could even give you further insight into what your customers want. Popular forms of engagement on Twitter are asking questions, triggering conversations, and (of course) retweets and users clicking on your links.
Here are the last of our cool Twitter tricks to increase follower engagement: Include an image.Tweets with images get 2x the engagement. Keep it short.Tweets get more engagement when they are under 100 characters long. Limit your hashtags.For best results, only use a maximum of two hashtags in one tweet. Repeat 3x.In order to make sure your tweet is seen, repeat the tweet with slightly different wording or hashtags at least three times so users in other time zones or with different Twitter habits will see it.
On that last point, below is an example of how I changed up the wording for the same article for three tweets. Typically, I use the headline the first time, a quote from the article the second tweet, and for the third I either use a key point or a different version of the headline.
Twitter is a great way to expand your company’s reach, and with these helpful Twitter tips you will be a Twitter marketing master in no time. | 4,530 | 2,112 | 0.00048 |
warc | 201704 | If you’re too skinny and you’re wondering how you can gain weight fast, you’re in the right place. Today I’ll show you how to gain healthy weight the easy way.
There are a few very important things you need to do in order to start gaining weight. Let’s talk about these right now…
Eat The Right Amount Of Food
The first thing you’ll want to do is start eating the right amount food to gain weight. Notice I didn’t just say, “Eat more food.” That advice is way too general and won’t help you.[adrotate group=”1″]You need to eat the RIGHT amount. If you don’t eat enough calories, your body won’t grow. If you eat too much food, you’ll just gain excess fat.
We want to find your “sweet spot” – and get you eating the right amount of food that has your body packing on lean muscle mass, without a lot of extra fat.
Maybe you think that you’re already eating a lot… But do you know how much food you need in order to gain weight? You need to eat approximately 20 x your body weight in calories every day.
Are you eating 20x your body weight every day?
The only way to know how much you’re eating is to start counting your calories. And I DON’T mean keeping track of your calories as you eat things throughout the day.
Counting calories this way is too much of a hassle and nobody would ever stick with that for more than a week.
Instead, I’ll show you how to do a few calculations and plan your meals in advance to make things easier for you.
If you go about things in this systematic fashion I guarantee you’ll gain weight. It’s impossible NOT to gain weight if you simply do what I tell you here.
Calculating How Many Calories You Need To Gain Weight
So do the calculation right now: 20 x your body weight in calories.
Let’s say you weigh 135 lbs. 135 x 20 = 2,700. So you should start off by eating 2,700 calories a day if you want to gain weight.
The fact is you may need more or you may need less calories to gain weight. But this is a good starting point.
Just to be clear, you’re not going to eat anything and everything under the sun. Junk food like cake and pizza will get you fat.
Our goal is to gain healthy weight, which is muscle weight. A good weight gain diet is composed of about 30% protein, 45% carbs, and 25% fat. Remember, these ratios aren’t set in stone but they serve as a good starting point.
Increase Your Meal Frequency
The next thing you’ll want to do is increase your meal frequency to 6 meals a day. This may seem like a lot, but with the help of a whey protein supplement it won’t be as hard as you think.
The reason you’re increasing your meal frequency is to keep a steady flow of nutrients coming into your body.
Eating only 3 meals a day puts your body on a “nutrient roller coaster” that forces your body to store more fat and gain less muscle mass.
Eating 6 meals a day will ensure that your body has what it needs to build new muscle mass and you keep your body out of a catabolic (muscle wasting) state.
Start A Weight Training Program To Gain Mass
Now that you’ve got your diet established you’re ready to start a weight training program to gain muscle weight. Your workouts should consist primarily of compound exercises like squats, dead lifts, and bench presses.
You’ll want to work within the rep range of about 4 – 12 reps for muscle gains. Anything more than 12 reps will only serve to improve your endurance.
We’re going for muscle size and strength here so we’re going to keep each exercise under 12 reps.
The 4 – 6 rep range you use will improve your strength, which will allow you to lift heavier weights. The 7 – 12 rep range will work more towards building your muscle size, which will account for the majority of your weight gains.
One thing to remember is that more is not always better. Especially in the case of weight training for gaining muscle.
You’ll want to keep your workouts short – 60 minutes or less. Once you go past 60 minutes a hormone called cortisol kicks in and begins to break down your muscle tissue for energy.
Does that sound good for gaining weight? Nope. After 60 minutes you need to get out of the gym and go eat something!
In fact, you’ll want to drink your post-workout shake in the locker room immediately after your workout. This will help stop cortisol and begin protein synthesis to build new muscle.
What To Do Next?
This is a large topic, and there are a lot of things you can learn to get faster results, perfect your diet, and enhance your workout program.
In order to craft the perfect weight gain plan for yourself and start putting on muscle in the fastest way possible I would recommend you seek out a muscle-building coach who can help you further.
If you’re too skinny and your main goal is to gain weight and build muscle then I would recommend Jeff Masterson as your muscle-building coach. He is the author the “Weight Gain Blueprint” program, which is a complete weight gain program for skinny guys. | 5,167 | 2,287 | 0.000462 |
warc | 201704 | Today's date: Sunday January 22, 2017 Vol 50 Issue 03
We Cover The County...
The Grand River breached its banks in Fergus on April 10. GRCA officials have warned of flooding throughout the watershed through this weekend.
GRCA issues widespread flood warning
A Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) official says melting snow and significant rainfall have combined to produce the highest discharge levels at the Shand Dam in Belwood since 2001.
“And it will get higher,” GRCA spokesman Dave Schultz said on the afternoon of April 10.
He told the Advertiser water levels at all reservoirs in the GRCA watershed are high, which means the authority is increasing discharges at area dams to accommodate current flows and rainfall (about 30 to 45mm fell in the first part of the week), as well as the 50 to 70mm of rain expected on April 11 and 12.
“We expect high levels through the weekend, anyways,” Schultz said, noting it will take days to subside.
The increased river flows and reservoir levels started last week with melting snow, “And now you’re piling the rain on top of it,” Schultz explained.
The Grand River breached its banks through Fergus on April 10 and businesses along the river in Elora closed that day due to the imminent threat of flooding.
Schultz said the water breaches the board walk walls in Elora at around a flow of 110 cubic metres per second, and flows at the Shand Dam on April 10 were about 170m3/s (the highest they have been since 2001, when they reached about 200m3/s).
And flows in Elora would be higher than that, Schultz noted, due to other direct run-off in the area due to frozen ground.
“The water won’t soak in, it just runs off,” said Schultz.
Jennifer Burn, owner of Awareness Yoga, said on April 10 she expects her business to be flooded, but is hoping for the best.
“I’ve never seen [the water] come over the boardwalk since I’ve been here,” Burn said, noting she has operated out of the Mill Street building for four years.
“We are closed, obviously,” she said. “Now it’s literally wait and see ... I just hope it doesn’t get too high in the studio.”
Despite the very real threat of significant flooding for about a dozen businesses along the river boardwalk in Elora, and a few low-lying properties in the area, Schultz said the next threshold for flooding for area businesses and homes is much higher.
“We don’t see any further threats to property,” he said of the Centre Wellington area, even if rainfall on April 11 and 12 reaches 70mm.
However, in the north, Schultz did not dismiss the possibility of flooding along the Conestogo River, a tributary to the Grand, in and around Drayton.
He explained Conestogo Lake does have more capacity than the reservoir in Belwood, but if the area received close to 70mm of rain, flooding could be a real possibility.
“We’ve asked municipal officials to keep an eye on levels in Drayton,” Schultz said.
He added the GRCA has already increased flows at the Conestogo Dam, but will re-evaluate the situation on April 11 and 12 to see if it should be increased even further.
The GRCA issued a flood warning on April 8 and again on April 10.
Officials are warning that banks adjacent to rivers and creeks are slippery and when combined with cold, fast-moving water pose a serious hazard. The GRCA is encouraging parents to keep children and pets away from water courses and off any remaining frozen water bodies.
For more information on flows, weather and reservoir conditions visit www.grandriver.ca.
The Maitland Valley Conservation Area (www.mvca.on.ca) and the Saugeen Valley Conservation Area (www.svca.on.ca) which cover a portion northern Wellington County, as well as the Credit Valley Conservation (www.creditvalleyca.ca), which covers part of the Town of Erin, have also issued flood watches or warnings for their respective watersheds.
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© All materials copyright The Wellington Advertiser, 2006-. Photographs and text found here may not be used for any purpose whatsoever without express permission. If you need something, please ask. Your feedback is welcome. Please direct comments, questions or suggestions to editor@wellingtonadvertiser.com | 4,414 | 2,080 | 0.0005 |
warc | 201704 | Unused Medication Drop-Off
To reduce the environmental impact of improper disposal of medication, Washington Hospital has partnered with the Union Sanitary District to offer Tri-City area residents a convenient, safe and environmentally sound option for disposing of old medications.
As chemical analysis technology has improved, even trace amounts of pharmaceuticals in rivers, bays, and oceans that present potential impacts to fish and wildlife can be detected. That's why bringing unused medications to Washington Hospital for disposal is the best alternative. The service is free to residents and Union Sanitary District pays for the safe disposal of the medication.
By partnering with Union Sanitary District - an independent special district which provides wastewater collection, treatment and disposal services to the residents and businesses of the cities of Fremont, Newark and Union City - Washington Hospital will offer five of the few permanent public disposal sites available to Tri-City area residents.
Permanent drop-off sites are now available at the following locations:
Washington Hospital - Main Lobby, 2000 Mowry Avenue, Fremont Washington Hospital Community Health Resource Library - 2500 Mowry Avenue (Washington West), Fremont WTMF at Nakamura Clinic - 33077 Alvarado Niles Rd, Union City WTMF at Newark - 6236 Thornton Avenue, Newark WTMF at Warm Springs - 46690 Mohave Drive, Fremont
For more information about the environmental impact of flushing medications or for facts about recycling, visit www.earth911.org and www.nodrugsdownthedrain.org. | 1,579 | 808 | 0.001244 |
warc | 201704 | 15,000 people join Which? to tackle phone companiesFixed should mean fixed on phone contracts
31 July 2012
In the first fortnight since Which? launched its Fixed Means Fixed campaign, more than 15,000 consumers have joined us in calling on Ofcom to take action.
Which? research found that 70% of customers with a fixed term mobile phone contract did not realise that companies could increase the prices during the term.
Richard Lloyd, executive director of Which?, said: 'The regulator and mobile phone companies must not ignore the thousands of people who want them to play fair. Consumers must be confident that fixed really does mean fixed.'
Thousands of complaints
In the last eight months, Orange, T-Mobile, Vodafone and Three have all raised their prices for existing contract customers. Those customers are unable to leave their contract, and are locked in to paying a price higher than it was when they agreed to the term.
Which? is calling on consumers to support the campaign to encourage Ofcom to take swift and decisive action on the issue. We want companies to understand that 'fixed' should truly mean 'fixed' – in price as well as contract term.
During the price rises, Which? Conversation received more than 1,700 comments from frustrated consumers, who were unaware that the contract terms allowed mobile companies to vary their prices.
One commenter thought they should have been given the option to leave: 'What is the point of having a contract if the company can vary it? ... As far as I am concerned you have changed my contract and therefore I should have the option to leave.' | 1,616 | 829 | 0.001218 |
warc | 201704 | Tighter lending restrictions are pushing people to use B lenders, such as trust companies, rather than banks.
As more people find themselves outside the criteria for a traditional mortgage, they are turning to alternative lenders, but that desperation can lead them to making choices which could see them losing their homes.
While the A lenders are competitively keeping their rates as low as possible, around the 2.99 per cent mark, B lenders’ rates are often double that or more. Some people have saddled themselves with loan repayments of a massive 16 per cent.
On top of the interest rates, other fees ramp up payments to a level that puts a very real risk of losing the home.
Are you looking to invest in property? If you like, we can get one of our mortgage experts to tell you exactly how much you can afford to borrow, which is the best mortgage for you or how much they could save you right now if you have an existing mortgage. Click here to get help choosing the best mortgage rate
More market watch: | 1,023 | 572 | 0.001769 |
warc | 201704 | Cholera outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) 23 July 2012 - The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has reported a sharp increase in the number of cholera cases in the armed conflict area of North Kivu. According to the report, 368 new cases were reported from epidemiological week 24 (11-17 June) to epidemiological week 26 (25 June-1 July). The most affected areas include Birambizo, Goma, Karisimbi, Kiroshe, Mutwanga, Mweso and Rwanguba.
There is concern that the security situation may increase difficulty in accessing the health-care facilities and could increase the number of severe and fatal cases. The current armed conflict in North Kivu also poses a risk of international spread of the disease to neighbouring countries such as Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan and Uganda.
North Kivu is one the five provinces of eastern DRC where cholera is endemic.
Vibrio cholerae was confirmed in the AMI-Kivu laboratory since 2011. Response
Epidemiological investigation conducted by national authorities and other partners, including Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Merlin, and International Rescue Committee (IRC) indicated that insufficient access to safe water supply remains the main cause of the epidemic in North Kivu.
Patients are being treated with infusions and antibiotics as appropriate, at treatment centres. Interventions to control the epidemic that are being carried out include education and communication; management of cases; increased surveillance; hygiene and sanitation; and provision of safe drinking water.
WHO is working to support national authorities in response to the cholera outbreak and the broader humanitarian emergency resulting from conflict and population displacement. | 1,733 | 938 | 0.001077 |
warc | 201704 | Expert Reviewed
Losing a beloved pet is never easy. Saying goodbye can be incredibly painful. Sometimes, the closure of a burial and funeral can help. If you want to bury your cat, make sure it's legal in your area. Then, choose a burial site, coffin, and grave marker. You will have to place your cat in the coffin, dig a hole, and then decorate the spot. If you have a place to visit your lost pet, you will feel better about saying goodbye.
Steps Part 1Making Decisions Regarding Burial 1 Check whether burying your cat is legal and safe.While it's important to many to give their pet a final resting place, burying an animal is not legal everywhere. Prior to burying your cat, check local regulations. You can call someone at your local courthouse or Department of Natural Resources to see whether it's legal to bury a pet in your backyard. Usually, you cannot bury a cat in public place like a park. [1] Refrain from burying a cat near a body of water. This could contaminate the water supply. You should also make sure you're not digging into any cables in the ground. Choose an area of your yard that's far away from home. If you encounter any cables while digging your hole, stop digging, refill the hole, and pick a different spot. If you're renting, make sure to check with your landlord. Not all landlords will allow people to bury pets in the backyard. 2 Choose a burial site.Once you have made sure burying your cat is legal, select a burial site. You can pick a spot in your yard or an area in a public place. [2] You may want to pick a special or symbolic place to bury your cat. If your cat always hung out near the wildflowers in your yard, for example, this may be a good spot to bury it. If your cat loved to play in the woods, you could bury your cat there. However, think about logistics when deciding to bury your cat. You do not want the grave somewhere in the yard where it will frequently be stepped on or disturbed. Choose an area of your yard where you don't usually go. If you have young children, pick a spot where they do not play. 3 Select a coffin or container.You want some kind of vessel to place your cat in prior to burial. This is particularly important if your state or area has certain regulations regarding burying pets. You may be required to use a particular type of container due to concerns about contaminating the ground. [3] You can purchase a coffin for a pet online. If it's important to you to have a formal coffin, this may be the right option for you. However, coffins can be expensive. You can also bury your cat in something like a cardboard box. If your cat had a bed it loved, consider burying your cat in its bed. If you don't need to use a container, you can always just wrap your cat in a towel prior to burial. 4 Settle on a grave marker.There are many things you could use to mark your pet's grave. You can purchase a marker for your pet online, which you can custom create to include your pet's name and other details, such as the date of birth and death. However, if this is out of your budget, there are other options. [4] You can gather stones and rocks from your backyard and pile them near the grave. If it's important for you to have your cat's name on the grave marker, you can use paint to write the cat's name on a larger rock. If your cat loved a particular type of plant, consider placing a plant over your cat's grave. You can also put down something bigger, like a tree. Part 2Beginning the Burial Process 1 Plan to bury your cat as soon as possible.You want to bury your cat before the body starts to decompose. Ideally, bury your cat within the day it died or the day afterwards. A prompt burial is especially important in warmer months. [5] Unfortunately, if a cat dies in the winter a prompt burial is not always possible. The ground may be frozen over. In this case, ask your vet whether you can store your cat's body with them until you're able to bury it. You can also wrap your cat in a towel and place it in a Styrofoam container filled with ice. However, you should only use this method if you're storing your cat's body for a few days prior to burial. It will not work for long term storage. 2 Gather the necessary supplies.You will need certain supplies to bury your cat. You can find most of them at a local hardware store if you don't have them on hand in your home. You will need the following: [6] Gloves A spade or shovel Rope to tie around the box or container 3 Place your cat in the container you chose.Use gloves when handling your cat's body. If you want, you can bury your cat with a few of its favorite items. You can, for example, wrap your cat in its favorite blanket. You can also place your cat's favorite toy in the container with it, or other items the cat liked when alive. [7] Make sure to tie the box closed with rope after placing the cat in it. 4 Dig a hole at least three feet deep.You want to make sure the hole is deep enough that your cat's body will not be targeted by predators. Make sure to dig the hole wide enough that you can place your cat's coffin into the ground. [8] Remember, if you notice any cables, stop digging immediately. Fill in your hole and look for another place to bury your pet. Part 3Completing the Burial Process 1 Have a small memorial, if you wish.Many people find a memorial is helpful when burying their cat. Before placing your cat in the ground, you can say a few words, sing a song, or read a poem. [9] Consider inviting friends and family members over to say goodbye your pet. Young children may find a memorial particularly beneficial. You can encourage them to all collect things that remind them of their lost pet. They can place these things in the hole alongside the cat's coffin. 2 Lower your cat into the hole and cover it with soil.After saying a few words, gently set your cat's coffin in the ground. Refill the hole with the soil you dug up. Make sure to press the soil down as you place it over the grave. You want the soil to be firmly in place to prevent predators from digging up your cat. [10] 3 Set up your grave marker.Do not skip the grave marker. While it may not be important to you as a symbolic gesture, a grave marker prevents the grave from being disturbed. If you purchased a coffin, set it over the grave. If you're using rocks or other materials, pile them over the cat's resting place. [11] If you're planting something in the ground, make sure to surround the base of the plant with something heavy. This will keep predators away. 4 Decorate the gravesite, if you want.Once the marker is up, you may want to decorate the gravesite. You can put up temporary decorations, like flowers and other foliage. [12] If you have young children, they may want to decorate the grave. You can encourage them to do something like write notes to the cat or draw pictures to leave at the gravesite. Community Q&A Which box color will suit on my brown cat?wikiHow ContributorIt depends on your personal preference. You can choose a coffin color that you feel matches your cat's personality. My dead cat is now very bloated and does not fit into her coffin. Is there anyway she will deflate back to the size she was? How do I bury the cat if my yard dirt is to hard for shovels?wikiHow ContributorUnfortunately, you may not be able to bury your cat in your yard if this is the case. Try looking at areas in your yard where the ground is softer. If you can't find a place in your yard, see if a friend or family member would let you bury your cat in their yard. Tips If burial is not possible, you can have your cat cremated and scatter its ashes somewhere. Sources and Citations ↑ http://www.cat-world.com.au/General-Cat-Articles/burying-a-cat.html ↑ https://www.cuteness.com/article/bury-pet-home ↑ https://www.cuteness.com/article/bury-pet-home ↑ http://www.memorials.com/Rules-for-Pet-Burials-information.php ↑ http://www.cat-world.com.au/General-Cat-Articles/burying-a-cat.html ↑ http://www.cat-world.com.au/General-Cat-Articles/burying-a-cat.html ↑ http://www.cat-world.com.au/General-Cat-Articles/burying-a-cat.html ↑ http://www.cat-world.com.au/General-Cat-Articles/burying-a-cat.html ↑ http://naturallysavvy.com/nest/how-to-bury-your-pet-naturally ↑ http://www.cat-world.com.au/General-Cat-Articles/burying-a-cat.html ↑ http://www.cat-world.com.au/General-Cat-Articles/burying-a-cat.html ↑ http://www.cat-world.com.au/General-Cat-Articles/burying-a-cat.html Article Info
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warc | 201704 | Meet with a lawyer, and discuss the outcome regarding property, assets, children, and custody. Fill out the correct forms, have them reviewed by a lawyer, then file them. Have someone give the papers and a Declaration of Disclosure to your spouse. Write an agreement with your spouse, fill out the final forms, then receive your judgment.
Steps Part 1Getting Ready to File for Divorce 1 Figure out where to file.Most states have a minimum residency requirement for people who want to file for divorce. If you've lived in the same place for six months or longer, you can probably file for divorce in your county, even if your spouse does not live there. If you haven't lived in the same place for long, you may have to first file for separation and then file for divorce after you've met the residency requirements of your state. In most cases you must file in the state where you live, even if you got married in a different state. Exceptions may be made for same-sex couples who got married in a state other than their state of residency for legal reasons. 2 Decide what outcome you want to have.Divorce can take many forms. In some cases it is amicable and relatively easy to bring about, but it can also get very complicated. What kind of divorce will bring about the results you want? Consider the following variables: Do you own property or other assets with your spouse that you plan to divide? Do you have children with your spouse, and will you be seeking custody? If you are seeking custody, will you also seek child support from your spouse? Consider creating a divorce mission statement so that you can clearly outline your goals and desires. 3 Gather information.In advance of meeting with a lawyer for a consultation, you'll need a concrete picture of what you and your spouse will be dividing. Organize documentation on both your assets and your debts, including the following: Real estate, bank accounts, and valuable personal property. Mortgages, loans, and credit card balances. 4 Meet with a lawyer.Schedule a consultation with an experienced divorce lawyer. Even seemingly straightforward divorces can end up getting complicated, and a divorce lawyer can answer specific questions about your circumstances. Even if you end up representing yourself, a one-hour consultation with a lawyer will help you get the ball rolling. Be prepared to talk about your goals and desired outcome. Bring the documentation you gathered on your assets and debts. Have a list of questions that are specific to your situation ready to ask the lawyer. Have the lawyer help you create a filing plan according to the laws that apply in your county. Part 2Filing Divorce Papers 1 Fill out the correct court forms.Go to the county courthouse or visit their website online to obtain the forms you need to fill out to start your divorce case. The spouse filing is known as the "Petitioner" and the receiver of the petition is known as the "Respondent". The most common reason for filing is "irreconcilable differences" for a no-fault divorce. In most cases you will fill out a Family Law Petition, giving the court information about your marriage and the orders you want the court to make. You'll fill out a Summons, which describes important information about the divorce process in your county, including standard restrictions regarding handling your assets and debts during the proceedings. If you have property in question you'll fill out a Property Declaration form. If you have children under 18 with your spouse, you'll fill out forms regarding child custody and visitation. 2 Have the forms reviewed.In order for the divorce petition to be processed smoothly, it's important that the forms be filled out correctly with accurate information. Ask you lawyer to review the forms and make recommendations. If you don't wish to work with a lawyer, ask for help from the court's family law facilitator or self help center. 3 File the forms.Once everything is properly filled out, return the forms to the court to officially file them. Make two copies of the forms, so that you and your spouse both have one. File the original with the court. You'll have to pay a filing fee, which varies from state to state. The fee can amount to several hundred dollars; if you can't afford it, ask for a fee waiver. 4 Have your spouse served with the divorce papers.This is the legal process of notifying your spouse that a petition for divorce has been filed, and the court cannot proceed until the papers have been served. Find or hire a "server" to give the papers to your spouse. You can't do it yourself, but you can ask a friend or relative over age 18, hire a professional process server, or use the sheriff. Have the server serve the correct papers either in person or in some cases by mail, if this arrangement has been agreed upon. Have the server fill out a Proof of Service form. Have your lawyer or a member of the court staff make sure it is filled out correctly. Make a copy of the Proof of Service form, then file it with the court clerk. Part 3Filing Financial Disclosure Forms 1 Make a Declaration of Disclosure after filing your petition.In order for your petition to proceed, you and your spouse must both disclose your financial information and file it with the court. According to your circumstances, fill out either a Declaration of Disclosure and the accompanying forms, or the more simplified financial statement form. Talk to your lawyer about which one makes sense for you. In most cases you will have to attach your tax returns from the past two years. 2 Have your spouse served with the financial disclosure forms.Your spouse should also have you served with financial disclosure forms, so that you are in agreement about which assets and debts you'll be dividing. Make sure you save a few copies of the forms. These forms will not be filed with the court, so it's important that you have them filed with your personal records. If there is a change in your financial situation after filing the preliminary disclosure forms, you will have to fill out a second set of forms and go through the declaration procedure again. Part 4Completing the Divorce 1 Write up an agreement with your spouse.If your spouse has cooperated throughout the process, the next step is to write up an agreement regarding assets, debts, and child custody. Have a lawyer help you write the agreement to make sure it is legally sound. Have the agreement notarized. If your spouse did not respond to your petition for divorce or your Declaration of Disclosure after 30 days, you will fill out your final forms without first writing up an agreement. 2 Fill out the final forms.Fill out a series of final forms regarding your assets and debts, child custody, child support, and other specifics regarding your situation. Have your lawyer or a member of the court staff review your forms to make sure they are correctly filled out. Make copies of the forms and file them with the court. 3 Receive your judgement.After reviewing the final forms, the court will send you a judgement notice notifying you of the outcome of your divorce and any further steps you must take to finalize it. If your spouse contests the divorce, you may have to attend a court hearing. The judge will look over the and may make changes to agreements pertaining to assets, alimony, child Support, custody, and any other anything the judge may consider amending. Community Q&A If I was wrongly married to someone, how do I file for divorce?wikiHow ContributorContact an attorney specializing in divorce in your area for assistance. How do I file for divorce if I no longer know where my spouse lives?wikiHow ContributorRun an ad in the newspaper serving the area of your spouse's last known address for one month declaring your intention to divorce. If you ask the court for an "Order of Notice by Publication" they should be able to give you precise instructions. How can I keep my kids full custody?wikiHow ContributorYou would have to do this in court. Talk to your lawyer about the steps you need to do this. Video Tips Look up your state's court website for specific information about how you should pursue a divorce. Warnings The procedure for filing for divorce is different in each state. Article Info
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warc | 201704 | Do you enjoy running on your own or with a group? It is easy to fall into a rut by following the same running routine day after day. To break free and push yourself while running, make sure to focus on something other than your discomfort. Set specific running goals and set out to achieve them each time you run. Find a running partner or group who can run with you and keep you accountable. And, offer yourself small rewards for goals met.
Steps 1Staying Positive When Running 1 Repeat positive mantras to yourself.Pick a certain phrase that motivates you and repeat this in your head before, during, and even after each run. Keep it short and positive in tone. You might say, “I can do this,” or “Keep it going.” Once you establish a breathing pattern, you can say this phrase in between breaths to keep the pattern going. [1] 2 Remind yourself of your strength and accomplishments.Dig back into your memory and recall the last time you felt like stopping during a run. Then, recall what happened when you kept going. Do this with as many events as you can and it will help you to keep pushing yourself. You can also think about general moments in life that you are proud of, such as when you graduated from college. [2] 3 Focus on your reasons for running.Everyone hits the pavement for a unique set of reasons. Instead of focusing on the negatives, like leg soreness, think about what you get out of running. Maybe hitting the track makes you healthier and more able to play with your children. Perhaps marathons let you express your competitive instincts. [3] 4 Sing or hum a favorite song.Most of us have a particular type of music or a certain artist that gets us pumped up and excited. Create a playlist of our iPod or other device that includes songs to motivate you to pick up the pace. You could also include songs or genres that are inspirational, such as gospel. Keep messing with your playlist until it fits your needs and refresh it regularly as well. [4] If you are running a longer distance, like a marathon, you may want to test out podcasts or even audio books as well. Just make sure to keep up the pace as you listen. 5 Disconnect pain from injury.If you are not in pain due to an acute injury, then you can generally compartmentalize the negative sensations connected with pain, thus minimizing its power over you. Don’t give pain more power than it should have. If you experience discomfort, start to think about all of the ways that pain can be good. [5] For example, life often begins with the pain of pregnancy. And, muscles are often sore or in pain before they regenerate even stronger. Just be aware of your body and know how to differentiate “true” pain, such as shin splits, from “false” pain, such as muscle soreness. 2Setting and Achieving Specific Running Goals 1 Keep a log of your runs.Get a small journal or notebook and write down your distances, dates, and times. Look over it to see how you are progressing. Make adjustments as necessary to ensure that you don’t plateau. You may need to sign-up for longer runs or perhaps work on improving your closing speeds. You can also purchase apps for your phone that will help you to track your runs. You can also consult your phone when running to see how your pacing is progressing. 2 Set reasonable goals.Look at your initial runs and estimate how much energy you have left. Then, count on expending that energy and a little bit more and set that as your new goal. You can choose a particular time or distance. But, for some people, it is best to choose a landmark that they are determined to reach while on their run. [6] For example, you might say, “I will run the full track at the three parks near my house.” Or, “I will run to Sycamore Street and back.” 3 Break down your run into chunks.When you feel like quitting toward the middle or end of a race, split the remaining distance into pieces. This will allow you to reach a series of small goals on the way to one major one. Each time that you complete a chunk, praise yourself and further divide the remaining pieces. Keep doing this until you reach the finish line. [7] For example, if you have 8 miles left to go, try breaking it into 2 mile chunks. Watch for each 2 mile section to pass and then celebrate mentally before moving onward. 4 Prepare to ramp up your effort.It is often easy to start your run off at a fierce pace, but this energy level is tough to keep up. Make a note of where/when you lag at each race and watch out for signs of tiredness and exhaustion. Try to save a bit of energy for this period. You can do this by purposefully slowing down in the minutes before you hit this wall. [8] For some runners, training with an interval workout is helpful is teaching them how to ramp up and ramp down their speeds and energies. 5 Know the serious physical warning signs.There are some moments when pain and discomfort must be taken seriously. If you feel a sharp pain in your shin or hips, it is best to slow or stop running. If you start to experience tightness in your chest or severe stomach pains, stop and seek out help as well. When in doubt, trust your instincts and err on the side of caution. [9] 3Working with Others to Push Yourself When Running 1 Get a running partner.If you are in a relationship, see if your partner is interested in joining you on runs. Or, ask a friend or acquaintance. Go to a gym and find another runner who is looking for a partner. You don’t have to run at exactly the same pace to benefit from running with one another. In fact, they can even just start off with you and then separate. Or, if they are faster, they may push you to excel. [10] 2 Join a running club.Contact your local gyms or rec centers to see if they have an active running group in place. Or, hit your local running store and ask if they know of any running clubs that are currently active. Participating in a group will keep you accountable and it will also provide an outlet for any questions that you may have. [11] You can also join digital running groups that allow you to enter your run information online and talk with others. These can be a good option if you don’t feel like starting up your own face-to-face club. 3 Subscribe to a running magazine.Sign up for an online or paper subscription to a magazine or newsletter that focuses on runners and running. If you read through these publications, you will get advice on how to push through the barriers that you face while running. You may also see inspirational stories of people who overcame a great deal to run, which may put your own experiences in perspective. [12] 4Staying Engaged While Running 1 Remove all of your devices.Runners like to call this, “going naked.” Every once in a while go ahead and silence your phone, leave your music at home, and just run. This will reconnect you with the joys of running, as opposed to the tedium to constantly checking your pedometer. It will also help you to gain an awareness of your pace by connecting with your body, as opposed to relying on a device. [13] It is a good idea to run with your phone somewhere on you, just in case you encounter emergencies. So, instead of just leaving it at home, put it entirely on silent or airplane mode and don’t look at it during your run. 2 Experiment with a different time of day.You might fall into a rut if you follow the same running schedule every day. This may make your more complacent and lead to less of an effort on your part. So, every few weeks, switch up your routine and add a few opposite-time runs in. If you usually run in the morning, take a quick evening jog and vice versa. [14] People who run in the mornings generally see a larger boost in energy and better sleep than evening athletes. If you switch up your routine temporarily, you may find that another time suits you even better. 3 Envision an end-of-run reward.Focus on a nice, cool bottle of Gatorade waiting for you after the run. Or, perhaps picture yourself enjoying a soothing bath. The reward itself should be enticing enough to catch and hold your interest. It should also be attainable. Many social runners often envision the gathering awaiting them post-run. [15] Some runners actually build a reward in to their route. For example, they purposefully go by an ice cream shop toward the end of their run to grab a quick cone. 4 Gear up in style.When you look good, it can elevate your performance. It’s not necessary to deck yourself out in the latest in running technology, although that may help. Instead, focus on wearing clothes that you are comfortable in and that won’t be distracting on a run. [16] Wearing a good pair of running shoes is particularly important. Keep an eye on your pair to make sure the tread is still present. When you break in a new pair, expect some discomfort initially. 5 Run somewhere new.Running on the same path can be helpful in that you know the landmarks for pacing, however, it can also get boring really fast. Try to add short new legs to your run. Hop in the car and go to a park for a change of pace. Make sure that you are running on different types of terrain to add in even more of a challenge. All of this will help you to keep pushing yourself to new levels. [17] 6 Find a focal point outside of yourself.To do your best, you’ll want to concentrate on the moment. But, you can also find small ways to take mental breaks as well. While you are running, pay attention to the environment around you. Try to focus on the spectators on the sidelines of your marathon. Or, perhaps keep your focus on the trees or greenery. This will take your mind off your discomfort. [18] Community Q&A What is considered to be a fast running speed for a teenager?wikiHow ContributorIt depends on a few things about the person, including their weight, height, and sex. That said, you should be able to run 100 meters in about 20 seconds. How can I get better at running in soccer?wikiHow ContributorTry running at varying intervals. For example, try jogging from one end of the soccer pitch to the halfway line, then as you reach the halfway line break into a sprint, sprint to the other end of the pitch, then jog back to the halfway line, and repeat the same exercise. How can I gain leg strength to complete the 600 meter quicker?wikiHow ContributorTry running with ankle weights. Video Tips Make sure to stay hydrated before, during, and after your race. Try to drink at least eight glasses of water a day, even more if you are preparing for a long run. [19] Warnings If you experience any severe pain or cramping, make sure to get medical attention. Sources and Citations ↑ http://www.shutupandrun.net/2012/06/how-to-dig-deep-when-you-want-to-quit.html ↑ http://www.active.com/running/articles/6-tips-to-push-past-the-pain ↑ http://www.active.com/running/articles/6-tips-to-push-past-the-pain ↑ http://dailyburn.com/life/fitness/love-running-tips/ ↑ http://www.active.com/running/articles/6-tips-to-push-past-the-pain ↑ http://dailyburn.com/life/fitness/love-running-tips/ ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/29/fashion/29FITNESS.html ↑ https://runnersconnect.net/coach-corner/teaching-yourself-to-race/ ↑ http://www.active.com/running/articles/6-tips-to-push-past-the-pain ↑ http://dailyburn.com/life/fitness/love-running-tips/ ↑ http://dailyburn.com/life/fitness/love-running-tips/ ↑ http://dailyburn.com/life/fitness/love-running-tips/ ↑ http://www.shape.com/fitness/training-plans/best-running-tips-all-time ↑ http://dailyburn.com/life/fitness/love-running-tips/ ↑ http://dailyburn.com/life/fitness/love-running-tips/ ↑ http://dailyburn.com/life/fitness/love-running-tips/ ↑ http://dailyburn.com/life/fitness/love-running-tips/ ↑ http://www.active.com/running/articles/6-tips-to-push-past-the-pain ↑ http://www.shape.com/fitness/training-plans/best-running-tips-all-time Article Info
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Español: esforzarse al correr, Italiano: Sostenere te Stesso Quando Corri, Русский: пересилить себя во время бега, Português: se Esforçar Até Seu Limite Enquanto Corre, Deutsch: Dich beim Laufen antreiben
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warc | 201704 | Excessive sweating on the palms, or palmoplantar hyperhidrosis, often begins around age 11 and continues throughout life. Sweaty hands can be embarrassing and interfere with some activities, but the good news is that regular attention to the matter in combination with medical treatments can help curb the moisture. Learn about quick fixes and long-term solutions for treating sweaty hands.
Steps Part 1Quick Remedies 1 Wash your hands.Sweaty hands don't dry up on their own, so you'll have to wash them more often than most people do in order to keep them dry. Wash them when the amount of sweat starts to bother you, then thoroughly dry them off with a towel or washcloth. When you aren't washing up for dinner or after using the bathroom, it's fine to use plain water, rather than soapy water, to wash your hands. This way you'll avoid drying out the skin on the back side of your hands from using too much soap. Carry alcohol-based hand sanitizer (not antibacterial) for the times when you can't get to a sink to wash your hands. A squirt of alcohol works to temporarily dry up the sweat. Carry a cloth or a package of paper towels so you can wipe off your hands when you need to. Use them before situations when you'll be shaking hands with someone. 2 Cool off your hands.Many people get sweaty hands when their bodies are slightly overheated, so cooling them off can be a quick and effective remedy. Hold your hands in front of a fan or air conditioner to dry the moisture and slow down the production of sweat. To cool your hands down quickly when you aren't at home, find a bathroom and run them under cold water, then dry them thoroughly with a paper towel. Avoid getting too hot in the first place, if possible. Don't use a heater unless it's absolutely necessary, and turn down the thermostat in your room. 3 Sprinkle some powder on your hands.If you're at home and don't mind your hands looking a little white, sprinkle them with a powder to temporarily absorb the sweat. This can come in handy if your sweaty hands inhibit daily activities like lifting weights, jumping rope or complete chores that require a tight grip. Try the following types of powder: Baby powder, either scented or unscented. Baking soda or corn starch. Part 2Lifestyle Solutions 1 Don't use items that cause more sweating to occur.Keeping your hands free of articles of clothing and products that inhibit air flow will cause your hands to stay moist, rather than naturally getting the chance to dry. Avoid the following items whenever possible: Gloves, mittens and other items that cover your hands. Wear them when it's freezing outside, of course, but avoid wearing gloves indoors or in situations where they aren't necessary. Gloves are effective if you want to hide the sweatiness of your hands, but they'll keep your hands so warm that they'll sweat more than usual. Petroleum-based lotions and other skin products. Petroleum jelly is used by people with dry skin to seal in moisture, and it has the same effect on sweaty skin. Petroleum jelly can prevent your sweat from drying and cause your hands to become greasy. The same goes for coconut oil and other cosmetic oils used to hold moisture against skin. 2 Start using an antiperspirant.You may not think to use an antiperspirant on your hands, since they are usually used in the underarm area, but the same chemicals that prevent your armpits from sweating excessively can help your hands, too. [1] Choose an unscented "clinical strength" antiperspirant containing aluminum zirconium, which many find to be effective. Prescription-strength antiperspirants containing aluminum chloride hexahydrate, a stronger antiperspirant chemical, are also available; talk to your doctor. 3 Stay relaxed.Excessive perspiration is often triggered by anxiety and stress. Practice meditation, yoga or another activity that will help reduce your stress and prevent your sweat glands from going into overdrive. [2] If you get sweaty while thinking of a certain problem that's bothering you, think through a solution and tackle it head-on. If you need help, consider talking to a counselor. For a quick solution to anxiety-related sweating, have a seat, close your eyes, and take a few deep breaths. Try to calm your mind before going about your day. Part 3Medical Treatments 1 Look into iontophoresis.This procedure involves using water to send an electrical current under the skin, which temporarily prevents sweating from occurring. [3] During iontophoresis, the hands are submerged in water while an electrical current is sent through the water. A tingling sensation may be felt, but the procedure is painless. Iontophoresis kits are available for home use. Talk to your doctor about purchasing one so you can use it any time. 2 Take an oral medication.Oral medicines known as anticholinergics stop sweating as a side effect, so doctors sometimes prescribe them to treat excessive sweating in the hands. [4] This might be a good choice if you aren't an athlete, but if you're an active person, it can be dangerous to interfere with your body's production of sweat, which functions to cool the body when it becomes heated from exercise. Anticholinergics can also cause dry mouth and other side effects. [5] 3 Research botulinum toxin injections.Botox injections, which are often used to smooth wrinkles in the face or plump up the lips, can also be used to block the nerves that produce sweat. [6]However, injections can be painful, and they only stop excessive sweating temporarily. 4 Consider getting a sympathectomy.This procedure involves surgically removing a nerve from inside the chest, permanently disrupting the nerve signal that controls the body's sweating. [7] This surgery should be considered only as a last resort, since in half of the cases the body compensates by overproducing sweat in a different area. The sweating in your hands might go away, but you may experience increased sweating on your back or in another area. [8] If you wish to undergo this procedure, find a doctor who has done it before. Don't risk getting such a risky procedure done by someone unfamiliar with the process. [9] This surgery should be considered only as a last resort, since in half of the cases the body compensates by overproducing sweat in a different area. The sweating in your hands might go away, but you may experience increased sweating on your back or in another area. Community Q&A What do I do if drying my hands off only makes things worse?wikiHow ContributorWash your hands slowly, under cool (but not cold) water for 30 seconds or so, then dry them again. My hands usually get sweaty when I hold my boyfriend's hand but I'm not over heated or anything. Why does this happen?wikiHow ContributorTry not to think too much about it and try to distract yourself and your boyfriend from your hands. Think of things that make you happy and don't worry too much. Make sure you stay calm and think positive so you don't get worried. You could also wipe your hands with tissue or paper towel, if needed. Why do my hands sweat even when I'm not doing anything?wikiHow ContributorSometimes, things triggered in your mind can cause anxiety or stress. Think about other things, like focusing on your breathing, or just relax and think about life. You can also wash your hands or take a cold shower to cool off your body and stay relaxed. Whenever I'm near my crush I get sweaty hands and he sometimes wants to hold my hands but I move them cause they're to sweaty. What should I do?wikiHow ContributorGo arm in arm when hands won't stop sweating. You can still be close without feeling uncomfortable. How do I get rid of sweaty hands for good?wikiHow ContributorCarry some 40% ethanol with you. Apply it when your hands begin to sweat. It has almost instant results and it also cleanses your hands. It won't do any harm to you but it will dry out the skin, so you'll need to moisturize at night. How do I stop having sweaty hands while holding hands with someone I like?wikiHow ContributorIf this situation occurs, just put a little powder on your hands. My daughter has a problem of sweating during writing -- she is just six years old. What can I do?wikiHow ContributorTell your daughter to relax and think of positive things. It will help her stay calm. Also, make sure you encourage her and let her know everything is just fine because your daughter might be getting nervous about what to write or if it's good enough. If you think it might be more than nerves, talk to your doctor about it. Is there a cream to keep the hands dry?wikiHow ContributorThere is a prescribed cream that I thought about getting, but never tried, so I don't know if it works. I went to the doctor for tendonitis and she also noticed my sweaty hands and feet. I tried iontophoresis, but that did not help, so ask your doctor about getting the cream. What do I do if I have to shake hands with someone and my hands are sweaty?wikiHow ContributorIf it is appropriate, you could give them a fist bump instead. You could also apologize for the sweatiness or wipe your hand off before shaking. Tips Unless your sweaty hands impede your daily activities or social life, try not to let them bother you too much. It's an issue many people deal with, and shouldn't be a source of embarrassment. Try some anti moisturising creams and wipe your hands with a clean and dry towels. Staying calm plays a big part if you have anxiety so staying calm or thinking of something that keeps you distracted or happy can help with the sweaty palms. A simple way is to use talcum powder. Bring cotton balls with you, so you can wipe your hands off when needed. You can also bring a handkerchief, as that is easily stuffed into your pocket. Sources and Citations ↑ http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/features/excessive-sweating-sticky-subject?page=2 ↑ http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hyperhidrosis/DS01082/DSECTION=lifestyle-and-home-remedies ↑ http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/features/excessive-sweating-sticky-subject?page=2 ↑ http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/features/excessive-sweating-sticky-subject?page=2 ↑ http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/features/excessive-sweating-sticky-subject?page=Hit other ↑ http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hyperhidrosis/DS01082/DSECTION=treatments-and-drugs ↑ http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/features/excessive-sweating-sticky-subject?page=2 ↑ http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hyperhidrosis/DS01082/DSECTION=treatments-and-drugs ↑ http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/features/excessive-sweating-sticky-subject?page=3
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Español: tratar las manos sudorosas, Italiano: Trattare la Sudorazione Eccessiva delle Mani, Deutsch: Schwitzende Hände behandeln, Français: traiter les mains moites, 中文: 应对手汗, Русский: избавиться от потливости ладоней, Nederlands: Zweterige handen behandelen, Čeština: Jak vyléčit pocení rukou, Bahasa Indonesia: Mengatasi Tangan Berkeringat, Português: Tratar Mãos Suadas, हिन्दी: हाथों में आने वाले अत्यधिक पसीने से निजात पाएँ, العربية: علاج تعرّق اليدين, Tiếng Việt: Chữa Mồ hôi tay, 日本語: 手掌多汗症を改善する, ไทย: รักษาอาการเหงื่อออกมือ
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warc | 201704 | It has been my good fortune to spend much of the last 20 years exploring the wildflowers of Prince Edward County. I have used them in my own garden to cope successfully with challenging soil and a rigorous climate. As a Loyalist Parkway Association member, I persuaded the Ontario Ministry of Transportation to create an experimental wildflower plot in Prince Edward County and subsequently to seed four acres of wildflowers along the Parkway.
For 200 years, Prince Edward County has been an agricultural community protected from industrial and urban development. Our proximity to Lake Ontario gives us a moderate climate, but also a tendency toward drought. Our soils vary from arid sand dunes and limestone alvars to rich alluvial pockets. We enjoy inland lakes, sand beaches and pebbled ones, deep ports and shallow reefs. Our expansive wetlands and marshes offer shelter to a significant bird migration. And our history of family farming has left many mature woodlots. Our many conservation areas offer a wide variety of protected sites. Together, these factors yield an impressive assembly of plant life.
But an influx of people seeking recreation and retirement threatens these assets. Our woodlots are being cut for fuel and lumber, our wetlands filled or excavated, our shorelines reshaped, hedgerows destroyed, roadsides leveled and gravel deposits exploited.
In creating this website and identifying the wonders at our doorstep, I hope to heighten interest in our natural world. Perhaps this inventory of native plants and flowers will help County residents and visitors to recognize in them a treasure worth protecting in the face of changes still to come.
Occurrence ratings (common, unusual, rare) are based on observations in Prince Edward County, rather than on regional or national values.
Scientific names (genus, specie) can be difficult to verify, and some are disputed by experts. In those cases, only the genus may be given.
Common names are those I have heard used locally. Who can resist names like Cowslip, Pig's Ear, Hoary Puccoon or Pipsissewa?
We welcome your input! Send comments, suggestions, and error reports to .
Last updated Images © 2004, Court Noxon. | Policies | 2,211 | 1,201 | 0.000838 |
warc | 201704 | More than three quarters of all mobile calls are dialed from indoors. Naturally, that includes residents calling from their homes. And who hasn’t experienced the frustration of a dropped call or poor call quality, forcing you outside or closer to a window? More than ever, people rely on their cell phones for voice and data communications. But building materials, geographic features, and distance from a tower can all interrupt clear signals from reaching indoors, making connectivity that much more difficult.
You own your home, so it’s up to you to solve your connectivity issues, right? With WilsonPro’s affordable solutions, you don’t have to live with a poor mobile experience.
Boosters offer a powerful way to improve mobile access on any carrier and throughout an entire home, even with high-quality, high-density building materials like concrete, marble, and energy-efficient coated glass.
WilsonPro cell signal boosters capture the available signal outside a residence, amplify it, and broadcast it inside. That means that both incoming and outgoing calls will be more clear and steady, eliminating static and lost connections.
With easy installation by trained and certified professionals, boosters let you experience better voice quality and flawless data transmissions without leaving the comfort of home.
“As one of Wilson Pro’s in-building system design experts, we help to make office dead zones a thing of the past. We look forward to helping your office cost-effectively address the lost productivity from dropped calls and poor call quality.”
President of Powerful Signal
“We use Wilson because it works… bottom line. The systems work… period. They have a fantastic support team that we have forged strong relationships with. Also, they are innovators in their field. Also, Wilson offers us strong back-end support.”
President of Sybran Communications
“In the case of WilsonPro products, we now have a solution that allows our channel partners to bring cell phone signal boosters to the market. They can repeat cellular coverage indoors in anything from a small retail outlet, to a large warehouse or healthcare venue.”
VP of Mobility Business Unit of Global Convergence
“Our nationwide team of signal experts deploys hundreds of in-building coverage systems every year in buildings up to 500,000 sq ft, and the Wilson Pro line of products consistently get excellent feedback from both our clients and our engineers. If you’re looking to improve your cell coverage, WilsonPro’s line of products are the best for the job.”
CEO, RSRF
VP of Mobility | 2,666 | 1,334 | 0.000779 |
warc | 201704 | from the Melting Pot of the Pacific
However, 2000 will be the end of a truly significant century. Heck, the past 25 years have been doozies. The end of the Cold War, the start of Cold Surveillance; the rise and fall of skirts, and the fall and rise of bell bottoms. My own biggest disappointment has been stalled development of Cold Fusion. I guess those economy class hops to nearby planets promised to us by the science fictionists of the '50s are off for now.
But here's to you, Mrs. Robinson, because at least we have... Fusion Cuisine! Which, as the East-West cooking doyen Roy Yamaguchi recently said, has gone "way beyond chop suey, chow mein, and crispy egg rolls." It may not be Cold Fusion, but these early examples of Westernized ethnic foods -- now enshrined in frozen food sections -- were certainly the beginning of the full blown, carefree, and most creative styles of fusion cooking which we now see in Hawaii, London, Sydney, Paris, New York, and seemingly every consumer society.
So what does this have to do with what wines we'll be drinking in the next Millennium? Everything. Because, for all the recent ruminations published in this venue and that, virtually all such speculations are being written by wine "experts" who live in something of a vacuum. Experts who think deeply about wine, and thus have much to say about it. But the reality of the market is that it has never really been driven by experts, but by everyday, average wine drinkers who think about wine, and make use of it, for one reason and one reason only: as something to be drunk with their next meal.
There is no doubt in my mind that it's consumers -- and the producers and importers smart enough to figure out consumer needs -- who will determine which wines we'll be drinking in the 2000s. It was that way in the earliest part of the century, when Italian immigrants arrived in droves, and found the need to plant red wine varieties to make something to compliment their tomato, macaroni and cheese cooking. It was that way following the second world war, when American servicemen came home with a modest interest in wines marketed under European place names like Chablis, Burgundy, Rhine, Moselle, Sauterne, and Champagne. It was that way after Julia Child began to whisk away, dropping whole chickens, roasts, and saddles of lamb on her television set, thereby creating a stronger need for complex French varietal wines like Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc.
Americans' thirst for wine has always evolved only so far as their food culture. This explains why, during the '80s and '90s, per capita consumption of wine in the U.S. has significantly decreased; yet internationally, the wine production industry at higher quality and price levels has flourished. During the past two to three decades, our food culture has developed in two distinct ways:
1. The explosion of packaged foods and fast food restaurants, both of which are not exactly conducive to the interest in fine wine.
2. The steady increase of interest in fresher and more variable foodstuffs along with the dramatic growth of fine dining restaurants; both resulting in greater interest in the culinary arts and fine wines than ever before.
The mantra has been the same in recent years: Americans may not be drinking more wine, but they are certainly drinking "better" (italics) - basically because they are eating better. So why are they drinking smaller "quantities" (italics) of wine? Probably because they aren't sitting around the table as much. It certainly is not an uncommon observation that social values - and wine is a very social drink - are some of the first casualties of fast food. We may be "civilized," but we are basically the same animal that made its appearance on the planet some 100 millenniums ago. As Woody Allen once surmised, "Why 'does' (italics) man kill? He kills for food... and not only for food: frequently there must be a beverage."
So here are just four things which I, for one, predict Americans will be drinking more of in the earliest part of the next millennium:
2.
3.
4.
Happy Pre-Millennium! | 4,124 | 2,092 | 0.000481 |
warc | 201704 | Learn something new every day
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Pasta sauces, often called
gravies outside of the United States, can vary from white to red, light to heavy, and meaty to vegetarian. Some tips for making the perfect noodle-topping apply to only the sauce, while others dictate the type of pasta as well. While fresh ingredients usually make the best sauces, some canned items — like tomatoes — are sometimes more convenient and even tastier than those right off the vine. Despite the recipe, choosing high-quality ingredients and cooking the pasta properly are key to making a good pasta sauce.
In the U.S., some of the most popular pasta sauces are hearty, tomato-and-meat-based recipes. In other countries, people may prefer lighter sauces, such as a simple garlic-and-oil dressing or a chunky, spicy puttanesca dish. Many people prefer to pair the right pasta with a sauce — for instance, garlic and olive oil is light, as is angel hair or thin spaghetti, so those are often chosen to go together. Likewise, since the puttanesca sauce is thicker, it typically goes well with pasta that has ridges or holes to hold it, like penne or ziti.
One tip that seasoned sauce makers often share is that canned tomatoes make the best pasta sauces. Frequently, commercial producers treat just-harvested tomatoes with ethylene gas, or another technique, to keep the product fresh as it sits on store shelves. These practices usually enhance the flavor of the vegetable, therefore, canned tomatoes are often more flavorful.
Canned tomatoes are usually available whole, crushed, or diced, and this can help cooks make sauces faster while imparting stronger flavors and a more delectable aroma. Whole or diced varieties generally make a chunky sauce, while using crushed canned tomatoes yields a smoother sauce. Canned tomato paste has an intense flavor and a thick consistency that can be utilized to enhance a pasta sauce's taste and body. Normally, sauces made with canned tomatoes cook much faster — in about 20 minutes — as compared to those made with fresh tomatoes, which often need at least an hour of simmering to fully develop flavor.
One of the best tips that chefs share is that the pasta should be slightly undercooked, or
al dente, when it is combined with a sauce. Mixing the two together, and continuing to cook the pasta in the sauce, imparts some of the sauce flavors to the noodles. The rule of thumb is usually to undercook the pasta by about two minutes. If the sauce is too thick, adding a bit of the pasta water should help it to keep from scorching.
In fact, pasta water is another tip that can improve many pasta sauces. One method is to sauté garlic in hot olive oil and add a bit of pasta water. The hot oil and starch in the water combine to make a smooth foundation. Them, add vegetables, such as the canned tomatoes, and cook the sauce for 20 to 30 minutes, adding more water if necessary.
Although cooks usually use large pots to make their pasta sauces, some chefs prefer to use a pan with a large bottom area and low sides, such as a sauté pan. Many professionals employ this technique, and use a sauté pan to finish the undercooked pasta and sauce together. Restaurant chefs may flip the pan to lightly coat the pasta, but less experienced cooks can use tongs to toss the noodles and sauce.
Cheese is a binder, texturizer, and flavoring that many people overlook. One of the best tips for using cheese in a pasta dish is to grate it finely so that it will melt quickly and easily. Often, adding a little cheese in the final minutes cooking the pasta and sauce will help the sauce to cling to the noodles.
Most Italian cooks use a technique called
mantecare, meaning "to make creamy." To do this, they finish pasta sauces with a touch of olive oil or butter, or a combination of both. When using butter, adding bits of cold butter usually gives the best results.
Lostnfound
Post 2
One thing I always do when making pasta sauce, if I'm cooking the sauce at the same time as the pasta, is to add some of the pasta water to the sauce mixture. It thickens it up very well, without adding a lot of flour or cornstarch. I learned that little trick on a cooking show on PBS years ago.
I make a creamy garlic pasta sauce sometimes, and it's great. I try not to use a ton of heavy cream in my sauces, and stick with either half and half, or maybe whole milk, and whisk in a small amount of cold butter to give the sauce that richness.
Grivusangel
Post 1
My favorite pasta sauce is made from San Marzano tomatoes. It's so easy. I just dice an onion, add a little minced garlic and cook until fragrant, in a stick of butter. I pulse the tomatoes and their juice in my food processor until it's just chunky, add them to the onion mixture, season with salt and pepper, and simmer for about 45 minutes. Couldn't be easier, and it tastes great.
I usually eat that sauce with angel hair pasta. Actually, I could just put in a bowl, top with parmesan cheese and eat it without pasta. It's that good. I might also add a little basil, but this is an unbelievably easy recipe.
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A
mitraillette is a Belgian sandwich. The dish is commonly served by street vendors and at friteries, the Belgian version of a fast food restaurant. Just like France, Belgium has laid down a claim as the inventor of frites, the deep-fried potato strips better known as fries. In Belgian cuisine, fries are found on a variety of dishes and are included in many of the dishes served at a friterie, including the mitraillette.
Making a
mitraillette starts with the bread. The base of the sandwich is a baguette, a type of French bread featuring a crisp crust. Instead of the standard long, thin baguette, however, the sandwich is made on a demi-baguette that has been sliced open lengthwise. This version of the baguette is shorter and softer than the traditional baguette but is also wider, making it more suitable to serve as the foundation for the sandwich.
Inside the baguette, fried meat, a layer of salted fries, and a sauce are stacked. Many variations exist for these ingredients, however. Among the types of fried meats that may be used include hamburgers, sausages, and fish. The salad typically includes lettuce and other vegetables such as tomatoes, corn, and carrots. A
mitraillette can be served with a plethora of different sauces including mayonnaise, cheese sauce and ketchup.
The
mitraillette has been described as a snack enjoyed by those who see themselves as being part of the Belgian gourmand, meaning such individuals have an appreciation for fine food. Although the sandwich may not appear refined, the unique combination of ingredients is thought to help elevate the sandwich. The fries, for instance, add a crispy, creamy salty element, while the meat used can add a bolder flavor profile to the fast food item. The use of diverse sauces can be used to make the dish sweet, tangy, or spicy depending on the preference of the diner.
Translated from French,
mitraillette literally means submachine gun, and the sandwich can be described as a thick, hefty sandwich that can be quite fulfilling and heavy in calories. Usually, the mitraillette is so stuffed with fries that the sandwich is impossible to close. To get around this issue, the sandwich is generally served with a fork in the middle, allowing the diner to munch away at some of the salted fries and other ingredients until the sandwich can be shut and picked up to finish eating.
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The Human Resource Information System, more commonly referred to as the HRIS system, is a database designed to allow tracking of all sorts of personnel related information. Because the HRIS system can be customized to fit any number of Human Resource needs, it is possible to adapt the system to any company or industry setting. The HRIS System is capable of such tasks as identifying and tracking contacts with applicants, maintain essential data on the status of each employee in the company, and in general make the process of Human Resources management much easier to maintain.
One of the most attractive aspects of the HRIS System is the ease of customization. It is possible to make the system as comprehensive as the employer desires. This is accomplished by identifying and adding specific modules to the system and activating features associated with each module. For example, if the HRIS System needs to keep track of training functions for new hires and current employees, the planning software module makes it possible to plan the overall training program and also keep track of who has participated and successfully completed each section of the program.
The HRIS System is capable of handling all types of Human Resource functions. The capabilities begin with the hiring process, making it easy to track applicants from the submission of the initial application all the way through the offer of employment. When it comes to employee reporting, HRIS can maintain information on employee evaluations, requests for transfer to a different department, or an in house application for a promotion. These types of reporting capabilities make it possible for a user of the HRIS System to access and review a complete history of a given employee from the time of application through all promotions, evaluations, and wage increases. The system can even be used to identify productivity awards issued to the employee, as well as any bonuses that may be due the employee as a result of participation in a merit program.
It is not necessary to activate all the modules in the HRIS System during the initial setup. As the company grows and the range of Human Resource functions begin to expand, it is possible to activate additional modules on an as needed basis. This allows the system to grow with the company and continue to keep the process of Human Resources management simpler even as the business expands.
babylove
Post 2
I always wanted to work in human resources but I never had enough experience to qualify. Sounds like the HR software does most of the organizing for you. And probably most anyone could input data into an HR system.
MsClean
Post 1
When I worked in the hr dept we had to do everything manually. It was stressful keeping track of co-workers personal data. I'm sure the hr management software relieves a lot of the stress especially for the hr resources of large corporations.
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The Misery Index was devised by Arthur Okun, who is better known for Okun’s Law, which relates changes in unemployment to changes in gross national product (GNP), but only when unemployment is with the range of 3 to 7.5%. Okun was on the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) for President Kennedy and President Johnson, and created the index in the 1970s, after he had left the CEA and gone to work for the Brookings Institution.
Devised during a period of “stagflation” — a sluggish economy at a time of high unemployment and inflation — the Misery Index links those three factors in a simple measure that is meant to reflect the well-being of an economy. It is computed by summing the unemployment rate for a given period with the inflation rate during that period. The formula can be written:
Unemployment Rate + Inflation Rate = Misery Index
An increase in the index signals a decline in the economic climate because rising inflation and unemployment spur an economic slow-down, while a decrease in the index signals an improvement in the economic climate. It is common to line up the rating with presidential terms. Several analysts point out that in the period 1950 to 2010, it was lowest in July 1953 at the beginning of President Eisenhower’s term — at 2.97% — and highest in June 1980 during President Carter’s term — at 21.98%.
Other analysts have criticized the index for an inaccurate portrayal of the economy. This has led to creation of alternate indexes, including the Real Misery Index, the Ultimate Misery Index (UMI), and the Household Misery Index.
There are other offshoots as well. A sports writer, Jim Caple, worked out a 60-point MLB® (Major League Baseball) Misery Index in 2004. He then followed up with an NFL® (National Football League) Misery Index. The term is also the name of a deathgrind band formed in Maryland in 2001, the music of which is described as a combining of death metal with grindcore.
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warc | 201704 | Wind Energy
Wind energy is an important resource to develop in a State that has an abundant supply. The development of wind energy poses many land use questions, including competing rights to use the surface by oil and gas lessees, surface owners who pursue various agricultural uses and wind developers. The regulation of wind developers is left to individual counties through the exercise of home rule powers. Some counties have adopted comprehensive zoning regulations, others have not. As a result, regulations vary county by county.
We represent wind developers at all stages of the development process: negotiation of wind leases with landowners; appearance at zoning hearings to obtain necessary Special Use Permits (“SUP”); advice concerning what permits are required to cross existing easements with electric collection and transmission lines related to the project; negotiation of road maintenance agreements, decommissioning agreements, and agreements to make payments in lieu of taxes (commonly referred to as PILOT agreements) with the county where the project is located; negotiation of transmission easements for transmission lines; and transactional work related to the purchase of land for substations and maintenance facilities.
We also represent many oil and gas producers who in some cases have oil and gas leases on the same property that has been leased to a wind developer. We seek to facilitate the drilling of oil and gas wells through a cooperative interchange of information with the wind developer so that wind turbines and oil and gas wells can both be located on the surface, along with related infrastructure, so that the development of wind resources and mineral resources can both take place. Our firm has taken a leading role in resolving conflicts between wind developers and oil and gas producers. On October 21, 2011, Steven D. Gough spoke at a Kansas Bar Association (KBA)/Kansas Independent Oil and Gas Association (KIOGA) conference in Wichita, Kansas, and sponsored a paper entitled
Oil Producers v Wind Producers, ___ Kan ___, ____ P. 3 rd ____ (201_). Kansas follows the reasonable accommodation doctrine that recognizes the rights of both the oil and gas lessee and the rights of the surface owner who desires wind development on his property:
The obvious intent of the parties under … [an oil and gas] lease is that the licensed privileges of the lessee are to run hand in hand with those reserved to the lessor with neither interfering more than need be with the continuing uses of the other — the one for the exploration, production and transportation of minerals and the other for the pursuit of agriculture.
Rostocil v. Phillips Petroleum Company, 210 Kan. 400, 401, 502 P.2d 825 (1972). Because a wind developer’s rights are derived from the owner of the surface who has granted easements to the wind developer, we believe the reasonable accommodation doctrine will likely be applied by the courts to resolve disputes between wind developers and oil and gas producers. Existing law concerning blanket and express easements will also be used to resolve competing surface uses.
We have represented BP Wind Energy North America, Inc., in connection with the installation of a 100 Megawatt wind project in 2009 by Flat Ridge Wind Energy, LLC in Barber County, Kansas, and in connection with a 400 Megawatt wind project by Flat Ridge 2 Wind Energy, LLC in Harper, Kingman and Barber Counties in 2012. We currently represent wind developers in Pratt County and Kingman County that involve the installation of an additional 400 Megawatts to be completed by December 2016. | 3,648 | 1,679 | 0.000601 |
warc | 201704 | Concept, Goals, Objectives and Requirements
Concept
Congress approved the concept of WIS, which will provide a single coordinated global infrastructurefor the collection and sharing of information in support of all WMO and related international programmes.
Goals
To serve as a global forum for the collaboration of developers and users of meteorological and related data products and services, and to advance the development of inter-programme operations.
WIS is a key enabler of WMO’s three top level objectives (reference WMO Strategic Plan)
TOP-LEVEL OBJECTIVES OF WMO:
To produce more accurate, timely and reliable forecasts and warnings of weather, climate, water and related environmental elements;
To improve the delivery of weather, climate, water and related environmental information and services to the public, governments and other users;
To provide scientific and technical expertise and advice in support of policy- and decision-making and implementation of the agreed international development goals and multilateral agreement.
WIS is a key deliverable of the "Science and technology development and implementation" strategic thrust, serving more specifically the following Expected Results:
EXPECTED RESULTS:
4. Integration of WMO observing systems
(a) Quality of observations
(b) Availability of useful observations to WMO Members and external users
(c) Completion of milestones towards integration
5. Development and implementation of the new WMO Information System
(a) Completion of milestones agreed by Fifteenth Congress
(b) Number of implemented interoperability arrangements across WMO centres and with external partners
(c) Number of different functions including data discovery and information pull
Underlying the Strategic Plan is a fundamental need within meteorology, oceanography, hydrology and climate for understanding past and present states of the environment. This requires the collection and open sharing of information. In the case of the production of real time warning services this exchange of information needs to be rapid and reliable. Hence, the high profile of WIS within the expected results 4 and 5.
Objectives
Collection and sharing of information for all WMO and related international programmes
Flexible and extensible structure that will allow the participating centres to enhance their capabilities as their national and international responsibilities grew
Implementation upon the most successful components of existing WMO information systems in an evolutionary process
Smooth and coordinated transition
Basis for the core communication network will be the present communication links used within the World Weather Watch (WWW) for the high priority real-time data
Utilization of international industry standards for protocols, hardware and software
Requirements
A widely available and electronic (on-line) catalogue of all meteorological and related data for exchange.
The catalogue shall make it possible:
to rapidly integrate real-time and non-real-time (archive) data sets to better interpret weather events in a climatologically context.
to identify and to use the potential of data from observation sites established by one Programme to meet the requirements of other Programmes.
to harmonize data formats, transmission standards, archiving and distribution mechanisms to better support inter-disciplinary use of data and products.
standard practices for collection, electronic archival and exchange of metadata, both high-level and detailed, especially for stations and instruments.
the use of industry standards for protocols, hardware and software because of the rapidly evolving information systems technology (reduces costs and allows exploitation of modern communication services, including the Internet).
WIS shall provide an integrated approach to meet the requirements of:
Routine collection and automated dissemination of observed data and products (“push”).
Timely delivery of data and products (appropriate to requirements)
Ad-hoc requests for data and products (“pull”)
WIS shall be:
Reliable
Cost effective and affordable
Technologically sustainable and appropriate to local expertise
Modular and scalable
Flexible and extensible - able to adjust to changing requirements and allow dissemination of products from diverse data sources and allow participants to collaborate at levels appropriate to their responsibilities and budgetary resources
WIS shall support:
Different user groups and access policies, such as WMO Resolutions 40/25
Data and network security
Integration of diverse datasets
Variety of data types, common to all WMO programmes
Real and non-real time data sets
Routine dissemination as well as request/reply mechanisms for all data and products
Various communication protocols for data transmission matching exchange requirements, from email and GTS procedures to emerging Internet standards like Web- and Grid-Services
Using different types of communication links as available, appropriate and cost effective, including dedicated links and networks, e.g. GTS, satellites and Internet
Using off-the-shelf hardware and software systems, preferably open source software | 5,239 | 2,270 | 0.000448 |
warc | 201704 | Running a business is a big task on its own. However, building a successful online business can be quite challenging, especially when you don’t know where to start. If you’re looking for a career change and want to be your own boss, this expert guide will give you the run down on some of the powerful steps that you can take to build and run a successful business online.
Best Practices For Building Your Online Business
01. Decide The Purpose Of Your Business
The first step in building and running your online business is first deciding what the purpose of it is; products or services. If you’re considering a product based business there’s a few key things you need to keep in mind when choosing a product that you’re going to sell. These include:
All products need to be shipped at some point. Keep this in mind as larger products may prove difficult to ship. Can your product become a digital product such as a download, app or eBook? This will help to save on shipping costs. Search for a product niche and work around this as focusing on a few key products is better than trying to arrange multiple different items. When you expand your business, you can then look at expanding your product stock list. Check where you can source your products from and whether they’re affordable enough for you to make a profit after shipping. Sites such as Alibaba.com allows for bulk orders and are generally fairly affordable depending on the product.
By concluding the purpose of your business, you can then look into:
02. Researching Your Target Audience
Before building your online store, you need to know that the products you’ve chosen to sell are in demand from your audience. You need to know who your target audience is and whether or not you can supply what they need in a more attractive way than what your competitors are offering them at. When researching your audience, you need to consider:
The sex and age of your audience and whether it’s gender orientated. (nursing pads, maternity items etc.) An estimate of their income and how much they may be able to spend. What their behaviors are and whether they have a specific persona. Example: confident, outgoing, spontaneous, cautious buyer, or big spender. Their location and whether they want to buy local or are happy to have it shipped internationally.
Take your time when researching your target audience as this is key as to whether or not your business will survive.
03. Research Your Competition
Researching your major competition is important because you want to make sure you can deliver more than what they can. When researching your competition, there’s a few different things you need to consider. These include:
What marketing channels are they using? What makes them different to other competitors in your industry? Can you offer your customers more than what your competition can? Where do they sit in Google search rankings? Identify their social media channels and see what they are offering/do to engage their followers. Visit their website to see how they represent themselves. Do they use specific keywords or ads to gain the position they’re in?
In researching your competition you’ll have a higher chance of being able to rise above them and work on becoming more successful and more popular than they are.
04. Build Your Online Presence Hire a website developer who knows what they’re doing and has a portfolio of their previous work. Make sure the website has a responsive and mobile friendly design. Ensure the navigation points are easy to find and only travel around three tiers deep as this will help to avoid confusion. Always make sure the colors match or are contrasting. Only use around 3 different colors at the most to help reduce the risk of your website becoming too overwhelming. Ensure the site that you setup can support the amount of products you’re looking to sell without lagging in website speed. You will also need to get buyer protection protocols in place. Google trusted signatures help to give your business credibility. Offer multiple payment options. People pay with different options so it’s good to have multiple options available as this will help to boost more sales. Make sure all content on your website is unique, grammar free, and has no spelling mistakes. Mistakes throughout your content, or having duplicate content will affect your website ranking and your reputation. Make sure Google Analytics is setup to help track your performance.
By hiring a professional website design agency or a professional developer, they should be able to guide you on what’s needed to create a website that rivals your competition.
05. Track Your Performance
Conversion Rate – This is how many visitors made a purchase. Traffic Sources – This is the location of where visitors are coming from. Bounce rate – The visitor percentage that leaves your website before they actually have a look at it. Unique Visitors – The amount of unique new visitors that enter your site. Map overlay -The different states or countries where the visitors are coming from. Product Performance – Shows the products that are popular and the ones that aren’t.
Tracking your online business’s performance is essential to know whether changes are required.
Conclusion
Setting up and running an online business is a challenging task, however if you take the time to do your research and follow these tips you can create a powerful online business that is second to none. Are you ready to start your online business?
About the author: Steven McMeechan is a strategic marketing and communications specialist with over twenty years’ experience in senior marketing management roles across a range of industries including Information Technology and Financial Services. He works for Capstone Financial Planning and lives in Melbourne Australia. | 5,952 | 2,653 | 0.000386 |
warc | 201704 | By Pamela Toler
Timbuktu has been in the news lately as a result of growing control by Islamic extremists, whose narrow interpretation of sharia law has led to the destruction of Muslim tombs, innocent people lashed in the streets, and thousands of refugees fleeing their homes.
It’s a good time to remind people of a time when Timbuktu was celebrated as a center of learning and wealth.
Founded in the eleventh century at the point where the Niger River flows northward into the Sahara, Timbuktu was perfectly located to become a trading center between the Islamic states of north and west Africa. Caravans traveled south across the Sahara carrying silks from Persia, steel from Damascus, and, most precious of all, books; the caravans traveled north again laden with gold, ivory, and salt.
Over time, the city attracted not only merchants, but scholars. By the fourteenth century, Timbuktu wasn’t just importing books but creating them. The city was home to a vibrant book copying industry. Commentaries written by the scholars of Timbuktu were read in Cairo and Mecca. Timbuktu was a college town, with three universities and 180 Quranic schools. Students traveled from all over the Islamic world to study there, often making up a quarter of the city’s population.
Timbuktu entered the European imagination in 1324, when the city’s ruler Mansa Musa went on pilgrimage to Mecca. The West African king was a big spender, with an apparently inexhaustible supply of gold. So much that the precious metal’s value dropped in every city he passed through. (Contemporary estimates for how much gold he carried with him ranged from one hundred camels carrying gold to a thousand camels carrying one hundred pounds of gold apiece.) He built a mosque everywhere that he stopped for the Friday prayers. He paid for every service in gold and gave lavish gifts to his hosts. Beggars lined the streets when he passed in the hope of catching gold nuggets that meant they would never have to beg again.
Not surprisingly, Mansa Musa’s princely display of wealth caught the attention of the Venetian and Genoese merchants resident in Alexandria. They quickly sent word home about the king of Mali and his golden capital of Timbuktu. Soon trading firms from Granada, Genoa, Venice and the Flemish markets of the north established posts in North African towns like Marrakech and Fez, hoping to trade European manufactured goods for Saharan gold.
European merchants trading with Timbuktu through North African middleman, but never saw the city itself. In fact, the first European traveler did not arrive in Timbuktu until 1828, several hundred years after its glory days. Timbuktu became short hand in the west for “really, really far away”–a distant place at the edge of civilization.
About the author: Pamela Toler is a freelance writer with a PhD in history and a large bump of curiosity. She is particularly interested in the times and places where two cultures meet and change. | 3,018 | 1,523 | 0.000669 |
warc | 201704 | When a person includes calcium enriched foods in their daily routine diet then, it only benefits them in ensuring their healthy bones and teeth but it also helps in preventing the osteoporosis disease later in the lives. According to the doctors and medical institutes, every child whose age is between 1 to 3 years should consume at least 500 milligrams of the calcium daily. Besides this, the requirements of calcium for teenagers and grown-ups must be 1100 milligrams and 1400 milligrams,respectively.
All kind of dairy products is the best and the utmost source of calcium which are easily available. But you can also eat green vegetables like beans for making a balanced level of calcium in the body. Below we are providing you the top ten highest calcium rich foods which you can consume daily:
10. Molasses
One of the types of molasses i.e. Black strap molasses not only comprises of potassium or iron but also contains major quantities of calcium. After consuming the 1 tablespoon of molasses, you will get almost 173 milligrams of the calcium. You can also utilize it in the form of syrup into the oatmeal, or you can also use it as a sweetener in baked bean recipes or puddings.
Read Also: 10 Highest Protein Rich Foods 9. Tofu
Just similar to the other types of soy foods, this food is also quite rich in the calcium. If you consume 1.5 cups of the tofu, then you will get around 253 milligrams of the calcium according to the doctors of the medical institutions. Tofu can be used in numerous food recipes in the form of baked, pan-fried or crushed.
8. Oatmeal and Fortified Cereals
The calcium-enriched cereals that usually originate with the added advantage of combining with milk is the best way of including the calcium in their diet. As per the research, there are several brands of cereals in the market which range between a remarkable 235 milligrams to an astounding 1043 milligrams for each 1-ounce portion.The precooked oatmeal is also the best option for having a calcium enriched food as it offersaround100 milligrams to 109 milligrams of the nutrient in one single serving.
7. Beans
Beans not only provide ample quantity of calcium to the human body but it is also a good source of the protein nutrient. The calcium enriched beans comprises of boiled mature or green soybeans, tinned white beans, and boiled cow peas. The amount of calcium in beans ranges between 88 milligrams to 130 milligrams in the serving of 1/2 cup.
6. Cooking Greens
There are so many green vegetables enriched in the high amount of calcium which is consumed in the form of cooked, pan-fried or steamed. The green vegetables can include turnip greens, spinach,kale, pak-choi, okra, as well as dandelion greens. All these foods consisted of 74 milligrams to 179 milligrams of the calcium in per single serving.
5. Seafood
The seafood like salmon or sardines consists of high level of calcium. For example, if you consume 3 ounces of the Atlantic sardines then you will fetch around 325 milligrams of the calcium and by consuming the similar quantity of pink salmon you will get 181 milligrams of the nutrient. In addition to this, 3 ounces of preserved blue crab, baked rainbow trout, and tinned clams consisted of decent quantities of calcium i.e. ranging between 74 milligrams to 87 milligrams.
4. Soy Milk
The Soy milk which is also renowned as the soy drink comprises of around 368 milligrams of the calcium as well as 98 calories in one single cup. However, some people do not like its taste, so they can add it to their diet in making some cereals or baked food dishes.
3. Cow’s Milk
The fat-free cow’s milk offers the maximum amount of calcium i.e. around 305 milligrams in one medium size cup. Besides this, if you consume low-fat chocolate milk, then also you can get around 285-290 milligrams of calcium. For the growing child, cow’s milk is a preferable option in various parts of the world.
2. Cheese
The next name in the list is of cheese which is found in every part of the world and is also used in numerous mouth-watering dishes. Only 1.5 ounces of cheese will provide you around 453 milligrams of the calcium. The other forms of cheese like sterilized and processed cheese, provolone, part-skim ricotta, part-skim mozzarella, Muenster cheeses as well as cheddar and also provides almost 300 milligrams of the calcium to a person.
1. Yogurt
The top name in the list of top ten highest calcium-rich foods is of plain yogurt. If you consume 8 ounces of yogurt, then you will get around 450 milligrams of the calcium. However, if you are a diet conscious person, then you can also have low-fat yogurt of fruits which will provide you almost 346 milligrams of the calcium. | 4,719 | 2,053 | 0.000491 |
warc | 201704 | DITA
Nearly any technical writer knows that Darwin Information Typing Architecture (DITA) is related to improving content reuse and single source techniques.
The big question is if DITA is a right solution for you. To understand whether or not it is time to begin thinking about DITA, you can try to answer these questions:
Do you reuse content extensively? Do you have to handle multiple content variations? Do you want to enforce a unified formatting and structure? Do you produce multiple output formats? Do you translate documentation?
If you answered “yes” on all or most questions, there is a chance DITA can make you more productive. It does not really matter if you are a lone writer in a company or a part of a documentation team – DITA can be beneficial in both cases. However, getting from the drawing board to implementation is not an easy task. You need to clearly understand how exactly you benefit and what efforts and costs are involved.
If you’d like to move your legacy content into DITA or even learn if this is an appropriate direction for you to take, write to us at info@writepoint.com. We have guided many companies on this path successfully and would be happy to assist you as well. | 1,233 | 673 | 0.001519 |
warc | 201704 | Should sociologists make use of official statistics?
Official statistics are notoriously problematic. They often distort or fail to show the complete social truth. Subjective interpretations of what sociology should be clearly impact upon any understanding of the use of official statistics. Tim May in his book "issues, methods and process" sets down the fundamental sociological assumptions that lie at the foundation of sociological view of official statistics. He divides sociological though on this issue into three categories positivist, institutionalist, and radical.
Realists are of the Positivist schools of thought that believe sociologists should be "in the same state of mind as the physicst, chemist or physiologist when he probes into a still unemplored region of the scientific domain" They see official statistics as "objective indicators of the phenomena to which they refer." They recognize the difficulties associated with extracting these truths but believe that an accessible social answer to even the most personal of questions does exist, Durkheim, especially in his study of Suicide, is the case in point.
The extraction of social truths require the maximizing of reliability and validity, "measuring the 'same thing' each time (and in the same way" and validity whether an indicator "measures what you want it to measure" can be used to remove any problems with "official statistics". Any problem therefore with the statistics stems not from fact that there is not a true answer to social questions but in the improper and inadequate collection of data. Official statistics which have good reliability and validity are to positivist of vital use to sociologists.
The notion of "social facts" is itself ideological; it has no objective base and therefore is questionable. Paradoxically the group that strives for sociological objectivity builds its argument from a subjective base. The absence of any justification for this assumption... | 1,981 | 969 | 0.001043 |
warc | 201704 | What: Public Hearing on SB 373 related to water resources protection
When: Monday, February 3rd, 5:30pm
Where: House Chambers, State Capitol Building
Who: Joint Committee on Health & Finance Why: For legislators to hear citizen input
Tips: Arrive ten minutes early to sign up to speak. Each speaker can expect only to have 1-2 minutes to speak. Written comments can be submitted for the record. Below are some suggested talking points as a guide. Citizens are encouraged to give their own perspective, in their words, of how the government needs to better protect drinking water supplies and public health.
Citizen messaging framework: We deserve thorough protection from all contamination threats to our water supplies. The government is failing us and needs to do a better job in regulating and enforcing protections. We deserve to have all available government resources applied to understand and responsibly advise the public on risks and solutions to this health crisis.
Needed technical improvements to SB 373: Close loopholes – there are many exclusions to tanks that are regulated under the new program, these need carefully analyzed. All tanks and all additional sources of potential contamination need adequately regulated. Require individual permits and regular inspections for all potential significant contaminant sources within zones of critical concern for public drinking water systems. Require and fund development of source water protection plans that address all significant contamination threats and include full stakeholder and community involvement. Assure that all pollution sources can be enforced via the Clean Water Act with provisions for citizen involvement. Support the authorization (not duty) of the local health department to inspect these facilities.
Additional actions needed: Implementation of Chemical Safety Board Recommendations. Continuation of bottled water distribution to all affected communities. An environmentally sound and safe mechanism to flush the chemical from the water treatment plant, distribution lines, sewage systems, residences, etc. Immediate institution of a medical surveillance program. Immediate studies on the short and long term effects of MCHM and its breakdown chemicals on human health | 2,266 | 1,162 | 0.000866 |
warc | 201704 | Unlikely ally utilized in eradication program in Hawaii’s Kaneohe Bay
Native sea urchins are being used to eradicate invasive seaweed destroying the reef in Hawaii’s Kaneohe Bay, the United States’ only barrier reef system. Funding from the military's Port Royal Trust Fund is now being used to continue coral reef restoration, with sea urchins the secret weapon.
"The algae was introduced in the 1970s and it took about 15 to 20 years for us to start seeing a real problem in the bay," said David Cohen of the Department of Land and Natural Resources. For years, the state used a marine vacuum pump to remove the unwanted algae, but environmentalists realized this was merely a band aide solution for a much bigger problem. That’s where the urchins came in.
"We needed something else to follow up after the algae was removed and that's when we started testing these sea urchins. They are native to Hawaii, the Collector sea urchin," said program leader Jonathan Blodgett.
Since 2011, about 2,000 to 5,000 have been placed into the bay almost every other week. The venture is partly funded courtesy of an environmental accident. In 2009, the USS Port Royal ran aground off Honolulu International airport, destroying massive amounts of coral. Some $600,000 from the Port Royal Trust Fund is being utilized to fund the project. The entire process from larvae to mature sea urchins is done in the hatchery at Anuenue Fisheries Research Center in Honolulu. Currently, it is the only such facility in the world producing urchins for restoration purposes.
The hope is to remove enough invasive seaweed and replace it with native urchins and eventually native seaweed to promote a healthy ecosystem. "If we have healthy corals we've got lots of space in among the reef which provides extra habitat for other fish and other organisms to grow," said Cohen.
Collector urchins are found between depths of 2 to 30m in the waters of the Indo-Pacific, Hawaii and the Red Sea. | 1,995 | 1,042 | 0.000976 |
warc | 201704 | Facing up to problems
Queensland is facing some performance challenges, but the state’s government is readying plans to tackle the issues head-on
New challenges are facing the Sunshine State, with its underperformance in the years since the GFC affecting employment measures, the housing sector, and the confidence of both families and small businesses.
However, Deloitte Access Economics partner Chris Richardson says he is cautiously optimistic about the state’s overall growth outlook, though not by a big margin. “A last hurrah of gas development plus the slowing pace of federal and state government cutbacks should ease the squeeze on Queensland’s growth, but it will be a few years before the export dividend from those gas [projects] arrives, and that phase will bring few jobs with it.”
Exports from a number of new gas projects will not cut in until 2015 or 2016, by which time the slightly improved current construction spend will have already wound back, which points to 2014–15 as a weaker year for state growth, he continues.
It is worth keeping in mind that the state’s population growth remains above the national average, which will provide important support for Queensland’s growth performance to offset some of those construction-cliff negatives, Richardson says. “So while the risk of a short-term growth pothole hasn’t been completely eliminated, we expect Queensland to continue carving out a greater share of the national economy over time.”
It is not really a question of if but of when, and how strong, the eventual rebound will be, he says. “Compared to the sort of ratios that have existed between population growth and housing starts in the past, the state should be building about 10,000 more houses per year than it is. That has helped halve vacancy rates across the past two years, and seen house prices begin to rise again, two factors that may help spark the expected recovery.”
Further, Queensland’s claim to be a resource titan remains incontestable, with “mega gas projects and some pretty impressive coal projects doing some heavy lifting in the state’s construction sector”, Richardson emphasises. “Indeed, the combined value of the state’s three largest LNG projects underway – the Australian Pacific LNG project, the Curtis LNG project and Santos’s Gladstone LNG – have a combined value of over $63bn and will provide work until at least 2016.”
A forensic focus on growth
Meanwhile, the state government recently released Governing for Growth: Enabling a Stronger Queensland Economy – a framework that aims to identify where the government can set the right environment for business to flourish and grow.
In the face of increased global competition and uncertainty, the government cannot afford to be complacent; instead, urgent and strong action to restore Queensland’s economic performance is needed, deputy premier Jeff Seeney says. “The new jobs, the new products, the new ideas that will lift us up will be born in the mines, the factories, the shops and the offices of the private sector, not in an office of George Street.”
Everything from international trade to local growth, competition to innovation, regulation to infrastructure spending will be put under the microscope, he says. “A forensic, relentless focus on growth is what you will get from this government, and the time to encourage investment and break down barriers is now. All agencies and departments are in the process of carrying out a top-to-bottom review of all regulations to remove ones that hurt growth, and speed up those that boost growth.”
The government wants to provide the clear leadership and certainty that the private sector needs to invest, and aims to make it as easy as possible for businesses to start, grow, and to create new jobs, Seeney continues. “We will clear away the obstacles to growth – costly regulation, complex and lengthy approvals and wasteful government spending.”
Investors cautious
According to new research by credit reporting agency Veda, Queensland property buyers are more cautious than buyers in most other parts of Australia.
While the research shows the volume of mortgage enquiries has increased in all states, mortgage enquiries in Queensland increased by just 1.6% in the June quarter. Mortgage enquiries are a good indicator of homebuyer demand, with movements in mortgage enquiries tending to lead movements in house prices six to nine months later, Veda’s GM consumer risk Angus Luffman says.
“The overall increase in mortgage enquiries appears to suggest better housing market conditions, a good sign in light of the potential tests facing the Australian economy in the future.”
Suburb to watch
Greenslopes
Hilly terrain – including one of Brisbane’s largest hills, Stephens Mountain – dominates the small suburb of Greenslopes, which lies 6km southeast of the city’s CBD.
Lachlan Walker, from local real estate agency Place, says Greenslopes’ selling points are that it is close to town and easily accessible (with a busway station and the Pacific motorway to the west of the suburb), with quiet streets and strong local infrastructure.
Amenities in the area are solid, Walker says. There are a number of primary and high schools, along with the Australian Institute of Applied Sciences College of Natural Medicine, and also a private hospital for war veterans. “The local shopping precinct is Greenslopes Mall but, generally, the shopping and cafes are due a bit of a facelift,” he adds.
Greenslopes is noted for its multicultural community and has a population made up of Indians, Middle Easterners, Northeast Africans, and a sizeable Jewish community. This diversity is also reflected in the wide array of different religious congregations and eateries.
Typical properties in the area are three- to four- bedroom houses, although there are some older walk-up type apartment buildings, Walker says. Many of the dwellings are “character homes” of pre-war construction and, as such, are subject to city council controls intended to preserve the character of the suburb.
Situated amidst higher-priced suburbs, Greenslopes is yet to go through significant growth, making it an affordable buying option with an upside as the market enters its next cycle, Walker says. “As the suburb generally improves, and development extends into the area, it will change for the better.”
Whether you are looking to buy your first home, move home, refinance, or invest in property, a mortgage broker can help. Access loans from all the major lenders, get help with paperwork – plus there is no charge for this service. Get help from a local mortgage broker
Top Suburbs :
belmont
,
balga
,
west wodonga
,
wallsend
,
sunshine
Get help financing your investment
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When investing in property, it is important to make sure that you not only have the lowest available rate that you can get, but also have the correct loan features for your needs.
Just fill in a few details below and we'll then arrange for a local expert Aussie Mortgage Broker to contact you and work out what features or types of loans are right for your needs. We'll even help with the paperwork. Plus, our mortgage broking service is at no cost to you.
We value your privacy and treat all your information seriously - you can check out
our privacy policy here | 7,608 | 3,542 | 0.000293 |
warc | 201704 | Buyers gain in Melbourne as economic worries mount
Increased buyer activity at the start of the year brought a surprise halt to Melbourne’s recent price slide, but analysts expect it to remain a buyer’s market as continuing concerns about the Victorian economy loom large.
Melbourne’s median house price rose 1.6% over the first three months of 2012, according to Australian Property Monitors, marking a rare positive turn for a market that has largely been on a steady decline for more than a year.
The April Residex data showed an improvement in the unit market, with the median rising by 0.46%.
But APM economist Andrew Wilson expects reality to settle back in for what has become a tough Melbourne market. “We’ve had some increased buyer activity over the last couple of quarters, but mainly because it came from such a low base,” he says. “Although the Melbourne market has been encouraging so far this year, this may prove to be short-lived if the Victorian economic performance continues to deteriorate. We’re not only seeing a shakeout in the top end of the market but we are also seeing a softness from the bottom end of the market as well as the middle of the market.”
An issue of supply
Angie Zigomanis of forecasting firm BIS Shrapnel says Melbourne’s unit market appears to be especially worrisome, as years of record construction mean a flood of new units hit the market just as demand continues to ebb.
But both analysts point to brighter spots in regional Victoria that have continued to perform well despite the ongoing gloom in the state capital.
“Regional Victoria has been quite reasonable especially through that north western belt including Ballarat and Bendigo,” says Wilson.
“It is a robust niche market that showed reasonable growth last year.
“However, if the Melbourne market remains weak I’d expect that weakness to start to move out regionally and this will be a factor that will have a lot to do with unemployment and reduced job opportunities.”
Not all bad news
While Victoria’s economy has increasingly found itself on the slow lane of the nation’s two-speed economy as the state’s manufacturing and retail sectors continue to suffer at the hands of a strong Aussie dollar, Access Economics says there are still some key bright spots.
Big infrastructure spending such as the $5.3bn Regional Rail Link project linking West Werribee to Melbourne’s Southern Cross Station and other transport projects including the $1.3bn Peninsula Link, due to be completed in 2013, will continue to support the local economy.
While mining towns such as Gladstone and Port Hedland continue to hog the limelight in terms of infrastructure investments, Victoria also receives an impressive amount of government and private investments including the:
$980m Western Ring Road expansion
$404m duplication of Western Highway between Ballarat and Stawell
$417m upgrade of the Eastern water treatment plant at Carrum
$220m upgrade of the main sewers at Melbourne
Whether you are looking to buy your first home, move home, refinance, or invest in property, a mortgage broker can help. Access loans from all the major lenders, get help with paperwork – plus there is no charge for this service. Get help from a local mortgage broker
Top Suburbs :
nightcliff
,
leumeah
,
mortdale
,
darlington
,
midland
Get help financing your investment
Do you need help finding the right loan for your investment?
When investing in property, it is important to make sure that you not only have the lowest available rate that you can get, but also have the correct loan features for your needs.
Just fill in a few details below and we'll then arrange for a local expert Aussie Mortgage Broker to contact you and work out what features or types of loans are right for your needs. We'll even help with the paperwork. Plus, our mortgage broking service is at no cost to you.
We value your privacy and treat all your information seriously - you can check out
our privacy policy here | 4,106 | 1,992 | 0.00052 |
warc | 201704 | On Sunday and Monday, at at a meeting of the American Society of Hematology, some doctors at the University of Pennsylvania reported promising results doing just that.
Even more surprisingly, they reprogrammed the immune systems of their cancer patients using a disabled form of the HIV virus. And, one of their success stories is in a child -- a girl now age 7, whose cancer has been in remission for seven months.
Other cancer centers, such as the National Cancer Institute and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, are also experimenting with this novel treatment.
This research could transform the treatment of leukemia and related blood cancers. It could even work against cancerous tumors. Dr. Carl June, head of the research team at the University of Pennsylvania, said he hoped that this new treatment would eventually replace bone-marrow transplants, which are extremely risky and expensive.
How the treatment works
At age 5, Emma Whitehead was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Last year, she had relapsed twice after chemotherapy and doctors, having run out of options, tried an experimental treatment that uses a disabled form of HIV to get Emma's own immune system to kill cancer cells.
The treatment first removes millions of the patients own T-cells and then introduce genes that give T-cells the ability to kill cancer cells. (The role of the disabled HIV virus is to carry these new genes into the T-cells.) These new and improved T-cells are then introduced back into the patient's veins, where the hope is that they will then multiply and attack the cancer.
What usually happens right after the new T-cells are introduced is that the patient comes down with high fevers and chills, technically called cytokine-release syndrome, but called "shake and bake" by the doctors. What causes this reaction are natural chemicals pouring out of the cells in the immune system.
In this phase, Emma also had a steep drop in blood pressure, her temperature hit 105 and she ended up on a ventilator, swollen beyond recognition. When everyone had nearly given up hope, the doctors saw that the level of one of her cytokines, interleukin-6, or IL-6, had spiked. As the New York Times reports:
Dr. June knew that a drug could lower IL-6 — his daughter takes it for rheumatoid arthritis. It had never been used for a crisis like Emma’s, but there was little to lose. Her oncologist, Dr. Stephan A. Grupp, ordered the drug. The response, he said, was “amazing.”
Within hours, Emma began to stabilize. She woke up a week later, on May 2, the day she turned 7; the intensive-care staff sang “Happy Birthday.”
Results and implications
So far, three adults suffering from chronic leukemia have been treated and are in complete remission (two of them for more than two years). Four adults improved but are not in full remission, and in two adults the treatment did not work at all. Another child aside from Emma improved but then relapsed.
The researchers believe that patients who did not respond received flawed T-cells.
Though the treatment does not have perfect results, cancer experts not working on this research say that it is promising because it has worked in cases where there were no other options.
Dr. John Wagner, the director of pediatric blood and marrow transplantation at the University of Minnesota, said the results so far were “phenomenal” and that they were “what we’ve all been working and hoping for but not seeing to this extent.”
Another reason these results are generating excitement is that, as Dr. Michel Sadelain, who does similar work at the Sloan-Kettering Institute, put it, “These T-cells are living drugs. With a pill, you take it, it’s eliminated from your body and you have to take it again.” But T-cells, he told The Times, “could potentially be given only once, maybe only once or twice or three times.”
The only drawbacks so far are price and one side effect: Unlike traditional drugs, this treatment requires a new batch of T-cells to be created for each patient, which has a price tag of about $20,000 per patient. While the cost is high, it's still less than the cost of a bone-marrow transplant. The other downside is that the treatment kills off healthy B-cells as well as the cancerous ones, so the patients need regular immune treatments in order to prevent other types of illness.
Related on SmartPlanet:
via: The New York Times
photo: Healthy T-cell (NIAID/Flickr)
This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com | 4,591 | 2,235 | 0.000458 |
warc | 201704 | A defiant President Barack Obama today refused to accept the legitimacy of the Crimea referendum to join Russia and announced the beginning of targeted economic sanctions, designed to pressure Moscow into reconsidering its actions toward the Ukraine.
It appears that the referendum will succeed with a whopping 97% majority voting in support of the ballot measure – a figure that doesn’t at all align with the ethnic and political map of the region. Russians are the largest ethnic majority on the peninsula, but comprise only 60% of the population. It’s very unlikely that the vote was legitimate, or fair.
The Obama administration has responded by freezing the assets of key Putin aids and Crimean officials that are associated with separatism. The European Union also approved its own sanctions today in coordination with the U.S. The U.S. has threatened additional sanctions should the Russian government annex Crimea.
The impact of any sanctions won’t be immediate, but anonymous U.S. officials told members of the press that the actions were designed to hit “close to home” for Russian President Vladimir Putin. The effect of Russia’s intervention in Ukraine has already impacted its economy; the stock market and ruble currency have fallen since the crisis began.
It’s a small world
However, Russia is much more a part of the world economy than the Soviet Union was. The turmoil caused by Russian’s intervention has affected more than its domestic fortunes – it’s also shaken global equities markets in Europe and the U.S., noted Northeastern University global management and innovation professor Daniel J. McCarthy.
The price of gold has increased, and that curiously benefits Russia, which has been increasing its holdings dramatically in recent years, McCarthy said. But that doesn’t mean that Russia would be insulated from a chill in global trade. Any attempt to retaliate against Europe by flexing its muscle as a large exporter of natural gas would also hurt it.
“Such actions would also further erode its credibility and add to distrust of Russia as a reliable supplier. Common sense would say Russia is unlikely to bring that on itself, BUT they have done it in the past including in 2009,” McCarthy explained, “Even though it would hurt the Russian economy, Putin would likely react with such retaliation if European countries were to join with the U.S. in embargos or attempts to expel Russia from the G8.” The economic ripples would be significant.
Russia supplies around 30% of Europe’s natural gas and 20% of other important fossil fuels. A disruption in trade could affect the price of products in Europe and throughout the world, McCarthy said. Further, any Russian military action in Ukraine – the world’s 2nd largest grain exporter – would upset world markets, which Russia now belongs to.
Russia could retaliate against global corporations and U.S. interests within its borders, which would ultimately harm businesses worldwide.
“One of the mismatches of the Ukraine conflict that makes it both dangerous and new is that Russia is conducting a 19th century foreign policy in a globalized world where actors are tied together economically as they have never been before,” said Edward Goldberg, a faulty member at NYU’s Center for Global Affairs and Baruch College adjunct.
Goldberg explored Russia’s interdependency with Europe further:
· “The EU is by far Russia's largest customer for energy. Russia supplies 31 percent of EU gas imports, 27 percent of crude oil imports, 24 percent of EU coal imports, 30 percent of total EU uranium imports, and is the EU's third-largest supplier of electricity.”
· This represents 88 percent of Russia's oil exports, 70 percent of its gas exports, and 50 percent of its coal exports.
· But equally important 40 percent of the Russian budget derives from the export of raw materials to the EU.
· Much of the natural gas from Russia to Europe passes through a maze of pipelines in the Ukraine. In principle Russia could threatened to cut off gas to Europe but in our interconnected world this would hurt Russia, the supplier as much as it would hurt Europe the customer.
Any military action in the Ukraine could also damage Russia’s ability to export its gas – many of its pipelines pass through Ukraine. A disruption in liquidized natural gas exports could also shape policy in the United States to export more LNG onto the world market. The U.S. is one of the world’s largest natural gas producers, but domestic pressure from the U.S. chemical industry not to export so that keep prices remain low would complicate matters, Golberg said.
What's more, the cost of infrastructure and changes in prices in the coming years could make increasing U.S. exports impractical, but it could be a powerful lever to pull in an economic conflict with Russia.
“If America begins to export LNG in substantial quantities it will have a direct economic impact on Russia. As an example, last year when on account of lack of US sales more mid-eastern LNG went to Europe, Gazprom, the Russian gas monopoly, was forced to renegotiate its contract down in Europe,” Golberg said.
Ultimately, the situation in Ukraine may be less about economics than Vladimir Putin’s political ambition and securing a 4th term as president, McCarthy said.
“He obviously believes that Russians like strong leaders and makes every attempt to look like a very strong leader: witness his proud buff appearance, his judo bouts, playing hockey, flying in fighter jets, and other such shows of bravado. The situation in Ukraine provides him an opportunity to show himself as that strong leader in the tradition of Peter the Great. It is his opportunity to exhibit his personal power and his country’s power to the world, possibly at the cost of Ukrainian independence.”
This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com | 6,057 | 2,808 | 0.000369 |
warc | 201704 | 1:02 p.m., Oct. 8, 2010----Not even a rainy, gusty day could keep crowds from celebrating the University of Delaware's 34th annual Coast Day. The event, sponsored by UD's College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment (CEOE) and the Delaware Sea Grant College Program, was held Sunday, Oct. 3.
“This is our opportunity to share what we do with you in a way that brings everything together in a single day,” CEOE Dean and Delaware Sea Grant Director Nancy Targett told visitors at the event's opening ceremony.
The kickoff ceremony, like the rest of the day, was packed with activity. The Sierra Club presented CEOE with a check to support educational signs about UD's new 2-megawatt wind turbine at the Hugh R. Sharp Campus, the City of Lewes celebrated its involvement in the Sierra Club's Cool Cities initiative, and Targett honored the winners of the Coast Day video and essay contests for school kids.
The ceremony also recognized CEOE's 40th anniversary. Additionally, more than 150 alumni and friends attended a special Coast Day reception marking the occasion.
“Forty years of science -- basic science, applied science -- and outreach to the community,” said UD President Patrick Harker. “We at the university, and I think the whole state and the region, are extremely proud of this college.”
While Coast Day attendance was less than 2009's record-breaking 13,000 visitors, it was robust considering the day's weather.
Across the event, held at UD's Hugh R. Sharp Campus in Lewes, visitors braved the rain to do things such as tour UD's Research Vessel
Hugh R. Sharp, interact with marine critters at the touch tanks, and attend lectures on everything from wildlife photography to climate change.
Fitting with this year's theme “Making the Most of Our Coast,” guests also had several opportunities -- from lectures to interactive displays -- to learn all about the new wind turbine, which operated at maximum power in the day's strong winds and supplied all the energy for the event.
Throughout the day, hungry visitors stopped by the Chowder Challenge and Crab Cake Cook-Off competitions for a chance to taste contestants' creations. Seafood lovers attended cooking demonstrations that taught them delicious recipes for fish, shrimp, and sea scallops. They also had the opportunity to see two ice sculpture demonstrations of marine animal figures provided by the First State Chefs Association.
Over at the Halophyte Biotechnology Center, Gene and Debbie Daffern of Lewes, Del., learned about alternative uses for the salt-tolerant plant seashore mallow. Together with their son Jarrett and attending their first Coast Day, the couple had also seen the composting demonstration, learned all about horseshoe crabs, and much more.
They said they came to the event hoping to learn about the coast -- and that's what they'd done.
“There are some really interesting things going on here,” Debbie said. “We'll be looking for it next year.”
For more information about Coast Day, which will take place in 2011 on Sunday, Oct. 2, visit the website or call (302) 831-8083.
Article by Elizabeth Boyle | 3,166 | 1,633 | 0.000627 |
warc | 201704 | One thing about retirement is that it focuses the mind on the bottom line. Reduction of income inspires economy and resourcefulness. One is always on the lookout for another way to cut a corner, to cadge food and drink, to get something for nothing.
I have not yet become one of those annoying persons who show up at the grocery store with sheafs of coupons, holding up the line for less parsimonious customers, but I'm considering it. The first time a movie cashier asked me if I was a senior citizen, I bristled. Now I boisterously claim the status wherever I go, demanding special treatment.
One of my money-saving schemes is to become an urban hunter and gatherer. I once read about how Euell Gibbons author of "Stalking the Wild Asparagus" and other botanical classics scrounged a gourmet meal out of weeds growing in New York City parks. Living off nature's bounty has a Walden Pond appeal, a suggestion of Adam and Eve before the fall.
During the growing season my lawn abounds with dandelions. Organic dandelion greens command a high price. Dandelion wine is prized by some. Though I've yet to try this source of nourishment and good cheer, I'm considering it too.
More interesting, since I'm a committed carnivore, are squirrels. Have you noticed the abundance of these creatures around town? There's a boom going on. I've seen as many as six in my yard alone. What animal rights activist could complain if I were to harvest a few? Failure to thin the population might be bad for the squirrels themselves.
One problem is that I can't yet imagine eating a squirrel, although my wild game cook books tout them as a delicacy. I have the same problem with pigeons, also in abundance. They're often on the menu in fancy European restaurants. But I can't stop thinking of them as "flying rats."
Another problem with squirrels: How to bag one? A shotgun blast might provoke the neighbors' ire and bring the gendarmes down on me.
Years ago in another city, squirrels were getting into my attic, reducing it to sawdust with their buzz saw teeth. I shot a few with a small bore rifle. My next door neighbor, who fed them and thought of them as pets, confronted me in tears. I felt like a murderer then and still do. Incidentally, I discovered that dried blood, sold as a fertilizer, repels the pests without the violence.
I brought the squirrel subject up gingerly with my present neighbor the other day.
"Some people think they're cute," I said.
"They look like dinner to me," my neighbor said.
But there's a special moral dimension to squirrels.
"We have to learn to have 'squirrel sense,'" said the Rev. Jesse Jackson, quoted recently in the Wall Street Journal. "Squirrels are not known to have brains. There are no Ph.D. squirrels, no attorney squirrels...but there are no homeless squirrels. Squirrels, by whatever instinct, put away some acorns for the winter. It's the futures market: Squirrels understand the futures market."
If squirrels have so much to teach us, perhaps we should think twice about reducing them to a mere meal. My late dog Andy used to chase them with zeal but when he got close enough to catch one, he slowed down thought twice, in other words.
Thinking twice is another virtue, right up there with squirreling away acorns for a rainy day. As Jesse Jackson himself noted, squirrels aren't known for their mental powers. It's only because of their faulty memories that many acorns and walnuts, squirreled away and forgotten, grow up to become trees.
On the other hand, preying on squirrels, laying up a few squirrels in the freezer, would itself - ironically - be an example of what Jesse Jackson calls "squirrel sense."
I found myself in a discussion about squirrels not long ago with one of our local personalities. His father once had a pet squirrel.
"He fed it and named it Bessie," he said, adding by way of footnote that there are black squirrels in Emporia. "I wouldn't mind being a squirrel," he said. "Squirrels are beautiful."
An instinct of my own prevented me from sharing my predatory musings with him. Instead, I muttered something about not wanting to be a squirrel in my neighborhood, because so many of them wind up flattened by cars.
That struck just the right note. We observed a moment of silent compassion on behalf of squirrels. At last, he spoke.
"Why are people in such a hurry?" he said. I could think of no response other than a mindless one: "Who knows?"
George Gurley is a Lawrence resident who writes a regular column for the Journal-World. | 4,544 | 2,306 | 0.000438 |
warc | 201704 | The TERA-3 is a direct measure of the reading ability of young children ages 3.6-8.6 years. The TERA-3 assesses children's mastery of early developing reading skills rather than their readiness for reading.
Includes three subtests: Alphabet, which measures knowledge of the alphabet and its uses; Conventions, which measures knowledge of print conventions; and Meaning, which measures the construction of meaning from print. An overall Reading Quotient is also produced. Can be used to identify children who are significantly below their peers in reading development, identify the strengths and weaknesses of individual children, document a child’s progress as a consequence of early reading intervention programs, serve as a measure in reading development research, and serve as an adjunct to other assessments. Normative information is stratified by age relative to geography, gender, race, residence, and ethnicity. Reliability is consistently high, with nearly all coefficients approaching or exceeding .90. Validity studies have shown that the test is valid for a wide variety of subgroups as well as for the general population. | 1,141 | 624 | 0.001614 |
warc | 201704 | Welcome to the first post on the Youth Workin’ It blog, where we’ll be sharing our ‘pearls of wisdom’ about all things youth work related.
In the future we hope to be able to offer guest writing spots, so if you enjoy the blog and have something interesting, funny or useful to share about working with young people anywhere in the world we would love to hear from you.
I want this to be a really useful resource for people working with young people ages 11-21 the world over. Some topics we’ll be covering include (but are not limited to):
Global Youth Work Best Practice Youth Empowerment & Youth Participation Youth Work Program Administration And Development Youth Work Session Plan Ideas Youth Group Fundraising and Grant Writing Ideas Problem Solving – in the form of Q & A sessions (so if you have an idea, comment or question get in touch or put it in the comments section on any blog post and we will try to cover it in the future) Plus many more!
Before we get started you may be wondering ‘What is Praxis?’ I’ll always do my best to explain any youth worker speak in an easy to understand way. Praxis is the combination of Theory – all that book-learnin’ – and Practice – what actually happens when you’re working face to face with young people. For more information, see our post where we answer the question What Is Youth Work Praxis?
The best practitioners (there we go again – people who ‘practice’ or ‘do’ the profession of youth work – be it voluntary or paid employment) I have met are able to take what they learned in a class, training or read in a book and put it to good use, in a real and practical way, with young people.
This website and blog are dedicated to serving young people by equipping their youth workers and youth organizations with the tools, resources, ideas, training and support to provide the best programs for them.
Join in the conversation and community! You can start doing this by:
Signing up to receive our posts via email Following us on Twitter Liking us on Facebook Signing up to our RSS feed | 2,150 | 1,094 | 0.000963 |
warc | 201704 | women in aviation and space history Patricia Cowings Patricia Cowings
A research psychologist in the Biomedical Division of Ames Research Center, Patricia Cowings investigated the psycho-physiological and biological problems experienced by astronauts in space in the early 1980s. Better known as space-sickness, this is a real problem for many astronauts. Cowings' tests induced sickness so she could lean how to combat the effects. Because astronaut training time is precious, she had to come up with a program that would take astronauts no longer than six hours to learn to control the sickness. Cowings designed a program of 12 half-hour sessions combing training with bio-feedback. During training, she teaches a subject to mentally evoke a sensation, like relaxation of muscles, to bring about desired physiological changes such as increased skin temperature or relaxed muscles. Cowings' brand of biofeedback involves having to control as many as 26 physiological functions related to motion sickness. These include such things as heart rate, rate of respiration and the flow of blood to the hands. Subjects learn to regulate these autonomic functions by watching them as they are displayed on an oscilloscope.
(information compiled by D. Cochrane and P. Ramirez) | 1,272 | 673 | 0.001491 |
warc | 201704 | Question 1:
In my search for an article containing lawsuits involving employee posts on social media networks, I was quite surprised to learn how much of problem this has become. According to Melanie Trottman (2011) of the Wall Street Journal, employees that have been severely disciplined or terminated due to their activities on social media websites have been retaliating by use of the National Labor Relations Act of 1935. This law provides employees that work in private-sectors the right to voice their opinion in regards to employment conditions, such as pay and safety.
The National Labor Relations Board is the organization that has the final say when determining whether or not an employee has a valid complaint. If the employee’s complaint is found to be valid the NLRB will file a civil complaint against the employer on behalf of the employee. In these cases the complaint is then heard by a NLRB judge who suggests a solution to the employee’s complaint.
One lawsuit Trottman provided that caught my interest involved a paramedic from Connecticut that was fired for calling her employer a “scumbag” on her home computer’s Facebook page. As stated by Trottman this was the NLRB’s “first ever involving a firing related to social media” (Trottman, 2011). The findings of the NLRB were that the employee was wrongfully terminated, because the employee made the comment to other employees about the actions of their supervisor. It was also deemed “protected concerted activity” by the NLRB, because the supervisor had provoked the comments by denying union representation during a meeting involving a customer complaint in regards to the complaining paramedic.
Question 2:
I have to agree with the findings of the NLRB in the case I mentioned above. Normally, I would never justify calling my employer names in any situation, and I would try to resolve the situation in a more appropriate manner. However, in this case the employer should not have denied the employee union representation when she requested it. Employees pay union dues for a reason, and in any case where a complaint has been made against them they should have the right to have someone there to defend them if they need it.
In my opinion, by denying the employee her right to union representation the employer initiated a hostile work environment. In a sense, the employee was warning her fellow co-workers that the same thing could happen to them if there was ever a complaint made against them. I also think that the employee’s comments made outside of work on her personal computer should not have been viewed by her supervisor in the first place. Social networks are used to voice personal views and ideas to family and friends, and unless the supervisor was allowed by the complaining employee to view the page he should not have been spying on her in the first place.
In conclusion, although I feel that making derogatory statements about an employer in any setting is morally wrong. I don’t feel that an employee should be reprimanded for “hurting someone’s feelings” outside of work. In this case, no threats were made to the employer and nobody was seriously hurt by the situation. The employee was simply utilizing her freedom of speech rights, and venting her frustrations.
Question 3:
If something like the case I mentioned happened at my workplace I think the employee relations in regards to our supervisors would become worse regardless of the decision made by the NLRB. In the company I work at most of the employees already feel as if they can’t trust many of the members of management, because they act as if they are only looking out for themselves. If one of my supervisors began spying on an employee’s outside activities it would create a hostile work environment, and the workers would probably become less productive and morale would be compromised.
The decision made by the NLRB in the above case was in favor of the employee. However, that employee did not get her job back, and is still
unemployed according to the article. In the area I work employment is not easy to come by, and just knowing that they could lose their job by making statements such as these would deter many of my co-workers from that sort of activity. I don’t think many people know what type of consequences they might face if they engage in this type of activity outside of work, and I believe many would change their habits after reading some of these articles.
Question 4:
To ensure that situations like this don’t occur again in the future I would suggest to my employer that they need to work with the employees and not against them, especially when the situation requires more evidence before convicting the employee of guilt. I would also recommend having more evidence of insubordination available, instead of relying solely on social media comments. Also, whenever a union is involved the supervisor should have proper knowledge of the laws in regards to the union. Unions can be helpful to both the employee and the employer, so it is detrimental that supervisors are knowledgeable regarding union laws as well.
I feel that it’s an invasion of privacy to implement a social media policy that prevents an employee from voicing their personal opinions outside of their working environment. Therefore, if I were to implement a social media policy I would not use stipulations that could be imposed on employees who use social networks outside of work.
If I were to implement a social media policy I would make sure that some sort of educational program was implemented so that every employee knew that posting negative or derogatory statements on a social media page could be detrimental to them and to the company’s reputation. By implementing educational programs the employees will become more aware of how much their statements can impact the company, and will hopefully deter them from behaving in an inappropriate manner while on social network sites.
I would make it mandatory that social networks are not allowed to be used on company property, and the employees would be informed that if they are caught using company equipment for personal use they could be terminated. Also, I would make them aware that their activities while online are monitored at all times, which will deter most employees from any type of online misuse.
References
Trottman, M. (2011). For Angry Employees, Legal Cover for Rants. Retrieved 01 20, 2013 from The Wall Street Journal: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203710704577049822809710332.html | 6,653 | 2,835 | 0.000359 |
warc | 201704 | by Shanta Barley, Field Scientist, Madagascar
With 57 of the world’s 131 species of chameleon, including the largest and the smallest, Madagascar has a monopoly on the family’s diversity. This unusual individual (see photo, below) was spotted clinging to a wooden fence during breakfast today. Named for its wart-like scales,
Furcifer verrucosus is one of the largest species of chameleon in the world – just 10 centimetres short of its title-holding cousin, Furcifer oustaleti, which has a maximum length of 70 centimetres. The warty chameleon, as it is commonly known, also possesses a fearsome row of 40, four millimetre long spines on its back. Like all chameleons, it is well-adapted to tree life, with tong-like hands and feet that latch on to twigs and a long, prehensile tail that acts as a back-up lasso.
Although some species of chameleon change colour to blend in with their backgrounds, the majority only do so to express irritation or anger when they’re cover has been blown. As we watched, the individual blanched and developed vertical brown bars – the chameleon’s equivalent of a grimace. Humans are only just starting to catch up with this astounding ability to change colour to suit mood: in 2006, scientists at the University of Connecticut in Storrs developed threads that, when exposed to an electric current, change from orange and red to blue, a technology that paves the way for “smart,” mood-sensing garments. Of course, the chameleon’s control over its canvas is far more sophisticated – but then it has had over 20 million years of evolution to perfect the art.
For more info on how chameleons are influencing fashion please visit this web page
by National Geographic | 1,751 | 958 | 0.001079 |
warc | 201704 | ‘Tis the season for tea! Shorter days and cooler temperatures get me thinking of ways to stay warm and healthy. Getting cozy with a cup of tea has many potential health benefits, including better sleep and decreased risk for illness, and some types have even been shown to aid in weight loss.
So which types of tea pack the most punch when it comes to health benefits? How do you get the most from your tea?
Green Tea
Green tea has been touted as having the most health benefits of all the tea varieties. The extended fermentation process for green tea boosts the levels of polyphenols, which are the beneficial antioxidants that have anti-inflammatory properties and help regulate blood-sugar levels in the body. Green tea has also been shown to lower risk for diabetes, cancer, and heart disease.
Black Tea
Black tea is the most commonly used tea in the world. It also has the most caffeine. This tea has high concentrations of theaflavins and thearubigins, two amazing antioxidants that have been linked to lower levels of cholesterol.
Oolong Tea
Oolong tea has a delicious, rich flavor that is attributed to its shorter fermentation period. Oolong activates an enzyme that dissolves triglycerides, a form of dietary fat stored in fat cells, which may aid in weight loss.
White Tea
White tea is harvested when it is young, which provides a milder taste and less caffeine. According to an article on organicfacts.net, white tea has many benefits, including antibacterial properties, which can boost your immune system and maintain good oral health. It has also been shown to decrease the risk for cancer and heart disease, decrease the symptomatic effects of diabetes, and aid in weight loss.
Herbal Tea
Herbal tea is technically not tea, but a blend of dried herbs, fruit, and flowers. This tea is usually caffeine-free or only has trace amounts of caffeine. These teas have varying benefits depending on the blend. Lavender, bergamot, and chamomile teas can aid in falling and staying asleep. Hibiscus tea has been shown to reduce blood pressure.
Follow these helpful tips to get the most out of your tea:
Use fresh, loose-leaf tea and a tea ball to brew. The fresher the tea, the better the flavor. The tea leaves also need space to bloom in order to maximize the release of antioxidants. If you prefer to use tea bags, use a pyramid-shaped bag. That shape provides more space than traditional tea bags. Use spring or filtered water. The chlorine, metals, and minerals in regular tap water can affect the taste of the tea and decrease its health benefits. Do not add milk. Milk decreases polyphenol levels in tea because the polyphenols will bind with the milk proteins. Do not buy bottled teas. They lose 20% of the catechins (antioxidants) during the bottling process. Add citrus to your tea instead of sugar. Doing so will flavor your tea and give it a boost of antioxidants. Adding refined sugar will cancel out the benefits of drinking the tea. Drink at least 4 cups per day to maximize the benefits.
Now go enjoy a healthy and cozy fall and winter with a nice, warm cup of tea!
Check out the following articles for further information about all the great benefits of adding tea to your daily diet! | 3,230 | 1,537 | 0.000655 |
warc | 201704 | This video shows how farmers in East and Southern Africa have been benefiting from increased rice yield after implementing SRI management practices. By following some simple principles in how to transplant the rice seedlings, maintain soil health, carefully irrigate, and manage weeds and nutrients, farmers can now produce a lot more rice than they used to using traditional methods. | 386 | 259 | 0.003881 |
warc | 201704 | Please, I really need your help. Can you please help me with this case study? Also, I attached the whole case study with some charts included. Please, I had to make the charts small to post it, so extend the charts larger so you could view it. I also add bullets to show different sections. Thanks in advance and I truly appreciate it.
Write a formal case analysis (5 pages) of "The Virgin Group in 2012." Use Wertheim's structure for case analysis. Pay particular attention to the choices of corporate strategy when outlining the causes of any problems identified. Identify creative recommendations for Richard Branson (a very creative person).
This more detailed case analysis requires the use of outside resources. Include in-text citations and references for at least two sources, not including the case itself.
Wertheim's Case Analysis and Problem Solving Model link -
http://www.mbadepot.com/external_link.php?ID=915&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iterasi.net%2Fopenviewer.aspx%3Fsqrlitid%3D8vrzmbofn06dsqdpurz9aw Solution Preview
Hope this helps- good luck!
Richard Branson's Virgin Group is in many ways a victim of its own successful philosophy. Branson set out decades ago to upend traditional business, offering customers "value for money, good quality, brilliant customer service and innovation" (Case study, n.d.). In addition, the company works at being irreverent, thumbing its nose at tradition, in large part to gain publicity and notoriety. Adding fun into the mix further helps customers identify with the brand. Branson has been able disrupt industries, through the use of novel business ideas. The Virgin Group's successfully competes in "sectors ranging from holidays and health & wellness" (The Virgin Group, 2013).
The case study uncovers an issue, however, that the organization is widely diverse, following atypical procedures in financing and management. Thus, while the company is able to gain a great deal of publicity through its flamboyant innovative strategy, it has deviated from tradition and operates hundreds of companies under a corporate umbrella without a clear profitability or management model. This causes concern over the organization's ability to manage the separate businesses and maintaining an overall profitable picture for the company as a whole. Branson and his team of executives run the Virgin Group as a series of diversified businesses, in an "informal, freewheeling management style" (Case study, n.d.). There is some question as to the ability of the organization to continue in this manner as it expands into more business opportunities, most seemingly chosen randomly rather than some having a linkage to a particular core competency of the operation. The company thrives on flying in the face of tradition, with Branson treating the business, seemingly, as a game of pretend, complete with dress up costumes. Yet, the results have been inspiring. Branson has built himself and the Virgin brand into household names, transforming industries in the process. The company refuses to focus on one business, one industry, or even one management style. Each business is allowed to run on its own, within the group. The businesses are "empowered to run their own affairs" (Case study, n.d.), helping share best practices with each other as needed, and focusing on "shared ideas, values, interests and goals" (Case study, n.d.). Branson has been the driving force for the group, since its inception, with the organization's management and financial practices largely a reflection of Branson's own personality. The entrepreneur consciously focused on having multiple smaller companies, rather than a conglomerate, stating that when a "company got to a certain size; he'd break it into parts" (Ankeny, 2013) to maintain a fine balance of excitement, drive for success, and motivation. This results in a complex web of companies, however, ...
This detailed, APA formatted solution,complete with references and in-text citations is the result of a case analysis utilizing Wertheim's structure reviewing "The Virgin Group in 2012." | 4,092 | 1,987 | 0.000506 |
warc | 201704 | Scenario: You are the first person to arrive in your classroom and as you sit down you notice an iPod on the floor underneath the adjacent seat. You pick it up and turn it on. It works fine and even has some of your favorite music listed. You realize that you are the only one in the room and no one will know if you keep it. You
Locate the following articles: 1) "Taking Rights out of Human Rights." By John Tasioulas, John. Ethics. July 2010, Volume 120, Issue 4, pages 647-678. 2) Authors: Thompson, Karen J.; Thach, Elizabeth C.; and Morelli, Melissa. Insights to a Changing World Journal. December 2010, Issue 4, pages 107-130. Title: "Implementing
HighTech, Inc., manufactures computer chips and components. HighTech has just introduced a new version of its memory chip, which is far faster than the previous version. Because of high product demand for the new chip, the testing process has been thorough but hurried. As the firm's chief of operations, you discover after the ch
Compare and contrast the various ethical decision-making approaches. Which approach do you think is most applicable in the real world? Explain your rationale. Generalizing from your results of the Experiential Exercise "Ethical Work Climate", what general recommendations can you make for improving the ethical standings of corp
Article: "Practical Applications of Healthcare Marketing Ethics" and application to healthcare marketers with examples.
Based on the provided article "Practical Applications of Healthcare Marketing Ethics," do you feel that competitors in the healthcare market do an adequate job of following and applying ethical principles as they relate to marketing? http://remarkamed.com/index.phpoption=com_content&view=article&id=17:practicalapplications&c
The Enron debacle, followed by accounting scandals and bankruptcies at WorldCom and Adelphia, created what one public official reported was a "crisis of confidence" on the part of the public in the accounting profession. Various parties and institutions bear some degree of direct or indirect responsibility for this "crisis of c
Child labor in South Asia The firm Bozabi has the habit of buying most of the clothes that it sells from suppliers located in developing countries. So far, Bozabi is a great success: their clothes are stylish, popular and of good quality. The management of the company boasts of having deliberately sought to work with manufact
Is it time to ask advertisers to ensure ethically responsible management of their profession? Does the invasion of advertising make of our world a better world?
Describe a situation in which ethics should be considered when choosing the format or content of a communication? Why might content matter? Is it wrong to provide too much information? Why?
1. Ethics is a topic that sparks a lot of debate amongst different groups of people; it is hard to keep everyone in an organization happy. Research one ethical issue that is prevalent in the workplace and decide, as a leader, how you would handle it. 2. You are having trouble communicating with one particular employee, but y
CASE STUDY: Royal Dutch Shell in the Niger Delta (Frederick Bird) Shell began oil extraction in the Niger Delta in the late 1950s. Between 1950 and 2000, Shell extracted oil for more than 250 billion dollars. During this time, in 2000, the standard of living of the five million people who live in this region has not improv
Outline the effects of financial planning, governance and ethical issues in modern economies. Identify current policies or initiatives that promote ethical behaviors in the corporate environment. Discuss the financial implications of following such policies and describe the aspects of the policies that work and which ne
My school's library is down and I'm unable to access the article-- Business Ethics Should Study Illicit Businesses: To Advance Respect for Human Rights: JBE JBE falseByrne, Edmund F. Journal of Business Ethics103. 4 (Nov 2011): 497-509. Can you please assist in telling me what exactly this article is about in depth and how
Go to a public corporation's website and read their statements on corporate social responsibility. What aspects of their ethics do you agree or disagree with? Why? The J.C. Penney Website was used to example ethics.
Consider the following scenario. Then place yourself in the position of an executive with a sport franchise or agency facing challenging economic times. Reflect and respond on the ethical issues involved with reversing previous bans on advertising. Your response should be at least 200 words in length. You are required to use at
What is a stakeholder? How does your business define stakeholder? Identify your stakeholders and what makes them stakeholders in your business: - The employee - The supplier - The customers - The government - The local community and society How does your business communicate with its stakeholders? - Discuss corp
(1) Provide an example of a consumer product currently being sold that you feel is not a morally responsible product. (2) Provide an example of when whistle-blowing is morally mandatory and when it is morally wrong. (3) Provide an example of when marketing has crossed the line and become unethical.
Organizations around the globe are now being asked to take some responsibility for how their business operations impact their local communities, society as a whole, and the environment. Do you agree or disagree with them being asked to do this? Why or why not? Also, describe one example of an organization that has taken steps to
a. Evaluate organizational responsibility to the community. b. Summarize the factors in an organization that influence social responsibility strategies. c. Identify a social initiative for an organization.
Aero Systems is a manufacturer of airplane parts and engines for a variety of military and commercial aircraft. It has two production departments. Department A is machine intense; Department B is labor intense. Aero Systems has adopted a traditional plantwide rate using direct labor hour based overhead allocation system. The
What does it mean to say that managers should maximize shareholder wealth subject to ethical constraints? What ethical considerations might enter into a decision that decreases cash flow or stock price? Contrast the effort of building a car and building a residential unit. Which one requires more initial capital? What kinds o
An HR manager is hiring two employees. The top two candidates, one male and one female, are equally qualified and you wish to hire both. You will be evaluated in part by how well you control compensation expenses. As a result, you have both a professional and personal responsibility to pay the lowest salary that is necessary to
Business Ethics Loren Vranich, a doctor practicing under the corporate name Family Health Care, P.C., entered into a written employment contract to hire Dennis Winkel. The contract provided for an annual salary, insurance benefits, and other employment benefits. Another doctor, Dr. Quan, also practiced with Dr. Vranich. About ni
The authorization of production occurs in the production planning and control department based on orders received from customers or analysis of sales forecasts and inventory requirements. Production planning and control is also responsible for monitoring materials and labor usage, and tracking the progress on production orders u
American Capitalism: Is a large discrepancy between executive pay and that of the average worker unfair to the worker? Is it unfair to increase a CEO's compensation at the same time that he or she downsizes the workforce? What is an ethically justifiable way to determine the pay of a CEO of a large corporation? How do you expla
Some companies have been known to extensively interview managers with key competitors for executive positions that do not exist. How is this practice a violation of the Judeo-Christian religious view of ethics?
The Scenario: In performing an audit at a local Trauma I hospital. I was asked to wait for the Chief Nursing Officer in a patient waiting room that was filthy with unwrapped, uneaten food, paper on the floor and a set of patient discharge instructions that included protected health information (PHI). Numerous staff personnel w
I need help in researching a code of ethics on websites for professional organizations from non-related nursing fields such as engineering, law enforcement, education or journalism. I need help in comparing the chosen ethical code to the American Nurses Association (ANA) Code of Ethics located at: http://www.nursingworld.org/Ma
Find an article that discusses unethical business research conduct that has resulted in individuals or a firm being convicted, or at least tried for, this conduct. Some examples include the following: - Asking inappropriate questions - Skewing research results - Failing to maintain participants' confidential information
While codes of ethics may provide guidelines for employees, including accountants, these guidelines may not offer the methods to follow for moral reasoning when confronted with ethical issues when performing accounting duties. Alternative models to assist accountants have evolved to assist them in making morally sound judgments. | 9,309 | 4,427 | 0.000227 |
warc | 201704 | Photos by Mosuno via Stocksy
Your period and the patriarchy are keeping you up at night.
It is exhausting being a woman, and often literally: According to CNN, women are more likely than men to suffer from insomnia. A study titled "Sleep in America" conducted by the National Sleep Foundation in 2005 found that 57 percent of women reported symptoms of insomnia a few times a week, compared to 51 percent of men. Causes include hormones, periods, restless leg syndrome (itself twice as common in women as in men), and other sleep-depriving health conditions that skew female, such as anxiety, depression, and fibromyalgia.
In other words, sleep disturbances come from both internal and external factors, and many of those factors affect women more. As with many side effects of bearing a uterus, "the ways hormones including estrogen and progesterone impact sleep quality are not fully understood," says Dr. Jennifer Martin, a member of the board of directors for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) and associate professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. "Estrogen and progesterone do impact the brain and influence both sleep itself and internal biological 'circadian rhythms.'"
"Particularly during the end of the menstrual cycle (just before a woman has her period) and in the first days of a menstrual period, some women experience more sleep disturbances," Martin says. And women on hormonal birth control are not exempt from these symptoms. "Some women may experience improved sleep if use of hormonal birth control regularizes or reduces other symptoms related to menstruation; however, some women may experience worse sleep when using hormonal contraception."
Both pregnancy and motherhood are also factors. "Pregnancy can impact both the amount of time women sleep, especially during the first trimester, and can disrupt sleep quality, especially during the third trimester," Martin says. Although these changes will improve after a woman gives birth, motherhood swoops in to take their place: In a poll conducted by the National Sleep Foundation, 74 percent of stay-at-home-moms reported suffering from insomnia. Later on, menopause and related symptoms create sleep disturbances, too.
As far as external factors go, stress is the primary culprit. While hormones and fluctuating iron levels during the menstrual cycle can make women fatigued, Martin and other experts say that stress is especially harmful for women suffering from insomnia.
"Chronic insomnia is more common in women than men overall, and part of this may be due to stressors commonly faced by women," Martin says. These stressors can range from small-scale domestic particulars, which often fall to women, to major issues—like sexism at work—that chip away at women's mental health over time. And even if men and women experience the same amount of stress, they respond differently: According to the American Psychological Association (APA), stress demonstrably affects women more in several key ways. In a 2010 APA study, 28 percent of women and 20 percent of men reported feeling "a great deal" of stress in their lives. Forty-nine percent of women in the same study also reported that stress had kept them up at night at least once in the past month; women were also significantly more likely (41 percent vs. 30 percent) to experience physical or emotional symptoms because of their stress.
Difficulty sleeping certainly falls into this category. "It is important to note that occasional difficulties with sleep related to stress are a normal part of our biological 'stress response'," Martin says. "However, stress can sometimes lead to insomnia that persists long after the stressful situation itself has been resolved."
Chronic insomnia is more common in women than men overall, and part of this may be due to stressors commonly faced by women.
Insomnia is frequently reflexive: Worrying about insomnia can cause more insomnia. Sufferers often end up "catastrophizing" small events—such as the fact that they're not sleeping—that keep them up at night. "Catastrophizing refers to thoughts related to catastrophic outcomes of, for example, a single night of poor night of sleep," Martin explains. "Catastrophizing about sleep loss is a major contributor to insomnia." While Martin notes that both men and women are prone to these out-of-proportion thoughts when experiencing insomnia, women are particularly susceptible. "It is true that the way one approaches stress relates to how much sleep is disrupted," she says. "A recent study found that it is not the number of stressors, but your reaction to them, that determines your likelihood of insomnia." According to the APA, 78 percent of women say that getting a good night's sleep is "extremely or very important," while only 58 percent of men say the same. What's more, in the "Sleep in America" poll, men also said they need less sleep (a minimum of 6.2 hours) than women report they need (6.8 hours minimum) to function at an optimum level.
But although researchers and sleep specialists have long known women have more trouble with insomnia, it's still difficult to treat. Martin advises against relying on sleeping pills—which women are also more likely to take—and instead treats her patients with cognitive-behavioral therapy, or CBT, specifically for insomnia. "Cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia is now considered the best available treatment for chronic insomnia disorder," she says. "This approach is as effective, if not more effective, than sleeping pills. A key advantage of CBT-I is that possible side effects (such as feeling sleepy the following day) of hypnotic medications are avoided."
Barring that, there are adult coloring books.
"I thought it was very important to support my daughter, and all daughters of the world—not just for women's rights, but all rights."Jan 22, 2017
Here are some of the thousands of amazing slogans and images we saw at yesterday's historic march.Jan 22, 2017
Kirsten "Kiwi" Smith penned the screenplays for "10 Things I Hate About You," "The House Bunny," and other rom-coms in between writing feminist poems.Jan 22, 2017
"I would be more open to dating if I could get a Carfax on these dudes. A hoefax, if you will."Jan 21, 2017
"For me, this started out as something I wanted to do for my daughter, granddaughter, and daughters-in-law. But it's bigger than that; it's not just for the girls. It's for my sons and grandsons too—to make a better life."Jan 21, 2017
Broadly is on the ground in Washington D.C. today to speak with some of the thousands of women who have gathered together to stand up for the people and communities directly at threat under Trump's presidency.Jan 21, 2017
Unifying hundreds of thousands of women is almost an impossible task. We talked with Winnie Wong, one of the authors of the march's platform, about using messaging to bring the diverse protestors together.Jan 20, 2017
When LES-based artist Laura Nova met Poa Shen, a woman who practices and teaches her form of kung fu in Nova's neighborhood, the pair became instant collaborators.Jan 20, 2017
The day Donald Trump was sworn in as our 45th president, pages dedicated to women and the LGBT community disappeared from whitehouse.gov.Jan 20, 2017
As the first daughter steps out for President Trump’s inauguration, an expert explains what life is like for the women who make her shoes.Jan 20, 2017 | 7,519 | 3,441 | 0.000295 |
warc | 201704 | Special Series: Technology and the CEO >> [Part 3] Technology Conveniences
In this third part of our series, a look at the basic needs for a campus community in the 21st century.
By Rosemary E. Jeffries, RSM
We all expect instant communication, ease and speed in computation, constant access to information, and lighter and smaller devices to travel with us everywhere. The conveniences of technology in the 21st century are expected like the hot and cold running water, electricity, heat, air conditioning, air travel, and 24-hour communication that made their way into our expectations through the 20th century. Each convenience of our modern society promised greater ease for living or greater ease for connecting people.
Today’s technology promises the same ease for living and, certainly, for access to information. It equally promises greater capability for connecting with people near and far, in consistent ways. Clearly, to attract, serve, and retain students and faculty in the technology-rich culture of this first decade of the 21st century will require staying current in a rapidly changing environment.
"For this generation of technology-savvy prospective students, nine o'clock in the evening is the best time to shop for a college."
In fact, the expectations for technology and the actual development of technological capacity are accelerating at an even faster rate than our 20th century conveniences. For example, commercial broadcast television developed and marketed in the 1920s took a long time to catch on. Now in the 21st century, about 98 percent of households have a television, and 70 percent or more households report having two or more televisions. Yet, it took 60 years or more for TV to become an expected household convenience (Source: 2004 World Almanac).
By contrast, Apple and IBM marketed the first personal computers in 1975, and by 2001, one billion PCs had been manufactured and sold. The next billion is expected to be shipped and sold within the next five to six years. By 2001, only 26 years after the first personal computers were introduced, 56 percent of households had a computer and 50 percent had an Internet connection (Source: 2004 World Almanac).
In about half the time it took television to become a major part of life, computers and the Internet are now expected elements of life. As we approach the midpoint of the first decade of the 21st century, the integration and influence of technology in everyday life—and definitely in the college campus world—is pervasive.
The accelerated inclusion of technology into household, work, and education environments increases the expectations of students and faculty coming to institutions of higher education. In these centers of learning and research, they expect not only the convenience of 21st century technology, but the access to technology that supports and keeps pace with their intellectual careers and their personal lives.
The traditional-aged students coming to college today grew up with technology, using computers in kindergarten, getting their own cell phones by 8th grade, and watching the first and second Iraqi conflicts, live, in their homes. This generation of students d'es not see technology as an added value in their lives; rather, they see technology as an expected convenience. As Howe and Strauss sum up in
Millenials Go to College (Neil Howe and William Strauss, American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, 2003), “Millenials take digital technology for granted
institutions that are paleotech—not wired with powerful intranets, PowerPoint tools and the latest information retrieval systems—will face a real handicap when recruiting students, and not just in technology fields.”
Though faculty and older students did not grow up with technology in the same way, they too are users with clear expectations. Today’s faculty rely on technology to store and manipulate data easily, aid their research, facilitate their class management, and keep them in touch with students and colleagues. The older student, often returning to school while balancing work and family, expects the convenience of accessing class notes online, registering online, and, in general, staying connected through technology. Everyone has accepted the more accelerated pace of new technology as we watch technology prices come down, and PCs and other computing and communications devices become smaller and lighter and ever more convenient.
Making Web presence and response compelling and engaging through personalization tools is as critical as providing stunning streaming video of the campus and campus activities. The use of portals facilitates the possibility of gaining immediate information about prospective students who are shopping the Web. Using e-mail response direct to the prospect launches an initial relationship between the institution and the student. In short, technology changes the recruitment business for students. Beyond the campus, prospective students and faculty access their first glimpse of the campus through the Web presence available.
"To attract, serve, and retain students and faculty in this technology-rich culture will require staying current in a rapidly changing environment."
Technology also provides an initial view of the campus to a prospective faculty candidate, well in advance of the campus visit. The 24/7 access to information—and even communication for students and faculty through enhanced technology— accommodates each person’s schedule. The number of hits to our Web page between 9 and 10 pm is, on average, 6,450 per month. Nine o’clock in the evening is usually not the time most admissions folks answer inquiries; yet, for this generation of technology-savvy prospective students, nine in the evening is the best time to shop for a college. Faculty who find the 5:30 to 6:30 morning quiet time as the best time to post class assignments or bibliography are equally serviced by technology, which allows them to work when they feel most inspired. Technology enhances the exchange between faculty and students, while at the same time allowing for the differences in lifestyle.
How the 21st century campus uses technology to attract and serve students and faculty is clear and compelling. History tells us that the advancement of new devices for connecting and accessing information will improve at a rapid pace and will move beyond even what we can imagine. Keeping pace with the advances in this area is critical to keeping campuses current and cutting edge.
Yet, more important than the way it brings convenience to campus life, technology helps to establish immediate relationships that are essential to the 21st century campus, offering an initial relationship between the prospective student and the institution, or establishing a more consistent relationship between the enrolled student and the professor. Technology also launches the relationship between the prospective faculty candidate and the campus. It is these various relationships that support the ability of a college to attract students and faculty, but ultimately, technology enhances relationships that serve both students and faculty, and helps to retain their engagement with the campus.
With all the opportunity for connecting that it presents, technology in the 21st century is as important to campus life as running water and electricity. We have come to expect the convenience of instant messaging, constant access to information, and ease of connecting with other members of the campus community.
; yet, the capacity of technology to connect and create relationships to support community might be the most important advantage of this 21st century convenience. As Rosa Beth Moss Kanter concludes in her study of the virtual world, Technology can be a great factor in retaining, attracting, and ultimately serving the campus Evolve: Succeeding in the Digital Culture (Harvard Business School Press, 2001), “Community might seem a strange word to use in conjunction with the ever-expanding virtual world. But one of my most robust findings about e-culture is that it centers around strong communities, online and off.”
In her book, she outlines the hazards of the technology-saturated culture to human relationships, and ultimately, to social institutions. Briefly, Kanter cautions that the Internet can connect or isolate; it can enable community or it can destroy a community. As campuses depend more and more on the convenience of technology to connect students and faculty, and as technology facilitates access to information and the exchange of ideas through the virtual world, the caution to be wary of the ways technology can encourage isolation or be used as a means to undermine community needs to be included in technology planning.
Institutions of higher education are places that must help people navigate the virtual world in a way that is productive in the real world. Campuses need to provide state-of-the-art technology access while maintaining focus on establishing a learning environment that supports students who will become the educators, business and government leaders, researchers, and citizens of the world. Preparing students for roles in our new world requires more than knowledge of their chosen field and facility with technology; it requires a sense of community responsibility. As higher education continues to keep pace with the advances of technology to attract, serve, and retain students and faculty, may we not lose sight of a key part of our noble mission of education: to provide learning communities focused on preparing people for meaningful and productive lives for themselves and their civic and world community.
Rosemary E. Jeffries is president of Georgain Court University (NJ). SunGard SCT (www.sungardsct.com) is the publisher of President to President: Views of Technology in Higher Education (2005) from which this article is excerpted, and is also corporate sponsor of the New Presidents program. Marylouise Fennell, co-editor of President to President, is coordinator of the New Presidents program, and senior counsel to the Council of Independent Colleges (www.cic.edu). Scott D. Miller, co-editor of President to President, is president of Wesley College (DE), and chair of the program. | 10,385 | 4,322 | 0.000234 |
warc | 201704 | Ryanair has notched up a new monthly traffic record, handling 6.7 million passengers in July, up an impressive 19% year-on-year. Load factor was steady year-on-year at an equally impressive 89%. However, the carrier does not disclose monthly yield data, so understanding the profitability – or otherwise – of the headline traffic numbers is difficult.
It is clear that Ryanair is discounting massively to fill up its rapidly growing fleet and network. In the past fortnight alone, the LCC for example has released two separate EUR1 fare sales covering 1 million seats for travel in the shoulder period from September through to November.
Ryanair’s recent load factor performance has been fairly solid, with only three decreases in the past 12 months, reversing the previous year’s fairly soft performance. In its latest commentary, Ryanair stated its continued growth “underlines that passengers during this recession are increasingly switching from high fare, fuel surcharging flag carriers, such as Air France, BA, Lufthansa and Aer Lingus who are losing passengers, to Ryanair’s lowest fares and no fuel surcharge guarantee”.
Ryanair passenger load factor growth: Aug-2007 to Jul-2009
Ouchlook: Yields to fall 20%+
In the first quarter ended 30-Jun-2009, Ryanair’s yield slumped 13%, as the carrier grew traffic by 11%. The carrier stated it remained “cautious” for the remainder of the fiscal year, conceding that traffic growth “is strong, but at much weaker yields due to the recession and the impact of tourist tax in Ireland and the UK”.
Like British Airways, which is having difficultly forecasting its forward revenues, Ryanair stated it has “limited visibility” beyond the next two months, but expect passengers to be “very price sensitive for the rest of the year”.
The carrier stated it expects yields in the current quarter (ending 30-Sep-2009) will be “significantly lower than last year, at or even slightly above the minus 15-20% range previously guided”, even taking in the peak Summer period. Ryanair added, “based on this yield performance in the first half, “we expect the full year yield decline will be at or slightly more than minus 20% and accordingly, our full year net profit will be towards the lower end of the EUR200 million to EUR300 million range, previously guided”.
CEO, Michael O’Leary, remains optimistic, stating “the winners in a deep recession will always be those companies like Aldi, Lidl, McDonalds, and Ryanair who offer the lowest prices and the best service to consumers. We will continue to expand as others fail”.
But Aldi, Lidl and McDonalds are not cutting their average prices by 20%+ and investors remain wary about Ryanair’s growth profile. The airline’s shares gained 0.5% yesterday on the release of the Jul-2009 traffic figures, but remain over 5.5% below the close prior to last month’s first quarter financial results and yield guidance shock.
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