source stringclasses 1
value | snapshot stringclasses 3
values | text stringlengths 264 621k | size_before_bytes int64 269 624k | size_after_bytes int64 185 235k | compression_ratio float64 0 0.01 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
warc | 201704 | This is article is released weekdays under the heading Daily Fundamentals at 5pm EST on www.dailyfx.com
The British Pound fell against the US Dollar in overnight trading ahead of a report that is set to show the unemployment rate hit a 12-year high of 5% in August. The Euro Zone Consumer Price Index and Swiss Retail Sales are also on tap.
Key Overnight Developments • Australia Won't Raise Interest Rates Until Next Year, Says Westpac • Euro Flat, British Pound Lower Against USD in Overnight Trading Critical Levels
The
Euro consolidated in a narrow range below the US session high at 1.4686 in overnight trading. The British Pound moved lower, slipping as much as -0.4% against the US Dollar. Asia Session Highlights
Australia's
Westpac Leading Index added 1.1% in July, rising to the highest level in seven months. The index fell -1.8% from a year ago, the smallest decline since October 2008. The metric seeks to forecast how the economy will perform over the coming three to nine months. Westpac chief economist Bill Evans said the upswing in the index over recent months points to a significant improvement in [Australian economic] growth prospects in 2010. However, Evans noted that the bank does not expect future growth will be sufficiently robust to warrant to raise interest rates before next February, reinforcing the cautious tone of the minutes from September's RBA monetary policy meeting. Euro Session: What to Expect
The UK labor market is likely to show continued weakness as
Jobless Claims rise by 25,000 in August, pushing the unemployment rate (known in the UK as the Claimant Count) to a 12-year high at 5.0%. More of the same is expected going forward: a survey of economists polled by Bloomberg forecasts the jobless rate will top 9% next year. Continued job losses will trim incomes and discourage spending, threatening the economy's ability to sustain recent improvements and potentially adding to selling pressure on the British Pound after yesterday's damaging comments from Bank of England Governor Mervyn King. For our part, we sold GBPUSD at 1.6617.
In the Euro Zone, the
Consumer Price Index is set to show inflation shrank at an annual pace of -0.2% in August, confirming initial estimates. To that effect, the reading may already be priced into the exchange rate and, barring unforeseen revisions, looks unlikely not produce a meaningful response from the currency markets. The longer-term view is not encouraging for the single currency, however: while the August reading amounts to a slight improvement from the previous month's -0.7% contraction, the bottom line is that prices are set to decline for the third consecutive month, threatening to bring economic growth to a virtual standstill if expectations of lower prices in the future encourage consumers and businesses to perpetually delay spending and investment. This leaves the door open for traders to punish the Euro in the months ahead if it becomes clear the currency bloc is heading for a long-term period of sub-par performance and low interest rates.
Swiss
Retail Sales are expected to add 0.7% in the year to July, a reading slightly lower than the previous month's 0.9% result. Shrinking prices have boosted consumers' purchasing power in recent months, encouraging spending, but continued deflation threatens to work against retail activity if it translates into entrenched expectations of even lower prices in the future. Rising unemployment is also setting up to be a formidable obstacle: the jobless rate surged to 3.8%in August, the highest in over three years, and is expected to hit 5% next year. For streaming currency market news and analysis, please visit http://forexstream.dailyfx.com To reach the author regarding this article or to subscribe to his email distribution list, please contact ispivak@dailyfx.com | 3,850 | 1,928 | 0.000522 |
warc | 201704 | This study is maintained and distributed by the National Archive of Computerized Data on Aging (NACDA), the aging program within ICPSR. NACDA is sponsored by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) at the National Institutes of Heath (NIH).
National Health Interview Survey, 1994 (ICPSR 6724) Principal Investigator(s): United States Department of Health and Human Services. National Center for Health Statistics Summary:
The purpose of the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) is to obtain information about the amount and distribution of illness, its effects in terms of disability and chronic impairments, and the kinds of health services people receive. The Household Record file (Part 1) presents information on type of living quarters, size of family, number of families in the household, whether there is a telephone, number of unrelated individuals, and region. Variables in the Person Record file (Part 2) cover sex, age, race, marital status, Hispanic origin, education, veteran status, family income, family size, major activities, health status, activity limits, employment status, industry, and occupation. These person-level variables are also found in the Condition, Doctor Visit, and Hospital Record files (Parts 3-5). The Person Record file also contains height, weight, bed days, doctor visits, hospital stays, years at residence, and region variables. Data for each reported health condition, with specifics on injury and accident reports, are supplied in the condition file, while the Doctor Visit Record file documents doctor visits within the time period and identifies acute or chronic conditions. The Hospital Record file contains information on conditions, hospital episodes, type of service, type of hospital ownership, date of admission and discharge, number of nights in hospital, and operations performed, within the 12-month period.
Access Notes
The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public. Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.
Dataset(s) WARNING: This study is over 150MB in size and may take several minutes to download on a typical internet connection. DS0: Study-Level Files Study Description Citation
U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, National Center for Health Statistics. NATIONAL HEALTH INTERVIEW SURVEY, 1994. ICPSR version. Hyattsville, MD: U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, National Center for Health Statistics [producer], 1995. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 1996. http://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR06724.v1
Persistent URL: http://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR06724.v1 Export Citation: Scope of Study Subject Terms: chronic disabilities, chronic illnesses, disabilities, doctor visits, families, family size, health, health care, health care services, health policy, health problems, hospitalization, household composition, households, illness Geographic Coverage: United States Time Period: Date of Collection: Universe: Civilian, noninstitutionalized population of the 50 statesand the District of Columbia. Data Types: survey data Data Collection Notes:
(1) Per agreement with NCHS, ICPSR distributes the data file(s) and text of the technical documentation for this collection as prepared by NCHS. (2) The codebook is provided as a Portable Document Format (PDF) file. The PDF file format was developed by Adobe Systems Incorporated and can be accessed using the Adobe Acrobat Reader. Information on how to obtain a copy of the Acrobat Reader is provided through the ICPSR Website on the Internet. The codebook is also available in hardcopy form upon request from ICPSR. (3) The Field Representatives' Manual is available only in hardcopy form upon request from ICPSR.
Methodology Sample: The NHIS uses a stratified multistage probability design. Data Source:
personal interviews
Restrictions: In preparing the data file(s) for this collection, the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) has removed direct identifiers and characteristics that might lead to identification of data subjects. As an additional precaution NCHS requires, under Section 308(d) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 242m), that data collected by NCHS not be used for any purpose other than statistical analysis and reporting. NCHS further requires that analysts not use the data to learn the identity of any persons or establishments and that the director of NCHS be notified if any identities are inadvertently discovered. ICPSR member institutions and other users ordering data from ICPSR are expected to adhere tothese restrictions. Version(s) Original ICPSR Release: 1996-10-01 Version History: 2006-01-12 All files were removed from dataset 6 and flagged as study-level files, so that they will accompany all downloads. Related Publications (?) List all ~43 citations associated with this study List ~1 citations that match your query View citations for the entire series Top Publications that Match your Query Studying homicide in the home and how guns are kept. Injury Prevention. 8, (4), 345 - Variables Utilities Metadata Exports Citations exports are provided above.
Export Study-level metadata (does not include variable-level metadata)
If you're looking for collection-level metadata rather than an individual metadata record, please visit our Metadata Records page. | 5,372 | 2,499 | 0.000401 |
warc | 201704 | Breast Enhancement Procedures to Fit Your Body
In today's society, women can constantly feel the pressure of needing to look their best. Women may develop concerns over their self-image and feel that their breasts are not the right size or shape. A women's breasts are fully developed by her twenties. She may have very small, under-developed breasts or very large breasts that cause back and/or neck discomfort. Other factors, such as pregnancy, nursing, weight loss, age, and gravity, can take their toll on the appearance of a woman's breasts adding to the concern. Cosmetic breast surgery offers many options to address these concerns, with procedures that can sculpt a woman's breasts to a more becoming size and shape.
When nature provides too little
Breast enhancement procedures can enlarge and contour the breasts, giving a woman a shapely figure and potentially make her more confident in her appearance. Many women experience a decrease in breast size and shape after pregnancy or with age. Sagging breasts, or "breast ptosis," can be corrected with a breast lift and the placement f breast implants, providing firmer and younger looking breasts.
When more is too much
Overly large breasts can be embarrassing and also lead to skin irritation, and back, neck, and shoulder discomfort. Breast reduction procedures remove excess tissue, skin, and fat to reshape and lift the breast. This procedure can greatly benefit women of all ages by relieving discomfort and allowing them to have a more active lifestyle.
Restoring a natural you after mastectomy
There are many options available to reconstruct the breast after mastectomy. Using implants or the patient's own lower abdominal tissue (TRAM flap), the breast(s can be reconstructed to a natural appearance, with the potential to renew a patients self image. Breast reconstruction is covered by health insurance plans by law.
Our surgeons at The Institute for Cosmetic Surgery will discuss the surgical options that would best suit your individual needs. | 2,027 | 1,000 | 0.001006 |
warc | 201704 | Roadway improvements have been shown to reduce crashes.
Pedestrian motor vehicle crash deaths have declined dramatically since 1975 but still account for 11 percent of crash deaths. The rates of pedestrian deaths in motor vehicle crashes per 100,000 people are highest for people ages 70 and older.
Pedestrian deaths occur primarily in urban areas. Many pedestrians are killed on crosswalks, sidewalks, median strips, and traffic islands. Physical separations such as overpasses, underpasses, and barriers can reduce the problem. Increased illumination and improved signal timing at intersections also can be effective. Because traffic speeds affect the risk and severity of pedestrian crashes, reducing speeds can reduce pedestrian deaths. Retting, R.A.; Ferguson, S.A.; and McCartt, A.T. 2003. A review of evidence-based traffic engineering measures to reduce pedestrian-motor vehicle crashes. American Journal of Public Health. 93:1456-63.
Vehicle factors count, too, because the most serious injuries often result from pedestrians being thrown onto the hoods, windshields, or tops of vehicles. Serious head, pelvis, and leg injuries are common, and the severity of such injuries could be mitigated by improving vehicle designs and materials. Daniel, S., Jr. 2004. The role of the vehicle front end in pedestrian impact protection. Pedestrian Safety (PT-112), 99-112. Warrendale, PA: Society of Automotive Engineers.
The following facts are based on analysis of data from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).
A total of 4,784 pedestrian deaths occurred in 2006, down 36 percent from 1975. Since 1975 pedestrian deaths have declined from 17 percent of all motor vehicle crash deaths to 11 percent in 2006.
Pedestrian deaths and other motor vehicle crash deaths, 1975-2006
Nineteen percent of pedestrian deaths in 2006 occurred in hit-and-run crashes.
The rate of pedestrian deaths per 100,000 people decreased 54 percent between 1975 and 2006 (from 3.5 to 1.6 per 100,000). The pedestrian death rate for children ages 0-12 decreased 86 percent. Children this age had the third highest pedestrian death rate in 1975 but in 2006 had the lowest.
Pedestrian deaths per 100,000 people by age, 1975-2006
More details: population and number of pedestrian deaths
The rate of pedestrian deaths per 100,000 people in 2006 was 77 percent higher for people 70 and older than for those younger than 70. Since 1975, the rate of pedestrian deaths per 100,000 people has decreased 51 percent for people younger than 70 and 72 percent for those age 70 and older.
Sixty-nine percent of pedestrians killed in 2006 were males, a proportion that has varied little since 1975.
Fifty-four percent of pedestrians 16 and older killed in nighttime (9pm - 6am) crashes in 2006 had blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) at or above 0.08 percent, compared to 23 percent during the day (6am - 9pm).
Seventy-two percent of pedestrian deaths in 2006 occurred in urban areas, up from 59 percent in 1975.
Thirty-six percent of pedestrian deaths among people 70 and older in 2006 occurred at intersections, compared with 21 percent for those younger than 70.
Seventy-two percent of pedestrian deaths in 2006 occurred on major roads, including interstates and freeways.
In urban areas, 54 percent of pedestrian deaths in 2006 occurred on roads with speed limits of 40 mph or less; in rural areas 24 percent of deaths occurred on such roads.
Forty-six percent of fatal pedestrian motor vehicle collisions in 2006 occurred between 6 pm and midnight.
The greatest proportion of pedestrian deaths in 2006 occurred on Saturday (17 percent) followed by Friday and Sunday (both 16 percent).
References
©1996-2016, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Highway Loss Data Institute | www.iihs.org
Subscribe to news updates
Watch our channel
Follow us
Mobile ratings & news | 3,907 | 1,694 | 0.000595 |
warc | 201704 | Ten Tenets Of Swing Trading By Dave Landry © 2004 TradingMarkets.com Inc. Swing trading is a method of trading which seeks to capture short-term gains in markets. It involves identifying markets that have the potential to make an immediate move, entering those markets and using strict money management to help protect against major losses and lock in profits. Trades are normally held for one to five days. Below we will look at ten general guidelines, by no means are exhaustive, but should help to keep you out of 90% of the trouble spots when swing trading. 1. Limit Losses As soon as position is initiated, you should have a protective stop right below the recent support (for longs), or above recent resistance (for shorts). Swing trading often produces many small gains with only an occasional home run. Therefore, protective stops must be used on all trades. Getting careless on just one trade can erase many winners. 2. No Tickie, No Tradie Swing trading involves identifying short-term support and resistance and where a market will likely re-assert itself. It is not about fading the market by picking tops and bottoms. Therefore, wait for follow through before attempting to enter a trade. For instance, suppose a market is in rally mode and begins to sell off, chances are the next move will be a resumption of the original uptrend. However, until that uptrend begins to resume, positions should not be initiated. For longs, this means waiting for the market to turn back up, and for shorts, it means waiting for the market to turn back down. 3. Take Partial Profits Quickly On most swing trades, the profits will be small and have the potential to quickly erode. Therefore, as soon as your profits (a) are equal to or greater than your initial risk (b), you should lock in half of your profits and move your protective stop on your remaining shares to breakeven (c) -- (near your original entry). Locking in half of your profits and moving your stop to breakeven when your profits are greater than or equal to your initial risk,* will help to generate income for your account. This income will help to pay for the inevitable small losses associated with swing trading. Further, barring overnight gaps, this gives you, at worst, a breakeven trade and a chance at a home run on the remaining position. 4. Take Windfall Profits As a swing trader, windfall profits are often few and far between. Therefore, you should lock in all or a significant piece of your profits when parabolic moves occur. After all, large moves occur as players dog pile onto a market as it becomes obvious to the masses. You've got to ask yourself, once it's obvious, and the last players are entering the market, who's left to buy? As an example, notice below that Agilent Technologies (A) had a tremendous one-day gain (a), but all of those gains were eroded over the next few days (b) 5. Trade In Liquid And Active Markets As swing traders, we are looking for an immediate short-term move. We don't have the luxury of waiting around until a large price-move takes place. Therefore, the markets we trade in must be liquid and active so we can move in and out with ease, and hopefully, capture short-term fluctuations. Trading in thin and dull markets can be costly and will likely chew you up, as most short-term trading profits are small. 6. Stack The Odds In Your Favor In trading, the more pieces of the puzzle that fit together, the better. Although in swing trading, we are looking for short-term setups, it helps to have longer-term factors in place. This can be in the form of momentum or big-picture technical patterns such as cups and handles, head-and-shoulders bottoms (or tops), double bottoms (or tops) and so on and so forth. These can be on daily, weekly or even monthly charts. Some of the best swing traders find markets that have the potential double or triple (over time) and look for short-term setups to capture a piece of that move. Also, for stock traders, the above should be combined with an overall market bias. 7. Enter The Entire Position At Once In swing trading, we are in the market for a short period of time and looking for a swift move. Unlike the longer-term player who has the luxury of building positions over time and at an average price while waiting for the market to move, the swing trader is looking for an immediate move. In most cases, you should be looking to lock in profits and tighten stops as the market moves in your favor -- not add to positions. If you must pyramid, then do it quickly as the position moves in your favor, and make sure it looks like an actual pyramid. In other words, only add to profitable positions and establish your largest position first. A 3-2-1 is good ratio for establishing ositions. For instance, if your position size is 500 shares, then enter 300, then 200, then 100, provided of course, the market is moving in your favor while adding to the position. 8. Keep Position Size Within Reason Swing trading is a game of probabilities. You win some, you lose some, and hopefully, through a consistent approach, you make money overall. Swing trading is not about trying to hit "home runs" by taking excessive risk on any one position. In fact, you should never take a position large enough to have a material impact on your trading account should -- or more likely, when -- a price shock occur. | 5,367 | 2,431 | 0.000412 |
warc | 201704 | Targeting the DNA Double Strand Breaks Repair for Cancer Therapy
Abstract:Among several types of DNA lesions, the DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) are one of the most deleterious and harmful. Mammalian cells mount a coordinated response to DSBs with the aim of appropriately repair the DNA damage. Indeed, failure of the DNA damage response (DDR) can lead to the development of cancer-prone genetic diseases. The identification and development of drugs targeting proteins involved in the DDR is even more investigated, as it gives the possibility to specifically target cancer cells. Indeed, the administration of DNA repair inhibitors could be combined with chemo- and radiotherapy, thus improving the eradication of tumor cells. Here, we provide an overview about DSBs damage response, focusing on the role of the DSBs repair mechanisms, of chromatin modifications, and of the cancer susceptibility gene BRCA1 which plays a multifunctional role in controlling genome integrity. Moreover, the most investigated DSBs enzyme inhibitors tested as potential therapeutic agents for anti-cancer therapy are reported. Document Type: Research Article
Publication date: 2010-07-01
More about this publication?
covers all the latest and outstanding developments in medicinal chemistry and rational drug design. Each issue contains a series of timely in-depth reviews written by leaders in the field covering a range of the current topics in medicinal chemistry. Current Medicinal Chemistry is an essential journal for every medicinal chemist who wishes to be kept informed and up-to-date with the latest and most important developments. Current Medicinal Chemistry | 1,660 | 858 | 0.00117 |
warc | 201704 | ISSN 0954-0121 (Print); ISSN 1360-0451 (Online)
Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group
Exploring the potential of a conditional cash transfer intervention to reduce HIV risk among young women in Iringa, Tanzania pp. 275-281(7) Authors:Kennedy; Brahmbhatt; Likindikoki; Beckham; Mbwambo; Kerrigan
A meta-analysis and systematic review of HIV risk behavior among fishermen pp. 282-291(10) Author:Smolak
The influence of knowing someone with HIV/AIDS on preventive behaviors in Italy pp. 292-296(5) Authors:Prati; Mazzoni; Zani
Factors associated with recency of HIV testing amongst men residing in Scotland who have sex with men pp. 297-303(7) Authors:Knussen; Flowers; McDaid
Positive parenting for positive parents: HIV/AIDS, poverty, caregiver depression, child behavior, and parenting in South Africa pp. 304-313(10) Authors:Lachman; Cluver; Boyes; Kuo; Casale
Transportation vulnerability as a barrier to service utilization for HIV-positive individuals pp. 314-319(6) Authors:Sagrestano; Clay; Finerman; Gooch; Rapino
Complex care needs of patients with late-stage HIV disease: A retrospective study pp. 320-325(6) Authors:Halman; Chan Carusone; Stranks; Schaefer-McDaniel; Stewart
Low rates of child testing for HIV persist in a high-risk area of East Africa pp. 326-331(6) Authors:O'Donnell; Yao; Ostermann; Thielman; Reddy; Whetten; Maro; Itemba; Pence; Dow; Whetten
Pre-exposure prophylaxis for conception (PrEP-C) as a risk reduction strategy in HIV-positive men and HIV-negative women in the UK pp. 332-336(5) Authors:Whetham; Taylor; Charlwood; Keith; Howell; McInnes; Payne; Home; White; Gilleece
Online detection of concerned HIV-related messages in web forums pp. 337-342(6) Authors:Sung; Chiu; Chiu; Hsiao
Pathways to poor educational outcomes for HIV/AIDS-affected youth in South Africa pp. 343-350(8) Authors:Orkin; Boyes; Cluver; Zhang
HIV/AIDS in the Southern USA: A disproportionate epidemic pp. 351-359(9) Authors:Reif; Whetten; Wilson; McAllaster; Pence; Legrand; Gong
Acceptability and feasibility of serial HIV antibody testing during pregnancy/postpartum and male partner testing in Tororo, Uganda pp. 360-366(7) Authors:Kim; Arinaitwe; Nzarubara; Kamya; Clark; Okong; Charlebois; Havlir; Cohan
The validity of clinic-based samples in approximating out-of-care HIV-infected populations pp. 367-371(5) Authors:Magnus; Herwehe; Wilbright; Abrams; Foxhood; Gruber; Shepard; Smith; Xiao; Deyoung; Kaiser
Accessing HIV testing and treatment among men who have sex with men in China: A qualitative study pp. 372-378(7) Authors:Wei; Yan; Yang; Raymond; Li; Yang; Zhao; Huan; Stall
The impact of education and globalization on sexual and reproductive health: Retrospective evidence from eastern and southern Africa pp. 379-386(8) Authors:Van Stam; Michielsen; Stroeken; Zijlstra
Social and structural risks for HIV among migrant and immigrant men who have sex with men in Moscow, Russia: Implications for prevention pp. 387-395(9) Authors:Wirtz; Zelaya; Peryshkina; Latkin; Mogilnyi; Galai; Dyakonov; Beyrer
Differences in testing, stigma, and perceived consequences of stigmatization among heterosexual men and women living with HIV in Bengaluru, India pp. 396-403(8) Authors:Malavé; Ramakrishna; Heylen; Bharat; Ekstrand
Pilot study examining the efficacy of an electronic intervention to promote HIV medication adherence pp. 404-409(6) Authors:Claborn; Leffingwell; Miller; Meier; Stephens | 3,454 | 1,889 | 0.000534 |
warc | 201704 | It’s hard to keep up with all the articles on innovation these days. There are so many outlets now where people are volunteering their experience and advice. A lot of the advice is quiet good. But, every now and then an article appears that assaults the senses like fingernails against a blackboard. Such is the case with “Why Companies Need Less Innovation,” by Pat Lencioni which appeared in Bloomberg Businessweek. I feel sorry for any company that takes this advice seriously.
In this article, the author begins with a very reasonable observation. Many companies do a great job of talking up innovation, and then disenfranchise workers by not doing what is needed to establish a productive and sustainable innovation culture. This is a horrible mistake that many executives make. Simply proclaiming that your company is building an innovation culture doesn’t make it so.
Unfortunately, the article takes a very wrong turn. Lencioni suggests that if workers are innovating, the result will be chaos. What tripe! Does Lencioni really misunderstand innovation so much as to equate innovation with workers gone wild abandoning their mission and acting on impulse? One hopes not, yet this is the message that comes through. Lencioni goes on to suggest that innovation should be the sole domain of the leadership team.
It is well understood that the ivory tower approach to innovation is a failed model. The leadership team doesn’t have the full perspective to be the sole contributors to the process. Yes, the leadership does have the best understanding of the company’s business needs and objectives. And their position gives them a perspective that the rank and file employees can’t share. But there are too many proof points that teach us that executives acting in such an insular manor are detached from the practical realities that the workers see every day. There are equally many examples of companies benefiting greatly from worker led innovation.
The leadership needs to play an active role in the innovation process, and as Lencioni rightly points out, they need to set the innovation agenda and ensure alignment and execution. However, it is a grave mistake to exclude the workforce from the innovation process.
Worried that innovating workers will cause disruption? Don’t be. Innovating doesn’t mean doing whatever strikes your fancy. For rank and file workers, it means thinking about your job as you do it. Asking yourself questions about what’s working and what’s not working. If something’s not working, what could be done to correct it? If something is working, could it be better? These thoughts and analysis must then be given a path through the company’s innovation process so that positive change can be initiated.
Will every worker contribute a ton of ideas? No. But, building a constructive process to tap into the collective wisdom of the organization will yield strong benefits and fuel innovation. It will not erode execution. Quite the contrary, it will lead to higher levels of execution. As a senior manager, I will choose thinking workers over mindless robots every time.
Bottom line… Execution, passion, and focus are not in conflict with innovation. Successful innovation requires brilliant innovation; winning business execution requires continuous innovation. | 3,371 | 1,602 | 0.000639 |
warc | 201704 | It’s a pressing question as gray wolves were removed from the federal endangered species list in some western states this past May and are poised for delisting in 2012 in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan and other areas of the Midwest. But newly released public opinion surveys conducted in Wisconsin and the northern Rockies suggest that wolves are in a class by themselves and that existing deer, elk, and other game hunts are poor models for a potential wolf hunt.
University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers Adrian Treves and Kerry Martin surveyed 2,320 residents of Wisconsin, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming – including both hunters and non-hunters – between 2001 and 2007. Their findings, appearing in the August issue of the peer-reviewed journal Society and Natural Resources, reveal hunter attitudes toward wolves that are largely inconsistent with stewardship.
Questions assessed a range of factors including acceptance of management policy, tolerance of the carnivores, willingness to kill a wolf illegally, adherence to hunt regulations, and expected financial support of conservation.
“Hunters were some of the least tolerant of wolves among our respondents, and the closer you got to wolf range the less tolerant they were,” says Treves, a professor in the UW-Madison Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies.
One issue may be that hunters often view wolves as competition for deer and other game. Opening a wolf hunt may not immediately shift that perception to viewing wolves as another game species to be conserved.
Treves was also surprised by the level of support expressed for a regulated wolf hunt among non-hunters and those living outside wolf range. In Wisconsin, for example, he says, “You find a surprising amount of support for a public regulated harvest of wolves even in places like Madison, Fond du Lac, or Sister Bay.”
“To me that says that people see hunting as a tool for enabling coexistence,” Treves says.
But the evidence simply isn’t there to indicate that hunting wolves would affect depredations of domestic animals. No depredation data were reported following a hunt in Idaho and Montana conducted during a window of time in 2009 when the animals were not federally protected. And though wolves have been hunted legally in Alaska for decades, the scarcity of domestic animals and difference in landscape make it nearly impossible to draw conclusions that would apply to the lower 48.
A risk map Treves and others published in June shows that wolf attacks on livestock in Wisconsin are highly localized and attributable to a relatively small number of packs. The majority of packs do not cause problems despite living in close proximity to humans, which raises significant questions about the efficacy of a general hunt to alleviate perceived problems.
“The assumption that hunting and reducing the number of animals will reduce livestock losses would be proven false if hunters are targeting the wrong animals, such as animals in wilderness areas,” he says, adding that it will be important to understand hunter motivations. “Wolves in wilderness areas don’t kill livestock, it’s the wolves on the edge in agricultural areas. Do hunters want to hunt in farmland? I’m not sure.”
The uncertainty of how hunting would affect wolf populations could also become a legal issue, says UW-Madison law professor Stephanie Tai, citing a precedent of legal challenges of federal delisting decisions. “People have challenged delistings for a number of reasons, and some of those have been successful,” she says. “Often, successful lawsuits bring up factors the Fish and Wildlife Service may not have considered, which could include the effect of allowing hunting.”
The challenge, Treves says, is to balance human needs with the need to conserve wolves as an essential component of ecosystems. In a viewpoint piece published in the August issue of the journal BioScience, Treves and Jeremy Bruskotter, an environment and natural resources professor at The Ohio State University, present some possible scenarios for the future of wolf management in the U.S. Those scenarios include reclassifying the wolves as threatened, which would permit lethal control under certain circumstances, or enacting specific federal protections outside the Endangered Species Act, such as those currently in place for bald eagles, wild horses, and migratory birds.
They advocate geographically tailored approaches that will permit local-level control within a federal framework to strike a balance between wolves and humans. Sound long-term management can include a public regulated hunt, they say, but it will unquestionably require compromise.
“A public regulated harvest is a collaboration between hunters and the state, which requires give and take. I think the next few years in Wisconsin will reveal how well that collaboration works,” says Treves.
Jill Sakai | Newswise Science News
Further information: http://www.wisc.edu
Global threat to primates concerns us all
19.01.2017 | Deutsches Primatenzentrum GmbH - Leibniz-Institut für Primatenforschung
Reducing household waste with less energy
18.01.2017 | FIZ Karlsruhe – Leibniz-Institut für Informationsinfrastruktur GmbH
An important step towards a completely new experimental access to quantum physics has been made at University of Konstanz. The team of scientists headed by...
Yersiniae cause severe intestinal infections. Studies using Yersinia pseudotuberculosis as a model organism aim to elucidate the infection mechanisms of these...
Researchers from the University of Hamburg in Germany, in collaboration with colleagues from the University of Aarhus in Denmark, have synthesized a new superconducting material by growing a few layers of an antiferromagnetic transition-metal chalcogenide on a bismuth-based topological insulator, both being non-superconducting materials.
While superconductivity and magnetism are generally believed to be mutually exclusive, surprisingly, in this new material, superconducting correlations...
Laser-driving of semimetals allows creating novel quasiparticle states within condensed matter systems and switching between different states on ultrafast time scales
Studying properties of fundamental particles in condensed matter systems is a promising approach to quantum field theory. Quasiparticles offer the opportunity...
Among the general public, solar thermal energy is currently associated with dark blue, rectangular collectors on building roofs. Technologies are needed for aesthetically high quality architecture which offer the architect more room for manoeuvre when it comes to low- and plus-energy buildings. With the “ArKol” project, researchers at Fraunhofer ISE together with partners are currently developing two façade collectors for solar thermal energy generation, which permit a high degree of design flexibility: a strip collector for opaque façade sections and a solar thermal blind for transparent sections. The current state of the two developments will be presented at the BAU 2017 trade fair.
As part of the “ArKol – development of architecturally highly integrated façade collectors with heat pipes” project, Fraunhofer ISE together with its partners...
Anzeige
Anzeige
19.01.2017 | Event News
10.01.2017 | Event News
09.01.2017 | Event News
20.01.2017 | Awards Funding
20.01.2017 | Materials Sciences
20.01.2017 | Life Sciences | 7,566 | 3,517 | 0.000292 |
warc | 201704 | Scientists from Baylor College of Medicine (Texas, USA) and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute (Cambridge, UK) have deciphered how neurons can synthesize a diverse range of proteins from a relatively limited number of genes – a discovery with important implications for understanding how complex neural circuitry is formed and maintained throughout our lives. A long-standing question in neurobiology is how each of the tens of thousands of neurons that populate the mammalian brain are instructed to establish the specific connections that give rise to our complex neural networks. Researchers postulate that the expression of distinct sets of proteins in each individual neuron act as molecular cues to direct the course of each neurons fate. The protocadherin (Pcdh) family of proteins are prime candidates for this job, as each individual neuron expresses an overlapping but distinct combination of Pcdh proteins. In the August 1 issue of Genes & Development, Dr. Allan Bradley and colleagues report on their identification of the mechanism of neuron-specific Pcdh expression. The Pcdh family of proteins is encoded by three gene clusters (Pcdh-a, Pcdh-ß, and Pcdh-g) on human chromosome #5, and mouse chromosome #18. The a and g clusters each contain genes with several variable exons (coding regions of DNA). Each variable exon can be separately joined to a constant region of the gene, thereby creating the genetic blueprint for a Pcdh protein that will have a unique variable region and a common constant region.
Heather Cosel | EurekAlert!
Further information: http://www.cshl.org/
Ion treatments for cardiac arrhythmia — Non-invasive alternative to catheter-based surgery
20.01.2017 | GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH
Seeking structure with metagenome sequences
20.01.2017 | DOE/Joint Genome Institute
An important step towards a completely new experimental access to quantum physics has been made at University of Konstanz. The team of scientists headed by...
Yersiniae cause severe intestinal infections. Studies using Yersinia pseudotuberculosis as a model organism aim to elucidate the infection mechanisms of these...
Researchers from the University of Hamburg in Germany, in collaboration with colleagues from the University of Aarhus in Denmark, have synthesized a new superconducting material by growing a few layers of an antiferromagnetic transition-metal chalcogenide on a bismuth-based topological insulator, both being non-superconducting materials.
While superconductivity and magnetism are generally believed to be mutually exclusive, surprisingly, in this new material, superconducting correlations...
Laser-driving of semimetals allows creating novel quasiparticle states within condensed matter systems and switching between different states on ultrafast time scales
Studying properties of fundamental particles in condensed matter systems is a promising approach to quantum field theory. Quasiparticles offer the opportunity...
Among the general public, solar thermal energy is currently associated with dark blue, rectangular collectors on building roofs. Technologies are needed for aesthetically high quality architecture which offer the architect more room for manoeuvre when it comes to low- and plus-energy buildings. With the “ArKol” project, researchers at Fraunhofer ISE together with partners are currently developing two façade collectors for solar thermal energy generation, which permit a high degree of design flexibility: a strip collector for opaque façade sections and a solar thermal blind for transparent sections. The current state of the two developments will be presented at the BAU 2017 trade fair.
As part of the “ArKol – development of architecturally highly integrated façade collectors with heat pipes” project, Fraunhofer ISE together with its partners...
Anzeige
Anzeige
19.01.2017 | Event News
10.01.2017 | Event News
09.01.2017 | Event News
20.01.2017 | Awards Funding
20.01.2017 | Materials Sciences
20.01.2017 | Life Sciences | 4,090 | 2,014 | 0.000507 |
warc | 201704 | Solar physicists at the Mullard Space Science Laboratory (MSSL, University College London) in Surrey have found new clues to the thirty year old puzzle of why the Sun ejects huge bubbles of electrified gas, laced with magnetic field, known as coronal mass ejections (CMEs). In a paper published this month in the Journal of Solar Physics, they explain that the key to understanding CMEs, which can cause electricity black outs on Earth, may be due to twisted magnetic fields originating deep within the heart of the Sun. CMEs are violent solar eruptions which travel at 1000 times the speed of Concorde and contain more mass then Mt. Everest. They have proved hazardous to modern technology, seen most dramatically in 1989 when a CME magnified the solar wind, which then slammed into the Earth. This caused widespread blackouts, which cost the Canadian national grid several million of pounds in damage to their systems. On the more aesthetic side, CMEs are also responsible for the northern (and southern) lights, Aurora Borealis. Dr. Lucie Green of MSSL says, `Ultimately we need to know why CMEs occur so that one day we will be able to predict them just like we do with the weather on Earth. This is the new science of Space Weather.`
Julia Maddock | alfa
SF State astronomer searches for signs of life on Wolf 1061 exoplanet
20.01.2017 | San Francisco State University
Molecule flash mob
19.01.2017 | Technische Universität Wien
An important step towards a completely new experimental access to quantum physics has been made at University of Konstanz. The team of scientists headed by...
Yersiniae cause severe intestinal infections. Studies using Yersinia pseudotuberculosis as a model organism aim to elucidate the infection mechanisms of these...
Researchers from the University of Hamburg in Germany, in collaboration with colleagues from the University of Aarhus in Denmark, have synthesized a new superconducting material by growing a few layers of an antiferromagnetic transition-metal chalcogenide on a bismuth-based topological insulator, both being non-superconducting materials.
While superconductivity and magnetism are generally believed to be mutually exclusive, surprisingly, in this new material, superconducting correlations...
Laser-driving of semimetals allows creating novel quasiparticle states within condensed matter systems and switching between different states on ultrafast time scales
Studying properties of fundamental particles in condensed matter systems is a promising approach to quantum field theory. Quasiparticles offer the opportunity...
Among the general public, solar thermal energy is currently associated with dark blue, rectangular collectors on building roofs. Technologies are needed for aesthetically high quality architecture which offer the architect more room for manoeuvre when it comes to low- and plus-energy buildings. With the “ArKol” project, researchers at Fraunhofer ISE together with partners are currently developing two façade collectors for solar thermal energy generation, which permit a high degree of design flexibility: a strip collector for opaque façade sections and a solar thermal blind for transparent sections. The current state of the two developments will be presented at the BAU 2017 trade fair.
As part of the “ArKol – development of architecturally highly integrated façade collectors with heat pipes” project, Fraunhofer ISE together with its partners...
Anzeige
Anzeige
19.01.2017 | Event News
10.01.2017 | Event News
09.01.2017 | Event News
20.01.2017 | Awards Funding
20.01.2017 | Materials Sciences
20.01.2017 | Life Sciences | 3,677 | 1,855 | 0.000549 |
warc | 201704 | Commentary | Barack Obama finally found a way to help the private sector economy although probably not in the way he intended.
Firearms and ammunition are flying off the gun shop shelves all over the country, as
The Inquisitr has previously reported, because of White House saber rattling (so to speak) about gun control in the aftermath of the horrible tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School, even if the president’s proposals are for now labeled recommendations or considered full of fluff or window dressing.
Individuals are also applying for gun permits in record numbers.
Membership in the National Rifle Association is surging, even from those who may not be enamored with the stridency of the organization but want to support the Second Amendment. Lesser-known gun rights groups are also likely seeing a spike in membership.
Despite what it claimed, the
Journal News newspaper was compelled to pull the interactive New York gun permit map after massive public outcry, and James O’Keefe’s Project Veritas revealed that the very same anti-gun journalists were hypocritically unwilling to place a gun-free zone sign outside their own homes.
Bottom line: Wrongdoers don’t abide by gun restrictions, and even gun control advocates seem to instinctively acknowledge that.
Although current federal (and state in some cases) proposals are directed towards assault weapons and whatnot, the ordinary law-abiding citizen seems to feel with some justification that the big picture is the imposition of restrictions that would disarm legal handgun owners. Hence the unprecedented amount of gun sales in America.
What Obama and his minions in the legislature and in the mainstream media (is there a difference?) appear not to understand is this: Law-abiding, non-ideological citizens who may believe in certain reasonable firearms restrictions also think that the Second Amendment should be protected to the same extent as all other provisions of the Bill of Rights.
This is true even if you are not a gun enthusiast or never even touched a gun and/or don’t want a gun.
All this political rhetoric about the need for additional gun control (often articulated by those who are protected by armed bodyguards at all times) is having unintended consequences even in a liberal state like Minnesota. A recent article in the
Minneapolis Star Tribune is instructive in this regard:
“Perched on the corner of Josh and Jocelyn Hirschfeld’s bedroom dresser, a new deluxe gun safe sits right next to their framed wedding and family photos. Josh places his fingertips on the safe’s slots and taps out a combination. The door pops open, a light goes on and the 36-year-old real estate agent grabs his new 9-millimeter handgun and snaps in a 19-round magazine …
” ‘I’m not a commando and I’m not Bruce Willis,” Hirschfeld said. ‘I’m just a normal guy who wants a chance to protect his family and fears his rights might get taken away.’ “
Against this backdrop, aside from Second Amendment rights, the administration has shown little regard for the Constitution and separation of powers by among other things circumventing Congress over immigration enforcement (or non-enforcement) and for making recess appointments when Congress wasn’t in recess.
Are you pro choice when it comes to gun ownership? | 3,390 | 1,774 | 0.000583 |
warc | 201704 | Centre for East-West Cultural and Economic Studies
DEVELOPMENT OF ECO-TOURISM IN TRIBAL REGIONS OF ORISSA:
POTENTIAL AND RECOMMENDATIONS
by Nilakantha Panigrahi*
Abstract:
Eco-tourism both at conceptual and empirical levels is significant in a number of respects. Traditionally it encapsulates scientific, aesthetic, and philosophical approaches which reflect the structure and function of the society. Over the decades numerous changes have been observed both in the content and context of eco-tourism. With globalisation the processes of these changes not only widened and multiplied, but also gained in importance. The present research paper in observing the treasure of tourism of the Orissa region in eastern India, emphasises the potential of eco-tourism in the scheduled areas which are largely dominated by the tribal communities. It argues - and concludes by way of recommendations - that if eco-tourism is properly developed it can not only attract tourists from far and near, but can also generate more revenue for the inhabitants of the region and for the state.
Key words: Eco-Tourism, Tribal Communities, Ethno-Cultural groups, Scheduled Areas, Tribal Museum.
*Dr Nilakantha Panigrahi is from the Faculty in Anthropology, NKC Center for Development Studies (ICSSR supported Center), Bhubaneswar, Orissa, India, Email:
nilakantha62@yahoo.co.in and ncdsvc@sancharnet.in
Introduction
India is one of the few countries of the world endowed with an array of tourism resources - from bio-cultural diversity to a wealth of histories and antiquities. These should have accelerated the growth of tourism in India at four times the world average (WTO 1994). In reality, smaller countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, the Maldives and Bhutan have proved more adept at promoting their national tourism as a successful industry (Singh1996). Tourism is one of the largest sources of foreign exchange in countries such as Costa Rica, Belize and Guatemala (Yadav 2002). In the Indian context, decades of dangerous development policies have threatened the integrity of the ecosystem - so much so that today, politicians, scientists, activists and local communities are struggling to balance the need for economic growth with the preservation of natural resources. The whole coastal region on the western and eastern seaboards of India, starting from Central Goa, Kovalam, Puri, to Mahabalipurum remains unattractive. The ancient cities, which once glorified the rajas and maharajas and also signify to this day religious sanctity, are no longer the magnets they once were.
Objective
The paper is divided into five parts. First, the concept of eco-tourism is explained and the major focus of the government is reviewed. Second, it briefly describes the treasure of tourism and the tourist potential in the State of Orissa. Third, it highlights the socio-cultural profile of the tribal communities in general and Primitive Tribal Communities in particular living therein, and the potential for tourism expansion from within the State. Fourth, the paper from empirical sources explains the potential for ethnic tourism, both from within and outside India. Finally, through the evidence, it analyses the potentialities and prospects of ethnic tourism in Orissa. For preparation of this paper data has been collected from secondary sources of Government and non-Government records and reports. The experiences documented by the author as a social anthropologist have helped to identify the rich potentialities of eco-tourism, particularly in tribal regions of the State. In order to establish the importance of eco-tourism the study has adopted an ethnographic approach that reflects the socio-cultural importance of tribal communities and their region.
I: The Concept of Eco-Tourism
The concept of eco-tourism has been defined differently by the various national and international agencies. Conceptually, eco-tourism encapsulates a type of
"tourism that involves travelling to relatively undisturbed or uncontaminated natural areas with the specific objective of studying, admiring and enjoying the scenery, wild plants and animals, as well as the existing cultural aspects (both past and present), found in those areas. Ecological tourism implies a scientific, aesthetic philosophical approach, although the ecological tourists are not required to be a professional scientist, artist or philosopher. The main point is that the person who practices eco-tourism has the opportunity of emmersing him or herself in nature in a way most people can not enjoy in their routine . . ." (Ziffer 1989, Boo 1990, Lindberg 1991, and WTO/UNEP 1992).
Other scholars have also used the term 'nature tourism' (Ceballos-Lascurain 1987) which is not necessarily ecologically sound; while Cohen (1984) raised the issue of neglect of development in and around protected areas. The definition of eco-tourism has changed considerably from a descriptive concept in which there is no difference between nature-tourism and eco-tourism to today's usage: that is, the 'desired state' of development in reaching a balance between 'nature conservation', 'sustainable socio-economic development', and 'nature tourism' (Boo 1992b; Ziffer1989). Most have emphasised the management of tourism and conservation of nature so as to maintain a balance between tourism and ecology on the one hand, and the requirements of local communities in terms of generating employment, enhancing their earning skill, and improving the status of women.
The UN International Year of Eco-Tourism during 2002 reviewed eco-tourism experiences worldwide, highlighting three significant aspects: 1) nature, 2) tourism, and 3) local communities. Most of the studies relating to tourism emphasise the economic dimensions at international and national levels (Gray 1970; EIU 1973; Thuens 1976; Mathieson and Wall 1982), while very few have investigated local levels (Henderson 1975; Vaughan 1977; Singh 1981; Dube 1985; Chopra 1991; Srivastava 1992 and Singh 1992; further elaborated below). Likewise, there have been proposals to link cultural and eco-tourism into a more sustainable perspective which is able ' to acknowledge the natural environment, built environment, icons, and attractions of destinations as part of the cultural package' (Greathouse Amador 1997).
Ceballos-Lascurain (1996:46-48) estimated the potential number of eco-tourists globally at between 157 to 236 million, capable of generating expenditures of up to US$1.2 trillion, while Honey (1999:9) calculated it at US$30 billion per year. In view of these estimations, it is understandable that the United Nations should have declared 2002 as the International Year of Eco-Tourism. Eco-tourism and eco-tourists are clearly significant to the tourism economy and the environment. In contrast to conventional tourists (Gossling 1999:309; Koch 1997:218) eco-tourists stays in facilities that are likely to be owned and managed by local people rather than multinational corporations, and often eat local food and consume local services (West and Carrier, 2004, 483-498). Honey (2003) thus defines eco-tourism as aimed to protect and benefit conservation; benefit, respect and help empower local communities; and educate as well as entertain tourists.
Different studies have highlighted various aspects of eco-tourism. Some have focused on the industry aspects, such as the nature and quality of provision and environmental attraction that eco-tourists expect (e.g. Khan 2003, Rudd Tupper 2002), while few have studied the relationship between eco-tourism and the local people's conventional livelihoods and forms of social organisations (e.g. Akram, Lant, and Burnett 1996; Belsky 1999; Medina 2003) and others have analysed the motivation of the eco-tourists (e.g. Duffy 2002; Munt 1994). Only over the last decade have serious efforts been made to establish strategies that link eco-tourism and cultural tourism into sustainable 'pro-poor' tourism approaches (Poyya 2003).
A review of the Indian case reveals that tourism has helped in maximising economic benefits rather than ensuring social benefits. Eco-tourism as a concept centres on the nature of the tourism and with regard to local communities, emphasises conservation, sustainability and biological diversities. In the Indian context all the Five Year Plans have built up infrastructure, including tourist circuits and centres, diversified tourism from the traditional sight-seeing tour, to non-traditional areas such as trekking, winter sports, beach resorts; restored and balanced development of national heritage of cultural, historical and tourist importance.
International tourism in India increased during the decade of 1981 to 1990 and generated foreign exchange and employment (both direct and indirect) (Mary and Chung, 1996). However, the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi (1984), the crash of Airbus (1990), the assassination of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi (1991), the brutal killing of Graham Stains and his two children (1999), caste conflicts, the occurrence of Kargil war with Pakistan (1999), reoccurrence of terrorism, communal riots, etc. have affected the growth of tourism in India. However this is offset by networks of 572 nature-endowed areas, 89 national parks, and 483 wildlife sanctuaries and 3,606 protected monuments under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains regulations that mobilise tourists from within and outside of the nation.
II: Rediscovering the Tourism of Orissa
The State of Orissa is situated on the eastern coast of India, on the Bay of Bengal. It is endowed with natural attractions such as beaches, lakes, and forests teeming wildlife, as well as a rich cultural heritage inclusive of monuments, ethno-handicrafts from the various ethnic groups, colourful fairs and festivals, music and ethnic dances.
Tourism has been recognized as an industry in Orissa and sizeable revenue is earned for the State from domestic as well as foreign tourists. The Government during the Third Five-Year Plan (1961-1966) first mooted the idea of tourism, which was revamped during the Fifth Five-Year Plan (1974-1979). The creation of a State Department of Tourism dates back to 1973, though modifications have been made from time to time as regards functions of the Department. The Department of Tourism and Culture has been functioning in its present status since 1995. The Orissa Tourism Development Corporation was created in March 1979 and it was incorporated under the Companies Act in September 1979 (Government of Orissa, 2002).
Traditionally known as the land of Lord Jagannath, Orissa is attractive to tourists of various interests. The innumerable temples of Orissa scattered throughout the length and breadth of the State, ranging from the miniature on the Mahendragiri to the gigantic Jagannath, Lingaraj and Sun Temple of the Golden Triangle, appeal to both pilgrims and cultural tourists. The capital city of Bhubaneswar at one time is said to have had as many as 7000 temples; scores of them stand to this day. Here one can find a chronological development of temple architecture over centuries beginning with the Bharateswar, Lakshmaneswar, and Shatrughneswar group of temples to the great Lingaraj. There are 79 heritage sites in Orissa protected by Archaeological Survey of India. Bhubaneswar alone accounts for 22 out of these heritage sites. But in most of these places such sites have been encroached upon by a range of human activities.
Konark , one of the many fine temples in Orissa
(Photo copyright R. James Ferguson 2002)
Similarly, in the Western parts of Orissa, Sambalpur and Sonepur can be regarded as 'mini' temple towns. They have developed a separate style of temple architecture, which flourished during the Chouhan rule in Western Orissa. A special mention in this connection can be made of the leaning temple of Bimaleswar at Huma, 30 kilometres from Sambalpur on the bank of the river Mahanadi. Out of four distinguished Yogini shrines of India, Orissa has the distinction of having two. One of them is at Hirapur near Bhubaneswar and the other at Ranipur Jharial in the district of Bolangir. At Ranipur and Jharial the temple stands in close proximity of numerous Saiva shrines and a Vaishnaba shrine. This speaks of the cultural synthesis that emerged in this region (Government of Orissa, 2002).
The brick temple of Ranipur, Jharial and the Pataleswar brick temple of Buddhikomna are among the finest of the very few brick temples of India. The rock-cut caves of Khandagiri and Udayagiri help to explain the hitherto obscure history of Orissa. The double storied Ranigumpha in Udayagiri reflects the socio-economic and political life of that period. The Kalinga war famed Dhauligiri contains the rock edicts of Emperor Ashok. Another rock edict of the same emperor is found at Jaugada in the district of Ganjam. Dhauligiri can be of more interest for Buddhist tourists with the peace pagoda constructed on the top of the hill in the early 1970s. Another treasure house for the Buddhists is the Ratnagiri-Lalitgiri-Udayagiri complex where once stood the famous Pushpagiri Buddha Vihar. The recent discovery of the mortal relics of Buddha at Lalitgiri, and new excavations at the nearby Langudigiri with their significant finds, have enhanced the importance of the region. However, the construction of Government offices at Udaygiri within 100 meters of the prohibited zone draws attention to the encroachment of heritage sites even by the State (Government of Orissa, 2002).
The Chinese traveller Hieun Tsang described the Nrusimhanath Plateau in the district of Bargarh as Po-lo-mo-lo-ki-li, which may be the Parimalagiri Buddha Vihar. Excavations in a place called Kuruma near Konark have also brought to light the remains of a Buddha Vihar. The pictographic sites of Vikram-khol in Sambalpur district, Yogi Math and Gudahandi in Kalahandi district provide considerable opportunity for study of the prehistoric age, as evidenced by repeated visits from a number of historians and archeologists.
Places of natural beauty are in abundance in Western Orissa, particularly the streams and forests at Harisankar in Bolangir and Nrusinghanath in Balangir. The deity of Nrusinghanath sitting in the shape of a half-human and half-lion form tearing Hiranyakasipu against the backdrop of a stream is a scene to witness. Kalahandi district is endowed with the wealth of forests (in which roams a rare species of black tiger), a natural waterfall at Rabandar, and a host of temples situated at the hilltops of Bhawanipatna. These are places of touristic importance. Other attractions include as the Patala Ganga spot at Nawapara district, Ushakothi, Hirakud and Badrama in Sambalpur district, the Khandadhar waterfall in Sundargarh district, as well as the Mahanadi and the Tel river in Suvarnapur district.
There are more than 20 sanctuaries in the State. The lush green forests of Ushakothi and Similipal filled with the chirping of birds and a rich wild life are ideal for the development of eco-tourism in Orissa. Moreover, the biosphere reserve of Nandankanan, the natural Chandka forests, the Nandankanan Zoological Park are located only 20 kilometres from the capital city of Bhubaneswar. However, with the devastation caused by the cyclone of 1999, these places need revival from the commercial point of view (Panigrahi, 2002).
Wildlife lovers have long known of the lion safari and white tiger safari of Bhubaneswar, the majestic Mahanadi gorge at Tikarapara, with the added attraction of the Crocodile Sanctuary, and the migration of millions of Olive Ridley turtles to Gahirmatha twice a year to lay eggs. Orissa also has the bird paradise of Chilika Lake, which is the largest brackish water lake in Asia. Precipitous waterfalls at a number of places - including Bagra, Duduma, Harishankar, Nrusimhanath, Pradhanpat, Khandadhar, Berehipani, and Joranda - are ideal for summer tourism. Also for summer, are the beaches of Orissa stretching over 400 kilometres from Chandaneswar to Gopalpur. They are still undeveloped and rated among the best in the world. By comparison, winter tourism may focus on the hot sulphur springs at Atri, Taptapani, Deulajhari and Tarabalo. The winter tableau may also be experienced in places resembling the Himalayan valley - that is, Daringibadi in Phulbani district and the Sunabeda plateau in Koraput district.
The traditional fairs and festivals of Orissa, observed with colourful ceremony, include Rathayatra at Puri, Dhanu Yatra at Bargarh, Sitalsasthi at Sambalpur, Nila Parva at Chandaneswar, and the Chhou dance at Baripada. The State is also rich in folk dances, including
Odissi, Gotipua Nacha, Palla, and Danda Nacha. Tribal folk dances such as
At the commencement of the Sixth Five-Year Plan (1980-1985) sustained efforts were made to improve the infrastructure for the promotion of tourism in the State. The hotel industry increased the number of rooms available as well as their price range. In 1980 there were only 188 hotels in Orissa with a total of 3,202 rooms; in 1999 (during the Ninth Five-Year Plan, 1997-2002) the figures rose to 733 hotels accounting for 14,939 rooms. The tourism industry benefits from an international airport at Bhubaneswar, with direct or convenient air links with Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, Hyderabad, and other cities, plus fast train services to tourist destinations of the State (Government of Orissa, 2002). This has helped increase both domestic and foreign tourism into the State
(see Table 1) and associated spending while in Orissa (see Table 2) (Government of Orissa, 2002). The employment opportunities in this sector have also increased. Tourism in the State generated a rise in employment from 26,695 persons in the year 1996-97, to 46,103 persons in the year 2000-2001 (Government of Orissa, 2002). This clearly indicates the employment potential of the tourism sector.
III: Ethno-Cultural Resources of the Tribal Communities in Orissa
Orissa has a large tribal population: out of India's 427 Scheduled Tribes, Orissa accounts for 62 tribal communities who constitute 27.08 percent of State's population (2001). The tribal communities living in the State range from small communities like
Chenchu, Bonda, Juanga, Didayi, to large communities like Munda, Santalas, Kondh, Oraon, Saora and Bhuyan. Almost 44.21 percent of the total land area of the State has been Constitutionally declared as a Scheduled Area, which covers most of the districts except the coastal and few in-land areas. The districts largely dominated by Scheduled Tribes are Malkangiri (58.51%), Mayurbhanja (57.87%), Nawarangpur (55.26%), Rayagada (54.99%), Sundargarh (50.74%), Koraput (50.67%), Kondhaland (50.13%), Keonjhar (44.62%), Gajapati (47.88%), and Jharsuguda (33.31%) (1991 Census of India). The tribal communities of the State can be categorised as hunter-gatherer-nomads; hunter-gatherer and shifting cultivators; simple artisans; settled agriculturists; industrial and urban unskilled and semi-skilled workers (Behura, 1990-93).
The Scheduled Tribe communities differ in their political, economic and socio-cultural life. However, these communities have similarities as regard their dependency on nature to collect their livelihood requirements and in adherence to nature-spirit belief complexes. A few tribal communities including the
Birhor, Kondh and Paudi Bhuyan are also found beyond the State boundaries and are distributed in the States of Jharkhand, Chhatishgarh, Assam and West Bengal. Many of these communities belong to the Austric sub-family of the Austro-Asiatic language family. Almost all are divided into sub-groups who reside on hill-tops and hill slopes. They tend to be patrilineal, partilocal, patriarchal and possess both nuclear and extended forms of family, patri-lineages and clans. For them, marriage by negotiation is always considered as socially approved and most prestigious. However, they also pursue other methods, such as marriage by capture, marriage by exchange and marriage by service. Since these tribal communities are conservative and tradition-bound, their social organisation and marriages are basically regulated by clans or similar organisations like Birinda (among the Saoras). Any breach of customary practices by the members results in social excommunication and imposition of fines. The secular and sacerdotal village functionaries, known differently among different communities, perform the role of village head, priest, medicine man, shaman, and look after their politico-jural and religious functions. The ethnic identities of these communities are reflected through their dress pattern, housing structure, ornaments, god, goddess and spirits of both benevolent and malevolent nature.
Primitive Tribal Communities of Orissa
Of the 62 Scheduled Tribes, the State has declared 11 tribal communities as Primitive Tribal Groups. These communities are:
Bonda Paraja, Chuktia Bhunjia, Didayi, Dongaria Kondha, Hill Kharia (also known as Mankiridia, Birhor) Juanga, Kutia Kondh, Lanjia Saora, Lodha, Paudi Bhuiyan and Saora. Each of these tribal communities is rich in social institutions, socio-cultural profile and ethnic identity, as noted below:
BIRHOR: In Orissa,
Birhors are mainly distributed in the districts of Sambalpur, Sundargarh, Balasore, Cuttack, Ganjam. The meaning of the term Birhor in their language is Bir (forest) and Hor (men) - i.e. men of the forest. They are traditionally semi-nomadic hunter-gatherers and their economy is subsistence-oriented. They are divided into the nomadic Uthlas and the settled Jagi. The wandering group has a temporary habitation, known as the Kumbha, made of twigs and leaves and a cluster of Kumbhas for 10-15 households, giving rise to a temporary camp-site, known as the Tanda. The forest and the Birhor are inter-connected since time immemorial, as their basic survival is dependent upon the forest eco-system. Their social organisation popularly known as Tanda is multi-clan, and does not have any restriction for marriage within a Tanda. Each Tanda has a headman who plays simultaneously secular and sacerdotal roles. The Birhors are polytheists as they believe in and perform rituals for a number of deities and spirits, both benevolent and malevolent. They worship ancestral cults at regular intervals for their safety and social security.
The
Birhor are interchangeably known as the Mankirdia (in Sambalpur and Mayurbhanj districts), and Mankidi (in Kalahandi and Sundargarh), as they are expert monkey catchers. Because of their pre-agricultural economy and low literacy, they have been identified as one of the Primitive Tribal Groups. Since the Fifth Plan, the Union Government has been exerting itself to bring them to sedentary settlement from their nomadic/semi-nomadic habitat through planned development intervention.
BONDO: The
Bondo are only found in Orissa State. They are the speakers of the ' Kemo language which belongs to the Austro-Asiatic language family. There are three sub-groups: the Bondo highlanders, Lower Bondo and the Gadaba-Bondo group. The Bondo villages are found in hilltops and hill slopes, as well, and their economic life centres on cultivation, both shifting and settled. Their social organisation consists of such social institutions as clans, lineage groups, extended families and nuclear families. There are a number of village functionaries, both secular and sacerdotal, namely the priest, medicine man, and shaman, to look after the politico-jural and religious functions in their society. The Patkhanda Maha-pravu is their presiding deity and a number of deities and spirits are also worshipped from time to time. Although liquor is prohibited for use in various religious rituals, animal sacrifice is not tabooed.
The
Bondo observe a number of rituals and ceremonies throughout the year. They use scanty clothes and especially the womenfolk traditionally use country-made ringa of kerang fibre. They wear a number of coloured bead necklaces hanging from the neck to the navel, and in addition there are bangles, neck and head-bands, anklets, and rings. The Bondo, both men and women, have shown increasing interest in participating in the ongoing development processes.
CHUKTIA BHUNJIA: The
Chuktia Bhunjia are members of the Bhunjia tribal groups, concentrated in the Sonabera plateau of Kalahandi (old) district, which is located at an altitude of approximately 3,000 feet above the sea level. The area is distinguished by high and undulating hill ranges, streams and dense forest. It is a sparsely populated area with small, dispersed villages and hamlets. Their erstwhile practice of shifting cultivation has affected the landscape of the region; and now the Chuktia Bhunjia earn their livelihood through the collection and sale of minor non-timber forest produce.
The
Chuktia section of the Bhunjia is more conservative, tradition-bound and inward-looking. They have a number of exogamous units or clans, which regulate their marriage. A simple/nuclear family with a monogamous form of marriage is found in their society. Their kitchen shed is considered sacred and the entry of married daughters into the kitchen is strictly forbidden. Traditionally, the socio-political system recognised the village council with elderly members as the basic unit and there existed the inter-village council at the apex. The Bhunjias worship the Sunadei as their supreme deity and the Pujari performs the priestly functions. Besides this, a large number of deities are propitiated for the tribe's well-being and prosperity, prevention and cure from diseases, and good crops. Both the region and the community attract tourists during winter.
DIDAYI: The
Didayi is an ethnic group that occupies the area of the Konda Kamberu hill ranges and the Machhkund River. Their habitat constitutes riverine plains, undulating plateau and rugged mountainous terrain. Economically, they are mostly subsistence-oriented, attuned to the environment, and they earn their livelihood through food-gathering, hunting, fishing, domestication of animals, cultivation (both settled and shifting), and wage-earning. In their politico-jural arrangements, the Naik officiates as the secular chief of the traditional village Panchayat. They believe in a large number of gods and goddesses, demi-gods and spirits and the palasi is their sacred Chief. The Didayis are patriarchal, patrilineal and patrilocal and their social organisation comprises of clans, which are characteristically totemistic and include lineage, consisting of a number of families. Although monogamy is the rule, polygamous unions are practised, as per need and the cross-cousin marriage is a preferential form of marriage among them. Also prevalent are marriage by mutual consent and elopement ( udlia), marriage by capture ( cubboi), marriage by intrusion ( gaisamuddi) and marriage by service ( garijya). The bride price, although not uniform in all cases of marriages, is paid to the bride's parents. Divorce is socially permissible and remarriages of widow/widower, divorcee/separated are also allowed.
DONGRIA KANDHA: The
Dongria Kandha, members of the Kandha tribe of Orissa, are found in the Niyamgiri hill ranges of the Eastern Ghats and particularly in the Rayagada and Koraput districts. Dongria Kandhas speak a language, called the kuvi, which is of Dravidian linguistic ancestry. They are able horticulturists and grow jackfruit, mango, pineapple, banana, citrus fruits, ginger, and turmeric. Besides horticulture, they earn their livelihood through shifting cultivation along hill slopes, collection of materials from forests, animal husbandry and wage-earning . The Dongria Kandhas are patrilineal and patriarchal; they have nuclear families, extended families, lineage and clans. Although marriage by negotiation appears to be more prestigious, they too have other ways of acquiring marriage partners, such as the marriage by capture, exchange, or service. Their economies centre round the dongar - hill slopes of shifting cultivation and the dongar is the abode of their deities and supernatural beings. It provides them also with a metaphor for their worldview.
The secular and sacerdotal chieftainship continues to enjoy confidence and esteem. The
Bismajhi, Barika, Pujari, Disari, Bejuni, Jhateni and Gouda are the other village functionaries who play specific roles in various contexts. The theological pantheon of the Dongria Kandha has the 'Dharni penu', the earth goddess, at the apex and in addition there are a large number of village deities, ancestral cults, household deities, and spirits (both benevolent and malevolent). Deities and spirits are propitiated for their blessings, and rituals and ceremonies are observed throughout the year. Dongria Kandhas employ traditional knowledge of the causes and cure of diseases and ailments, and consult their Disari, the medicine man, at times of need.
JUANG:The
They have patrilineal and totemistic
septs/clans, which have two broad divisions, namely the Kutumb/Bhai septs (non-intermarrying/consanguineous) and the Bandbu septs (intermarrying/affinal). Their secular and sacerdotal chiefs are the Pradhan and Nagam/Boita, respectively. They are polytheists and the two principal deities are the Dharam Debta/Mahapuru and the Dharti Mata/Basuki. The Rushi (benefactor) and the Rushain (benefactoress) are considered as the deified tribal heroes (Elwin 1948). There are also deities presiding over villages, hills, rivers, and forest. Ancestral cults are also in evidence. Interestingly, there is an absence of the practice of witchcraft and sorcery. They observe a number of rituals, ceremonies and festivals throughout the year. The Juang consider the neighbouring tribal group, the Bhuiyan, as their brothers.
KHARIA: The
Pahari/Hill Kharia, members of Kharia tribe, are considered the most 'backward' insofar as their economic status is concerned. The Hill Kharias are the autochthonous inhabitants of the Similipal hill ranges of Mayurbhanj district. They live in small villages consisting of roughly 20 to 30 households and their villages are found scattered on hilltops, hill slopes and foothills. The subsistence economy of the Hill Kharia centres on the collection of minor forest produce, such as resin, honey, bees' wax, lac, tusser cocoon, and hunting. The Kharia family is patrilineal, patriarchal and patrilocal and there is a preponderance of nuclear families. As with the other tribes, marriage by negotiation is preferred. Bride price is practised; and widow remarriage and divorce are socially allowed. The Hill Kharias consider the earth goddess, Thakurani, as their supreme deity. They also believe in a number of deities and spirits, propitiating them through performance of rituals. The Pradhan heads the traditional socio-political organisation;
KUTIA KANDHA: The
Kutia Kandha is a sub-section of the Kandha tribal group of Orissa and they are mainly concentrated in Belghar area of the Balliguda subdivision in Phulbani district. Their habitat is located in the north-eastern fringe of the Eastern Ghats and contains hills, rivers and streams. The area is approximately 3,000 feet above sea level. Patrilineality, patriarchy and patrilocality prevail in Kutia Kandha villages. They have nuclear and extended families, lineage, clans and clan exogamy regulates marriage. The secular functionaries are the Mutha Majhi, Pat Majhi, Bis Majhi and Chhatia; while the Jani is the sacerdotal head. The Kutia Kandhas are polytheists and believe in a large number of deities, spirits, supernatural elements, both benevolent and malevolent. They propitiate their deities and spirits through performance of rituals for their blessings. They observe various ceremonies and festivals throughout the year and perform magico-religious rituals as per the prescription of the Jani.
The techno-economic base of the
Kutia Kandha is centred on the sylvan forest eco-system. They practise slash-and-burn cultivation, otherwise known as 'podu chas', and also grow crops in wet cultivation, horticultural plantations, animal husbandry and wage-earning for their livelihood. The Kutia Kandha women play a significant role in socio-economic, socio-religious and socio-cultural system maintenance.
LODHA: In Orissa, the
Lodhas are concentrated in two areas, namely Morada and Suliapada in the Sadar subdivision of Mayurbhanj district. They are originally a Mundari speaking tribe. Their economy is subsistence-oriented and depends upon the collection of minor forest produce, wage-earning and agricultural labour. The Lodha social organisation is characterised by patrilineal and totemistic clans, and most of the families are nuclear. Their marriages are usually post-pubescent and monogamous, although polygynous unions are not totally ruled out. Divorce and remarriage are socially permissible. In the socio-political domain, the Mukhia/Sardar plays the role of headman and the traditional village Panchayat is called Desh. The Lodhas are polytheists. Like other tribes, they have village deities, tutelary deities, ancestral cults, benevolent and malevolent spirits, and all of them constitute the supernatural constellation. The Lodhas observe a number of rituals and festivals throughout the year to gain the favour of spirits and the blessings of deities for their overall well-being.
PAUDI BHUYAN: The
Bhuyan is one of the major tribes of Orissa. They are found in the districts of Keonjhar, Sundargarh, Mayurbhanj and Sambalpur and are chiefly concentrated in the Bhuyan pirha of Keonjhar district and Bonai subdivision of Sundargarh district. Their habitat constitutes hilly terrain and valleys.
They practise a slash-and-burn type of cultivation (
Kamani) on hill slopes, settled cultivation on wetlands and vegetable cultivation in kitchen gardens. They also collect food materials, fuel wood, honey, resin Iac, medicinal plants and herbs from the forest. Monogamy is the norm and marriage by negotiation is preferred but not always adhered to. There is the prevalence of a bride price, which is paid to the bride's father in cash and/or kind. Their family, which is the smallest social unit, is characterised by patriarchy, patrilocality and patrilineality. The tribe functions according to lineage and clans. The village head is called the Naik/Padhan, who presides over the village assembly, or Darbar; and the inter-village traditional political organisation is known as the Bar in the Sundargarh district and Pirh in the Keonjhar district. The Dharam Devta and Basukimata, who represent Sun and Earth, respectively, are at the apex of their pantheon. The Dihuri is the sacerdotal chief, who performs all rituals connected with worship of deities. When sickness arises, the tribe applies magico-religious methods through Raulia, the witch doctor, and utilises medicinal plants and herbs.
SAORA: The
Saora is one of the major tribes of Orissa and they speak a language, Sora, which can be classified under the Austro-Asiatic language family. They are found in almost all districts of the State, but are chiefly concentrated in Gajapati and Rayagada districts. The Saoras have been classified into various groups. The Lanjiya Saoras are the more 'primitive' group and the Sudha Saoras are a Hinduised acculturated group (Mohanty 1990: 249-50).
The Saora family is patriarchal, patrilocal and patrilineal. Unlike other tribal groups, the Saora do not have a clan system. Instead, they have another institution, called the
Birinda, a patrilineage that performs the functions of the clan. Moreover, the Birinda is exogamous and regulates marriage, inheritance and succession. A Saora woman's Birinda does not change after her marriage and after the death of a woman, her Birinda members have the right to perform her death rituals.
Although monogamy is the rule, polygynous unions are also prevalent. Besides marriage by negotiation, marriage by ceremonial capture occurs. Various life-cycle rituals are observed as per their customs and the
Guar ceremony as a death ritual is significant among them. The Saoras practise shifting, terrace and settled cultivation, collect minor forest produce, pursue animal husbandry, horticulture, and wage earning. The Saoras are noted for their iconography, craftsmanship and their rich cultural heritage.
IV: The Tribal Museum
The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Research and Training Institute (thus known as
SC & STR & TI ) is one of the State level agencies working for tribal development in the State. This Institute started as a semi-official organisation in 1952 when it was known as Tribal Research Bureau. The objective of this Bureau was to collect and process basic data on various aspects of the culture processes of scheduled groups in the State of Orissa, and render advisory services to both the Government of Orissa and the Government of India on matters of their socio-economic development.
The concept of the 'Museum of Men' at the Institute was started in 1986 and Government of Orissa thought to take the idea further and establish a museum. Accordingly, five typical huts were made representing the
Santhal, Juanga, Gadaba, Saora, and Dangaria Kondh while also displaying their artefacts. There are 2038 artefacts collected from among 21 tribal communities of Koya, Gondia, Ganda, Didayi, Kohva, Bhumija, Dangaria Kondha, Kutia Kondha, Juanga, Pauri Bhuiyan, Santhal, Oraon, Khadia-Mankiridia, Bathudi, Gond, Pahadia, Gadaba, and Bonda. The collected artefacts can be classified as hunting weapons, fishing tools, agriculture implements, household items, jewellery, textile, musical instruments, combs, dhokara, basketry , gourd items, wood carving, and decorative objects. All these artefacts have been displayed on their functional basis relating to agriculture, hunting, and music. The collections on each artefact are not sufficient to show the evolutionary process/form during the display. The Institute has adopted four types of card system (index card, chemical card, documentation card, and exhibition card) to develop a documentation process of all 2038 artefacts; while the chemical conservation method is used to preserve the artefacts.
Tribal House replications (Santhal at left and Juang above) at the
(Photo copyrights R. James Ferguson 2002)
An attempt was made to review the register of the visitors to the museum from the period of 1990 to 1998. During the period the museum attracted a mere 313 tourists, though we can assume that not all visitors signed the register. Of the total, 271 (86.58%) came from abroad (
see Table 3), while only 36 (11.50%) came from other States of India, and the rest were from different districts of Orissa (SC and ST R and TI Museum Record, 2000). While total visitor numbers were small, the majority were foreign tourists. This indicates the as yet unrealised potential for development of ethno-tourism in Orissa, especially among foreign tourists.
Conclusion and Recommendations
The state of Orissa can be a successful tourist destination if the industry is encouraged. So far, tourism has been developed by the State in coastal regions and a few inland sites. The State Government has not given due and appropriate importance to develop and/or enrich tourism from an ecological and cultural point of view. For this reason, the following recommendations are made:
References:
Akamas, J. S. and T. O. M. K. Shane. (1996).
The Myth of Wild Africa. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Belsky, Jill M. (1999). Misrepresenting Communities: The Politics of community based rural eco-tourism in Gales Point Manatee, Belize.
Rural Sociology 64:641-66.
Boo, E. (1992a).
Herbaceous Flora of Uttarkashi District. Ph.D Thesis, HNB Gharwal University, Srinagar, Gharwal.
----------------(1992b). The Ecotourism Boom: Planning for Development and Management.
WHN Technical paper Series-2 . World Wildlife Fund. USA.
Briassoulis, Helen. (2002). Sustainable tourism and the question of the commons.
Annals of Tourism research 29:1065-85.
Ceballos-Lascurain, H. (1996).
Tourism, Eco-tourism and Protected Areas :The State of Nature-based Tourism Around the World and Guidelines for its Development. Gland, Switzerland, and Cambridge: IUCN.
Chopra, S. (1991).
Tourism and Development in India. Ashish Publishing House, New Delhi.
Duffy, R. (2002).
Trip too Far: Ecotourism, Politics, and Exploitation. London: Earthscan.
Economic Intelligence Unit. (1973). The Role of Tourism in the Economic Development a Benefit or Burden.
International Tourism Quarterly (2): 53-68.
Ghimire, K. and Michael. P. (1997). "Social Change and conservation: An overview of issues and concepts", in
Social Change and Conservation: Environmental Politics and Impacts of National Parks and Protected Areas. Ed. by K. Ghimire and M. Pimbert, London: Earthscan, pp1-45.
Gosslig, S. (1999). Ecotourism: A Means to safeguard bio-diversity and eco-system,
Ecological Economics 29: 303-20.
Government of Orissa, (2002).
Orissa the Souls of India-Home of Art and Culture, Dept. of Tourism and Culture, Bhubaneswar. Govt. of Orissa.
----------------------------- (2002).
Konark, The Sun Temple. Dept. of Tourism and Culture, Bhubaneswar. Govt. of Orissa.
----------------------------- (2002).
Puri, Place of all Seasons. Dept. of Tourism and Culture, Bhubaneswar. Govt. of Orissa.
------------------------------ (2002).
Tourism in Western Orissa, Dept. of Tourism and Culture, Bhubaneswar. Govt. of Orissa.
------------------------------- (2002).
Tourism in Orissa, Dept. of Tourism and Culture, Bhubaneswar. Govt. of Orissa.
Gray, H. P. (1970).
International Travel: International Trade. Health Lexington Books, Lexington.
Greathouse Amador, Louisa (1997) M. Ethnic, Cultural and Eco Tourism.
American Behavioural Scientist 40: 936-943
Henderson, D. M. (1975). The Economic Impact of Tourism: A Case study in Greater Toyside.
Tourism and Recreation Research Unit, University of Edinburgh, Research Paper-13.
Honey, M. (1999). Treading lightly, Ecotourism's impact on the environment. Environment 41 (S) :4-9, 28-33.
Jag Mohan, (2002). Eco-Tourism Planning.
Yojana, Vol-46, August. Publication Division, Government of India, New Delhi.
Khan, M. M. (2003). ECOSERV: Eco-tourists' quality expectations.
Annals of Tourism Research 30: 109-25.
Koch, E. (1997). "Eco-tourism and rural reconstruction in South Africa: Reality or rhetoric," In
Social change and Conservation: Environmental Politics and Impacts of National Parks and Protected Areas. Ed. by Krishna Ghimire and Michel Pimbert, London: Earthscan, pp214-218.
Kreg L, (1991).
Policies for Maximising Nature Tourism's Ecological and Economic Benefits. World Resources Institute, USA.
Lindberg, K. (1996). Eco-tourism questioned: Case studies from Belize. Annals of
Tourism Research 23: 543-62.
Mathieson, A. (1982).
Tourism: Economics, Physical and Social Impacts, Longman, New York.
Medina, L. K. (2003). Commoditizing Culture: Tourism and Maya Identity.
Annals of Tourism Research 30: 353-68.
Parnwell, M. (1993). "Environmental Issues and tourism in Thailand," in
Tourism in South-East Asia. Ed. by Michael H, Victor, T. K, and Michael J.G.P,. London: Routledge, pp286-302.
Poyya moli, G. (2003) Promotion of Peace and Sustainability by Community Based Heritage Eco-Cultural Tourism in India.
International Journal of Humanities and Peace 19: 40-45.
Rudd, Mand Mark, H. T. (2002). The impact of Nassau grouper size and abundance on scuba diver site selection and MPA economists
. Coastal Management 30:133-51.
Srivastava, K. (1992). Tourist Industry in the Vindhya Region: Development and Possibilities.
Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, A.P.S.University, Rewa.
Singh, K. (1981). Settlement Structure and Process of regional Development-A Case study of Bundelkhand.
Unpublished Ph.D., JNU, New Delhi.
Singh, P. (1992). Tourism Industry- Problem and Prospects,
Unpublished Ph.D work, APS University, Rewa.
Weaver, D. B. (1999). Magnitude of ecotourism in Costa Rica and Kenya.
Annals of Tourism Research 26: 792-816.
WTO/UNEP. (1992).
Tourism and Environment. Guidelines: Development of National Parks and Protected Areas for Tourism. World Tourism Organisation, Madrid, Spain.
Yadav, S. (2002). Eco-Tourism: Problems and Prospects.
Yojana, Vol-46, August.Publication Division, Government of India, New Delhi.
Ziffer, K. A. (1989). Eco-tourism: The Uneasy Alliance,
Conservation International series of working papers on Ecotourism.
APPENDIX
Table 1: Distribution of Tourist flow to Orissa in different years
Year
Domestic Tourists
Foreign Tourists
1990-91
11,96,861
29,428
1991-92
12,42,746
30,445
1992-93
12,59,003
26,335
1993-94
13,09,330
25,824
1994-95
13,28,057
25,978
1995-96
13,71,642
30.218
1996-97
14.09,178
35,318
1997-98
14,33,246
35,390
1998-99
14,75,406
31,622
1999-2000
12,60,873
21,433
2000-1001
15,25,992
25,565
Source: Govt. of Orissa, Dept. of Tourism and Culture, Bhubaneswar.
Table 2: Distribution of tourist spending in Orissa in different years (In Crore)
Year
Domestic
Foreign
1990
73.96
5.98
1991
86.37
6.33
1992
99.85
6.40
1993
108.75
6.43
1994
124.39
7.44
1995
139.76
8.82
1996
151.85
11.31
1997
479.32
41.61
1998
489.64
32.26
1999
443.56
30.55
2000
493.76
NA
Source: Govt. of Orissa, Dept. of Tourism and Culture, Bhubaneswar.
Table 3: Distribution of Foreign Tourists who visited Museum of Men at SC and ST R and TI at Bhubaneswar.
Sl No
Foreign countries
No of Foreign Tourists
Per cent of Foreign Tourists
1
France
16
5.90
2
Italy
16
5.90
3
Israel
7
2.58
4
The Netherlands
32
11.75
5
Belgium
21
7.74
6
Switzerland
13
4.79
7
Germany
26
9.59
8
USA
23
8,48
9
Japan
6
2.21
10
Canada
6
2.21
11
Spain
7
2.58
12
Denmark
12
4.42
13
UK
39
14.38
18
Australia
18
6.64
19
Other countries
27
9.96
Total
271
Source: Govt of Orissa, SC and ST R and T I, Museum Records. 1998.
Centre for East-West Cultural and Economic Studies
Bond University (Australia),
Research Paper No. 11, February 2005,
Copyright © Nilakantha Panigrahi 2004-2005 | 46,318 | 18,972 | 0.000053 |
warc | 201704 | Having my kids arrested was the best €20 I ever spent We are raising a generation of super-confident, cosseted monsters
When they were released an hour later, clutching their charge sheets (“breaking and entering” and “possession of a dangerous weapon”, since you ask), they declared it the best morning of their lives. Photograph: Enrique Castro-Mendivil/Reuters
Last week, I had my children arrested. They were lined up, stripped of their backpacks, yelled at, and locked into a pitch-black cell with a bunch of strangers and a single, unsavoury toilet cistern.
When they were released an hour later, clutching their charge sheets (“breaking and entering” and “possession of a dangerous weapon”, since you ask), they declared it the best morning of their lives. And it cost me only €20.
The woman selling tickets to the Crime and Justice Experience at the Old Melbourne Gaol warned me that the simulated arrest and processing – which is overseen by an actual former jail sergeant – could be distressing. But my kids were enthusiastic: the prospect of being shouted at by a grown-up who wasn’t immediately related to them struck them as thrillingly novel.
In the end, I went along with it on the basis that it might deter them from a life of crime – and if not, it should provide a welcome respite from the non-stop coddling they get in almost every other aspect of their lives.
From the no-party-invitations rule in operation in most school playgrounds, to the well-meaning but misguided medals-for-everyone policy on sports day, my children’s generation might be the most cocooned in history. They saunter through life, protected at every turn from upset and disappointment, winning awards just for turning up and convinced they are gifted at everything they do. (Yes, there are children in every society experiencing genuine hardships like hunger or abuse, but I’m talking here about the cushioned element in the western world – the ones for whom a low-battery sign on their iPod is a crisis.)
I’m not totally inhuman. I don’t want to see my children disappointed, distressed or discouraged. I’m not advocating a return to a society where the education system seemed designed to temper instead of foster ambition. But instead of trying to strike a happy medium, we seem to have reacted to past wrongs by trying to shield the next generation from every adversity. What we are really trying to protect them from is life – and that’s not much of a strategy for the long term.
An American cultWe have bought into the cult of self-esteem, a largely-American import whose long-term effects are only now being felt there. Writing about proposed education reforms in the New York Timeslast week, columnist Frank Bruni bemoaned a society that keeps handing children “prophylactic(s) against disappointment”, a society in which “praise is promiscuous”.
The problems with this strategy of constant cosseting only become apparent when kids have to shake off the cotton wool to enter the workplace.
Here in Australia, the question of how to attract and pander to the feckless, restless, pampered “Gen-Y” employee is rarely out of the media. (This week’s headlines: “Gen Y has little understanding of financial planning, struggles with debt: study”; “Gen Y: the fickle, pickle generation”).
According to research by consultancy McCrindle, Australia’s typical Gen Y employee will average a whopping four different careers and 17 employers in their lifetime, lasting two years at a job. To retain them, it suggests employers will need to invest in “ping-pong tables, lunch (and breakfast) rooms, mini-nap spaces, time-out rooms . . . green spaces”.
In Ireland, the homegrown version of Gen Y is surfacing into a very different climate. They may not have developed resilience at school, but, faced with unemployment, emigration or a future of unpaid internships, they have little choice but to develop it now.
If there is a silver lining to this rotten scenario, it is that they may emerge as stronger, more resourceful (and less indebted) individuals than those of us who came of age when mortgages were handed around like party bags, or their contemporaries elsewhere in the world, who won’t get out of bed for less than a ping-pong table and a half-hourly pat on the head.
The parents preparing to launch Gen Z – what Bruni calls “generation coddled” – on the world have a choice. We can go on as we are, raising a generation of super-confident, cosseted monsters, or we can try to inject a little balance, and recognise that learning to deal with inconvenience, disappointment and failure is part of growing up. (Occasional periods of involuntary detention recommended but not obligatory.) | 4,901 | 2,363 | 0.000443 |
warc | 201704 | Telstra received an average of 246 customer data requests from law enforcement every day in 2014-15 according to its latest transparency report, an increase of six percent on the previous year.
The telco today revealed it responded to a total of 90,106 telecommunications data requests in the 12-month period, showing that the rate at which law enforcement is demanding access to customer information is increasing.
The 2014-15 figure is six percent higher than the 84,949 requests Telstra received during the previous financial year.
The vast majority of the requests, or 79,188 in total, were for customer information, carriage service records and pre-warrant checks - up from 75,448 recorded in 2013-14.
Telstra's chief risk officer, Kate Hughes, confirmed on the telco's blog that it would continue to issue the annual statements now that the government's data retention legislation had been passed, a change that is expected to increase the rate of law enforcement requests even further.
“We are currently working through the implementation process for this new obligation but when it is in place we plan to subject it to the same transparency arrangements as our other obligations,” she said.
Electronic Frontiers Australia executive officer Jon Lawrence suggested to
iTnews the number of individual customers whose details were handed over to law enforcement could surpass the number of requests if more than one account was included in a single application.
He added that Australians remain in the dark about how many of the requests actually proved useful in the course of an investigation.
“It could be that seven out of 10 times it’s not relevant, but we just don’t know," he said.
Warrants for phone call interception or access to the full content of communications increased to 2846, up from 2701 a year earlier.
However, there was a slight decline in requests based on court orders, which fell to 587, down slightly from 598 year on year.
Also included in the combined total were 7485 requests to identify the source of emergency triple zero calls.
The Integrated Public Number Database (IPND) - which holds the phone number and address of every phone account holder in Australia - was accessed by agencies approximately 104,000 times.
The telco received less than 100 requests from international law enforcement agencies for customer information over the year. Requests from national security agencies are not included in the figures because the TIA Act prohibits the reporting of such requests. | 2,552 | 1,279 | 0.000795 |
warc | 201704 | In the beginning there was e-mail. And e-mail was run on a Unix server. The network was devoid of PCs. So all e-mail was accessed via a terminal and a command line interface.
So, by some current definitions, e-mail began as a "cloud" application. Then came the PC. And along with the PC, came local storage. And, since network-based storage was expensive and local storage was inexpensive, thus began a logical move to downloading e-mail from the network and storing it on local devices/media.
Now, many of us use our e-mail archives as a primary record-keeping mechanism, and our historical e-mail files are perhaps our most precious resource.
But what happens if the e-mail files are not backed up regularly? Whether your primary e-mail is a part of a corporate network or simply your personal copy, odds are darn good that you have your e-mail set to delete the messages from the server as soon as they are downloaded to the PC. And even a copy of the e-mails may still exist somewhere in the bowels of the IT department, recovering these e-mails is a major issue.
This issue hit really close to home this week when one of our associates had a crashed hard drive on an almost-new notebook. And, of course, all of the e-mail archives were on that disk – with no recent backup.
At this point, we could start yet another rant about how we all need to have current backups, and how corporate networking departments need to somehow enforce a policy of regular backups for all materials on the users’ notebooks. But that would simply be "preaching to the choir."
Instead, we would like to offer a different solution.
Had our associate been using a network-based service, such as Gmail, then all of the e-mail would be "safe." In fact, this is exactly how our associate is now rebuilding everything. This has the advantage of potentially recovering not only the correspondence itself, but also the vast majority of important files. After all, virtually every file of any import is sent and/or received via e-mail.
In the next newsletter, we'll look at some of the advantages and disadvantages of the use of public and/or private "cloud" services for e-mail. In the meantime, we invite you to join the discussion of this topic at TECHNOtorials.Com.
This story, "Is e-mail a perfect cloud application?" was originally published by Network World. | 2,370 | 1,203 | 0.000842 |
warc | 201704 | Punctuating Quotations
These examples are cited in MLA style, but similar rules apply in all styles.
Two basic rules will help you use the correct punctuation when a sentence has both a quotation and a parenthetical citation.
The end quotation mark should be placed immediately after the last word of the quotation.
The period should be placed immediately after the citation.
This sentence shows these marks placed correctly:
Whereas American myth states that Columbus alone thought the world was round, in actuality, "few people on both sides of the Atlantic believed in 1492 that the world was flat" (Loewen 56).
Notice the basic pattern here:
...flat" (Loewen 56).
Punctuating without a citation
When you are not citing a source immediately after a quotation, the punctuation (usually a comma or period) is placed inside the quotation mark, like "this." It does not go outside, like "this". These sentences show these marks placed correctly:
When the last class of the spring semester ends, many people are reminded of the lines of Alice Cooper's famous chorus: "School's out for summer! School's out forever!"
When Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift at the MTV Music Awards, saying rudely, "I'm gonna let you finish," he probably had no idea what a backlash his actions would inspire.
When history textbooks portray famous figures as "pious perfect creatures without conflicts, pain, credibility, or human interest," they make those figures seem less human and thus less interesting (Loewen 19).
Special cases in punctuating quotes
If you are using the word "that" to introduce a quotation, do not also use a comma. These two sentences show the two options.
James Loewen states that "Socialism is repugnant to most Americans" (33).
James Loewen states, "Socialism is repugnant to most Americans" (33).
When the quotation ends with ellipses, you must also have an end period. The ellipsis marks do not end the sentence.
Many agrarian Native American tribes moved west because "[i]ntensified warfare and the slave trade rendered stable settlements no longer safe..." (Loewen 106).
When the quote ends with a question mark or exclamation point, include it inside the quotation marks. Those punctuation marks add meaning to the sentence. Then, include the citation and a period at the end.
James Loewen asks, "Why should children believe what they learn in American history, if their textbooks are full of distortions and lies?" (297).
If the quotation you are using includes a quoted word or phrase, use single quotation marks around the quotation within the quotation.
When asked about Helen Keller's adult life, "many students venture that Keller became a 'public figure' or a 'humanitarian,' perhaps on the behalf of the blind or deaf" (Loewen 20).
Single quotation marks are
also used when dialogue appears within a larger quote.
Jake describes his method for getting rid of unwanted friends: "Once you had a drink, all you had to say was, 'Well, I've go to get back and get off some cables,' and it was done" (Hemingway 19).
Notice how the double quotation marks enclose the entire quotation, while single quotation marks enclose the dialogue within. Thus, the rule is "Doubles on the outside, singles on the inside." If the entire quotation is wholly dialogue, only double quotation marks are necessary.
Changing a quotation
For the most part, you must copy quotations word for word; you may not change words unless you indicate those changes with special punctuation marks.
To leave unnecessary words out of a quotation, you must use
ellipsis points. This may be done to shorten a quotation to its necessary content, never to change the meaning of a quotation. In the following two examples, the first gives the whole quotation, but the second gives a shortened version.
According to the author of
Lies My Teacher Told Me, "Some textbooks cover certain high points of labor history, such as the 1894 Pullman strike near Chicago that President Cleveland broke with federal troops, or the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist fire that killed 146 women in New York City, but the most recent event is the Taft-Hartley Act of fifty years ago" (Loewen 201).
According to the author of
Lies My Teacher Told Me, "Some textbooks cover certain high points of labor history . . . but the most recent event is the Taft-Hartley Act of fifty years ago" (Loewen 201).
A writer might choose the second version if the two examples in the middle of the sentence are extraneous to the main point. When you use ellipsis points, though, be sure that the quotation still reads clearly.
To add or change words in a quote, you must use
square brackets. This may be done to clarify an unclear word such as "it" or an unclear reference to a person, such as "he." In this case, you may replace the word with the appropriate clarification. In this example, an unclear pronoun is clarified:
Although not many people know it, "She [Helen Keller] joined the Socialist party of Massachusetts in 1909" and remained a socialist until the end of her life (Loewen 20).
You may also use square brackets to add necessary words, either for clarification or to avoid an awkward sentence.
Loewen writes that, following inspiration from Columbus, "Spain made the
encomienda [forced labor] system official policy on Haiti in 1502..." (63).
Helen Keller turned to Socialism because "[she] learned that the power to rise in the world is not within the reach of everyone" (qtd. in Loewen 200).
In the first example, the square brackets clarify a word in another language. In the second example, the square brackets change the word "I" to "she" to make the quotation integrate into the sentence more logically. | 5,754 | 2,550 | 0.000399 |
warc | 201704 | Experiences of Budapest Waterworks with state, municipal ownership structures and with the involvement of private funding
This journal author post covers some key points of a case study of Budapest Waterworks during changes of ownership and funding, considering the pros and cons of private funding and of Public Private Partnership projects in the water sector.
Industrial Wastewater Treatment
Industrial wastewater treatment covers the mechanisms and processes used to treat waters that have been contaminated in some way by anthropogenic industrial or commercial activities prior to its release into the environment or its re-use.
Most industries produce some wet waste although recent trends in the developed world have been to minimise such production or recycle such waste within the production process. However, many industries remain dependent on processes that produce wastewaters.
Sustainability in Water Supply
This article serves as a general reference for sustainable water supply systems. The scope remains global and macroscopic, though there may be regional differences depending on the water sources available in a particular setting. What is considered “sustainable” in one location may be a challenge to sustainability elsewhere.
The Impact of Privatisation on the Sustainability of Water Resources
This research investigates potential contributions by the privatization of water production to sustainability of water supply. The main objective is to examine the perceptions of stakeholders concerning privatization as a water governance model and its contribution to water sustainability.
This research provides a robust reference for future planning in the water sector, hinting at the importance of considering public-private partnerships at the federal level as an appropriate model for water sustainability.
Integrated Water Resources Management: Basic Concepts
IWRM is based on the three principles: social equity, economic efficiency and environmental sustainability. Considering these principles means answering the following questions:
- How will my decision/ action affect access for other users to water or the benefits from its use? - Will my decision/ action result in the ‘most efficient use of the available financial & water resources? - How will my decision/ action affect the functioning of natural systems? | 2,373 | 1,118 | 0.000906 |
warc | 201704 | In this section
Our Sustainability Plan
Annual Report 2016
Shareholder centre
Commitments
Company profits are customarily returned to shareholders in part in the form of dividends. The frequency and amount per share of dividend payments are decided by the Board of Directors. J Sainsbury plc normally pays an interim dividend each December/January and a final dividend for the previous financial year in July.
See key dividend payment and ex-dividend dates in the financial calendar.
You can benefit from having dividends paid direct into your bank account. This means you will be credited with the dividend on the payment date and there is no chance that the cheque will be lost in the post. You will receive details of the payment via a tax voucher. Meanwhile, at Sainsbury's, we can cut down on paper and postage costs. To arrange direct payment of your dividends, please visit www.investorcentre.co.uk or, alternatively, contact our registrars on +44 (0)370 702 0106.
Shareholders who have no dividend payment arrangement will receive a cheque for each dividend payment, along with a tax voucher. Whether you receive a tax voucher for each payment, or whether you receive a consolidated annual tax voucher as above, you are advised to keep the vouchers to help you with your tax returns.
The Company operates a DRIP which allows shareholders to reinvest their cash dividends in more J Sainsbury plc shares bought in the market through a specially arranged share dealing service. No new shares are allotted under this DRIP and nearly 30,000 shareholders currently participate in it. Full details of the DRIP and its charges, together with mandate forms, are available from our registrars.
Key dates for the final dividend are as follows:
Shares purchased through the DRIP were acquired at the following prices:
Investments made under the DRIP are in one company only and should therefore be considered as one part of a balanced portfolio. You should be aware that the price and value of any investments and the income, if any, from them, can fluctuate and may fall against your interest. You may get back less than you invest. Past performance is not a guide to future performance and if you are in any doubt about the suitability of this investment you should contact an independent authorised financial advisor.
Starting in July 2010, the Company adopted the Consolidated Tax Voucher (CTV) process in relation to future dividend payments. This means that rather than shareholders receiving a separate tax voucher for each dividend payment made they receive a CTV once a year, detailing all payments made throughout that year.
Shareholders who wish to continue to receive tax vouchers as and when dividends are produced should contact our registrars, Computershare Investor Services PLC.
If you are an overseas shareholder you can choose to have your dividend paid directly into your bank account in your local currency by using our registrar's Global Payment Service. This service will mean that you receive your dividend quicker than by cheque and there is no chance that the payment will be lost in the postal system. The Global Payment Service will deduct a fee of £5.00 from your dividend to cover the cost of exchanging the amount from pounds sterling to your chosen currency and you should therefore be sure that the total amount of your dividend is appropriate before you elect for the service.
How to receive your dividend payments direct to your local bank account
For further information, to view the terms & conditions and to register to receive dividends in your local currency, please visit www.investorcentre.co.uk or download the flyer. You will need to register for the Investor Centre service and, once you have done this, you should choose Global Payments from the 'Update My Details' tab and follow the on-screen prompts. Alternatively, you can contact our registrars on +44 (0) 870 889 3229.
Biographies of our plc and operating board directors and the committees they are a member of.
Here is an overview of our financial performance. More detailed information is available in the 5 year summary and the Investor section.
© J Sainsbury plc 2017 | 4,202 | 1,886 | 0.000534 |
warc | 201704 | For many a wine drinker in the northern hemisphere, even (perhaps particularly) in the current economic climate, the chilly depths of winter is the time when pulling out all the stops seems not self-indulgent, but a necessary ritual. Social life can be a whirl of entertaining, and the season itself seems enough justification to pop and pull corks out of carefully horded bottles.
It is also a time, arguably more than any other time of year, for treating yourself, your friends and family to the sorts of wine that tend to be overlooked for 11 months of the year: the strong, the sweet and the sticky. And if ever there is a time of year to disregard the extra calories in a bottle of something sweet, this is it.
I never cease to be amazed, however, at how today's army of new wine lovers around the globe by and large blithely ignores sweet wines. Even in the United States, where the nation treats itself to more sweet things than any other I can think of, sweet wines hardly get a look in. Visitors from Europe may be struck by how widely a range of extremely sugary desserts is substituted for a cheese course, but they will look in vain on most restaurant wine lists for sweet wines to drink with their pecan chocolate fudge or tiramisu as thoughtfully chosen as the range of dry wines available. Only a tiny proportion of California's vast wine output is sweet, for example.
France has a history of serving sweet wine but manages to confound foreign visitors just as much as America does - by traditionally serving it as an aperitif, preferring to serve bone dry champagne with the dessert. Very odd. And in any case, the French habit of serving Sauternes or a Pineau des Charentes before a meal is waning rapidly in favour of more chic aperitifs such as Scotch or even, among very sophisticated French people, a glass of dry white wine or champagne.
In Bordeaux, the makers of sweet wines, even great, sweet botrytised wines such as top quality Sauternes, admit that they are engaged in a labour of love. The Médoc is awash with dry red wine that is made in vast quantities every year. Meanwhile in Sauternes, they are utterly dependent on nuances of the weather that may, or may not, encourage noble rot – and every vine has to be lovingly revisited many times each harvest. The production costs are much, much higher than in the red wine districts – and yet the wine prices just bump along.
Even in the UK where I am based, you can lead a very busy and sophisticated social life without ever coming across a sweet wine. Vintage port used to be
de rigueur on English sideboards but is now drunk regularly by only a tiny slice of the population, typically those who yearn for the life of the country gentleman of yesteryear. In the early 1990s I was invited to Oporto's famous Factory House to give the speech after the port shipper members' annual dinner. Big mistake. With singular lack of tact I chose to talk about how the port shippers might address the shrinking nature of their market. Shrinking? That was news to them. They and their buddies drank quite enough port to keep what they have always called the Port Wine Trade going for many a long year.I was, understandably, treated like a pariah over coffee. But now, unfortunately, they can probably see whjat I was getting at. Port is a unique and wonderful drink, even better quality today than it ever has been, and yet it struggles to achieve the prices it deserves in the fine wine market. Oxbridge colleges are stacked to the gunwhales with increasingly dusty bottles of vintage port, and the price of even divinely mature vintages resolutely lags way behind that of red bordeaux of similar age and made in so much greater quantity.
In the light of all this I was extremely surprised by the wholesale leap in to investing in Tokaji that we saw after the fall of the Soviet Union when the likes of AXA Millésimes (owners of Ch Pichon Longueville and Quinta do Noval), the owners of Vega Sicilia and even my wine writing colleague Hugh Johnson all dashed to acquire a stake in this historic wine region in north-east Hungary. A wine high in sugar and acid and, often, with a hint of sherry-like oxidation, did not on the face of it seem to me to be a natural runaway success with 21st-century wine drinkers, but presumably it was Tokaji's legendary revitalising properties that provided the initial lure. I believe that after these hasty marriages in the early 1990s there has been a certain amount of repenting at leisure.
All of which is such a shame because fine sweet wines are never easy or cheap to make. Perhaps it's because most inexpensive sweet wine has been pretty awful – more awful relatively than the average inexpensive dry wine. I'm thinking of sweetened up tired Rieslings and Liebfraumilch, or super-sticky and heavily sulphured Moscatel that was labelled 'Spanish Sauternes' before Europe demanded geographical truth in labelling. If a newish wine drinker is introduced to the idea of sweet wine via one of these examples, it is not surprising if they are put off for life.
What is heartening, however, is that today's wine drinkers can choose from some seriously well made inexpensive sweet wines. Australia is one obvious source, and Chile, South Africa and New Zealand are making increasing quantities of fine sweet wine too. Who would have thought that the inland vineyards of New South Wales would be able to deliver so many truly refreshing botrytised sweet whites – so long as there is a supply of irrigation water?
Another rich source of sweet wine, making very different wines from these bright, super-clean golden syrups from outside Europe, is Andalucia in southern Spain. The bodegas of Jerez are stuffed with ridiculously underpriced sherries, not a few of them rich and sweet, and delicious with cheese and nuts while being strong and sweet enough to stand up to even the richest chocolate-based desserts. And then the undersung region to the east of sherry country, Montilla-Moriles, is home to the Pedro Ximenez grape and the ocean of black, treacly PX made from it. Much of it is intense and complex with long ageing in barrel, and can usually be found at a remarkably low price per long-lasting mouthful. This dark nectar is delicious simply dribbled over vanilla ice cream. Meanwhile the vineyards of nearby Malaga are being spectacularly revived as a source of tangy, Muscat-based sweet wine – not to mention the Muscats of Languedoc-Roussillon and the caches of ancient Rivesaltes and Banyuls awaiting discovery by the outside world (see Treacly treasure in Barossa and Roussillon).
Then there are the Moscatos of Sicily and all the fascinating, classically inspired dried grape wines of Italy and Greece. All around the Mediterranean really characterful sweet wines are made, many of them seriously underpriced.
I fervently hope that the high prices of wines such as Eiswein, Icewine, Trockenbeerenauslese and Yquem don't put today's wine lovers off this great and utterly hedonistic category of wine. Drink them with foods that are slightly less sweet than they are – or serve a half bottle instead of a pud.
You can listen to me rabbiting on about sweet wines on BBC Radio 4 with Simon Parkes here. | 7,268 | 3,592 | 0.000281 |
warc | 201704 | The USDA thinks potatoes aren’t the best choice for school cafeteria diners. Tater Tots and even mashed spuds could be a thing of the past in cafeterias, according to a report in the
Wall Street Journal.
Federally funded lunches (and breakfasts) are targeted by the USDA. Last year, the Institute of Medicine recommended that most people already eat enough potatoes and that pregnant women and their children using the USDA program for low-income meals shouldn’t use the feds money for white potatoes.
Now several movements have started to keep potatoes in schools – parents, kids and the potato councils of several states are pushing for the spuds.
What do you think about potatoes in schools – should the schools limit any one food or teach kids moderation in all things? | 799 | 469 | 0.002204 |
warc | 201704 | Access
You are not currently logged in.
Access your personal account or get JSTOR access through your library or other institution:
Introduction: Nationalisms and Their Understandings in Historical Perspective
Radhika Desai
Third World Quarterly
Vol. 29, No. 3, Developmental and Cultural Nationalisms (2008), pp. 397-428
Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd.
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20455049
Page Count: 32
Preview not available
Abstract
This introduction provides the historical and intellectual historical context for our thesis of the transition from developmental to cultural nationalisms. After settling issues of definition and periodisation in relation to nations, nationalisms and the international order, I outline how, in all the main phases in the three-century long birth of the international world out of one of empires, capitalist and precapitalist, in tandem with the spread of capitalism (and initially, imperialism), nations and nationalisms were understood and, often revealingly, misunderstood. Three main distorting factors accounted for the misunderstandings: 1) the implication of nations and nationalisms in the spread of capitalism was ignored; 2) their role, in comparison with imperialism, the other major geopolitical dynamic of the past few centuries, was underestimated; and 3) capitalism was understood, one-sidedly, as a universalising force, a prejudice reinforced by imperialism (especially when it was largely the imperialism of one country, England, in the 19th century). The universal Enlightenment intellectual temper also played a role and it is not surprising, in retrospect, that scholarship on nationalism burgeoned precisely at the time, in the last third of the 20th century, when attention to difference and particularity and the questioning of universal thinking became the leading intellectual trend. This scholarship, however, only accentuated the dominant tendency to understand nations culturally, in separation from political economy and it proved unable to stall the force of the mistaken 'globalisation' thesis about the decline of nations and nationalisms. Throughout this discussion critical insights which more-or-less escaped these distortions and detected the intertwining of culture and political economy in nationalism are noted.
Page Thumbnails 397 398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 419 420 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 428
Third World Quarterly © 2008 Third World Quarterly | 2,520 | 1,304 | 0.000773 |
warc | 201704 | 10 things to do before taking off on holiday
Don’t leave home without finishing this to-do list
You’ve completed your travel trifecta – the flights are booked, hotels reserved and car hire reservation complete. Now it’s time to get organized. The trip planning process includes everything from buying your plane tickets, making reservations at your destination to packing. But before you head to the airport to catch your flight, make sure you’ve tied up all the loose ends.
1. Call your credit card company
Many credit card companies have identity protection plans in place that help protect travelers from theft and fraud. In some cases, this means travelers must contact their credit card companies before traveling to ensure the card will work in another destination
2. Place a “stop” or “hold” on mail and deliveries
Daily newspapers, magazines and mail will pile up while you’re away. Either ask a neighbour to collect your mail or arrange for the Post Office to hold your mail while you are away. Also reduce the risk of break-ins by placing a stop on all automatic deliveries such as newspapers and magazine subscriptions.
3. Emergency phone numbers
This rule applies for those who might need to reach you while you’re away, and those you might need to get in touch with while you’re traveling. Before you leave, take some time to write out three lists: one for home, one for your hand luggage and a spare to stash in your suitcase.
Home : Leave contact phone numbers with family members and friends in case they need to reach you while you’re traveling. Examples include: Phone number of the hotel(s) where you’re staying Airline flight and car hire information and phone numbers Phone numbers of the people you’re traveling with If you’re traveling with a group or tour company, leave the company’s contact information Phone numbers for doctors/veterinarians, in case of emergencies Away : While you’re away, it’s a good idea to keep a list of emergency travel numbers with you. Those contacts include: Bank and Credit card companies Travel Insurance Company contact and claim details Doctor’s office Australian Embassy/Consulates in the countries you’re visiting Airline phone numbers
Print a hard copy of these, don’t just rely on an electronic version in case your phone/laptop is stolen. Also a great idea to email all these details to yourself so they are always accessible via a WIFI connection or internet cafe.
4. Set up pet care
If you have furry friends at home, make sure they are well provided for before you leave town. This includes leaving emergency phone numbers, and also some extra tasty treats to keep animals happy in your absence. Here are a few other must-do’s before you drop off your pet:
Confirm your reservation at the local Doggie Day Care or pet kennel where you keep your pet. Make sure all medications for your pet and the veterinarian’s phone number are packed with your pet before you leave. If your pet has particular rituals, make sure to leave specific instructions with the pet care provider. 5. Cash out
Never leave town without some cash, whether it’s domestic or foreign currency. If you’re traveling within the country, make sure to hit the bank before you leave. Taking cash with you will ensure you don’t pay ATM surcharge fees in another destination.
If you’re traveling overseas, it’s a good idea to carry some of the local country’s currency with you in a combination of cash, travel cards and as a back up some travellers cheques. Take enough cash for cab fare or transfer fees so you don’t have to go in search of an ATM as soon as you arrive. Use a currency converter to determine the best rate of exchange for your money so you know you are getting a good deal when exchanging money.
6. Pack maps, guide books, public transportation schedules
Before you head out into the unknown, do a little research and bring along some guides. Forearmed is forewarned when it comes to getting around in a new place.
Most public transportation maps are also available online; it’s a good idea to print out a map of the area before you leave. Your guide book will serve as the bible for the trip, especially if you’re traveling somewhere new or to a foreign country. Consider printing out specific sections from travel guides online to assist you plotting your routes every day. There are also a number of downloadable apps for your smartphone and guidebooks can be purchased for e-book readers which can come in handy if you don’t want to lug around a bunch of heavy books. Pre-planning with some research about your destination before you go helps you not be overwhelmed when you arrive.
7. Check the weather
Before you zip up the suitcase and head to the airport, do one last check of the local weather in your destination. Just because you’re traveling to a beach destination doesn’t mean it’s going to be sunny all week; you don’t want to be caught in rainstorm without waterproof shoes and an umbrella. The day before you leave, check the weather conditions and make any necessary adjustments to clothes and amenities. For international trips if visiting multiple destinations check for all areas being visited as larger countries climates vary considerably depending on the terrain.
8. Make reservations
Whether you’re planning a spa vacation, golf getaway, a romantic dinner for two at your destination’s top restaurant or have a major site you want to visit it’s a good idea to make reservations before the trip to avoid disappointment. Check on-line the local entertainment guides, city newspapers and online entertainment sites to find the best restaurants and hottest shows. Hotel concierge desks are a good source for recommendations if you’re unsure of where to book. Call the hotel before your trip and ask the concierge to send you a list of restaurants, golf courses, spas or other entertainment activities in the area. If you are doing a D.I.Y. trip most places have on-line information on how to make a reservation or ask your hotel if they can assist with advice on how to make reservations or to purchase required tickets.
9. Pack your essentials
Double check before leaving the house that you have all necessary essentials to travel with. Do you know where your passport or driver’s license is located? Did you pack all your necessary medications? The best way to ensure you’ve packed everything necessary for your trip is to make a list of your daily needs for one week. List everything from your medications to the credit cards you use. When it comes time for packing, refer to your list so you don’t forget anything important.
10. Plan your first days at your destination
This is especially helpful if you’re traveling somewhere new and unfamiliar. If you’re traveling internationally, you’ll need a list of things to do at your destination to help fight off jet lag. Take a look at local guides and find out what shopping, attractions and restaurants are near your resting place. Take a walk around your hotel and get familiar with its amenities. Planning ahead will help make a hectic first day seem a little more organized.
Making a to-do list and checking it is the only way to ensure everything is done and the only way to holiday stress free.
Happy travels.
Julie Warner
www.juliewarnertravelplans.com | 7,548 | 3,279 | 0.000316 |
warc | 201704 | Hi, thank you for answering my questions.
If she really has tried to lose weight with absolutely no results, she would be well advised to visit her doctor for an exam and some simple blood tests to determine if there is a cause for this.
Otherwise, she will need to take a hard look at some things to find out why she is gaining, or not losing.
She is physically active, so this is very good, and better than most. However, if you eat more than you need even when active, you will still gain. So, she will have to actually weigh herself, record it. And then start a food diary to determine what, how much, how often she is eating. Then weigh herself again. It may take about a month of keeping a food and weight diary to see where the problem is.
To start with, here is a tool to help her with a diet that will promote weight loss:
Mayo Clinic Healthy Weight Tool
She just needs to fill in some information about herself and it will give her the amounts of different foods she needs to eat. There is also a 4 page document she can print out that lists some foods from each group, with the serving sizes.
Losing weight can be a challenge, but it is very possible to do. The problem for most people is that it does take some time and attention and you need to be persistent.
---She needs to weight daily or weekly.
---She needs to eat everything within the pyramid plan. Balance of food groups is important for weight loss and to make sure your body gets what it needs to function properly (which includes maintenance of a good weight).
---She will need to read labels of any foods that have a mixture of ingredients.
---She needs to eat breakfast within an hour of getting up, and should eat at least 3 meals a day.
---She needs to write this all down daily, so she can evaluate her progress at least weekly to see where she can make changes to help reach her goals.
---And she needs your support to get all this done. It becomes easier as time goes along---but recording everything is very important. It helps you stick to your plan, and it also shows you the results. Its too easy to tell yourself that "this little bit of _______ won't hurt, just this once." But those little bits can add up.
Another tool to help: CalorieKing.com Its free to use, and list just about any food you can think of with nutritional information that she will need (calories, grams of protein, carbs, fats, sugars, etc).
Also, running is a good activity. But she might want to consider some weight training as well at least 3 times a week to build muscle that will help speed up her metabolism. | 2,592 | 1,286 | 0.000783 |
warc | 201704 | But if you get to the meat of the matter, even the brightest visionaries achieved lofty status by balancing vision with present-day reality. Or, to put it another way, they looked to the future and to their financials at the same time.
One of the key tools any owner must keep close at hand is a cash flow statement. It can help your strategic decision-making in a number of ways:
• It provides an accurate measurement of your current state, as opposed to where the bank thinks you are. A good cash flow statement provides an accurate picture of your actual cash position, as opposed to a bank’s balance sheet. This will help you with accurate forecasting.
• It helps you track the big opportunities. If you unleash the vision within you and roll out a new product or service, an accurate cash flow statement will help you correctly gauge ongoing progress. You can compare it with pre-determined goals to see if your grand vision is finding success.
• It keeps your investors calm. Nothing gets an investor, a.k.a. a lender, more jittery than having an unorganized investment. Knowing exactly where you sit in terms of cash flow, and how it fits into the overall plan, can help placate an investor when your cash flow appears to be waning.
• It helps you plan anew. Keeping track of cash flow is a great idea for today, but it’s even more helpful when it comes to planning for tomorrow. Previous expenditures will be critical as you plan for tomorrow; use all the available data you’ve got.
• It makes those rough seas easier to navigate. Typically, you’ll want to build a 3-5 year forecast of cash flow for your business. Obviously, those figures will be subject to change (what isn’t these days), but at least it will put you through a planning process. And when you do that, it’s easier to anticipate the big events looming on the horizon.
Any leader should aspire to be a visionary. You always want to look to the future. But business is like life – it’s a balancing game. Be sure to balance your big ideas with useful tools like a cash flow statement.
Rock LaManna helps printing owners and CEOs use their company financials to prioritize and choose the proper strategic path. He is President and CEO of the LaManna Alliance, and provides guidance on how to grow a printing business, merge with a synergistic partner, make a strategic acquisition, or create a succession plan. Rock can be reached by email at Rock@RockLaManna.com. | 2,510 | 1,240 | 0.000831 |
warc | 201704 | Remember the federal law from a few years ago that was intended to give truckers a 400-pound weight exemption for auxiliary power units? The industry hailed it as good news until we found out the law was not a “mandate” – in other words, it had no teeth. A federal law that carries no clout with the states is not much of a law if your business is hauling interstate.
In
Land Line, we published a copy of the federal language for truckers to carry in their trucks. Still, many truckers told us the states regarded it as little more than a “so what?”
That law is finally gaining some traction in some states. Here’s some quick background from our
Land Line Magazine coverage, followed by an update.
The exemption, which was signed into law by President Bush in August 2005 as part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, increases a vehicle’s maximum gross vehicle weight limit and axle weight limit by 400 pounds. This allows for the adding of a qualified idle-reduction technology, such as an APU.
Specifically, the rule requires – by demonstration and/or certification from the manufacturer – that the idle-reduction technology “is functional at all times, does not exceed 400 pounds gross weight (including fuel), and that the unit cannot be used for any other purpose.”
While the rule was approved, a memo out of FHWA’s Size and Weight Division in November 2005 threw water on the helpful news by adding that the exemption wouldn’t be treated as a federal mandate.
Here’s an excerpt from the FHWA memo: “We determined that (the exemption) does not pre-empt state regulations or compel the states to grant the increased weight tolerance.”
EPA wasn’t thrilled knowing this meant the exemption would not be honored nationwide.
Here’s a highlight from an EPA internal memo: “The non-preemptive nature of the 400-pound weight waiver creates a disincentive for trucking companies and owner-operators to purchase and use mobile idle-reduction technologies. ... Truck owners have no way of knowing whether … a particular state may issue them a citation for their APU weight.”
After the federal “suggestion” was published,
Land Line began receiving reports from truckers that enforcement officials in a number of states blew off the higher limit. Florida is one of those states that won’t acknowledge it. Officials with some states, however, told Land Line and OOIDA’s Member Assistance Department that they were not explicitly acknowledging the exemption, but that their weight tolerances would cover an additional 400 pounds.
One state came right out of the gate in support. Oregon DOT’s Motor Carrier Division agreed to allow the additional weight, even before the legislature considered adding the language to the state’s own law books.
In 2007, a handful of states – Arkansas, Kansas, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin
– adopted a 400-pound exemption law in some form or another.
Finally, this year some other states are moving on this, too. State Legislative Editor Keith Goble says since the first of the year, similar attempts have been made in a number of states.
He reports a cliffhanger in Missouri, where a lengthy transportation bill includes a provision that would increase the maximum gross vehicle, axle, tandem or bridge formula weight limits for large trucks equipped with idle-reduction technology. It would authorize affected trucks to weigh up to an additional 400 pounds. Keith says the bill is now on the governor’s desk.
Keith also reports a new law in Nebraska
– formerly a state that did not acknowledge this federal “suggestion” – includes a 400-pound exception for anti-idling equipment. It also specifies that the weight allowance cannot be in addition to the “5 percent in excess of maximum load” provision in existing state law.
Along with the good, however, is some bad news. Those who pushed for the rule change in Alabama and Illinois failed to get the 400-pound exemption added to laws in those states.
Catch updates here on our Web site. Also, watch for more news and info in our big annual anti-idling 20-page plus package, coming in the August/September issue of
Land Line Magazine. – By Sandi Soendker, managing editor sandi_soendker@landlinemag.com | 4,385 | 2,086 | 0.000503 |
warc | 201704 | by Daniel Jones
People letting properties to residential tenants have been offered new fire safety guidance from the Local Authorities Coordinators of Regulatory Services (LACORS).
The guidance, which is also aimed at tenants, provides practical advice on how to prevent fires from breaking out in the home and how to carry out fire risk assessments.
It will apply to all existing residential properties, including family homes, shared houses, flats and bedsits, although it does not affect new properties built to modern construction standards.
LACORS points out that landlords and letting agents who follow the guidance will be "well placed to satisfy requirements set out under fire safety legislation".
Geoffrey Theobald, chairman of LACORS, said tenants signing tenancy agreements have the right to expect that their accommodation is safe and landlords must make sure they have the correct fire safety measures in place.
Fire safety is just one aspect of the law that tenants and people letting property need to be aware of. New licensing laws for houses in multiple occupation and the requirement to provide an Energy Performance Certificate are two recent legal developments.
Published on: July 23, 2008 | 1,221 | 682 | 0.00148 |
warc | 201704 | How To Pay Your Credit Card Bill
Paying your Credit Card bill is simple, there are 3 choices - Pay the full amount by the due date (always better to pay it a week early so the money has plenty of time to clear) Pay the minimum amount by the final payment date, interest is then charged on the balance Pay an amount higher than the minimum amount but lower than the full amount. Interest is obviously charged on the remaining balance
As for the method of paying the bill there are a few options -
Online option 1 - If you've signed up to internet access for your card you can pay via the card provider's website Online option 2 - Most bills including credit card ones can be paid direct from your own online banking account - See 3 easy steps to safe internet banking Post - Post a cheque in the envelope provided with your account At a bank - The monthly statement also comes with a paying in slip to use at a bank Phone - Call them up and you'll normally get the choice to pay via speaking to a real person using your debit card or via an automated payment process where you use the phone's keypad to type your details in. In both of these cases only a debit, not a credit, card can be used Direct Debit - This can be set up to pay either the balance in full whatever the amount or the minimum balance Personally I use online banking to pay my credit card bills and I find that works well. However, some people suggest the following is the best way -
Set up a direct debit to pay the minimum balance each month Late paying the bill - What happens Every credit card statement has to be settled, by at least the minimum amount (usually 2% - 3% of the overall balance), at a set date every month, for example by the 20th.
If you fail to pay by this date it's not good news for 3 reasons -
You'll be billed around £12 as a late payment charge The Credit Card company informs the credit agencies (such as Experian) of your payment record. If you make a payment by the correct date you'll receive a small positive tick, pay late and that will turn into a small negative cross. Continue to be a late payer and those negative crosses will add up and you may find it difficult to get accepted for new credit (credit cards, loans, mortgages, 0% deals from shops etc) Be a chronic late payer (missing say more than 4 payments in a year) and you could find your interest rate raised by the credit card company, and raised considerably perhaps from 17.9% to 29.9% Important - Miss 1 payment with a special offer Credit Card and the deal is OFF 0% credit cards or ones with discounted interest rates are all examples of special offer credit cards. Buried in their Terms & Conditions will be a clause saying if just a single payment is missed, even by a day, the deal is cancelled.
This will normally mean the interest rate is raised from say 0% to 18.9% (or higher) with immediate effect. Sadly, there is little if anything you can do in such a situation as it's one of the credit card company's traps designed to catch their customers out.
A golden rule therefore with any credit card that offers a special promotion (0% interest being the main one) is to make sure you never miss a payment. Do this by either setting up a direct debit to automatically pay at least the minimum every month, or pay (at least the minimum) within 1 week of the statement coming through the post.
See also
FREE Report
How to Audit your Credit File
Read more in the Credit Cards section:
[an error occurred while processing this directive] | 3,526 | 1,691 | 0.000595 |
warc | 201704 | UPDATE: On February 24, the Colorado Senate passed House Bill 1047 with no amendments.
Colorado House Bill 1047 would make internet sweepstakes cafés illegal under Colorado law. The law declares that internet sweepstakes cafés and similar establishments in which simulated gambling devices are used to award prizes to customers do not comply with existing constitutional and statutory requirements for the conduct of licensed gambling activity in Colorado and, therefore, the operation of these businesses is contrary to public policy. In the legislative declaration, it describe internet sweepstakes cafés as business locations that make available electronic machines, systems, and devices enable gambling through pretextual sweepstakes relationships predicated on the sale of internet services, telephone cards, and other products. After moving quickly through the House, H.B. 1047 was introduced in the Senate on February 17. It remains to be seen whether it will be passed by the Senate and, ultimately, signed by the Governor. This bill would be effective immediately upon being signed by the Governor.
More particularly, as currently drafted, the new law would make it unlawful to "offer[] a simulated gambling device if the person offers, facilitates, contracts for, or otherwise makes available to or for members of the public or members of an organization or club any simulated gambling device where: (a) the payment of consideration is required or permitted for use of the device, for admission to premises on which the device is located, or for the purchase of any product or service associated with access to or use of the device; and (b) as a consequence of, in connection with, or after the play of the simulated gambling device, an award of a prize is expressly or implicitly made to a person using the device."
"Simulated gambling device" is defined broadly as "a mechanically or electronically operated machine, network, system, program, or device that is used by an entrant and that displays simulated gambling displays on a screen or other mechanism at a business location, including a private club, that is owned, leased, or otherwise possessed, in whole or in part, by a person conducting the game or by that person's partners, affiliates, subsidiaries, agents, or contractors. the term includes: (a) a video poker game or any other kind of video card game; (b) a video bingo game;(c) a video craps game; (d) a video keno game; (e) a video lotto game; (f) a video roulette game;(g) a pot-of-gold;(h) an eight-liner; (i) a video game based on or involving the random or chance matching of different pictures, words, numbers, or symbols;(j) an electronic gaming machine, including a personal computer of any size or configuration that performs any of the functions of an electronic gaming machine;(k) a slot machine; and(l) a device that functions as, or simulates the play of, a slot machine." The term "prize" is also defined broadly as "a gift, award, gratuity, good, service, credit, or anything else of value that may be transferred to a person, whether or not possession of the prize is actually transferred or placed on an account or other record as evidence of the intent to transfer the prize. " It does not include "free or additional play or any intangible or virtual award that cannot be converted into money, goods, or services." Additional definitions are included in the bill.
In addition to a violation of this law being a Class 3 misdemeanor, the Attorney General and District Attorney would have the right to apply to the district court for injunctive relief and damages up to "three times the dollar amount of business transacted or facilitated by any person" payable to the local jurisdiction in which the person is located, advertises for entrants or does business. In addition, "a person who suffers any ascertainable loss of money or of any tangible or intangible personal property as a result of a violation of this [law] and who also holds a license to offer gambling services under Colorado law may apply to the district court of any district where the person who violates [this law] is or was located, advertises for entrants, or does business for appropriate additional relief," including injunctive relief, damages up to and include three times the actual damages sustained as a result of the violation of the law, and reasonable attorneys' fees and costs. A criminal conviction would be deemed to be prima facie evidence of the liability of the convicted person.
Conducting or assisting in the conduct of gaming wagering activities and live or simulcast racing and pari-mutuel wagering activities otherwise authorized by Colorado law would not be a violation of this new law. In addition, Internet service providers and others who only supply equipment, web design, or connectivity to an internet sweepstakes café are exempt unless their primary purpose is to support the conduct of gambling as a business.
Other states have cracked down on internet sweepstakes. Most notably, Florida has been quite aggressive. In one case. A Florida attorney, Kelly Mathis, was sentenced to 6 years in jail for illegal activity associated with internet sweepstakes cafes. | 5,249 | 2,310 | 0.000437 |
warc | 201704 | AUSTRALIA'S FOREIGN INVESTMENT REGIME RELOADED AND RECENT DEVELOPMENTS MARCH 2016 1. INTRODUCTION On 22 February 2016, the Australian Federal Government announced the introduction of various tax compliance obligations that are to be included as conditions of future Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) approvals. The announcement follows the rapid succession of changes, public consultation and amendments to the legislative and policy regime regulating foreign investment in Australia that were introduced in 2015. Collectively the changes represent the most significant changes to Australia's foreign investment framework in over 40 years, and should be of particular interest to: foreign investors currently contemplating an investment in Australia (given the significant application fees which apply from 1 December 2015); foreign investors with an existing interest in Australian agricultural land or agribusiness (who are required to register their interest on a new statutory register, or refer acquisitions above a certain value threshold to the FIRB); and developers or investors in Australian real estate. In the following article, we provide a high-level overview of: amendments to the Foreign Acquisitions & Takeovers Act (the Act), implemented through a package of legislative reforms and which came into effect from 1 December 2015; other recent amendments that were implemented through changes to the Act and Australia's Foreign Investment Policy (the Policy) over the past 12 months; the consequences of some of the more significant changes which have occurred; and the recent Federal Government announcements concerning tax compliance obligations as part of FIRB approvals. 2. OVERVIEW OF KEY AMENDMENTS TO THE ACT FROM 1 DECEMBER 2015 The key amendments which took effect from 1 December 2015 are as follows: # Summary of Amendment 2.1 The requirement to pay application fees 2.2 Imposition of civil penalties and the issue of infringement notices for non-compliance 2.3 Introduction of a requirement to obtain approval to acquire an interest in an "agribusiness" valued above $55 million 2.4 Introduction of an Agricultural Land Register 2.5 An increase in the percentage stake a single foreign investor and its associates may acquire before being required to apply to FIRB for approval from 15% to 20% 2.6 An increase in the threshold for referral to FIRB of an acquisition of an interest in non-sensitive developed commercial real estate 2.7 Introduction of lower thresholds applicable to the acquisition of sensitive developed commercial land 2.8 Changes to the issue of exemption' certificates in respect of real estate acquisitions Australia's Foreign Investment Regime Reloaded 2 2.1 - Introduction of application fees Significant application fees now apply from 1 December 2015 to all foreign investment proposals, with the fee to be paid based on the type and value of the proposed investment. The fee applies per application, the statutory time period only commences once the fee has been paid and if an application falls into a number of categories, the highest fee will apply. The following fees apply: Type of investment Fee Applications to acquire an interest in residential property if the price is $1 million or less Applications to acquire an interest in residential property if the price is more than $1 million and less than $2 million Applications to acquire an interest in residential property if the price is between $2 million and less than $3 million ($10,000 will then be levied per each $1 million increase in value)* $5,000 $10,000 $20,000 Vacant commercial land $10,000 Commercial real estate $25,000 Rural land (valued at $1 million or less) $5,000 Rural land (valued at greater than $1 million) $10,000** New business proposals or internal reorganisations $10,000 Business acquisitions where the value of the investment is $1 billion or less $25,000 Business acquisitions where the value of the investment is greater than $1 billion $100,000 *This is not capped. **Then $10,000 per $1 million rural land value (capped at $100,000) 2.2 - Penalty regime and Infringement Notices Previously, while criminal penalties could be imposed under the Act, the high burden of proof (beyond reasonable doubt, rather than balance of probabilities) made prosecutions difficult. As a consequence of the changes, the criminal penalties for existing offences have increased, and Australian courts can make civil penalty orders for contraventions of the Act. The penalties vary depending upon the nature of the breach of the Act as well as the identity of the party who is in breach. The maximum criminal penalty for an individual is $135,000 or three years imprisonment or both. In respect of an applicant which is a company, the maximum criminal penalty is $675,000. In relation to civil penalties (involving land which is not residential), the maximum civil penalty for an individual is $45,000 and for a company $225,000. Generally, the civil penalty for a company is five times that applicable to an individual. In relation to residential land, although the criminal penalties for breach are the same as above, in relation to civil penalties, these may be determined by reference to the market value or consideration for the land or interest in the land acquired or the capital gain arising on disposal of the land or the relevant interest. In addition to the applicants: third parties who knowingly assist a foreign investor to breach the Act will be subject to the same fine as the foreign investor. This can, for example, include developers who have knowledge of a foreign investor breaching the Act. Developers should ensure that where they enter into a joint venture with a party who is a foreign person (or where any special purpose vehicle that is established is a foreign person), the acquisition is made subject to FIRB approval and that the joint venture party or the special purpose vehicle obtains the required approval; those in breach of certain parts of the Act or the Policy relating to residential land will be required to forfeit any capital gain obtained through being forced to sell a property; the Act incorporates an infringement notice regime for minor breaches (primarily acquisitions undertaken without approval where approval would have been granted in the normal course). In particular, if a company makes such an acquisition and voluntarily Australia's Foreign Investment Regime Reloaded 3 reports the breach, the proposed infringement notice fine is $10,800, plus the relevant application fee. If the breach is identified through compliance monitoring (as opposed to having been voluntarily reported), the proposed fine is $54,000, plus the relevant application fee; if a person is an officer of a corporation and the corporation is convicted of an offence against the Act and the person authorised or permitted the commission of the offence then the officer (him or herself) will also be liable for the same penalty as applicable to the applicant. In addition, if an officer fails to prevent a contravention by a corporation of any civil penalty provisions of the Act and: - the officer knew that or was reckless or negligent as to whether the contravention would occur; and - was in a position to influence the conduct of the corporation in relation to the contravention; and - failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent the contravention, the officer would also be liable for the relevant civil penalty. The above penalties are in addition to divestment orders and the ability of the Treasurer to require the registration of a charge over the land in respect of which the contravention has occurred. The charge is used as security for the recovery of any unpaid penalties. Such charge will run with the land and if the penalty is not paid within three months after the Court finds that the person has contravened the Act , the interest in the land will vest in the Commonwealth. The charge referred to has priority over all other charges. This has serious consequences to any financier to the owner of the land. As a result it is likely that, financiers will (consistent with market practice) impose strict requirements to ensure that any required FIRB approval is obtained and that no offence was committed by either the borrower or, if the borrower is a company, any of its officers which may trigger the above provisions. Should any land vest in the Commonwealth, the Commonwealth must dispose of the land as soon as practicable after expiry of the period in which the owner of the land (which has breached the Act) may lodge an appeal against the finding of the breach (with such appeal not having been lodged) or if an appeal has been lodged, the appeal lapses or is finally determined. The Treasurer must account to the owner of the land for the proceeds of the disposal after having deducted the amounts owing to the Commonwealth under the Act. If a mortgage exists on the property, the mortgagee is to be paid first. 2.3 - Requirement to obtain approval for the acquisition of an "Agribusiness" Another key amendment is the introduction of a new $55 million threshold for investments in "Agribusinesses" (although in the case of non-government investors from the United States, New Zealand and Chile, the limit is $1,094 million). The term "Agribusiness" is defined by reference to the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification codes, and will include both primary production businesses and first stage 'downstream' manufacturing businesses (i.e. activities with links to primary production) including the processing of meat, poultry, seafood, dairy, fruit and vegetables, and the manufacture of products derived from sugar, grains and oils & fats. Downstream activities with links to primary production will be monitored. In the case of the acquisition of agricultural land (either directly or through an Australian agricultural land corporation or Australian agricultural land trust), the general threshold is $15 million although in the case of the United States, New Zealand and Chile, the threshold is $1,094 million and in the case of Singapore and Thailand, the threshold is $50 million (but only where the land is wholly and exclusively used for primary production business). The $15 million threshold is an aggregate threshold which includes the total consideration for the acquisition and the total value of all interests in agricultural land already held by the investor. A foreign government investor seeking to invest in either an agribusiness or agricultural land will Australia's Foreign Investment Regime Reloaded 4 require FIRB approval (regardless of the value) prior to making the investment. 2.4 - Introduction of an Agricultural Land Register The Policy now requires that all foreign persons that hold an interest in agricultural land, regardless of the value, register the interest with the Australian Tax Office (ATO). Agricultural land is defined as: "all land in Australia that is used, or could reasonably be used for a primary production business". The definition is therefore wider than that of 'rural land' as it includes land that could be used for primary production, not just land that is currently being used for primary production. The obligation to register with the ATO applies to foreign persons that currently hold interests in agricultural land (with existing holdings to be registered before 29 February 2016) and future acquisitions (with the registration to occur within 30 days of the acquisition). The register will be expanded to include residential real estate from 1 July 2016, and the Commonwealth is working with the States and Territories to implement this reform. 2.5 - Increase in control threshold from 15% to 20% The changes increase the 'control' threshold for Australian businesses from 15% to 20% (in line with the general takeover threshold under the Corporations Act). This control threshold is important as it determines the level of control a single foreign person (including a foreign person that is a corporation) may have in an Australian corporation for that corporation to be considered controlled by the foreign person. There is still an aggregate substantial interest test which provides that where foreign persons hold an aggregate interest of at least 40% in an entity, or hold, in the aggregate, beneficial interests in at least 40% of the income or property of a trust notification to FIRB will be required. 2.6 - Increase in real estate investment thresholds Subject to some exceptions, the monetary thresholds for land proposals are as follows: Investor Action Threshold - more than: All investors Residential land $0 Privately owned investors from FTA partner countries that have the higher threshold (see section 3.1 & 3.2) Agricultural land For Chile, New Zealand and United States $1,094 million* For China, Japan, Korea, $15 million (cumulative) Vacant commercial land $0 Developed commercial land (whether this is sensitive or nonsensitive) $1,094 million* Mining and production tenements For Chile, New Zealand and United States, $1,094 million* Others, $0 Privately owned investors from non-FTA countries and FTA countries that do not have the higher threshold Agricultural land For Singapore and Thailand, where land is used wholly and exclusively for a primary production business $50 million (otherwise the land is not agricultural land) Others, $15 million (cumulative) Vacant commercial land $0 Developed commercial land $252 million Low threshold land (sensitive land), $55 million Mining and production tenements $0 Foreign government investors Any interest in land $0 * Note that this does not apply where the acquisition is implemented through a special purpose vehicle into which the investor has invested. Australia's Foreign Investment Regime Reloaded 5 Separately, the previous requirement for FIRB approval to the acquisition of an interest in a heritage listed property valued above $5 million, no longer applies. 2.7- Lower thresholds for acquisitions of sensitive developed commercial land As shown in the table above, the acquisition of certain "sensitive" developed commercial land by foreign persons is subject to a lower $55 million threshold. The lower threshold also applies if any of a number of factors apply at the time the interest in commercial land is acquired, including (but not limited to): the land will be leased to the Commonwealth, a State, a Territory or a Commonwealth, State or Territory body; land that will be fitted out specifically for a business of certain kinds, including the storage of bulk data, the supply of training or human resources to the Australian Defence Force or other defence forces, the manufacture or supply of military goods, equipment or technology to the Australian Defence Force or other defence forces, etc. land that will be fitted out to store, handle or dispose of biological agents on the List of Security-sensitive Biological Agents (within the meaning of the National Health Security Act 2007); the land will be under prescribed airspace (within the meaning of section 81 of the Airports Act 1996); a mine, oil, gas well, quarry or similar operation will operate on the land; and public infrastructure will be located on the land. Note that the lower threshold for sensitive developed commercial land does not apply where the foreign persons are from FTA partner countries as noted in the table above. 2.8 - Changes relating to the issue of exemption certificates Foreign persons (including foreign government investors) are able to apply for an exemption certificate to cover a program of land acquisitions. Exemption certificates can be obtained in respect of the proposed acquisition of different kinds of land, including residential, commercial, agricultural, mining tenements and can be sought by Foreign Government investors. Various conditions may be imposed on the grant of exemption certificates, however a periodic reporting requirement will apply to all such certificates. The nature of the reporting will depend on the type of property/project the certificate relates to but in all cases the applicant will need to confirm that all persons covered by the certificate are complying with the ongoing obligations imposed by FIRB when granting the certificate. Exemption certificates for commercial land will not be granted for interests in sensitive commercial land that is subject to the lower $55 million threshold. Developers of a residential development seeking a new dwelling exemption certificate will have to pay a fee based on the number of units sold to foreign investors, with an upfront fee of $25,000 to be paid by the developer on application for the certificate, and a subsequent fee (based on the number of properties sold by the developer within the period) payable every six months thereafter. The developer will be required to report every six months and make payments in relation to properties sold during that period. In relation to developed lots with a purchase price of $3 million or more, the exemption certificate will not be sufficient and the actual purchaser of that lot will need to seek their own FIRB approval to the acquisition and pay the appropriate application fee. Developers (either Australian or foreign) can apply for a new dwelling exemption certificate for a specified development, provided that the development: will consist of 50 or more dwellings; has development approval from the relevant government authority; and if applicable, foreign investment approval was sought to purchase the land and that any conditions of such approval are being met. Australia's Foreign Investment Regime Reloaded 6 The certificate will be granted for a specified development on condition that the dwellings for sale in the development are marketed in Australia. There is no obligation on developers to obtain a new dwelling exemption certificate however obtaining a certificate enables the developer to sell the new dwellings to foreign investors without the foreign investors themselves having to obtain separate approval (subject to the $3 million threshold mentioned above). In the absence of such certificate, each purchaser would need to obtain its own FIRB approval to the acquisition and pay the appropriate application fee. 3. TAX COMPLIANCE TO BE IMPOSED AS PART OF FIRB APPROVAL On 22 February 2016 the Australian Federal Government announced that it would incorporate a number of tax compliance obligations as conditions of its approval to applications by foreign interests in relation to investment in Australian businesses or real estate. In a move intended to ensure "companies operating in Australia pay tax on their Australian earnings", the government announced a range of standard conditions relating to tax compliance which will need to be met in order for an application to FIRB not to be regarded as being against the national interest. Failure to comply with these additional conditions will potentially have serious consequences as a breach of the conditions will entitle the Government to impose the penalties, fines and other remedies available to it under the Act for breaches of the Act. One of these remedies includes divestment of the relevant property. The conditions include an obligation on the applicant to pay any outstanding taxation debt, and use its best endeavours to ensure that any of its associates pay any outstanding taxation debt, which is due and payable at the time of the proposed action. In order to monitor compliance with these conditions, applicants will be required to provide an annual report to FIRB as to compliance with the conditions, with the first report to cover the 12 month period commencing on the date of the notice of determination by FIRB. These reports must be provided within 30 days after the end of the relevant 12 month period. 4. SOME CONSEQUENCES Some of the consequences flowing from the changes mentioned above are: It will be necessary to ensure that the relevant application fee is paid to FIRB in a timely manner so as to not lead to delays in the processing of applications. Developers of residential real estate may be liable for multiple application fees and therefore may seek to change their standard land sale contracts so as to impose obligations on foreign purchasers to pay or reimburse the developer for any FIRB application fees payable by the developer in respect of the sale of the lot to the purchaser. To the extent that an Australian developer or purchaser enters into a joint venture with a foreign person , for the purposes of acquiring land in Australia, the joint venture vehicle may itself be treated as a foreign person, resulting in the need for multiple approvals to be sought from FIRB. Given the potentially serious consequences of breach of the Act to parties involved in transactions concerning the acquisition (directly or indirectly) of Australian real estate by foreign persons, vendors, purchasers and their financiers are likely to increase their scrutiny of the FIRB aspects of the matter to minimise the risk of being subject to the penalties and other remedies available to the Treasurer in case of breaches of the Act. There is to be greater regulation of acquisitions (directly or indirectly) of agribusinesses and agricultural land. Due to the changes in procedure relating to FIRB approvals, there may be delays in having applications finally resolved beyond the 30 day statutory timeframe. We have experienced some significant delays in recent matters, and accordingly careful consideration should be given to the drafting of sunset clauses in agreements where counterparties have the right Australia's Foreign Investment Regime Reloaded 7 to terminate in the event FIRB approvals are not provided within the stipulated timeframe. Acquisitions that have approval will require ongoing compliance with the terms of the approval which will extend to taxation obligations. Purchasers will need to ensure that as part of their corporate governance procedures, they monitor compliance with all reporting and taxation obligations that are part of any approval. 5. CONCLUSION While the changes and changes outlined above are significant, they should not be construed as an attempt to restrict foreign investment in Australia. The reality is that rejection of foreign investment applications have been extremely rare. The reforms seek to strike a balance between the policy aims of: protecting the national interest; providing compliant foreign investors with greater certainty and improved service delivery; deterring non-compliant foreign investors through the imposition of stronger compliance and enforcement mechanisms; and providing the Australian public with greater confidence in the foreign investment framework. Readers should note that this article does not provide a comprehensive overview of the recent amendments to Australia's foreign investment regime, and it is not intended as a substitute for legal advice. Prospective investors in Australian companies, businesses and real estate should contact DLA Piper Australia if any of the matters noted above could potentially impact on their personal circumstances. Australia's Foreign Investment Regime Reloaded 8 MORE INFORMATION For more information, please contact: Les Koltai Partner, Head of Real Estate Australia T +61 2 9286 8544 Les.Koltai@dlapiper.com Astrid Beemster Partner T +61 2 9286 8631 Astrid.Beemster@dlapiper.com Eagul Faigen Partner T +61 8 6467 6094 Eagul.Faigen@dlapiper.com Tim Mathers Partner T +61 7 3246 4203 Tim.Mathers@dlapiper.com Jane Baddeley Partner T +61 3 9274 5835 Jane.Baddeley@dlapiper.com Peter Faludi Special Counsel T +61 2 9286 8159 Peter.Faludi@dlapiper.com Bhavini Sundarjee Senior Associate T +61 2 9286 8501 Bhavini.Sundarjee@dlapiper.com Contact your nearest DLA Piper office: BRISBANE Level 28, Waterfront Place 1 Eagle Street Brisbane QLD 4000 T +61 7 3246 4000 F +61 7 3229 4077 brisbane@dlapiper.com CANBERRA Level 3, 55 Wentworth Avenue Kingston ACT 2604 T +61 2 6201 8787 F +61 2 6230 7848 canberra@dlapiper.com MELBOURNE Level 21, 140 William Street Melbourne VIC 3000 T +61 3 9274 5000 F +61 3 9274 5111 melbourne@dlapiper.com PERTH Level 31, Central Park 152–158 St Georges Terrace Perth WA 6000 T +61 8 6467 6000 F +61 8 6467 6001 perth@dlapiper.com SYDNEY Level 22, No.1 Martin Place Sydney NSW 2000 T +61 2 9286 8000 F +61 2 9286 4144 sydney@dlapiper.com www.dlapiper.com DLA Piper is a global law firm operating through various separate and distinct legal entities. For further information, please refer to www.dlapiper.com Copyright © 2015 DLA Piper. All rights reserved. This publication is intended as a first point of reference and should not be relied on as a substitute for professional advice. Specialist legal advice should always be sought in relation to any particular circumstances and no liability will be accepted for any losses incurred by those relying solely on this publication. | 25,043 | 9,095 | 0.00011 |
warc | 201704 | Change at work is business as usual. Keep employees engaged and performing during the periods of uncertainty before and after change decisions are made. Lee Hecht Harrison’s DevelopMe™ Change Solutions Portals empower leaders and employees with the right mindset and behaviors to manage and navigate change. Equip people leaders with the skills to communicate effectively, engage employees, and drive productivity. Help employees maintain high performance. Through online tools and resources that can be accessed anytime, anywhere, Lee Hecht Harrison delivers a consistent, actionable approach to change management that can be combined with group workshops, webinars, and follow up sessions. Our solutions help build and maintain resilience while working through ambiguity and change. We’ll work with you to deliver a solution that meets your organization’s needs — enterprise-wide or within specific functions and business lines. Our scalable programs offer practical, and interactive modules that can accommodate multiple learning styles, audiences, and work environments. The DevelopMe Change Solutions Portals incorporate 30+ years of change management expertise and insights into a single online space that can be accessed 24/7 from anywhere around the world. People Leaders and employees can access a range of downloadable job aids and online assessments to guide their learning. Built on our structured framework, the portal includes our proprietary Behavior-Based Change Model that shows how people respond to change as well as what to do, avoid, and ask to lead and navigate change successfully. Want to find out more? Get in Touch | 1,667 | 879 | 0.001156 |
warc | 201704 | Here we are in 2017. Being in a new year, it’s a good time for you and me to do something new.
There are many things that you could do, of course, but – because I’m a big believer in self-education – I’d like to encourage you to make your self-education a priority this year.
To give you some ideas on what to learn, I’m going to share with you four skills that I believe can help you prepare for the future. These skills can help you find new opportunities and adapt to new situations.
Here they are:
1. Writing
Like it or not, how people value you depends on how you communicate yourself. You might have the skills, but if you can’t communicate yourself well, people will still doubt your value. That’s why the first two skills that I list here are communication skills. Communication skills are just as important today as they were a hundred years ago.
The first one of them is
writing. If you haven’t done anything about it, I encourage you to upgrade your writing skills. In my case, I do it through blogging. I have been blogging since 2006, and I have learned a lot about writing during that time.
To improve your writing skills, consider starting your own blog. Or you could start a personal journal. You might also want to read the books that I recommend below.
Recommended Resources 2. Public Speaking
The second one of the communication skills is your
speaking skills. In particular, I’d like to encourage you to improve your public speaking skills. This is how you can share your ideas in front of many people.
In my case, I did it by joining Toastmasters. It’s a good club that helps you improve your public speaking skills. It’s also a good way to meet new people.
Recommended Resources 3. Coding
Learning to code is becoming more and more popular today. There is a good reason for that: it can help you make the most of the technology around you. The fact is, many things around us have computer code behind them, so knowing how to code can help you a lot.
You don’t need to learn advanced coding. You could start with just HTML and CSS, the languages for building simple websites. With these two, you will be able to build and edit your own website if you want to.
I’m fortunate because coding has been my hobby for years. In fact, that’s what I majored in at college. My coding skills have helped me run this website because I can make customizations myself. It has also allowed me to build an app business.
Recommended Resources 4. Online marketing
The last skill that I want to share with you is
online marketing. More and more things are sold online these days, so having online marketing knowledge can help you sell whatever it is you have. This includes building your personal brand.
In my case, I have been learning online marketing as I run this website. Not only has it helped me a lot, but also it’s fun to learn!
Recommended Resource
***
What do you think? Do you have other skills that you’d like to recommend? Comments here. | 3,063 | 1,393 | 0.000745 |
warc | 201704 | Trimming the ribs from a rib roast might seem counterintuitive, but there are several good reasons for doing so. The resulting roast -- called a rib eye -- makes a less impressive appearance on the table, but it's easier to carve and it cooks more evenly. Although there are many ways to prepare a rib eye, it's traditionally served medium-rare in thick slices. The best way to achieve this goal is to roast the meat slowly at low temperature, then rapidly sear it at the end.
Step 1
Trim any excess lumps or veins of surface fat from the roast, using the tip of a sharp knife. If the roast is flattened in shape rather than cylindrical, or if the butcher has cut into it deeply to remove a seam of fat, use cotton butcher's twine to tie it tightly into an even cylinder. This is optional, but rib eye roasts with a cylindrical shape cook more evenly than those left flattened.
Step 2
Preheat your oven to 225 degrees Fahrenheit. While it's warming, season the roast liberally with salt and pepper or other flavorings as desired. Place the roast in a shallow roasting pan, preferably on a rack so air can circulate beneath it.
Step 3
Slow-roast the rib eye for approximately 3 hours, depending on its size and your preferred degree of doneness. You'll need to take your roast out of the oven when it's still 5 to 10 F below the final temperature you want. For example, if you're attempting to reach a final temperature of 125 F to 130 F, or medium-rare, you should take it from the oven when an instant-read thermometer inserted into the middle of the roast reads approximately 120 F.
Step 4
Adjust the racks in your oven, so the top of your roast will be about 4 inches from the broiler element when you re-insert the pan. Close the door, and turn on the broiler to preheat for 10 minutes. During this time your roast will rest, so you don't need to do it again later.
Step 5
Slide the roast under your broiler until the top browns and sears, probably just a minute or two. Use long tongs to turn the roast so it browns on all sides, then remove it from your oven.
Step 6
Carve the roast into thick slices and serve immediately, with your choice of side dishes. | 2,176 | 1,112 | 0.000905 |
warc | 201704 | Global Financial Predication’s for 2017
Grace Century, an international Research and Private Equity Company based out of Ras Al Khaimah, U.A.E., publishes its annual predictions, as they relates to Global assets, financial environments, and markets, for the start of the year 2017. Detailed reports are available to Grace Century Members.
Grace Century enjoyed remarkable insights for 2016, with a little late help from the U.S. presidential election, but sees market psychology and sentiment having extraordinary influences, and as a result and will be the driving force for the coming year. Scott Wolf, CEO of Grace Century comments, “Without any Government actions, the psychological landscape on growth and market potential has done a 360 degree turn. A Trump victory has accomplished in two months what 10 years of monetary manipulation couldn’t do. It is a testament to the importance of the human psyche as a variable in the economic equation.”
Geographic Recommendations
The world’s analysts keep touting the United States, and now more than ever. The logic is that U.S. rates will now continue to go up, forcing a stronger dollar and especially on the backdrop of de-regulation. It seems as if the years of the proverbial accelerant poured on the “wet wood” is primed for ignition. Grace Century predicts that the new U.S. Administration will serve as the ignitor for a global “party”. Much of this has probably been built into the prices in the U.S. market, based on historical price / earnings, so it is our opinion that better risk / reward opportunities might lie outside this market. This is not to say that the U.S. will not participate, but more of a selective open mind might behoove the international investor. With that, we see the stage set for a theatre that we might have never seen before. Historical norms might be thrown out the window and this uncertainty will definitely usher in volatility in many sectors.
Brexit and the EU are also in a situation that we haven’t ever seen, especially since the formation of the EU over 25 years ago. It is Grace Century’s opinion that the winner will be the UK. We feel ultimately that Brexit will benefit Britain. We see a very real risk that the EU will NOT survive. Many professionals are saying that the EU is doing secretly “great” – however, other than Germany, we don’t “buy” this scenario. While a bold statement and prediction, we feel that this experiment is in its “fourth quarter”. The catalyst for EU break-up: we predict it will only take one more country to decide to exit.
Currency / Exchange rates
Grace Century continues to recommend accumulation of currencies and assets outside the U.S. Dollar. All of our objectives were met on the upside of the U.S. Dollar in 2016, and we now have pivoted. Currencies such as the Canadian Dollar, the Australian Dollar, and New Zealand Dollar, and especially Sterling are at fire sale prices. One exception is the Euro. We do not want to hold positions there. Even if it goes back to 2000 lows of $0.85 vs the US Dollar, we are apprehensive. In short, we may be early, but we are bearish the U.S. dollar from these levels. We must note that this is almost universally opposite what most analysts think.
Stock Market Indices’
As stated, historically equity prices are expensive. One of two things must happen; either earnings must increase or prices must adjust down. The variable that makes this difficult is that there are no alternative after the biggest bull market in history has ended: the bond/ debt market. Financials will benefit (banks) from the normalization of interest rates, as will healthcare. One is reminded that healthcare is not just pharmaceutical companies. Drug stocks represent a surprisingly small part of healthcare, just 10% of expenditures. The catalyst for healthcare is that it is the final laggard sector to embrace IT (information technology). We believe the opportunities, advancements, and profit potential is enormous in this misunderstood sector. Regenerative medicine, Bio Med, and healthcare IT will be the insulated sector as the other sectors find their equilibrium. The last sector favored by Grace Century is anything related to the “Cloud”. This is a relatively new industry, it is still evolving, but Grace sees it as the future of everything.
Real Estate
The demand for income streams will continue to fuel demand in this sector from investors, and the renewed optimism will spur construction. Again, psychology is key. We anticipate a spike in “spec” homes once again. Relaxed credit once again is becoming available, with “Baby Boomers” downsizing and a new demographic (millennials) looking for their first home, Grace Century sees this sector enjoying a renewed strength especially in Europe, based on lack of supply in the middle price point and specifically Ireland), due to favorable tax treatments and very young affluentual demographics and the U.S. will continue to benefit, but the prices have rebounded significantly. With that being said, supplies are near 50 year lows. The price point will be multi-family condos or starter homes.
U.S. Interest Rates
We are still very bullish on rates, with the second rate rise past us in the last 10 years. We are probably the most bullish we have ever been on higher rates. As in any market move; the first 30% is short covering. There were A LOT of LONGS after a 40 year run (people holding bonds to appreciate).
We were two years early (first looking for higher rates from 2.75% on the 10 year), but now we anticipate inflation and inflationary rates, not just normalization of rates. With 4.5% unemployment, wages have nowhere to go but up. Add that with a false (in our opinion) core rate of inflation of 2%, we are looking for not just a move back to 4-5%, but a move like we saw in the 80’s of much higher rates. The naysayers point to fragile economic growth, like a deer on ice. We are looking for a true “bonfire” as the “Trump machine” turns on the spigot to “wide open.
Gold & Oil
Grace maintains its neutral stance on precious metals, but for the first time leaning to a little accumulation due to the threat of inflation. We are cautious buying Gold at $1100 / ounce but finally feel like we must hold a little.
As it relates to oil, Grace is adjusting its range from $25-50 to $30-60 / barrel (Nymex prices). We don’t agree that OPEC will hold to its promised cuts and as oil stays around the upper range of $45+, US producers are able to come on line. This increases supply and holds down prices.
Scott Wolf, Grace Century’s CEO stresses “‘these are our opinions and we recognize that some are contrary to market’s opinion.”
About Grace Century, FZ LLC
Grace Century FZ LLC is an International research and private equity consultancy located in Ras Al Khamiah, (north of Dubai) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Grace Century specializes in “game-changing” life science and health related private equity projects.
Latest posts by Shayne Heffernan (see all) Islamic Terrorist Attack Cover Up in Melbourne, Australia - January 21, 2017 China Data: Retail is on the Rise - January 20, 2017 The Hong Kong Classic Mile: Our Selections - January 20, 2017 | 7,402 | 3,564 | 0.000289 |
warc | 201704 | Skip to Content
Home > Wellness Resources > Health Library > Quitting Smoking
Quitting smoking isn't easy. But if you smoke, quitting is the best thing you can do for your health. Smoking increases your risk for cancer, diabetes, heart failure, and other serious medical problems. Still, if you've been smoking for a long time, it can be very hard to quit. You might worry about withdrawal symptoms or that your craving for a cigarette might be too strong to ignore. But with some support, you can do it. Our topics can give you the help you need to finally quit smoking and start leading a healthier life today.
Visit our topics to get information and support to quit smoking:
Current as of:
February 19, 2016
Author:
Healthwise Staff
Medical Review:
Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine
This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated, disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. Learn how we develop our content.
To learn more about Healthwise, visit Healthwise.org.
© 1995-2016 Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated. | 1,273 | 694 | 0.001463 |
warc | 201704 | 4 Ways Love Can Help You Win the Lottery
Let’s take a closer look how love affects playing the lottery and in particular what are the benefits of it.
Your Loved One Is There To Support You in Everything – Lottery Included
The title says it all. When you’re feeling down, disappointed that it’s been several weeks with no wins whatsoever you’re probably thinking about quitting. Love is the last thing on your mind that’s not even remotely related to the lottery, right? I’m 100% positive that this is your view. Nevertheless, now think how your significant other was there to say “there, there, it’s going to get better”. This helps a lot! Not only you get the will to continue with the struggle, but you also know you’re not alone in this. It’s a marathon, not a journey. During this marathon having someone cheering and motivating you is of paramount importance. If you stop now you won’t see the finish line, never!
On the other hand, winning is way joyful as well. In those moments of glory and happiness you have someone to be with, to share the bliss, the euphoria. Now is the time to treat them with an appropriate gift for all those hugs and pats on the shoulder.
Win the Lottery with Your Loved One – Two Heads Think Better Than One
Then again, support is not the only thing your S/O can provide you with. How about having them join you on this lucrative journey? Think of the bonding during all those attempts to devise the ultimate lottery strategy that will get you closer to the jackpot. An undisputed saying is that two heads think better than one. Imagine the statistics you can go through if the two of you join forces. Not only playing the lottery’s going to become easier for you, but the results will improve without putting in more effort or money.
Let’s be real, you’re going to share the prize, joining forces just seems reasonable. You deserve it! You’re together in good and bad, in wealth and in poverty, in winning the lottery and losing. In difficult moments just look at each other, thank for having someone that stands by you and move on.
It’s Easier to Persist When Your Loved One Is Around
This pretty much sums the whole idea of love. Well, it’s not an idea; it’s an emotion, but a powerful one. In the past, wars were wagered because of love. Countries were destroyed and heroes were created for the purpose of conquering one’s love back. Considering this sure makes making an attempt to win the lottery an easy accomplishment. I may not be able to start a war for the sake of love, but I can sure start playing the lottery with my loved one and win it.
Time between draws can get you out of your comfort zone very easily. Just by talking with someone about it makes time pass faster. Enduring the difficulties that come with playing the lottery is nothing to worry about when there’s your dear hubby, wife or even girlfriend or boyfriend. You have someone to lean on at grave times.
It Doesn’t Matter if You Win or You Lose – You Still Have Each Other
The bottom line is you can only come out as a winner. Your ticket may be a losing one, but on the other hand you lost with your S/O. Let love guide you both to the jackpot. By all means, it’s always better to win. What I’m trying to say is if you win the lottery that will just be the icing on the top of your love. Certainly you’ll be able to fulfill your dream to go around the world with your spouse. Nonetheless, even if you don’t win the lottery, you will still be able to go on a holiday, most likely not around the world.
Lottery is a great way to bond with your S/O. Since there are already a lot of emotions involved lottery just adds a flavor. This time around you did the unthinkable and flourished when all other doubted.
Winning the lottery is the best thing that can happen to lottery player, but being happily in love is greater than any jackpot. You are already a winner. I’m a winner. I wish to all lottery players to embrace love and care for their loved ones. In times of glory and in disappointment, care for each other. You are all they have. Love just as lottery can make us cry of joy and sadness alike. They are the reason for happiness and sometimes a bit of disappointment.
The resemblances are uncanny. | 4,382 | 2,054 | 0.000506 |
warc | 201704 | Advertisements
I know quite a number of people they go crazy when their menstrual period is approaching; if you are one of this people that have to take days off to lie under the covers because you are dealing with painful and almost unbearable menstrual cramps then its time you found a solution to your problem.
Rather than allow your menstrual period become a painful drag, take charge and find a solution; Here are some useful ideas on how to deal with menstrual cramps:
1. Heat can be a solution to your menstrual cramps, try using a hot water bottle or heating pad, placing it at your lower belly region just below your abdomen, you could also take a hot shower. If you have to be at work or some other important place then get a stick on heat pack and place at your lower belly.
2. Women that are prone to PMS are advised to stay away from caffeine because they constrict the blood vessel, so its either you stay away completely or avoid it periods before and during when your period is on its way. Caffeine can be found in coffee, tea, chocolate.
3. There are some herbal and natural teas that can help with menstrual pain like dandelion tea and raspberry tea. They reduce the blood flow which reduces the pain. There are other herbs and spices that can help reduce the pain too just make sure to be careful about which one you take.
4. Aromatherapy might work for you, massages with lavender oil or any sweet scenting oil that works for you at that time can help you relax.
5. Exercises can also help, aerobics can get your heart rate up and make you break a sweat which is an effective way to help you relax.
6. You can visit your doctor or a trusted pharmacist to ask for pain killers prescription that would help you deal with menstrual cramps, this is perhaps one of the most used solution of all.
If your pain last longer than expected then you should go see a doctor.
If you have got an amazing style game and you want to showcase it to the world. Send us an email at [email protected] Who knows? We might just feature you!
This article was brought to you by the awesome Madivas Team!
Comments
[mashshare] | 2,135 | 1,079 | 0.000933 |
warc | 201704 | Reis is retiring next month after nearly 28 years working with the City of Manteca’s street division. He’s been in charge for just over two decades.
The 1967 Manteca High graduate took the job because of the stability it offered.
“The pay wasn’t all that great back then,” Reis said, noting he started working for $116 a week.
Reis is departing early as part of a group of municipal workers who are volunteering to take early retirement golden handshakes to help the city plug an anticipated $11.3 million deficit expected to materialize in the fiscal year starting July 1. All but $2 million to $4 million has been plugged thanks to cost saving moves such as Reis’ retirement.
The streets division, however, is anything but flush. The city won’t be filling Reis’ position and instead will have a lead worker report directly to Deputy Director of Public Works Jim Stone. Right now, the streets division has nine workers – exactly the number that was on board when Reis started in 1981.
There are 15 positions authorized in the budget but the city has left them vacant as people retired due to the state continuing to “borrow” state gas money meant for local street upkeep.
There are 193 miles of streets in Manteca as of June 30, 2008. That reflects a 53 mile increase in 10 years and perhaps as much as triple the miles when Reis started. Reis and his crew maintain those streets plus curbs, gutters and sidewalks.
They also handle flooded streets.
“It’s gotten a lot better thanks to the storm drain system,” Reis said. “We use to barricade off various blocks of streets and use them for temporary storm retention basins. It was that bad.”
In a bid to extend the life of streets even further than usual due to tight fiscal times, Reis and his crews have been aggressively sealing cracks in streets to slow down deterioration of pavement.
Currently, city crews respond to issues with potholes within 24 hours of them being reported.
Stone said as personnel gets cut back even more due to budget problems that service level will drop out of necessity. There simple will no longer be adequate manpower to react quickly.
Manteca, unlike many other municipalities, years ago switched to a process in street rehabilitation where city crews will seal cracks and take care of issues at the gutter to make sure the flow line is correct whether it involves cutting down pavement or redoing concrete work so all the city has to pay for is a contractor to overlay the streets.
The next big street projects that are utilizing restricted funds to complete that can’t be used to pay general fund expenses are West Yosemite Avenue from Union Road to Winters Drive, East Yosemite Avenue fromCottage Avenue to Northwoods Drive, and Union Road from Crom Street to Louise Avenue.
“Where else could I have a job that I could be at work in three minutes and have a pickup truck I could take home 365 days a year?” Reis asked.
Of course, he forgets to mention that it is because he is on call 24 hours to take care of any type of street emergency that may crop up whether it is flooding, downed street lights or other safety issues.
As for retirement, Reis said he’ll have plenty to keep busy between seven grandchildren ages 3 to 13 and a passion for fishing. | 3,357 | 1,696 | 0.000611 |
warc | 201704 | Chancellor George Osborne will renew his push to fix the country’s public finances on Wednesday, taking a gamble that voters can accept four more years of deep spending cuts.
Osborne, a contender to succeed David Cameron as prime minister, is expected to tell parliament he is still aiming for a budget surplus by the end of the decade, which could allow him to deliver income tax cuts promised before May’s election.
But the size of the projected surplus is likely to be revised down after one of his most controversial savings ideas
big cuts to tax credits for low-earning households — was blocked in a rare rebellion by Britain’s upper house last month.
Osborne has largely stuck to his guns and cut spending in many areas of government in order to bring down the huge deficit he inherited in 2010. He endured deep unpopularity until the economy picked up in 2013.
Osborne originally intended to have eliminated the deficit by now but has only managed to halve it. At nearly 5 percent of economic output in the last financial year, he says it still poses a real threat to Britain’s economic security.
“If our country doesn’t bring the deficit down, the deficit could bring our country down again,” he said earlier this month.
Osborne wants to cut government departmental spending to under 17 percent of economic output by the end of the decade, its lowest share since at least 1999, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, a non-partisan think tank.
As in the first five years of his austerity push, he plans to protect Britain’s health service, schools and foreign aid from cuts, and he plans to boost defence spending.
That means the cuts to be announced on Wednesday will be all the deeper for other, unprotected, areas such as policing.
This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds. | 2,163 | 1,135 | 0.000905 |
warc | 201704 | NORTHFIELD, Ill., Nov 14, 2013 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Known for the finest dairy products made with fresh, wholesome ingredients, BREAKSTONE'S continues to innovate by offering the first-ever national brand of Greek Style Sour Cream. BREAKSTONE'S new Greek Style Sour Cream features the smooth, creamy texture and deliciously rich taste of traditional BREAKSTONE'S Sour Cream blended with authentic Greek strained yogurt. This Greek-style product provides consumers with a better-for-you option featuring 50% less fat, 40% less cholesterol, and twice the calcium and protein of regular sour cream (each 2 Tbsp. serving has 4% of the daily value for calcium and 2 grams of protein).
"We are always looking to develop new foods that meet a variety of consumers' needs and nowadays consumers are seeking better-for-you alternatives," said Shannon Lester, BREAKSTONE'S brand manager. "Some consumers are already substituting Greek yogurt for sour cream, but sacrificing the creamy texture and delicious taste of traditional sour cream. However, with BREAKSTONE'S new Greek Style Sour Cream consumers can enjoy both."
Greek-style products are stocking today's grocery store shelves, as shoppers continue to gravitate toward products with improved nutrition and simpler ingredient lines. In 2012, Greek yogurt saw more than a 50% growth in retail sales - and the numbers continue to climb(1). Now, with BREAKSTONE'S Greek Style Sour Cream, consumers can introduce the perfect balance of flavor and nutrition into their favorite recipes and specialty dishes.
Currently available in the dairy aisle of retailers across the country, the new BREAKSTONE'S Greek Style Sour Cream is available in a 16oz container for a suggested retail price of $2.99. The innovative offering joins the other BREAKSTONE'S Sour Cream varieties including all natural, fat free and reduced fat ranging in sizes from 8oz to 48oz.
BREAKSTONE'S Greek Style Sour Cream can be substituted for traditional sour cream when making dips, side dishes, entrees and desserts. Like all of BREAKSTONE'S products, it can be used for cooking as it doesn't curdle when heated. For recipe ideas, visit the brand's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/breakstones.
ABOUT BREAKSTONE'S
Since the Breakstone brothers started their dairy business in 1882, BREAKSTONE'S has only used the highest quality, freshest, wholesome dairy products and the brand continues this heritage today. Check out more delicious recipes, entertaining tips and updates from the brand on Facebook, www.facebook.com/breakstones.
ABOUT KRAFT FOODS GROUP
Kraft Foods Group, Inc. KRFT is one of North America's largest consumer packaged food and beverage companies, with annual revenues of more than $18 billion. With the spirit of a startup and the soul of a powerhouse, Kraft has an unrivaled portfolio of products in the beverages, cheese, refrigerated meals and grocery categories. Its iconic brands include Kraft, Maxwell House, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Planters, Velveeta, Capri Sun, JELL-O and Lunchables. Kraft's 23,000 employees in the U.S. and Canada have a passion for making the foods and beverages people love. Kraft is a member of the Standard & Poor's 500 and the NASDAQ-100 indices. For more information, visit www.kraft.com and www.facebook.com/kraft.
(1) Packaged Facts: http://www.packagedfacts.com/about/release.asp?id=3164
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20131114005394/en/
SOURCE: BREAKSTONE'S
Taylor Jacqueline Muglia, 212-714-5795 jmuglia@taylorstrategy.com or Kraft Foods Mary Anne McAndrew, 847-646-4538 news@kraftfoods.com
Copyright Business Wire 2013 | 3,660 | 1,863 | 0.00054 |
warc | 201704 | SOURCE: Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute
February 10, 2014 09:50 ET
PBMI Releases 2014 Specialty Drug Benefit Report
PBMI Releases 2014 Specialty Drug Benefit Report
PLANO, TX--(Marketwired - Feb 10, 2014) - Although employers express concerns over the growing proportion of drug cost attributable to specialty medications, currently exceeding 30% and expected to increase to more than 50% in the next several years, only 16% devote more than 30% of pharmacy benefit management time to specialty drugs. This is just one of the key results from the 2014 Specialty Drug Benefit Report released by the Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute. The report, sponsored by Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy, includes responses from 337 employers covering an estimated 14.3 million enrollees.
This is the third year that PBMI has conducted a specialty drug management survey. "We modify the survey annually to address clinical and marketplace changes," explained Kathleen Fairman, PBMI's Vice President of Research and Education. "Both the therapeutic potential and the challenges associated with specialty medications are growing rapidly, and the report reflects that growth." This year's survey included new questions about management strategies for the medical benefit, provider network development, anticipated effects of biosimilars, and opinions about retail and specialty pharmacies.
Additional key findings from the survey, which was conducted in September 2013, include:
To request a copy, click here.
About PBMI The mission of the Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute (PBMI) is to create the industry's premier forum for health care purchasers to exchange ideas, advance best practices and drive appropriate changes in the pharmacy benefit management marketplace.
Press Release Contact:Julie Blackman Email Contact480-730-0814
Press Release Contact:Julie Blackman Email Contact480-730-0814
See all RSS Newsfeeds
Website:
http://www.pbmi.com | 1,959 | 995 | 0.001015 |
warc | 201704 | The
is a 16th-century ethnographic research study in Mesoamerica by the Spanish Franciscan friar Bernardino de Sahagún. Sahagún originally titled it: Florentine Codex
In partnership with Nahua men who were formerly his students at the Colegio de Santa Cruz de Tlatelolco, Sahagún conducted research, organized evidence, wrote and edited his findings. He worked on this project from 1545 up until his death in 1590. The work consists of 2,400 pages organized into twelve books; more than 2,000 illustrations drawn by native artists provide vivid images of this era. It documents the culture, religious cosmology (worldview) and ritual practices, society, economics, and natural history of the Aztec people. It has been described as “one of the most remarkable accounts of a non-Western culture ever composed.”
[2]
The Americans Charles E. Dibble and Arthur J. O. Anderson were the first to translate the Codex from Nahuatl to English, in a project that took 30 years to complete.
[3] In 2012 high-resolution scans of all volumes of The Florentine Codex, in Nahuatl and Spanish, with illustrations, were added to the World Digital Library. [4]
The three bound volumes of the
Florentine Codex are found in the Biblioteca Medicea-Laurenziana, Palat. 218-220 in Florence, Italy, with the title Florentine Codex chosen by its English translators, Americans Arthur J.O. Anderson and Charles Dibble, following in the tradition of nineteenth-century Mexican scholars Francisco del Paso y Troncoso and Joaquín García Icazbalceta. [5]
The manuscript became part of the collection of the library in Florence at some point after its creation in the late sixteenth century. It was not until the late eighteenth century that scholars become aware of it, when the bibliographer Angelo Maria Bandini published a description of it in Latin in 1793.
[6] The work became more generally known in the nineteenth century, with a description published by P. Fr. Marcelino de Civezza in 1879. [7]
The Spanish Royal Academy of History learned of this work and, at the 5th meeting of the International Congress of Americanists, the find was announced to the larger scholarly community.
[8] In 1888 German scholar Eduard Seler presented a description of the illustrations at the 7th meeting of the International Congress of Americanists. [9] Mexican scholar Francisco del Paso y Troncoso received permission in 1893 from the Italian government to copy the alphabetic text and the illustrations. [10]
The three-volume manuscript of the Florentine Codex has been intensely analyzed and compared to earlier drafts found in Madrid. The Tolosa Manuscript (
Códice Castellano de Madrid) was known in the 1860s and studied by José Fernando Ramírez [11] The Tolosa Manuscript has been source for all published editions in Spanish of the Historia General. [12]
The English translation of the complete Nahuatl text of all twelve volumes of the Florentine Codex was a decades-long work of Arthur J.O. Anderson and Charles Dibble,
[13] a monumental contribution to the scholarship on Mesoamerican ethno-history. In 1979 the Mexican government published a full-color, three-volume facsimile of the Florentine Codex in a limited edition of 2,000, allowing scholars to have easier access to the manuscript. The Archivo General de la Nación (Dra. Alejandra Moreno Toscano, director) supervised the project that was published by the Secretaria de Gobernación (Prof. Enrique Olivares Santana, Secretary). The 2012 World Digital Library high-resolution digital version of the manuscript makes it fully accessible online to all those interested in this important source for Mexican and Aztec history. [14]
The missionary Sahagún had the goal of evangelizing the indigenous Mesoamerican peoples, and his writings were devoted to this end. He described this work as an explanation of the “divine, or rather idolatrous, human, and natural things of New Spain.”
[15] He compared its body of knowledge to that needed by a physician to cure the “patient” suffering from idolatry.
He had three overarching goals for his research:
Sahagún conducted research for several decades, edited and revised his work over several decades, created several versions of a 2,400-page manuscript, and addressed a cluster of religious, cultural and nature themes.
[17] Copies of the work were sent by ship to the royal court of Spain and to the Vatican in the late 16th century to explain Aztec culture. The Copies of the work were essentially lost for about two centuries, until a scholar rediscovered it in the Laurentian Library (Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana) an archive library in Florence, Italy. The Spanish also had earlier drafts in their archives. A scholarly community of historians, anthropologists, art historians, and linguists has since been actively investigating Sahagún's work, its subtleties and mysteries, for more than 200 years. [18]
The Florentine Codex is a complex document, assembled, edited, and appended over decades. Essentially it is three integral texts: (1) in Nahuatl; (2) a Spanish text; (3) pictorials. The final version of the Florentine Codex was completed in 1569.
[19] The Nahuatl Sahagún’s goals of orienting fellow missionaries to Aztec culture, providing a rich Nahuatl vocabulary, and recording the indigenous cultural heritage are at times in competition within the work. The manuscript pages are generally arranged in two columns, with Nahuatl, written first, on the right and a Spanish gloss or translation on the left. Diverse voices, views, and opinions are expressed in these 2,400 pages, and the result is a document that is sometimes contradictory. [18]
Scholars have proposed several classical and medieval worldbook authors who inspired Sahagún, such as Aristotle, Pliny, Isidore of Seville, and Bartholomew the Englishman. These shaped the late medieval approach to the organization of knowledge.
[20]
The twelve books of the Florentine Codex are organized in the following way:
This work follows the organizational logic found in medieval encyclopedias, in particular the 19-volume
De proprietatibus rerum of Sahagún's fellow Franciscan Friar Bartholomew the Englishman. One scholar has argued that Bartholomew’s work served as a conceptual model for Sahagún, although evidence is circumstantial. [21] Both men present descriptions of the cosmos, society and nature of the late medieval paradigm. [20]
After the facsimile edition became available generally in 1979, the illustrations of the Florentine Codex could be analyzed in detail. Previously, the images were known mainly through the black-and-white drawings found in various earlier publications, which were separated from the alphabetic text.
[22] The images in the Florentine Codex were created as an integral element of the larger opus. Although many of the images show evidence of European influence, a careful analysis by one scholar posits that they were created by "members of the hereditary profession of tlacuilo or native scribe-painter." [23]
The images were inserted in places in the text left open for them, and in some cases the blank space has not been filled. This strongly suggests that when the manuscripts were sent to Spain, they were as yet unfinished.
[24] The images are of two types, what can be called "primary figures" that amplify the meaning of the alphabetic texts, and "ornamentals" that were decorative. [25] The majority of the nearly 2500 images are "primary figures" (approximately 2000), with the remainder ornamental. [26] The figures were drawn in black outline first, with color added later. [27] Scholars have concluded that several artists, of varying skill, created the images. [28]
It is not clear what artistic sources the scribes drew from, but the library of the Colegio de Santa Cruz de Tlatelolco had European books with illustrations and books of engravings.
[29] European elements appear in the imagery, as well as pre-Conquest images done in the "native style". [30] [31] A number of the images have Christian elements, which Peterson has described as "Christian editorializing." [32]
The codex is composed of the following twelve books:
[33]
Sahagún was among the first person to develop an array of strategies for gathering and validating knowledge of indigenous New World cultures. Much later, the discipline of anthropology would later formalize these as ethnography. This is the scientific research strategy to document the beliefs, behavior, social roles and relationships, and worldview of another culture, and to explain these within the logic of that culture. Ethnography requires scholars to practice empathy with persons very different from them, and to try to suspend their own cultural beliefs in order to enter into, understand, and explain the worldview of those living in another culture.
Sahagún systematically gathered knowledge from a range of diverse persons (now known as informants in anthropology), who were recognized as having expert knowledge of Aztec culture. He did so in the native language of Nahuatl, while comparing the answers from different sources of information. He sought out different types of informants, including women (which was unusual).
Some passages appear to be the transcription of spontaneous narration of religious beliefs, society or nature. Other parts clearly reflect a consistent set of questions presented to different people designed to elicit specific information. Some sections of text report Sahagún’s own narration of events or commentary.
He developed a methodology with the following elements:
These methodological innovations substantiate historians' claim that Sahagún was the first anthropologist.
Most of the Florentine Codex is alphabetic text in Nahuatl and Spanish, but its 2,000 pictures provide vivid images of sixteenth-century New Spain. Some of these images directly support the alphabetic text; others are thematically related; others are for seemingly decorative purposes. Some are colorful and large, taking up most of a page; others are black and white sketches. The pictorial images offer remarkable detail about life in New Spain, but they do not bear titles, and the relationship of some to the adjoining text is not always self-evident. They can be considered a “third column of language” in the manuscript. Several different artists’ hands have been identified, and many questions about their accuracy have been raised. The drawings convey a blend of Indigenous and European artistic elements and cultural influences.
[34]
Many passages of the texts in the Florentine Codex present descriptions of like items (e.g., gods, classes of people, animals) according to consistent patterns. Because of this, scholars have concluded that Sahagún used a series of questionnaires to structure his interviews and collect data.
[20]
For instance, the following questions appear to have been used to gather information about the gods for Book One:
For Book Ten, "The People," a questionnaire may have been used to gather information about the social organization of labor and workers, with questions such as:
This book also described some other indigenous groups in Mesoamerica.
Sahagún was particularly interested in Nahua medicine. The information he collected is a major contribution to the history of medicine generally. His interest was likely related to the high death rate at the time from plagues and diseases. Many thousands of people died, including friars and students at the school. Sections of Books Ten and Eleven describe human anatomy, disease, and medicinal plant remedies.
[35] Sahagún named more than a dozen Aztec “doctors” who dictated and edited these sections. A questionnaire such as the following may have been used in this section:
The text in this section provides very detailed information about location, cultivation, and medical uses of plants and plant parts, as well as information about the uses of animal products as medicine. The drawings in this section provide important visual information to amplify the alphabetic text. The information is useful for a wider understanding of the history of botany and the history of zoology. Scholars have speculated that Sahagún was involved in the creation of the Badianus Manuscript, an herbal created in 1552 that has pictorials of medicinal plants and their uses. Although this was originally written in Nahuatl, only the Latin translation has survived.
Book Eleven, “Earthly Things,” has the most text and approximately half of the drawings in the codex. The text describes it as a “forest, garden, orchard of the Mexican language.”
[36] It describes the Aztec cultural understanding of the animals, birds, insects, fish and trees in Mesoamerica.
Sahagún appeared to have asked questions about animals such as the following:
Plants and animals are described in association with their behavior and natural conditions or habitat. The Nahua presented their information in a way consistent with their worldview. For modern readers, this combination of ways of presenting materials is sometimes contradictory and confusing. Other sections include data on minerals, mining, bridges, roads, types of terrain, and food crops.
The Florentine Codex is one of the most remarkable social science research projects ever conducted. It is not unique as a chronicle of encountering the New World and its peoples, for there were others in this era. Sahagún's methods for gathering information from the perspective within a foreign culture were highly unusual for this time. He reported the worldview of people of Central Mexico as they understood it, rather than describing the society exclusively from the European perspective. “The scope of the
Historia's coverage of contact-period Central Mexico indigenous culture is remarkable, unmatched by any other sixteenth-century works that attempted to describe the native way of life.” [37] Foremost in his own mind, Sahagún was a Franciscan missionary, but he may also rightfully be given the title as Father of American Ethnography. [38] | 14,319 | 6,112 | 0.000167 |
warc | 201704 | Use of an experimental targeteddrug to treat metastatic melanoma tumors with a specific genetic signature wassuccessful in more than 80 percent of patients in a phase 1 clinicaltrial. Results of the trial of PLX4032, aninhibitor of a protein called BRAF that is overactive in more than half of allmelanomas, appear in the August 26
NewEngland Journal of Medicine
"Metastatic melanoma has adevastating prognosis and is one of the top causes of cancer death in young patients,"says Keith Flaherty, MD, director of Developmental Therapeutics at theMassachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cancer Center, lead andcorresponding author of the
NEJMarticle. "Until now, availabletherapies were few and unreliable, so these findings can really change theoutlook for patients whose tumors are fueled by this mutation."
Although surgical removal is usually successful in treating early-stage melanoma, once the skin tumor has spread to other sites in the body, the outlook has been grim. The two FDA-approved drugs -- interleukin-2 and dacarbazine -- produce a response in only 10 to 20 percent of patients. The current prognosis for survival in metastatic melanoma is 9 months or less, with 9,000 people dying in the U.S. each year.
The role in melanoma of the BRAFmutation -- which keeps the protein constantly activated and driving cellgrowth -- was discovered in 2002 by researchers at the Sanger Institute in Britain. Flaherty -- who was then at the University ofPennsylvania Abramson Cancer Center -- began to explore whether drugs targetingthe mutation might interfere with tumor growth. After one potential drug was not effective, hebegan working in collaboration with Paul Chapman, MD, of MemorialSloan-Kettering CancerCenter in New York to study PLX4032, an agentdeveloped by Plexxikon and licensed to Roche Pharmaceuticals. Initial trial results were disappointing, buta new formulation that increased the bioavailability of PLX4032 proved to haverapid results that are being reported in the
NEJM paper.
The initial stage of the study -- led by Flaherty, Chapman and colleagues at six sites in the U.S. and Australia -- was designed to establish the effective dose. It enrolled 55 cancer patients, most with metastatic melanoma, who received escalating doses of PLX4032 until unacceptable side effects occurred. BRAF mutations were present in the melanomas of 16 participants in the latter part of this stage, and in 11 of those patients, tumors quickly shrank or, in one instance, disappeared. Three participants with BRAF-mutated thyroid cancers also had their tumors shrink or stabilize in response to PLX4032 treatment.
The second stage enrolled 32 patients with BRAF-mutated melanoma who received the PLX4032 dosage established in the first phase: 960 mg twice a day. In 26 of those participants, tumors shrank more than 30 percent, meeting the criteria for clinical response, and completely disappeared in two. Since another two participants had some reduction in the size of their tumors, Flaherty projects that PLX4032 appears to shrink tumors in approximately 90 percent of patients with BRAF-mutated melanomas.
"One of the things that make these results truly remarkable is that this drug works so reliably," he explains. "And patients who have been experiencing symptoms like pain and fatigue begin to feel better within a week of starting treatment, giving them a much better quality of life.
As seen in trials of other targeted cancer treatments, resistance to PLX4032 developed in the tumors of many participants, leading to resumed tumor growth. Currently tumor suppression has been maintained from about three months to longer than two years, with an average progression-free survival of eight months, and follow-up studies are exploring how resistance occurs and potential strategies to get around it. Two additional MGH-based clinical trials are now underway -- a phase 2 study in patients unsuccessfully treated with the FDA-approved drugs, enrollment for which is complete, and a larger phase 3 study that compares PLX4032 with dacarbazine in newly diagnosed patients.
"Until now, we've never had a credible first treatment option for metastatic melanoma, so this has completely transformed how we approach treatment for patients with the BRAF mutation," says Flaherty, who is a member of the Harvard Medical School faculty. "Although we don't know how long response may last, the ability to beat this disease down in the short term will buy us time to strategize second-line therapies and design the next generation of trials."
Along with senior author PaulChapman, MD, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, co-authors of the
NEJM article are Igor Puzanov, MD, andJeffrey Sosman, PhD, Vanderbilt University; Kevin Kim, MD, M.D. Anderson CancerCenter; Antoni Ribas, MD, University of California at Los Angeles; GrantMcArthur, MB, BS, PhD, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, East Melbourne,Australia; Peter O'Dwyer, MD,University of Pennsylvania Abramson Cancer Center; Richard Lee, MD, PhD, andJoseph Grippo, Roche Pharmaceuticals, and Keith Nolop, MD, Plexxikon. The study was funded by Plexxikon and Roche.
Massachusetts General Hospital, established in 1811, is the original and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. The MGH conducts the largest hospital-based research program in the United States, with an annual research budget of more than $600 million and major research centers in AIDS, cardiovascular research, cancer, computational and integrative biology, cutaneous biology, human genetics, medical imaging, neurodegenerative disorders, regenerative medicine, systems biology, transplantation biology and photomedicine.
Katie Marquedant, 617 726-0337, kmarquedant@partners.org | 5,745 | 2,716 | 0.00037 |
warc | 201704 | The new Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities (CIDD) brings together four existing programs on the UNC campus – the TEACCH Program (Treatment and Education for Autistic and Related Communication Handicapped Children); the Clinical Center for Development and Learning; the Family Support Network of North Carolina; and the Neurodevelopmental Disorders Research Center.
“I believe the formation of the Carolina Institute will substantially raise our ability to provide state-of-the-art treatment to individuals with developmental disabilities, conduct cutting-edge clinical and research training, and position UNC as one of the premier research programs in the country in the area of developmental disabilities,” said the institute’s founding director, Dr. Joseph Piven, Sarah Graham Kenan Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics in the School of Medicine and in the College of Arts and Sciences’ psychology department.
The new institute will be one of the largest programs for developmental disabilities in the country and UNC’s primary source for treatment, education and research in this field. Partnerships with organizations across the state to promote and develop education and treatment programs will be an integral part of the institute’s mission. The institute will also provide important, state-of-the-art resources aimed at supporting North Carolinians with developmental disabilities and their families, and will promote research on the causes, development, effects and treatment of these conditions.
Other leaders of the institute include Jim Bodfish, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry and pediatrics, who has been named the new director of the Clinical Center for Development and Learning. Jeffry Low, a project director at the Clinical Center for Development and Learning, has been selected as the institute’s deputy director, overseeing administrative aspects of the organization. Gary Mesibov, Ph.D., a professor in the medical school’s psychiatry department and a psychology professor in the College of Arts and Sciences, and Irene Zipper, Ph.D., clinical professor in the School of Social Work and a fellow with the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, will continue as directors of TEACCH and the Family Support Network, respectively.
Plans for the new institute include relocation of the Clinical Center for Development and Learning to an 18,000 square foot building on a 5 acre campus 1.5 miles south of the UNC campus, which currently houses the TEACCH program. This is pending approval of building plans by the Town of Carrboro.
Visit the institute’s new Web site, www.cidd.unc.edu to learn more.
[top] | 2,702 | 1,198 | 0.000853 |
warc | 201704 | A new study suggests genetically modified stem cells may offer a new way to treat
Alzheimer's disease. When implanted in mice bred to have symptoms and brain hallmarks of
Alzheimer's, they increased connections between brain cells and reduced the amyloid-beta protein
that accumulates to form plaques that clog up the brain.
A report on the study, led by neurobiologists at the University of California (UC) - Irvine, is
published in the journal
Stem Cell Research & Therapy.
While the team showed that the approach worked in two different mouse models of Alzheimer's, they say there is still a long way to go before we know if it will benefit patients with the human form of the disease.
Alzheimer's is a progressive disease where brain cells stop working and lose connections with each other, and eventually die off. This gradual wasting of the brain is what leads to memory failure, personality changes, difficulty coping with day-to-day living and other symptoms.
There are two distinct hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease: deposits of tau protein that accumulate inside brain cells, and plaques of amyloid protein that clog up the spaces between brain cells. It is not easy to investigate how these changes take place in living human brains, which is why mice bred to have similar hallmarks are so useful in research.
Hope of targeting brain-clogging proteins that build up in Alzheimer's
For some time now, researchers have been looking into ways of treating Alzheimer's that target the build-up of the tau and amyloid proteins, either with drugs or non-drug approaches such as stem cells.
Stem cells are cells that have the potential to become virtually any type of cell in the body. By altering the genes of stem cells, the idea is to make them behave in a slightly different way when they transform into the cell of interest.
In this study, the researchers were interested in making brain cells that increase levels of an enzyme neprilysin, which is known to break down amyloid-beta and shows lower activity in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease.
The study's first and corresponding author, Mathew Blurton-Jones, an assistant professor of neurobiology and behavior at UC-Irvine, explains that there is evidence that neprilysin decreases with age and may, therefore, affect the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. This made the team wonder, he says:
"If amyloid accumulation is the driving cause of Alzheimer's disease, then therapies that either decrease amyloid-beta production or increase its degradation could be beneficial, especially if they are started early enough."
Genetically altered brain stem cells reduced amyloid-beta plaques
They tested their idea on two strains of mice bred to have symptoms and brain hallmarks of Alzheimer's. The two mouse models are called 3xTg-AD and Thy1-APP. Most studies only use one mouse model, but a criticism that is often leveled at them is there can be variations between models.
They injected the mice with brain stem cells that were genetically modified to over-express the gene that codes for neprilysin. They also injected other mice with unaltered stem cells; these were the controls.
They found the genetically altered brain stem cells produced 25 times more neprilysin than the
control stem cells but were otherwise equivalent to them. The genetically altered stem cells produced 25 times more neprilysin and a significant reduction in amyloid-beta plaques, compared with the controls.
Then, the team transplanted the genetically modified and control stem cells into the hippocampus or subiculum of the mice brains. These two brain areas are the ones most affected by Alzheimer's disease.
The brains of mice that received the genetically modified brain stem cells showed a significant reduction in amyloid-beta plaques compared with the controls. This reduction persisted for at least a month after transplantation.
The researchers note that using modified stem cells offers a potential advantage to unmodified stem cells because unmodified stem cells would only promote growth of brain connections, whereas, as this study shows, genetically modified ones could also target and reduce amyloid plaques.
The team notes there is a long way to go yet before this approach can be tested in humans. Among the questions that need answering are: will it work with soluble forms of amyloid-beta? Does it improve cognition more than transplanting unmodified brain stem cells?
Prof. Blurton-Jones says that by studying two different mouse models they can increase confidence
that their findings are meaningful and broadly applicable to Alzheimer's, but, "there is clearly a
great deal more research needed to determine whether this kind of approach could eventually be
translated to the clinic."
Funds from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the Alzheimer's Association, the American Health Assistance Foundation and the Else-Kröner Fresenius Stiftung helped finance the study.
Meanwhile,
Medical News Today recently reported how a new drug could reverse age-related
memory impairment. Researchers found rats with age-related cognitive decline showed improved
memory function when they gave them a drug that reduced high levels of a brain chemical called
GABA, which can disrupt working memory when there is too much of it. | 5,348 | 2,330 | 0.000433 |
warc | 201704 | A recent study finds that one-to-one telephone health coaching did not seem to cut hospital use and related costs for patients with long term conditions.
Advertisement
The study adds weight to the view that health coaching by itself does not appear to reduce hospital activity. The authors suggest that it may be more effective if it were better integrated into the respective care pathways for these groups of patients or were coupled with other interventions.
AdvertisementTelephone health coaching is used to provide guidance and support to patients with long term conditions. It involves regular phone calls between patient and health professional to promote healthy behaviours, help patients to manage their condition more independently, and identify any problems before they become critical.
As a result, it is thought that hospital admissions will be prevented, saving costs for healthcare systems. However, the current evidence base is unclear. So Ernst and Young and the Nuffield Trust were commissioned by the Department of Health to evaluate the impact of England's largest telephone health coaching service (Birmingham OwnHealth®) on hospital use and associated costs.
They analysed data from the first two years of the scheme (2006 to 2008), concerning 2,698 patients (average age 65 years) with heart failure, coronary heart disease, diabetes or chronic lung disease (COPD), and a history of inpatient or outpatient hospital use.
Intervention patients received a personalised care plan and a monthly telephone call from a care manager, typically lasting for 15 minutes. Matched control patients received usual care, which did not include telephone health coaching.
The annual number of emergency admissions increased by 0.05 per head more among intervention patients than matched controls (a relative increase of 13.6%).
Outpatient attendances also increased by 0.37 per head more among intervention patients than controls, while secondary care costs rose by £175 per head more among intervention patients than controls.
Further checks showed that the researchers were unlikely to have missed reductions in emergency admissions because of unseen differences between intervention and matched control groups.
In summary, the authors say there was no evidence of reductions in hospital admissions, and no savings were detected from which to offset the cost of the intervention. Adam Steventon, Senior Research Analyst at the Nuffield Trust, who led the analysis for the study, said: "Policy makers are hoping that, by improving community-based care, unnecessary hospital admissions can be avoided. Birmingham OwnHealth® appears not to have achieved this aim, at least in the period that we studied. However, the effect of new services depends on the details of how they are implemented, and on the surrounding context, so it might be possible to improve the model."
Adam Steventon also summarises the findings in a video abstract. Dr Steventon says although the results were disappointing, the question remains whether other parts of the NHS could implement health coaching. He believes that more needs to be done about the elements that make up a successful hospital avoidance programme and "one of the largest lessons is to try to use some of the techniques that we implemented on an ongoing basis to improve care".
Source: Eurekalert
Advertisement | 3,395 | 1,580 | 0.000639 |
warc | 201704 | This article is a collaboration between MedPage Today® and:
Heredity appears to play a substantial role in pre-hypertension -- a risk factor for high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and death -- according to a large cross-sectional study of identical and nonidentical twins and their siblings and family members.
The study of more than 800 people, 340 of whom were classified as pre-hypertensive (having systolic blood pressures of 120 to 139 mmHg and diastolic pressures of 80 to 89 mmHg), found that trait heritability affected systolic pressures by about 44.6% (
P≤0.001) but not diastolic pressures, while impacting plasma norepinephrine by around 65.2% ( P≤0.001), and heart rate by approximately 62.2% ( P≤0.001), reported Daniel T. O'Connor, MD, of the University of San Diego, and colleagues.
The researchers also found trait heritability for other hemodynamic factors, such as cardiac index of around 60.5%, and 57.3%, for systemic vascular resistance index (
P≤0.001 for both), with lesser associations for other factors, such as left ventricular pressure changes over time, they reported in the June issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Among the different groups (normotensive, pre-hypertensive, and hypertensive), men were more likely than women to exhibit pre-hypertension (
P≤0.001), and weights rose by around 15 kg (33 lbs.) across the groups, as did body mass index (BMI) by approximately 3 kg/m 2 ( P≤0.001 for both).
However, BMI was not significantly different between pre-hypertensives and hypertensives, at around 26.52 kg/m
2 and 26.99 kg/m 2, respectively. BMI was a mean of 23.65 kg/m 2 among normotensives.
There was also an increased frequency of pre-hypertension among the 77 African Americans (9.5%) in the study (
P≤0.001), O'Connor and co-authors wrote.
Age was no different between the normotensives and pre-hypertensives, while it was substantially higher among those with high blood pressure (
P≤0.001), they added.
Pre-hypertension
, defined in 2003 by the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure, is an "emerging and remarkably common risk factor not only for hypertension but also cardiovascular organ complications," the group noted in its introduction.
O'Connor and colleagues undertook their study to better understand the origins and progression of pre-hypertension, which affects up to 41.9 million men and 27.8 women in the U.S. alone, and has a tendency to progress to hypertension over a relatively short period of time.
Pre-hypertension "is a risk factor for development of microalbuminuria and cardiovascular disease, with consequently increased mortality," they noted. According to the latest data from the American Heart Association, high blood pressure was the primary cause of death of 61,005 Americans in 2008.
The investigators selected their study group from the University of California, San Diego's twin/family study population, for a total of 812 people, 350 whom were monozygotic twins, 198 dizygotic twins, 233 other siblings of twins, 17 parents of twins, 6 children of twins, and 8 other relatives. Of these, 572 were women and 240 were men.
O'Connor's team non-invasively measured blood pressure, heart rate, hemodynamics, analyzed autonomic function (including plasma catecholamines), and obtained genomic DNA in order to estimate heritability, comparing genetic covariance between identical and non-identical twins, as well as shared environmental effects.
The average systolic pressure among the pre-hypertensive group was 127.3 mmHg ± 0.46 and the average diastolic pressure in the group was 74.4 mmHg ± 0.41 mmHg (
P≤0.001 for both).
Among the normotensives, average blood pressures were systolic 109.9 mmHg ± 0.49 mmHg, diastolic 66.3 ± 0.42 (
P≤0.001).
Those with hypertension had average systolic pressures of 138.0 mmHg ± 0.75 and 78.9 mmHg ± 0.67 mmHg (
P≤0.001), lower than the official definition due to the inclusion of 44 participants taking antihypertensive medications.
Hemodynamic determinants of blood pressure -- cardiac output, cardiac index, stroke volume, and stroke volume index -- were strikingly different across the three patient groups (
P≤0.001 for all).
Plasma norepinephrine levels increased with blood pressure (
P=0.028), although only normotensive and hypertensives varied on this measure in a post hoc analysis, and plasma epinephrine did not differ across the groups.
"Our findings indicate that the onset of pre-hypertension may be genetically determined at least in part and the result of joint heritability among a cluster of BP-correlated autonomic and hemodynamic traits," O'Connor and colleagues concluded. "In the autonomic realm, an increment in sympathetic tone, coupled with a decline in parasympathetic tone, may be pathogenic."
Thus far, medical treatment of prehypertension has focused mainly on angiotensin receptor blockade or on nonpharmacological approaches, such as dietary modification or weight reduction, the investigators noted. However, they suggested that potential therapies might also include alpha-2-adrenergic agonist drugs, beta-adrenergic antagonists, and L-type voltage operated calcium channel antagonists.
"A variety of cardiovascular agents used during secondary prevention trials even in subjects without hypertension may be effective in diminishing risk of subsequent vascular events, although investigators agree that more data on individual drugs would be useful."
From the American Heart Association Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure
The authors had no conflicts of interest to disclose.
Reviewed by Zalman S. Agus, MD Emeritus Professor, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Dorothy Caputo, MA, BSN, RN, Nurse Planner Primary Source Journal of the American College of CardiologySource Reference: O'Connor D, et al "Autonomic and hemodynamic origins of pre-hypertension: central role of heredity" J Am Coll Cardiol2012; 59(24): 2206-2216; DOI: 10.1016/j.jacc.2012.02.040. | 6,260 | 2,798 | 0.000366 |
warc | 201704 | June 5, 2008
WIC Income Restrictions Reduced to Help More Women, Infants and Children
Expecting mothers, or those with children under the age of five received a little relief from rising food costs last week when the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services� Bureau of Women, Infants and Children (WIC) and Nutrition Services announced new income guidelines for the WIC Program.
WIC is a supplemental nutrition program, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, provided at no cost to eligible moms, babies and children whose family income does not exceed 185% of the poverty level. Its goal is to improve health by providing nutritious foods to supplement diets; offering education on healthy eating, nutrition and breastfeeding; and making referrals to other services.
If the family income does not exceed the following amounts for the size of family, the family now qualifies for WIC:
Family of 1 $19,240; Family of 2 $25,900; Family of 3 $32,560; Family of 4 $39,220; Family of 5 $45,800, Family of 6 $52,540; Family of 7 $59,200; Family of 8 $65,860; Family of 9 $72,520; Family of 10 $79,180.
WIC food prescriptions are based on the type of participant (woman, infant, or child). Nutritionists tailor the food prescription for each individual. Infants who are not breastfed receive infant formula. Infants also receive cereal and juice at the appropriate age.
Women and children get milk, cheese, eggs, cereal high in iron and low in sugar, fruit juice high in Vitamin C, and peanut butter or dried peas or beans.
Women who are breastfeeding their babies and not receiving infant formula from the WIC program also get tuna and carrots.
At the last recording period, the State of Missouri reported 134,642 participants in WIC. That is up 7.4 percent from last year. Nationwide there are nearly 8.3 million WIC participants. California has the largest total at 1.4 million followed by Texas with nearly 925,000 participants.
In Scotland County, there were 85 children between the age of 12 months to 59 months participating in WIC during the latest recording period available. There were 31 infants as well as 26 expecting mothers utilizing the program at that time.
To find out if you or your children are eligible for the WIC Program, call for an appointment at the local WIC office, the Scotland County Health Department at 660-465-7275.
At the appointment, applicants will need to provide family income information and proof of residency and identity. The review also requires answering questions about past and current health, height and weight recordings, a finger stick blood test taken (except for babies up to 9 months old), and a visit with a health professional about nutrition and health needs, before getting food �checks�. | 2,782 | 1,376 | 0.000734 |
warc | 201704 | Jan 17, 201402:19 PMPoint of View The Poetics of Architectural Drawing This post originally appeared on ArchDaily under the title, Drawing Shadows by Gautam Bhatia.
We live today the way we do because we know no other. Our lives fit the defined patterns of homes, streets, neighborhoods, cities. As an architect I try to understand and explore—through drawing—different possibilities of building and landscape. More and more, drawing has taken me away from the conventions of architecture, into more abstract realms. Drawing has helped define space as it doesn’t exist, and perhaps as it should. Not in a utopian way, but one that tries merely to describe a different way we may live.
The drawings are a sort of rebellion against the limits of space. They explore the possibilities of extreme views: at one end, a confinement that is so narrow and stifling, it requires release and exposure, and at the other, a boundlessness that recedes endlessly to the horizon, in which people and buildings are miniscule. As if all human endeavor—defined by people, trees and buildings—is merely an engraving in the vastness.
All images courtesy Gautam Bhatia
In the beginning, the earth is empty and expressionless, deserted, without sound or form or shade. Just an absence in the landscape. The emptiness creates the first hint, the hope for architecture. A rootless object appears in space—a human being, a tree, a building, a shadow. The drawing constructs a relationship between them. Sometimes the shadow defuses the space itself, sometimes shadow is used to root things to the earth. Does architecture exist if it casts no shadow?
The weight of building leaves a permanent shadow on the ground, a grey-black area of mystery quite unlike the restless shadow of a moving person that follows him or her around. Its depth is as devious as it is impenetrable, but it is there, a historical archaeological footprint that cannot be erased. Permanence and immobility of building is a given. You accepted it as a fixture, a certainty as sure as death. And when you build, you build with the brush of a black shadow, in the persistent hope that your building too will, someday, get the permanent resting place of death, that the immobile blackness will grow and darken as the building ages, as it becomes architecture.
Gautam Bhatia
is an architect based in New Delhi and one of the most well-known architectural writers in India, having written for The New York Times, Outlook magazine and Indian Express . | 2,531 | 1,292 | 0.000786 |
warc | 201704 | Rick Anderson, a long-time CIRA director, appears this week on TVO's Search Engine to respond to recent criticisms of the dot-ca domain authority. Host Jesse Brown asked Anderson to address my recent column focused on CIRA's disappointing performance in the realm of its social mandate. Anderson responded:
"Doing things beyond operating the registry is actually not formally part of the mandate that was given to us by the Government of Canada ten years ago. We actually did get a mandate letter from Industry Canada when CIRA was set up delegating the dot-ca domain name to CIRA for the benefit of Canadians."
While it is true that the Government identified the dot-ca as a key public resource and that CIRA was tasked with administering it on behalf of Canadian users, in 2006, CIRA – with the support of the government – amended its corporate documentation to expand its mandate. The Supplementary Letters Patent added to the objects of the Corporation "to develop, carry out and/or support any other Internet-related activities in Canada." The debate at the 2006 Annual General Meeting which passed these amendments focused specifically on the role CIRA could play in fostering Internet activities in Canada with the excess revenues it generates. Yet years later, CIRA has not done enough to advance the potential social side of the mandate despite board resolutions that clearly set this in motion. Instead, the organization is seemingly more interested in bidding for new top-level domains and leaving it to its directors to question whether the social contributions found in leading country-code domains around the world are even part of CIRA's mandate. As Jacob Glick charitably notes, that is a "pretty unambitious vision of the dot-ca registry." | 1,776 | 943 | 0.001073 |
warc | 201704 | It’s been two years since I first spoke with Danielle Nierenberg about Food Tank, a think tank and website with a goal to “fix the broken food system by being a voice in the fight for health-based agriculture, alleviating hunger and poverty, and stemming the tide of obesity.”
The organization has had an impressive first two years, bringing together thought leaders in food activism and disseminating information to everyone, from policymakers to parents, with an interest in finding solutions for the problems with local and global food systems.
Food Tank will host the first annual Food Tank Summit this Wednesday and Thursday, Jan. 21-22. The summit is at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. I hoped to have been there, but my schedule didn’t allow it. Fortunately, I can still participate by watching the livestream of the speakers and panels and by participating in the discussion via social media. You can participate, too.
I intend to start tuning in Wednesday at 9:20 a.m. when keynote speaker Kathleen Merrigan talks. Merrigan is the former deputy secretary for the USDA. She also helped to develop and write the laws surrounding the labeling of U.S. organic food.
There are more than 75 speakers throughout the two-day conference, too many for me to list here. But I will list the schedule of panels, and you can click through to Food Tank’s schedule to see who will be participating in them.
Wednesday’s Food Tank Summit panels: 9:40 a.m. panel: Cultivating Better Urban Food Systems 11 a.m. panel: Waste Not Want Not in the Food System 1 p.m. panel: Family Farmers Creating Resilience in the Food System 2:15 p.m. panel: Telling the Story of Food 3:45 p.m. panel: The Business of Food Thursday’s Food Tank Summit panels: 9:20 a.m. panel: Recognizing Workers in the Food System 10:45 a.m. panel: Pushing for Better Agriculture Research and Policy 1 p.m. panel: Pushing for International Agreements: The Milan Protocol 2:30 p.m. panel: True Cost Accounting in the Food System 3:45 p.m. panel: Democratizing Innovation Related on MNN: | 2,099 | 1,063 | 0.00096 |
warc | 201704 | Mark Wilcox is a professional writer and photographer living with his family in beautiful Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Beside loads of freelance writing, Wilcox also manages to write blog posts for his own blog: apparentparent.blogspot.com, which is featured on mormondaddyblogs.com. He has three kids that keep him busy as a loving "Daddy" to his children. Anyone can be a father, but it takes someone else entirely to be "Daddy." Wilcox writes about that little extra magic it takes. His topics vary widely from family outings to advice on bedtime from the battleground itself. Mark is also a repeat guest poster, having already written about parenting with a zone defense here.
1)
They're asleep.Yes. Even when they're awake they're asleep. Eyeballs don't mean anything. Just because they're looking at you doesn't mean they're consciously aware. They're just sleeping with their eyes open.
2)
They're little.Think about it. If you were that tiny and everyone else around you were ginormous, happiness probably wouldn't be on the docket. Emotions you would feel? Paranoia, fear, helplessness, and indigestion. Technically the last one's not an emotion, though it sure causes some.
3)
They have indigestion.Nothing worse than not being able to digest liquid easily. How hard can it be? But those little kids have a rough time on it, if the looks of concentration mean anything.
4)
They're about to puke.All the time. My kids have never even been anywhere near what some kids have, but man have I gotten doused with our newest little girl. The word shower comes to mind, but not in a good way.
5)
They don't see well.Their eyes are still pretty glazed over at two weeks. For all you know, they could see you as a fire demon or an ogre making obnoxious noises or something.
6)
They can't move.Would you be happy if your life consisted of sitting in one place wiggling your arms and legs until someone decides to pay attention to you? Oh wait – that's what people running those mall kiosks in the mall do. I'm pretty sure I've never seen one of them smile either. Mobility is a blessed thing. Flailing arms and legs while trying to lift a head that's a third of your body weight? Not so much.
7)
Liquid diet.Even when I try to feed my daughter ice cream, a muffin, or a juicy porterhouse, my wife disagrees with me. Not just a little either. If your solitary food source were human milk from you know where, I doubt your smile muscles would get much of a workout. Our social engagements often revolve around food. And that'd get pretty awkward if we all shared a baby's diet.
8)
Your head fit through what?Ouch. My head hurts just thinking about it. Enough said.
9)
They have siblings.Suddenly, the newest baby becomes a target of “affection” from the older siblings. This can only mean bad news for baby. But unlike the cat whose fur gets yanked out by loving children, baby cannot flee. Think about that for a second and then reread number six.
10)
Let me sleep!We inflict our schedules and our desires on the little tykes, who just want to sleep, daggummit. We wake them to show them off to visitors, we wake them for feeding, and we wake them accidentally when we step on them...or something... They wake up on the wrong side of the non-bed like 375 times a day.
These are the real reasons babies don't smile when they are newborns. Muscle control doesn't have a lot to do with it in my opinion. Life is rough when you're that small and helpless. There's a lot more reasons than these too. Why do you think babies don't smile? | 3,565 | 1,839 | 0.00055 |
warc | 201704 | The consumer defensive category offers value and stability in a volatile market.
--Wide economic moats will be more important than ever in the consumer defensive space as the global economy slows again.
--Amid market turbulence and uncertainty, the consumer defensive sector offers relative stability.
--Break-ups, not takeovers, may dominate the headlines over the coming months, as activist investors have led a charge toward creating value in the consumer staples space.
Wide economic moats will be more important than ever in the consumer defensive sector as the global economy slows again.Although we've been optimistic about the resiliency of our consumer defensive coverage universe over the first nine months of the year, we've still remained cautious about the significant macroeconomic headwinds facing these companies and held steady in our belief that the U.S. was poised for a multi-year period of anemic growth.
Retail sales have continued to hold up quite well--year-to-date same-store sales across our coverage universe are up an average of 5% through August--but in recent months, we've seen price increases from consumer goods manufacturers overtake transaction growth as the primary top-line driver for most retailers.
GDP growth slowed in the second quarter (up only slightly from the revised first-quarter number), and the employment situation hasn't improved in the last three quarters. Meanwhile, the average gasoline price at retail is up 32% year-over-year (to $3.58 per gallon), which has also undoubtedly placed additional pressure on consumers.
Finally, elevated fears surrounding fiscal austerity measures in Europe and domestically suggest that it will be more difficult for consumer goods firms to accelerate growth at a time when an increased number of consumers may be paring back spending.
Sentiment among low-income consumers, the lifeblood of consumer staples volumes, depends heavily on employment. Unfortunately, unemployment still sits above 9% (at 9.1%) in the U.S., and the U-6 or "underemployment" rate is hovering near 16%. The unemployment rate for those with less than a high school diploma has increased 1% even as the rate for the entire population has fallen. In the near term, our outlook is even bleaker. More than 3.5 million Americans receiving extended unemployment benefits will see eligibility roll off during the coming months, potentially putting a dent into an already cash-strapped consumer at the low end of the spectrum. With the U.S. government already running at a deficit of $1.4 trillion, we're skeptical that benefits eligibility will be extended past the current 99-week period. Additionally, we've seen a number of states recently curb the maximum number of weeks that jobless workers can receive unemployment insurance to less than 26 weeks.
In our view, any meaningful improvement in the U.S. employment numbers is contingent on an upturn in the housing market, a turnaround in business capital investments, a sustained recovery in the manufacturing sector, and/or increased government spending. Unfortunately, each of these key indicators appears to be heading in the wrong direction. While there has been some encouraging manufacturing data--nonresidential construction growth and job creation within the sector--the weak dollar is surely providing a temporary fillip, and we suspect manufacturing growth will slow when a stronger dollar makes imports appear to be a relatively better value than domestic manufactured goods.
And while we welcome Congress' deal on the debt ceiling and regard the measures to reduce the U.S. budget deficit as necessary to preserve the nation's relative economic stability, the timing could not be worse. As the economy struggles to rebound from the great recession, public sector spending cuts present a major risk to economic growth. Government spending is a major component of the aggregate demand curve, representing 40% of GDP in 2010 according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and it has doubled from its proportion of GDP since the late 1940s. Government spending provided a great deal of support to the economy during the downturn through increased entitlement spending, and while few names in our coverage universe are directly exposed to government spending, a reversal of that support could have a negative impact on job creation for low-income consumers over the next few quarters.
Having entered into hedging contracts at high asset prices, many consumer goods manufacturers have stated that they intend to raise prices in the latter part of the year, but we think consumers may balk at any further price increases. We believe that there is a three-month time lag for changes in the Producer Price Index (PPI) for food (the wholesale input prices of food) to feed through to the Consumer Price Index (CPI, the retail price of food). The spread between the CPI and the PPI measures of food inflation turned positive in May 2011 (for the first time since December 2009) and likely peaked in August. The soft economic data could force consumers to once again become more laser-focused on price, which could in turn make the environment too difficult to raise prices at the retail level, forcing the CPI down. In short, consumer staples manufacturers and retailers could be forced to swallow some of the recent cost inflation if consumers resist higher prices in the final months of the year. In some instances where input costs have reversed materially, consumer staples firms may also be looking at price cuts, similar to Smucker's
Given the risks associated with more cautious consumer spending, and austerity measures likely lasting throughout the remainder of the year (and possibly into next), we believe recent market volatility could present investors with an opportunistic entry point for several best-in-class names. We've identified several wide- or narrow-moat names that should offer investors value and relative stability in a volatile market, including Anheuser-Busch
Amid market turbulence and uncertainty, the consumer defensive sector offers relative stability.Despite Congress' ratification of the debt ceiling bill in August, the $2.4 trillion in spending cuts proposed in two stages by the bill fell far short of the $4.0 trillion that Standard & Poor's was looking for, and the credit rating agency downgraded its long-term outlook for U.S. creditworthiness to AA+ from AAA.
However, we doubt the downgrade will have a material lasting impact on the U.S. economy. The other major credit rating agencies do not appear to have followed suit, so the U.S. still maintains the highest credit ratings with both Fitch and Moody's. The financial markets were likely to pass their own judgment on the political impasse in Washington anyway, which would most likely have resulted in higher interest rates. In addition, the pledge by the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates close to zero until mid-2013 and buy $400 billion of long-dated Treasuries financed by the sale of bonds with maturities less than three years ("Operation Twist") should help offset some of the widening of rates, although the Fed can do little to control spreads. However, if interest rates rise at a faster rate than other countries' rates or concerns about eurozone credits linger over an extended period, capital is likely to flow to dollar-denominated assets in greater volumes, acting as a self-correcting mechanism and providing support to the greenback.
In reality, only those firms with the lowest credit ratings are at risk. Estimates on the interest rate impact range from an increase in rates of 10 basis points to 75, and early evidence from the bond market suggests that a 10-basis-point increase across the yield curve is fairly accurate. While the Federal Reserve has said it will hold rates close to zero for almost two years, the Fed cannot control credit spreads, and we believe the U.S. credit rating downgrade will be immaterial.
We've estimated the impact of a 10-basis-point and 50-basis-point increase in interest rates on some of the most highly leveraged companies in our coverage universe. Our analysis assumes an immediate and parallel upward shift of the yield curve, with credit spreads remaining constant. The conclusions of the analysis are clear: The debt downgrade is not likely to affect our valuations through higher interest rates. At 10 basis points, the impact to 2012 EPS is negligible, and zero for the tobacco firms on the list. Even at a 50-basis-point yield curve shift, a low-probability and worst-case scenario, only Ralcorp
Those firms with the lowest credit ratings are likely to suffer disproportionately high interest rate increases. For example, some of the mature tobacco manufacturers are quite highly leveraged. Altria
The same is true for the majority of companies in our consumer defensive coverage universe, as most have ample cash and capacity on their credit facilities to cover near-term maturities. Even Dean Foods, one of the most highly leveraged consumer staples names (debt/EBITDA was 6.0 times at the end of 2010) is under no immediate threat. The firm has only $474 million in debt maturities between now and 2014, holds $116 million in cash on hand and has around $350 million available on its revolving credit facility. With still some cushion on its debt covenants, we believe the credit market volatility is likely to have dissipated by the time Dean is forced to turn to the debt markets. We assign Dean an issuer credit rating of B+.
Proving the sector's resilience, even in the face of widening credit spreads, the new issue market was very receptive to food, beverage, and tobacco issuers over the past quarter. Within our sector coverage, seven issuers raised $8 billion of new debt this past quarter. Over the fourth quarter, we anticipate significant new issuance as corporations lock in remarkably low coupon levels, and we expect consumer defensive names will find the greatest receptivity until credit spread volatility abates.
Breakups, not takeovers, may dominate the headlines over the coming months.Activist investors have led a charge toward creating value in the consumer staples space over the past year by breaking companies up. First, Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Capital bought an 11% stake in Fortune Brands
Given the high-profile divorces in consumer staples, speculation may now mount regarding which other consumer firms may be in the crosshairs of activist shareholders, but we do not believe breaking up will work for all companies. We think that firms with scale across multiple product lines within the same distribution channels would best perform by remaining whole. However, some companies may be able to unlock value by breaking up into their component businesses. Our sum-of-the-parts analysis shows that both PepsiCo and Unilever
Top Consumer Defensive Picks Dean Foods While Dean Foods is in a very tenuous position, we believe that the market is extrapolating the dairy processor's recent difficulties over the longer term--an unlikely outcome. A few more quarters of depressed profitability are probably in the cards, but Dean's efforts to realize additional cost savings have probably intensified in the face of these pressures, in our view. At just 9.5 times our 2012 earnings per share estimate, Dean is trading at a significant discount relative to industry multiples and our $15 fair value estimate. Avon Products Fixated on short-term weakness in consumer spending, the market is currently valuing Avon at more than 40% below our fair value estimate. However, the firm's direct salesforce of more than 6.2 million distributors and low-cost operating model give Avon a wide moat, in our opinion, and restructuring efforts are allowing it to realize the benefits of its global network. Direct selling is inherently a low-cost business model that is easy to expand into new markets since it requires little startup costs. Kroger Despite trading at higher valuations on a P/E basis than Safeway PepsiCo The market is fixated on Pepsi's underperformance in beverages, but we think investors should own the stock for the snacks business, which represents around two-thirds of the top line. Pepsi has sustainable competitive advantages in snacks through its vast global distribution and dominant market share, and with around one-third of Pepsi's revenue being derived from emerging markets, this is also a growth markets story. However, the catalyst for the stock is likely to come in beverages, and improvement in unemployment and/or share gains from rebranding could deliver upside later this year. Reckitt Benckiser Reckitt operates in slightly niche categories (toilet bowl cleaners, air fresheners, fabric care additives, etc.), but the firm is also rebalancing its portfolio via acquisitions with more OTC categories that are faster growing longer term. Introducing a new product in its pharmaceuticals business is also helping, but the market is concerned about turnover of both the CFO and CEO in less than a year. We think this is short-term thinking as Reckitt seems to us to be positioning itself well in categories where consumers are less price sensitive. | 13,208 | 5,706 | 0.000176 |
warc | 201704 | Food What is the calorie count for an average filet mignon?
When grilled or baked with only light seasonings and no oil, a filet mignon retains its uncooked calorie count. Salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder impact the calorie count only marginally. Savory herbs can be used without a large increase in calories. However, using oil or butter adds calories. Creating a reduction or other sauce also increases the number of calories in the finished steak. Source: calorieking.com | 482 | 295 | 0.003411 |
warc | 201704 | Chemistry Degree(7 Posts)
What do you want to do with your degree? This makes a big difference to the 'best' place to study. Most RG universities are very strong in organic chemistry for example, but weak in analytical chemistry except Manchester, which has some fantastic analytical chemists on their staff. Strathclyde also has a good reputation for analytical chemistry. Look at the research profiles of staff and this will help inform you about the focus of course content. I know a few members of staff at UCD, but not aware of its reputation in general for chemistry.
Don't do a "forensic science" degree and do make sure your degree is accredited by the Royal Society of Chemistry (and not just that it will give you associate member status, which is with nothing).
Hi!
There are several sources of info on which are the "best" degree courses in the UK. One of the most useful is Unistats where you can compare the statistical info of different courses unistats.direct.gov.uk/searchresults/ The Russell Group of universities is generally considered to be the top research-led universities, so they would be good to aim for: www.russellgroup.ac.uk/our-universities/ To look at graduate destinations after different subjects, look at: www.prospects.ac.uk/options_with_your_subject.htm
The Guardian produced a list of top universities for certain courses. You could google that. I would also suggest that you aim for the best university possible given your predicted results. Employers focus much more on the quality of the university you went to rather than the quality of the course. Trinity College for example does have a good reputation as a university.
The other thing to consider is where you would like to study. No use doing a degree anywhere if you don't like the place you are living in. If you love city life then don't apply to Bangor. Likewise if your hobby is mountaineering then don't apply to East Anglia. Personally I would look at solid redbricks such as Birmingham or Manchester as well as Durham and University College London. Have you also considered chemical engineering? Very strong employment prospects with a course like that. Good luck!
If the course is reasonable balanced (ie organic, inorganic, physical) I wouldn't worry too much about the exact content. Employers who are that specific tend to only recruit from specific places. Is there something very specific you want to end up doing?
In my case, I've spent 10 years learning about one minor part of Chem which appears in practically no chemistry course. We expect to take people on with proof of ability in chemistry, and let them learn the specifics of out business. We would assume any established Uni who does Chemistry would be OK. Thinking through recent starters, Durham, Bath, Sheffield and Cardiff feature, along with Oxford and Cambridge.
I am sure there must be much better places to look for info than MN for specialised information like this.
I don't know what UCAS do, if they advise on courses - or only help sort out when you can't get the one you want! Try some institute or professional body of chemistry or chemical engineering. (Isn't is 'bear in mind' ? Unless of course you are naked!)
Does anyone have any knowledge or experience on where are the best places to go for a degree in chemistry in the UK, excluding the obvious (Oxbridge/Imperial College), with good reputation for quality and resources. Does Trinity College Dublin have a good reputation for chemistry? Also, an idea of what main areas of topic to expect from the course (for example, I have heard 'hybridization' will be a point of focus) and any books or other resources that could be recommended for further research and development in the area. Please bare in mind that I am in AS, so I have a lot to learn.
Similarly, I am doing an EPQ this year, this is the 'Extended Project Qualification' which is in addition to A Levels, and I am planning on doing it around chemistry, which will apply largely to the degree. I want to keep the argument broad, in which it applies to any/most aspects of chemistry, such as 'the interaction between molecules and how these are affected'. However, I am still unaware of the areas to look at. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Join the discussion
Registering is free, easy, and means you can join in the discussion, get discounts, win prizes and lots more.Register now
Already registered with Mumsnet? Log in to leave your comment or alternatively, sign in with Facebook or Google.
Please login first. | 4,561 | 2,214 | 0.000454 |
warc | 201704 | Assessing Your Chances at Getting In
There’s no magic eight ball when it comes to the college admissions game. Your guidance counselor cannot predict your chances with certainty. No matter how proud your parents are, they cannot guarantee you’ll be accepted into your dream school. Even admissions officers don’t necessarily know how the chips will fall as they begin to sift through applications. Indeed, it’s an imperfect science. However, just because an acceptance letter can never be assured, that doesn’t mean you can’t gauge your chances and come up with an application strategy.
To begin with, all colleges and universities publish at least some of their admissions data. This means that often you can investigate the percentage of overall applicants they accept, the figures for early action/admission and even the number of students they place on their wait list. Moreover, you can also research the average GPA, class rank and standardized test scores of students who have been admitted. If your own numbers fall within the middle, then you can deduce that probably have a decent shot of getting in.
Data points are also quite useful when it comes to assessing your chances at certain particular state schools. Many state universities are deluged with applications and use quantitative minimums to determine their incoming class. This is especially true for in-state applicants (whom they accept in higher numbers). In many cases, if in-state students meet specific GPA and SAT/ACT requirements, they are automatically accepted.
On the other hand, generally speaking, private institutions pride themselves on taking the time to try to gain a sense of each applicant. While students tend to appreciate this effort, it also indicates that qualitative facets are heavily weighed. And that makes assessing your chances a bit more challenging. In these cases, your personal narrative becomes more important. What your teachers highlight in their recommendations, the way you color your personal statement, how you come across in your interview, the types of activities in which you participate – all these factors are weighed.
Therefore, when attempting to assess your chances, you can also try and determine the vibe/flavor of a school. For instance, a military institution will certainly value students who demonstrate leadership ability. Are you someone who is the president of the environmental club, the captain of the basketball or on student council? If so, you’re more likely to catch their eye. Similarly, colleges with a religious affiliation might be more inclined to choose applicants who demonstrate a value system close to their own. And so on (you get the gist).
Many colleges and universities also place importance on diversity, whether it’s geographic or ethnic (or both). After all, they want their students to be exposed to different cultures and viewpoints. So, for example, if a school in Vermont rarely yields applications from students in Alaska, it might be really excited by the prospect of a qualified Alaskan candidate who demonstrates a strong interest in attending college in Vermont. Conversely, if a school sees many applicants from a particular geographic area or school, competition may be a bit stiffer.
You can also turn to your own high school when calculating your odds. Ask your guidance counselor where recent graduates have enrolled. He/she will likely be able to pinpoint students with similar backgrounds, transcripts and interests and let you know where they applied and whether they were accepted or rejected.
Look, the college admissions process can be trying at times. The bottom line is that most schools receive applications from a number of successful, talented students. And unfortunately, they just can’t accept every qualified candidate. Therefore, the best you can hope for is that you smartly position yourself by applying to colleges where you meet the criteria and where you might stand out.
To learn more about assessing your chance of admission, we recommend reading our article about reach, match and safety schools. | 4,142 | 1,985 | 0.000511 |
warc | 201704 | The underlying theme of this course is energy. As a whole, the global society requires to find out ways to decrease our energy consumption. The food pyramid is a prime illustration of energy transfer in individual ecosystems and the biosphere. As you raise the tropic levels, a greater amount of energy is lost. Some environmentalists argue that humans must eat a vegetarian diet in order to conserve energy.
Describe some of the pros and cons of this action? Consider the impact to the agricultural industry? How low on the food chain do you eat? Would you consider eating lower? | 583 | 366 | 0.002746 |
warc | 201704 | Mike Konczal (thanks to ed at ginandtacos) reported earlier today on the latest release of a movie coming to states and cities all over the US, namely the sale of state and local government assets to alleviate pressures on strained budgets.
For those new to this concept, the term of art is the anodyne “infrastructure sales” and the company that more or less invented this lucrative business is Macquarie Bank of Australia (known down under as “the millionaires factory”), although US firms clearly intend to exploit the once in a lifetime opportunity presented by widespread state and municipal budget distress and downgrades.
The problem, of course, is that these deals put important public resources paid for by taxes (or even worse, financed by bonds and thus potentially not even yet fully paid for) in the hands of private investors. They then earn their returns by charging user fees of various sorts. The public must rely on the new owners for reinvestment and maintenance, and depending on how the deal is negotiated, may have ceded control as far as fee increases are concerned. This is tantamount to selling the family china only to have to rent it back in order to eat dinner.
Now defenders will argue that there is nothing wrong with this in practice, as long as the price is fair, no one is harmed. That’s spurious. This is worse than an intergenerational transfer. Those future fees not only must recoup maintenance costs (which any owner would presumably pay) and the time value of money, but also the investor’s target return in excess of that. In addition, the large transaction costs of these deals are ultimately borne by the seller.
And the list of shortcomings thus far are merely those that result if you have two sides that are equally sophisticated. That is hardly the case with municipalities versus bankers and investors. As the old saying goes, “If you sit down for a game of poker and you don’t know who the sucker at the table is, it’s you.”
But even that dim view presupposes that the government body will try to avoid being fleeced but will. Imagine what happens when government officials are in a position to lend a helping hand with a wholesale giveaway to their cronies.
Consider this section from Wisconsin’s Budget Repair Bill (emphasis ours):
16.896 Sale or contractual operation of state−owned heating, cooling, and power plants. (1) Notwithstanding ss. 13.48 (14) (am) and 16.705 (1), the department may sell any state−owned heating, cooling, and power plant or may contract with a private entity for the operation of any such plant,
with or without solicitation of bids, for any amount that the department determines to be in the best interest of the state. Notwithstanding ss. 196.49 and 196.80, no approval or certification of the public service commission is necessary for a public utility to purchase, or contract for the operation of, such a plant, and any such purchase is considered to be in the public interest and to comply with the criteria for certification of a project under s. 196.49 (3) (b).
Now this looks really heinous, right? Government officials can hive off assets to anyone they like, literally including their brother in law, although they are certain to be a tad more discreet and will purvey them to credible-looking parties.
But the worst bit is that this language is likely merely to provide an official fig leaf (and therefore effective notice of intent) for actions it is likely Walker could have taken anyhow. I am certainly not an expert on the Wisconsin legislative code, but I’ve had a few chats with infrastructure experts. In general, while pretty much every government body in the US bigger than the dog pound has well codified policies for disbursements and contracting. By contrast, it is apparently close to universal that state and local entities lack legal restrictions on and procedures for asset sales.
Look what happened in the notorious case (to those who follow this netherworld) of the 2008 lease of Chicago’s parking meters. Mayor Richard Daley ramrodded it through, informing the city council of the complex deal a mere two days before the vote. The city had projected revenues foregone over the 75 year life of the deal on present value basis of between $700 million and $1.1 billion for cashflows over the life of deal in the $4 billion to $5 billion range. Chicago got $1.15 billion for the arrangement. Sounds like a winner, right? Well, funny that. The selling memorandum for Morgan Stanley-led investors on the very same deal said revenues would not be $4 billion or $5 billion, but at least $11.6 billion, or more than double the top amount projected by the city. And since they’ve put through two rate increases totaling over a 40% increase already, looks they they are on the way to making that happen.
And as of late summer 2010, more deals were expected; imagine how the ones in the pipeline have increased since then. From Bloomberg:
Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh and other cities may follow Chicago in selling future parking revenue for cash to help fill budget holes, according to the Reason Foundation, a Los Angeles-based researcher that advocates public-private partnerships. Chicago may also lease Midway International Airport, a regional hub 10 miles from downtown.
And even more of this sort of thing is in the offing. Note that the City Clerk of Chicago is trying to unwind the parking meter transaction on the basis that Morgan Stanley representatives did not register as lobbyists, and the state attorney general has been asked to investigate. But mayoral candidate Rahm Emanuel opposes contesting it. And perhaps more telling, Rahm insists that Chicago solve its financial crisis, yet observers have noticed the details so far don’t add up. Fro the Chicago Sun Times:
Emanuel’s plan to create jobs and solve the city’s financial crisis is one of three major addresses Emanuel has delivered during the mayoral campaign.
But the speech delivered at a Near West Side T-shirt company raised more questions than it answered.
Aside from an immediate spending freeze, following by giving city department heads 60 days to draft plans to cut spending, there was precious little new information.
Emanuel talked about creating so-called “charter” city departments that minimize “bureaucratic interference” and give commissioners “flexibility to achieve programmatic goals in innovative ways.” But, he never really explained what that means.
Given how unpopular the parking meter sale has proven to be, and how Rahm is emphasizing “innovation” and “minimizing bureaucratic interference”, can the secret plan he is loath to voice be more infrastructure sales?
It’s not hard to see that these deals are going to be the sort of “heads I win, tails you lose” arrangements that bankers are so skilled at cutting with the great unwashed public. If they have no or few caps on fee hikes, the Morgan Stanley example shows that the public will be subjected to increases in charges that bear no relationship to inflation rates or maintenance costs. And if the sellers impose restrictions, the investors can skim on maintenance, or in a worst case scenario, dump the project back on the government body (think even a city like Chicago has a snowball’s chance in hell of getting recompense in that scenario from investors like Allianz or the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, both of which were major participant in the parking meter deal?). | 7,636 | 3,638 | 0.000282 |
warc | 201704 | About Us Nanotechnology News Columns Products Directories Nano-Social Network Nano Consulting My Account
Abstract: A medical researcher with the University of Alberta and his team just published their findings about their work on developing 'homing beacon drugs' that kill only cancer cells, not healthy ones, thanks to nano-technology.
John Lewis, the Frank and Carla Sojonky Chair in Prostate Cancer Research with the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, published his findings in the peer-reviewed journal, Nano Letters. He is also an associate professor in the Department of Oncology, a Fellow with the National Institute for Nanotechnology at the U of A and director of the Translational Prostate Cancer Research Group.
Lewis noted chemotherapy goes through the body and kills any cells that are dividing, even healthy ones - which is why cancer patients have immune system problems, hair loss, nausea and skin problems. "We are developing smart drugs that determine which are the cancer cells and which aren't, then selectively kill only the cancer cells. The drugs look for a protein that is only found in cancer cells, not normal cells. This system acts like a homing beacon for tumours." These drugs, tested to date in only animal lab models, could be used within a week of cancer diagnoses, predicts Lewis. The drugs would target cancerous cells throughout the body - attacking sneaky cancer cells that have already escaped and grown outside the site of the main tumour. Lewis wasn't sure when these homing beacon drugs could be available for physicians to use with patients, but hopes his works paves the way for patient-centered therapies. "If we can use 'smart' drugs that home in on tumours, we can dramatically decrease side effects for patients, lower the chance of recurrence, and hopefully increase the cancer survival rate." Meanwhile, Lewis and his research team are continuing their work on trying to figure out what causes cancer cells to escape and spread from the main tumour site because the cells that move are different than the ones in the main tumour. They have pinpointed numerous genes that set these 'moving' cancer cells apart from the ones that stay put. Based on this research, they have come up with a drug that uses a 'tumour glue' to prevent these moving cancer cells from breaking apart from the main tumour, which prevents the spread of the cancer. Using knowledge gained from the 'tumour glue' drug, Lewis and his team are working to develop new blood tests to predict whether prostate and other cancers will spread.
####
For more information, please click here Contacts: Raquel Maurier 780-492-5986
Copyright © University of Alberta Faculty of Medicine & DentistryIf you have a comment, please Contact us.
Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.
Related News Press News and information
Explaining how 2-D materials break at the atomic level January 20th, 2017
Govt.-Legislation/Regulation/Funding/Policy
Strength of hair inspires new materials for body armor January 18th, 2017
Nanomedicine
New active filaments mimic biology to transport nano-cargo: A new design for a fully biocompatible motility engine transports colloidal particles faster than diffusion with active filaments January 11th, 2017
Discoveries
Explaining how 2-D materials break at the atomic level January 20th, 2017
Announcements | 3,448 | 1,656 | 0.000609 |
warc | 201704 | The herbal formula LymeOut was created by Jason Elias, deisgned to fight acute and chronic Lyme disease through three avenues:
Lymeout includes herbs that support the immune system, reinforcing the body's natural ability to target the immune system response against Lyme disease spirochetes and general protection against pathogens.
Lymeout includes anti-microbial and anti-bacterial herbs that fight Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacteria which causes Lyme disease as well as related infections.
Lymeout contains ingredients that support the lymphatic system, which, through lymphatic drainage, helps remove toxins from the body including debris and dead bacteria.
Use:
Acute Lyme: If you are under the care of a medical professional and have recently been diagnosed with Lyme disease use LymeOut as complementary support with antibiotics and continue for at least one month after symptoms have subsided.
Chronic Lyme: If symptoms of Lyme disease persist or recur, use LymeOut daily as part of your nutritional supplementation. Ingredients: Astragalus (Astragalus membranaceus), Cat’s claw (Uncaria tomentosa), Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium), Nettle (Urtica dioica), Olive leaf (Olea europaea), Sarsparilla (Smilax ornata), Sweet wormwood (Artemisia annua), Barberry (Berberis vulgaris), Clivers (Galium aparine), Eleuthero (Eleuthercoccus senticosus) in a 25% alcohol base.
RECOMMENDED USAGE: Use a full dropperful two to three times daily, or as directed by a Lyme-literate practitioner. Shake well before using. (Hint: LymeOut can be added to hot water and consumed as a tea.) | 1,591 | 877 | 0.00115 |
warc | 201704 | Font: + -
Like ballerinas pirouetting around an invisible leader, a collection of stars orbits our galaxy's gravity sink, or black hole. New infrared images of the cosmic dance confirm that this supermassive black hole weighs as much as 4 million suns.
Supermassive black holes can weigh as much as a billion suns or more and are thought to reside at the centers of most, if not all, galaxies. They can't be seen, because their gravity is so powerful it traps even light, but astronomers infer their presence by watching the motions of stars and gas around them.
Over a period of 16 years, beginning in 1992, researchers monitored 28 stars orbiting the Milky Way's central region, where the supermassive black hole called Sagittarius A* is thought to lurk.
By watching how the central stars orbited Sagittarius A*, to which they are gravitationally bound, the researchers inferred properties of the black hole itself, such as mass and distance. They found that at least 95 percent of the mass affecting the stars must be within the black hole. Results gave a precise distance of 27,000 light-years from Earth to the presumed black hole. One light-year is the distance light will travel in a year, or about 6 trillion miles (10 trillion km).
"Undoubtedly the most spectacular aspect of our long-term study is that it has delivered what is now considered to be the best empirical evidence that supermassive black holes do really exist," said team leader Reinhard Genzel of the Max-Planck-Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany.
The new images also reveal common properties among the orbiting stars. For instance, the team found the innermost stars trek around the black hole in random orbits, while six of the 28 stars, which reside farther out, orbit the black hole in the same plane, just as our planets mostly do around the sun.
One particular star, known as S2, orbits the Milky Way's center so fast that it completed one full revolution within the study's 16-year period.
The researchers hope to continue to study the dancing stars to solve a long-held riddle as to how such stars ended up in their orbits about Sagittarius A*. They are too young to have migrated far, and scientists think it's improbable the stars formed in their current orbits where they'd be exposed to the extreme tidal forces of the black hole.
One explanation put forth recently is that the stars formed out of material that survived after a gas cloud plunged in toward the central black hole. This scenario was based on computer simulations. The researchers suggest that the six stars orbiting in a disk formed about 6 million years ago in this gas-cloud scenario.
The innermost stars could have once been in pairs, said lead researcher Stefan Gillessen, also of the Max-Planck-Institute. And so when the binary stars got too close to the supermassive black hole, the gravitational energy may have been shuffled around between the stars. In that way, one member of the pair would've been kicked out while the other remained. These innermost stars — each missing a partner — are estimated to be about 50 million years old.
The recent finding involved observations in 1992 with the SHARP camera aboard the European Southern Observatory's New Technology Telescope at the La Silla observatory in Chile; and more recent observations using instruments aboard ESO's Very Large Telescope.
© 2013 Space.com. All rights reserved. More from Space.com. | 3,460 | 1,681 | 0.0006 |
warc | 201704 | Testing for Adverse Selection in Insurance Markets
This paper reviews and evaluates the empirical literature on adverse selection in insurance markets. We focus on empirical work that seeks to test the basic coverage-risk prediction of adverse selection theory--that is, that policyholders who purchase more insurance coverage tend to be riskier. The analysis of this body of work, we argue, indicates that whether such a correlation exists varies across insurance markets and pools of insurance policies. We discuss various reasons why a coverage-risk correlation may be found in some pools of insurance policies but not in others. We also review the work on the disentangling of adverse selection and moral hazard and on learning by policyholders and insurers.
Document Object Identifier (DOI): 10.3386/w15586
Published: Alma Cohen & Peter Siegelman, 2010. "Testing for Adverse Selection in Insurance Markets," Journal of Risk & Insurance, The American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 77(1), pages 39-84. citation courtesy of
Users who downloaded this paper also downloaded these: | 1,095 | 589 | 0.00171 |
warc | 201704 | Official Hybrid Gas Mileage Estimates May Be Overstated
March 5, 2013
With rising energy costs and environmental concerns, great attention is paid to cars' gas mileage. Hybrid vehicles, which use a combination of an electric and internal combustion engine or are powered solely by electricity, have been hyped as getting great mileage. However, official Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates may be overrating the gas mileage of hybrids, says USA Today.
The EPA is now reevaluating how it tests these vehicles, which could result in the EPA changing the official estimates displayed on the stickers of vehicles at dealerships. The agency's action comes after Consumer Reports wrote that its gas mileage in real-world use of Ford's new C-Max crossover and Fusion sedan hybrids, 37 miles per gallon and 39 overall, respectively, fell far short of their EPA ratings of 47 in mixed driving.
Hybrid vehicles are much more sensitive to driving habits and a hybrid that is driven aggressively might get far worse gas mileage than its window-sticker rating. Two California law firms are consolidating suits by hundreds of owners of Ford Fusion and C-Max hybrids into a class action. In another case, Hyundai and Kia are close to settlement after the courts ruled that the companies submitted faulty test results to the EPA whose investigation is ongoing.
As the hybrid industry develops rapidly, it is important that EPA mileage ratings are accurate. New testing methods need to be developed to ensure that consumers have an accurate estimation of the costs and benefits of investing in this new technology.
Source: Chris Woodyard, "EPA Evaluating How It Rates Gas Mileage for Hybrids," USA Today, February 28, 2013.
Browse more articles on Environment Issues | 1,772 | 950 | 0.001059 |
warc | 201704 | The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare is joining advocates across the nation in a Congressional Call-In day on Wednesday, December 5th. Our goal is to flood Members of Congress with calls reminding them that Americans of all ages and political parties oppose cutting middle-class benefits to pay for deficit reduction. Our message to Congress is simple:
“ NO CUTS to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. They should not be a part of this deficit debate.”
The threat to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid during this Lame Duck Congress is as serious as any time in these programs’ long and successful histories. Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid do not belong in this deficit debate and Americans throughout the nation are urging Congress to take these programs off the table.
NCPSSM’s Legislative Hotline will connect callers directly to their Congressional leaders from one toll-free number:
NCPSSM CONGRESSIONAL CALL IN NUMBER
(800) 998-0180
This national call-in day is just one of many deficit debate mobilizations being led by the National Committee. More than 100,000 letters urging no cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid have been delivered to the House with 65,000 petitions scheduled to be delivered to the Senate at a Capitol Hill event next week. National Committee grassroots volunteers are visiting Congressional district offices in targeted states. In Washington, the National Committee continues to meet with key leaders in the deficit debate urging no cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
###
The National Committee, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization acts in the interests of its membership through advocacy, education, services, grassroots efforts and the leadership of the Board of Directors and professional staff. The work of the National Committee is directed toward developing better-informed citizens and voters.
Media Inquiries to:
Pamela Causey 202-216-8378/202-236-2123
Kim Wright 202-216-841
www.ncpssm.org | 2,031 | 1,022 | 0.000995 |
warc | 201704 | July 17 is the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A).
Readings
Wisdom 12:13, 16-19; Psalm 86:5-6, 9-10, 15-16; Romans 8:26-27; Matthew 13:24-43 or 13:24-30
Our Take
Secular textbooks often say religion is mankind’s way of answering three worries of people:
1. Where did we come from?
2. What is our purpose?
3. What happens when we die?
They have a point: Mankind longs to know these things, and none of these answers can be found with science. But the answers of these are more like starting points for religious people, not ending points. There are three other questions we religious people spend a lot more time worrying about:
1. What is God like?
2. Are we worthy of him?
3. How can we bridge the gap between us?
Today’s readings have answers to each of these, and the answers are definitely “Good News.” Herewith, the answers from today’s readings:
What is God like?
He is just and powerful and merciful.
So says the first reading, from Wisdom: “Your might is the source of justice; your mastery over all things makes you lenient to all.”
Or, as the Psalm puts it: “O Lord, you are good and forgiving.”
Are we worthy of him?
No, certainly not. And if we don’t recognize who he is, we will separate ourselves from him forever.
Says the first reading: “You show your might when the perfection of your power is disbelieved.”
Or, says Jesus himself in the Gospel: “The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his Kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers. They will throw them into the fiery furnace.”
So, how can we approach him?
We can’t. He has to approach us.
As the Psalm puts it, he has to turn toward me, not vice versa: “Turn toward me, and have pity on me; give your strength to your servant.” What’s needed is his strength, not mine.
Or, as the Letter to the Romans puts it: “The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes with inexpressible groanings.”
Or, as the Jesus in the Gospel puts it, we have to join the Kingdom to get the protection of the King.
Jesus brilliantly answers all these questions — secular and religious — in his parables.
Where do we come from? For what purpose were we made? Jesus tells us: God is like “a man who sowed good seed in his field.” God put us here, for the sheer joy of doing something beautiful and good.
Where do we go when we die? “The righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father.”
What is God like? Are we worthy? Can we approach him?
God is the not only the one who sows. He is also the one who causes us to grow, with faith, from a mustard seed to a 10-foot tree or causes us to grow like yeast, from a lump of dough to bread. He also is the one to settle our battles; we don’t have to root out the weeds in our midst. That’s his job.
God is the beginning, the middle and the end in our Christian life. We just have to keep ourselves open to his action by removing the obstacles of sin. That is Good News indeed.
Tom and April Hoopes write from Atchison, Kansas, where Tom is writer in residence at Benedictine College. | 3,280 | 1,624 | 0.00065 |
warc | 201704 | The Hunting Heritage Program was developed for the purpose of conserving and maintaining North Carolina’s rich hunting heritage for current and future generations and is based on the premise that “it takes a hunter to make a hunter” and that the Recruitment and Retention of hunters is critical to long-term conservation and management of North Carolina’s wildlife resources.
The concept for the Hunting Heritage Program initially came about as a result of a “think-tank” workshop conducted by Responsive Management entitled, Hunter Retention and Recruitment in North Carolina: Analysis and Implications from the Maintaining the Heritage 2005 Workshop.
Then in 2007, a Hunting Heritage Program Strategic Plan was developed and approved by the NCWRC. The strategic plan lists strategies and action items for addressing hunter recruitment and retention issues in North Carolina.
“Those of us privileged to take to the field are entrusted by fate and circumstance to hold and nurture the hunter’s legacy.” -Theodore Roosevelt- | 1,073 | 561 | 0.00187 |
warc | 201704 | By Hugh A. McCabe
In today’s world an employer can spend considerable time and money going through the hiring process to find the right employee. While this process can be tedious, it is important to find the right fit for your business and hopefully avoid high turnover and negligent hiring that could result in a lawsuit against the employer.
The current trend in today’s post 911 society puts an emphasis on security and safety. Add an increase in lawsuits which attempt to hold the employer liable for an employee’s actions and you understand why employers need to be extremely cautious when hiring. The stakes are high and a bad employment decision could ruin a business, budget and/or its reputation.
Employers need to keep in mind the purpose of the hiring process is to exchange “enough” information between themselves and the potential employee to make an informed decision about whether to enter into an employment relationship. To do this well involves the collection of appropriate information relevant to making the decision to hire. Yet, the employer must be careful not to overstep its bounds and infringe upon a potential employee’s rights of privacy.
Employment screening can range from calls to references and prior employers, ordering a consumer report, obtaining a credit report, getting a criminal background check, reviewing a candidate’s driving record, and may even include a drug test.
It is generally not okay for an employer during the screening process to subject the applicant to a lie detector test, a medical exam, or even request to see any worker’s compensation claims made by an applicant against former employers.
Nothing under California Labor Code prevents a former employer from making a truthful statement concerning the reason a former employee was discharged or voluntarily left the service of the employer. (California Labor Code §1053) Yet, when calling former employers it is typical for the employer to provide only the dates of employment, salary, and other limited information. However, California law strictly prohibits employers from intentionally interfering with former employees’ attempts to find jobs by giving out false or misleading references. (California Labor Code §1050.)
For various types of employment there can be a caveat under the law that requires a former employer to disclose certain information. For example, under federal law, employment for truck driver positions requires an employer to accurately respond to an inquiry from a prospective employer about whether an employee took a drug test, refused a drug test, or tested positive in a drug test. (For inquiries specific to your industry you should consult an experienced employment law attorney.)
Obtaining a consumer report for employment screening is regulated by the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), California’s Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act, and the California Consumer Credit Reporting Agency Act.
Useful information for an employer to consider when screening the applicant may include obtaining credit reports, education records, military service records and medical records. However under the FCRA the employer is required to get the applicant’s permission before obtaining the records, generally by written authorization.
For example a credit report generally discloses any information by a consumer credit reporting agency bearing on an individual’s credit worthiness, credit standing, and credit capacity. If an employer intends to obtain a credit report for employment purposes they must make a written disclosure to the consumer before the report is obtained, obtain prior written authorization from the consumer, and advise the credit reporting agency of the disclosure and obtained authorization. The employer must also certify that if the employer takes any adverse action
based upon the credit report, a copy of the report and summary of the FCRA rights are provided to the consumer.
When an employer seeks an investigative consumer report or makes an application for a background check to a reporting agency the employer must disclose to the individual:
A report will be made regarding his/her character, general reputation, personal characteristics, and mode of living; the permissible purpose of the report; the name, address, and telephone number of the reporting agency; and the nature and scope of the investigation requested.
An employer may conduct an investigation without the use of a reporting agency. However, special rules still apply to any person who collects, assembles, evaluates, compiles, reports, or communicates information or receives such information where the information is on matters of public record. Public records often obtained include documenting an arrest, indictment, conviction, civil judgment, or tax lien. The employer must provide the investigated individual with a copy of the public record within seven days of receipt of the information, regardless of whether it is written or oral. This is why it is a good idea to secure a written waiver which can be part of a standard employment application. If the employer takes any adverse action, including denial of employment on a prospective employee as a result of the information received, the employer must provide to the consumer a copy of the public record regardless of whether the consumer waived his/her rights.
Under the FCRA the following cannot be reported: bankruptcies after ten years; civil suits, civil judgments, and records of arrest, from date of entry, after seven years; paid tax liens after seven years, accounts placed for collection after seven years; and any other negative information (except criminal convictions) after seven years. Under California law any negative information (including criminal convictions) cannot be reported after seven years by a consumer/investigative report. (California Civil Code §1786.18.)
Under California law employers cannot seek arrest record information of a potential employee. This does not include an arrest that resulted in a conviction or if the applicant is out of jail but pending trial. (California Labor Code §432.7.)
There are a few exceptions, for example in the healthcare industry when the employer is hiring someone who will have access to patients, the employer may ask about sex related arrests and when an employee may have access to medications, the employer may ask about drug related arrests.
After an offer for employment has been made, an employer may request the new hire undergo a medical examination. An employer may only use this information if an injury might interfere with one’s ability to perform required duties. Under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, employers cannot use medical information or the fact an applicant filed a workers’ compensation claim to discriminate against applicants. (42 USC §12101.)
In California, employers may access workers’ compensation records only after making an offer of employment. To gain access, employers must register with the Worker’s Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB) and confirm the records are being accessed for legitimate purposes. Although the agency may not reveal medical information and the employer may not rescind an offer due to a workers’ compensation claim (California Labor Code 132a), employers sometimes discover applicants have not revealed previous employers where they had filed claims. In such situations, employers can terminate the new hire because it appears they falsified the application.
This information provides employers with insight into the pre-employment screening process. Making informed decisions at the beginning of the hiring process can save time and money in the long run. The above is a brief summary of pre-employment screening. By no means is this an exhaustive list. When hiring and screening potential employees be sure to consult an experienced employment attorney to assure you obtain accurate information about an applicant and to ensure you do not violate federal and/or state law.
Hugh A. McCabe is a shareholder at Neil Dymott and concentrates his practice on the defense of employers. Mr. McCabe focuses on the areas of wrongful termination, discrimination, sexual harassment and the Family and Medical Leave Act. | 8,388 | 3,427 | 0.000297 |
warc | 201704 | Quickly Deliver Applications with Docker Container Technology
As a NetApp Systems Engineer, I’m always on the lookout for new technologies my customers can take advantage of to accelerate their businesses. In his 2015 technology predictions, NetApp CTO Jay Kidd mentions a new and rapidly growing technology called Docker. "Docker replaces hypervisors as the container of choice for scale-out applications." I couldn’t agree more.
My background is in virtualization, and I am active in the virtualization community. I’ve been a vExpert for two years, and Docker has been on my radar for a while. Last November, I took part in a 30-day blogging challenge (30 blogs in 30 days!) as part of an online virtualization community I help run called Virtual Design Master. I did a number of blogs on Docker during the challenge and since then have continued to focus on the topic, so I was pleased when Tech OnTap asked me to share my thoughts on the subject.
What is Docker?
Many of the current trends in technology focus on the abstraction of infrastructure from hardware. Docker is an open-source platform that takes this a step further by abstracting applications from the server operating systems on which they run. Rather than needing to stand up a virtual machine for each application, Docker runs applications in containers on top of a single operating system instance.
Lightweight containers can be run on any platform that supports the Docker Engine, which is the brain of Docker. The Docker Engine can run almost anywhere, from a Linux-based server in the data center, to a Windows-based laptop, to a cloud environment. Docker containers run in the same manner, regardless of the infrastructure. Docker’s ability to run nearly anywhere provides a new level of abstraction for applications, making Docker a simpler way to build, ship, and execute distributed applications—enabling an organization to be more agile, to scale an application quickly and easily as needed, and to get to market faster.
Another key component of the Docker ecosystem is the Docker Hub, which is a centralized repository that stores Docker images for reuse and sharing within the Docker community. There are a number of official Docker repositories such as Ubuntu, mongoDB, and Java in the Docker Hub. These repositories make it easier for developers to get started with Docker, since they can pull an official image from the Docker Hub, modify it to meet their requirements, and upload the modified image back to the Docker Hub to make it easily accessible to teammates or to the Docker community.
Many developers have created prepackaged web servers with database and NoSQL environments in a single container or set of containers that can be leveraged by other development teams within an organization, or externally. As the popularity of Docker increases, software vendors may begin to provide their products in the form of containers.
There’s also an enterprise version of Docker Hub for those who need to keep all Docker activities behind the firewall.
A Virtual Machine is Like a Container, Right?
Well, sort of. The Docker Engine is not a hypervisor like VMware ESXi; it can be run on top of physical hardware, in a virtual machine on top of a hypervisor, or on a cloud platform. A virtual machine has a specific configuration that includes an operating system and any other components that a specific application running in that virtual machine needs.
The key difference is that each virtual machine must have its own operating system installed. This means potential additional costs for things such as licenses, operating-system-specific configurations, and architectural dependencies.
The Docker container contains an application (or multiple applications) and shared resources such as binaries and libraries that the application needs to run. Imagine the efficiency you can achieve when every component of an application runs in a container on top of the same operating system.
When you put all of the components of an application into a container the container acts as a logical construct, ensuring the segregation of applications and workloads. This allows you to run a multi-tenant environment with multiple apps, without worrying about them stepping on each other.
Source: NetApp, 2015
Docker and the Cloud
Whether you’re running a hybrid cloud, a public cloud, or a private cloud, Docker fits into your cloud strategy by design. Many hyperscale cloud providers such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) support Docker. This is great for development, since you can easily spin up new environments in a matter of minutes for testing. Docker containers will run just as they do on a workstation or in the data center. A service like AWS can be extremely powerful for Docker developers.
Docker benefits operation teams as well. The application environment is supported the same way, whether it is running on premises or in the cloud, simplifying the management of dynamic applications.
Many organizations have begun to implement a DevOps methodology to further streamline their journey to market. Docker works with powerful classic DevOps tools such as Ansible, an automation engine. This allows you to integrate pre-existing and new development processes, delivering a powerfully automated infrastructure that can run anywhere.
Community projects are driving the development of orchestration and deployment tools for the Docker ecosystem. In addition Docker, Inc. has created Machine, Swarm, and Compose build and orchestration products for clustering and composition. Such innovation is just the beginning of an active Docker community creating tools to make Docker viable.
Provisioning Storage for Docker
Docker containers can leverage varying storage types in an easy-to-administer environment. There are two main ways to provide storage services for your Docker environment:
By now, it may have occurred to you that Docker and NetApp® clustered Data ONTAP® work in a similar fashion. Clustered Data ONTAP acts as an abstraction layer for storage hardware, including CPU, memory, and drives—whether the drives are SATA, SAS, or SSD. Storage virtual machines (SVMs) run on top of Data ONTAP, similar to the way Docker containers run on top of the Docker Engine. Each SVM can have its own namespace, making it easy to support a scale-out environment like Docker.
NetApp is extending the advantages of clustered Data ONTAP abstraction to the cloud with its Data Fabric approach. The simple cross-platform and cross-cloud management of Docker fits nicely into a Data Fabric powered by NetApp technology.
You can run Docker using FAS storage in your data center, and then move the entire environment to the cloud using NetApp Private Storage for Cloud solutions (available for AWS, SoftLayer, and Azure) or Cloud ONTAP (available for AWS) with no changes and perform all data management using the same tools in any location.
To learn more about deploying Docker in conjunction with clustered Data ONTAP, read the white paper, NetApp and Docker Technology to Enhance and Accelerate Dev/Ops in Hybrid-Cloud Environments.
Getting On the Docker “Container Ship”
The question you may be asking is, “When should I get on the Docker boat?” The answer depends on your business requirements. Docker allows you to enhance both development and deployment processes to deliver software faster and with higher quality. Many organizations get started with the Docker platform when they want to implement or upgrade an application.
Docker is surprisingly easy to deploy—from running Docker on your laptop, to running it on AWS. The open-source community behind Docker provides a wealth of information. You can even test Docker on its website using a simulator to get a feel for the basics. Integration into infrastructure components like Ansible, Azure, AWS, and OpenStack are testaments to Docker’s rapid growth and popularity.
Docker and the move toward containerization of applications and services is a big shift for some companies. The great thing about this is that you aren’t alone in your journey. Whether your development team is looking for more agility to deploy and test code, or your operations team is looking to ensure consistency across development, testing, and production environments, you have a potentially powerful use case for Docker. Now is the time to look at this new, innovative technology, which fits well with NetApp’s Data Fabric vision.
Visit Tech OnTap in the NetApp Community to subscribe today.
April 2015
Contact Us | How To Buy | Feedback | Careers | Subscriptions | Privacy Policy | © 2015 NetApp | 8,728 | 3,801 | 0.000267 |
warc | 201704 | NetWellness is a global, community service providing quality, unbiased health information from our partner university faculty. NetWellness is commercial-free and does not accept advertising.
Monday, January 23, 2017
Obesity and Weight Management Need to lose 125 lbs, what about surgery?
03/02/2007
I am a 36 year old, white, female. Over the past 7 years my weight has been steadily increasing. I have tried different diets, working out, getting more rest, etc. My TSH is normal, so I should theoretically be able to lose. Nothing I`ve tried seems to work over the long-term, but I am inconsistent with dieting (holidays, hectic scheduling) and exercise (injuries and pain issues). At this point, I am wondering if I should consider surgery or try different tactics in my weight loss efforts? Do you have any diets that you think are especially effective, easy to maintain, and tips for staying motivated? Thanks very much.
As you’ve found from your experience, dieting or life style modification can be frustrating at times. Couple this with occasional lapses (holidays) and other health problems (chronic pain) and weight loss efforts can seem insurmountable. However, I’m sure you’re aware that the health benefits of shedding excess weight are worth the effort. But how to do it? Energy in (food) and energy expenditure (burning calories) is still the tried and true method of weight loss. A number of options are still available to you.
First, utilizing a “diet” is doomed to fail. People can’t stay on “diets” the rest of their life. However, choosing healthy foods, healthy preparation, and reduced portion sizes are key. If you’ve not consulted with a dietitian, consider doing so. Second, combining a weight loss medication to improved dietary habits is also very helpful. A number of medications are on the market that may be useful to you. However, certainly consult with your primary care provider to discuss the medication options. Often the combined forms of treatment (lower calorie intake, increased activity, and medication) make the difference. Third, I might add that picking an activity that does not re-injure you or exacerbate your pain is important. Water aerobics are useful because there is buoyancy and little impact on joints. Additionally, coping with chronic pain, as well as struggling with excess weight, can lead to mood changes. If depression is an issue, that may be the first order of business to treat and then focus on the weight and pain.
Finally, weight loss (bariatric) surgery would be the most severe treatment. Programs that offer this option observe guidelines for considering potential candidates. These may include a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 35 or greater, past failures in consistent weight loss efforts, psychological stability, no current substance abuse, and strong motivation to adhere to the recommendations of the program. Remember that undergoing bariatric surgery requires significant behavioral changes in how and what one eats.
You also asked how to maintain motivation. There are two questions you can ask yourself.
Why do I want to lose weight? How successful will I be in this attempt?
Success comes most often to those who have internal reasons to change behaviors. That is, you are doing it for you, for your health, for your wellbeing; not for the clothing size, what others think of you, or other external reasons. Regarding the second question, if past attempts at weight loss have not been successful consider why you chose those options and consider if a different option may be more reasonable for you. Also, do you have other people who are supportive of your efforts?
Best wishes for success.
Gerald J Strauss, PhD
Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine
School of Medicine
Case Western Reserve University | 3,839 | 1,958 | 0.000519 |
warc | 201704 | As noted last time, just as the Next-generation Enterprise WAN (NEW) architecture is enabling IT to take advantage of "the cloud" - SaaS, public and hybrid cloud computing - so the cloud is enabling the next generation enterprise WAN. The ecosystem of the new way of doing computing combines with the new way of building enterprise WANs in a synergistic, 1 + 1 = 3 fashion.
Now, I want to go further and claim that in a somewhat (for you fellow math geeks out there) fractal fashion, the key technologies within the NEW architecture - server virtualization, WAN Optimization, distributed/replicated file service, colocation and WAN Virtualization - are synergistic as well. That is, in addition to the benefits each provides separately, they provide additional, mutually reinforcing benefits to each other that make the NEW architecture a) possible, and b) so powerful.
My plan with our next few columns is to dive deeper into how these various key technologies have that 1 + 1 = 3 effect to make each other more useful and more valuable. I'll begin here with perhaps the simplest example, but one that illustrates the point particularly clearly.
Let's consider how server virtualization technology turns colocation facilities from an expensive niche capability used only by a subset of companies for a small number of fairly specialized purposes, to an underappreciated linchpin capability for next-generation network design.
Remember that a colocation facility, or colocation center (hereafter referred to sometimes simply as "colo") is a type of data center "where equipment space and bandwidth are available for rental to retail customers. Colocation facilities provide space, power, cooling, and physical security for the server, storage, and networking equipment."
Colo providers charge more for rack space or square footage in their facilities than your marginal cost of that same space in your own data center. In fact, unless your data center is in midtown Manhattan or Tokyo, it's undoubtedly
more. a lot
The original main purpose for colocation facilities, especially so-called carrier-neutral facilities, is as the "meet-up" place for Internet service providers, and other managed services providers, to connect with each other. Colos are where the public and private peering points, which help make the Internet the network-of-networks that it is, are situated. Colos have obvious attractions for these various service providers, and the clustering of all these providers in one place itself provides value; we'll cover this in more detail next time.
Until recently, the primary enterprise use for colocation is as the place to put public Internet-facing servers, such as websites. This might be done by a hoster (likely renting space itself from the colo provider to deliver this hosting service) or managed by the enterprise itself, especially an enterprise particularly sensitive to security.
Server virtualization has many benefits for IT - so many I will make no attempt to enumerate them here. In the context of colos, the relevant benefit is that it makes possible a small physical footprint for a multitude of enterprise applications, as well as security applications and many networking functions. That small footprint enables these applications to be run cost effectively from a colocation facility. A few rack units might be all that is necessary for even a good-sized enterprise, and a whole rack can support computing, storage and security capabilities unimaginable until a few years ago.
Bottom line: the small footprint enabled by server virtualization makes colocation affordable - and highly useful - to the enterprise IT manager, and in particular the enterprise WAN manager.
The ability to leverage colocation, and the many benefits it brings, enabled by server virtualization technology is just one of the reasons why MPLS is no longer the only answer for building enterprise WANs in the era of the cloud.
Next time, we'll look at more examples of this technical synergy among the key technologies, and how together they enable the NEW architecture.
A twenty-five year data networking veteran, Andy founded Talari Networks , a pioneer in WAN Virtualization technology, and served as its first CEO, and is now vice president of product management at Aryaka Networks , the pioneer in offering WAN Optimization as a Service. Andy is the author of an upcoming book on Next-generation Enterprise WANs. | 4,452 | 2,028 | 0.000496 |
warc | 201704 | Corporate security teams are not patching holes in their software or security tools, according to a Cisco survey released this week. Less than 50% of the respondents at 1,700 companies in nine countries use standard tools such as patching and configuration to help prevent security breaches and ensure that they are running the latest versions of software.
Indeed, even though Heartbleed was the landmark vulnerability last year, 56% of all installed OpenSSL versions are over four years old. And chief information security officers may not even know that – 75% believe their security tools as very or extremely effective.
The survey also found that end-users are unknowingly aiding cyber-attacks. Throughout 2014, Cisco said its threat intelligence research revealed that attackers have increasingly shifted their focus from seeking to compromise servers and operating systems to exploiting users at the browser and email levels.
In addition to shifting attack focus, hackers are adopting techniques that make attacks harder to detect and analyze. Such techniques include snowshoe spam, lesser known web exploits, and combining exploits over two different files.
Snowshoe spam refers to sending low volumes of spam from a large set of IP addresses to avoid detection. With the malicious file combination, attackers deploy exploits which combine the respective weaknesses of Flash and JavaScript.
Sharing exploits over two different files can make it more difficult for security devices to identify and block the exploit and to analyze it with reverse engineering tools, Cisco says.
The craftiness of the attack and the constant wariness of CISOs is further complicated by the geopolitical motivations of the attackers, and the conflicting requirements imposed by local laws with respect to data sovereignty, data localization and encryption, the Cisco study finds.
A copy of the Cisco Annual Security Research report can be found here.
More from Cisco Subnet: | 1,975 | 1,039 | 0.00097 |
warc | 201704 | SOME of the district's most vulnerable children are at risk of harm because of 'serious failures' from West Berkshire Council, an Ofsted report has warned.
The damning report says that leadership in the department "required improvement", while there were also concerns over the high level of staff turnover and "over-reliance" on agency staff.
The report, published following an inspection in March, said: "There are widespread and serious concerns about the protection and assessment of children who are most vulnerable to harm," adding that the pace of change since the last inspection has been "too slow".
The council were rated "inadequate" in looking after children who need help and protection.
It was also deemed to require improvement in other key areas including children looked after and achieving permanence, adoption performance, experiences and progress of care leavers and leadership, management and governance.
The report goes on to say: "The local authority does not have a stable workforce. A significant proportion of social workers and managers in key social work teams are agency staff and
turnover is high. This has resulted in children experiencing unacceptable disruption, uncertainty and inconsistency.
"Instability, staff turnover and a high proportion of agency staff in key social work teams has become a significant challenge for West Berkshire, particularly over the past 12 months."
It added that while the characteristics of good leadership are not in place, failures have been identified by the local authority and were being "effectively
addressed".
For the full story, see this week's Newbury Weekly News, out on Thursday. | 1,683 | 863 | 0.001178 |
warc | 201704 | EDITOR:
I had a phone conversation with the editor of the on March 18, 2002 regarding the Morris Plains School District school budget. Unfortunately, I did not communicate well enough because the article had factual errors regarding the budget. I apologize to the taxpayers of Morris Plains if the article or this correction of the article causes confusion. The intent of this letter is to clarify and to present the school budget facts.
The first is that there will not be a new fourth grade class in the upcoming school year. However, we will have a fourth class for first grade if the budget is approved. The reasoning behind this new class is that there are presently three kindergarten classes with 24, 24 and 23 students.
All of these classes have an aide to assist the kindergarten teachers during lunch and other times during the day.
Our new superintendent, Kenneth Knops, stated an educational recommendation that the school system needs a fourth first grade class so we can educationally accommodate this big class of Kindergartners in first grade more appropriately.
The Board of Education supported this recommendation because all our educational experts stated forcefully that a positive first grade experience is critical in ensuring those children become successful educationally for the long term and ultimately life long learners.
The figure regarding special education costs represents a 25-year trend of the federal government's under funding of special education costs. It will cost the taxpayers of Morris Plains approximately $300,000.
Finally, the article states that the school budget taxes will see a "big jump." In my opinion, this characterization misrepresents the actual budget situation.
This year's budget is 7 percent over last year's budget. This year's budget increase is nearly 3 percent less than the previous year's budget increase and the overall rise in this year's budget is in line with other school budgets increases around the county.
Simply stated, all school budgets across the state are feeling the pressure of staff health benefits cost increases of over 15 percent per year, the effects of increases in special education costs, particularly from private sector providers and finally the effects of frozen state educational aid dollars.
I hope these points clarify the budget issues for you, but if not feel free to call the Morris Plains Superintendent of Schools at 973-538-1650 extension 124 for more detailed budget information.
MARK HECKLER
Glenbrook Road
Morris Plains | 2,539 | 1,206 | 0.000835 |
warc | 201704 | Venus Williams withdraws from US Open due to Sjogren syndrome
Published on September 17, 2011 at 1:42 AM
Sjogren syndrome was in the news recently when tennis player, Venus Williams, was forced to withdraw from the US Open tennis tournament due to symptoms from the disease.
Sjogren syndrome is an autoimmune disease that affects glandular tissues - most notably the tear and saliva glands.
It can result in dry eyes and a dry mouth. Microscopically, what's happening is that your body's own white blood cells come in and attack the glad tissues, ultimately destroying their ability to provide moisture.
In addition to dry eye and dry mouth, patients can experience muscle and joint aches and pains, as well as debilitating fatigue.
It's understandable how these symptoms might make it difficult, if not impossible, to play tennis at a high level.
There are many available treatments for Sjogren syndrome, depending on the severity, and the organs affected, with a high rate of success.
Source:
Sinai Hospital of Baltimore | 1,033 | 598 | 0.00169 |
warc | 201704 | Some parts of the US have been facing long and very dry droughts and so far, California is among them. Last year, California recorded its driest season in 400 years, something that scientists said is just a tip of the iceberg.
NASA and Columbia and Cornell universities’ said that the US and not only California should prepare for the worst drought to come. According to the scientists, it will be like an “unprecedented drought conditions” unlike anything in the past 1,000 years. Among the places being warned are south-west ...
Read more | 559 | 346 | 0.002992 |
warc | 201704 | In the study, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, researchers found that external economic factors were present in 37.5% of all completed suicides in 2010, rising from 32.9% in 2005.
In addition, suffocation, a method more likely to be used in suicides related to job, economic, or legal factors, increased disproportionately among the middle-aged. The number of suicides using suffocation increased 59.5% among those aged 40-64 years between 2005 and 2010, compared with 18.0% for t...
Read more | 522 | 341 | 0.002955 |
warc | 201704 | On a 1929 visit to North Carolina that was reported in The News & Observer, famed sociologist and public welfare reformer Gertrude Vaile had a little something to say on the subject of love and marriage.
Society is paying too much attention to “romantic love” and too little to “married love” – that’s one of the chief reasons for our steadily rising divorce wave.
This condition is due in considerable measure to the movies which usually make much ado about the “romantic love” of the hero and heroine before they get the couple married and then spend gobs of time in showing how homes are wrecked rather than how “married love” is kept happy.
Such is the frank view of one who has been engaged in social welfare work for 20 years, in big towns and small towns and in rural districts, almost from one end of the country to the other – one who has held positions of the highest trust with the various organizations with which she has been connected.
Reference is to Miss Gertrude Vaile, who was president of the National Conference for Social Service in 1926 and who has long been one of the country’s outstanding welfare workers.
Miss Vaile is spending the scholastic year 1928-29 studying at the University of North Carolina. She humorously refers to it as her sabbatical year in welfare work, and she confesses that she decided this to be the best place to get a fresh point of view of social science. She was referring of course to the leadership and wide renown of the University’s School of Public Welfare.
Miss Vaile came to Chapel Hill for both study and rest. She preferred to keep out of the limelight, and for that reason there are comparatively few people in the State who know that she is here.
During her score of years in ministering to the needy Miss Vaile has specialized in family case work. There is probably no family trouble under the sun that she has not met during her varied experiences. She has fed mothers and babes when the fathers would not or could not work, she has affected many a reconciliation between husbands and wives who had long despaired of getting along together; she has been the foster mother of countless households whose undying gratitude she quickly won.
So, when Miss Vaile is willing to give her views on the much-discussed subject of modern marriage, one must be eager to sit up and take notice.
Training for marriage and parenthood is one of the big needs, she says, when the subject of possible remedies is suggested.
Why should people enter marriage blindly so frequently when in making other kinds of contracts they take all possible safeguards? she asks.
Changes in the laws of many of the states can do a great deal of good along this line, she answers. Many states have age limits but in some states the limits are 16 and 18 or worse.
Published notices of intention to marry seven or more days in advance is another remedy Miss Vaile suggests.
One can’t get away from the fact that the churches have a big part to solving the divorce problem, she says. There is the role of the clergymen, of course, and there is the suggestion that the churches might set up civic groups for a study of the question.
Miss Vaile does not put much faith in the high cost of living theory as the explanation for so many wrecked homes. Sacrifices develop the strongest type of loyalty, is her answer to that suggestion.
“We must recognize the fact that the family is changing,” Miss Vaile says, “but I am not a bit pessimistic about the future.” The new mode of living makes for greater fellowship between husband and wife. Of course the fact that women have wider outlooks and more equal rights makes a chance for friction, but it also makes for more that’s fine.
“Husbands and wives are becoming more like pals,” which is as it should be, for it makes for more democratic relationship. If there is proper mating in the first place there is more chance for real happiness.
“I don’t see how women with little children can work away from home much of the time and be good mothers. Some women seem to be able to do it, however. Work for women who are not needed at home should help rather than hinder a happy marriage relationship.”
Miss Vaile is unstinted in her praise of the work of Director Howard Odum and his colleagues in the University’s School of Public Welfare. It ranks with the best in the country, she says.
She is equally enthusiastic about the work of the State Department of Charities and Public Welfare under the directorship of Mrs. Kate Burr Johnson. North Carolina and Iowa are fartherest ahead in county welfare work, she says. –The N&O, 2/24/1929
Read more stories from local and state history and send us your own stories on the blog Past Times, newsobserver.com/pasttimes. | 4,881 | 2,295 | 0.00045 |
warc | 201704 | 3D Implantable Marker Reported to Clearly Identify Surgical Area in Breast Cancer Patients Presentation at American Brachytherapy Society Conference Highlights Targeting of Surgical Site for Therapy
Article ID: 616315
Released: 10-Apr-2014 8:15 AM EDT
Source Newsroom: Dowling & Dennis Public Relations
Newswise — SAN DIEGO – The BioZorb™ three-dimensional surgical marker improved the ability of radiation oncologists to target radiation treatment for breast cancer, according to a scientific presentation at the 2014 American Brachytherapy Society (ABS) Annual Meeting.
Noted radiation oncologist Robert Kuske, M.D. said the unique BioZorb marker better addressed the longstanding challenge of identifying the tumor bed for radiotherapy after breast conservation therapy. The device was reported to provide a better alternative to traditional methods for targeting the surgical site, such as clips, seroma formation, and anatomic landmarks.
“This novel 3D device allows for significantly more precise delivery of radiotherapy with a standardized method that provides excellent outcomes,” Dr. Kuske said.
The ABS poster discussion reported the experience of Dr. Kuske’s radiation oncology team, at Arizona Breast Cancer Specialists, along with the work of two breast surgeons – Linda Smith, M.D. of Comprehensive Breast Care, in Albuquerque, N.M, and Michael Cross, M.D. of Breast Treatment Associates, in Fayetteville, Ark.
The surgeons placed the 3D marker in a total of 20 patients who underwent breast conservation surgery. Those women subsequently received whole breast irradiation plus boost interstitial irradiation.
“The BioZorb marker is like a beacon for the radiation oncologist,” Kuske said. “It stays put and clearly marks where the surgeon has been."
There were no complications in the group of 20 patients, and cosmetic and functional outcomes were described as “excellent.” Dr. Kuske and his physics team noted significant improvement in their ability to delineate the target volume using the 3D marker.
The ABS Annual Meeting, at which this data was presented, was held in San Diego on April 3-5, 2014.
Prior to the advent of BioZorb, there was no standardized method for marking the surgical site of tumor removal, which made post-operative radiation planning difficult. Methods typically used for radiation planning may overestimate the volume of the treatment area, and may result in excess radiation exposure to normal tissues such as the heart and lungs, causing inadvertent complications.
The marker’s unique open-spiral design incorporates six permanent titanium clips in a fixed 3D array and provides specific landmarks at the site of the excised tumor. The marker is useful for radiation treatment planning, patient positioning, and is compatible with advanced radiation treatment techniques.
The BioZorb device has been used successfully in both the U.S. and New Zealand. It is made of a bioabsorbable material commonly used in other medical devices, and allows the patient’s body to absorb the material slowly so it does not require surgical removal after treatments are completed.
BioZorb has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The device is available in a range of sizes to accommodate a variety of clinical situations.
About Focal Therapeutics
Focal Therapeutics is a medical device company based in Portola Valley, Calif. The company developed and manufactures the BioZorb tissue marker, a proprietary bioabsorbable device that provides radiographic marking of soft tissue sites. The BioZorb device is placed at the time of surgical removal of tissue, such as during breast surgery, and the device’s three-dimensional array of marker elements has unique clinical utility for patient imaging. For more information, call (U.S.) 650-530-2394 or email customerservice@focalrx.com. | 3,939 | 1,869 | 0.000548 |
warc | 201704 | Christie Administration Partners With USDA To Preserve Sandy-Impacted
Cumberland County Community
Bay Point Section Of Lawrence To Become Part Of Wildlife Management Area
(13/P115) TRENTON – The Christie Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have partnered to buy and preserve as open space the Bay Point section of Cumberland County’s Lawrence Township, an area vulnerable to flooding, said Bob Martin, Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).
The $9.4 million project will use state and federal funds to buy 33 homes and additional vacant lots in the Bay Point section of Lawrence, which suffered severe damage from Superstorm Sandy. The project will use $4.4 million in funds from the DEP’s Green Acres Program and $3 million from the USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) to convert the area to open space that will provide wildlife habitat and buffers against flooding. As part of the project, the DEP and NRCS will each provide an estimated $1 million toward ecological restoration of the properties.
“The Christie Administration is working to leverage all possible sources of federal funding to move people out of harm’s way,” said Commissioner Martin. “In Lawrence, as in other parts of the state, local officials and property owners have told us they’ve had enough of dealing with flooding, and just want an opportunity to start over again. We are pleased to join with USDA in an innovative project that will provide needed relief to property owners in Cumberland County.”
The funding is coming from the NRSC’s Emergency Watershed Protection Floodplain Easement Program.
“This federal funding will enable NRCS to purchase conservation easements on 41 of the 46 acres of the Bay Point peninsula, reducing the costs for the state to purchase the remaining properties,” said Carrie Mosley, State Conservationist for the NRCS New Jersey office in Somerset. “The NRCS will oversee the restoration of this important migratory bird habitat.”
Lawrence Township Mayor Elmer “Skip” Bowman sees the project as an opportunity to move people out of harm’s way while enhancing ecotourism for his rural community.
“We think this is a good fit for us,” Mayor Bowman said. “Flooding is not something new down here. We’re looking long range. Is this going to happen again? Yes. We feel for the people down there. They need an option. The area can be a good draw for fishing and appreciating wildlife.”
Bay Point was devastated by Sandy’s record storm surge. Some homes were destroyed, others remain uninhabitable. The access road continues to flood despite temporary restoration efforts. After property acquisition, structures will be demolished and the area will become part of a Wildlife Management Area operated by the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife.
The Christie Administration has made acquisitions of areas that are repeatedly flooded a cornerstone of its Sandy recovery efforts. The Administration’s $300 million Sandy buyout program is purchasing damaged homes at pre-Sandy market values to provide residents with financial resources needed to relocate to residences in less flood-prone areas.
For more information on Sandy acquisition program, visit: http://www.state.nj.us/dep/greenacres/blue_flood_ac.html
So far, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has provided some $55 million toward the purchase of 196 homes in Sayreville and 76 in South River. In addition to Sayreville and South River, which were the initial targets of the state’s buyout effort, the Blue Acres program has been formally expanded to areas of Woodbridge, East Brunswick and Newark.
For the USDA news release, visit: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/national/newsroom/releases/?cid=STELPRDB1241003 | 3,915 | 1,866 | 0.000557 |
warc | 201704 | STATE OF NEW JERSEY
Division of The Ratepayer Advocate 31 Clinton Street, 11 th Fl P. O. Box 46005 Newark, New Jersey 07101
JAMES E. McGREEVEY
SEEMA M. SINGH, Esq.
President Fox, Mr. Winka, Mr. Downes, Mr. Lynch, distinguished public officials, and fellow ratepayers, my name is Seema Singh and I am the Ratepayer Advocate for the State of New Jersey.
The Ratepayer Advocate is an independent, autonomous state agency that represents the interests of all utility customers in matters before the Board of Public Utilities. It is my job to work with the Commissioners of the BPU to make sure that utilities provide ratepayers with safe, affordable and reliable service. Simply put, I am here for you.
First, I want to make sure that you are being properly and promptly compensated by JCP&L for the damages you suffered during the very costly Fourth of July power outage. If you are having a problem, this hearing is your opportunity to let us know. We are here to hear from you.
As I said during the first public hearing here back in July, my message to company executives in New Jersey and back at corporate headquarters in Ohio is that your customers in New Jersey deserve at least restitution. They deserve much more, but it’s a good place to start. How JCP&L and its parent First Energy handle restitution is a good barometer of the company’s commitment to New Jersey.
Second, Ibelieve that the blackout here at the shore and the blackout August 14
thin the eastern United States and Canada disproves that old adage “If itain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
My friends, when it comes to electricity, if the transmission and distribution systems are not constantly fixed while they are working, then they will break – and they will break in a very big way.
That appears to be what happened here at the Shore over the Fourth of July and that is what appears to have caused the worst power outage in our nation’s history two weeks ago.
It is my personal view, and perhaps some of you share this opinion, that the big blackout proves what many suspect is the cause of your blackout – the system is not being properly maintained – even though you pay for its maintenance every month in your utility bills.
I am hopeful that the BPU’s investigation, which was ordered by Governor McGreevey, will determine not only the cause of the blackout here, but whether your money is being properly spent to maintain the distribution system.
I hope the U.S. Department of Energy’s federal investigation will also report whether utilities across America are wisely spending ratepayers’ money to maintain their systems – or giving it to stockholders.
Shortly after the blackout here, I called for permanent performance standards and automatic penalties if JCP&L fails to live up to them.
Governor McGreevey quickly endorsed the proposal and the BPU is now in the process of reviewing implementation of performance standards and penalties. Shortly after the outage earlier this month, President Bush issued a similar call nationwide.
Withthe Governor's appointment of Pat Downes as the Special Reliability Master, weare hopeful that he will concur with our assessment that performance standardswith automatic penalties must be put in place to improve the company'smaintenance practices.
If the company fails to live up to these standards, then it will be assessed automatic penalties out of corporate profits. That means shareholders will pay for management’s failure to deliver reliable service.
JCP&L is operating under an interim performance benchmark standard that has failed to produce a permanent solution to the power outages that continue to plague the company’s customers.
The utility has failed to meet even these interim benchmark standards. And there are no automatic repercussions for the utility – or its shareholders -- while ratepayers suffer outages. Right now, ratepayers are bearing the risk of JCP&L’s failure to provide reliable service. We have to shift the risk from the ratepayers to the shareholders.
Rates are set to enable a utility to provide safe, proper and reliable service. Ratepayers are not getting the service they are paying for. Making shareholders shoulder responsibility for poor performance is the best way to ensure that JCP&L’s service improves.
Thank you.
ratepayer advocate: home | electric | gas | telco | water/wastewater | news & info. | press releases | case matters | publications | consumer info. | links | 4,548 | 2,132 | 0.000482 |
warc | 201704 | In the last few years, the real estate industry has faced significant challenges and changes, which have impacted the way that many real estate professionals conduct business. But whether the industry is experiencing a bull or bear market, the Realtor® organization provides constant support for its members and always strives to improve programs and services.
New Jersey Realtors® adopts a strategic plan every three years, which is intended to be a roadmap, a living document, that will be continuously reviewed and updated as the industry changes. The goals and objectives within the strategic plan serve as a guide for the association and the path it takes. It provides a vision, which staff, leadership, governing bodies, and local boards/associations will achieve in partnership. Above all, the guiding principles expressed in this plan are the foundation for NJ Realtors®’ future success as the voice for real estate in New Jersey. | 961 | 550 | 0.001863 |
warc | 201704 | 10th Annual Executive Leadership Conference
"This winter can't last much longer."
So, plan your spring at NJSA's 10th Annual Executive Leadership Conference, April 22-23 with golf and a pre-conference reception on April 21, sponsored by Citrin Cooperman.
The theme for this year's conference is
"Your Staffing Toolbox ... Build to Lead."
The 10th Annual Executive Leadership Conference is set for The Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa and The Water Club. We have a very special rate of $115 - call 1-800-609-317-1000 with group code GBNSS15 and reserve your room by April 11th. The conference attendee brochure will be out shortly.
We also have a variety of sponsorship opportunities for Industry Partners. Download your copy of the sponsorship brochure and book your hotel room today!
Industry Partners - click here for your sponsor and registration brochure.
Thank you to our sponsors
Upcoming
Events
Industry Partner Breakfast
March 31, 2015
Executive Leadership Conference - April 22-23, 2015 The Borgata Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Thanks to Our
2015 Sponsors
Ban the Box Legislation Effective March 1
'The Opportunity to Compete Act," which Governor Christie signed into law in August, takes effect March 1st and that bars many companies from asking job applicants if they have criminal histories until they've been granted a job interview.
The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development only this month submitted a copy of draft rules to the Office of Administrative Law on how to implement it - the first step in a lengthy process of implementation; so at the very least, it's going to be at least several months before the rules are formally adopted.
On February 25th, the Labor Department posted a draft copy of the rules on its website - a few days after NJ Advance Media began inquiring about them. Murray insisted the inquiry had nothing to do with the decision to post them.
The campaign for the law was dubbed "ban the box" - referring to a box on applications asking about criminal histories. The law does ban that box, and requires companies give interviews to candidates before asking about criminal histories. It applies to companies with 15 or more employees, and there are some exceptions, such as law enforcement and any jobs that laws already require criminal background checks.
Companies that violate the law are to face fines of $1,000 for the first violation, $5,000 for the second and $10,000 for each violation after that.
Slow Wage Growth Predicted for U.S.
The wages of U.S. workers are anticipated to grow 1.7% over according to the PayScale Index, which follows the change in wages of employed U.S. private-sector workers. National wages during the fourth quarter of 2014 increased 0.6%. Since 2006, wages have risen 7.5% overall in the U.S. But when inflation is factored in, "real wages" have actually fallen 7.5% during this period.
The top five U.S. metro areas that experienced the highest annual wage growth in 2014 were:
San Diego (3.7 percent).
San Francisco (3.6 percent).
Seattle (2.8 percent).
Houston (2.6 percent).
Dallas (2.5 percent).
The bottom two U.S. metros that experienced the lowest annual wage growth were:
Washington, D.C. (0.5 percent).
Miami (0.9 percent).
Among the industry sector findings:
The oil and gas industry saw lower average annual growth in 2014 (0.9 percent) than has been typical, likely resulting from the recent drop in gas prices, the index showed. However, this industry has experienced impressive wage growth of 19.3 percent since 2006, the highest of any U.S. industry.
Real estate may be recovering, with high quarterly wage growth of 0.7 percent in the fourth quarter. The final quarter's performance brought the industry's annual wage growth for 2014 to 3.3 percent.
Information technology (IT) jobs had relatively small wage growth in the fourth quarter, at 0.3 percent, resulting in 1.6 percent annual wage growth. However, IT boasts an impressive wage growth of 11.5 percent since 2006.
In addition, legal jobs saw large annual wage growth (3.8 percent) in 2014. Annual wage growth
for legal jobs was the second highest it has been since the index's inception in 2006.
(Source: PayScale)
Our mission is to be the advocate for the success and growth of NJSA members and the New Jersey staffing industry through leadership in legislation, education, ethics and professional business practices. | 4,449 | 2,113 | 0.000479 |
warc | 201704 | WHITEHAVEN Coal has announced the amount of coal it will mine from its Narrabri site this financial year will be hundreds of thousands of tonnes lower than previously expected.
The mine was expected to produce between 8 million tonnes and 8.3 million tonnes in fiscal 2017, but that number has been revised to between 7.5 million and 7.8 million tonnes.
Earlier this week, Whitehaven told the ASX that “adverse geotechnical conditions” in an area of the Narrabri mine were slowing down production.
But despite the Narrabri revision, Whitehaven said it was confident it could still reach its company-wide guidance of between 21 and 22 million tonnes for the year.
The government had hoped the surge in coal prices would help lift its revenue and reduce the budget deficit, however the price has begun to slide again.
Meanwhile, the NSW government has put forward its draft changes to the state’s Environmental Planning and Assessment Act.
Planning Minister Rob Stokes said the changes aim to slash approval times for state significant developments such as mines, while increasing accountability.
However, environmental groups are disappointed by the proposal and say the changes would make it easier for coal mines to secure rapid approval.
Lock the Gate coordinator Georgina Woods said the proposal provided no new protections for the public or the environment.
“If you’re going to shorten decision times, then at least bring in laws to make sure the right decisions get made and that mines cannot be approved that will damage farmland, drinking water catchments and rural communities, and for pity’s sake, give communities the right to query mining approvals in court,” Ms Woods said.
“We urge the Planning Minister to take planning law changes that restore balance to parliament.”
NSW Minerals Council chief executive Stephen Galilee said the proposals “seem consistent” with commitments to halve assessment timeframes for major mining projects.
“However the proposed changes to the assessment of modifications may be problematic as mining projects often need approval for minor modifications during their long operating life to maintain production and protect jobs,” Mr Galilee said.
The draft bill is open for public feedback until March 10 and can be view on the department’s website. | 2,374 | 1,195 | 0.000868 |
warc | 201704 | During a calcium urine test, urine is collected for a 24-hour period. The urine will later be analyzed for the amount of calcium content.
Review Date:6/1/2011Reviewed By:David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc. | 393 | 273 | 0.003691 |
warc | 201704 | Every year, poison control centers receive about 2.2 million calls from people seeking medical help for poisoning. It is the leading cause of unintentional death, surpassing even motor vehicle crashes, and includes inadvertant ingestion of drugs or chemicals, the excessive use of a drug and exposure to environmental substances.
Prescription Drug Overdose
The most common poisoning is from prescription drugs – particularly opioid pain medication. Every day, 52 people die from opioids. They become quickly addicted without realizing what's happening. The drugs are overprescribed by doctors, shared among family members and stolen from medicine cabinets.
Children are misusing prescription drugs at an alarming rate, and even over-the-counter medications, like cold medicines and sleeping aids, can be dangerous.
This epidemic is a major initiative of the National Safety Council.
Start here to learn what we're doing to end it and how you can help – and be sure to keep the
National Poison Control Center number, (800) 222-1222, on your phone.
Other Poisons in the Home
More than 90% of all poisonings happen at home. Familiarize yourself with the dangers that lurk there:
Poison Prevention Week
National Poison Prevention Week, the third week of March each year, focuses on the danger of drugs and other poisons and how to keep your family safe. Observed for more than 50 years, National Poison Prevention Week activities are a great way to start a conversation at your home.
The week is observed March 20-26, 2016. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
offers a wealth of information. | 1,624 | 887 | 0.001144 |
warc | 201704 | Vitamin B3 Niacin 500 mg
Niacin is the only B vitamin that can be synthesized in the body from the amino acid tryptophan. In its coenzyme forms, niacin is crucial to energy transfer reactions, particularly the metabolism of glucose, fat, and alcohol. Niacin’s beneficial effects on blood lipids is well documented.
Product: Vitamin B3 Niacin 500 mg
Brand: Life Extension Foundation (More Products)
Size: 100 Capsules
Dosage: 1 capsule daily
Retail: $7.65
Review this product and receive
triple
credits toward free samples! Learn more
Customer Reviews
Be the First to Review Vitamin B3 Niacin 500 mg!
Attention Merchants
Learn ways that Nutritional Tree can:
1. Increase your traffic
2. Grow your brand
3. Increase your conversion
Learn More | 764 | 472 | 0.002187 |
warc | 201704 | ALBANY, N.Y. Jan. 28, 2014 - New York State United Teachers today called on the state Legislature to reject a "wholly inadequate" Executive Budget proposal and instead make a much stronger investment in public education to assist school districts reeling from years of devastating budget cuts and an onerous property tax cap.
NYSUT President Richard C. Iannuzzi said state aid cuts during the state's fiscal crisis, including the Gap Elimination Adjustment, have combined with the tax cap - this year set at 1.46 percent - to create a "perfect storm" for school districts, starving them of the revenue they need to fund programs and staff. In addition, he said the proposal fails to address glaring inequities in how public schools are funded.
"This proposal, while containing some potentially positive program initiatives, falls far short of the investment that is needed to help New York's students meet higher standards," Iannuzzi said. "The proposed overall state aid increase is not even close to being adequate for school districts to maintain existing programs, much less bring back the programs, teachers and support staff eliminated during the worst years of the fiscal crisis. We need both a significant state aid increase and a more equitable way to distribute that aid. Our poorest and most vulnerable students cannot be asked to continue to bear a disproportionate share of the hardship and pain caused by years of cuts and now inadequate increases. That is unacceptable and immoral and must be fixed.
The union also renewed its call for a three-year moratorium on high-stakes consequences for students and teachers stemming from the flawed implementation of the Common Core state standards.
In testimony to the Senate Finance and Assembly Ways and Means committees, NYSUT Executive Vice President Andrew Pallotta noted an analysis of the proposed education budget shows that 69 percent of the state's school districts would be forced to operate with less state aid than in 2009-10, and that 62 percent would have less state support than in 2008-09. The proposed 2014-15 education budget, he noted, would direct $21.28 billion to schools, still below the 2009-10 level of $21.35 billion. Had state aid to school districts merely kept pace with inflation, the state's 674 school districts would have $2 billion more in state support than they have today, he said.
"New York's schools are still reeling from multiple years of painful cuts imposed on them," Pallotta said. "These cuts have caused class sizes to balloon, decimated course offerings and made after-school programs disappear. Students have lost opportunities to take music, art and physical education and those who are most at-risk for falling into the achievement gap have seen their safety net of support services slashed."
Instead of tax cuts for wealthy New Yorkers and regressive property tax rebates that serve as incentives for school boards to make further cuts, Pallotta said, "This is the year the Legislature must take advantage of any budget surpluses and make significant investments in public education."
Pallotta again thanked the more than 80 Assembly members who have signed a letter backing a $1.9 billion funding increase - a state aid package supported by NYSUT. He noted the Educational Conference Board, a coalition of statewide education organizations, issued a report stating that a $1.5 billion increase is needed just for school districts to avoid further cuts and maintain current programs and services.
In other budget areas, Pallotta said NYSUT supports the Executive Budget's commitment to universal, full-day pre-kindergarten and said the union would work with policymakers to find appropriate funding. Pallotta also conceptually backed new funding for after-school programs, as well as new investments in educational technology and restored and increased funding for Teacher Centers, which offer professional development for teachers tied to new standards and assessments.
Pallotta also expressed concern about a proposed Teacher Excellence Fund, drawing a clear distinction between merit pay - which NYSUT strongly opposes - and career-ladder programs which recognize and compensate teachers who take on additional responsibilities, such as mentoring new educators.
"We strongly oppose any system that interferes with the collaboration that is so important for teachers and which creates competition that interferes with teachers' cooperative efforts aimed at reaching shared educational goals," Pallotta said. "Career ladders that are collectively bargained are a much better approach."
New York State United Teachers is a statewide union with more than 600,000 members. Members are pre-K-12 teachers; school-related professionals; higher education faculty; other professionals in education, human services and health care; and retirees. NYSUT is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association and the AFL-CIO
- 30 - | 4,996 | 2,316 | 0.000434 |
warc | 201704 | Washington, Feb 26 : Scientists at Ohio State University have identified two proteins that help disease-causing bacteria cells put up a fight and resist certain antibiotics.
They studied two distinct forms of proteins called multiple peptide resistance factors (MprFs), MprFs 1 and MprFs 2.
The findings revealed that these proteins played a vital role in allowing the bacteria cells to change the electrical charge of their membrane and develop their resistance to certain antimicrobial agents.
"Both of these proteins are potentially very good drug targets because in theory, if you can target them and inhibit their action, you can make bacteria strains more susceptible to existing antibiotics," said Michael Ibba, associate professor of microbiology at Ohio State and a co-author of the study.
Antibiotics carry a positive charge that attracts them to negatively charged bacteria cells. The opposite charges allow antibiotics to penetrate and kill bacteria.
But if the naturally occurring negative charge is changed to positive, bacteria cells establish a protective "coat" that ward off the antibiotic.
Lead researchers Ibba and Herve Roy of Ohio State investigated the activities of these specific MprF proteins, from the pathogen Clostridium perfringens, one of the most common sources of food poisoning in the United States.
According to the researchers, MprF proteins affect the membrane's charge by using an adapter molecule, called transfer RNA (tRNA), to transfer amino acids to the lipids that make up the cell membrane, which also change in its charge.
The findings revealed that both the proteins performed same function but used different amino acids. MprF2 used amino acid lysine while MprF1 used the amino acid alanine.
"This is a new function that we discovered, that MprF1 uses alanine, which then allows the cell to fine tune the properties of the membrane," said Roy.
"Earlier studies found these effects on the membrane, but no one knew what protein caused it," he added.
The findings appear online in this week's issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
ANI | 2,121 | 1,049 | 0.000963 |
warc | 201704 | Author + information Author Information Scott M Grundy, MD, PhD, Richard Pasternak, MD, Philip Greenland, MD, Sidney Smith Jr, MD and Valentin Fuster, MD, PhD
The past decade has witnessed major strides in the prevention of coronary heart disease (CHD) through modification of its causes. The most dramatic advance has been the demonstration that aggressive medical therapy will substantially reduce the likelihood of recurrent major coronary syndromes in patients with established CHD (secondary prevention). The American Heart Association (AHA) and the American College of Cardiology (ACC) have published joint recommendations for medical intervention in patients with CHD and other forms of atherosclerotic disease 1. A similar potential exists for risk reduction in patients without established CHD (primary prevention). However, the risk status of persons without CHD varies greatly, and this variability mandates a range in the intensity of interventions. Effective primary prevention thus requires an assessment of risk to categorize patients for selection of appropriate interventions. The present statement is being published jointly by the AHA and ACC to outline current issues and approaches to global risk assessment for primary prevention. The approaches described in this statement can be used for guidance at several levels of primary prevention; however, the statement does not attempt to specifically link risk assessment to treatment guidelines for particular risk factors. Nonetheless, it provides critical background information that can be used in the development of new treatment guidelines.
The major and independent risk factors for CHD are cigarette smoking of any amount, elevated blood pressure, elevated serum total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), low serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), diabetes mellitus, and advancing age (Table 1). The quantitative relationship between these risk factors and CHD risk has been elucidated by the Framingham Heart Study 2and other studies. These studies 2show that the major risk factors are additive in predictive power. Accordingly, the total risk of a person can be estimated by a summing of the risk imparted by each of the major risk factors. Other factors are associated with increased risk for CHD (Table 2). These are of 2 types: conditional risk factors and predisposing risk factors. The conditional risk factors are associated with increased risk for CHD, although their causative, independent, and quantitative contributions to CHD have not been well documented. The predisposing risk factors are those that worsen the independent risk factors. Two of them—obesity and physical inactivity—are designated major risk factors by the AHA 3,4. The adverse effects of obesity are worsened when it is expressed as abdominal obesity 5, an indicator of insulin resistance.
Clinical importance of global estimates for CHD risk
Preventive efforts should target each major risk factor. Any major risk factor, if left untreated for many years, has the potential to produce cardiovascular disease (CVD). Nonetheless, an assessment of total (global) risk based on the summation of all major risk factors can be clinically useful for 3 purposes: 1) identification of high-risk patients who deserve immediate attention and intervention, 2) motivation of patients to adhere to risk-reduction therapies, and 3) modification of intensity of risk-reduction efforts based on the total risk estimate. For the latter purpose, patients at high risk because of multiple risk factors may require intensive modification of ≥1 risk factors to maximize risk reduction. Guidelines for the management of individual risk factors are provided by the second Adult Treatment Panel report (ATP II) of the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) 6, the sixth report of the Joint National Committee (JNC VI) of the National High Blood Pressure Education Program 7, and the American Diabetes Association (ADA) 8. All of these guidelines are currently endorsed or supported by the AHA and the ACC. These reports 6–8advocate adjusting the intensity of risk factor management to the global risk of the patient. In ATP II and JNC VI 6,7, overall risk is estimated by adding the categorical risk factors. They do not use a total risk estimate based on summation of risk factors that have been graded according to severity; this latter approach has been advocated recently by Framingham investigators 2. The use of categorical risk factors has the advantage of simplicity but may be lacking in some of the accuracy provided by graded risk factors.
Some researchers and clinicians believe that the summation of graded risk factors provides advantages over the addition of categorical risk factors. For instance, the use of graded risk factors has been recommended in risk-management guidelines developed by joint European societies in cardiovascular and related fields 9. Advocates of this approach contend that the increased accuracy provided by the grading of risk factors outweighs the increased complexity of the scoring procedures. If the Framingham system is to be used, however, its limitations as well as its strengths must be understood. The AHA’s Task Force on Risk Reduction recently issued a scientific statement 10that reviewed and assessed the utility of Framingham scoring as a guide to primary prevention. The present report expands on this assessment and considers factors that must be taken into account when the Framingham algorithm is used 2.
Primary versus secondary prevention
The present report focuses mainly on risk assessment for coronary disease and not on risk for other cardiovascular outcomes. Framingham scores estimate risk for persons without clinical manifestations of CHD 2. Therefore, the scores apply only to primary prevention, ie, to prevention in persons without established CHD. Once coronary atherosclerotic disease becomes clinically manifest, the risk for future coronary events is much higher than that for patients without CHD 6, regardless of other risk factors, and in this case, Framingham scoring no longer applies. The AHA and ACC have issued joint guidelines for the management of risk factors for patients with established CHD and other forms of atherosclerotic disease 1.
Definition of CHD
Interpretation of risk estimates for CHD requires a precise definition of CHD. Framingham estimates traditionally predict total CHD, which includes angina pectoris, recognized and unrecognized myocardial infarction, coronary insufficiency (unstable angina), and CHD deaths. In contrast, many clinical trials 11–14that have evaluated specific risk-reducing therapies have specified major coronary events (recognized acute myocardial infarction and CHD deaths) as the primary coronary end points. In accord, the recent Framingham report 2also provided estimates for “hard” CHD, excluding angina pectoris. The inclusion of coronary insufficiency (unstable angina) and unrecognized myocardial infarction (defined by electrocardiography) probably gives estimates of hard CHD that are somewhat higher than combined end points reported in several clinical trials 11–14. A recent clinical trial, the Air Force/Texas Coronary Artery Prevention Study (AFCAPS/TexCAPS) 15, specified acute coronary events, including unstable angina, acute myocardial infarction, and coronary death, as the primary end point. This combined end point probably corresponds closely to the Framingham study’s definition of hard CHD. Definitions of coronary end points assume critical importance when risk cutpoints are defined to select patients for specific therapies.
Absolute risk estimates
Absolute risk is defined as the probability of developing CHD over a given time period. The recent Framingham report 2specifies absolute risk for CHD over the next 10 years. Although absolute risk scores can be used to evaluate preventive strategies, 4 caveats must be kept in mind. First, Framingham scores derive from measurements made some years ago; the possibility exists that absolute risk for any given level of risk factors in the general population may have changed since that time. Second, absolute risk in the Framingham population for any given set of risk factors may not be the same as that for all other populations, for example, those of differing ethnic characteristics. Third, Framingham risk scores represent average values; however, considerable individual variability in risk exists within the Framingham population. For example, several other factors not included in the Framingham scores potentially modify absolute risk for individuals (see Table 2). Finally, Framingham scores are not necessarily elastic; the magnitude of risk reduction achieved by modifying each risk factor may not equal (in reverse) the increment in risk accompanying the factors.
Definition of low risk
The Framingham report 2defined low risk as the risk for CHD at any age that is conferred by a combination of all the following parameters: blood pressure <120/<80 mm Hg, total cholesterol 160 to 199 mg/dL (or LDL-C 100 to 129 mg/dL), and HDL-C ≥45 mg/dL for men or ≥55 mg/dL for women in a nonsmoking person with no diabetes (Table 3). This definition of low risk seems appropriate and should be widely applicable; for example, in the follow-up of 350 000 screenees of the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial 16, most of the excess mortality from CHD could be explained by the presence of the major risk factors above these levels. The NCEP 6designated a total cholesterol level of <200 mg/dL (or LDL-C of <130 mg/dL) as a desirable level. Framingham investigators 2included total cholesterol levels in the range of 160 to 199 mg/dL (and LDL-C of 100 to 129 mg/dL) in their definition of the low-risk state. In addition, NCEP 6recognized an LDL-C level of ≤100 mg/dL as optimal and as the goal of therapy for secondary prevention. This level corresponds to a total cholesterol level of ≈<160 mg/dL. An elevated LDL-C level appears to be the primary CHD risk factor, because some elevation of LDL seems to be necessary for the development of coronary atherosclerosis 17. A very-low-risk state can be defined as an LDL-C level of <100 mg/dL in the presence of other low-risk parameters (Table 3). Therapeutic efforts to reestablish a very-low-risk state appear to be justified for secondary prevention 1,6; in primary prevention, however, a very low LDL-C level is not currently deemed necessary 6.
Relative risk versus absolute risk: estimations from Framingham scores
The relative risk is the ratio of the absolute risk of a given patient (or group) to that of a low-risk group. Literally, the term relative risk represents the ratio of the incidence in the exposed population divided by the incidence in unexposed persons. The denominator of the ratio can be either the average risk of the entire population or the risk of a group devoid of risk factors. The Framingham definition of the low-risk state provides a useful denominator to determine the effect of risk factors on a patient’s risk. Both the absolute and relative risk can be derived from the recently published risk score sheets 2.
The first step in estimating risk is to calculate the number of Framingham points for each risk factor (Table 4). For initial assessment, measurements of serum levels of total cholesterol (or LDL-C) and HDL-C are required 2. The points for total cholesterol instead of LDL-C are listed in Table 4because some of the Framingham database did not include LDL-C. Hence, total cholesterol gives more robust estimates. Evaluation for cholesterol disorders requires measurement of LDL-C, which is also the primary target of cholesterol-lowering therapy 6. The blood pressure value used in scoring is that obtained at the time of assessment, regardless of whether the patient is taking antihypertensive drugs. The average of several blood pressure measurements is needed for an accurate determination of the baseline level. Finally, in the present report, Framingham risk scores for borderline elevations have been modified to assign stepwise incremental risk in accord with current NCEP 6and JNC VI 7guidelines. Failure of Framingham scores to identify stepwise increments in risk in borderline zones probably reflects the relatively small size of the Framingham cohort. Diabetes is defined as a fasting plasma glucose level >126 mg/dL, to conform with recent ADA guidelines 18; in the Framingham study, diabetes was defined as a fasting glucose level >140 mg/dL. The designation of “smoker” indicates any smoking in the past month. The total risk score sums the points for each risk factor.
Risk ratios, relative to the low-risk state (Table 3), are shown for men in Figure 1and for women in Figure 2; for each age, the number shown gives the relative risk. In addition, 10-year absolute risk values are shown for both total and hard CHD. The definition of hard CHD is that used by Framingham investigators; values shown for hard CHD are approximately two thirds those for total CHD, which are in accord with the recent Framingham report 2. Gradations of increasing relative risk are given in color. At the midpoint of this gradation is the average risk for the Framingham cohort for each age range. Ratios above average are divided into moderately high relative risk and high relative risk. A 3-fold increase in relative risk above the lowest risk level is designated moderately high risk; a 4-fold or greater increase is called high risk. Absolute risk levels rise progressively with age, even in the absence of risk factors.
Relative risk is useful for providing the physician with an immediate perspective of a patient’s overall risk status relative to a low-risk state. This perspective can be helpful as a frame of reference for both physician and patient. Moreover, relative risk probably can be used to compare risk among individuals in populations in which baseline absolute risk has not been established. Absolute baseline risk (low-risk level) almost certainly varies among different populations, but the relative contributions of individual risk factors to total risk appear to be similar among all populations. Although the comparability of relative risk has not been proven rigorously, examination of available data from different epidemiological studies 19–28suggests this to be the case.
It is apparent from Figures 1 and 2that the relative risk associated with a given set of risk factor levels (expressed as a single Framingham number) declines with advancing age. At the same time, 10-year absolute risk rises with aging. Both changes have implications for prevention. Higher relative risk estimates in young adults are an indication of the high long-term risk accompanying the risk factors; they point to the need to institute a long-term risk-reduction strategy. On the other hand, the increasing absolute risk that accompanies advancing age reveals the opportunity for reducing absolute short-term risk by an immediate aggressive reduction of risk factors in older people. However, the best candidates for aggressive risk reduction among older patients may be those with moderately high or high relative risk. Recent guidelines have emphasized absolute risk estimates for use in treatment guidelines. Even so, the utility of relative risk estimates for areas of primary prevention that are most contentious, specifically, in young adults and elderly patients, should not be overlooked in the development of future guidelines.
Absolute short-term risk
Estimates of short-term risk (absolute risk in the next 10 years) are potentially useful for the identification of patients who need aggressive risk reduction in the clinical setting. Patients at high short-term risk may need pharmacological agents to control risk factors. The precise level of absolute risk that defines a patient at high short-term risk has been an issue of some uncertainty and involves a value judgment. Theoretically, this level of risk justifies aggressive risk-reduction intervention and is set through an appropriate balancing of efficacy, costs, and safety of therapy. Over time and depending on economic considerations, the thinking about this critical cutpoint of risk may change. Furthermore, little dialogue has occurred in the United States regarding the process of choosing a single absolute risk cutpoint for high short-term risk. The NCEP has taken the lead in adjusting the aggressiveness of cholesterol-lowering therapy to the absolute risk of patients. The NCEP identified patients having established CHD and other atherosclerotic disease as being at very high risk and deserving of aggressive therapy. For primary prevention, LDL-C goals were established by counting risk factors, but they did not define absolute risk in precise, quantitative terms. Future guidelines for risk reduction in the United States likely will put greater emphasis on quantitative global risk assessment.
Recently, guidelines of the joint European Societies 9have identified high short-term risk as an absolute risk that imparts a >20% probability of developing CHD in the next 10 years. Once a patient reaches this threshold of risk, guidelines similar to those for secondary prevention are triggered. This threshold may be reasonable, but several comments must be made about how the European guidelines were derived. The authors 9made use of older Framingham risk equations, 29but their own risk estimates were based only on age, cigarette smoking, blood pressure, and total cholesterol. HDL-C levels were not included. Framingham risk equations 2,29consistently include HDL-C, which is a powerful independent risk factor. The absence of HDL-C as a risk factor in European guidelines must be considered a limitation. As previously mentioned, European guidelines 9used Framingham’s total CHD as the coronary end point, which is a liberal coronary outcome and lowers the barrier to initiation of secondary-prevention guidelines. Irrespective of these details, there appears to be considerable consensus in the European cardiovascular community that a 10-year risk for clinical coronary end points of >20% justifies the category of high short-term risk. One concern about European guidelines is that although they creatively bridge the gap between primary and secondary prevention, they seemingly deemphasize the need for long-term primary prevention in the clinical setting.
Absolute long-term risk
Framingham scoring does not directly project long-term risk (>10 years), although such risk can be approximated by the summing of risk scores over successive age categories and the subtraction of those persons removed by having CHD events. Thus, 20-year risk should be at least twice the 10-year risk. An important aim of primary prevention is to reduce CHD over the long term and not just over the short term. For a patient in the age range of 50 to 54 years, a 20-year projection of absolute risk may be of more interest to both the physician and the patient than a 10-year projection. Such a patient whose 10-year risk for CHD is 15% may not qualify as being at high short-term risk, but this same patient has a >30% probability of developing CHD before age 75. This latter projection needs to considered when primary prevention strategies are planned.
Another critical point to make about long-term risk is that any single coronary risk factor, eg, cigarette smoking, hypertension, high serum cholesterol, or diabetes, can lead to premature CHD (or stroke) if left untreated over a period of many years. Therefore, each of the major risk factors deserves intervention in the clinical setting, regardless of the short-term absolute risk. The centerpiece of long-term risk reduction is modification of lifestyle habits, eg, smoking cessation, change in diet composition, weight control, and physical activity 30. Nonetheless, in patients in whom long-term risk is high, the use of drugs for treatment of hypertension or serum cholesterol disorders may be warranted, as described in JNC VI 7and ATP II 6, respectively.
Severity of major risk factors
Framingham scoring takes into account gradations in risk factors when estimating absolute risk. The scoring does not adequately account for severe abnormalities of risk factors, eg, severe hypertension, severe hypercholesterolemia, or heavy cigarette smoking. In such cases, Framingham scores can underestimate absolute risk. This underestimation is particularly evident when only 1 severe risk factor is present. Thus, heavy smoking 31or severe hypercholesterolemia 32can lead to premature CHD even when the summed score for absolute risk is not high. Likewise, the many dangers of prolonged, uncontrolled hypertension are well known. These dangers underscore the need to control severe risk factors regardless of absolute short-term risk estimates.
Diabetes mellitus as a special case in risk assessment
That diabetes mellitus is a major risk factor for CVD is well established 2. Both type 1 diabetes 33and type 2 diabetes 34confer a heightened risk for CVD. Type 2 diabetes is of particular concern because it is so common and usually occurs in persons of advancing age, when multiple other risk factors coexist. There is a growing consensus that most patients with diabetes mellitus, especially those with type 2 diabetes, belong in a category of high short-term risk. When the risk factors of diabetic patients are summed, their risk often approaches that of patients with established CHD 35. The absolute risk of patients with type 2 diabetes usually exceeds the Framingham score for hyperglycemia because other risk factors almost always coexist. Another reason to elevate the patient with diabetes to a higher risk category than suggested by Framingham scoring is the poor prognosis of these patients once they develop CHD 36. These factors point to the need to intensify the management of coexisting risk factors in patients with diabetes 7,37. These considerations about the very high risk of patients with diabetes apply to ethnic groups that have a relatively high population risk for CHD. The inclusion of patients with type 2 diabetes in the very-high-risk category may not be appropriate when they belong to ethnic groups with a low population risk.
Absolute risk assessment in elderly patients
One of the more prominent features of the Framingham risk scoring is the progressive increase in absolute risk with advancing age (Figures 1 and 2). This increase undoubtedly reflects the cumulative nature of atherogenesis. With advancing age, people typically accumulate increasing amounts of coronary atherosclerosis. This increased plaque burden itself becomes a risk factor for future coronary events 38–40. Framingham scoring for age reflects this impact of plaque burden on risk. Still, average scores mask the extent of variability in plaque burden in the general population. To apply average risk scores for age to individual patients may lead to miscalculation of true risk, particularly because Framingham applies so much weight to age as a risk factor. Miscalculation of risk could lead to inappropriate selection of patients for aggressive risk-reduction therapies. This fact points to the need for flexibility in adapting treatment guidelines to older persons. The tempering of treatment recommendations with clinical judgment becomes increasingly important with advancing age, particularly after the age of 65. In the future, measures of subclinical atherosclerosis may improve the accuracy of global risk assessment in older patients. When risk scoring is used to adjust the intensity of risk factor management in elderly patients, relative risk estimates may be more useful than absolute risk estimates. Relative risk estimates essentially eliminate the age factor and are based entirely on the major risk factors. These estimates allow the physician to stratify and compare patients of the same age, and patients at highest relative risk could be selected for the most aggressive risk management.
Certain limitations of Framingham database
Certain features of the Framingham scores reflect limitations of the data set. For example, LDL-C and HDL-C levels are known to be continuous in their correlation with CHD risk. Presumably because of an insufficient number of subjects in all categories, these continuous relationships are not consistently observed between each incremental category 2. Moreover, the assigned scores for each category are not entirely consistent with the notations for graded risk proposed by the NCEP 6and the JNC 7. Framingham scores probably require adjustment to account for the continuous relationship between risk factors and CHD 6,7. As stated previously, this adjustment was made in Table 4. Finally, there is no indication that Framingham scoring has been corrected for regression dilution bias 41; this bias results from the random fluctuation of risk factors over time such that single measures of risk factors systematically underestimate the association between risk factors and CHD.
Prediction scores from Framingham illustrate the substantial difference in CHD risk between men and women before age 70. The difference between men and women particularly stands out for hard CHD end points. The diagnosis of angina contributes a sizable fraction of all CHD end points in middle-aged women and accounts for the notable difference between total CHD and hard CHD in this age group. Nonatherosclerotic anginal syndromes may have been mislabeled among total CHD end points in some Framingham women. The relatively small rise in risk for total CHD events after age 55 should not obscure the progressive increase in risk for hard CHD in older women. Framingham findings on hard end points are more consistent with population studies that show a sharp rise in CHD morbidity and mortality in women after age 70. Even so, a discrepancy in CHD risk between men and women persists throughout all age groups.
Use of conditional and predisposing risk factors in risk assessment
In addition to the major risk factors (Table 1), a series of other risk correlates have been identified (Table 2). Their presence may denote greater risk than revealed from summation of the major risk factors. Their quantitative contribution and independence of contribution to risk, however, are not well defined. Usually, therefore, they are not included in global risk assessment. This does not mean that they do not make an independent contribution to risk when they are present. A sizable body of research supports an independent contribution of each. Their relation to CHD is more complex than is that of the major risk factors. In some cases, they are statistically correlated with the major risk factors; hence, their own independent contribution to CHD may be obscured by the major risk factors. In other cases, their frequency in the population may be too low for them to add significant independent risk for the entire population; in spite of this, they could be important causes of CHD in individual patients. Several of the other risk factors represent direct targets of therapy, either because they are causes of the major risk factors or because circumstantial evidence of a role in atherogenesis is relatively strong. Thus, even though these other risk factors are not recommended for inclusion in absolute risk assessment, their exclusion from this function should not be taken to imply that they are clinically unimportant. Their role in evaluation and management of patients at risk deserves some consideration.
Obesity
The AHA defines obesity as a major risk factor for CVD 42. Risk is accentuated when obesity has a predominant abdominal component 5. Obesity typically raises blood pressure and cholesterol levels 42–44and lowers HDL-C levels 43,44. It predisposes to type 2 diabetes 5. It also adversely affects other risk factors: triglycerides 43,44; small, dense LDL particles 45; insulin resistance 46,47; and prothrombotic factors 48,49. Although not shown by the Framingham data 2, other long-term longitudinal studies suggest that obesity predicts CHD independently of known risk factors. The association between excess body weight and CHD seems particularly strong in white Americans. For example, in one long-term prospective study 50, men aged 40 to 65 years with body mass index (BMI) 25 to 29 kg/m
2were 72% more likely to develop fatal or nonfatal CHD than were men who were not overweight. In another study 51, women whose BMI was 23 to 25 kg/m 2carried a 50% increase in risk for CHD compared with women with lower BMIs. The overall relation between body weight and CHD morbidity and mortality is less well defined for Hispanics, 52Pima Indians 53, and black American women 54; even so, obesity is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes, which itself is a risk factor for CHD. Much remains to be learned about the biological mechanisms underlying the association between obesity and CHD, but without question, a strong association exists. Consequently, obesity is a strong risk factor for CHD 3and is a direct target for intervention 5. Prevention of obesity and weight reduction in overweight persons are integral parts of the strategy for long-term risk reduction. The recent report of the NHLBI Obesity Education Initiative 5provides a comprehensive guideline for the management of overweight and obese patients in clinical practice. Physical inactivity
The AHA also classifies physical inactivity as a major risk factor. 4Many investigations 55, including the Framingham Heart Study 56–59, demonstrate that physical inactivity confers an increased risk for CHD. The extent to which physical inactivity raises coronary risk independently of the major risk factors is uncertain 60. Certainly, physical inactivity has an adverse effect on several known risk factors 60. Even though physical inactivity is an independent risk factor, physical activity levels are difficult to reliably measure in individual patients. For these reasons, physical inactivity is not included in quantitative risk assessment. In spite of these limitations in assessment, previous studies 61,62document that regular physical activity reduces risk for CHD. Physical inactivity constitutes an independent target for intervention. Physicians should encourage all of their patients to engage in an appropriate exercise regimen, and high-risk patients should be referred for professional guidance in exercise training. The AHA recently published practical recommendations for exercise regimens designed to reduce risk for CVD 63.
Family history of premature CHD
There is little doubt that a positive family history of premature CHD imparts incremental risk at any level of risk factors. This association has been shown by the Framingham Heart Study 64. Nonetheless, the degree of independence from other risk factors and the absolute magnitude of incremental risk remain uncertain. For this reason, Framingham investigators did not include family history among the major independent risk factors. The NCEP 6counts a positive family history of CHD as an independent risk factor that modifies the intensity of LDL-lowering therapy. Regardless of whether family history is used to modify risk management in individual patients, the taking of a family history is undoubtedly important. A positive family history for premature CHD calls forth the need to test a patient’s relatives for both premature CVD and the presence of risk factors.
Psychosocial factors
There has long been an interest in the contribution of personality and socioeconomic factors to CHD risk. Recently, specific factors including hostility, depression, and social isolation have been shown to have predictive value 65–67. These factors, however, are not included in the Framingham data and cannot be incorporated into the model currently. Nonetheless, they might be taken into account in individual patients when an overall strategy for risk reduction is being developed.
Ethnic characteristics
The Framingham population represents the world’s most intensively studied population for cardiovascular risk factors. This study is of great value in developing population-based risk estimates in this population. Because Framingham residents are largely whites of European origin, it is uncertain whether baseline absolute risk is similar to that in other populations. Available evidence suggests that absolute risk varies among different populations independently of the major risk factors. For example, absolute risk among South Asians (Indians and Pakistanis) living in Western society appears to be about twice that of whites, even when the 2 populations are matched for major risk factors 68–70. This higher baseline risk should be considered when South Asians living in the United States are evaluated. Available comparisons of non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, and Hispanic Americans 71,72point to a comparable absolute risk status, but large systematic comparisons are in the early stages. It is also possible that some populations have a lower baseline risk than the whites studied in Framingham. For example, results of the Honolulu Heart Study 27suggest that Hawaiians of East Asian ancestry have only about two thirds the absolute risk of Framingham subjects. In the Seven Countries Study 73, the population of Japan exhibited a much lower risk for CHD for a given set of risk factors than other populations. Differences in absolute risk among different demographic groups suggest the need for adjustments in estimates of absolute risk from Framingham scores depending on racial and ethnic origins. Although absolute risk scores may not be transportable to all populations, relative risk estimates probably are reliable across groups. To date, comparison studies are insufficient to provide quantitative estimates of the adjustments needed for Framingham scores when they are applied to individuals from different demographic backgrounds. In spite of the limitations of the Framingham data, absolute risk estimates as applied to some populations seem applicable to the large populations of non-Hispanic white, Hispanic, and black Americans in the United States. For other groups, relative risk estimates still seem applicable.
Hypertriglyceridemia
Framingham scoring does not ascribe independence to triglyceride levels in risk assessment. Framingham investigators 74nonetheless have reported that elevated serum triglycerides are an independent risk factor, as have other reports. 75–77Hypertriglyceridemia is correlated with other risk factors 78; however, its degree of independent predictive power is difficult to assess. Several clinical trials 79–81found that drugs that primarily affect triglyceride-rich lipoproteins reduce CHD risk when used with patients with hypertriglyceridemia. Elevated triglycerides consequently may become a target of therapy independent of LDL lowering. The reduction of serum triglyceride levels will also decrease the concentrations of small LDL particles, another putative risk factor 82,83. Of course, weight reduction in overweight patients and adoption of regular exercise by sedentary persons will lower triglyceride levels, which is one way in which these changes in lifestyle reduce CHD risk.
Insulin resistance is another risk correlate for CHD 84,85. The mechanisms of association between insulin resistance are complex and likely multifactorial. Regardless, a large portion of all patients who are candidates for global risk assessment have insulin resistance and its accompanying metabolic risk factors (the metabolic syndrome). The components of this syndrome include the atherogenic lipoprotein phenotype (elevated triglycerides, small LDL particles, and low HDL-C levels) 78,86, elevated blood pressure, a prothrombotic state, and often, impaired fasting glucose 87. The metabolic syndrome is a clinical diagnosis, but the risk accompanying it can be assessed in large part by Framingham scoring. This scoring does not count impaired fasting glucose as an independent risk factor, although Framingham publications 88–90would support doing so. Insulin resistance can be assumed to be present in a patient with obesity (BMI >30 kg/m
2) 46,47or overweight (BMI 25 to 29.9 kg/m 2) plus abdominal obesity 46,47, especially when accompanied by elevated plasma triglycerides 78,91, low HDL-C 92, or impaired fasting glucose 93. Insulin resistance is acquired largely through obesity and physical inactivity, although a genetic component undoubtedly exists. The only therapies presently available for insulin resistance for patients without diabetes are weight reduction 94and increased physical activity 95. Homocysteine
A high serum concentration of homocysteine is associated with increased risk for CHD 96–98. The AHA recently published an advisory on homocysteine that provides an in-depth review of the relation between homocysteine and CVD 99. Several mechanisms whereby elevated homocysteine predisposes to CVD have been postulated. However, it remains to be proved in controlled clinical trials that a reduction in serum homocysteine levels will reduce risk for CHD. In some patients, nonetheless, high levels of homocysteine can be lowered by recommended daily intake of folic acid 99–101. If homocysteine levels are elevated, patients should be encouraged to consume the recommended daily intake of folic acid, as well as vitamins B
6and B 12. Routine measurement of homocysteine levels was not recommended for purposes of risk assessment, but measurement is optimal in high-risk patients 99. Other risk correlates
Other potential risk factors include elevated concentrations of lipoprotein(a), fibrinogen, and C-reactive protein. Routine measures of these risk factors currently are not recommended. An elevated serum lipoprotein(a) correlates with a higher incidence of CHD in some studies 102,103but not in others 104,105. Furthermore, specific therapeutics to reduce lipoprotein(a) levels are not available; some investigators have suggested that an elevated lipoprotein(a) level justifies a more aggressive lowering of LDL-C. An elevated fibrinogen level also is correlated with a higher CHD incidence 106,107. Again, no specific therapies are available, except that in smokers, smoking cessation may reduce fibrinogen concentrations 108. Finally, C-reactive protein is promising as a risk predictor 109,110. The preferred method for measurement appears to be a high-sensitivity test 111. C-reactive protein appears to be related to systemic inflammation; however, its causative role in atherogenesis is uncertain.
Implications for clinical risk reduction
Identification of risk factors lies at the heart of clinical efforts to reduce risk for CVD and/or CHD. Every major risk factor predisposes to CHD and other cardiovascular events, particularly if left unattended for long periods. In addition, when multiple risk factors occur in a single individual, risk is compounded, which justifies efforts to estimate global risk. The summation of contributions of individual risk factors can be a valuable first step in planning a risk-reduction strategy for individual patients. This first step should be divided into 2 phases. First, absolute risk should be estimated from the major risk factors (listed in Table 1). Framingham risk scoring provides an acceptable tool for most non-Hispanic white, Hispanic, and black Americans. People of South Asian origin appear to have about twice the absolute risk for any set of risk factors as whites. In contrast, East Asian Americans may have a lower absolute risk than other ethnic groups in the United States. Second, when absolute risk has been estimated from the major risk factors, consideration can be given to modifying the estimate in the presence of other risk factors (Table 2). Clinical judgment is required to estimate incremental risk incurred by these latter factors. Risk estimates are useful both for short-term, high-risk primary prevention and for long-term (or lifetime) primary prevention. Implications for global risk assessment can be considered for each.
Short-term prevention
Recent clinical trials demonstrate that significant risk reduction can be achieved by aggressive reduction of risk factors in high-risk patients. Clinical trials have shown that excess risk can be reduced by ≈33% to ≈50% in ≈5 years. This is particularly the case when risk-reduction strategies use smoking cessation, blood pressure–lowering agents, cholesterol-lowering drugs, and aspirin. Clinical trials strongly suggest that glucose control reduces the incidence of various cardiovascular end points in patients with either type 1 diabetes 112or type 2 diabetes 113. Other clinical trials 114,115strongly suggest that aggressive LDL-lowering therapy reduces risk for CHD in patients with type 2 diabetes. For this reason, detection of patients at high risk, with the aid of global risk assessment, should be an important aim of routine medical evaluation of all patients. Specific therapies for risk reduction in high-risk patients are described in the NCEP ATP II report for cholesterol management 6, the JNC VI report for treatment of hypertension 7, and by the ADA’s guidelines for treatment of diabetes mellitus 8. Once appropriate therapies are selected, global risk scores can also be used to help instruct patients and to improve compliance with preventive interventions.
Long-term prevention
Global risk assessment is particularly useful in young and middle-aged adults for assessing relative risk and absolute long-term risk (Figures 1 and 2). Even though short-term risk may not be high in younger patients who have multiple risk factors of only moderate severity, long-term risk can be unacceptably high. Risk assessment in these patients will highlight the need for early and prolonged intervention on risk factors. In young adults, relative risk ratios help to reveal long-term risk for CHD. Although long-term prevention may not call for the use of risk-reducing drugs, it definitely will require the introduction of lifestyle modification (ie, smoking cessation in smokers, weight control, increased physical activity, and a diet low in cholesterol and cholesterol-raising fats). The AHA provides guidelines to assist healthcare professionals in the implementation of life-habit modifications 30. There is a common misconception that most of the excess risk accumulated over many years can be erased by aggressive short-term prevention introduced later in life. Although the use of risk-reducing drugs can significantly lower risk when begun in later years, there is no evidence that it can return a patient to the low-risk status of a younger person. This reduction can only be accomplished by decreasing the magnitude of coronary plaque burden through long-term control of risk factors. Therefore, appropriate intervention, guided by risk assessment that is performed periodically in early adulthood and early middle age, has the potential to bring about a significant reduction in long-term risk.
Footnotes
↵1 This statement was approved by the American Heart Association Science Advisory and Coordinating Committee in June 1999 and by the American College of Cardiology Board of Trustees in July 1999. This document is available on the World Wide Web sites of the American Heart Association (www.americanheart.org) and the American College of Cardiology (www.acc.org). Reprints of this document (the complete guidelines) are available for $5 each by calling 800-253-4636 (US only) or writing the American College of Cardiology, Resource Center, 9111 Old Georgetown Road, Bethesda, MD 20814-1699. To purchase additional reprints: up to 999 copies, call 800-611-6083 (US only) or fax 413-665-2671; 1000 or more copies, call 214-706-1466, fax 214-691-6342, or e-mail . To make photocopies for personal or educational use, call the Copyright Clearance Center, 978-750-8400.
American College of Cardiology References ↵ ↵ Wilson P.W., D’Agostino R.B., Levy D., Belanger A.M., Silbershatz H., Kannel W.B. ↵ Eckel R.H. ↵ Fletcher G.F., Balady G., Blair S.N., et al. ↵ NHLBI Obesity Education Initiative Expert Panel ↵ Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults ↵The Sixth Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure. Bethesda, Md: National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; 1997. NIH publication 98–4080. ↵ ↵ Wood D., De Backer G., Faergemann O., Graham I., Mancia G., Pyorala K. ↵ Grundy S.M., Balady G.J., Criqui M.H., et al. ↵Randomised trial of cholesterol lowering in 4444 patients with coronary heart disease: the Scandinavian Simvastatin Survival Study (4S). Lancet 1994;344:1383–9. The Long-term Intervention with Pravastatin in Ischaemic Disease (LIPID) Study Group. Prevention of cardiovascular events and death with pravastatin in patients with coronary heart disease and a broad range of initial cholesterol levels. N Engl J Med 1998;339:1349–57. ↵ ↵ Stamler J., Wentworth D., Neaton J.D. ↵ Grundy S.M., Wilhelmsen L., Rose R., Campbell R.W.F., Assman G. ↵Report of the expert committee on the diagnosis and classification of diabetes mellitus. Diabetes Care 1997;20:1183–202. ↵ Paul O., Lepper M.H., Phelan W.H., et al. Relationship of blood pressure, serum cholesterol, smoking habit, relative weight and ECG abnormalities to incidence of major coronary events: final report of the Pooling Project: the Pooling Project Research Group. J Chronic Dis 1978;31:201–306. Keys A. Marmot M.G., Syme S.L., Kagan A., Kato H., Cohen J.B., Belsky J. Worth R.M., Kato H., Rhoads G.G., Kagan K., Syme S.L. Fraser G.E. ↵ Wilson P.W.F., Abbott R.D., D’Agostino R.B. Jr., Rodriguez B.L., Curb J.D., Burns J.A. ↵ Anderson K.M., Wilson P.W., Odell P.M., Kannel W.B. ↵ Grundy S.M., Balady G.J., Criqui M.H., et al. ↵ Ockene I.S., Miller N.H. ↵ Scriver C.R., Beaudet A.L., Sly W.S., Valle D. Goldstein J.L., Hobbs H.H., Brown M.S. ↵ Lloyd C.E., Kuller L.H., Ellis D., Becker D.J., Wing R.R., Orchard T.J. ↵ ↵ ↵ MILIS Study Group, Stone P.H., Muller J.E., Hartwell T., et al. Management of dyslipidemia in adults with diabetes: American Diabetes Association. Diabetes Care 1998;21:179–82. ↵ Emond M., Mock M.B., Davis K.B., et al. ↵ Law M.R., Wald N.J., Wu T., Hackshaw A., Bailey A. ↵ Krieger D.R., Landsberg L. ↵ ↵ Tchernof A., Lamarche B., Prud’Homme D., et al. ↵ ↵ Mykkanen L., Ronnemaa T., Marniemi J., Haffner S.M., Bergman R., Laakso M. Giltay E.J., Elbers J.M., Gooren L.J., Emeis J.J., Kooistra T., Asscheman H., Stehouwer C.D. ↵ Rimm E.B., Stampfer M.J., Giovannucci E., Ascherio A., Spiegelman D., Colditz G.A., Willett W.C. ↵ ↵ ↵ Pettitt D.J., Lisse J.R., Knowler W.C., Bennett P.H. ↵ ↵US Department of Health and Human Services. Physical Activity and Health: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, Ga: Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion; 1996. ↵ Dannenberg A.L., Keller J.B., Wilson P.W., Castelli W.P. ↵ Rodriguez B.L., Curb J.D., Burchfiel C.M., et al. ↵Blair SN. Physical activity, fitness, and coronary heart disease. In: Bouchard C, Shephard RJ, Stephens T, editors. Physical Activity, Fitness and Health: International Proceedings and Consensus Statement. Champaign: Human Kinetics, 1994:579–90. ↵ Fletcher G.F. ↵ ↵ Christensen A.J., Smith T.W. ↵ Williams R., Bhopal R., Hunt K. Seedat Y.K., Mayet F.G. ↵ Goff D.C. Jr., Ramsey D.J., Labarthe D.R., Nichaman M.Z. Goff D.C., Nichaman M.Z., Chan W., Ramsey D.J., Labarthe D.R., Ortiz C. ↵ ↵ ↵ Austin M.A. ↵ ↵ Kaplinsky E. The Bezabifrate Infarction Prevention Study. Paper presented at: Annual Meeting of the European Society of Cardiology; August 1998; Vienna, Austria. ↵ ↵ DeFronzo R.A., Ferrannini E. Austin M.A., King M.-C., Vranizan K.M., Krauss R.M. ↵ LeRoith D., Taylor S.I., Olefsky J.M. Stern M.P. ↵ Kannel W.B., McGee D.L. Kannel W.B., McGee D.L. ↵ Karhapaa P., Malkki M., Laakso M. ↵ ↵ ↵ ↵Beresford SA, Boushey CJ. Homocysteine, folic acid, and cardiovascular disease risk. In: Bendich A, Deckelbaum RJ, editors. Preventive Nutrition: The Comprehensive Guide for Health Professionals. Totowa, NJ: Humana Press, 1997. Mayer E.L., Jacobsen D.W., Robinson K. ↵ Malinow M.R., Bostom A.G., Krauss R.M. Ubbink J.B., Becker P.J., Vermaak W.J., Delport R. ↵ ↵ Moliterno D.J., Jokinen E.V., Miserez A.R., et al. ↵ Meade T.W. ↵ ↵ Anderson J.L., Carlquist J.F., Muhlestein J.B., Horne B.D., Elmer S.P. Koenig W., Sund M., Frohlich M., et al. ↵ ↵The effect of intensive treatment of diabetes on the development and progression of long-term complications in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus: the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial Research Group. N Engl J Med 1993;329:977–86. ↵Intensive blood-glucose control with sulphonylureas or insulin compared with conventional treatment and risk of complications in patients with type 2 diabetes (UKPDS 33): UK Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS) Group. Lancet 1998;352:837–53. ↵ Pyorala K., Pederson T.R., Kjeksyhus J., Faergeman O., Olsson A.G., Thorgeirsson G. Goldberg R.B., Mellies M.J., Sacks F.M., et al. Article Outline Top Clinical importance of global estimates for CHD risk Primary versus secondary prevention Definition of CHD Absolute risk estimates Definition of low risk Relative risk versus absolute risk: estimations from Framingham scores Absolute short-term risk Absolute long-term risk Severity of major risk factors Diabetes mellitus as a special case in risk assessment Absolute risk assessment in elderly patients Certain limitations of Framingham database Use of conditional and predisposing risk factors in risk assessment Implications for clinical risk reduction Footnotes References | 50,488 | 18,192 | 0.000056 |
warc | 201704 | Many of us, whether born there, residing there, or just interested in the place, describe the United States of America as “a nation of immigrants.” What exactly that phrase means has in recent times become the subject of heated public debate. As this year’s presidential candidates strain to appeal to voters with a wide variety of views on the question of what role immigration should play in America’s future (to say nothing of what’s going on in Britain right now), it might help to look at what role immigration has played in its past, and a new animated infographic of who has immigrated from where since 1820 gives the clearest possible look at the whole picture.
“Through most of the 1800s, immigration came predominantly from Western Europe (Ireland, Germany, the U.K.),” writes the data visualization’s creator Max Galka at Metrocosm. “Toward the end of the century, countries further east in Europe (Italy, Russia, Hungary) took over as the largest source of migration. Beginning in the early 1900’s, most immigrants arrived from the Americas (Canada, Mexico). And the last few decades have seen a rise in migration from Asia.”
Each colored dot flying toward the U.S. represents a part of that country’s population, and the brightness of a country’s color on the map corresponds to its total migration to the U.S. at that particular time. Galka provides other charts that show immigration flows by country of origin over time, which makes immigration look higher than ever, and then the same data as a percentage of the total population of the United States, which makes it look almost lower than ever. (And as an American who moved to Korea last year, I can’t help but ask whether we should now give as much thought to emigration out of the U.S. as we have to immigration into it.)
To really feel the advantages and complications of the nation of immigrants first-hand, you’ll want to spend time in a major American city, those always vibrant, often troubled places that people like
The Wire creator David Simon have dedicated themselves to observing. “You look at what New Orleans is capable of, as a product of the American melting pot, and it’s glorious,” he once said. “It’s in the friction and in the dynamic between the various groups that inhabit a city that creativity really happens. What makes cities work is a level of tolerance and human endeavor and wit that is absolutely required on the part of all people. Whether or not we succeed as an urban people is the only question worth asking.” And in America, an urban people has always been a diverse people.
via Mental Floss
Related Content: Based in Seoul, Colin Marshall writes and broadcasts on cities and culture. He’s at work on a book about Los Angeles, A Los Angeles Primer , the video series The City in Cinema, the crowdfunded journalism project Where Is the City of the Future? , and the Los Angeles Review of Books’ Korea Blog. Follow him on Twitter at @colinmarshall or on Faceboo k. | 3,090 | 1,567 | 0.000665 |
warc | 201704 | Although the new health care exchange system requires potential enrollees to include a slew of personal information prior to viewing pricing options — including individuals’ immigration status — none of the information reported to the site is legally allowed to be used to enforce immigration law.
In a memo entitled “Clarification of Existing Practices Related to Certain Health Care Information,” the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office explained that their policy of collecting information on immigration status from health care providers has not changed despite the new federal system. The memo explains that the ICE cannot use any of the personal information provided by individuals about their own immigration status or the status of their families as evidence of breaking immigration laws. More specifically, the memo states:
Popular VideoMiranda Lambert saw the sign a veteran was holding up at her concert, she immediately broke down in tears: Popular VideoMiranda Lambert saw the sign a veteran was holding up at her concert, she immediately broke down in tears: Information provided by individuals for such coverage may not be used for purposes other than ensuring the efficient operation of the Marketplace or administering the program, or making or verifying certain eligibility determinations, including veryfing the immigration status of such individuals ... ICE does not use information about such individuals or members of their household that is obtained for purposes of determining eligibility for such coverage as the basis for pursuing a civil immigration enforcement action against such individuals or members of their household.
Under the provisions outlined by the Affordable Care Act, undocumented immigrants are not able to gain access to lower health care rates, as the law applies only to those residing in the country legally.
Still, as ThinkProgress notes, many illegal immigrants “live in ‘mixed status families’ with legal immigrants who may be eligible for enrollment.” This should make those legal immigrants living with undocumented immigrants more comfortable signing up for health care coverage.
This memo was also likely released as a reassurance to those reluctant to share personal information in order to access pricing options on the new ACA-mandated government website Healthcare.gov. The site has been riddled with problems since its launch earlier this month, and the government is trying as much as possible to ensure individuals continue signing up and its reputation remains at least somewhat intact. | 2,612 | 1,164 | 0.000877 |
warc | 201704 | The case of a teenager leaving home without informing anyone is not something to be taken lightly.
That's what area law enforcement officials and a Paducah-based psychologist say. Multiple reports of missing teenagers have surfaced in the region this summer, many resolved in less than 24 hours. Police say the public may be noticing more reports about teens going missing due to an initiative by police to get the word out as soon as possible.
If a teenager has been missing for even less than an hour, police are obligated to take the case as seriously as any other case.
That means missing teen cases, similar to any other missing person cases, cost time and money. Sgt. Michael Webb with the Kentucky State Police said generally, when an individual is reported missing, troopers on duty will communicate where the person may be. Then, if no one is found immediately, one trooper is usually assigned to search and is "actively engaged in looking for that person."
"If they have not found that person's whereabouts and found that person is safe, then we would open a missing persons case," he said.
While television shows may present the idea that police utilize a lot of technology to find missing people, Webb said in the majority of cases when a teenager is found, police gather most of their information from speaking with the missing person's family and friends and physically searching for the teen.
"It's old-fashioned police work," he said.
For cases involving children who have run away, Webb said, it can sometimes be easy to learn whom they're with.
"A common factor is, in juvenile cases, who they've been hanging around, and a lot of those are romantic relationships," he said.
If the individual they're found with is over the age of 18, that person can be charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
For some teens, the act of running away may not seem as serious as it is, Webb said.
"When a child runs away from his or her natural home and the environment they've been raised in, they may think they are prepared for the dangers of the world when in reality they are not," Webb said.
"Oftentimes they are placed in situations that put their lives in jeopardy ... there are a lot of people who are looking to exploit these children for a lot of reasons, and they are not old enough to recognize these things."
Webb said when police return youth home, they often advise them of such concerns.
Recent cases
Captain Brian Laird with the Paducah Police Department explained that local law enforcement's procedure for finding missing or runaway teens is similar to KSP's process. He cited three recent cases:
On June 25, a 15-year-old was reported missing after leaving home on Lovelaceville Road. She was found at home a few days later.
On June 26, a 17-year-old Marshall County girl was reported missing in Paducah and was found the next day at an ex-boyfriend's home in Benton.
On June 13, a 16-year-old was reported to have left his home on Ohio Street in Paducah but returned home later that day.
Laird said issuing more missing person reports has brought police more feedback from the public. Not only can individuals call police directly, but they can also call Crimestoppers at 270-443-8355 if they want to remain anonymous.
On the other end of the spectrum, Laird said it's just as important to call police when the person has returned home. In one recent case of a missing teenager, police were not notified by family that the teen had been found until three days after the child had returned home safely.
A serious issue
Dr. Sarah Shelton, licensed clinical psychologist, said one in seven youths between ages 10 and 18 in the U.S. will run away from home at some point.
Shelton said cases of runaway teenagers are often attributed to behavioral issues, and the departures often are followed by further problems. She said at least 25 percent of runaways will be victimized by violence or sex crimes after they flee home.
"Historically, society has viewed the runaway as a juvenile delinquent with behavioral problems," she said. "This may partially stem from the fact that running away is criminalized by the justice system. However, the reality is that running away actually places these youth at increased risk for exposure to drug abuse, sexual exploitation like prostitution, and engaging in criminal acts such as theft or drug trafficking as a means of survival after they end up on the streets."
In most cases, teens return home shortly, Shelton said.
"While the media highlights cases of youth who seemingly disappear into thin air, the vast majority run away for a brief period of time, do not travel a great distance from home, and make contact with a family member or trusted adult while away."
Although many young runaways end up having problems with the legal system, Shelton said it's still important to think of them as victims whose runaway incidents led to their legal problems.
The most common reason a youth leaves home is an ongoing family conflict. Shelton said 75 percent of runaways have dropped out of school, and about 50 percent have been physically, emotionally or sexually abused.
Due to the many causes and effects of running away, Shelton said people should stop blaming the youth or the family for the incidents.
"Rarely are these cases as simple as an unruly child or ineffective parent," she said. "Instead, we need to focus on identifying the individualized reason for the problem behavior."
She said seeking the help of a mental health professional, as well as providing alternative options to running and creating a safety plan should a youth flee, can be critical options to lessen the danger.
"This will reduce the risk of the youth being without shelter or food or becoming the victim of violence, gang affiliation, drug trafficking and sexual exploitation," she said.
She said finding options for a young person to return to another safe haven when leaving home or even foster care can be a resource in helping children who have run away from their families.
Making reports
Both Webb and Laird emphasized that police can take a missing person report after any amount of time when an individual suspects someone is missing. Webb said some television shows present the illusion that people must be missing for 24 hours before a report can be made to police.
"There are a lot of public misconceptions," Webb said. "When someone is missing, they're missing as far as we're concerned ... if it's a justifiable report, we are going to take it seriously."
Contact Lauren Duncan, Paducah Sun staff writer, at 270-575-8692 or follow @laurenpduncan on Twitter.
Check out these recently discussed stories and voice your opinion... | 6,762 | 3,076 | 0.000328 |
warc | 201704 | BALTIMORE SUN, OPINION We're Losing the War of Ideas Harlan Ullman 21 December 2004
Washington - A largely unnoticed report drafted by an important and mostly invisible Pentagon advisory group contained surprisingly strong and probably unintended criticism of the Bush administration's approach to the global war on terror.
The report by the Pentagon's Defense Science Board (DSB), a panel of outside technical and defense experts, was titled "Strategic Communication." In plain English, it means waging and winning the war of ideas between the United States and Islamic extremism.
The blunt conclusion of the report, which was released in September, was that "U.S. strategic communication must be transformed" because it "is in crisis." In plainer English, the United States is simply not communicating its message at home or abroad in the war on terror and is losing this contest of ideas.
The DSB also challenged key administration foreign policy assertions. Americans have been told repeatedly by the Bush administration that terrorists are out to kill us because they hate America and its democracy. But the report observed that "Muslims do not 'hate our freedom'; they hate our policies" and, in particular, "what they see as one-sided support" in favor of Israel and against the Palestinians.
And the administration's optimistic assessments of postwar nation-building in Afghanistan and Iraq were countered by this: "In the eyes of Muslims, American occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq have not led to democracy there but only more chaos and suffering."
Driving its point home, the DSB report made clear that the United States "is engaged in a generational and global struggle about ideas, not a war between the West and Islam" and that the fight is "more than a war against the tactic of terrorism."
Therefore, DSB Chairman William Schneider Jr. advised, "To win [this] global battle of ideas, a global strategy for communicating those ideas is essential" - a requirement that senior government officials clearly understand.
So why are we losing this battle? The answer rests in three profound weaknesses that afflict American government:
A failure to understand reality as it is, not as we might like it to be. This flaw was central to the 9/11 commission's critical finding that "group think" produced intelligence misjudgments over Iraq's possession of weapons of mass destruction.
The difficulty in holding officials accountable for policy choices that go wrong. No one was fired or reprimanded for the intelligence or strategic communication failures, or for the handling of postwar reconstruction of Iraq.
The dysfunctional nature of the U.S. government's national security organization that often prevents rational decision-making and certainly confuses it.
The DSB made seven recommendations:
Issue a presidential directive to strengthen the nation's capacity for conducting strategic communication.
Establish a strategic communication structure within the National Security Council headed by a deputy national security adviser supported by an independent, nonpartisan "think tank-like" organization, the Center for Strategic Communication.
The remaining five recommendations specified changes within the State Department and Defense Department regarding public diplomacy and planning for strategic communication, including tripling personnel and funding for strategic communication in the Pentagon.
In many ways, the DSB report paralleled the work of the 9/11 commission, whose recommendations were just enacted into law. Intelligence suffers from similar dysfunctional effects of government. The reality is that our security structure is still stuck in a time warp.
Even with the new Homeland Security Department, the National Security Act of 1947 and the vestiges of the Cold War largely define our strategic instincts and national security organization. And "group think" has not been eliminated. The DSB report concluded by predicting that we will lose this war of ideas "if we tinker at the margins." And we are tinkering. The fact is, the administration does not have a comprehensive plan for dealing with these challenges.
The government and the public need a better understanding of the dangers and the realities that confront the nation. This is the best reason for enhancing strategic communication and for correcting the larger problems that cut across national security and how we think about it.
Then, elected leaders must have the courage not just to tinker but to reform the overall national security structure, including within the executive branch and Congress. Otherwise, as long as we focus only on parts and not the heart of the issues that test us, we will never be successful in making the nation safer and more secure, and we will never reduce to a manageable level the current dysfunctional nature of government.
Real change is needed now. But who will take that lead and deal with what really matters most rather than playing at the margins?
Harlan Ullman, senior adviser at the Center for Strategic Studies, is author of Finishing Business: Ten Steps to Defeat Global Terror. | 5,166 | 2,437 | 0.000414 |
warc | 201704 | Choosing the perfect restaurant can be tricky business. Your mood might be a deciding factor in finding the perfect restaurant. However, your mood might lead you to unhygienic dining places. Here are some easy criteria that can help you in finding a place that is not only sanitary but also serves tasty food.
Ask for a recommendation from a foodie
Always consult your neighbors or friends who also happen to be foodies about any recommendations. They probably know a whole lot about restaurants than you and can guide you in the right direction.
Are the workers unkempt?
The appearance of the workers in a restaurant matters a lot. Whenever you visit a restaurant near you, observe the workers. Are they working in harmony or are they just doing things haphazardly. Do they have a disheveled appearance? Is the restaurant staff friendly? Are they wearing the proper uniforms sewed professionally ?All these factors need to be kept in mind before ordering in a restaurant near you.
Check the reviews of the Restaurant
You can check out the reviews of a restaurant from the internet. Most, if not all restaurants have a Facebook page to promote their restaurant. You can check what kind of ratings the restaurant is getting.
Is the restaurant affordable?
Make sure that the menu items are not overpriced. Most of the times, the restaurants have food items which do not justify their price tag.
Is the restaurant properly oriented?
How does the place look? Is it a clean place to sit in and enjoy your food? How is the overall setting of the restaurant? Are the seats comfortable? How does the place smell? All these things can help you in finding the perfect restaurant.
Finally,find a restaurant which specializes in the food you want to eat. You can’t go to a Chinese restaurant and hope to get the best pizza in the world. That’s just preposterous. It doesn’t matter if that Chinese restaurant has great ratings.
When you go out to eat in a fancy restaurant and order food, you make very unwise choices. This is mainly because you are unaware of what happens behind the curtains of the restaurant. Here are some things that you should absolutely avoid whenever you eat out with your family or loved ones.
Slide the Complimentary bread away from eyes
You reach a restaurant and you’re really hungry. You just can’t wait for the food to arrive, so you start to sate your appetite with the garlic bread that’s in front of you. You’re completely oblivious to the fact that most restaurants recycle the garlic bread and once you’ve spared some pieces of that garlic bread, instead of just disposing it off, the restaurant staff will put it in the bread warmer.
Discard the All you can eat buffet salad
If you come across the all you can eat buffet salad, I would strongly recommend you to discard it. Most of these salads are really unhygienic and will make you feel uneasy and cause digestive problems.
Soup is a No-go
I know that a hot bowl of soup can be quite exhilarating on a chilly day but is it really worth it? Absolutely not! It’s all about the temperature. This soup stays lukewarm for hours when it is stored at night because of improper cooling conditions.
Order what everyone’s ordering
If you’re concerned about the freshness of your food, you should always order a menu item that is quite popular among the customers. The popular menu item would have been turned over less and there is a greater possibility of it not being recycled.
Water with unsanitary Limes and oranges? Really?
Thinking of having water with your lemon because lemons have anti-cancerous properties and are really good for your health? Hold that thought. Most bartenders and restaurant staff don’t even wash the limes and oranges and handle them with their bare hands.
Steer clear of the Soda
You should always make healthy choices for your own sake. Soda is not good for your health and it’s even worse when you order it at a restaurant because the nozzles of the soda machines rarely get cleaned.
Oh I’m so lucky to catch the restaurant at the closing time! Not really.
It’s always strongly advised to never order food from a restaurant at its closing time because there is a grave risk of it being improperly warmed at inadequate temperatures. This is due to the fact that most restaurants turn off their burners for cleaning them out before closing their doors.
Only order food that the restaurant specializes in making
This is common sense. I mean, how can a restaurant that specializes in making Chinese food be good at serving with you a mouthwatering pizza. You’re just wasting your money.
These are some of the basic pointers that many people who have worked for different restaurants have suggested to ensure good hygiene. Make sure to keep these in mind. I hope you have a great time! | 4,890 | 2,180 | 0.000469 |
warc | 201704 | This policy report highlights the essential role that public-private partnerships play in driving global health product development and offers insights into the key components of successful multi-sector partnerships led by PATH. For examples of our European public-private partnerships, see
Public-Private Partnerships for Global Health: PATH's Collaborations With European Partners.
Corporate author(s): PATH
Publication date: March 2013
Available materials English Some digital files may be saved at low resolutions to conserve file size. Versions with higher quality may be available; see the contact information below to enquire.
Related regions: Global
See also:
About PATH's work > Advancing technologies For advocates and policymakers > Advocacy strategy For advocates and policymakers > Public-private partnerships Health technologies > Safe injection Health technologies > Vaccine delivery For more information…
Contact: PATH Publications
Email: publications@path.org Mailing address: PATH, PO Box 900922, Seattle, WA 98109 USA | 1,052 | 590 | 0.001721 |
warc | 201704 | Cloud computing is being over-hyped, and enterprises should be wary after high-profile outages at providers such as Amazon cloud services, said analyst firm Ovum.
A raft of IT-as-a-service offerings have emerged in recent years, including Amazon Web Services, Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) and Simple Storage Service (S3) along with Google Apps offering and the Salesforce platform-as-a-service product.
But Ovum warned companies to avoid using cloud for critical infrastructure.
"Enterprises are right to be cautious about relying on such consumer/SME-oriented suppliers for anything resembling a mission critical application or service," said research firm Ovum in a report.
"A spate of service outages on the Amazon and Google platforms has increased enterprise caution about the reliability of consumer-market-oriented cloud providers."
The cloud creates new management challenges for CIOs, because it runs like an electricity grid. Unlike under an outsourcing deal, where any slip in quality is protected by service level agreements, an outage of a cloud service may not be remedied quickly.
"We take it for granted the electricity grid occasionally fails. We also know that when the power is out, we are usually not the only one affected," said Ovum.
What's more, virtually any service has been branded 'cloud' and the term has been over-hyped, according to the analyst firm.
Yet cloud computing is more than just vapourware, Ovum added. During these recessionary times, the analyst firm predicts CIOs will turn to cloud services for its massive economies of scale.
Ovum urged CIOs to start limited trials of cloud computing now, to gain practical experience on what it can and cannot do, and how the new management challenges will be overcome.
This story, "Is Cloud Computing Vaporware?" was originally published by Computerworld UK. | 1,858 | 988 | 0.001023 |
warc | 201704 | Just down the street from a cluster of venture capital firms on Silicon Valley’s Sand Hill Road is the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, a sprawling, 426-acre site where researchers are pushing the boundaries in physics, chemistry and materials science.
Their work helps fuel breakthroughs in areas including electronics and information technology, and researchers there have contributed to projects that won six Nobel Prizes.
Twenty-five feet underground lies a 2-mile linear accelerator that passes beneath nearby Interstate 280. Electrons zip through the accelerator at nearly 670 million miles per hour, a fraction slower than the speed of light.
As microprocessors get faster and memory chips cram in more data, scientists are getting closer to the very boundaries of physics. That makes it essential to peer deep inside materials to see how they work at the atomic level.
Central to the work at SLAC is the world’s most powerful X-ray laser, the Linac Coherent Light Source. It’s the first laser to produce hard X-rays that allow scientists to see down to the level of atoms and molecules.
“There’s no other place in the world where you can find short, coherent, X-ray pulses like the ones here, and that enable [scientists] to really rip apart atoms—sometimes literally—and look at how electrons are behaving in those atoms,” said Bill Schlotter, an instrument scientist at the LCLS.
For researchers, getting the opportunity to conduct an experiment at SLAC is a competitive process. An international committee of scientists reviews proposals from around the world, and twice a year it selects only one in every five projects.
Stanford professor Aaron Lindenberg, who is researching future data storage systems, was among those selected, and given 60 hours to conduct an experiment at SLAC. Lindenberg used the high-powered X-ray to observe the way atoms move in a nanoscale device.
The results are still being processed, but Lindenberg said early data suggests the experiment was a success.
“After I emerged from underground here, it was sort of an interesting thing to look back and think, wow, we started this four or five years ago, trying to answer these questions, and actually, maybe now we have answers to some of them,” he said.
Updated at 11:25 p.m. PT with a video report from IDG News Service. | 2,378 | 1,252 | 0.00082 |
warc | 201704 | If Bitcoin is to succeed—if using the virtual currency is to be as hassle-free as handing over a portrait of a dead president in exchange for goods and services—it will require one thing: A consensual hallucination.
We must all, in concert, forget the mystery around Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto, overlook the collapse of the Mt. Gox Bitcoin exchange, forget the speculative rise and fall in price, the early associations with the illicit Silk Road trading site, and the giddy declarations from old school cypherpunks. We must ignore the whole mining construct, and even set aside the fact that the IRS now classifies Bitcoin as property, not currency. And that’s hard—really hard. We must then collectively find a reason to use Bitcoin, even though our current hodgepodge of debit, credit, cash, check, money order, PayPal, and other payment methods work well enough for most of us.
Is it reasonable then to expect Bitcoin to ever go mainstream? Talk to experts involved in Bitcoin policy-making, banking, and the Federal Reserve, and the answers turns out to be yes—provided, of course, that the government gets involved. Or, in some instances, gets out of the way.
Why Bitcoin is intriguing
First, though, it’s helpful to review exactly what Bitcoin is. Bitcoin is both a digital currency and a peer-to-peer digital payments system; it’s the first system to effectively guarantee trust over the Internet. That is, Bitcoin payments can be sent from one party to another across the web without the need for a central bank, central server, or trusted intermediary.
How? Bitcoin’s clever use of math and global computer capacity ensures that any transaction is successful, verifiable, and irrevocable. That’s unprecedented in the world of virtual currency. Previous efforts, such as CyberCash, for example, required linking a person to a credit card. The pioneering DigiCash, tragically dependent upon 1990s computing power, could only work when a central party, such as a bank, first verified the transaction. Bitcoin requires none of this, and that’s what makes it potentially revolutionary.
Bitcoin’s originating document, “A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System,” constructed this bold new reality through means of a blockchain—the computer file that acts as a public ledger for all Bitcoin transactions. Through a process called mining, the Bitcoin blockchain ensures that every transaction, literally, is publicly recorded and verified. This makes counterfeit transactions, double-spending threats, denials of purchase, and other fakery extremely unlikely. It doesn’t prevent the theft of Bitcoins, though, as some users have discovered in recent months.
Bitcoin vs. the world
Given its Earth-shifting potential, why, then, hasn’t Bitcoin taken off? There’s multiple reasons it remains on the fringe.
Competition: Apple CEO Tim Cook recently claimed that his company has 800 million iTunes accounts, most of which are linked to a credit card. The opportunity to buy and sell using only an iPhone, linked to that iTunes account, has tremendous appeal for users. To no one’s surprise, Apple is widely rumored to be working on a payments service; in the meantime, the company has banished Bitcoin apps from its App Store. (And that’s just as well: Since one of Bitcoin’s benefits is its removal of third party intermediaries, it can push transaction fees close to zero. That doesn’t really square with Apple’s take on micropayments, in which it commands a specific cut.) As for Google, it may decide that our uniquely personal, real-time, location-based purchase activity is so valuable that it will offer us financial incentives if we use the Google Wallet application instead of any competing option. Data is money, after all. Personal risk: Your Bitcoins are a digital file. And digital files can be stolen. The Mt. Gox theft from earlier this year is just the most widely known example of this. Members of the Bitcoin Forum maintain a list of all known Bitcoin thefts, and it is depressingly long. To limit theft, private companies offer “cold storage: facilities where the owner’s Bitcoins are securely kept offline. The recent Bitcoin theft at Flexcoin, where thieves nabbed every one of its Bitcoins not in cold storage proves the value of this method. But stashing your Bitcoins in cold storage means you can’t access them immediately. Worse, there are no agreed-upon industry best practices and certainly no FDIC-like guarantees for these facilities. Transaction speed: The very math that makes Bitcoin work regrettably slows down transaction volumes to glacial speed. Bitcoin transactions are cleared via “mining.” Mining is the process whereby miners—people and computers—are incentivized to make sure that every single Bitcoin transaction gets faithfully added to Bitcoin’s public ledger, ensuring no funny business. Already, the blockchain contains more than 38 million transactions. The Bitcoin mining network can only process around 7 transactions per second. By comparison, Visa can handle up to 10,000 transactions per second. Right now, this isn’t much of a problem, but as more people use Bitcoin, transaction speed will be crucial. (There are several workarounds in development, including a Bitcoin wallet that allows transactions to go through more quickly, syncing transactions with the full blockchain every few seconds, but not in real-time.) No credit: It’s easy to envision Bitcoin as digital cash. Cash is king, right? Except Americans love to buy on credit. Credit card debt in the U.S. is $15,000 per household, nearly $1 trillion total. Credit will be hard for Bitcoin to dethrone. In government we trust
How, then, can Bitcoin overcome these many obstacles and gain acceptance with the general public? Jerry Brito, senior research fellow at George Mason University’s Mercatus Center and the co-author of “Bitcoin: A Primer for Policymakers,” believes that it’s “only a matter of time before a Tim Berners-Lee type figure comes along and [makes Bitcoin] the financial equivalent of the Web.”
OK. But what happens until then?
Brito believes that regulatory uncertainty is the biggest barrier Bitcoin faces. For example, who refunds the Bitcoin payer if the goods are not as promised? When shopping for hockey gear, for example, you receive a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey instead of the Montreal Canadiens jersey you ordered: How should Bitcoin ‘banks’ fully and legally protect Bitcoin depositors? If the Bitcoin exchange rate skyrockets, must Bitcoin holders pay capital gains on their holdings? How do merchants manage Bitcoin record keeping? All these questions demand an answer from regulators.
This need for regulatory certainty is likewise echoed by Coinbase, a start-up that offers a range of Bitcoin-related services. “Clear and consistent government regulation will help lead to widespread use,” a company spokesperson told me. “If intelligent regulation surrounding Bitcoin is put in place, it will further encourage mainstream merchants and consumer adoption, which could be a tipping point for Bitcoin going mainstream.”
How Bitcoin can grow
Assuming those rules get put in place, why would people turn to Bitcoin? According to Adam White, director of business development for Coinbase, thousands of merchants are already using Bitcoin due its lower transaction fees.
Fees matter dearly to merchants. Visa, for example, charges about 1.5 percent of the cost of an item plus a network interchange fee. For every $100 the merchant sells on credit, nearly $2 goes to Visa’s fees. Bitcoin offers a real chance to shave this to 1 percent of the item’s price, for example, or theoretically, down a quarter once there are enough competing Bitcoin processors on the network. It’s certainly possible that some merchants will pass on a portion of these savings to their customers.
As for consumers, White cites Bitcoin’s privacy benefits as an attractive reason to turn to the currency. “Consumers paying in Bitcoin are protected from the risk of having their personal, identifiable information intercepted and stolen which can happen with credit cards,” White added. “There is no risk of identity theft when paying with Bitcoin.”
The risk may be low, but it seems doubtful that any online transaction carries zero-risk of identity theft. Still, Bitcoin could make online shopping a more painless process: There’s no need to type in a 16-digit credit card number plus a security code if you’ve got a pocket full of Bitcoins.
Bitcoin accepted here
The list of companies, non-profits, and political action committees that accept Bitcoin already totals in the thousands. Bitpay maintains a searchable database of outlets that accept Bitcoin, which includes the likes of Overstock.com, Virgin Galactic, OKCupid, Big Fish Games, the
Chicago Sun-Times, Wordpress, and Tesla.
Admittedly, the current list of Bitcoin merchants seems tilted in favor of those with first-world needs. Bitcoin, however, knows no boundaries. Micropayments and money transfers, both of great importance in the developing world, can be expedited quickly, safely and at far less cost when using Bitcoin.
David Andolfatto, vice president and economist for the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, agrees that Bitcoin offers a clear path to lower transaction costs, which is a particular benefit in developing economies. More important, Andolfatto, adds, Bitcoin provides a means for citizens to route around laws that require them to use their nation’s (fiat) currency. In many countries, the national currency is often manipulated for short-term gain. These manipulations incite inflation and thus limit the individual’s purchasing power.
“I’m not sure what would motivate widespread [Bitcoin] use here in the U.S. [although] I think its prospects for growth look quite good in the developing world, where rampant inflation is the rule rather than the exception,” Andolfatto said.
In Bitcoin we trust?
For now, though, Bitcoin has some hurdles to overcome before it makes the leap to an accepted form of currency. Thefts are far too common. Regulation remains uncertain and security is lacking—both crucial elements for any new tech to go mainstream. Many larger merchants, such as Amazon and eBay, refuse to accept Bitcoin. Some governments, such as China, effectively ban its use. Many of the biggest tech companies and financial institutions on the planet have a vested interest in watching Bitcoin disappear.
And yet, there are reasons to be a believer in Bitcoin. More people are downloading Bitcoin wallets, multiple industry sources say. There is a thriving Bitcoin developer community. Exchanges are popping up and making it easier than ever to turn Bitcoins into dollars. Tens of millions of dollars are being invested in Bitcoin-related start-ups. There are even Bitcoin lobbyists. That’s an ecosystem, and, yes, it does feel like it’s the start of the web all over again.
Bitcoin is peer-to-peer. It is scalable. Bitcoin supports personal privacy and enables transactions at near-zero cost—not all of which need be strictly financial in nature. It decentralizes trust and limits financial threats from governments and middlemen. These should guarantee Bitcoin a bright future, despite the many obstacles before it.
This story, "How Bitcoin can go mainstream" was originally published by TechHive. | 11,655 | 5,326 | 0.000194 |
warc | 201704 | I donât ordinarily write about daylight saving time, but when I do, I make it a point to remind moderate drinkers that, with the change of clocks and seasons, it is again time to switch from scotch to gin.
Such are the rhythms of Nature. Oil refineries make seasonal adjustments. Our personal refineries require the same close attention.
There is, of course, much more to daylight time than internal consumption. Daylight time signals the end of winter in California. You heard me. Winter.
Winter is a term we dare not fling around within earshot of our countrymen â" especially prickly relatives â" in the East and Midwest and, for that matter, the Northwest and South. We cannot possibly expect them to understand, let alone sympathize with, what we have had to endure since, well, since temperatures nose-dived into the 60s.
Who among us hasnât frantically pulled on a sweatshirt and maybe even a thin pair of socks to stave off the startling chill as we grimly waited for the sun to rise above the nearest palm tree? Only someone like Jack London could have captured our grit.
How many times have we stood outside, not quite shivering, vigorously exhaling as we vainly tried to see our breath? Yes. Winter.
By now I suspect you are drooling, if not sound asleep. We have lost an entire hour and it is now too light to go to bed âearly.â We will not recover for at least a week.
I blame the Federal Reserve. And Fannie and Freddie. How is it that the government saves daylight but blows through our hard-earned tax dollars? Can we buy a tank of gas with our daylight savings? Health insurance? Stuff from China? I know what youâre thinking: Somebody needs a nap.
Let me be unfuzzy: I am a daylight time homie. This time of year is fraught with promise, optimism and pollen. It is also the one time of year when it is permissible to use âfraughtâ in an daily American newspaper, even the online edition.
It is also the time when we at last begin to shed our outer layers. No more pads, far fewer helmets, much less mayhem and brutishness. Fewer stretchers being wheeled into and out of our lines of (tele)vision.
Baseball is trickling back into the sports pages, back into idle office conversations, back into the frontal lobes of our psyches, except in the case of a certain spouse whose name I will not mention here for lack of space.
That baseball and daylight time arrive in tandem every year is hardly a coincidence, though perhaps it is. In any case, it sure is neat. Neat? (See âfraught.â)
If I have one piece of advice about how to embrace the dawn of daylight saving time, it would be: Donât be fooled. Dawn will actually come later for a while.
What they never tell you is that any daylight savings is back loaded, making early morning hours impenetrably dark, bleak and depressing. More toes are either stubbed or broken in the early weeks of daylight time than at any other time of year.
I donât know if this is actually true, but if it is I blame the Federal Reserve.
Reach Dan Bernstein at 951-368-9439 or dbernstein@PE.com | 3,123 | 1,647 | 0.000624 |
warc | 201704 | Feeders Refine Search Clear All Pet Feeder, Hay Rack and Small Animal Feeder for Keeping Your Small Animal Pet Companions Fed
From excitable guinea pigs and affectionate chinchillas to intelligent pet rats and mischievous ferrets, a variety of small animals make for excellent pet companions. While each species varies in their preference for human handling, attention and food, all pets depend on their pet parents for the proper care. In addition to spacious cages and plenty of water, pets need a pet feeder stocked with a fresh supply of nutritionally balanced food to keep them healthy. As most small animal pet food blends consist of a mix of seeds, nuts, berries and a variety of grains, many pet parents opt for a type of small animal feeder that is easy to use as well as easy to maintain, such as a gravity pet feeder. Since most types of gravity feeders typically hold more than one day's worth of food, they allow for pet parents to rest assured knowing that their small animal pet companions will have access to food throughout the day. Meanwhile, a type of hay rack or holder is also suggested for rabbits, guinea pigs and other small animal pet companions. Keep your hamsters, chinchillas, or pet mice happy, healthy and well-fed by providing them with the type of small animal feeder that is best for them. Get a gravity bin feeder or spinning hay rack today from the selection available online at Petco.com!
Designed to keep your pet's hay sanitary and off the floor of his cage, the Petco Hay Rack is the perfect cage accessory for rabbits, guinea pigs, chinchillas and other hay-eating pets. To keep your small furry friends occupied, there is the Super Pet Rollin' The Hay Spinning Hay & Salad Dispenser. Developed for versatility, this hay dispenser can be utilized as a free-standing dispenser, mounted on to your pet's cage or left as a free-wheeling ball of fun. A popular pet feeder used within many small animal cages is a Gravity Bin Feeder, which easily mounts to your pet's cage for easy feeding. Large enough to hold up to five days of food for most small animal pet companions; this small animal feeder helps to bring convenience to keeping your pets fed. There is also the Prevue Hendryx Green Metal Gravity Bin Feeder, which boasts an all metal design and a mesh feed trough that sifts away dust from your pet's food. Find the best feeder for your little furry friends today at Petco.com! | 2,425 | 1,163 | 0.000861 |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.